Hi there!

Thanks for reading my Saturday Story. Below is part 4 of Rags to Riches. (You can find part 1 here, part 2 here, and part 3 here.)

Please let me know what you think by commenting below, and be sure to check back next week for Rags to Riches: Part 5!

………

Part 4:

To Riches:

Nicholas (one of my nephews) loves trains. If you ask him one question about them (anything from their operation, capacity, construction or history), his eyes light up. It’s a sure way to get a smile, and redirecting his attention with questions about trains has helped to quell tears from many scrapes and skinned knees. He will happily regale you with stories and fun facts about trains- anytime.

A couple of years ago, his parents took him on a train. He met a railroad conductor, and he was absolutely starstruck. My sister told me that little Nicholas (only about 5 years old, at the time) was standing in the aisle, looking up at the conductor, mouth open in awe, as if he was meeting a rockstar.

Once Nicholas regained his composure, he peppered the conductor in a flurry of questions. The conductor, a very kind gentleman, beamed at my little nephew. He answered as many questions as he could, and gave Nicholas the very conductor’s hat that he was wearing that day.

Now that we have money, his parents bought him every conceivable train set and toy (though, if I’m being honest, the windfall of money I was lucky enough to gain only improved the quality of these items; my family creatively nurtured Nicholas’s love of trains at every birthday and holiday before we had extraordinary means to).

His new room had been painted with murals of scenes you may see travelling in various lands via train. As if looking out the window of a passenger car, murals capture the sun rising on the east wall of his bedroom, overlooking a rocky, mountainous landscape, and sets on the west wall of his bedroom, looking out into a bustling city on the coast.

Though much larger, his room is fashioned as if he lives in a luxury train, complete with a sleeper car and separate area for entertainment.

Train sets run overhead and around the perimeter of his bedroom. Nicholas even has his own private space to assemble new trains and fix broken ones.

He loves his new room; it’s more than any kid could ever ask for, but ask my little nephew what his favourite thing is, and he’ll say his conductor’s hat (“From a real conductor!”) every single time.

…

From Rags:

It was Saturday afternoon. My parents were due home from my Aunt Allie’s cottage any second.

“Stay by the car, Nick,” I reminded my nephew, as he studied the train that was slowing down, as it arrived.

“Ding, ding, ding,” Nicholas mimicked the chime the train made, signalling that the doors were open. “Do you think I can make that my ringtone when I get a cell phone?” He asked, innocently.

“A phone?!” I asked. “It’ll be 10 years before you need a phone. Trains may not even make that sound by then,” I said to my seven-year-old nephew.

“Not 10 years. Maybe 5 or 6,” he said, confidently.

“I think your mom will say 7 or 8,” I said, imagining my sister weeping at the thought of her second-born being old enough to need a cell phone.

“There they are!” I said to Nick, as I spotted my parents. “Hi Mom! Hi Dad!” I waved.

“Hello!” My mother called to us, enthusiastically.

After they greeted Nicholas, I kissed and hugged them hello, as I helped gather their bags.

“Did you have a nice time?” I asked my parents, as we gathered into the car.

“Oh, yes. It was very nice,” my dad answered.

“Beautiful weather,” my mother agreed.

“Thanks for picking us up, Franca,” my dad said. “I text Chris back to let him know that he could keep my car until tomorrow. Everything okay?”

Thank goodness I was driving, so I didn’t have to make eye contact with him. “Of course!” I smiled, as I focused on the road. “What? It’s odd that Nick wanted to come and pick you guys up from the train station?”

“No,” my father answered.

Crisis averted, I thought. I hadn’t planned to use Nick’s passion for trains as a diversion, but that worked out well, I privately congratulated myself.

………

Thanks for reading! Please check back next week for Part 5 of my Saturday Story: Rags to Riches.

Give your life the green light. It’s A Go!

Amber Green

*This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

© 2018 Amber Green