That Old Book Felt Like Magic

 When the two little girls, both named Marlee looked up they saw their mother's faces. One looked stern, the other had a tiny lift on one corner of her bottom lip. "I think we shouldn't giggle any more, My mom has a mad face." "You are probably right, Marlee whispered back. My mom was in a hurry and I forgot to get her a loaf of bread. "I'm sorry Mom. I'll go get the bread right now. Bye, Marlee." She got up and started to push her cart away. Her mother looked at the other lady and said, "Your daughter's name is Marlee? So is mine! That name is fairly rare. I chose that name just because of that." "So did I!" They smiled and both ladies looked at their two daughters. The two little girls didn't know exactly what to expect when one of the ladies said, "Well, I'd better get going. My husband and Marlee's little sister are waiting for me out at the Double D campground." The other lady said, "I know what you mean. I need to get home too. I have a little boy that's hungry. Of course, he's always hungry, she laughed. Wait a minute. Did you say the Double D campground? You aren't by any chance the lady that bought the Double D at the auction a few weeks ago are you? You know, you are kind of famous around these parts."

Marlee's mom shook her head and said, "I'm afraid I am. However, I don't think it will be long before we are going to be able to go back home and get our life back to normal. At least that's what the lawyer told us last week. It was nice meeting you, but we really need to get going."

On the way home Marlee's mom said, "That was kind of neat wasn't it? I am so surprised that you met a little girl who has the same name as you have and is exactly almost to the day the same age as you. Are you  still carrying around that old book? Why do you like it so much, Marlee?"

"I just really like the old pictures in it, Mom. I can't read the writing in it, but it's fun to look at the pictures. I feel good every time I open it up. It's kind of s strange feeling. It's almost like magic. I just know I have to have it with me all the time for some reason." Her mom smiled and said, "That's cool. It has survived many many years and an auction and then that man almost stole it out of the car. I wonder if they ever caught that guy. I heard that he was seen out at the sunflower field at the edge of town. Oh well. I'm glad you like your book. That was two dollars well spent wasn't it?" 

On the way home from the grocery store Marlee's mom said, "Well, you had some fun at the grocery store, didn't you? It's not every day that you meet someone to have fun with while you are supposed to be helping me shop, she laughed. So what all did you talk about except what kind of candy you both liked? Hey, are you asleep? Well, go ahead and take a short nap. We need to get home and get busy making supper. Kyler will attack us when we get home. That boy is always hungry."

Marlee didn't hear her mom because she was dreaming of being a ballerina and unicorns and chickens. Oh yes, her great great grandmother, Allie, had chickens at the Double D Ranch. She saw the pictures in an old book that other new to town Marlee showed to her at the grocery store. She looked a little bit like her...

It All Started In The Candy Aisle

 Marlee and her family had been living in the camper for about three weeks. It was close quarters for four people even though the camper was a big one. Marlee noticed that sometimes her mom and dad were kind of grouchy and so was her sister! She was really grouchy. She constantly wanted to go home. Marlee missed her home too, but the ranch was big and had lots of  cool places and things to see.  She loved the horses and other animals that lived there. Her mom had accidentally bought the ranch at an auction, but soon they would leave to go back home, at least that's what she had been told. Her parents talked a lot about lawyers and paperwork; stuff she didn't understand. Marlee was six years old now and knew that school was starting in just a few days. She really wanted to go back home to be with her friends that she had made in pre-school last year. She hoped all of her friends would be in kindergarten with her too.

She heard her mom say that she was going into town to get some groceries. So Marlee hurried out to the car to go along. She kind of liked the little town that was not too far from the ranch. She had met some girls about her age at the auction and at the cafe. They had invited her to have ice cream with them not too long ago. Grocery shopping used to be fun, but they didn't have a big refrigerator or freezer in the camper so they had to buy small amounts of things more often.

When they got to the grocery store Marlee's mom asked her to get a small basket and look for some bananas and three other things that she and Whitlee would like for snacks. She and Whitlee were going to take a bigger cart and pick up some meat and other larger items. Marlee found the fruit aisle and was about to put some bananas in her basket when her phone rang. It was her mom. "Marlee, please pick up a loaf of bread for me. I'm way on the other side of the store. I'll meet you up front in just a few minutes."

Marlee had passed by the bread aisle when she was looking for the bananas. She quickly turned around and ran right into another little girl that was pushing a grocery cart. "Oh, I am so sorry. I wasn't looking where I was going. Are you okay?"

"The other little girl laughed and said, "Oh sure. I'm the one that was rushing around the store. My mom is waiting for me." Marlee said, "So is mine." The other girl said, "My name is Marlee, what's yours? I haven't seen you in here before." Marlee said, "My name is Marlee too! I don't know anyone named Marlee. I"m six years old and soon will be going to Kindergarten." Marlee said, "I'm six years old too! My birthday is in August." Marlee said, "My birthday is in August too!" Marlee said, "We are living in a camper on the Double D Ranch then we are going home." Marlee said, "We live in a small town, but my grandparents live on a farm. My brother and I love it there." They both giggled and that's where their moms found them several minutes later; giggling and comparing likes and dislikes in the candy aisle. They both had completely forgotten their moms. but would soon discover they had more in common than they knew.

Marlee's Life Was Busy While Grandma Lu Was On Vacation

 Grandma Lu opened the door with a big smile on her face. "Well, my goodness, Marlee. I had no idea you were coming over. Does Grandma B know you are here? Oh good. I'll be glad to see her. Well, come on in. How about a cookie? Great. Now sit down and tell me all about what's been going on in your life while Fran and I were on vacation.  I knew you were going to have your tonsils out. How did that go? Oh, well that happens, but your sore throat is all better now, isn't it? Just think you hopefully won't get sore throats and sick any more. You know my little girl was only four years old when she had hers out. That's been over fifty years ago. Time sure flies by. I can remember that day like it was yesterday. Would you like a glass of water with that cookie? Great.

 No I haven't started another story yet. I've been busy unloading the camper and getting things put away. Sure, I don't see why I couldn't add your picture to a story. That will make it a good memory for you. I still have my daughter's certificate that says she is a member of the Tonsils out club. I probably keep things too long, but they are fun to look at.

Did you and Whitlee go to the Fall Festival? I heard that it was a good one. Your daddy had men sign up for a beard contest? I bet that was fun. Did you go on rides? They are fun aren't they? Did your friends go too? Hopefully, Grandma B has some pictures to show me when she gets here. Oh I see her coming down the sidewalk now.

Grandma Lu gave her friend a big hug and told her to sit while she got her a cup of coffee and a cookie. "So tell me everything that's been going on since I left. Marlee told me a lot about her tonsillectomy and the festival. Oh good. I love pictures. Let me see.

Look at Paisley's funnel cake! Oh my. Those are my very favorite. The float is wonderful. Lady Tigers  celebrating their one hundred fifty years. Imagine that!

This is the month and also next month for fall festivals all over the place! You know Stockton had it's annual Walnut Festival too. I think it was the 62nd. I'm not for sure. But they had beautiful weather. Margaret had her boys there. She sent me a picture. Just a minute. There. They are getting so big too. They looked like they had a ball watching the parade.

You know Marlee, there is another little girl whose name is Marlee in my stories. You might have seen her picture. Her little brother just had his tonsils and adenoids out too. He is doing very well. You kids are tough. He especially likes slushies!

B look. Face painting is a thing isn't it? I don't ever remember face painting when my kids were little. Look this is Regan and here's Myla. It looks like fun.

You know, Marlee, I've been thinking. When I was little and even when I was a grownup there never was anyone I knew with the same name as mine. There aren't very many Marlees either. I think it would be fun to put you and the other Marlee in the same town in Texas. What do you think? She gave Marlee a hug and laughed, "My name hasn't always been Grandma Lu. My real first name is LuAnne. I was named after my two grandmothers.  I'm just about ready to start writing again. Okay. I think next week the two Marlee's just might meet each other in a grocery store. Grocery stores are always a fun place to meet new people. Maybe they will end up being friends. Okay then. How about another cookie? Don't mind if I do.

Grandma Lu Strolls Down Her Own Memory Lane

 Grandma Lu looked lovingly at her computer and whispered, "Not yet. We still have a lot of unloading of the camper to do. Mercy it takes a lot to load and unload a camper. But I sure do love it. It's just like a little house that we can take anywhere we want to. The high school reunion was such fun and of course, I got to see probably for the last time my home town of Cherokee, Iowa. Cherokee has changed a great deal since I was young, not for the best in my opinion. It still was fun to look at the main street and "see" my old hangouts like the Soda Grille and Penny's. So many places are gone, but my memories are still pretty fresh even at my age. She looked at her phone laying on the end table and said, "Okay, just for a minute. I took a lot of pictures, but probably not enough. Oh yes, the very last picture I took. Just look at the fog hovering over Spring Lake the morning that we left the camp ground. It was beautiful with the sun shining and Fran and I nice and warm in our new warm clothes. We had forgotten that Iowa and South Dakota sometimes gets a might chilly this time of year. So we did a bit of shopping; also included were Bing candy bars. The very best treat only made in Iowa!

She smiled as she thought of her time there with her friends from school and a life time friend and her husband. Of course, there has to be hiccups along the way to make memories. Oh yes, there were hiccups. No Wi fi at least not enough to run anything but this little phone. No television, no I Pads. I realized how addicted I had become to the technical world and wasn't happy about that. Of course, after grilling steaks with friends we soon found out we had no hot water! Yes that was a bill I wasn't expecting, but so very happy my little town had a RV repair shop that made house calls. I guess in our new camper the water heater needs to be plugged in! That was an expensive Oops.

There were so many memories that swirled about the cemetery as I decorated my family's graves. I remember the 'no excuse to miss Decoration Day' when I was a teenager. It was a given that we remember those who paved the way for us and that we respect their legacy. That is a tradition that is difficult to do now because of the miles and our ages.

Then on to South Dakota. We took backroads all the way from Cherokee to Flandreau, South Dakota. Oh how I loved it. This little town reminded me of this, and that little town reminded me of that. I was constantly giving Fran a personal history lesson for three hours. He didn't even mind, because he had never been there before. He got to see buffalo grazing in the fields as well as pipestone showing its cream and pink crowns as it had done for centuries. He had no knowledge of that of course, so I proceeded to teach and tell story after story. The Pipestone rock is soft and can only be "harvested" by American Indians that are enrolled in a tribe recognized by the U.S. government. The pink stone is believed by some to represent the blood of their ancestors and that the  land is a sacred place to all tribes. The smoke from the pipes these folks carve from pipestone is believed to carry their prayers to the heavens. Oh there's my Mike standing by the rushing water and pipestone rocks. That was taken about four years ago.

Oh how I remember the house we bought in Flandreau. It had pipestone dust all over the walls and floors. American Indians had lived there before us and made their prayer pipes there. It was not easy to wash away. It took a lot of family members to help clean before it could be painted.

There's pictures of Carolyn and Gary. We hadn't seen each other for so many years. The last time was at my children's father's funeral, but like she said it seemed like yesterday. We laughed and reminisced the hours away. Oh how good the banana sour cream cake was that she had made for Gary's birthday. I must get that recipe.

Then trip to another cemetery to decorate my late husband's grave. I whispered, "This is only goodbye for now."

On the way back home we took the interstate. The memories I had for those roads were of going to Sioux Falls shopping while the guys watched their football games. There were hurried trips back and forth to Sioux Falls or to see my family in Sioux City, Iowa to celebrate holidays or in times of illness. Mainly my only thoughts of those trips was to keep my speed within the 80 MPH speed limit. Oh I did find myself going a bit over occasionally. She chuckled to herself when she thought of the "boat" of a car that would go as fast as she wanted it to.

 I caught myself frequently looking through Fran's window thinking that we were driving parallel to those old back roads that held so many memories for me. It was a bittersweet trip for sure. 

As Grandma Lu put her phone down she looked at one last picture and grinned. "Not too many people can say they attended their sixtieth high school reunion in their home town. A town that her ancestors helped to settle so many years ago. It was such fun, but now it's time to sweep out the camper and plan next year's trip."

As she got out her broom and dustpan she heard a knock on the door. One of her favorite little girls had come to visit!

Grandma Lu Reminisces And Pats Her Computer Goodbye For Awhile

 "That little girl isn't my real granddaughter, but I worry about her like she is. She will be just fine, but she's so little." She shook her head as she headed back to her computer. She saw the cowboy hat laying on the chair and grinned. "I have such fun writing stories for Marlee and now her little sister. Of course, over the years she has had lots of children and grownups join her in her adventures. It's been such  fun. And Marleewood! Now that was the perfect place for making friends, getting your hair done and even your picture taken. Marlee had her own cooking show there. It had a huge community room where her friends and parents and grandparents would sometimes listen to Grandma Lu tell stories. Oh and the parties they had! The best room that it had though was the Quiet Room. Oh what a perfect place. A place with a bay window, book shelves and of course, an easy chair to just rest and unwind. Oh how I loved Marleewood. However, things change, the world changes as well as the people. Folks get old and children grow up, just look at Marlee. She was sixteen months old and in a stroller for her first story. Since then she has been on one adventure after another. Now she is starting a new adventure of her own, not one that I write for her. She's in school now and she will make friends and together they will have their own stories to share. 

Grandma Lu sat down in front of her computer and thought, "I really don't have time to write another chapter for Marlee today. Fran is anxious to get the camper ready for our trip. I guess I am too. It will be such fun to go see the "kids" I graduated from high school with over sixty years ago. I can't forget to put my year books in the camper." 

She went to the cupboard where she kept her year books and her ancient scrapbooks and grinned. "Not a wrinkle on that eighteen year old face in those days. Oh well, I'm sure my classmates have a few wrinkles too."

"Okay computer. I'll be back in a couple of weeks and we will get back to the Next Generation on the Double D Dude Ranch." She shut her computer down, patted  the edge of her desk and thought, "Okay, old girl. Get packin'. You just might have an adventure of your own!"

The Neighbors And A Visit With Grandma Lu

 He sat on the fence post thinking. His dad called it pondering. "I don't know where that word came from, probably from the olden days he talks about sometimes. I have a lot to think about. I think about the future sometimes. Will I still be sitting on this same fence post for the rest of my life? I hope I still live here for a very long time. I love this ranch. My brother loves the ranch too, but his dream is so different than mine. He loves horses, I love cattle." He chuckled to himself as he watched his dad's cattle move slowly where they were supposed to go, complaining as they were moved from place to place. "What would the ranch sound like without the sounds of these guys? I can't imagine it." He also thought about the Double D Ranch which bordered his dad's. "That's a mess if you ask me. I heard the auction was one in a million. Two folks bidding on it. One wanted it in the worst way to raise horses like it was meant to be and the other bid on it by mistake. I heard Dad say they decided to be partners until one could buy out the other one. That should work if  those city folks move down here. I heard stories about that place being haunted years ago. Said that there were all kinds of ghosts running around over there. Crazy stories folks come up with."

Jasper loved his horse. In fact he loved most horses. There was always a lot of work to do on the ranch he and his brother lived on, but he was thinking he might ask if he could ride over to the new neighbor's ranch; the Double D. He wondered if they were going to change the ranch's name. It had been the Double D for years. In fact for as long as he could remember he had heard older people refer to the ranch as the Double D. "I guess that place got into trouble because they didn't pay the taxes and they had to sell it or lose it to the state of Texas. Dad said that there were now two owners. One of the owners loved horses like him, He wanted to meet them and ask them a lot of questions. "I wonder if they have kids. That would be neat if they had some boys. Q and I could use a few new friends, especially if they liked horses," he chuckled to himself.

He looked up and saw his brother riding over. "Hey, Dad said that we could ride over to the Double D if you want to. He said we could take a break from chores this morning to meet the new neighbors. I guess Mom and Dad are going over too. Want to ride over?"

Jasper was eager to go. He quickly agreed and soon they were on their way. Jasper wanted to see the horses and Q wanted to see if they had boys their age and of course, a break from chores was always welcome.

                                                       ******

"Grandma Lu, you look funny. How come you are wearing a cowboy hat and doing weird stuff with your hands? asked Marlee as she watched her typing on her computer. You have my picture on your computer. I was really little then, wasn't I?" She received a big laugh and Grandma Lu said, "Where did you come from? I didn't hear the doorbell. In answer to your question I'm writing the story that you wanted to be in. Remember? The ranch in Texas? I thought you did. Well sometimes, even a lot of times I dress up like the story I write to get me in the mood. Do I look like a cowgirl, Marlee? No. Well, doggone it. Did you see where I put your picture wearing a hat in the story? I thought if Marlee and her mom and dad can wear a cowboy hat so can I. You funny girl. Come here and give me a hug. Where is Grandma B? I'm assuming she is out in my kitchen brewing up some coffee. Let's go see."

Grandma B took a look at her old friend and laughed. "You really get into your stories, don't you? Silly woman. I took the liberty of getting the coffee made. I even brought you over some cookies. Fran said you were busy writing the stories in your office. Marlee and I have some news to tell you."

Of course, Grandma Lu was interested in the news. "Okay, what's up? Oh, I see. Well, I'm sure you will feel better afterwards. Look at it this way, Marlee. You will get popsicles and ice cream to make your throat feel better. Remember when you lost your tooth how the popsicle made it feel better? It may be a little sore afterwards, but you will be fine. My little girl had her tonsils out when she was four years old. You have pictures? Oh good let me see. Is it okay if I show them to our friends? Great. Look how cute you are all gowned up. I'm so glad you and your family got to look at the hospital so now you know exactly what to expect. 

 When you are resting you can read the stories with your family. In my stories you and your family are going to be living on a ranch for awhile. I'll make sure that you and Whitlee will have a lot of fun. Okay so tell me how was your first day of school? Oh I'm so glad you love school and are making friends. Okay, pass the cookies, B, My sweet tooth is waiting! I can eat cookies, drink coffee and listen to Marlee all at the same time. They call that multitasking!" They all laughed because they heard Grandma Lu say that lots of times. While they were laughing she was thinking, "I wonder if I should have her start school in Texas and where is that pesky crook that was in the sunflower field. I know where the older woman is. And the auctioneer's wife is going to get in so much trouble... Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't hear what you were saying, B. My mind might have wandered off a bit. That's called a senior moment, you know," she chuckled and as she looked out her kitchen window she knew just what she was going to write as soon as her company left.

Her friend looked at her granddaughter and they both smiled. Grandma Lu was at it again. 

Answers To The Mystery May Be In Marlee's Journal

 On the way back out to the ranch Marlee asked questions about sunflowers. She said she knew they had bright yellow leaves on them. She had seen them in Grandma Lu's kitchen. "Grandma Lu has a lot of sunflowers at her house, doesn't she?" They all talked about Grandma Lu and a member of their family who also loved sunflowers. "There's all kinds of stories sometimes called legends about sunflowers. They love the sun and always bend to reach their faces towards the sun as much as they can." 
"You mean flowers can move their heads like we do?" Marlee's mom chuckled and said, "Not like we do, but the sunflower always reaches for the sun. That's where it got it's name. Then the brown middle we see is where all the seeds are. They are very good for birds to eat and lots of things are made from them. It seems to me that the seeds are full of Vitamin E which is really good for us. They make oil and feed for birds and large farm animals if I remember right. I think I saw a bar of sunflower soap at that little store in town. Those sunflower farms must be a big deal around here; interesting."

Marlee had been looking through her old book that was in the box she had bought at the auction. "Look at this picture, Mom. Isn't that a picture of a little girl with some sunflowers? It's black and white so I can't tell for sure."

"Yes, it does look like sunflowers. That picture is really old. You have your two dollars worth of fun looking at all the old pictures in that book, don't you? Okay, let's get the car unloaded and put things away. We can explore the ranch tomorrow how does that sound?" She looked at her husband and saw the worry on his face. "I am never going to another auction as long as I live," she thought to herself.

                                  ******

 The newspaper reporter had taken a picture of two little girls that had found the alarm clocks out at the sunflower field. They both were so happy with their prize, but most of all that they had solved the puzzle by guessing the clue. 

Arie had also guessed the puzzle, but had decided she really didn't need the clock because she already had one. The owner of the sunflower farm gave her some sunflower soap to take home and a free ticket to come back anytime that they were open. She was thrilled. Her little sister had found a silver pocket watch in the dirt and loved it. However her mom wasn't sure that they should keep it. She told her little girl that they needed to take it to the sheriff's office to see if anyone had lost it before she could keep it.

                                                          *****

He quit running and hid in the sunflower field. He listened and watched as the little girl walked away with the pocket watch. He knew that it was very valuable and would bring him a tidy sum; maybe enough to retire on or at least buy him a decent car. When he heard that the mother was going to turn it in to the sheriff he decided to go to the sheriff's office later in the day and tell him that he had lost a valuable pocket watch of his grandfather's. "This is easy pickins," he grinned as he made his way back into town.  However, the older woman was way ahead of him. She had called the sheriff's office and said that she had lost her grandmother's pocket watch out at the sunflower farm. If anyone turned it in she would sure like it back. She would send a driver to pick it up.

                                                                              ******

The auctioneer's wife was so happy. She had gotten the job as a delivery person. She would have extra spending money to do as she wished; just for herself. It wasn't a lot, but she loved the feeling of independence. And the job was so easy! Today she just had to go to the sheriff's office and pick up a package for her new boss. "Yes! I love my new job!"

The Sunflower Field

 Marlee's mom had been keeping one eye on her daughters and a careful lookout for her husband. There had been a thief in the trunk of their car. "What have I done? I should never suggested going to that auction. I probably should never even suggested going to Texas. What a mess we are in. I bought part of a ranch by mistake and already we probably have been robbed in the first half hour of being in town. I can't wait to get home, but that's not an option for a few days. Hopefully we both have jobs when we get back. Oh good, there he is now. Girls, come here. Dad is outside. Let's go see what he has to say."

Marlee's dad said that the sheriff had chased the man to the edge of town and then lost him. "I guess there is a huge sunflower farm north of here. He told me that this time of year in the northern part of Texas that there are many sunflower farms. People love to go there and have their pictures taken. Some of them are tourist attractions for families. It's up to you. If you want to drive out there to see if we can find a man whose face we have never seen or just go out to the camper and relax. We have food in the car. He didn't take anything out of the back seat. It looks like he only rummaged through the box of junk that Marlee bought at the auction. Sorry, girl. I know you spent your money on it, but there are still some things left in the box. We can go through it when we get back to the campground. Okay?"

                                                                 ***********

Arie and her sister were so excited to go to the sunflower farm. They were going to have the best time. On the way Arie talked about the new girls that they had met at the cafe. "Marlee seemed nice, but she doesn't think that they will stay very long. I guess they live a long ways away. It would be nice if they decided to move here. We are about the same age. I think I'm a little older and I could show her around. Oh look, there are the sunflowers. Aren't they just beautiful?"

"They sure are girls. They have lots of things to do here. They even have a petting zoo.  Just remember don't go wondering away. I sure don't want you getting lost. Let's go see the animals okay?"

Arie and her sister decided that the sheep were the most fun and they loved feeding them the food that the farmer gave them. However, they both wanted to go into the sunflower fields. They were told that in the first field there was a treasure. Whoever found it would get their picture in the newspaper. They were so excited. Soon they found themselves deep into the field of the beautiful yellow sunflowers. Soon Arie wasn't able to see her little sister. "Mom! Where is Ally? I can't see her anywhere? Mom!"

"Don't worry. I can see her. See if you can find the treasure. Let me tell you again what the clue was. Okay now listen to this. "My job is to put an end to sleep. Which I do with music, a buzz, or a beep." What do you think that could be?" Arie giggled and said, "I think it's an alarm clock! Let's look for an alarm clock, Ally. Maybe we will get our pictures in the newspaper." Her little sister shook her head and said, "No. I want this. It's so pretty. It's a clock too. It's just my size and I'm going to keep it."

"See, look. Isn't it pretty? I can see myself in it. It's like a tiny mirror."

Ally's mom said, "I'd like to take a look at that, Alyviah. Where did you find this? Really? Out here in the field. Hmm, now I'm a little confused. I thought for sure that Arie was right, that the prize was an alarm clock. Well, for now you can keep it. It's so beautiful out here. We can stay for awhile longer. If there is an alarm clock out here surely someone will find it. Maybe it will be one of you girls."

A young woman was going to have her senior pictures taken as soon as the photographer got here. She walked through the field of flowers smiling. She knew a lady that said that sunflowers looked like they were always smiling and made her happy. She agreed. Just as she leaned over to take in their woodsy fragrance she found herself falling. "Ouch! How rude is that? Who were those people? They just ran right into me; didn't say sorry and didn't even stop!"                                                                        

                                                   

If You Want To Be My Friend Then Take Me By My Hand

 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."