Going Away Present

The train bumped and jostled as it went along the tracks. There was hardly any room for luggage, amidst all the passengers, so Liza held her bag to her chest. Her little brother, Toby, sat next to her, his suitcase underneath his rear, giving him the extra height needed to see out the window.

“When will we be out of the city?” He asked, little legs swinging above the floor. “When will we get there?”

Liza laughed, ruffling his hair. “Soon, I promise.” She wasn’t too sure, but as this was their last ride to the country she had to assume they were close.

The whole journey had started when their mother sat them down in the living room and told them something very important. She was going off to work miles and miles away, and for a month or two, the children were to stay with their grandmother in Oregon.

Toby, naturally, was excited for the change in scenery and the chance to see their grandma again. “She makes the best cookies,” He had enthused. Liza, however, was angry. She felt her mother had abandoned them, had thrown them upstate so she could pursue another interest. Something more important than her children.

The 14-year-old knew this was false, her mother didn’t like to leave them, but she needed the work and the money. Still, there was no proof of love in sending her kids away from their lives and leaving to go the other direction.

Her father wouldn’t have done it, she thought. But she knew in the back of her mind that he kind of did. Her mother divorced him when Liza was young, and he lost custody, but she didn’t know if he wanted to get it in the first place. From what her mother said, he didn’t seem like the kind of person to try.

Both her parents didn’t want her, so what? She had Toby, and of course, she had her grandmother. She didn’t anything more. When she was little and her parents were still together, grandma was the first to ask about her day, or to offer her sweets, or to propose a day at the fair. She was awesome, and Liza knew the summer would be spent full of fun, even without her mother there.

For now, she would just have to swallow the bad taste of betrayal, still lingering on her tongue, and enjoy her last views of the city. The buildings, higher in the air than the smog, and the people, bustling around like they were the most important people in the world. Maybe they were, Liza didn’t know.

She did know she would miss her friends though. As much as she loved the country, nothing beat prank calling or talking about the latest episode of Supernatural with the girls. Plus, the summer was going to be her first chance to get a real boyfriend or girlfriend.

She had a crush on a boy named Bryce, and he had gotten hired at the pool as a lifeguard. All she needed was a good swimsuit, an all-summer pass, and the courage to jump off the diving board. Then she was sure to get his attention, if not his number. But no, instead she was headed off to sleepy-town Oregon, where the only cute boys were babies.

Liza sighed, though no one could hear over the chatter of everyone in the train car. She looked over to Toby, his big eyes peering out at the fast-moving city outside. She wished to be that innocent again, where going to grandma’s just meant a trip to grandma’s, not an excuse to be left by their mother. Sadly, she was older than ten and knew the world wasn’t so sweet.

“You want to play a game?” She turned around to see out the window. “I spy, with my little eye, something green.”

She had Toby’s attention. He looked wildly around, in the train car, out in the city, at his own clothes. “That lady’s purse?” He pointed at a big woman with an even bigger hat. She was clutching a lizard textured handbag.

Liza shook her head. “Nope. You want a hint?” She laughed at her brother’s over-excited nodding. “Ok, it’s next to a boy.”

He looked around again, at the mixture of unique personalities that made up the train car. “That plane!” His finger led to a pudgy-faced little boy, swinging a toy airplane around his head. The kids laughed as his mother scolded him for being rowdy.

“Not the plane.” She smirked, looking away. “It might be closer than you think…” She made eye contact with him.

“Your eyes!” He laughed as Liza ruffled his hair again. “Ok, my turn.”

They played the game until they were out of the city, at which point more than half the train had been emptied. There were definitely some funny moments, involving some funny people. There was a man whose shirt and pants were on inside out, and twin little girls in matching twin braids, who spoke at the exact same time. But they had left a while before, and now Toby laid his head in Liza’s lap, taking a nap while he could. She put their suitcases on her other side, against the divider between her seat and the doorway. She looked out at the world tiredly.

The sky was the beginnings of night and the grass swayed as the train moved past. The sun, nearly set beneath the horizon, reflected on the trees and occasional pond. She would miss the city, but the quiet was nice. It really was a lot more beautiful, too. Liza thought to wake up Toby, he had wanted to see the country, after all, but decided against it. He was blissfully asleep and she wanted to keep the peace.

Besides, it was dark and she really didn’t think the kid would appreciate it as much. He liked bears and cowboys, not sunsets and ponds. Liza figured she could enjoy this without him. It was almost like a little going away present. A going-away present, to herself.