Golden Poppies Read online

  “Your son?” Mrs. Davis asked.

  Momma confirmed.

  “Have you ever gotten a special tip from a lonely lady?” Mr. Davis asked with a conspiratorial leer.

  Sadie flushed. She glanced at the new Mrs. Davis, embarrassed for the young woman. The new bride did not look up, but her shoulders showed defeat.

  “I’d best get back to my duties.” Willie stood, ending the gauche conversation, leaving the uncomfortable question unanswered. Sadie wished she could also leave this unpleasant man, but she had no excuse for a polite departure.

  When their bills arrived for signatures, Sadie glanced at Mr. Davis’s check. Only one drink was on the tab. Willie had rejected the man’s gift. They exchanged pleasantries with the Davises as they left the table, but Sadie made a note to ask Momma if they could request different companions at their meals for the duration of their journey.

  Walking back to the Pullman car was easier than the journey to the dining car. Either the train route had smoothed or Sadie had learned how to better navigate the bumpy ride. She had no way of telling.

  Several of the “living rooms” in the Pullman car had already been transformed into “bedrooms.” Two sections were partitioned off with their curtains closed. Malcolm was in the process of converting the one next to theirs.

  He pulled the lower seats together and turned down the back cushions to make a flat bed that ran parallel to the window. Reaching up high, he unhooked a latch and suddenly the curved ceiling became the bottom of a top bunk. The already-made-up mattress was narrow but would accommodate Sadie. Malcolm grasped the wooden partitions behind the left seat back, and tugged upward. He repeated on the right side. The open living room transformed into a private bedchamber. He prepared the lower bed with sheets, a pillow, and a blanket. Remarkably, the whole process took less than five minutes.

  “Ready?” Malcolm turned to them.

  Momma nodded. Sadie watched the process again, and in short order they were in the privacy of their own bedroom. They could hear their neighbors past the green curtain, but no one could see them change out of their gowns into their sleep clothes. It was awkward, but quite manageable.

  “Would you like to stay down here and gaze out the window for a bit?” Momma asked.

  “That would be nice,” Sadie replied.

  Momma climbed under the covers and slid over. Sadie sat opposite her, on top of the covers with her legs stretched out. Momma patted her through the cotton fabric of her skirt. Sadie took her hand. They smiled at each other, and grace opened Sadie’s spirit. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d had a quiet moment like this with her mother. Perhaps not since she’d been married. She considered telling Momma that her bleeding was late, but decided it was still too soon.

  They gazed out at the clear sky with no hint of cloud or fog. The Milky Way, a bright smear against the black, was breathtaking. Sadie felt small in the midst of the great heaven.

  “We don’t see skies like this in Oakland,” Momma said. “I miss it.”

  They traveled in a pleasant silence. Sadie felt her shoulders loosen. She hadn’t realized she was holding them up.

  “Thank you for taking this journey with me,” Momma said.

  Sadie nodded. “I’m very glad to be here. This is spectacular.”

  “Yes,” Momma agreed. “It is amazing indeed.”

  Sadie fell asleep immediately despite the strange circumstances in her tiny upper bunk. Sharp side-to-side jerks woke her up from time to time, but she drifted right back to sleep. The rhythmic clicking of the wheels against the track was her lullaby.

  She woke to the sound of voices on the other side of the green curtain. Peering over the edge of the bunk in the half-light, she saw Momma curled up, her eyes closed. Rather than disturb her rest, Sadie lay in the dark space, so cramped it could seem a coffin if she let herself think that way. She forced herself to avoid that thought.

  Sadie started to roll to her stomach, but her breasts were too tender to allow it. She smiled, grateful for a pain that might be a sign of success.

  She opened the curtain to the car just a bit. Bright sunlight hit her eyes. It was full morning outside of their cocoon.

  “Good morning,” Momma croaked up to her.

  “Sorry to wake you,” Sadie said.

  She heard a rustling of covers. “Come on down. It’s beautiful!” Momma said, awe in her voice.

  Sadie slid over the side, hoping no one saw her bare leg when it slipped through the curtain. She sat across from Momma, sharing a blanket to keep warm.

  The poppies were still bright and perky. So far they were withstanding this journey. Behind them, through the window, was a glorious scene.

  In the night they had traveled farther into Nevada. The arid landscape was so different from home, yet beautiful in its starkness. Dry land was dotted with flat meadows. Cows grazed in the grass while gnarled trees stood guard in the background. Far ahead the Rocky Mountains appeared only as small bumps on the horizon.

  “Do you remember any of this?” Momma asked.

  Sadie shook her head. “Has it changed?”

  “The land is the same, but I think there are more homes. More farms.”

  They passed a lone chimney marking a spot where the hopes of settlers had sprung up and burned away.

  “So sad to see the remnants of a family,” Sadie said.

  Momma nodded.

  The Truckee River ran between the train tracks and craggy hills. Lush green trees grew on the banks, contrasting with the low golden hills too dry to support any life other than little tufts of brown scrub.

  “On the other side of the Rockies there were buffalo before, in some places as far as the eye could see,” Momma said. “I understand we won’t see any this time.”

  “That must have been amazing,” Sadie replied.

  “It was. The railroad has changed our nation. New opportunities opened for our family, but it came at a cost,” Momma said.

  Sadie looked at Momma.

  “The buffalo, the Indians, families separated forever.” Momma shrugged. “I try not to dwell on it.”

  Sadie squeezed her mother’s hand. They rarely spoke of the family and friends they hadn’t seen again once they’d moved to California. Granny and Poppy Johnson had visited them in Ohio before they headed west. Sadie might have hugged them longer had she realized it would be the last time they would touch or speak. Every letter was a treasure, but it wasn’t the same as being with each other. Her grandparents had died in turn, first Poppy and then Granny. Their youngest son, Mitch, had been their sole caretaker. And now he lived alone on their family farm in Virginia.

  Sadie and Momma traveled on, speeding through the vast and varied land that made up their nation, in a comfortable silence.

  CHAPTER 5

  JORDAN

  Chicago

  May 1894

  Jordan heard voices in the living room. Naomi must be back from the train station with Lisbeth and Sadie. She smiled, excited that they had managed this surprise for Mama while she was still aware and in good spirits. Whatever was ailing Mama was not taking her quickly from this earth. Jordan patted her mother’s leg and rose from the bedside.

  “Mama, I’ll be back in a moment,” Jordan explained, “with a special surprise for you.”

  “I don’ need anythin’ extra from you, my dear. You and Naomi been takin’ such good care of me.”

  “Thank you, Mama, but you’re getting this treat . . . I’m certain you will be pleased.”

  She opened the door and then closed it quickly to prevent her mother from getting a glimpse of their guests. Lisbeth Johnson, her bright-blue eyes peering out of a notably older face framed by white hair, was in her living room.

  “Thank you for coming,” Jordan whispered as they hugged hello.

  “It’s my honor. I’m touched and grateful to be invited to this tender time,” Lisbeth said. Her eyes showed her emotion.

  Jordan took in a deep breath. It was too soon to start the tears. But then she looked at Sadie. Her breath caught, and powerful emotion swelled in her. Sadie had transformed into a lovely woman, but those eyes. They were the same. This was the little White girl that Jordan had taught, and adored, so long ago.

  Sadie held back, looking nervous. Jordan smiled and opened her arms. Sadie beamed and came in for an embrace.

  “Miss Jordan, it is so sweet to see you again,” the young woman said.

  Jordan nodded. “You too, Sadie.” It had been a long time since anyone had called her Miss Jordan. She’d been Miss Freedman and then Mrs. Wallace for most of her career. Only in Oberlin had her students called her Miss Jordan. It transported her back to being nineteen, Naomi’s age.

  Jordan took Lisbeth’s warm hand. “Come.”

  She opened the door to the bedroom, stepped through, and then paused when Lisbeth was framed in the doorway. Jordan’s heart beat hard in anticipation.

  Mama looked at her from the bed, then at the doorway. Her eyes squinted as she tried to make out who was there. Gray eyebrows pulled inward, showing confusion.

  She didn’t recognize Lisbeth. Or her eyesight was too poor to see her features. Then it came.

  “Oh my!” Tears sprang to Mama’s eyes, and her left hand covered her heart. She reached a wrinkled and bony right hand out toward Lisbeth. It shook up and down. From age or excitement? Most likely both.

  Beaming and teary, Lisbeth rushed to Mama.

  Mama shook her head slowly from side to side, a sweet smile on her face. “Look at you! I thought I ain’t never gonna see you again in this life. My, my, my.” Mama gently cupped Lisbeth’s wet cheeks. “You came all this way for me?” she asked.

  Lisbeth nodded. “Nothing could keep me away, Mattie.”

  Mama looked at Jord
an, her eyes sparkling. “Thank you. This a special su’prise, all right. A very welcome su’prise.”

  Jordan swirled in joy.

  “These are for you, Mrs. Freedman.” Sadie held out a pot of golden flowers. “California poppies.”

  “All right, all right,” Mama proclaimed. “Those some of the most beautiful I ev’r seen. Malcolm spoke the truth. They a sight to see. That Oakland mus’ be a sight indeed. Think we can grow them here in Chicago?”

  “Perhaps, if they go to seed,” Lisbeth replied. “They are annuals. You have to plant the seeds after the snow has melted. They don’t like the cold.”

  “Me neither,” Mama said with a raspy laugh. “Maybe I did belong in California.” A faraway look covered her face. She shook her head. “Ain’t it somethin’. All the places you get to visit that I ain’t never gonna see.” Mama patted her quilt. “Sit right here. Tell me about your travels. What you see in this wondrous land that God made for us.”

  Lisbeth smiled and sat. She took Mama’s fingers. They hadn’t seen each other in years, but they looked so right, so comfortable together with Mama’s dark hand sandwiched in Lisbeth’s white palms.

  Jordan didn’t really understand their connection. She couldn’t imagine that kind of devotion to and trust with a White woman. But the glow in Mama’s eyes confirmed that it had been right to invite Lisbeth Johnson. The love that formed between them five decades ago was still palpable.

  “I’ll leave you two to your visiting,” Jordan said. “Mama’s Bible is right there if you want to read to her. We’ll just be in the kitchen making supper if you need us.”

  “Thank you, Jordan.” Lisbeth looked straight at Jordan, her hand over her heart. She nodded and smiled. “Thank you.”

  Jordan nodded back and let them be.

  “You can put your belongings in Malcolm’s room.” Jordan showed Sadie the other bedroom.

  “Are you certain?” Sadie asked. “We do not want to put him out.”

  “He’s on a turnaround. He’ll be fortunate to squeeze in a two-hour visit with Mama between the time he sets up for the next passengers and welcomes them on the train.”

  “The porters’ work is exhausting,” Sadie said. “I don’t know how he manages so many hours in a row.”

  “Four hundred hours a month,” Jordan said.

  Sadie’s eyes grew large. “That does not give him much time for family . . . or sleep.”

  Jordan nodded. Most people were not aware of the sacrifices the trainmen, and their families, made.

  She and Booker had decided the pain would be worth it to give their children the boost they needed for a better life. But their expectation that the shackles of oppression could only loosen was foolhardy. Even in Chicago, Jordan, Malcolm, and Naomi’s education was no guarantee of work or a stable life.

  Jordan did not share Malcolm’s confidence that the race prejudices in California were less confining and more malleable, but the prospect of life without snow was enough.

  “Malcolm won’t be back for nine days,” Jordan said. “And then only for one night. You may not even see him.”

  Sadie nodded.

  Jordan continued her orientation. “The outhouse on the left is ours. The washstand is behind the kitchen, on the laundry porch. The pump brings clean water directly into the kitchen; it’s very convenient.”

  Sadie smiled. “You are kind to let us stay here. Please let us know if it becomes too much, and how we can be helpful.”

  Naomi replied, “We’re grateful to you for the joy you brought to Grammy by coming. The expression on her face was priceless.”

  “It was. I hardly remember her,” Sadie said, “but you’d think she lives next door with the way my momma always talks about her.”

  Jordan swallowed hard. She was glad to bring Mama the comfort of Lisbeth during her transition, but it was complicated to share her own precious time with her mama with Lisbeth Johnson.

  “Shall we work on supper?” Jordan walked into the kitchen without waiting for a reply.

  Naomi led Sadie outside to fetch wood for the cookstove. Jordan pulled out barley, beans, and bacon grease.

  “Your husband still works with food distribution?” Jordan asked. It was unlikely that his employment had changed since Lisbeth’s last letter, but the financial depression had altered many situations.

  Sadie nodded. Jordan sighed. She didn’t want to work hard to keep up their conversation. There was a memory of being close, but perhaps they had nothing to speak about.

  “How did you meet your husband?” Naomi asked.

  Sadie’s face pulled into a wistful smile. “My cousin Emma,” she replied. “Her husband worked with him. He was lonely, a new immigrant in a strange land—Heinrich, not my cousin’s husband. He came for Easter supper and . . .”

  Naomi asked, “Did you know at once?”

  “Naomi!” Jordan bristled at the personal question.

  Sadie laughed. “I am happy to speak of it.” She thought for a moment and then replied, “It feels so long ago. Almost like it happened to another woman, but I remember being swept away by his passionate devotion. It was almost immediate, like he knew we were meant for one another. His certainty carried me through. And I thought him so handsome.”

  Sadie looked at Jordan, a question in her eyes. Jordan didn’t know what she was asking, but nodded anyway, encouraging her to continue.

  “I was of the age to be married. He had good work with good prospects. I thought he’d be devoted to family.” She laughed again, this time with a wry edge. “I made that part up in my own mind: his devotion to family.”

  Jordan was surprised that Sadie would speak so freely. It gave her hope that their visit would not be too constrained.

  “Where is he from?” Naomi asked.

  “Germany. Bavaria,” Sadie said.

  “Does he enjoy living in California?” Naomi asked.

  Sadie thought again. “He can be like an overly eager boy. His great disappointment is that he missed the Gold Rush, and he dreams that he would have struck big were he born during that time.” She smiled. “He is slowly coming to accept that he will be a manager, not an industrialist. He works closely with Mr. Spreckels, the sugar king. We have been very fortunate.

  “What about you?” Sadie asked Naomi with a conspiratorial smile. “Do you have a beau?”

  Jordan studied her daughter’s face. Naomi shook her head and pulled in her lips. She had been focused on school, rejecting every suitor who had come her way. Jordan was mostly relieved that her child had waited to find a husband—especially now that they were moving to Oakland. But, like most mothers, she wanted her daughter to find a good man.

  “And Malcolm?” Sadie asked.

  Jordan shook her head and shrugged. “He argues he cannot afford a family until he is in the California bar. He says he will settle down after he starts his own law practice.”

  “I understand it is a difficult test,” Sadie replied, empathy on her face.

  “He is convinced he passed the exam in California, but was not admitted to the bar,” Naomi inserted.

  “Why not?” Sadie asked.

  “The judge who examined him openly stated his prejudice against Colored lawyers,” Jordan explained, trying to sound even, and not as bitter as she felt.

  Sadie’s eyebrows furrowed in disbelief, maybe outrage. “That’s not fair!” she replied.

  “No, it’s not,” Jordan agreed. “He paid an enormous amount of his earnings to take it. He’s appealing his case, and we strive to remain hopeful that he will find justice from the courts. If he doesn’t win his appeal, he will pay to take it again, hoping the next time he will go before an unbiased judge for his examination.”

  “Do you have everything you need?” Jordan asked Mama at the end of the day.

  The house was dark and quiet—everyone else had turned in for the night. Jordan and Mama were alone. Jordan had taken to sleeping in Mama’s room in case she needed anything.

  “Yes, I do,” her mother said. “And then some.” Mama took Jordan’s hand and smiled. “That was very kind of you. To sen’ for Lisbeth.”

  Jordan nodded.

  “I hope you gonna keep takin’ care of each other when you get to Oakland,” Mama said. “I don’ know why God keep puttin’ us in each other’s lives but He do.”

  A chill tingled through Jordan. She didn’t understand their connection to this family, but she couldn’t deny the truth of it. Having Sadie and Lisbeth in the house during this passage was right.