Midnight Train

Chapter 2

I glance down at the clock on the dashboard. It's after 9:30. I can tell my children are getting sleepy, as they are normally in bed by 8:00. At least, that's when I try to have them in bed. However, they are still determined to see where we were going. To keep themselves occupied, Bex and Sam start a thumb war and Atlanta is singing random songs. Soon off-key renditions of "Old McDonald Had a Farm" or the sudden burst of yelling when one of the other two would lose. Either James or I would tell them to quiet down when they get too rowdy, or when Atlanta's musical numbers get a little obnoxious.

Many yells and off key songs later, we pull into the train station. At least my sanity would survive another day. These kids were the reason I'd go gray. James and I unbuckle our seatbelts before stepping out to gather the rambunctious children.

"Mom. Where are we?" Sam asks.

"The train station, Sam."

"Do we get to ride the train to get there?" Bex asks eagerly, probably envisioning a fancy restaurant or five star hotel. I guess she assumed I'd always been a semi-influential person. I always had kept high class company and always wore evening dresses whenever we had company. Truth be told, this life was new I me.

"We're already here. This is where your father and I go on our anniversary."

"What?! Why?" Bex asks, astonished, her image completely shattered.

"We'll tell you once we get on the train," James tells her, effectively silencing the never-ending flood of questions we'd be faced with. He takes Bex and Sam by the hands and I pick up Atlanta. Then we walk into the station.

There, the place is full of people. The kids shrink closer to James and I. Because of the fame of their father, we get stopped often whenever we go out. Normally people want an autograph or a picture, though there is the odd gem. I remember when we had just started dating, some girl had tried to push me out of the picture so she could date James instead of me.

"Ah, Mr. and Mrs. Amendola! Happy anniversary!"

The children jump when they hear the strange voice, and Atlanta burrows her head into my collarbone, scared. Wincing in pain, I try to adjust Atlanta's head. When she won't, I whisper into her ear and she moves it. The kids brace themselves for a fan to try to butt in and interrupt our family outing, which is the only thing that bothers me about my husband's job. James and I turn around to greet the speaker, who is a good friend of ours.

"Mr. Romero. How are you?" I smile at the man now in front of us. I can see the surprised faces of my daughters and son in my peripheral vision. They were apparently not expecting this.

"Fine, and how are you, ma'am?"

"Ok, I suppose. These little ones have kept me busy, like always." I motion to the two children next to my husband and the one in my arms.

"James," Mr. Romero shakes my husband's hand. "It's been awhile."

"It has, Enrique. Hope you've been doing well."

"I've been doing fine. And who are these lovely children?" he asks, turning his attention to the three children crowded next to us.

"These are our children," James answers. "Bex, Sam, and Atlanta. Can you say hello to Mr. Romero?"

"Hello Mr. Romero," the children chorus.

"Please, call me Enrique," he addresses the kids. "Are you ready to ride the train?"

"Yes Mr. Enwike," Atlanta says, still scared of this new man but warming up to him nonetheless.

Enrique leads the five of us to a platform where the train will pull in. "Wait right here. The train will be along in about two hours now. I look forward to seeing all of you on the train." With that, Enrique walks away.

The five of us occupy five chairs there, but that quickly shrinks to three chairs when more people arrive. Bex and Sam end up sitting on James's legs and Atlanta sits on my lap.

"Mom, how do you know Mr. Enrique?" Bex asks me.

"Your father and I met Enrique when we first rode the midnight train."

"When did you guys first ride the midnight train?" Sam asks.

"We'll tell you all about it when we get on the train," James tells them. The longer we sit, the more restless they become. James and I are used to waiting, but Bex, Sam, and Atlanta haven't had to wait such a long time before, especially this late after their bedtime. Becoming concerned that my kids were going to start becoming rowdy, I rack my brain for a solution. Remembering the book, I grab it out of my bag. When Bex and Sam see the book, they light up, then glare at each other.

"Mom, it's my turn to read it!" Bex argues.

"No, Mom. Let me read it. I'm almost at the end of the chapter!"

"That's enough, now. No arguing," I sternly tell my kids. Softer, I continue, " I have a better idea. I'll read the book out loud to all of you."

I start the book from the beginning, reading quietly to the kids. They get so absorbed in the story they don't notice anything else. Looking up at one point to turn a page, I notice James listening to me as well with a smile on his face. I've seen that smile before. He smiled like that when he saw my reaction when that girl tried to move in on him. He smiles like that when he remembers why he fell in love with me in the first place. That smile always manages to make a warm feeling rise up in my chest.

After an hour or so of waiting, even Bex and Sam are struggling to stay awake. Atlanta would drift off, only to be awoken again by me shifting my body at random points, typically whenever I turn a page. Lucky for us, the train pulls into the station. The black train let's put a loud blast from its whistle, startling everyone and scaring Atlanta so bad she starts crying. Bex and Sam stand up and James grabs Atlanta from my lap. He tries to soothe her while we start walking toward the train. I grab Bex and Sam by the hands and start walking to the boarding platform, James following us. I hand the conductor out tickets and he leads us to our seats.

The seats are a dark blue color. They resemble long benches sit face-to-face so we can all ride together. James sits on the isle side of one seat with Sam, and I sit by the isle on the seat facing them with Atlanta and Bex. We thank the conductor and he goes on his merry way.

"So now will you tell us how you two met?" Bex asks, always the impatient one.

I turn to James and he nods his head. It's time our children know how we met.

"Ok. Bex, Sam, Atlanta, this is the story of how your father and I met."