It felt like they had spent a full day on the train on their way to New York. Michael thought he was still dreaming when he woke up, but it was the coolest dream ever. He didn’t even bother to ask how he got there; he was just excited about being on a train. He kept looking out the window and making zooming sounds whenever they passed something, when he got bored with that he ran around. Maria was exhausted, but she wasn’t about to let Michael wonder around alone. Children were kidnapped in the strangest places, and knowing Michael, he might just decide it would be cool jumping off a speeding train like he’d seen in the western cowboy movies.
She was relived, but still a little reserved when the conductor offered to baby sit while she slept. Of course, like a paranoid parent, she pinched his wallet and copied all his details before she put it back in his pocket—something she had to learn to get her money back from Ricky. She was glad he was an old man, or he could have felt her fingers. But Michael provided a good distraction, excitedly asking questions about trains, the conductor was only too happy to answer, he too loved trains and from what she’d gathered he had worked on trains for close to thirty two years.
Out of the fifteen hour train ride, she’d only managed to sleep for close to one or two hours. She would wake up shaking and sweating, sometimes crying. Ricky’s disfigured face constantly haunted her sleep. She worried about her mother and Jane and her family. If Ricky found out the trick they had played on him, none of them were safe. She kept expecting him to walk into her cabin and throw her out the window or worse yet throw Michael out the window.
But she was glad they had left, and they were miles away from Ricky, it was a good thing he wasn’t the sharpest tool in the shed, but she was still sure he would find them. It would take him a while to realize they weren’t in Jacksonville anymore, and then he would try to find them, through Edna, Jane, or anyone, he’d find a way to figure out where they were. When he did, he’d come after her, more furious than he’d ever been, but she’d be ready, not ready to fight, but to run. She had her savings and that of Edna’s, if they had to, they would go to Mexico maybe learn a thing or two about her father’s side of the family, maybe some Spanish too.
Michael didn’t know Ricky was alive, he couldn’t. As far as he knew, his father was gone forever, and she wasn’t going to rob him of his happiness telling him otherwise. He hadn’t once asked where they were going or where Edna was. He thought Maria was keeping her promise she was going to take him on a train ride for his birthday, well, his present had come early, and she was making sure he had many more birthdays.
When they got to New York, Maria put her gloves back on she always had them on when Michael was around, the kid was four, but very clever. She kept her other cuts covered up too, and had her hair held up in a ponytail over the wound on the back of her head. Edna had cut out the hair on that spot to place a bandage over the deep cut. It wouldn’t have been necessary if she just got stitches, but with a maniac after Maria, no one suggested a hospital, the only suggestions made were just the fastest way out of Jacksonville.
Michael ran into the cabin and bumped into Maria, “Mama, are we getting off?”
She held onto the top railing to keep steady. The old conductor came behind him, a huge grin on his face. He seemed to have really enjoyed spending time with Michael, but who wouldn’t. He was a perfect little boy only Ricky didn’t see that.
“Yes. Help me put your things back.” Maria put the small suitcase into the big black bag that had once hosted Michael.
He picked up his toys and threw them into the bag, “Aren’t we going back home?”
“No, we are going to live in New York for a while.” Maria spoke softly. She kept her attention on packing, she could tell he was figuring out something was wrong.
He stopped and turned to her, carefully watching her, “Is grandma coming?” He was cleverer than Maria gave him credit for.
“No,” she turned to him and smiled, “She’s going to stay home while we stay here, but she’s going to come visit us,” she got nervous when he didn’t return the smile. She sat down and pulled him close to her, “It’s going to be fun. Think of this as a new beginning for both of us, we’ll have more opportunities here than we could ever have back home.”
“Why did we move?”
Maria looked up at the conductor who now had a glum look on his face, and then back at Michael, she needed a full proof lie if she was to convince him.
“Where are we going to live?” his lips parted into a smile, then he went back to packing his toys.
She felt relieved once he let her off the hook, “Nate, Uncle Tom’s friend, has a small apartment in Brooklyn.” She wondered what happened to the days kids still believed in Santa and the tooth fairy, but Michael was no ordinary kid.
“Okay, let’s go.” He took off running, speeding past the conductor.
The conductor looked at Maria with knowing eyes, as if he could see what she was hiding. Smiling, “I’ll go after him.” then he disappeared.
Maria stared after him. She’d seen the pity in his eyes, and she’d hated it. She loathed being pitied as much as she loathed Ricky. She wished he had died, she wished she had made sure he was dead.
Next time she would.