2Nicole Evangeline Pascal gazed out the window as the train crossed the Columbia River. The rhythmic bumping-clacking noise was soothing, and the sun was sparkling on the water. Nicky felt content.
"Hey, Mom," she suddenly interjected, disrupting her mother's apparent deep reverie. "Did you know that we're crossing a swing bridge? It swings to the side to let boats pass, like that." Nicky mimicked the bridge's motion with her arms.
"It's pretty darn old, though," a passenger sitting in front of her remarked, turning around. Nicky stared at his rough, salt-and-pepper beard and the friendly wrinkles at the corners of his eyes. "You know, a lot of mariners out there wanna see this thing replaced. Takes a long time to move a swing bridge outta the way, and they don't wanna wait."
"Nicky dear, it's not polite to stare," her mother whispered discreetly.
Nicky made an effort to refocus her eyeballs. "I like bridges," she told the stranger. "Specially moving ones. So what are they going to replace it with, some kind of vertical-lift mechanism?"
The stranger shrugged. "Probably. I dunno that much about it. I just know that I'm hearin' people complain."
"So you live around here?" Nicky asked.
"Yeah. I'm on my way home. I live over in Vancouver."
"Oh, then you'll be getting off soon?"
"Yeah."
"Darn it," Nicky said, exaggerating the disappointment on her face. "You're the first person who's talked to me on this whole trip. Even my own mother and sisters won't talk to me." She shot a playful glare toward the seat beside her, where her sister Mandey was fast asleep on her mother's lap. "My other sister's over there," she explained, gesturing across the aisle. "She's sixteen and she won't talk to anyone. And of course, most of the other passengers aren't interested in making conversation with some strange thirteen-year-old kid."
The old man laughed. "So what's that make me, then?"
"It makes you special," Nicky told him.
Faith Pascal watched this exchange with amusement, and once again said a silent prayer of gratitude. Her middle daughter was so happy and innocent, so different from other junior high kids. It was a mystery to Faith how Nicky managed to stay unscarred through all the tragedy that had befallen the Pascal family, but she was too thankful to question it.
Faith's dear husband, Tobias, had passed away five years ago. Neither Faith nor her eldest daughter had ever been the same since. Mandey had only been a year old, so she didn't even remember her father. Nicky had grieved intensely for a while, but she soon metamorphosed into the happy, carefree creature she was now. Eleven-year-old Lauren, however, became moody and withdrawn. Now she was sixteen, with hormones in full swing, and her mother worried that Lauren would be exceptionally vulnerable to the temptations of teenagerhood.
And now was an especially difficult time for the entire family. While Tobias was alive, his salary as a civil engineer had enabled them to live comfortably, with few financial worries. Faith, however, hadn't finished college, and the meager wages she earned through doing unskilled labor weren't quite enough to support the four of them. The house payments in particular were a burden, but Faith hesitated to leave the place where she and Tobias had known so much happiness. So she sold the car and both computers and many other expensive possessions, thus managing to alleviate their financial stresses, but only for the first few years. Then she tried to convince Lauren to get a job, but the girl had refused, insisting that she'd much rather move. Eventually the Pascals had sunk so deeply into debt that they had no choice.
They sold the house for a decent price, but after paying off their debts they had very little left with which to buy a new home. Faith prayed fervently that she'd be able to find an inexpensive yet nice place that was big enough to house all four of them. Then, like a miracle, an advertisement had shown up in the mail. Faith had nearly thrown it out, thinking it was junk; fortunately she'd accidentally dropped it on her way to the trash. When she bent to pick it up, she finally noticed what it was offering: a very nice chapel that had been converted into a home. It was owned by the Millard Center for Christian Learning and was every bit as large as the Pascals' current house, but its price tag was only $30,000. Amazed, Faith immediately called the number on the advertisement and spoke with a very friendly-sounding woman. She assured her that it was no scam and invited them up to see the house for themselves. If they found it acceptable, she would sell it to them right away.
The only problem was that their prospective new home was located in the state of Washington … and the Pascals lived in Kansas. So Faith bought four train tickets and arranged for the movers to wait until she called to confirm that the move was indeed taking place. Now the family was on their way, just now crossing into Washington, and Faith was anxiously wondering what the future held for all of them.
The train finally arrived at the station where Nicky's new aged friend was to get off. Faith thanked him for entertaining her daughter, who was at the moment waving good-bye vigorously. When the man had disembarked, Nicky turned to her mother. "Now can't you talk to me? You've been doing nothing but thinking for an awful long time."
Faith smiled. "Of course. Why don't you tell me what you are thinking?"
"Oh, I've been thinking about bridges, and trains, and about how exciting this whole thing is. I mean, we're going to live in a church! It's got to be an adventure."
"We don't know yet if we're going to live there, sweetheart. Although … " Faith sighed. "I really don't think we have much choice in the matter. If this place is livable in at all, it seems to be our only option."
"Yeah! And it'll be fun. A whole new place, with new people, and everything. What school will I go to?"
"I expect you'll be going to the local public junior high, although I can't remember off the top of my head what district we'll be part of."
"Well, it'll be fun anyhow. I can't wait."
"I'm sure you'll have no trouble making friends," Faith said, smiling.
"Oh yeah. Although I won't forget Lily and Tianna. I'll write to them every month and call them at least every week. Do you think we'll be able to get a computer again anytime soon? I'd love to be able to IM them."
"We'll see. If not, in a couple more years you'll be able to get a job and then you can save up for one yourself."
"Oh yay! I can't wait."
"You already said that," Faith reminded her.
"Well, I can't wait for any of it! So many possibilities for the future … and right now all I'm doing is riding in this train and thinking about them."
"I thought you said you liked trains."
"I do," Nicky insisted. "It's the sitting-down-all-the-time part that I don't like."
"So get up and walk around a bit."
Nicky sighed and went to explore the adjacent cars. Faith glanced down at Mandey, who was still zonked out on her lap. She smiled, then stared out the window and asked God to give them all as much hope and anticipation for the future as he'd given Nicky.