A loud knock came at the door. It opened on squealing hinges, and Alfie Hannigan poked his head inside. He didn’t bother smiling. They’d already had a long day and night.
“The dining car is going to close. If we want to eat something, it needs to be now,” Alfie said.
Elias waved a hand in frustrated dismissal. “Not now.”
“Thank you, Alfie. I’ll have whatever you’re having. I’ll settle up with you later,” Malcolm said.
“Your mother gave us money to cover it,” Alfie revealed.
Elias looked irritated. “Oh, did she? Fine, then. Get me something hearty, and whiskey to wash it down.”
A moment ago, he had been criticizing their mother for treating everyone like a servant, and here he was, the apple falling so close to the tree. Malcolm felt like he’d never seen his brother so clearly.
“I’ll come with you,” Violet said, striding toward Alfie. “Give these two a chance to continue their conversation.”
The chickens erupted with complaint as Violet passed them, as if angry she would dare come so near. When she was gone and Alfie closed the door behind them, the birds settled down. Malcolm watched them, wondering what to say to his brother, wishing Elias had stayed with whatever woman he’d charmed most recently. He’d always been good at presenting the illusion of a man on his way up—the better to fool hopeful young women, so they’d have no idea they had tied themselves to an anchor on the plunge.
“I don’t like the way you’re looking at me, little brother,” Elias said.
“I don’t like the way you’ve got me thinking about you, big brother.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Interpret it how you like. We grew up in the same house, in the same circumstances. You’ve been running away from family and responsibility your whole life, and Jennie’s no better. You left me to hold it together.”
Elias turned to press his cheek against Maggie’s crate. “You hear that, Mags? Baby boy’s a martyr now. I guess he never realized war wasn’t the only way to leave Elkhart.”
“Someone had to be there for her,” Malcolm said. “She deserved that much.”
Elias sagged against the crate. He seemed so diminished, like a snowman under warm sun. “You made a choice. I didn’t make the same one. I was looking out for myself, and I’m not gonna deny that. Life goes by fast.”
“You married Violet and left her there to rot. That wasn’t her choice.”
“Itwasher choice! She didn’t have to stay.” Elias’s eyes flashed with anger. “Anyway, what’s it to you?”
Malcolm wanted to tell him. The words were there on the tip of his tongue. But he loved Violet enough to know she’d want to have a say in the matter, and his hesitation gave him a moment to acknowledge that now was not the time.
Those were the thoughts in Malcolm’s head.
Elias narrowed his eyes, studying his brother. “Hang on. Whatisit to you?”
“Maggie’s dead,” Malcolm replied, chin up. “You and Jennie can’t be bothered to give a damn. Violet’s the only family I’ve got left.”
The goat bleated as if in agreement. The brothers locked eyes, each trying to read more deeply into the other’s words and intentions. As boys, they had been the best of friends and worst of enemies, changing minute by minute, but nobody had known Elias the way Malcolm did, nor Malcolm the way Elias did. The years had attempted to erase that understanding, but Malcolm peered at his brother and wondered if people ever truly changed. Had Elias always been selfish and bitter?
Elias pressed his cheek against Maggie’s crate again. “This is what comes from living with you, Mags. People get a little stir-crazy. Malcolm must’ve been a good soldier after taking ordersfrom you all his life. He killed some people, saw foreign lands, almost died, and he still came back to report for duty in Elkhart.”
“You’re such a prick.” Malcolm glanced at the door, wondering how long Alfie and Violet would be.
“Hush.” Elias listened, ear against the crate. Then he shrugged. “No answer from the late, great Maggie Wise.”
The baggage car rattled over the train tracks. Chickens scratched and clucked. The doors clanked in their frames, and rain pattered the roof. Somewhere a ringing bell at a railroad crossing warned an empty road that the Imperial Limited was coming.
Inside the crate, something scratched at the wood. Malcolm hadn’t been sure Elias heard it before, but now there could be no mistaking. His brother stiffened, brow furrowing, and then he turned to stare at the crate. Elias glanced over at Malcolm and back at the crate, then put his ear to the wood again. Malcolm had thought only he heard the sounds from the crate, that perhaps they existed only in his head. Now he wondered why Violet and Alfie hadn’t heard them but Elias did.
The train cars swayed and creaked. The new sounds inside the crate might have been the first few notes of “I’ll Be Seeing You,” or just the clank of metal.
Elias stared at him. “That’s…”
