Hola! Yes, I have been pushing myself to get as much of this done as I can (without rushing...). I'm probably going to post more tonight...I've been on the computer since seven, working on this. So...yeah! I guess you can expect this to be finished tonight or tomorrow!
Until then...happy reading!
CHAPTER TWENTY: SAYING GOODBYE
"Next stop: 11344 Edbrook," the conductor said into the intercom. "I repeat, next stop: 11344 Edbrook."
Billy got up and hugged me. "See ya around?" he asked.
I nodded. "Yeah, you will."
"Where ya going?" Eddy asked him.
"Home."
"Oh. Merry Christmas."
Billy stopped at Dad and Shannon's seat. "Thanks for stopping the train for me," he said, shaking my dad's hand. Shannon hugged him.
"Have a wonderful Christmas, Billy," she said.
Billy got off the train and ran into the house.
"Look!" Shannon said. "Santa got to Billy's house already!"
Billy ran out to the front porch and held the familiar present up triumphantly. "Look! Santa came!" he called to us.
"Isn't that amazing?" Shannon asked rhetorically.
"It is amazing," I heard Dad say.
I was a bit tired by then, and I tried fighting the sleep I knew was coming on, but I had to close my eyes for just a minute and…
...
"Hey, you!" Eddy said, shaking me awake.
"What?" I asked him groggily. "I was sleeping!"
"Your boyfriend's getting off the train!"
"He's not my-WHAT?" I cried. Sure enough, Dad was going to his front door. I jumped up. I had to say goodbye to him!
I turned to Eddy and stuck out my hand. "No hard feelings?" I asked.
He shook it. "Nope. Merry Christmas."
"You, too."
I hugged Shannon. "You're pretty cool," I said.
"Thanks. You are, too. Merry Christmas."
I nodded and hurried off the train.
"Hold it!" the conductor said. "I don't believe this is your stop."
I sighed. "I…I need to do something first." I turned to look at dad. "He's…he's my dad."
The conductor suddenly nodded, and I guess he remembered me and why I was on the train. He stood aside, and I ran like the wind. "DAD!" I yelled. "DAD!"
He turned around and was ready to catch me as I held out my arms. When we let go, he asked, "Couldn't leave without saying goodbye, Lucy?"
"Yeah," I said, a bit out of breath. "I just wanted to say…I'm sorry about the whole…bell…thing…"
He nodded. "Thanks. But…I think it'll work out…maybe Santa will find it…or…something…"
"Well, I wanna say…thanks."
"For what?"
I hugged him again. "For making me believe."
"I didn't do that. You did."
"But you helped," I pointed out.
"That's true."
"ALL ABOARD!" the conductor yelled.
"I'd better go," I said. "I wouldn't want to keep him waiting."
"Yeah," Dad said. "You know how mad he gets…"
We both laughed, and then Dad and I hugged again.
"Merry Christmas, Dad," I said.
"Merry Christmas to you, too, kiddo," he said.
I pulled away. Only my dad knew to call me that. Well...my grown-up dad, at least. So...that meant...
"You know?"
He smiled and nodded. "I've known for a while now. When you called me 'Dad' the first time, I thought you were out of your mind. But…when we shook hands…I kind of…felt it. And then as time went by…I knew."
"Well, truthfully…I never though my dad would be my best friend."
"Same with me. I mean…with you…not…my dad."
I hugged him for the last time that night. "I know. I love you, Dad."
He hugged me back. "I love you, too, sweetie."
We waved to each other, and I ran back to the train. The conductor yelled "Merry Christmas!" to him, and then I saw Dad wave to someone on the roof. I knew instantly: the hobo.
I sat on the steps until we got to my house. When I looked back in the train, everyone was gone. Only me and the conductor remained. We stood in front of my house.
"I have a question," I said. "Why…why, whenever my dad told me to do something…I had to do it?"
"Fatherly instinct," the conductor explained. "When you called him 'Dad', his fatherly instinct kicked in. But since he technically wasn't a dad yet, it malfunctioned and made you do whatever he told you to."
"Then that explains the hobo!"
"What?"
I shook my head. "Nothing." I looked at him. "Thanks for making me get on the train."
"Like I've told your father: one thing about trains. It doesn't matter where you're going. What really matters is deciding to get on."
I nodded. "That's some good advice."
He took out his pocket watch. "We still have some time. Do you wanna see how it turns out?"
I frowned in confusion. "How what turns out?"
"Don't tell me you wouldn't like to see if your Dad gets his bell back."
My frown disappeared. I nodded.
"I'd like that."