The dim cavernous hall of the train station spread out before him as Danny passed through the revolving doors. The echo of voices, the clatter of heels on the marble floors all surrounded him, but his eyes were quickly drawn to the ceiling above.

Tall arches sat atop dozens of marble pillars, boney fingers reaching out to hold up the distant roof. It was a vast expanse of canvas upon which some artist had worked his magic for the generations of passengers to admire.

The ceiling itself was painted a pale blue, with white puffy clouds that seemed to drift across the plaster as he walked beneath. A myriad of small silent birds winged their way across the artificial sky, drawing his eye to the open windows set between the arches. How easily they could escape ... if only they were real.

Hundreds of people traveled through here every day and he wondered how many of them even bothered to look up at the wonderful sky painted above. It seemed a shame; it was the grandest thing he had ever seen.

Danny loved traveling by train and had been looking forward to this trip with his Mom. They had been many places by rail ever since he was a small child. But this time would be different, now they would span the entire continent.

His mother rushed along beside him, followed by a baggage handler who had taken their luggage at the taxi stand out front. Tickets clutched in her hand, his mother was worried that they might be running late.

"The train is waiting on you, don't be worrying," the baggage man laughed. Danny smiled as he caught another glimpse of the gold tooth the man had imbedded in his smile. The man's tooth seemed bigger than life in that white pearly smile.

"Your Aunt Rita will be livid if we don't get off that train on Thursday," his mother said.

"We'll be there on time, Mom. These trains are always on time," Danny said.

"Yes sir, you are right about that," the baggage man said. His deep ebony face lit up when he smiled and Danny just had to return that grin. It would be so cool to have a tooth like that.

They hit Gate 23 at a fast pace and saw the train platform was still full of baggage stacked on carts. People were in various groups waiting to board. Danny's mother slowed down, the relief evident on her face. This train wasn't going anywhere for a while yet.

"You in the first sleeper car up front, Missus," the baggage man said.

"Thank you so much," she replied.

The man stopped by the steps to the first car and spoke with the conductor. He then hefted the three bags on the little dolly and wheeled them along down the length of the train. Danny stared around at the chaos of people and their belongings.

He inspected the large steel wheels of the train carriage and then glanced up at the side of the car. The words Southern Pacific were emblazoned across the stainless steel sides below the windows.

The next car was loading crates through a side door and the baggage man saw Danny watching.

"That's where you eat dinner, the dining car. And up yonder is the club car where you can get's yourself a pop when you thirsty," the man said. They stopped beside another car and the baggage man handed their three suitcases up to the porter and then followed him inside.

Danny glanced at the string of other cars attached beyond theirs. Baggage cars and coach seating he remembered from his previous trips. He was glad they had a sleeping car this time; it would be four days of misery if they didn't.

He saw a movement in the closest window, a lady taking off her coat. And then he saw a boy leaning out the doorway of one of the coach cars. The boy smiled and waved, Danny caught a glimpse of blonde hair and red lips before the face vanished.

The baggage man reappeared and climbed down the steps. Danny smiled as his mother gave the man his fee and a generous tip.

"Thank you kindly, Missus. You all have a safe trip now." The man laughed and shook Danny's hand. "You take care, have a great adventure. Watch out for outlaws, you got's to protect the womenfolk if them bad guys come along."

Danny laughed in reply and saw a twinkle in the man's eye and that gold tooth glinting in the sunlight. His mother climbed the stairs and Danny waved at the baggage man before he followed.

Outlaws, who did this guy think he was fooling? Maybe a few years ago he would have entertained the thought of masked men robbing the train. But he was grown now, hell, he was almost fifteen.

The floor of their sleeping cabin was filled with luggage and Danny stood on the seat to help his mother shove the bags up on the overhead rack. Both the seat and the wall mounted unit folded down bunk bed style. He would be on top where he could get a view out the window at night. The thrill of new adventure seemed to be waiting beyond the heavy glass, but first they had a long trip across country.

By two-thirty the train pulled slowly out of the station. Danny had already memorized their route. Los Angeles, Tucson, then El Paso, San Antonio, Houston, and on to New Orleans, Jacksonville, Orlando ... and finally Miami. Well that was it roughly. There were probably a huge number of stops in between. The whole schedule was in his bag.

His Aunt Rita had just bought a new home in a fashionable part of Miami called Coral Gables. His Uncle Roy had passed years before and Rita had invested their money wisely, or so his mother had always said. Danny wasn't at all surprised when his mother announced that they were moving to Florida to take care of the aging Rita.

Rita had been his mother's salvation in the years after Danny's father died. Danny hadn't really known the man considering he was only two when his plane went down over the Pacific.

His only knowledge of his father was in the stories his mother would often tell. He still had the Purple Heart and Navy Cross his father had earned in the war before Danny was even born. But his father lived on in memory through pictures in the family album his mother kept.

And so when Rita needed her to return the favor they packed up and none too soon for Danny. Long Beach wasn't the bright little beach town anymore, it was growing old and poor. The kids in his school seemed more aggressive as the influx of Mexican children sparked almost daily combat.

Not that he disliked the Mexican kids, he had friends among them. But they didn't always want to fit in, they seemed to keep to themselves and they brought some bad habits across the border.

It wasn't long before the only thing Danny saw out the window was the vast orange groves east of Los Angeles in the valley. He knew from the National Geographic map in his pocket that there was a big desert between California and Arizona. That would be so cool. He had never seen a desert before.

The sound of the train wheels clacking on the rails below their feet soon put Danny's mother to sleep even before they reached Palm Springs. He knew that was the next stop because the conductor went down the corridor announcing the name in a big booming voice.

His mother hadn't been feeling well these past few months, but she never told him anything. Her frequent trips to the doctor's office had yielded a bounty of pill bottles. Although he didn't know exactly what was wrong with her it seemed there were enough pills in her purse to cure an army.

Danny got his book out of the carry on and sat down to read for a while. His mother's soft snores were interrupted only by the sounds of people passing in the corridor outside. He knew there were about two dozen cars in this train.

Figure each sleeper car held ten cabins and that was twenty people. With four sleepers that would be eighty, and then there was coach class. Twenty rows of seats, four across and you had another eighty people. Six coach cars made four hundred and eighty plus the eighty in sleepers and you had five hundred and sixty passengers.

There was the club car, two diners, six baggage cars and three engines. That made twenty one cars, not twenty four. Danny sat back pleased with himself. In three days they would be in New Orleans, on the fourth they would get to Miami. A total of ninety-six hours on the train ... gosh that seemed like a long time.

He loved doing math in his head. It felt important to know how many of the various things around him added up. Like the number of coins in his piggy bank which had totaled seventy eight dollars and sixty-three cents when he broke it open last weekend. So many coins that it had taken him almost an hour to count and roll them up in paper tubes for the bank. Now he carried the bills tucked away in the zippered pocket of his jacket.

He knew it was useless to try and read. The many distractions out in the corridor made him want to go look. Danny figured his mother would be upset if she woke and found him gone. Upset was one thing, getting punished was another. But here they were on a train, what could she possibly do to punish him?

He told himself that he would only stay out for fifteen minutes. It would take that long to walk back through the cars and then turn around. Ok, fifteen minutes tops. Danny looked at his watch which read eleven-fifteen as he quietly slid open the door. There was no one in the corridor at the moment. With a last look at his mother, Danny set off.

Walking in trains was funny business. The cars had a certain sway that took a while for his body to understand and counteract. Bouncing off the walls, Danny laughed as he proceeded towards the rear of their car.

The door hissed as it slid open allowing Danny into the vestibule between cars. The undercarriage racket assaulted his ears as the hot California air whooshed up through the deck plates below his feet. Danny scurried onto the deck of the next car, barely touching the moving plate that covered the gap between cars.

Somehow the thought of standing on that center moving plate had always scared him. It was right above the coupling joining the cars together. It was only a matter of 'what if'. What if the cars came apart? Danny could see himself falling between the cars onto the rails below as the train ran him over.

He knew it was a silly fear but he accepted it for what it was. Plain common sense said that a person shouldn't stand between the cars. He pushed another handle and the other door whooshed open. This second sleeper seemed incredibly silent, but maybe it was just in contrast to the noise he had crossed through.

In the third sleeper he encountered a man in uniform. At first Danny thought it was the conductor. He was willing to tell a small lie if need be to get past the man. But upon closer inspection he saw that the uniform was Naval. Just another officer, a mere junior grade. His father had been a Lieutenant Commander.

"Excuse me," the guy said," is this the way to the club car?"

"No sir, that's about two cars behind you," Danny replied.

"Wrong way then, thanks, kiddo," the sailor said and turned around.

It was an old joke that you couldn't give directions to a sailor unless it contained the words starboard or port. Danny smiled to himself at the thought. He waited in the corridor to give the sailor a head start. This was his private expedition and he didn't want to share the time with anyone.

The fourth sleeper still had baggage in the corridor. Two young girls sat on a suitcase while their mother spoke to a man in a dark blue uniform. Uh oh, this was the real conductor. The guy looked up as Danny approached but then the woman started yelling.

"So if this room isn't available, then where are my girls supposed to sleep. I paid for a stateroom, not coach seats."

"I'm sorry, Ma'am, it was an oversight," the conductor said. "The room is out of order. We'll have a room for you when we reach El Paso."

Danny slid by the man and just kept on walking. Whoosh and he was out of the car. He walked through the dining car and then the club car, passing the sailor standing at the bar. Ahead he could see the coach seats through the window in the next door.

Whoosh and he was out on the platform where he bumped right into the face he'd seen before they boarded.

"Sorry," the blonde boy said. "Oh, I saw you before, mate."

"Um yes, from the door," Danny said.

The boy had the bluest eyes he'd ever seen and they seemed to sparkle with amusement. There was a distinct accent to his English but Danny couldn't make it out. The noise out here was intense and so the silence that built up between them didn't seem to matter. They both stood beside the large glass window set in the door. Beyond the scrubby brush a few cactus trees began to appear.

"I never saw cactus before," Danny yelled.

"We don't have plants like this at home," the boy replied.

"Where's home?"

"Brisbane, Australia ... Queensland actually," the boy said. "My name is Andrew."

"Danny, I'm Danny Briggs. You have kangaroos at home?"

Andrew laughed, "Yes, but not on the lawn. We're going to Florida, ever been there?"

"Nope this is my first time too, it's gonna be fun," Danny replied.

"Maybe, my Uncle has a condo in South Beach, that sounds enticing. Mum says we'll get our own place soon as she gets a chance to study the market."

"I'm going to live with my Aunt Rita, me and my mother."

"No Dad then?" Andrew asked.

"He died in a plane crash when I was small," Danny volunteered.

"Mine run off, the bastard," Andrew said. "Probably drunk with some shelia in Melbourne by now."

Whoa, the boy was saying things he didn't understand but Danny caught the drift. Andrew must have realized his mistake.

"Uh, sorry, have to speak like a right proper American now. My dad ran off with some young girl, left mum and me high and dry. But she got the last laugh; we snagged all his coppers, um ... his money."

"And you came here?"

"Oh, yeah, my mum's American. Do you want some cake?" Andrew asked.

"Cake?"

"Sure enough, it's my birthday, the big thirteen. My mum brought a cake and she's been sharing it out all over the car. Come on then."

Andrew led him into the next car and down the aisle where a woman sat with a young girl beside her.

"Hey Mum, got any of that cake left?" Andrew asked.

"Oh, there you are, honey. And who is this?"

"That's Danny, he would be keen to have some cake."

"It's in that box there, Andy, help him get a piece."

Andrew's mother would have made the boys at Danny's last school go bananas, she was beautiful. He could see where Andrew's blonde hair and blue eyes came from. Danny felt himself begin to blush when he noticed her breasts pushing out the front of her blouse. The fact that she had a few of the buttons undone allowed him to see a bit too much of her cleavage. Fortunately Andrew handed him a slice of cake on a napkin.

"So Danny, is it? How far are you going?" she asked.

"Miami," Danny mumbled through a mouthful of sweet chocolate cake.

"Really, and so are we," Andrew said.

"It's a big city, honey," Andrew's mother said. "We may not be close by."

"We'll be in Coral Gables," Danny said. "Somewhere to the south, I believe."

"That's good, my brother Ronny is in South Beach, then we'll be neighbors," she said.

"Great," Andrew said.

"Are you traveling with your parents?" Andrew's mother asked.

"Uh, my mother," Danny said. "And I best be getting back before she gets worried, she hasn't been feeling well."

"I'll walk back with you," Andrew said.

"Don't get lost, honey."

"And how could that happen, Mum? Not like I can turn any wrong corners in this train."

Danny led the way back, this time running into the conductor sitting in the dining car. The man smiled as they approached and held up a hand for them to stop.

"Do you have tickets?" The man asked. "Coach passengers aren't allowed in the sleeper section of the train."

Danny pulled out his ticket stub, glad he had remembered to bring it. The conductor glanced at it and then looked at Andrew.

"I know you have a coach seat."

"Yes sir ... I was just following Danny back to his room, we're mates," Andrew said.

The man thought for a moment and then smiled once again. "It's a long trip; I suppose you boys should have time together. Just no running around, ok? Be on your best behavior and I'll allow you to visit."

"Thank you, sir," Danny replied.

"That was keen," Andrew said once they entered the vestibule of the car.

"How come you guys didn't get a sleeper?" Danny asked.

"They were all out ... none available is what the ticket agent said."

"Yeah, but that stinks," Danny said. He pointed to the doorway as they passed. "The conductor says this one is out of order and some other lady had to take coach seats."

"Maybe the loo is all bollixed up?" Andrew said.

Danny laughed. "And what does that mean exactly?"

"Oops, there I go again ... I mean the toilet is broken ... sorry."

"I think your accent is cool, but you may have to explain some of the things you say," Danny said.

"Right, no worries mate, I'll do that when I catch myself being too down under."

They made it back to Danny's room and he looked at his watch. He'd been gone half an hour, oops. He quietly turned the handle and looked inside. His mother was reading a magazine.

"Well there you are," she said.

"I didn't mean to worry you," Danny said.

"I'm fine, long as you don't fall off where can you go?"

Danny grinned. "I made a friend." He stood aside and allowed Andrew in the room. "Mom, this is Andrew ... he's back in coach."

Danny's mom smiled, "Nice to meet you, Andrew."

"Um, nice to meet you as well ... Mrs. Sorry, Danny did tell me his last name but I forgot. Oh yes, Mrs. Briggs."

"Australian, I remember the lovely accent. Danny's father and I were in Melbourne many years ago."

"Yes, ma'am," Andrew said.

"They're going to Florida too. Is South Beach very far from where we'll be living?" Danny asked.

"Not far, dear. I'm sure you boys will be able to visit once we settle in."

Danny's mother put a hand to her head. "Sorry dear, I think I have a fever."

"Do they have a doctor on the train?" Danny asked.

"My mum's a registered nurse," Andrew volunteered. "Are you ill? I can go fetch her."

"Not now, I just need a rest." She reached in her purse and handed Danny some money. "Why don't you boys go up to the club car and get yourselves something to eat for dinner, I don't feel like sitting in the dining car. We'll have a proper dinner tomorrow, ok?"

"Ok, Mom. But if you get sick just send the porter to find me, please."

"Yes dear, I will. It was nice meeting you Andrew," she said.

"My pleasure, Mrs. Briggs. Hope you feel better."

"Thank you, Andrew."

The boys bought a sandwich, chips and a drink in the club car, all for about eight dollars apiece.

"That's bloody awful, it's robbery," Andrew said.

"We're what my mother would call a captive audience, we pay or starve," Danny laughed.

"Still, it's much too expensive. Thank you none the less, you didn't have to pay for me."

"Mom wanted me to buy us dinner, she gave me a twenty."

"I hope she eats," Andrew said. "My mum says it isn't good if sick people don't eat."

"Yeah, well she skips meals a lot, I don't like it."

"Well I'll tell mum when I get back, she'll set things right. Can't have you worrying yourself about it the whole trip."

Danny grinned. "That's mighty considerate of you mate."

Andrew grinned back. "Now you got it goin on, we'll make a proper bloke of you yet."

They bought a deck of cards and sat playing Hearts for a while, stopping now and then to look at the barren countryside. This was the desert, nothing much to look at. But the time gave Danny a chance to study his new friend and he felt Andrew's eyes appraising him as well.

A chance encounter that might turn into something special. After all, Danny didn't know any other boys his age in Florida and Andrew seemed right enough for a friendship. Their conversation became an exploration of mutual interests.

"You have any hobbies?" Danny asked.

"Yeah, I suppose. Don't laugh, but I paint."

"Paint ... like pictures?"

"Yes, I've been at it since I was a tyke. Mum says I should take art classes at the University when we get there."

"University?" Danny repeated. "Wow, you really must be good."

"All right I guess. But all that stuff was shipped ahead. I'll show you when we get together again. And what about you?" Andrew asked.

"Um ... I like to write stories. But I've never let anyone read them before," Danny said.

"Ahh a writer ... another tortured soul."

"Tortured?"

"Yes, mate. Creativity is a product of your mind, and it's not always easy. Or do you find it that way for yourself?"

"I worry about how well I write if that's what you mean. It's like wanting to know if I'm making any sense with my words. Do I convey the meaning; am I using the right words, do they all fit together the way I intended?"

"Yup, same here."

"What do you paint, can I ask?"

"Sure, it won't be a secret for long. I started out doing animals and garden stuff when I was about six. I'd sketch a shape and then paint over it, still works that way sometimes. But last year I started doing portraits and that is really hard." Andrew laughed. "Mum says if I keep it up we'll have to change our name to Rembrandt."

"So you must be really good. I can't draw a stick figure," Danny said.

"But you don't have to. You write ... it's like painting with words."

"Exactly how I see it. But are you ever satisfied with the piece when you paint? I never feel finished."

"You have to step back and say done. It's the only way you get to move on to the next thing. I would love to paint your portrait," Andrew said. "You have beautiful eyes."

Danny felt himself blush. But he had watched the boy study his face, and now he knew why.

"Uh ... why me? I'm nothing special. I mean there are lots of pretty people out there who would make great subjects."

"No ... that's not what I'm after. If I do become an artist there will be too many of that type wanting a commission from me and I'll soon be sick of it. You have a nice structure in your face; the rest of you is probably just as well."

Danny laughed. "You want to see the rest of me?"

"I've done nudes. Don't tell anyone, but my mum posed for me last year. It's in the crate with the others," Andrew said, and then the smile. "The thought make you uncomfortable?"

"Of her? No, she's a beauty ... and it was her choice. Oh God, just don't tell my mother, ok?" Danny said.

"I meant about you. I think the male body is bloody awesome, but I've never had the opportunity to work with one nice as yours."

"You mean it? I don't know ... can I think about it? Like, what would I have to do?"

"Stand still for hours, but you do get breaks." Andrew laughed. "And hopefully no distractions will get you excited. I'm not into porno."

Now Danny blushed a deep crimson. His life had been full of erections this past year. He was hopeless to stop it without ...

Andrew reached across the table and laid a hand on Danny's wrist. "Sorry, didn't mean to embarrass you. Bloody hell, we both have the same problem, it has a mind of its own now doesn't it?" His grin said it all.

"Right now?" Danny asked.

"Hard as a steel rod, nothing for it ... well except the usual, but I pretty much guessed that option wouldn't be available until we got off the train. I am not going to use that filthy bathroom enclosure." Andrew laughed. "Just don't ask me to stand up quite yet."

Their eyes shared the moment and Danny knew right then that if Andrew asked again he would pose. Being naked in front of this boy seemed Enticing ... and it wouldn't be the first time he'd dealt with these feelings.

The normal explorations of boyhood he'd had with a few friends in the past had been a revelation. The urges had yet to be crystallized, but Danny knew that what he felt was different than what most boys thought, and so he buried these feelings deep inside. What he couldn't tell Andrew was that he had poured out the thoughts in his stories, and there were dozens and dozens in the notebooks he kept.

Around seven o'clock the conductor walked the cars announcing the next stop as Yuma. "Yuuuuuma," he said in that booming voice. "Yuuuuuma, Arizona."

"So you are going to make your mother eat something?" Andrew asked.

"No, I can't get her to do anything. Maybe if we got your Mom to say something. She'd listen to a nurse."

"Brilliant move ... let's go get her," Andrew said.


On to Chapter Two

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