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“I hope it wasn’t too much trouble for you to meet me”Roosevelt said as he gestured them to sit down in the two chairs in front of his desk

“No believe me, this couldn’t have come at a better time. As you know, all of us are desperate right now and who better than to talk to you?”Gabriel asked him with a smile. Robin nodded eagerly, not believing that he was in Roosevelt’s office

“How’s Mrs. Brewster?”Roosevelt asked him.”Eleanor asked about her last night”

“Shes good under the circumstances”Gabriel said nodding.”Shes taking care of the children and she accidentally has her own school, shes teaching about 15 children”

“20”Robin corrected him

“20?”Gabriel and Roosevelt asked. “Where does she teach?”Roosevelt asked

“In our living room. Our children’s school closed last year and she began teaching them, then a friend asked her to take care of them while she looked for jobs. Then more followed and now she has 20”

Roosevelt shook his head,”I admire your wife. Just hope she doesn’t get in trouble”

“Oh she wont. It gives her something to do, problem is, she cant say no. Robin’s wife helps out as well as being a waitress at night. But shes the only steady paycheck we have and with 3 children and 4 adults in a two room apartment….well we are in dire straits”Gabriel explained

“How about you…Robin is it? Whats your last name?”

“Vanderbilt…but no relation to the rich ones”he said and they laughed,”Unfortunately”

“I knew Gabriel when I first came into office. He was so kind to perform for me several times and entertaining my wife and I for business dinners, balls, luncheons…but where were you before the crash?”he asked him

“I was a student at NYU…studying psychology. I just love the way the mind works. I met Ruth who happened to be a friend of Salomi and Gabriel, got married a few years ago and she went to school as well. I worked at a supermarket whenever I wasn’t studying and when the crash happened I was laid off, then I couldn’t afford school, now Im living with Gabe and Lomi due to our eviction. Odd end jobs here and there just to give her food. Now she wanted to have a child….but neither has happened yet”he said sadly

“Im sorry to hear that”Roosevelt said sadly,”If I had room in my office here, I would give you the jobs, no questions asked..experience or not…but I cant….but I do know of someone who needs two men like you”

Gabriel and Robin leaned forward in anticipation.

“Now the great thing is, you wont be laid off after a few weeks. He can afford to keep you on as long as he needs you, more stable”

“That’s exactly what we need”Robin said

“He’s in the farming industry. He would need help with every sort of thing out there”

“Farming? Northern New York?”Gabriel asked, unless there was a farm in Manhattan

“No, its not in New York at all which is the catch and if you two need time to think about it or decline its fine. The job is in Kansas actually, outside of the capital. Now I know your wife has 3 children…sometimes 23 but this can take care of them. You’ll make $30 a month and you can send some of that home to her. That can make a huge difference. Once you start sending and saving up, it will be safe to come back, yes? It wont take too long”he said but he noticed Gabriel’s expression change. “Yes its like moving out of the house and no I wont know when things will be normal again but when Im president, things will be as soon as possible”he said confidently

“So let me get this straight. This job is in Kansas. I would have to move there?”Gabriel asked. “When does he need us?”

“As soon as possible. He needed someone yesterday”

Robin smiled eagerly,”Sounds great”he said but then looked at Gabriel,”What?”

“I have a wife and three children. I don’t want to leave them here during all of this”he said,”I wouldn’t be able to bring them would I? No that’s a stupid question”he said answering it for him. “We are going to need some time to think about it”he said. Salomi would be very upset, he knew he was. He didn’t know how long he would be gone for. What if he left and some rich man snatched her up? He didn’t want to think about that.

“Just come back when you have made up your mind”Roosevelt said as he stood up. “I wish there was something closer, but I assure you, there is money to be made but not here, not anymore. But one day you’ll come back and everything will be as it used to be”Roosevelt assured them

“Thank you Governor”Robin said and they said their goodbyes and then they were in the lobby. “Can I talk to you for a second?”he said to Gabriel and pulled him into the mens restroom. “What do you mean we need to think about this? What is there to think about? $30 a month!? Between the both of us that’s $60 a month that they can live on, do you know how much food that is? That could fix that damn heater”

“I know…but…I don’t want to leave them”

“I know you don’t, and I don’t want to leave Ruth either but hes right. This city is a mess. We gotta leave and send money back. Don’t be selfish. We have to sacrifice. Look, in no time there will be money saved up and we can come back and find jobs. He assured us that everything will be fine. I mean come on Gabe, what other choice do we have?”he asked him

They debated about it for a few more minutes and then Gabriel unfortunately agreed. This was the only way. He sighed and they went back to Roosevelt’s office. He was surprised to see them.

“We changed our minds, we would like the address please”Gabriel said

Roosevelt nodded and wrote it down,”I know its hard. But desperate times call for desperate measures. This will be good for you in the long run”he said,”I’ll keep in touch and you can come back when more jobs open up and the economy is more smoother”he said as he handed him the slip of paper,”Take care of yourselves”he said to them,”Let me know when you arrive”he said

“We will, thank you Governor”Robin said as he led them to the door. Robin walked out with a smile on his face

“Oh and Gabriel?”Roosevelt asked and then slipped another piece of folded paper in his hand,”You need this more than I do. Good luck”he said and then shut the door behind them. Gabriel opened his hand and there was a 20 dollar bill in his hand, then he unfolded all of them and then he realized there were $100 worth of 20’s in his hand

“God bless him”Robin said with a smile

“This will help us to get there. Trains aint cheap”Gabriel said

“Who needs a train?”Robin said,”When we can ride the rails for free?”he asked him

“Look I did the whole stowing away thing before. I’d rather not go back to that”Gabriel said as remembered he and his childhood friend, Adam, stowing away on the infamous Titanic. “Its dangerous”

“If you don’t know what your doing”Robin said,”The girls need that money more than we do, prices are higher since no one is traveling, its better for us”he said

Gabriel unfortunately had to agree and they bought groceries at the nearest store. They talked about when they should leave. Robin said tonight but Gabriel needed more time. Friday would be the big day. They came home at around noon with bags filled with food. The younger children were outside playing on their break and he kissed Dahlia on the forehead. “You behaving yourself you little chicken you?”he asked her

“Yes Father”she said innocently,”Whats that?”she asked, pointing to the bags

“Food, lots of it”he said and she smiled. She then threw the rock and went back to playing hopscotch. He watched her as she played with her friends. How long would it take? Would it take so long that by the time he got back, Dahlia was old enough to get married herself? He shook his head at the thought and followed Robin upstairs. Ruth and Salomi were teaching the older set of children their subjects and they looked shocked when they came in with bags of food.

“Roosevelt is an angel in disguise”Salomi said with tears in her eyes. “This could feed us all for weeks”she said as she looked at all the food

“Or it can feed you all for months”he said, knowing the women and children ate in smaller portions

“What do you mean?”she asked. But he shook his head. He didn’t want to disrupt the children’s learning. But the idea of leaving plagued him and he took a walk as he smoked a cigarette. How long was it going to take for them to get back on track?

After the last child left the house, Salomi and Ruth made dinner and soon they were soon seated. They were all very happy to have “real food” and to not eat at the soup kitchen.

“Im sick to death of soup!”Dahlia had said dramatically

Soon the children were put to bed and Robin and Gabriel gave each other the nod. It was time to tell them. “Lets go for a walk Ruthie”Robin said to her and she smiled and put on her coat. They knew that while walking they could air out and talk about anything. Gabriel silently thanked him and he sat down on the small couch and patted the spot next to him.

“So….what did Roosevelt say, besides buy every last piece of food at the market?”she asked him with a smile

“Well I have a job….I’ll be doing some farming….in Kansas”he said bluntly.

“Kansas?”Salomi asked, shocked and hurt. “Wait…you have to go to Kansas? Where?”

“A few miles outside of the capital…he has a friend who needs help. He needs it now. I can make $30 a month. I can send you $25 of it. I wont need much money there anyways since we’ll eat and sleep there. Everythings covered. Between the both of you, $50 a month is pretty good. You can turn that damn heater back on”

“I don’t want it back on. I don’t want you to go Kansas. I don’t want you to leave me…not now”Salomi said as she started to cry but she knew it was the only way. He told her that and she nodded,”How long?”

“As long as they need me. As long as it takes to get us back on our feet again. When I come back I expect us to be living comfortably, the children back in school with shoes on their feet and clothes on their backs, you too baby. You know Im doing this because I love you right? Im not seeing this as a way to escape. If I could I could bring all of you, but its not that kind of deal”

“I know”Salomi said as she cried as quietly as she could so as to not wake the children,”Im gonna miss you so”she said as he held her.

Ruth took the news fairly well. She stopped dead in her tracks and couldn’t move until it actually hit her that Robin would be gone for a long time. They were lucky that Roosevelt gave this job to them, they would starve on her paycheck. She cried as well and she requested to walk some more and they shared a beer at a local pub, knowing that Salomi and Gabriel would need some time alone to get used to it. When they got back, Salomi had cried herself to sleep in Gabriel’s arms. He had carried her back to bed and laid beside her and soon fell asleep. Ruth and Robin made their bed up and laid in each others arms and reminisced about the days when they first met in psychology class at NYU until they fell asleep.

The apartment was dead silent and everyone was sleeping peacefully. Except for Rita. She let the tears roll down her cheeks as she laid closely to Michael and Dahlia. She heard every word. Father was leaving them and he didn’t know when he was coming back.

*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*

Rita was more confused when Gabriel took them out to a small restaurant and explained to them that he would be working on a farm in Kansas. He promised that he would write everyday and that he would be coming back but he had to do this so they could have some money, more food on the table and be able to afford to go back to school and wear descent clothes. Michael and Dahlia were sad but they understood, or tried to. Rita didn’t.

“I don’t need to go to school, Father. I don’t need fancy clothes and shoes and lots of food. You don’t have to go. You don’t have to”she said

“I do baby. I want whats best for you and whats best for you and all of us involved is for me to go away for a little while. I’ll be sending money. One day I can afford to get you into dance classes again Rita, I know how much you miss it. You’ll be better than Shirley”

“I don’t care. I don’t want you to leave”Rita said. But he didn’t back down and deep inside she hated him for it. But soon that melted away when Gabriel decided to take Rita out to see Shirley Temple that night. She was older and wiser than the other two but scared because she understood what could happen to him. He may not come back or he could come back with nothing and have to start over all over again. Who knew how long it would take. But he assured her that he loved her, to not be mad at him because this was the right thing to do. She finally agreed, but only because she loved him, too much.

“I love you Rita, my shining star”he said to her and it was snowing when they headed back home and they played in it for awhile. She was a child again and laughing and playing and when they came back she was so tired and worn out and cold that she went straight to sleep.

“Is she alright?”Salomi asked her

“She told me she didn’t like it, but she would deal with it because she loves me. And that I’d better come back and I’d better write everyday”he said

“You better”Salomi said and started to cry again.

Soon Friday morning came and Gabriel and Robin left at midnight. They were going to catch the train at the station and head to Kansas by hopping many other ones. Who knew how long it would take them. Salomi hated the idea but Gabriel said it would save money and they would be safe. The children cried as they hugged their father and Robin. They all said their “I love you”’s and then Robin and Gabriel were gone. Dahlia cried all night and Michael was just silent, but deeply hurt. Rita just stared off into space, saying a silent prayer.

‘Please come back, Father. Father, please, don’t die’

*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*

It took Gabriel and Robin a week to reach their destination. The two hopped from slow moving train to slow moving train all the way to Kansas. They made friends with the other “hoboes” as they were called as they all traveled. They all listened to each others stories as they tried to stay as quiet and discreet as possible. When they weren’t riding the rails, they slept in railway yards along with other hoboes. The group of hoboes called their temporary railway yard residencies “jungles” and they camped out and shared a pot of stew with each other.

“Do you all get offended? I mean we are hoboes, lowest of the low”Robin asked one of them. A man named Johnnie who had been riding the rails for almost two years now, shook his head.

“We’re not the lowest of the low. Hoboes look for work. That’s the difference between us and the tramps and trash that just lay around out here and not do a thing. We actually make something of ourselves and one day we all will strike it big and find something. We will. So don’t let anyone tell you any different”Johnnie told them wisely

A week later, they reached their destination and their boss, Mr. McNamara, greeted them. “Frank told me that you two were willing to do the job right. Thank you for traveling so far out of your way. How was the trip?”he asked them, figuring that they bought tickets.

“Long and tiring…but yet fun…but uncomfortable”Robin said and Gabriel smiled. That’s exactly what it was. Yet McNamara didn’t even know what they went through to get here and when he showed them the shack they would be living in, it was paradise to them, which surprised him

“Are things that bad in New York?”he asked them

They both nodded,”We take what we can get”Gabriel explained. McNamara showed them the animals, the crops, the whole land. It was dry, dusty and a little cold but not as cold as New York. They went up to the main house and showed them around and then they walked into the kitchen. There was a young woman in her mid twenties cooking. She had blonde hair and the bluest eyes ever.

“Beth meet our new helpers. Fellas, this is Beth. My favorite daughter”he said as he hugged her with pride as he presented her to them

“Im your only daughter”she said and smiled at them,”Nice to meet you both”she said shyly. She couldn’t take her eyes off of Gabriel. She heard that them big city men were fine but fast and nothing but trouble. She could see that he was very fine, maybe fast but didn’t see a hint of trouble. She forced herself to look away. “I made ya’ll some lunch”she said,”You two are just in time”she said in her sweet southern accent. She was surprised when the two men dug into the huge bowls of chili, cornbread and milk. They ate so fast and were so thankful that she had to make more. She felt sorry for them but didn’t understand how bad it was in New York. “You two are a god send, we need help ‘round here”she said

“I think it’s the other way around”Gabriel said as Robin nodded in agreement, mouth filled with the finest cornbread he had ever tasted

*________________________________*









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