The Lullaby Sky

by Carolyn Brown

“Yay!” Sophie pumped her fist again. “Someone special is coming to our house and Uncle Travis can have my bed and I’ll sleep with Mama. You will love sleeping in my rainbow room with the clouds and the sky in there with you. And Uncle Travis”—her expression went totally serious—“can I have a star in the sky, too?”

  “Of course you can, sweet baby girl, but I’ll be staying in one of the rooms upstairs. Your rainbow room is yours,” he said.

  “My room is going to be like the lullabies Mama sings to me like ‘Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star’ and ‘Too-Ra-Loo,’ isn’t it, Mama?” she asked.

  “That’s right,” Hannah agreed.

  Calvin held his empty plate out toward Liz. “More please, ma’am. What is too-ra-loo, Sophie?”

  “It’s what Mama sings to me when I can’t sleep. It’s something Irish because we’re Irish folks. Father didn’t like us being Irish, but it didn’t make us stop singing our song.”

  “It’s an old Irish lullaby that goes back generations in our family,” Aunt Birdie said. “I remember when my mama sang it to me.”

  Hannah pushed a strand of hair back behind her ear. “I’m excited about this. When something is laid upon an Irish girl’s heart, she can either fight with it or listen to it. I’m tired of fighting, so I listened. There’s a reason for everything. In a few years or maybe even in a few months, I’ll understand better what the reason for this is, but right now I’m going to follow my heart.”

  “That’s the Hannah we all know and love.” Calvin held up his tea glass in a toast. “May we all find new beginnings that bring us great happiness.”

  Hannah noticed that Liz was the last one to raise her glass, and when she did it was with sadness still in her eyes.

  Sophie used both hands to lift up her glass. “What y’all said sounds like big-people talk to me, but I want us all to be happy.”

  Travis draped a hand around Hannah’s shoulders. “She’s a brilliant child. I wouldn’t mind having half a dozen just like her.”

  Hannah slid a pan of brownies in the oven as soon as she got home and put a pot of coffee on. Just in case Gina changed her mind, she made a pitcher of sweet tea and sliced up a lemon. She was in the process of arranging the pieces in a pretty bowl when the doorbell rang.

  “Oh, my, this place smells wonderful,” Gina said.

  She was a tall, rawboned woman with red hair worn in a bob right below her ears. Her green eyes and thin mouth were set in a long, narrow face with a kind expression.

  “Come right on in.” Hannah threw open the screen door and stepped to one side. “Coffee and brownies are ready. I hope you like chocolate.”

  “It’s a sin not to like chocolate. I’m not sure that you can get into heaven if you don’t like it.” Gina laughed. “Shall we set up at the kitchen table, then?”

  “Yes, that would be great. I’ve got a couple of pens and two pencils sharpened. Which one should I use?” Hannah asked.

  “None of the above. I brought my laptop and you’ll do your questionnaire on it, and then we’ll take care of your fingerprints and I’ll plug them into the system. Might as well tell me right now if you’ve got a record and save us both some time.” Gina’s eyes darted around the spotless living room as she made her way to the kitchen. “You keep a nice home.”

  “Thank you. It’s habit, but I’m trying to be more flexible,” Hannah said.

  “I understand.” Gina removed a small laptop from her briefcase and hit several keys before she turned it around.

  “Coffee or sweet tea?” Hannah asked.

  “Coffee to go with those brownies.”

  “Perfect. They are ready to come out of the oven.” Hannah brought the pan out with a couple of hot pads and set it in the middle of the table. Before she sat down at the computer, she put two small plates, a couple of forks, and a knife on the table. “Now coffee,” she said as she filled two mugs and handed one off to Gina. “Tell me what I need to do while you have the first warm brownie.”

  “Just sit down and start filling out the form. It doesn’t take nearly as long on the computer as it does on paper. Mainly after the first page, when it asks for all your information, it’s checking boxes.” Gina groaned when she took the first bite of the hot brownie. “Lord, these are good. I’m going to gain ten pounds this afternoon.”

  Hannah smiled and started typing. Name, Social Security number, address, and all kinds of other questions, some pretty damned personal. Why did they need to know how much she weighed? Only God and her doctor knew that information! Half an hour later, she looked up from the screen to find Gina reading a thick romance book with a cowboy on the cover.

  “I don’t get to read very often, and your house is so quiet.” She smiled. “All done with the questions?”

  “Yes, ma’am. Now what?” Hannah asked. “Do you want to see the house?”

  “Not just yet. Your fingerprints next.” Gina turned the computer around, clicked a few keys, took a small device about half the size of a mouse pad from her purse, and plugged the USB port right into the computer. “Just lay your whole hand down on this and wait until the light turns green to remove it.”

  “Pretty fancy,” Hannah said as the machine transferred her prints to the screen.

  When it finished, Gina tapped a few more keys and then put the device and the computer back into her case. “That’s it. Didn’t hurt too bad, did it?”

  “Not at all,” Hannah said.

  “Now let’s take a look at this place. I can already tell you that if the rest looks like your living room and kitchen, the ladies I send here will be in good hands,” Gina said.

  “Thank you. Let’s start at the top and work our way down.” Hannah led the way up to the second floor. “This was my grandmother’s house. We lived down the street in a smaller place, but I was here a lot as a kid. She died years ago, and then my father passed away and I inherited it. I’m glad that it can be used to help others.”

  “It looks like a perfect place for a safe house,” Gina said.

  “This is the room I intend to make into a sitting room,” Hannah said, pointing to one on the left.

  “Excellent idea,” Gina said. “I don’t think you’ll have a bit of problem. We need more just like you who are willing to volunteer their homes for safe houses. Everything should be cleared in a week to ten days, and I’ll call you as soon as I get word. You’ve already got a rail for the porch steps, and I won’t send anyone who can’t maneuver the stairs.”

  “If you do, they can have the master bedroom and I will stay in one of the rooms up here,” Hannah said.

  “Thank you,” Gina said.

  Hannah’s heart felt lighter than it had in years. Tears formed behind her thick lashes, but she wouldn’t let them fall. This was not a time of sadness. She had just passed the first step in doing something important with her life. Joy surged.

  As soon as Gina was out the door, she called her mother. Patsy answered on the fourth ring.

  “Hello,” she said breathlessly. “Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine, Mama. I just did all the paperwork for the safe house. Were you running?”

  “Left my phone on the table, and Mama and I were watching a movie in her room,” Patsy explained. “But tell me all about this new thing.”

  Hannah rattled on for ten minutes talking about the fancy fingerprint machine, the song at the dinner table, what the preacher talked about, and every other detail she could think of. “Mama, please come for the Fourth of July. Last time I saw you was Easter, and that was only for the weekend. Besides, you had to stay with Aunt Birdie because of the problem here.”

  “We had a great time dyeing eggs with Sophie. I’ll do my best, kiddo,” Patsy said. “Love you and see you in a few weeks, hopefully. Your grandmother is yelling for me.”

  Hannah hit the “End” button and slumped down on the sofa. “I want my mama,” she whined.

  “So does this little girl,” Miss Rosie said as she and Sophie came in the back door. “I think what s
he really wants is a nap, but she’s like a worm in hot ashes when I try to lie down with her.”

  “Come here, sweetheart.” Hannah opened her arms.

  Sophie walked into them and laid her head on Hannah’s shoulder. “Why do you want your mama?” She yawned.

  “Because I need a nap, too,” Hannah said. “Thanks for watching her while I got that job done, Miss Rosie.”

  “Anytime, honey. I’m going to scoot on back to my house and get my Sunday afternoon snooze. I’ll see y’all later,” Miss Rosie said.

  “Sing to me, Mama,” Sophie whispered.

  Hannah started the twinkle song, and Sophie was sound asleep before she got through the first chorus. Hannah shifted her over to the sofa and spread a throw over her bare feet.

  “Changes are coming, Sophie. Big ones. Your grandma is going to visit and stay with us for the first time in your life. We’re going to have guests that need a safe place. And there’s more on the wind. I can feel the changes, even if I don’t know what they are. I think they’re going to be exciting,” Hannah whispered.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  A week later, Sophie’s room had been painted blue and Travis was busy putting a rainbow, clouds, and twinkle star mural on the wall. Hannah had set up the sewing machine again and was making the last set of valances for the downstairs windows.

  Travis did his best plotting for his novels when he was busy with something other than staring at the computer screen. The book was soon put on a back burner as his thoughts focused on Hannah. He wanted so badly to tell her about his career as an author but was afraid that she’d be angry that he had kept a secret that big from her all these years.

  He had just dipped his brush in purple paint when the house went silent except for two sets of bare feet on hardwood. He looked up to see Sophie dragging her mother through the door by the hand. “Look, Mama. You made curtains and Travis made a rainbow. You just have to see how pretty it is.”

  Travis laid the brush down and enjoyed the warmth of Hannah’s smile. His Hannah was truly coming back to him, one day at a time, one blue room at a time.

  “It’s going to be beautiful, isn’t it?” Hannah whispered.

  “Yes, it is.” Sophie let go of her mother’s hand and sat down in the middle of the floor. “Where are the clouds going? And the twinkle star? Mama, does the Irish see the same stars we do?”

  Travis sat down beside her and pointed to three different places. “How about a cloud right there above your pillow and your twinkle star over by where your mama lies when she sings you to sleep? And then we could put another low cloud on each side so you could raise your hand and touch it even when you are in bed. Does that sound good?”

  Sophie cocked her head to one side and then the other. “I like it just like you said, but could we have just a little bit of clouds on that wall around my dresser so when I wake up in the morning, I can see them?”

  “Of course you can,” Travis said without hesitation.

  “That’s a lot of work,” Hannah said from the doorway. “And Calvin needs you to be ready to work on Wednesday. Have y’all even gone down there to measure and look at the hangar yet?”

  “No, but I know from how many pieces of metal are on the outside about how big it is, so I’ve got a rough idea. We’ll get the keys from you and unlock it Wednesday morning,” Travis said. “And then the fun will begin. I’m glad he’s coming back to Crossing. It brings us full circle.” He paused and pointed toward the mirror above Sophie’s dresser. “How about one more star, right up there?”

  Sophie clapped her hands and jumped up. “I’ve got to go tell Aunt Birdie all about it.”

  “Look both ways before you cross the street,” Hannah said.

  “I will, but, Mama, don’t nobody ever come down this road. It just ends at the river.”

  “Ain’t that the truth.” Hannah nodded.

  Travis rolled up on his feet and picked up the paintbrush.

  “Kind of like my life. It looked like a dead end, but now there’s a possibility of a flood of good things,” Hannah said to Travis.

  “Amen, darlin’. Nothing but good things in your future, with lots of twinkle stars and rainbows.”

  “You’ve always been positive.” She pulled the plastic cover from a rocking chair and sat down. “Hey, what happened to that woman you were so serious about a few years ago? Angela, right? You brought her home for Christmas one year and we all thought you’d marry her, and then boom, you didn’t say much about her anymore.”

  “The problem is that another woman caught my eye years ago. Angela was the one who told me that before I could move on to the future, I had to get over the past.”

  “Why didn’t you tell the other woman or ask her out or do something?” Hannah asked.

  “Because I was too shy to tell her at first, and then she was out of my reach. Is that your phone?” he deflected.

  “No, must be yours. I’ll get back to the sewing so we’ll have the curtains done when you finish and her room will be ready tonight.” Hannah disappeared down the hallway and back into the dining room, where the noise of the sewing machine again filled the house.

  Travis pulled the phone from his shirt pocket and smiled. “Hello, Patsy.”

  “I’m calling to get your take on how my daughter is really doing. She sounds euphoric when I talk to her, but we all know that when a person is flying that high, they’ll crash. Do I need to make arrangements to come to Texas before Independence Day?” Hannah’s mother asked.

  “She’d love to see you anytime, but in my opinion she’s doing better every day. I’m here as well as Aunt Birdie. We’ll all support her any way we can,” Travis said.

  “I’m glad to hear that. What is that noise?”

  “Sewing machine.”

  “Oh, that’s right. She told me she was going to make some valances. And what do you think about this abused-women thing?”

  Travis laid the brush across the paint can and sat down in the rocking chair. “I think it might be just the therapy that she needs. Helping women to find a way out of a situation like she was in or maybe even worse might be the very thing that brings her closure, Patsy,” Travis said.

  “I’m not nearly as worried about her as I used to be. We get to talk when we want now, and hearing her voice is a blessing. And Travis, thank you.”

  “If it’s a help to you or Hannah, I’m all for anything,” he said softly.

  “I know, and I appreciate it. I’ll talk to her later this evening. Right now Mama is hollerin’ that it’s time for our game show that we watch together every morning, so ’bye for now.”

  “’Bye, Patsy.” Travis hit the “End” button and slipped the phone back in his pocket.

  The sewing machine stopped, and Hannah yelled, asking him if he wanted something to drink.

  “Sweet tea, please.” He picked up the brush and went back to work on the rainbow.

  She brought two glasses into the room and handed him one. “I need to talk.”

  “About?”

  “I don’t know.”

  He picked up the cold sweet tea and took a long drink. “Then how do you even know you need to talk?”

  “Because these feelings inside me are too heavy. I can’t talk to Liz, because she’s got enough on her plate. Cal is all busy getting ready to move. And besides, you’ve always been the one of us who . . .” She paused.

  Travis’s heart jumped up into his throat. He’d been the one who what? Was the sucker because he was too shy to tell Hannah that he’d loved her when they were kids? Was like a brother?

  Just don’t let her say that brother thing, he thought. I can work with almost anything but that.

  The pregnant silence hung over the room like smoke in an old honky-tonk. Travis didn’t realize he was holding his breath until she finally inhaled deeply and started to talk again.

  “You’re the one I could bring my problems to when we were kids. I love our other friends, I really do, but you were my one person.”


  His heart settled back into place in his chest. If he was her person, then maybe someday she’d see him as more than that. “And what’s this problem today?”

  “I don’t feel guilty, and yet I do.”

  “About what?” he asked.

  “I just got a divorce a week ago, and there should be at least a little bit of guilt for not trying harder to make it work. If I’d been what Marty needed in his life, Sophie wouldn’t be growing up without a father. But I didn’t try very hard. I didn’t like the big-city life, and I did like living here in Crossing. I’d make things nice for him here, but I didn’t push for him to take me to Dallas for his fancy dinners and parties. Lord, Travis, I felt so out of place at those things that sometimes I hid out in the bathroom. After Sophie was born, I didn’t really care if he came home or not.”

  “There was a reason for all that,” Travis said.

  Hannah nodded. “I know, but still, shouldn’t there be some remorse somewhere? All I feel is relief that it’s over. I’ll never make that mistake again.”

  “As in never trusting another man?” Travis asked.

  “No, not that. One rotten man shouldn’t ruin it for every other man on Earth,” she answered. “I told you I didn’t know how to even talk about this.”

  “You feel guilty because you don’t feel guilty,” he said simply.

  “Yes!” she answered. “That’s it, and I can’t shake it.”

  “Maybe helping other women will give you some closure,” he suggested.

  “I hope so.” Hannah shook her head as if to clear it. “Thanks, Travis. I’ll get back to sewing. Aunt Birdie called a little bit ago and said that dinner would be ready at straight up noon, so that gives us half an hour. The way you’re throwing those clouds on the wall, I’d say you’ll have your end of the bargain done by then.”

  “I’m surprised that Sophie didn’t stick around longer.” He didn’t want Hannah to leave. “I figured she’d be sitting right beside me while I painted until it was totally finished.”

  “She’ll be back soon, but right now she and Miss Rosie are in a heated game of Old Maid. Sophie was winning, last I heard. They’ll keep her busy until after we eat, and then we can surprise her with the new room.”