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Friday, March 27, 2015

Millie Comes to Visit - Part 4

Hello Friday Fiction Fans,
Am I glad I have a story all ready to post! There is so much going on right now that I don't have time to come up with something new. So I hope you are enjoying this story. :)

This morning, just before I got on here to post this, I approved the final copy of "Gift from the Storm." That means that it will be on Amazon very soon! Also, if you want that special discount (only good if you order through my blog) send me a note and I'll get the special code to you. There will be a kindle version of this book for those of you who like to get that version, but the converting of this file didn't go as well, so I have to see if I can fix it. Hopefully it won't be too long. And once it is available on kindle, it will be $.99 for the first week before the price goes up. If you want me to let you know as soon as the kindle version comes out, send me a note.

Not only have I been working on correcting "Gift from the Storm" this week, I've also been writing TCR-5. Since I won't be writing tomorrow night (we'll have my brother's kids all evening and probably rather late), I've been trying to get as much done as I can. If I want to reach 8k words again this week, I'll have to write 31 words tonight. Think I can do it? :) And just so you know, I'm over half way done with this book! I still find that hard to believe. How can I be over half way done with the next Triple Creek Ranch book in less than a month?!

My other news is that I was accepted to a local author's book signing at our public library next Saturday. It should be fun as I'll be able to have at least 10 different book titles there. I'm hoping my new book will arrive before then and I can have 11 book titles. I wish you all could come and chat with me then.

And now enjoy the next part of:

Millie Comes to Visit
Part 4

    At last they rose from the table, for all parties, even the most enjoyable ones, must come to an end. The girls, after taking off their dresses and hats, helped Mrs. Laningsburg carry the dishes and the tablecloth back inside.
    “Thank you, Mrs. Ladybug, for the wonderful time!” Ria hugged her old friend before they left. Millie and Allie echoed Ria’s thanks.
    “You are most welcome, my dears. Do be sure you come again, girls.”
    After promising they would, the three cousins turned their steps back to the Mitchell home. Lunch was waiting for them and, as they ate, they told Mrs. Mitchell all about their tea party.
    “And Mom,” Ria added, “she wants us all to come over again. We can, can’t we?”
    Smiling fondly at her daughter, Emma replied, “I’m sure you can, Ria, but not this afternoon.”
    “Oh, no, of course not this afternoon. I meant some other day. What should we do this afternoon?” Ria turned to her cousins.
    “Aunt Emma,” Allie asked, “are we going to go to Grandma’s today?”
    “That wasn’t in the plan, but if you would like to go, I’m sure we can find one of your cousins to take you. Tomorrow we are all going to go spend the day out at the farm.”
    “Even all the boys?” Millie still felt rather shy of all the many boy cousins she had.
    Standing up to carry the dishes to the sink, Emma laughed. “Even all the boys. They wouldn’t miss a time like this for anything. But don’t worry, Millie,” she came back to the table and paused to say, “you girls don’t have to join in their games if you’d rather not.”
    “We may want to play some games with them,” Millie ventured. “If Ria wants to.”
    Ria shrugged. “I play with them all the time, so I don’t mind if I do or not. But come on, let’s wash these dishes and then we can go play house out in the back yard.”

    The following day was another bright and sunny one. The entire Foster clan gathered out at Grandma and Grandpa’s farm in time for a picnic lunch. The three girls sat near their grandparents and listened to the conversation going on around them
    “Dad, that barn looks like it could use a new coat of paint,” David remarked eyeing the old barn. “When was the last time it got painted?”
    Grandpa Foster looked thoughtful for a few minutes. “Well, I think it’s been painted once or twice since the time we had some Indians paint it for us.” His eyes twinkled and the corners of his mouth twitched.
    “You had real Indians paint it, Grandpa?” demanded Ria in an astonished voice.
    “No, Ria, they were much too red to be real Indians. You’ll have to ask your mom for the story.”
    Quickly Ria turned around. “Mom, what happened?”
    Emma Mitchell laughed, though her cheeks flushed. “Some of your uncles and I painted the barn one time many years ago, or we were supposed to paint it. If I remember right, we got a bit distracted and ended up putting some of the red paint on ourselves and playing Indians instead. Perhaps I’ll tell you the story later,” Emma half promised, exchanging amused glances with her twin brother, Edmund.
    “I wonder if Georgie and Vincent remember that at all,” Edmund wondered. “Weren’t they the ones who started it?”
    Ria exchanged glances with Millie. That would have been something to see.

    After lunch the three girls wandered over to where the boys were gathered.
    “What are you all doing?” Ria asked.
    “Trying to decided what to do,” Jack told her. “Some want to play baseball, others want to walk to Codell, and another group wants to laze around and do nothing.”
    “Did you girls have something in mind?” Albert smiled at his three cousins.
    “No, but can’t you think of something we could all do?”
    “We could climb trees,” Chris suggested, but his older cousins and brothers shook their heads.
    “Let’s go fishing,” Walter purposed.
    This suggestion was met with approval by the others, provided they could borrow a truck.
    “Do you girls want to go with us?” Ed asked.
    Normally Ria enjoyed excursions with the gang, but this time she hesitated and looked at Millie and Allie, waiting for them to speak.
    “Do I have to put a worm on a hook?” Millie asked.
    “Not unless you want to.” Ed, Al and Jack had remained behind while the others went to see about the use of a truck.
    Millie hesitated and looked at her little sister. “Do you want to go fishing with the boys, Allie?”
    “No.” Allie shook her head, sending her braids flipping across her shoulders. “I don’t like fish. I’m going to go play with the babies.” With that she skipped away back to the house.
    “I guess the thought of fishing might not be too appealing to a six-year-old,” Al chuckled softly, watching the small figure. “But,” he turned to the two girls remaining, “what do you want to do?”
    “I’ll go if Ria will,” Millie answered.
    “Sure. It’s fun to go fishing with the gang. As long as Chris and Dave behave themselves.” She frowned darkly.
    “They’ll behave,” promised Ed.
    “Or else . . .” Jack’s brows drew together and he tried to look stern, but his merry eyes couldn’t fool Ria, and she knew it would have to be Pete who kept their younger brother in line. Of all her cousins, Dave was the torment. Not only did he love to tease Ria, but there was no one in the gang safe from his pranks. Most of them were harmless and no one minded, but now and then Dave would come up with something which brought on his head the wrath of the entire gang.
    All this Ria explained to her cousin as they walked hand in hand and followed the boys to the truck Uncle Edmund had said they could use.

Do you like fishing?
Do you like paper or kindle copies of books?
 

Friday, March 20, 2015

Millie Comes to Visit - Part 3

Happy First Day of Spring, FFFs!

Can you believe it is spring already? On Monday it was in the 80s and wonderful outside! We got ice cream with my brother and his family in the afternoon. And I spend nearly all morning and part of the afternoon outside playing with the kiddos. I even got my first sunburn of the year! It must be spring. :) Our flowers are shooting up and blooming and I love seeing everything starting to turn so green. The past three days it has been dreary and rainy. But I hear we are supposed to get sun again later today and tomorrow! And the Cardinals are singing and singing. There are Robins are everywhere pulling worms from the moist ground like they were noodles and snapping up bugs.

All these spring things and I'm writing about the coming of fall. :P I just can't seem to get TCR to match with the season I'm writing it in. Oh well. You won't mind, will you? I'm now over a third of the way done with this book. I've greatly enjoyed being able to write so quickly and I figured out something rather shocking. Don't expect it to happen, but . . . I figured out that if I were to write 8k words a week for 45 weeks this year, I'd have written enough for 6 TCR books!!!!! Yeah, that's kind of what I did. :) I think if I tried that my illustrator would resign. :) And I'd run out of things to post on here.

I am waiting for my proof copy of "Gift from the Storm" to arrive! I am very much looking forward to getting it completed and into your hands.

I hope you are enjoying this story because there is still more of it. And yes, the "gang" does come in on another part.

Millie Comes to Visit
Part 3

    After breakfast had been eaten, Mrs. Mitchell waved off the offer to wash the dishes. “Not this morning, Millie. But I do thank you for the offer. I know Ria is longing to go do some girl thing with you and Allie, so run along all of you.” Giving the girls each a kiss, she watched them skip outside to the porch.
    “What should we do first?” Millie asked, wiggling her bare toes in the warm summer sun.
    “Let’s take a walk and talk things over,” Ria suggested, jumping off the porch railing where she had been perched. “Maybe some of the neighbors will be out and—oh! I just had a lovely thought!”
    Two pairs of brown eyes looked expectantly at her, waiting for her next sentence.
    “We’ll visit Mrs. Ladybug.”
    “Mrs. Ladybug!” Allie giggled. “Who is that? Is she really a bug?”
    “No, she’s a sweet old lady who likes to play with little girls,” explained Ria. “She told me so many years ago when I was small and was tired of playing boy things.”
    Together the three girls started down the sidewalk, chattering, arms linked together in a friendly fashion. How Ria enjoyed having some girls to spend time with.
    Arriving at the small, yellow home of Mrs. Lainingsburg, Ria led her cousins up to the porch and knocked.
    “Why Ria, what a pleasant surprise,” a sweet voice exclaimed, and a moment later the screen door was opened and a small woman with silvery hair was motioning them to come inside. “Do come in, all of you.”
    “Mrs. Ladybug, these are my cousins, Millie and Allie.”
    “How do you do, girls? I’m delighted Ria brought you over this morning. But, Ria dear, I thought you didn’t have any girl cousins?”
    A bright laugh came from Ria before she replied, “I don’t around here. Millie and Allie are from Massachusetts and only arrived for a visit yesterday. We are going to do as many girl things as we can, and I thought the first thing we ought to do was visit you.” Her words ended with a little bounce that reminded Mrs. Laningsburg of the three-year-old sprite who had so suddenly appeared on her porch several years ago.
    “Well! I must say I feel quite honored by this call. Now, what shall we do?” She tipped her head to one side and looked at the girls a moment. “How would a tea party suit you, out in the back yard?”
    Ria’s face lit up. “Oh, Mrs. Ladybug!” She gave her old friend a warm hug. “That will be such fun, won’t it, girls?” She whirled around to see her cousins nodding eagerly.
    “Then it is settled, but my dears, some things must be done before the party can begin.”
    “Just tell us what to do and we’ll do it.” Ria gave another bounce and hugged herself.
    “I will take care of the tea and dishes, but you can’t come to a tea party in those clothes.” Mrs. Lainingsburg’s eyes twinkled. “I have two old trunks up in the attic with lots of old clothes and things. And Ria, you know where all my hats are, don’t you? I thought so. Now, you three go up and find the prettiest things to wear, and don’t forget your hats. And I’ll get everything else ready.”
    These instructions were received with squeals of delight from all three girls and moments later they were climbing the stairs to the attic. Ria had been up to dig in Mrs. Laningsburg’s chests before, but never had she been as interested as this time. There were dresses of almost every color. And the styles! Long trailing gowns, dresses with lace, and others with large puffed sleeves. There were also gloves, strings of beads, hand bags, and other items which would delight the heart of any girl. After the dresses had been examined and each girl had, with much difficulty and many changes of mind, had at last decided on the one they would wear, Ria led them downstairs and showed them the hats. These were numerous, and Mrs. Laningsburg came to help them try them on.
    “Since you have your dresses all picked out,” she said, “why don’t you put them on and then we’ll find each of you a hat to go with your outfit.”
    At last everyone was ready and, with the help of their hostess, each girl wore a hat at the correct angle. They surveyed each other proudly.
    “We are elegant ladies coming to take tea with the president’s mother,” Ria said primly, admiring herself in the long mirror.
    “Oh, that is a wonderful idea, Ria!” Millie beamed at her cousin before turning to Mrs. Laningsburg. “Mrs. Ladybug, would you like to pretend you are the president’s mother?”
    “Why, I would be delighted, Miss Mildred,” that lady replied, pinning on her own hat. “Now, if you ladies are ready, we will retire to the garden.”
    With many soft giggles, Ria, Millie and Allie lifted their skirts and swept down the hall and out the back door to the garden. There, in the shade of a large tree, stood the table covered with a white cloth. A cake stand held an assortment of cookies while real china tea cups sat waiting on saucers. A small bouquet of flowers rested before each place and the girls, after catching sight of the lovely things, gave one surprised, “Oh!”
    The tea party was a great success, for Mrs. Laningsburg served lemonade instead of tea and they sat and talked, pretending they were fine ladies. It was with difficulty at times that “the president’s mother” kept from smiling over the talk going on. Every topic of conversation they could invent was discussed, and even the subject of politics was introduced and many bits of advice were given “to be passed on to the president” about how to run the country. These were nearly all given by Ria who, having listened to the gang discuss such topics, had had her own opinions formed by the their talks.

Could you offer advice to our president?
Are you waiting patiently or impatiently for my new book?
What is your favorite of my published books?

Friday, March 13, 2015

Millie Comes to Visit - Part 2

Hello Friday Fiction Fans!
After an absolutely beautiful week with sunshine and temperatures in the 60s and 70s, we get a cloudy, rainy spring-like day. :) I don't know about you, but I like rainy spring days. They always remind me of my childhood when one of my favorite things to do was sit in a dim or dark room, listen to "Your Story Hour" or another audio, and play with silly puddy. The glow in the dark kind was the best for those dark rainy days. :)

Here's an update on TCR-5:
I wasn't able to write last night due to babysitting the kiddos until late, but I have started part 15 and hope to finish it today. That will mean I'm a quarter of the way done with this book!!!! How did that happen? It hasn't even been two weeks! Oh, and I talked with my illustrator and she's looking forward to working on the illustrations as soon as I'm ready. Here's a thought, if anyone of my TCR readers has a family member that you think fits one of my characters, and they are willing to be a model, send me a picture of them. I'm trying to find some models for the different characters so it's easier for my illustrator. (That would also mean she could work faster, which would mean the books would get published quicker, which would mean you could read them sooner! :) )

I'm hoping to order my proof copy of "Gift from the Storm" this weekend! :) I am looking forward to getting this book out for my faithful readers who are longing to know what happens.

But here is the next part of Ria and the Gang. Enjoy!

Millie Comes to Visit
Part 2

    When the train, its breaks hissing and whistle blowing, finally pulled to a stop before the little station, Ria was the first person every passenger saw. She stood by herself far in front on the platform, giving a skip now and then, her head turned quickly about, bright eyes scanning the windows and those climbing from the cars, until, at last, with a cry she rushed forward to throw her arms about a girl with chestnut hair. All was confusion after that. Emma and Carrie greeted each other with affection, for they had always been close. The men grabbed the luggage and then somehow everyone managed to leave the station platform.
    Ria’s exuberance was almost unmanageable and, but for the two girls who clung to her hands, she might have done anything. As it was she swung their hands and chattered like a magpie.
    “She’s liable to talk their ears off before we reach the house,” Mitch remarked as he swung two suitcases into the trunk of the car.
    His brother-in-law laughed. “If my girls don’t talk hers off first. All we’ve heard about the entire way out here is Ria and the gang. Speaking of the gang,” Roy looked about him, “where are they? I haven’t seen a single boy since I’ve arrived and I expected a whole troop of them.”
    “One of Ria’s plans,” Mitch grinned, “was the pleasure of girls, with no boys along for once.” Both fathers laughed.
    The girls chattered non stop all the short way to the Mitchell home where Ria, with excited bounces and skips, proudly led everyone on a grand tour of all the rooms, saving her own for the very end. At last her father interrupted her chatter.
    “All right, Ria, we have to head out to the farm now. You can talk later.”
    With a long sigh, Ria turned to her cousins, “The gang is at the farm. At least that is where they were going. When we get there it will all be boys, everywhere. More than you ever saw at one time before! And they’ll all be your cousins.”
    Millie was eager to meet all these cousins she had heard so much about, and her eyes sparkled though she clung to Ria’s hand. Allie, who was almost seven, asked, “Aren’t there any girls?”
    Ria shook her head. “Nope. Dory and Lily are the oldest girls after us and they are only three! We’ll have to stick together for protection.”
    All three girls giggled and then skipped down the stairs after their parents.

    Arriving at the farm later, Millie discovered that Ria was right. Never had she seen so many boys and young men. To her astonished eyes they seemed everywhere and, after having been introduced by Ria to half a dozen and seeing more approaching, she whispered, “Ria, how many more are there?”
    Ria shrugged. “I didn’t keep count.”
    “I’ll never be able to keep them straight,” Millie despaired, “and I’m afraid to go anywhere because there are boys every place I look.”
    At that Ria laughed. “I told you there were a lot. But tonight it will only be Ed, Jimmy, Johnny, and Chris. And they aren’t allowed in my room, so it will be only girls!” She gave a bounce of excitement and tugged at her cousin’s hand. “Come on,” she urged, “let’s go meet the rest of the gang and be done with it. Where’s Allie?”
    “With Mama, I think.” Millie looked around but saw no sign of her younger sister.

    The only light in the room was from the nearly full moon which cast a soft glow across the bed where the three girls lay whispering.
    “I thought surely there were hundreds of boys out at Grandma and Grandpa’s farm this afternoon,” Millie whispered. “They seemed to be everywhere!”
    “If you thought they were everywhere at the farm, you ought to see this house when the gang meets here!” Ria exclaimed!
    “Do they really all come here, Ria?” Millie whispered.
    “Uh huh.”
    For a moment the two cousins fell as silent as Alice who had already fallen asleep. Then, with a yawn, Millie whispered once more, “I’m glad I’m finally here, Ria.”
    “Me too,” Ria agreed. “At last I have a girl to do girl things with. What should we do first, tomorrow?”
    There was no answer. Millie, tired out from the excitement of the trip and meeting all her cousins, had fallen fast asleep.

    When Ria awoke, the morning light filtering in through her curtains fell on the brown heads beside her. In a rush, the excited delight of at last having two girl cousins to play with returned and woke her quickly. Slipping from her bed, she tiptoed over and opened the curtains to look at the sky. The light clouds scattered across the sky seemed to promise a lovely day and Ria could hardly wait to get started.
    “Millie,” she whispered. She didn’t want to wake Allie, but if only Millie would wake up, they could plan what they were going to do. “Millie!” This time she shook her cousin gently. “Wake up!”
    The brown head moved and Ria heard a sigh.
    “Millie! Come on, wake up!” she pleaded, giving another shake to the arm flung up on the pillow.
    With a yawn, Millie opened her eyes a little. “Hmm,” she mumbled. “What time is it?”
    “Almost seven,” Ria whispered. “Let’s get dressed.”
    It took Millie a little longer to wake up than it had Ria, but at last she was up, and the two girls hurried into their clothes, trying to be quiet so Allie could sleep. But before they could slip from the room, a sleepy voice asked, “What are you doing?”
    Millie turned. “Good morning, Allie. We didn’t mean to wake you. Ria and I are going to go downstairs. You don’t have to get up if you don’t want to.”
    “But I do!” And Allie bounced out of bed. “Wait for me, please.”

Have you ever experienced a cousin visiting?
Were you as eager for them to wake up?
Will you be back?
Do you know anyone who might be a TCR character?

Friday, March 6, 2015

Millie Comes to Visit - Part 1

Hello FFFs,
The last bit of snow should be melting today as it's supposed to be in the upper 40s. It snowed all of Saturday and then melted by Monday. Then it snowed again most of the day Wednesday, but we only ended up with about an inch that time. It was pretty though. It looks like spring weather is coming back. Is it here to stay? I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

This has been a busy week. I got my new computer and am trying to get everything switched over from the old one. (I know, I had just gotten a new computer last summer, but this one actually has the programs I need to do all the layout for my books! And there were some things I didn't like with my other one.) I'm also working on the layout for "Gift from the Storm." And, like I said, I'm going to let you all see the cover for this book!

Otherwise known as "Dr. Morgan"
 
 What do you think? Does it make you want to get the book? I will let you know as soon as it comes out.

The exciting news of this week is that I've started writing TCR-5! I haven't gotten very far into the story yet, so if any of you have ideas, or think you might know what it will be about, please, send me a note through the "Contact Author" on the sidebar and I'll add them to my list of ideas. And who knows, it might be the perfect idea to add to this book. :) So, send your thoughts my way! You can also be praying as I write.

This story that you get to read now is another from the "Ria and the Gang" collection. Who knows, maybe if I write enough of these stories, I'll finally put them all into a book and you will have a sequel to "Home Fires of the Great War." I hope you enjoy!

Millie Comes to Visit
Part 1

    “Mama!” ten-year-old Ria shouted, jerking open the screen door and dashing into the house. When no answering voice came to her, she raced into the kitchen and, seeing her mother out in the garden, flew out the back door, jumped over the steps and bounded across the yard calling, “Mama! Guess what! Guess what!”
    Mrs. Mitchell looked up from the weeds she was pulling at her excited daughter. “I don’t know—“ she began, but Ria interrupted.
    “The train comes on Tuesday! And she can stay here, can’t she? Both of them? Oh, do say they can. In my room. Finally, she is coming, and they’ll stay at Grandma’s, but they want to stay here!” Ria was skipping around waving something white, her dark hair bouncing up and down with each exuberant hop. “And, Mama, can’t I go meet her? Please? And don’t let the gang go. There’s too many of them right at first. Oh, she’s coming, they’re coming!” Giving a scream of joy, Ria hugged herself and whirled around.
    “Who are you talking about, Dear?” Emma Mitchell wiped her dirt covered hands on her apron, brushed back a piece of hair with the back of her hand, and sat back on her heels. The August sun was warm, and she was grateful for the shade of the tree. “Suppose you settle down a little and tell me all about it,” she offered, smiling but looking confused.
    But Ria was much too elated to settle down to anything. Her news was the best she had ever had and her excitement knew no bounds. “Oh,” she exclaimed, “I have to tell Daddy! I can’t wait until he gets home! It won’t take long, Please, Mama, say I can go!” the flushed faced girl begged, wild to be off.
    “I suppose—,” Mrs. Mitchell began but never finished her sentence for Ria was off like the wind. Shaking her head, Emma returned to her weeds. “I suppose I’ll find out what it is all about sometime. Ria is more puzzling and exciting than all the gang put together.” She forgot that at one time she had told her twin brother, “I want lots of girls because boys are so hard to understand.”

    It wasn’t until they were all sitting around the supper table that evening that any of the Mitchell family learned the cause of Ria’s great excitement.
    “Millie wrote and said they were all coming for a visit!” she bubbled between bites of her supper. “They are coming on Tuesday, and Millie wants to come here, and you will let her won’t you, Mama, Daddy? And Allie too. Just think, girls to share my room at last!” She uttered a half suppressed squeal. “And no boys!”
    “So, you’re kicking us out?” Jimmy teased.
    Ria wrinkled her nose at him. “No extra boys.”
    “Carrie and Roy coming here!” Emma’s face lit up. It had been eight years since she had seen her sister, and she shared her daughter’s delight over the news. Carrie was the only one of the Foster family who had a daughter close to Ria in age and her family lived far away in Massachusetts. Now they were really coming.
    “What else did Millie say?”
    Millie and Ria, though they had only met once when they were quite small, had begun writing to each other almost as soon as they could print their names on pieces of paper to be enclosed with their mothers’ letters.
    “That she wants to stay here and she can hardly wait! I can’t wait either! There’s so much to plan!” And Ria gave a bounce in her seat, bumping Johnny’s arm and nearly causing him to spill his water.
    “Settle down, Ria,” Mr. Mitchell admonished with a smile. “Tuesday isn’t very far away, thankfully, but you’ll have plenty of time to plan everything after you’ve eaten.”
    Ria grinned at her father and began to eat, though sitting still right then was an impossibility. How she wished it were Tuesday already!

    To Ria, the days dragged by, even though her mother tried to keep her busy cleaning the house, and her brothers took her with them when the gang met. Even her father drove her out to the farm on Saturday to help Grandma with the extra baking and cleaning. At last Tuesday arrived and Ria was out of bed before the sun had fully risen.
    Dashing across the hall, she pounded on her brothers’ doors. “Hurry and get dressed and straighten your rooms ‘cause Millie is coming today!”
    There was the sound of some grumbled moans, but no answering voices.
    “Ed, Chris!” Ria knocked on their door again before trying her success on the twins’ door.
    Farther down the hall a door opened and her father looked out. “Ria, what are you doing?” he questioned gently. “It’s barely five o’clock. I know you’re excited, but it’s still rather early in the morning, and the train won’t get here until after lunch. Why don’t you go back to bed for a while and try to get some more sleep.”
    “I can’t sleep, Daddy. I’m much too wide awake!” Ria gave a skip in her bare feet and her father could see she spoke truly.
    With a sigh, he instructed softly, “Then go back to your room and do something quietly until everyone else gets up.” Pulling his head back, he muttered, “It’s going to be a long morning.”

    How the Mitchells managed to live through that morning was a puzzle to everyone, but at last it was time to leave for the station. The boys were dropped off at the park where some of them had a ROTC meeting and Ria, full of excitement, bounced in the backseat of the car. All she could think of was, “Millie is coming! Millie is coming! Millie is coming!”
    When the train, its breaks hissing and whistle blowing, finally pulled to a stop before the little station, Ria was the first person every passenger saw.

Are you anything like Ria?
Will you be back for Part 2?
What would you do if you were Ria or one of her brothers?