Weeks passed by and Fall was beautiful in its brilliant colors. Emiline had enjoyed those weeks more than all the others. She had spent every Saturday listening to Anastasia's exciting stories about city life. But now, time was drawing on, and Anastasia was packing all of her gorgeous gowns back into her suitcases. Sadness crept over Emma's heart as she watched the young lady and Susan getting ready for their trip. It was going to be dull and miserable while Susan was gone. She wouldn't have anything to do on Saturday afternoons except to stay at home and listen to Grandma complain about her pains. Of course, that meant that she would be running a lot of errands too.
"Susan is going to have so much fun in the city!" she thought one day, scribbling on her slate at school without thinking about the math problem she was trying to solve. "She'll probably come home with all kinds of new dresses and shoes." She sighed in agony. "I guess I'll never know what it's like to be a city girl. I'll probably stay in this little town until I'm an old maid."
The clock in the schoolhouse struck twelve as Miss Weed sent all of the children out to have lunch.
Emma rose to her feet and started toward the door, but for once, Susan didn't hurry her outside. The girl was still sitting at her desk, trying to finish one last thing before she followed the crowd. Emiline left her with a heavy heart.
"I'll have to get used to it," she told herself. "Soon, she's going to be gone." She slumped down onto one of the steps outside and rested her chin in her palms. The other children started gobbling down their lunches, but Emma couldn't think of eating. She was just too heartbroken to have an appetite.
In a moment, the sound of heavy footsteps tromped down the stairs to Emiline's side.
"Emma, can I sit with you?" a voice said happily. Emiline looked up at Dorothy and nodded her head with as much of a smile as she could muster. Dotty's happy eyes became sad with concern.
"What's wrong, Emma?" she asked caringly. She sat down by her friend and took the girl's hand.
"Oh, Susan's going to leave in a few days," Emiline answered gloomily. "She's going all the way to the seaside with her cousin, and I'm going to be all alone." Dorothy smiled sweetly.
"No you aren't," she said. "I'll be with you." Emma looked over at Dotty in surprise.
"Oh...yes, that's right," she answered. She smiled a little bit brighter and gave Dorothy a hug. But inside, she still felt sad. There was also a strange feeling in her heart now; a feeling that she didn't like. Somehow, the thought of having Dotty's company didn't sound like much fun to her. She had been soaking in each elegant detail of Susan and Anna's extravagance for days. Dorothy wasn't exciting or rich like they were. Even though Emma loved the little girl, she was afraid she would be terribly bored spending the weekends with her.
Suddenly, Susan hurried outside and pulled Emiline to her feet.
"Emiline, come with me," she said. Her voice almost sounded desperate. Emma and Dotty looked at her questioningly.
"Where are you two going?" Dorothy asked curiously. Susan almost didn't want to take the time to answer, but she didn't want to be rude.
"Oh, hello Dotty!" she said hastily. "I'm sorry we can't stay to have lunch with you, but we really must speak about something. Goodbye!" Without another minute's pause, Susan hustled Emiline away from the crowd of children.
"What's wrong, Susan?" Emma asked, panting as she raced to keep up with her friend.
"Emiline, you have to promise me something," Susan stated in a dramatic voice.
"Promise? I don't understand!" Emiline's thoughts spun around in her mind frantically. What was the matter? Had something terrible happened? Her heart skipped a beat in terror. "Oh no!" she gasped inside. "What if her parents decided to move back to the city?What if I'll never see her again and she wants me to promise never to forget her?"
Her heart wanted to break. "Oh Susan! I'll never, ever forget you!" Tears started welling up in her eyes as Susan led her to a lonely place out by a Box Elder tree. There, her friend turned to face her and took both of her hands.
"Emma, I'm leaving for the city this Saturday," she said in a fearful voice. Emiline threw her arms around her friend's neck and let out a whimper.
"Oh Susan, don't tell me you're never coming back! You can't leave me for good!" she cried. "What would I do without you?" Susan pulled away from Emma's desperate hug and looked at her with wide eyes.
"No, no, nothing like that!" she exclaimed. "I'll be back in two weeks. But, Emma, I don't want to leave at all! That's why you have to promise me something. Please say that you will!" Emiline looked around nervously. Promises were serious things. Once they were made, they couldn't be broken.
"What kind of a promise, Susan?" she asked.
"Promise me that you'll come to the city with me! I won't mind it so much if you're there! If you come with me and my family, I might actually have some fun! Please, oh please say you will!" A fluttery feeling of joy and uncertainty filled Emiline's heart. Was she really being invited to go to a big city? She wanted to blurt out a wholehearted yes, but she pressed her lips together and held the word back.
"I...I would love to Susan!" she exclaimed.
"But I have to ask Mother and Father first! Oh, I hope they say yes!" Susan's face brightened with hope.
"They will! I'm sure my parents can convince them! I've already asked my father and Uncle Henry if you could come with us and they both said yes! Besides, it's only for a couple of weeks. You'll be back before long!"
Emma hoped beyond hope that Susan's words were true. The girls ate their lunch in a hurry, talking about the fun they would have together and the things they would see. Then, they finished their lessons and both of them hurried to Emiline's house.
As they burst in through the front door, Grandma Adler gave a wild start.
"Goodness gracious, Children!" she exclaimed. "Is that any way to enter a room? You nearly scared me out of my wits!" She took a deep breath to calm herself and then put on a more composed tone of voice. "Now, Emiline, perhaps you would introduce me to this lovely young lady you've brought."
"This is my best friend, Susan Elwin!" Emma answered excitedly. "She's come to ask Mother and Father a favor!"
"I see," Grandma said. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Elwin. I'm Emiline's grandmother, Mrs. Adler. Emiline, Dear, I think your parents are both outside in the garden."
"Thank you!" the girls chimed joyously. They ran away to complete their mission with so much eagerness that Grandma's mind began to worry.
With a pain and a groan she rose from her seat and walked stiffly after the two.
Emma's parents were right where Grandma Adler had said they would be. They were pulling the withered tomato vines out of their garden and her sisters were bouncing around beside them.
"Mother, Father, we have something to ask you!" Emiline exclaimed, hurrying to her parents. "Susan is going back to the city for a while and she's invited me to go with her! Please, can I go?"
"It would be so much fun Mr and Mrs. Elmwood!" Susan added excitedly. "I would take her to the seaside and we would go shopping in town!"
Emma's mother and father stared at the girls in surprise with a doubtful look in their eyes. They were listening and thinking very carefully about the situation, but as Grandma Adler reached the garden gate, her stern voice rang out in shock.
"You want Emiline to travel miles away from home? To a city?" she exclaimed. Emma and Susan gave a start and looked over their shoulders at the old woman. Her hawk-like eyes were frowning behind her spectacles. It was enough to frighten them. "No, no, no!" Grandma said decidedly. "That is the worst suggestion I have heard in my life! City's are not safe places. Especially not for children. She might be kidnapped and never seen again!" Emiline's countenance sank and her heart throbbed angrily.
"But I'm not exactly a child!" she thought to herself. "I'm going to be thirteen soon!"
She disregarded her Grandmother's words and looked at her Mother and Father again.
"But, I would be safe!" she explained.
"Yes," Susan put in. "My mother and father will be there. So will my Aunt Marge and Uncle Henry! Besides, I lived in that city for over eight years and nothing bad ever happened to me!" Mrs. Elmwood looked at her husband to ask him for his opinion. Emma's Father was looking very uncertain. Finally, her parents answered that they would think about it.
Emiline was being swayed between hope and fear. She knew it wasn't likely that she would be allowed to go. Especially since Grandma kept telling them how dangerous the journey sounded. But, the next morning, Susan's parents payed the Elmwoods a visit. They told Emma's mother and father how wonderful and safe their city was, and how they would never leave Emiline unguarded. It would be a wonderful opportunity for her to visit a new place and learn new things. The trip wouldn't interrupt her school work because they said there was a very clever tutor in the city who would teach the girls their lessons each day. After a while, they convinced everyone, except for Grandma Adler.
"I still say she should stay at home," the lady said, shaking her head. "Girls need their mother and father to protect and guide them." Susan's mother, Mrs. Elwin, smiled in agreement.
"That is certainly true," the woman answered. "And I can assure you, as a mother, I promise to take just as good care of Emiline as I do my own daughter, Mrs. Adler." Then looking at the girl's mother in a reassuring way, she said. "Emiline will be safe with us Jane. And she'll have such an enjoyable time."
Emma sat in the living room, listening to the discussion eagerly. Finally the glorious moment came when her parents both said yes. Her dreams were all coming true and she felt like her heart was soaring like a song bird in the sky.