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“The bells will light up at night,” said Min.

“And everyone is decorating the store windows,” added Flora. She turned to her sister. “Just wait until we get to New York. Think what the decorations will look like there.”

“They'll be beautiful,” said Ruby dreamily.

And then Min spoiled everything by driving by the community center. In a flash, Ruby was back on the risers, standing mutely before an expectant audience; just standing there when she should have begun her solo. When at last she had opened her mouth, everyone had stared at her, and not in a good way.

Ruby crossed her arms and looked bleakly at the passing countryside. She could think of nothing that would cheer her, not even baby Janie.

When Min parked the car at the train station, Flora took a look at Ruby's glowering face and made a decision. She waited until Min was talking to the ticket agent and then she pulled Ruby aside and whispered loudly, “Ruby, don't you dare spoil this vacation. You were the one who wanted to go to New York so badly, and Min planned the trip and took time off from the store and got tickets to a show and everything. So
do not
pout. Because if you start, I'm going to tell Min that she might as well cut the trip short and take us back home right away. I swear I will do that.” Before Ruby could say anything, Flora continued, “Okay. Here comes Min with the tickets. Now, smile and be pleasant. And
mean
it.”

Ruby looked stunned by what her sister had said, and Flora felt a bit stunned. But she wasn't going to take any of it back.

“Okay, girls,” said Min. “Track three. The train will be here in ten minutes.”

“Do you think we could get something to eat in the club car?” Flora asked. “That would be so much fun.”

“Certainly,” said Min.

“What's a club car?” asked Ruby.

“It's kind of like a snack bar on wheels.”

Flora watched her sister's face brighten. “Cool!” exclaimed Ruby, and Flora relaxed.

 

The train rolled past hills and mountains. It sped by cities and towns. Flora and Min sat in a seat facing Ruby; Flora and Ruby were glued to the windows. When their stomachs began to grumble, the girls were allowed to go to the club car by themselves and buy snacks. They returned to the seats with chips and soda and a cup of tea for Min.

Flora was the first to see skyscrapers in the distance.

“There it is!” cried Flora. “New York!”

“The Big Apple!” exclaimed Ruby, twisting around in her seat.

“I think I see the Empire State Building!” said Flora. She was slightly disappointed when, seconds later, the train sped into a tunnel and the view of the city disappeared, but she gazed out the darkened windows anyway.

“Here we are,” said Min presently as the train drew to a stop. “Grand Central.”

Flora and Ruby and Min collected their suitcases, stepped onto the platform, and walked into an enormous room with a gloriously painted ceiling. “
This
is a train station?” said Flora.

On the ceiling, in gold against a brilliant blue background, were thousands of stars. “The constellations,” whispered Flora.

Ruby dropped her suitcase as she tipped her head back and stared. She stared for so long that she nearly lost her balance. Flora caught her elbow. “Wow,” said Ruby.

Outside, Min told the girls that they were going to walk for several blocks. And so they did, until suddenly Min hopped off the curb and stuck out her hand, and to Flora's amazement, a cab swerved out of the traffic and came to a stop in front of them. The driver popped open the trunk and stepped onto the sidewalk to load the suitcases inside. Min slid into the backseat of the cab, and a very surprised Flora and Ruby slid in after her.

“Min! How did you know how to do that?” asked Flora.

“Hail a cab? I have my ways,” she replied.

The driver closed his door and turned to look at Min, who said, “Twelfth Street between Fifth and Sixth, please.”

The cab sped off.

Once again, Flora was glued to the window. “I've never
seen
so many people,” she said. “And everyone is moving so
fast
.”

“Just like on TV,” added Ruby.

Flora marveled at the bustle and activity. There was movement every where. People hurried down sidewalks and darted across streets. Cars and trucks and buses and cabs screeched around corners. A man rode by on his bicycle, a small dog running beside him on his leash. A woman zoomed along on her scooter. Doors opened and closed. A little boy jumped up and down, screeching, “But I
want
a doughnut! I
want
one!”

“In just this one block,” said Flora when the cab was stuck in traffic, “I see three restaurants, a shoe store, a store called Funny Cry Happy —”

“Funny Cry Happy? What do you think they sell in
there
?” asked Ruby.

“A pizza place,” Flora continued, craning her neck to the left, “a Starbucks, a little grocery store, and a dry cleaner.”

“Welcome to New York,” said Min.

At last, the cab turned onto a quiet tree-lined street, and Min leaned forward and said to the driver, “It's the big building on the left.”

The cab pulled up to the sidewalk, the trunk was popped open again, and Flora and Ruby and Min climbed out and claimed their suitcases. Min paid the driver, and Flora gawked at the fountain in front of the building and the doorman in his fancy uniform who was standing at the entrance.

“Follow me, girls,” said Min, and she strode toward the doorman. “Good morning,” she greeted him. “We're here to visit Allie Read, who's staying in 3E.”

The doorman smiled at them and led them inside to a small desk. He picked up a phone and as he was dialing it he said to Min, “May I have your name, please?”

“Mindy Read,” she replied. “I'm Allie's mother.”

The doorman spoke into the phone, then hung it up and said, “Go on up. The elevator's over there on the right.”

“Oh, Min, this is so exciting!” said Flora in a hushed voice as they stepped into the elevator. “
Every
thing is so exciting. Imagine us in a New York City apartment building. I feel like I'm in a movie.”

The elevator rose to the third floor, and when the door opened, Allie was waiting for them. “I can't believe you're here!” she said, and then burst into tears and clung to Min. “Sorry,” she said a few moments later. “Sorry. I'm so … emotional. You'd think
I
was the one who just gave birth.”

“What's the news?” asked Min as Allie led them down a hallway. “Anything since last night?”

Allie shook her head. “No. And I don't think I'll get to see the baby for a while. Probably not until she's ready to come home with me. Even then I won't meet the birth parents. Everything will be handled through lawyers. But as far as I know, nothing has changed, and Janie and her mom are doing as well as the doctors could hope.” Allie opened a door marked 3E. “Here we are,” she said.

Flora stepped into a foyer with four doorways leading to other rooms, and a small hall leading to more rooms in the back. “This is big!” she exclaimed. “I thought an apartment would be small.” She poked her head into a kitchen, a living room, a dining room, an office, and two bedrooms. “Wow!” she said. “Wow!”

“I could live here,” said Ruby, setting down her suitcase.

“Hey, look out this window,” said Flora. “You can see right into those apartments across the street. Boy, you don't really have much privacy in an apartment.”

“Well, who cares?” replied Ruby. “It's New York,
hello
. Hey, Aunt Allie, do you think any movie stars live in those apartments? Just think, Flora, we could be looking right into Julie Andrews's apartment. Or Meryl Streep's. Ooh, ooh! Or George Clooney's! Wouldn't that be cool?”

“Somehow I think their apartments are fancier than the ones you're looking into,” said Aunt Allie. “Here, let me show you where you're going to sleep. You can unpack a bit, and then we'll go out for lunch. How would you like to eat in a French bistro?”

“Ohhhh,” breathed Flora. “A French bistro.”

“Just like on
I Love Lucy
when Lucy orders the snails,” said Ruby. “Hey! Now's my chance to try snails.”

“You're really going to order snails?” asked Flora incredulously.

“Yup,” said Ruby. “I'm definitely going to think about possibly ordering snails.”

Flora decided the bistro was the most exotic place she had ever been in, even though the waiters and waitresses didn't speak French, as she had hoped they would. Still, she and Ruby and Min and Aunt Allie were shown to a small round table with fancy little chairs and given menus featuring dishes with names like
croque monsieur
and
steak au poivre
.

“Look, Ruby,” said Aunt Allie. “Here are your snails. See where it says
escargots
?”

Ruby turned slightly pale. “So they really are on the menu,” she murmured. “Well,” she said after a few moments, “if I ordered them, would you all try one?”

“No way,” said Flora.

“No, thank you,” said Min.

“You're on your own,” said Allie.

Ruby continued to study the menu. “Do you think they have grilled cheese sandwiches?” she finally asked. Flora snorted. “Well, what are
you
going to have?” Ruby wanted to know.

“A hamburger and French fries. At least the fries are French.”

After lunch, Aunt Allie, Min, Flora, and Ruby took the subway uptown. Flora was fascinated. “Riding in an underground train,” she marveled. “Just imagine what's above us. Buses, stores, apartment buildings, skyscrapers…. How come the subway tunnels don't collapse under those tons and tons of weight?”

“Let's not think about that,” said Min faintly.

When they stepped out of the subway, Allie said, “What shall we do first? Go to Central Park? Walk down Fifth Avenue?”

“Fifth Avenue,” said Flora.

“Central Park,” said Ruby.

Allie tossed a coin in the air and Ruby won. They strolled through Central Park and Flora couldn't believe they were right in the middle of a huge city. “It feels almost like the country here,” she said.

“Except for those people on bicycles and skateboards and scooters. And that woman over there drumming. And those guys break-dancing,” said Ruby.

“Well, you know what I mean,” said Flora. “I can barely see any buildings from here.”

They turned around and walked back to Fifth Avenue. They poked their heads into jewelry stores. In one, Flora saw a diamond-and-emerald necklace priced at $27,000. “Ruby!” she exclaimed in a whisper. “Look at this! At first I thought it cost twenty-seven dollars, and then I realized it's twenty-seven
thousand
dollars. Who spends that much money on a necklace?”

Ruby sucked in her breath. “A billionaire, I guess. But I'll bet no one will buy it. I'll bet if we came back in five years, it would still be here.”

“Aunt Allie?” said Flora as they left the jewelry store. “Is there any place where I can buy presents for my friends? I mean, presents I can afford? I want to get souvenirs and Christmas presents.”

“Me, too,” said Ruby.

They walked until they found a gift shop with T-shirts and baseball caps and mugs and posters in the window.

“Now we're talking,” said Ruby.

Flora opened her purse and consulted a piece of paper that she had unfolded. On one side was a list of people she needed to buy gifts for. On the other side was her budget. “This could take a while,” she announced. “I'll have to shop very, very carefully.” When they left the store, Flora had bought a
Lion King
T-shirt for Nikki and a mug featuring the Empire State Building for Olivia.

Ruby had bought nothing.

“I think we're all flagging,” commented Min.

“Maybe dinner will revive us,” said Allie.

“Dinner?” said Flora and Ruby.

“How about Chinese?” asked Allie. “I know the perfect place.”

As soon as they were seated in the Chinese restaurant, Flora decided that
this
was the most exotic spot she had ever been in. The walls were red and gold. A statue of Buddha was peeking over Min's shoulder. The table was set with forks and knives and chopsticks.

“Bird's nest soup,” said Ruby, studying the menu. “Is that really made from … twigs and dog fur?”

“Here's egg drop soup,” said Flora. “You know, they could combine the soups into one dish. Put the eggs in the nests.”

Ruby giggled. “Instead of dropping them.”

Min said, “I think you girls are getting punchy.”

Flora thought that maybe she was a little punchy. But she didn't care. This had been one of the best days of her entire life.