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The Last Train Home

Blayne Cooper (Advocate)

Chapter One

1890

It began to snow, tiny flakes shimmering in the lamplight until they collided with Virginia's

worn, woolen scarf and stuck, creating a thin layer of silvery crystals on the black

fabric.The scarf covered her head and she absently reached up to make certain its ends

were tucked securely into her coat.She left her hand there as she walked, holding together

the scratchy, woolen lapels of the coat with chilled fingers.

At the corner of Essex and Delancey streets she stopped at the curb to allowed a slow-

moving wagon to pass in front her.

"Whoa." The husky driver reined the single brown nag that was pulling his wagon. The

back of the wagon was full of beer barrels. "Needing a ride, miss?"He stripped off his

small, round hat and squinted as he looked into the night's sky, irritated when small flakes

dotted the lenses of his spectacles."Winter is finally here on this New Year's Eve," he

pronounced, stuffing his hat back atop a mass of unruly dark hair and wiping his glasses.

Virginia smiled and shook her head.Six months ago she wouldn't have understood a word

he'd said.Then, the varied accents of Manhattan's Lower East Side immigrants had caused

her to blink stupidly at nearly anyone who spoke to her.On this night, however, she

understood the man perfectly and thanked him for his kind offer before continuing her

trek to Orchard Street and home, which consisted of a tiny apartment on the sixth floor of

a brown brick tenement house.

A laughing couple staggered past her shouting their wishes for a happy New Year and

addressing her by name.She dredged up another smile and waved her goodbyes as she

continued to walk, her mind occupied more with getting off her aching feet than imbibing

along with the rest of New York.

She had worked late tonight, stripping the feathers from stinking chicken carcasses along

with two dozen other men, women, and children, all for the promise of an extra dollar in

her $4.00 a week paycheck.Despite the holiday, it was an offer Virginia Chisholm could ill

afford to refuse.

Passing through a cloud of foul-smelling steam rising from the sewer vent, she opened the

door to her building and was instantly greeted by several more partying tenants.She

lowered her scarf and shook it out, sending a scattering of icy crystals to the wooden floor

and revealing a head of red hair with golden highlights, now in full disarray.

A pock-faced man poked his head out of his apartment door, and Virginia could hear the

jaunty chords of an out-of-tune piano and a burst of laughter from behind him. "Evening,

Ginny!" he slurred.

"Happy New Year, Mr. Belawitz," she dutifully answered, secretly hoping that he wouldn't

want to chat.But he quickly ducked back inside his apartment, much to Ginny's relief.

A chorus of"Happy New Year, Ginny!" rang out through the narrow hallway as Ginny

climbed the steep steps.She laughed, happy to see her usually grumpy neighbors enjoying

the season.

It was already past ten and her family's apartment was dark and quiet, except for a single

candle that sat on a small table near the stove, illuminating the weary faces of Ginny's

mother and sister. She sat down alongside her mother with a weary thump.

Ginny's older sister, Alice, rose to hang up Ginny's wet coat, and her mother reached over

to the stove for a pot that still held hot tea.

"I was beginning to get worried, child."She hated it when Ginny walked the ten blocks

from her work to home in the dark alone.

Ginny tucked chilled, red fingers under her arms for warmth. "I'm sorry, mama, I had to

work late."Then she smiled, remembering why she'd missed supper."There's an extra

dollar in my pocket this week because of it."

Both Alice and her mother's faces brightened.

"I can get it for you. I-"

"No need."Her mother waved her off, filling a chipped cup with steaming tea and sending

the scent of mint wafting between them."You can give it to me tomorrow when I go to the

market. It'll be nice to have some meat for dinner." She looked gratefully at both her

daughters and rose to her feet.As she stood, she brushed her lips against the top of her

Ginny's cold head."Happy New Year, babies.I hope it's the best one ever," she said

softly."For both of you."

"Same to you, Mama," the young women answered in concert, as their mother

disappeared into one of the apartment's two small bedrooms.They smiled at the sound of

their stepfather's deep snores, which disappeared when their mother closed the bedroom

door.

When the apartment was silent once again, Alice scooted her chair next to her sister's and

they began to chatter quietly about the day's events. Before long Ginny's eyelids were

drooping and Alice chuckled.Ginny was too tired.They were all too tired.Her sister's heart-

shaped face had begun to take on the lines and planes of adulthood, though in fairness

the skin around her eyes had always crinkled when she smiled, belying her true age.Right

now, however, those same eyes were fluttering closed at irregular intervals as Ginny

fought uselessly against an overwhelming wave of fatigue.

"C'mon, luscious," Alice teased."Let me help you into bed." She pushed off from the table,

then carefully set Ginny's empty cup in a wash basin.

"Hush," Ginny shot back testily, more than a little sensitive about her curvaceous figure.

She was average height, but only in the past year, since she'd turned 17, had her hips

widened and her breasts taken on a full roundness not shared by either her mother or

older sibling.

"Oh, all right," Alice laughed, guiding her bone-weary sister towards their darkened

room.Once inside they both carefully checked to make certain the blankets were tightly

tucked around their young twin brothers, James and Lewis. Next they checked on the

baby, Helen, and 3-year-old Jane, who both slept in a crib at the foot of the girls' bed.

Satisfied that everyone was warm, Alice climbed into bed.

Ginny stripped down to her underclothes and as quickly as she could snuggled under the

covers of the twin bed she shared with her sister. Her contented sigh at the wonderful

feeling of their shared body heat was lost amidst the loud creaking of the bedsprings.

"This is the year, Alice," Ginny whispered fervently after a long moment.She pulled the

quilt up to her chin."1889 was the last year I'm spending in this place.I know Mama needs

our help, but-"

"Me too, Ginny." A pause."John from the fish market came calling for me earlier tonight."

Ginny could hear the smile in her sister's voice."About time.You two have been mooning

over each other for months. And sparking for almost that long," she added mischievously,"

knowing that Alice wasn't aware she'd inadvertently caught them kissing more than

once.She squirmed out of the way of pinching fingers, causing Lewis to stir in the bed only

two feet away.

"Quiet, Ginny."

"Sorry."But she wasn't really.She'd been waiting weeks for the perfect opportunity to

torture Alice about that.

"Now, about tonight," Alice continued undaunted, "Arthur told him to come back next

week after his visit had been properly announced."

Unseen in the darkness both sisters rolled their eyes at their stepfather's old-fashioned

notions.

"But John said he'd be back.He wants to move out West next summer, you know. His

uncle owns a farm in Tennessee."

"Oh, Al," Ginny's voice was soft and wistful.She'd seen photographs of rolling hills and

imagined miles and miles of fresh, green grass."That's wonderful." She squeezed her

sister's hand, trying to ignore the pang in her chest that the news brought.She would miss

her fiercely, but refused to begrudge Alice an opportunity for a better life.After all, she

intended on having one herself.There has to be more than this place.Endless work.The

stink. The crime.There just has to.

"He has a brother, Ginny. If you can get past those mutton chops and that long mustache

he's not such a bad looking fellow."

Ginny snorted. "No thanks."She absently glanced out the window, her eyes following the

constant stream of glittering snow."I'll get out of here without having to resort to him,

thank you very much."

And for a moment Alice believed her willful younger sister.If anyone could do it, it was

Ginny.

"Sweet dreams, Al."

"Happy New Year, Ginny."

Then only the muffled sounds of snoring filled the tiny apartment on Orchard Street.

*~*~*~*~*

"So long, String Bean."With a single shove between the narrow shoulder blades, Lindsay

Killian went flying out of the slow moving boxcar and into the night.She hit the ground,

cursing as she slid down an embankment made up of rocks and chunks of coal covered by

a thin layer of snow. She winced as she felt her trousers and then the skin of her knees

and hands tear.It was eerily silent out, except for the fading chugging of the freight train.

"Bastard," she spat, seeing her hat fly out of the boxcar, which was already several

hundred feet down the track in front of her.She could swear she could still hear his self-

satisfied laughter. It was, in Lindsay's mind, the ultimate humiliation."Rolled by someone I

know." She snorted derisively."What next?My own father coming back from the grave to

slap me in the face?"

With a shake of the head, she pushed wearily to her knees and wobbled there for several

seconds before falling bonelessly backwards. She sighed, sending a puff of steam into the

cold air, and gazed up into the sky, its blackness overtaken by the muted glow of lights

and smoke from the nearby city. Snowflakes rained down on her and she wished briefly

that she could see the stars instead of the endless sea of dingy gray-gold above.Like New

York City, the stars made her feel small and insignificant-dwarfed.But unlike this place,

they also made Lindsay feel freeÉ as if the universe was stretched out invitingly before her

and anything was possible.

With another dramatic sigh she rolled over onto her side and paused a moment to remove

a small rock that had embedded itself in her hand.She winced and rose to her feet,

brushing off her shabby coat.Despite her sudden fit of melancholy and her outright

embarrassment over being robbed of her flint, pocketknife, and life savings, which

consisted of a total of .87¢, she decided that she could do better than freezing to death in

the ditch.The City might be a cesspool but there were plenty of pockets to pick, charity

shelters that offered hot, if watery, soup, and places where she could go and warm her

hands by the fire.

Her eyes narrowed.After she found some food, she would head down to Rat Face's

favorite railway station and reclaim her stolen property along with her pride.Lindsay's

booted feet made a crunching noise as she walked.

"String Bean, my dear," she muttered to herself, as she bent to retrieve her battered hat,

"How about a different resolution this new year?Instead of getting rich, why not settle on

keeping better company?"She tucked her shoulder-length hair deep into her coat and out

of sight.Yeah.She nodded a little, satisfied with her decision.Better company, it is.

She climbed back up the embankment."But that better company's gonna have to come

after I find Rat Face and KICK HIS ASS."

Feeling much better, she tucked her hands into her sleeves and whistled a happy tune as

she began a solitary walk down the wooden tracks and towards New York City.

*~*~*~*~*

"Ginny.Wake up.Please"

The words tugged at the edge of her consciousness.But they weren't enough to

completely rouse her.

"Ginny."

She felt a small hand shaking her shoulder."What is it, Lewis?" she mumbled, keeping her

eyes firmly closed.I just lay down.Tell me it's not time to wake up yet.

"C'mon, Ginny!"

This time her brother's high-pitched voice was filled with panic, and her eyes fluttered

open to find their room filled withÉ she blinkedÉ smoke?

"Oh, my God."Alice sat up and pushed her hair from her face."Oh, God. Oh, God.

Something's burning," she said needlessly."There's a fire."

Ginny threw off their covers and scrambled out of bed, not noticing that the floor beneath

her bare feet was unusually warm."I'll get Mama."She looked at Alice for confirmation,

pushing down a wave of fear and dread.

"Go!I'll get the kids dressed."Alice was already hastily wiggling on Lewis' shoes.

Ginny nodded quickly and covered her mouth with her hand.Now that she was on her feet,

the acrid smell and taste made the back of her throat burn and her head was well into the

hazy layer of smoke that covered the top half of the room."I'll be right back to help,

Alice."She spared a glance into the crib, then stopped dead in her tracks. "Helen?" Her

eyes darted around wildly."Helen?"Ginny's normally rich voice cracked on the last word as

she looked at Jane, who was alone in the crib.

The toddler began to whimper as she awoke.

The sound of wagons, nervous horses, and raised, panicky voices floated up from the

street below.

Alice grabbed Lewis' coat from the closet and began to wake James, who was still

oblivious in his peaceful sleep."Mama took Helen out of the crib about an hour ago.She

never brought her back."She didn't have to look up to know that Ginny hadn't moved."

Hurry, Ginny. Go!"

Ginny snapped out of her shock and jerked open their bedroom door.For the first time in

her life she ran into her parents' room without knocking."Mama!Arthur, wake up.There's a

fire."

"What?Oh, no."Her mother shot up out of bed, her eyes wide with disbelief, all traces of

sleep gone in an instant.She had Helen in her arms and awkwardly shifted her nightgown

so that her breast would no longer be exposed.

The baby let out a loud unhappy shriek as her comforting suckling was abruptly ended.

Ginny looked away, embarrassed.

Arthur Robson, Ginny's stepfather, lay stock-still except for the even rise and fall of his

chest.Ginny shook his shoulder vigorously but he only slapped her hand away and

mumbled something unintelligible.

She turned questioning eyes on her mother, who was rummaging through her dresser for

something more suitable than a nightgown and trying to calm Helen's cries. "What's

wrong with him, Mama?"

"He drank too much celebrating the New Year is all.He'll be fine.IÉ I can wake him.Go help

your sister with the other children."She fanned her hand in front of her in a useless

attempt to clear away the smoke. "You need to get out now, Ginny, all of you." She stifled

a cough."Put on your shoes and coat."The older woman wrapped a blanket around Helen

and sat her back on the bed as she dressed."We'll meet you in front of the building."

The older woman suddenly stopped talking and cocked her head towards the

window.Short, quick steps took her across the small room and she grunted as she threw

open the window.A blast of cold air and the sound of distant screams filled the

room.Despite the January air, sweat began to bead on Mrs. Robson's upper lip.Peering

out, she could see flames shooting out of the window from the apartment directly below

theirs and a gathering of men, women, children and fire brigade on the street

below."Sweet Jesus."Wild brown eyes snapped sideways, pinning Ginny, but she spoke

with remarkable calmness."Go and don't stop, Ginny.Get your brothers and sisters and

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