Chapter 7

“I do this once or twice in almost every town I visit.”

“So, you really just travel around?”

“Yeah, lately I’ve set a price before I go to the station. Then I’ll buy a ticket to wherever that number can take me.”

“What was the number this time?”

“Eighty-three. I wanted to aim for higher things.” Luke grinned.

Eight-three. Sounded like a lucky number.

“Hey, look. You made people smile.” Luke gestured with his chin at a family that stopped to look. The two young daughters were all giggles as they looked at River’s doodles. The smallest was trying to walk along the border he drew, balancing on the thin lines while her mother scolded her to not walk all over the pretty drawing. River stared at the scene not knowing how to feel. Onlookers were finding his silly-bordered mess more interesting than Luke’s scenic spread. River thought his doodles were childish but they apparently made every pair of eyes crinkle with happy thoughts.

“You’ve been smiling, too, finally. Did you notice?”