A great turnout had attended the revival, much to Sister Ruth's pleasure. Some folks had even been healed of arthritis, gout and a catarrh. She was discouraged, though, because she had not seen a certain face among the crowd: Mr. Barnes. As soon as the crowd permitted, Ruth scurried over to Kid, who was talking with Mrs. Barnes. In hushed tones, (many gossipers were around, eager to eavesdrop) they agreed to meet for lunch after Ruth packed up.

In Savannah, there were only two public places to eat: the local unnamed saloon and Widow Cahill's boarding house. They chose the ladder, considering they would probably find the topic of their conversation (Mr. Barnes) at the former.

When they arrived, the Widow was already clearing dishes from the noon meal.

"Got any leftovers for us, ma'am?" Kid asked.

"Of course I do, you know I always make extra." He laughed and smiled. She reminded him of an Italian woman he once knew, who always said, "Better to have too much than not enough."

As their meal was prepared, Ruth, Kid, and Naomi made themselves comfortable. Ruth decided to begin with a little levity.

"So, Naomi, or should I call you mama?"

Kid and Naomi looked at her like she was growing another head. Naomi was in her forties; Ruth was 20 years her senior.

"In the Bible, Naomi is Ruth's mother-in-law," Ruth laughed it off. But by the look on Mrs. Barnes's face, she could tell she was not in the mood for laughter.

"Please, do let us know how we can help you." Ruth placed her hands on Naomi's and squeezed in confidence.

"It's my husband. You've seen what he's like when he's drunk. And the thing is, I'm hurting just as much as him but I'm not allowed to grieve because I have to look after him like a child. I've just about given up controlling him. When I woke up this morning, he was gone and I haven't seen him since. It's normal. He'll come back when he wants to eat."

Ruth and Kid already knew that he was grieving for his lost son, but Naomi didn't know Reverend Thomas had disclosed this information, so she recounted it in even more detail.

"So you see, Jimmy's memory lives on in our house. It's almost haunting. But I was not done loving him. When I heard about that orphan train, I knew that God was speaking to me. To pour love into a child who truly needed all the love I had left. Of course, I knew that it was going to be a different kind of love. I told Marvin about the idea, thinking he would change if we adopted. You know, clean himself up. I guess I was too blind with my own hope to realize that sending him to choose his new son was a bad idea." She sighed a heavy sigh, as if her whole world was too heavy to lift off her shoulders.

While Naomi took a breath, Kid and Ruth thought of what to say next. For Ruth, this conversation was a glimpse into the life of a preacher. In her younger days, she admired members of the clergy so much, and aspired to that occupation one day. She loved holding revivals as an alternative, but now she realized the lack of intimacy that they held. When she moved on to the next town, it was always final. No personal relationships could be formed with townspeople. Sure, she'd advised her siblings a few times when necessary, but that was family and this was different.

Meanwhile, the food remained untouched.

"It's always good to have hope," Ruth told her gently. "Perhaps the orphan train was a sign from the Lord. The Lord also changes people, and if you ask Him, He will help you and your husband. The good parts are still there, just buried among all the grief."

"That's just it," replied Naomi. "If I adopt, I'm afraid Marvin won't change. That his drunkenness will make life miserable for our son."

"Has he ever hit you?" Kid asked urgently.

"No. He's just been very distant. He's angry at the town, mostly. Especially the fact that there's no doctor. He seems to think Jimmy could have been saved. The town just has no money to hire one. I really don't know why I'm telling you people this. I've never talked this much in my life. But Mrs. Cole, you were just so convincing at the revival today I thought you would know what to do."

Finally, they got to a topic Kid could comment on. "Ma'am, unfortunately there's not much a doctor can do for consumption. I should know, I have it. But I just found out yesterday that this town doesn't have a doctor. Ruth and I have a doctor friend in Colorado Springs who might know somebody willing to take the position for less. Just so happens that our train will be stopping there in another week."

"Thank you very much, Mr. Cole. At least that solves one problem. If I tell this to Marvin, it may give him hope. But how will he stop his drinking?"

"We can help you sober him up right now, can't we, Kid?" Ruth inquired. Tomorrow they would be off, and it didn't seem right to leave their new friends in such a pickle.

Ruth and Kid were at a point in their marriage where they usually knew each other's answer. Ruth knew Kid would be willing to do this job. His illness was making him soft, and so was she.

"Well, it's gonna take a lot of effort and not just one day's worth," Kid said. "We can take him back to your home and stay with him through the night, but then you have to make sure he doesn't get back on the bottle. Throw out all of his whiskey."

"Yes, sir. I've never known kinder folks than you, willing to help complete strangers," Naomi said in awe.

"We're just humble instruments of the Lord, sister," Ruth smiled. "Whatsoever you do to the least of my brothers."

And so they spent the rest of the night with Marvin and Naomi Barnes. Good thing, too, because he was out cold when Kid dragged him from the saloon. While Kid tied down Marvin, Ruth made a promise to Naomi.

"I'll tell you what. Wire me in Colorado Springs in two weeks. If Mr. Barnes has made progress, we'll come back here so you can adopt a son. If not, I'll wire you from San Francisco in three weeks, and we'll check in again."

"You'd do that for me?" Naomi said.

"I know the joy and healing children can bring. And I've seen the pain of a grieving mother."

They collapsed in each other's arms.