Guys! I'm back! I missed writing the 1930's, it's one of my favourite time periods! And i missed writing for you! The people that actually read this story are few and far between, but i like you reading and reviewing anyways, even though i don't really deserve it, since i abandoned the story for so long! It was never out of my mind though!
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Twitter: leahfries1
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Okay, so I've done a lot more research than before, on the 30's, and i think this is much better than before.
Riding the Rails, take 2!
1932
Kurt was shocked. Stunned. Flabbergasted, even though he wouldn't have said that out loud. It sounded like something his crazy aunt Mildred would say. Nonetheless, it was how he felt.
"Dad... what are you talking about? You can't close down the repair shop...we built that place from the ground up. We...we built it with Mom." Kurt's throat felt slightly squeezed. Still, after all these years...Kurt pushed those feelings away. They weren't important right now.
"Kurt, do not bring your Mother into this. She isn't here. It's just us, and we need to do what we need to do to survive." Kurt's father, Burt, looked like he'd be kind of scary. He had a sort of demanding presence, even when he wasn't trying. And now, when he was actually trying to be demanding, Kurt went right back to being an six year old in the hot seat.
And Kurt was pretty sure his Dad knew that.
Kurt sighed. "What is it that you have in mind?"
Kurt, though surprised to hear it out loud, wasn't surprised to find that he already knew his Dad wanted to close the shop. A few weeks before, he'd found his Dad behind their little house, crying. Kurt knew that no one had come into the shop that day, same as the day before, and before and before..
Burt hadn't noticed his son that day and Kurt was was glad for that. Kurt knew how much his Dad loved his business. The three of them had built the repair shop when Kurt was 6, back in 1922. Kurt remembered that time pretty well.
"The wars over, and everything isn't so expensive, Kurt." Kurt remembered Burt explaining while he sawed a board in half in his shop. "Lots of people are buying fancy new cars, even people that don't know how to drive 'em. Know what happens when you got people that don't know how to drive cars out driving cars?"
Kurt shook his head. "No, sir." he squeaked, swinging his legs back and forth, his heel tapping the edge of the stool he was sitting on every time. "What happens?"
"People make accidents, Kurt. They think they know what they're doing, they think they've got control, but they don't. They have accidents. And sure, that's pretty bad for them, but it's good for us because their idiocy-" Burt picked up the board and started walking, Kurt half running behind him, "makes us money."
Kurt frowned, following his Dad outside. "But Dad...if people can't drive, why do they even buy their cars anyways? I mean, if they can't drive, they should just stay out of the streets and let someone teach them."
Burt had paused. "Kurt, why don't you run up to the house and help your Mother make lunch?"
Kurt had shrugged. He'd wanted to help cook anyway, so he went back up to the house to help his Mom.
"Careful, you're going to break that plate!" Kurt's Dad warned as he came in the kitchen door, peering into the sink as Kurt did the dishes.
The plate in question was floating amidst some bubbles, while Kurt tried to make it glide over the top of the water. Dishes was not something he appreciated having to do, so the least he could do was have some fun.
"Where were you?" Kurt asked, even though he had an idea. He pushed the plate below the bubbles.
"Downtown, letting the boys know we'll be closing up soon." Burt told him, kicking off his shoes.
"They ask why?" Kurt asked, checking his reflection on the back of the spoon.
Burt gave his son a look, and Kurt dropped the spoon smiling to himself. "They didn't have to. I told them that the shop was going to be closed for a while and we'd re-open when the time was right. They understood." Burt said sharply.
Kurt didn't answer.
"Kurt... I know the repair shop reminds you a lot of your Mom, and the three of us being together. But we're not closing it forever, I swear. We will re-open Hummel Car Repair. Trust me."
Kurt did trust his Dad. When he was in the 5th grade, lots of boys were dropping out of school, and his Dad made him stay home for a few weeks because one of his workers had quit, and he needed someone to fill the slot while he found someone else. Kurt had been positive that this meant that he was done school too, but his Dad swore it was only for a few weeks, and he hadn't been lying. After 2 weeks and 3 days, Kurt went back to school.
So yeah, of course Kurt trusted his Dad, and he knew his Dad was right about the fact that they were just losing money. He was just pretty sad to leave something that still taught. Eventually, Kurt had had to drop after a few years. He just needed to help his Dad raise money. Working in the tire shop though, he learned new math skills while keeping his old skills fresh, he kept his reading and writing ability, and learned new words from the people that came in. Of course, the people taught him a lot. He learned how to swear, then apologize, then thank someone in a few different languages, he was learning about different cultures and ideas from different people. And he was going to lose all of that experience, so he could go work in a crowded, damp and cramped factory.
And as painful as it was for Kurt to admit it, he just was not cut out for factory work.
"Kurt!" the familiar Irish lilt in his friend's voice made Kurt smile.
"Hello Rory!" Kurt waved. His friend was up on his house roof.
"Come here!" Rory called.
This is what happens when I try to take a quiet walk by myself, Kurt thought, but felt immediately guilty as he opened the gate in the fence surrounding Rory's house. Rory's sweet, and he doesn't have many friends besides me.
Kurt stood in front of the house, Rory lying on stomach peering down at Kurt.
"Going for a walk, Kurt?" Rory asked.
Kurt nodded. "I need to clear my head." he admitted.
"Well, you should come up here. You can see for quite a while, and the wind, with the clouds and he sun all melting together... It's perfect for clearing the mind."
Kurt sighed. Sometimes the way Rory said things, it was like he was speaking in poetry and Kurt loved it.
"I'm on my way." Kurt called. He'd been up on Rory's roof many times, to watch the stars and the clouds, sunsets and sun rises mostly. It's practically unnatural how peaceful a person Rory is, Kurt thought as he scaled the tree they used to get up on the roof. I know for a fact they're living on powdered milk, dried beans and potatoes, like so many people around here. We're not even that poor yet, and I'm a mess of stress.
"Lovely evening." Rory commented when Kurt pulled himself up. Kurt slid over beside Rory and sat down on the blanket.
"It really is." Kurt hadn't noticed, but Rory was right. The breath was warm and smelled like Autumn. Summer was almost over.
"Rory, what grade would you be in if you went to school?" Kurt asked.
"I'd be starting 10th grade. What about you?"
"11th." Kurt sighed. He'd been thinking about school since he had done the dinner dishes a few hours ago.
"If you have three wishes, what would they be?" Rory asked after a moment of silence.
"I'm not answering that." Kurt snorted.
"Why not?" Rory sounded hurt.
"Because the chances of me getting 3 wishes are slim and nil."
Rory snorted. "So? Don't you have any imagination?"
"OK, fine. First wish would be... for my Mom to still be alive. The next one is that I could still be in school and there wasn't this depression." Kurt paused. "You think that's 2 wishes or 1?"
"They're directly related, thus making it 1 wish. Go on."
"The third wish would be..." Kurt sighed "That my Dad didn't have to close the Repair shop."
Rory gasped. "What?"
Rory and Kurt had become quite good friends since Rory had immigrated here last Summer, and he knew what this meant for both Kurt, and his small family.
"Yup. If no one's using their cars, there is nothing for my Dad and I to do." Kurt was surprised how easily he explained it to Rory.
"Kurt, I'm really sorry. Are you going to re-open?"
"He says we will eventually. He says to trust him."
"Do you?"
"Yeah." Kurt said in a slightly clipped voice. "I do."
"Well then, you have nothing to worry about, right?" Rory asked.
"I guess so." Kurt allowed. Rory smiled.
"Grand. Now, lay back and just watch the clouds."
"Wait, what about you?" Kurt asked as he lay down.
"What about me?"
"If you had three wishes, what would they be?" Kurt asked, peering curiously at him.
"Nothing. The chances of that happening are slim and nil."
The boys had been laying there for a while, watching the light fade away into a sunset when one of them finally broke the silence.
"Without the repair shop, where are you going to work?" Rory asked, still gazing at the sunset that was quickly turning into stars.
"For money?" Kurt asked, as if he didn't know. Rory nodded. "Maybe factories in the area." Kurt admitted.
"Good luck. All the jobs around here are taken. I know, our families been trying to find one." Rory told Kurt.
"Yeah, I heard that. It's worrisome." Kurt admitted, biting a lip.
"You could always go to California." Rory joked.
"Why California?" Kurt asked with a slight frown.
"You didn't hear? They got jobs picking fruit down there. Couple of boys left just last week. But we are inOhio. It'd be ridiculous to go all the way to California just for some money." Rory chuckled.
Kurt wondered how Rory could laugh about going across the country for work, when his family had done so from the other side of the world.
"Yeah, that's pretty ridiculous. How do they even get there?" Kurt asked curiously.
"Well, they ride the rails of course." Rory smiled and shook his head like duh.
"Really Kurt? I've only been in this country for a year and I know." Kurt shrugged helplessly and Rory shook his head. "Riding the rails is jumping on the trains and going for a little ride, until you either get off, or get caught and tossed off. There's this woman in Indiana, right? Okay, so she's like the boss of the railway in these areas. She's totally insane Kurt. When she catches people trying to go threw whatever town she's in, she'll torture them for days. Some people die from that, then there's some people that don't so you know what she does?"
Kurt shook his head.
"She'll tie 'em to the train tracks!" Rory sounded like he was telling a kid's horror story, one that parents told their kids at night to stop them from doing something bad.
"Jeez." Kurt mumbled.
"Kurt... you're not thinking of actually going to California, are you?" Rory asked, finally propping himself up and looking down at Kurt. Kurt sat up to.
"No, of course not. I'd better go, alright?" Kurt stood up and started to the edge.
"Alright. But Kurt, if you leave-"
"I'm not going to!" Kurt mumbled half-heartedly as he started to lower himself onto the tree.
"Fine, but if you do, tell me before you leave. Leave me a message."
"I will!" Kurt called to Rory, jumping out of the tree and starting toward home.
Can we do it? Is it possible, Kurt wondered. No, Dad can't do something like that. Running around, jumping on and off trains... avoiding that crazed women in Indiana.
But i could do it.
The thought is a surprise to Kurt, and he feels immediately guilty. I'm all my Dad has now... but maybe that's why I should do it...
Kurt is so confused. He knows that they need the money. Need it, desperately. Factory work doesn't pay well, and they like to hire younger kids to do it; smaller kids that can fit in tight spaces.
Which is why Dad can't get a job, Kurt reminds himself. But he has a lot of friends downtown; they'll probably be happy to have him repair their machines or something. What can i do?
I can run fast. I can jump. I'm 16, i can handle it.
I guess i have to write a message for Rory then.
In the end, Kurt wrote 2 letters, one for his Dad and one for Rory. The one for his Dad was much lengthier, explaining exactly what he was doing, and that he would send money as soon as he got some, and he'd come home when the time was right, which he left on his pillow. The one to Rory, which he left in the tree in Rory's yard, only said a few sentences, telling Rory that he was a genius, and he'd send him a postcard from California.
After he left Rory's, Kurt made a run for the train station to catch the next train out of Ohio.