by Al Lacy
“B-but nobody h-hath taken me in the other t-townth. Nobody will t-take me in Th-Than Franthithco, either.” He choked on a sob. “N-nobody wanth me ’cauthe I talk f-funny.”
Laura had heard Jimmy’s words. She moved up to meet them, and Lance stopped. Laura caressed Jimmy’s cheek, wiping away tears. “Jimmy, honey, I’m sure there’ll be someone in San Francisco who will take you. You’re a sweet little boy, and they won’t care how you talk.”
Jimmy shook his head. “No th-they won’t. N-nobody wanth me ’cauthe I thtutter an’ lithp when I t-talk.”
Laura’s throat constricted. “Don’t give up, Jimmy. I’m sure God has someone who lives in San Francisco who will take you.”
Jimmy sniffed and knuckled tears from his eyes. His lower lip quivered. “M-Mithter Adamth liveth in Th-Than Franthithco. I w-want him to take me, but he c-can’t.”
She said to Lance, “I’ve noticed that you two have become pretty close.”
Lance nodded. “That we have, Mrs. Stanfield.” Then he said to Jimmy, “Well, little pal, I’d better get you aboard.”
Laura pinched Jimmy’s cheek playfully. “It’ll be all right, honey. You just cheer up now.”
Lance smiled at her and headed for the front platform of the boys’ coach. “See you later, Mrs. Stanfield.”
As Lance mounted the steps, he sensed a strange stirring in his heart and mind. If asked to describe it, he would be at a loss to do so, but it was as real as could be.
He placed Jimmy down on the seat, patted his cheek, and said, “I’ll see you later, little pal.”
Jimmy grabbed his hand and looked up at him with pleading eyes.
“What is it, Jimmy?”
“M-Mithter Adamth, if thomebody in Than F-Franthithco doeth take me an’ let m-me live with th-them, will y-you come an’ thee m-me?”
The conductor’s final call for boarding echoed past the window.
Lance swallowed hard. “I sure will, Jimmy.” With that, he hurried up the aisle toward the front door of the coach, leaving behind a brokenhearted little boy who desperately wanted to be his foster son.
When Lance stepped out onto the coach’s platform, he found Laura Stanfield waiting for him. The engine’s whistle sent a shrill message into the air, and the big engine’s wheels spun on the tracks. The train lurched forward, with the couplings between cars giving off a series of thumping sounds.
As both Laura and Lance grasped the railings to steady themselves, she said, “Could I talk to you, Mr. Adams?”
“Of course, but—”
“You can pass through the girls’ coach to get to yours.”
“Oh. Okay.”
The train was rolling slowly out of the railroad station.
“Mr. Adams, I don’t mean to interfere in your business, nor to be nosy, but could I ask you something?”
“Of course.”
“Well, since you and Jimmy have become so close, and he has spoken his desire to go home with you, isn’t it possible for you to take him?”
Lance moved his head back and forth. “No, it isn’t, Mrs. Stanfield. You see, there are some circumstances that make it impossible. Circumstances that only God could alter.”
“Oh. I’m sorry. It’s just that—well, that precious little boy seems to love you very much, and even though I tried to show a positive attitude about his being chosen in San Francisco, I’m actually afraid he will be the only one left when the choosing is over. I’d hate for Jimmy to have to go back to New York and start over. That would be terribly devastating to him. Then when the Society puts him on another train, he will have to go through all of this again.”
Lance lowered his head. “Yes. I know.”
“Mr. Adams, Gifford and I would take Jimmy if our situation was different, but traveling on these orphan trains is how we make our living. It wouldn’t be right for us to take Jimmy in then leave him weeks on end with someone else.”
“Of course not. And if our situation was different, I’d take that little guy in an instant. You see, Carol—my wife—is unable to bear children, and she has an aversion to the idea of our adopting a child. Somehow she feels she would not have the fulfillment of being a mother unless she could give birth to the child. I must admit that I don’t understand it, but I certainly can’t get off the train with Jimmy in my arms and say, ‘Here, Carol, whether you like it or not, I’ve brought you a little boy to raise.’ ”
Laura shook her head. “Of course not.”
“Believe me, Mrs. Stanfield, I wish it were different. I’ve really developed a strong attachment to that little boy and would love to take him home and be his daddy, but I can’t violate Carol’s right to live her life in the way that will make her happy.”
“I understand that,” said Laura. “Is your wife meeting you at the station in San Francisco?”
“Yes.”
“It’s only two hours to San Francisco. Is it all right if between here and there, I pray that the Lord will change Carol’s mind?”
A smile tugged at the corners of Lance’s mouth. “It sure would be all right! I’ve been praying the same way, myself. Like I said, only God can alter these circumstances.” Even as he spoke, Lance was aware of the strange, indescribable stirring in his heart and mind. Was this stirring coming from the Holy Spirit?
“Well,” said Laura, moving toward the platform of the girls’ coach, “I’ll let you get to your coach, and I’ll take a seat in here and start praying.”
Lance followed her onto the rocking, swaying platform, then moved ahead and opened the door for her, allowing her to enter first. Laura chose a seat at the rear of the coach and sat down.
Lance smiled. “I don’t know how to thank you for your concern for Jimmy. Pray hard, okay?”
“I sure will.”
Lance hurried through the girls’ coach. As he was moving up the aisle toward his seat in his coach, the same strange stirring was in his heart and mind.
He sat down and glanced at the countryside as the train headed southwest toward San Francisco. While he kept his eyes on the grassy, rolling hills, suddenly Laura’s words to Jimmy a few minutes ago echoed through his head: “Don’t give up, Jimmy. I’m sure God has someone who lives in San Francisco who will take you.”
“M-Mithter Adamth liveth in Th-Than Franthithco. I w-want him to take me, but he c-can’t.”
A lump rose up in his throat and he felt tears forming at the back of his eyes. The strange sensation was still within him, tugging at his very being. He thought of his prayer in Cheyenne when Jimmy had once again been rejected by prospective foster parents and begged him to take him home with him. Dear Lord, I can’t make a move to take this precious child until You show me that it’s what You want for sure. Please help me. I have no way of knowing if You have done a work in Carol’s heart. You can do a miracle, I know it. You did it for Abraham and Sarah, and gave them a son when it looked impossible. Is anything too hard for the Lord?
Lance tried to swallow the lump; the tears were now welling up in his eyes. “Lord, this feeling inside me … is it You speaking to me?” He ran splayed fingers through his hair. “Are You telling me that You have done a work in Carol’s heart? Are You telling me that You are working on a miracle in our lives like You did for Abraham and Sarah and gave them a son even when it seemed impossible?”
The stirring in his heart and mind grew stronger as his last seven words echoed through his head: a son even when it seemed impossible … a son even when it seemed impossible … a son even when it seemed impossible.
He wiped the tears from his eyes and looked around to see if any of the passengers were looking at him.
He took his Bible out of his briefcase. As he turned to Genesis 18, his own words were still emblazoned on the walls of his brain—a son even when it seemed impossible.
He focused on God’s words to Abraham in verse fourteen. “Is any thing too hard for the LORD? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a s
on.”
His eyes brightened as he thought of a related passage. Quickly, he turned to Genesis 21 and let his eyes fall on the first two verses: “And the LORD visited Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did unto Sarah as he had spoken. For Sarah conceived, and bare Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him.”
Lance smiled. “At the set time. At the appointed time. Lord, is this stirring inside me Your way of saying You had it planned all the time that Carol and I would have a son and his name is Jimmy?”
His mind went back to that day when the train pulled out of Cheyenne: He was gazing through the window at the vast Wyoming prairie as a small herd of antelope splashed across a stream not far from the tracks. He recalled his prayer at that moment: Heavenly Father, I’m looking to You for this miracle. You gave Abraham and Sarah a son when it seemed impossible. Is anything too hard for You? No. It is not. Help me to trust You as You work it out.
He bent his head down and looked at the floor. “Lord,” he whispered, “I know what’s going on inside me. You are speaking to me about Jimmy. I want to take that precious little guy home with me to be my son. You have a set time … an appointed time to complete Your plan. I don’t know if You have dealt yet with Carol. You know that You will have to speak to her heart so she will want Jimmy as her son too.”
Lance was aware of someone standing over him in the aisle. He looked up to see the conductor standing over him. “Mr. Adams, are you all right?”
Lance nodded. “Yes, sir. I’m fine. Just doing some praying.”
The conductor’s eyebrows arched. “Oh. I’m sorry for disturbing you, Mr. Adams. I didn’t realize—”
“It’s all right. You didn’t know whether I was ill, or something like that. I appreciate your concern.”
The conductor smiled. “I’ll move on so you can proceed.”
Lance eased back on the seat, closed his eyes, and whispered, “Lord, when those seven remaining orphans are being inspected and interviewed at the San Francisco depot, I could tell Carol that You spoke to my heart about Jimmy, and we’re taking him home whether she likes it or not, but that wouldn’t be fair to her. With a foster child comes much responsibility. It wouldn’t be right for me to force him on her. In Your Word, You said, ‘Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it.’ You know how very much I love Carol, and because I do, I can’t do something that would make her miserable and unhappy. I’ve got to know that You have dealt with her on this issue before I can tell the Stanfields and the Conlans that we want to take Jimmy home with us.”
He took a deep breath and let it out without opening his eyes.
“Lord, I’m trusting that You are working in Carol’s heart, even as You have been working in mine. You know that we walk by faith and not by sight. So I won’t know for sure when we pull into the depot that You have prepared Carol to be Jimmy’s mother like You’ve prepared me to be his father. I’m just asking You to give me wisdom when I meet Carol and talk to her.”
He thought of Laura Stanfield and the fact that she was in the girls’ coach, praying that the Lord would work in Carol’s heart. He smiled to himself as the sensation in his heart and mind continued to make its presence known.
In the boys’ coach, Jimmy Kirkland sat alone, staring out the window. He missed Barry Chandler and wondered if he liked his new home. Fear chilled Jimmy’s mind as he thought about the many couples who showed interest in him in all those depots … until they heard him talk.
His lips quivered and tears filled his eyes as he whispered, “M-Mithter Adamth wanth me. He really doeth. B-but he keepth th-thaying he can’t t-take me home to live with h-him.”
Jimmy felt sure that Mr. Adams had a wife, but he wondered if he had children and couldn’t take him because he had no room for him.
His mind went back to the orphanage and how the children picked on him there. He drew a shaky breath and whispered, “I w-would rather live with M-Mithter Adamth and hith f-family, even if I h-had to thleep on the f-floor. I know M-Mithter Adamth would’n let n-nobody pick on me becauthe I talk f-funny.”
Jimmy looked up to see Gifford Stanfield coming down the aisle. He stopped to talk to the other three boys in the coach, who were purposely cramped together on one seat several rows ahead. Alex Geisler, Jared Rice, and Perry Dugan had become good friends on the trip.
Jimmy knew they were ten or eleven years of age and wanted nothing to do with him. This did not bother him. At least they hadn’t picked on him like Jason Laird and Rick Schindler did. He was glad that Jason and Rick were gone.
After a few minutes, Stanfield left the three boys and moved on down the aisle. Jimmy managed to make a smile for the man.
Stanfield matched the smile and leaned over the boy. “How you doing, Jimmy?”
Jimmy shrugged.
“Hey, partner, it’s going to be all right. San Francisco is a big city. Lots of people live there. There’ll be some man and woman who will see what a fine boy you are and they’ll come to me and say, ‘Mr. Stanfield, we want that handsome boy with the blond hair and the big blue eyes.’ ”
“B-but when they hear me t-talk, they’ll l-look at me funny an’ w-walk away. Juth’ l-like they alwayth d-do.” He wiped saliva from his lips and chin.
Stanfield laid a steady hand on the boy’s thin shoulder. “Now, Jimmy, don’t you give up. God’s got a family in San Francisco who will want you.”
Jimmy nodded. “Th-that’th what Mithuth Th-Thtanfield thaid t-too.”
“Well, she’s a real smart lady. You keep in mind what she said.”
Jimmy nodded again, but did not comment.
“Well, I’ll see you later.”
“Yeth, th-thir.”
Jimmy watched Gifford Stanfield turn around, walk back to the front of the coach, and sit down across the aisle from Derek Conlan. They were chatting happily about something.
Jimmy wished he had something to be happy about. He turned on the seat, leaned against the coach wall just below the window, and closed his eyes.
Soon the steady clicking of the wheels beneath him and the rhythmic sway of the coach lulled him into slumber.
Chapter Twenty-two
Jimmy Kirkland awakened and drowsily sat up on the seat. The train was slowing down. He looked out the window and saw that they were pulling into a big railroad station. He had overheard Mr. Conlan telling some of the other boys yesterday that San Francisco’s station was quite large.
Jimmy looked around and saw that the other three boys were now sitting in separate seats near the front of the coach, pushing their faces out the open windows while Mr. Stanfield and Mr. Conlan were rising from their seats close by them.
Jared Rice said excitedly, “I’m gonna get chosen here, I know it!”
“Yeah, me too!” Perry Dugan said.
Alex Geisler laughed. “I’ll get chosen first!”
Gifford Stanfield stood over them with Derek Conlan at his side and smiled down at the boys. “Well, no matter who gets chosen first, the rest of you will be chosen before it’s over.”
Derek Conlan looked back at the little boy and chuckled. “And that includes you, Jimmy!”
Jimmy smiled back at him.
The train came to a halt. Gifford Stanfield said, “I want all four of you boys to sit tight, as usual. It’ll be a little longer this time because all the regular passengers are getting off here. Mr. Conlan and I will be back in a little while to take you to the platform for the lineup.”
When the two men were gone, Jimmy saw the other three boys leave their seats and head down the aisle toward him. They stopped at Jimmy’s seat and all three looked down at him. He blinked and frowned at them questioningly.
Alex Geisler made a face at him, bugging his eyes. “You’re goin’ back to the orphanage ’cause nobody wants a kid who spits and stutters when he talks.”
The other two laughed, and Perry Dugan said, “If you’d keep your mouth shut and never talk, maybe somebod
y would choose you.”
Jimmy’s countenance fell. He was surprised at this behavior by these three boys. They had never picked on him before. They had always been nice to him.
Jared Rice chuckled. “Too bad, stuttermouth! You might as well plan on goin’ back to the orphanage. Nobody wants a boy who can’t talk without slobberin’ all over himself.”
Flame leaped into Jimmy’s eyes. He slid off the seat and pushed past them into the aisle. He said in a high-pitched voice, “Oh y-yeah? Well, you’ll f-find out! Thomebody ith g-gonna take m-me home!”
Jared sneered. “Sure, spitmouth, and just who’ll that be?”
Jimmy stiffened his back and squared his shoulders. “Mithter Adamth, th-thath who! I’m gonna g-go to hith houthe and live w-with him!”
Alex gave Jimmy a stiff push with the heel of his hand, sending him flying backwards. Jimmy fell flat on his back in the aisle. Tears were forming in his eyes as he looked up at Alex and the other two beside him, peering down with a wicked glint in their eyes.
Alex stuck his tongue out at Jimmy. “You’re lyin’, slobber-mouth! Mr. Adams ain’t takin’ you home! He’s got better sense than that!”
“Yeah!” said Jared. “Your slobberin’ would ruin the rugs and the furniture in Mr. Adams’s house!”
Jimmy summoned the necessary strength and sprang to his feet. “I’m not l-lyin’! Mithter Adamth ith g-gonna ’dopt m-me!”
Perry made a face at him. “He ain’t, neither! You’re lyin’!”
Jimmy made a wild wordless shout and jumped at all three, fists swinging.…
Suddenly a voice penetrated Jimmy’s dream. He opened his eyes to see Derek Conlan bending over him where he lay on the seat, grasping for his swinging fists.
“Jimmy!” Conlan was saying. “Wake up! Wake up!”
Jimmy blinked, shook his head to clear it, and saw the three boys and Gifford Stanfield draw up. He could feel the train slowing down on the tracks.
Alex Geisler said, “He must’ve been havin’ a bad dream.”