Chapter Three
Brenda’s heart racedas she stepped onto the train, her hand gripping the worn leather handle of her carpet bag tightly. The steam hissed and the metal beast seemed to beckon her forward with a promise of new beginnings. Excitement bubbled up inside her, and she watched the other girls who were all so nervous about the prospect of their marriages.
“Here we go,” she whispered to herself.
“Right behind you, Brenda,” Amy said.
The wooden benches in the train car were hard and unyielding, but Brenda barely noticed as she settled next to Amy. Across from them sat Mrs. Jackson and Elizabeth Tandy, both beacons of maternal warmth and professional poise. Mrs. Jackson’s gray curls peeked out from her bonnet, a soft smile on her lips, while Elizabeth looked every inch the matchmaker in her crisp blouse and skirt, her green eyes dancing with secrets of the heart.
“Mrs. Tandy?” Brenda began, eager to ask some questions. “I think this whole matchmaking business is quite an adventure.”
“Yes, it has its moments. Now, sit back. We’ve got a long ride ahead.”
“Mrs. Jackson,” Amy asked, “do you think it’ll be very hot in Fort Worth? All I’ve ever heard about Texas is how very hot it is.”
“Hotter than you can imagine,” Mrs. Jackson said. “I’ve never been, but it’s all I’ve heard about Texas as well.”
“Good thing we’re not made of sugar,” Brenda said, her eyes twinkling. “We won’t melt too easily.”
“Speak for yourself,” Amy said. “I’m as sweet as you are sour.”
Brenda laughed, playfully elbowing Amy. “That wasn’t sweet!”
“I never said I was perfect,” Amy said.
“I can see you two are going to do just fine. But to answer your previous question, Fort Worth’s heat is overwhelming, but the community you’ll be part of there is absolutely wonderful,” Elizabeth said. “You’ll see what I mean when we arrive. I went out there because I was in danger, and I married my husband along the way. My sister was our hostess, and she invited us to go to church with them. It was just lovely.”
The clack of the train against the tracks set a rhythm to their journey, each click a step closer to what might be the biggest change in Brenda’s life. She watched the world blur by through the open window, the wind tangling her blond hair as she leaned into the possibility of love and companionship.
“Adventure awaits, doesn’t it?” Brenda mused aloud, more to herself than anyone else.
“Indeed, it does,” Elizabeth agreed.
As the train chugged toward Fort Worth, Brenda felt the threads of her old life begin to loosen, making way for the tapestry of tales yet to be woven under the vast Texas sky.
*****
