Harleigh had stopped in the cafe for a soda and watched the folks react to the strangers that walked in the door. As usual they stared at them and didn't even say hi. She rubbed the back of her neck and thought, "We moved down here when I was just a kid. Mom had made reservations at the Double D but when we got there they weren't ready for us. The lady was nice. I think Allie was her name. She said that we could park our camper at the old campground. That was a trip. It hadn't been used for years, but we had fun. There was no electricity so it was a little spooky. It was the first time we had ever had a camper. Mom forgot salt and butter. The food wasn't too good, but we sure made some fun memories. I can remember hearing and seeing all kinds of animals in the timber and of course, working on the ranch. It was hard work, but I learned to ride a horse there. Oh it was such fun. It didn't take long to not feel like the new kid on the block. She and her husband were such nice folks. Wait, what's going on outside?" She ran to the door along with a lot of other customers and watched as the new man chased another man down the sidewalk. "Wow, that's not usually how we make new folks welcome around here. Wonder what that was all about. I'm going to call Mom. Hopefully she still has her shoes on. The auction pretty much wore her out; and me. Elephant umbrella stands. Good grief the stuff she buys."
"Mom, get your shoes on and grab your glasses. I don't know! They are probably on top of your head! I'm coming over to get you. There's some excitement in town. Looks like someone robbed the new owners of the Double D right in front of the cafe. Yup, grab your pad and pencil. I'll have my cell phone to take some pictures for you. Why don't you ever buy a cell phone? No time to argue now. Maybe we can get some interesting copy for your column. I'll call the sheriff; then I'll be right over."
As Harleigh pulled away she noticed two little girls standing by the cafe looking a little lost. "I think those two kids belong to the new owners. It's just a shame, yes just a shame. From what I heard before I left the cafe is that the robber took something that that oldest one bought at the auction. Maybe we can get some details and put a notice in the paper. That's one thing the folks in this town do. They help the sheriff. Between mom's article and the sheriff hopefully we can find that guy and get back whatever he stole. Poor kid."
"Hi! My name is Arieanna. Do you want an ice cream cone? Why don't you come back inside and meet my friends. One of them said that she saw you at the auction out at the Double D. It's okay. My mom said that it would be good if you and your sister came back inside to wait for your parents. I'm sorry that a bad man stole something from you."
Marlee and Whitlee went back inside the cafe. There were two girls sitting at a booth. One had ice cream and gave them a big smile. The other girl Marlee recognized right away. She had been at the auction. She smiled back and sat down with them. A grownup lady said, "Hi girls. Order what you want. You can visit with Myla and Paisley while you wait for your parents to come back in."
Adalynn was sitting at another booth with her mom. "I know that new girl over there, Mom. She was at the Double D today. I talked to her a little bit then she had to go. She said she was on vacation. I wonder why those other girls are talking to her. I wonder if that little girl is her sister. " Her mom smiled and said, "I wonder too." She looked at her mom and said, "What? What do you wonder?"
She looked at her young daughter and said, "I wonder why you don't go over there and sit with those girls. I remember when I was new at a new school in a new town. It was hard because everyone thought that since I was new I wouldn't make a good friend. So you know what I finally decided?" Adalynn looked at her mom with a really serious look and said, "No. What did you do?" She couldn't imagine her mom without a lot of friends let alone being little like she was.
"One day I felt really sad at school. No one would sit with me because I was new. The lunch ladies even had ice cream that day. There I sat eating my ice cream all by myself. I wanted to run home to my mama and never come back. I can almost remember that my tummy was so upset that the ice cream didn't even taste good. Then I remembered a story I heard. Your grandma read me a book when I was a lot younger. It was a book about a little train. I don't remember the name of the book, but the train didn't think he could do stuff like the big trains could until he had to one day. You see he was just a little engine, but he had a lot of cars full of toys and good food for little boys and girls to eat. The bad part was that the boys and girls lived way up high on a mountain. He just knew he would never be able to pull all of those loaded down cars up that steep mountain. He didn't know what he was going to do. So he decided that he could do it because he had to do it.. He fired up his little engine and took a big deep breath and said, "I think I can. I think I can." He said that over and over until he realized that he could do anything that he set his mind to because he had reached the top of the mountain! You see he might have been little, but he also was a good friend to little boys and girls that he didn't even know. Isn't that a good story? I know you can be a good friend too to some little girls that look like they really need a friend today. What do you think?" Addie grinned and said, "Is it okay if I go over there with the girls and have my ice cream with the new girls too?"
The lady behind the counter had been listening to the story and smiled as she saw other parents and grandparents urge their little ones to go say hi to the new girls. "What the future holds for this new family is unsure to say the least, but the age old story of The Little Engine That Could made her think of once she was the new woman, not girl. This town is a little hard to earn your place in if you weren't born here," She grinned to herself and thought of her first day at the grocery store. Mercy, what a day."
Traditionally the little engine that could is related to having courage to do things that you don't think that you are capable of, however, I like the take that he was a very good friend to little boys and girls and he didn't know them at all, he just knew that they needed him. We will hear the stories of so many people in the little town that is just down the road of the Double D Ranch. Thanks for reading.
ReplyDeletecute. That is teue its so hard when your the new kid in town.
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