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offered assuringly. “And it’s certainly more than she deserved.”
    Mariah agreed, but still, her heart ached for what might have been.
    The next morning, Mariah was accompanied to the train station by Libby and Kaye. Hugs were shared as were tears, but Mariah was admittedly excited about the adventure ahead.
    Eyes wet, Kaye stated, “Make sure you write to me just as soon as you can, and thank you so much for my beautiful gown. I do wish you were coming back to stand up with me.”
    Mariah wished the same but doubted she’d have the money saved to do so, nor did she envision Mrs. Yates allowing her take the time off after only a few months of employment.
    Libby said, “Wire me when you arrive, so that I’ll know you got there safely.”
    “I promise.”
    The train’s whistle blew. It was time to depart. She gave the two women who meant so much to her another fierce hug. Having already sent her trunks to the baggage car, she stepped aboard. Through another round of tears, she blew them a kiss and went to find her seat.

Chapter 4
    A s the whistle sounded and the train slowly pulled out of the station, Mariah was filled with mixed emotions. On one hand, she was embarking on a new life, but on the other, leaving her mother under such acrimonious circumstances continued to resonate with sadness. Would they ever reconcile, or live apart until death? In spite of all the pain and heartache she’d suffered, Mariah tried to remain optimistic, even though she knew her mother held no such feelings.
    For the rest of the morning, the train made the trek across the state of Pennsylvania before crossing the border into Ohio. The conductor said the cross-country trip to Sacramento could take as many as five days; what with stops to pick up passengers in places like Chicago, St. Louis, and Denver, the possibilities of inclement weather, engine failures, derailments, and accidents with livestock on the tracks, travel time could be increased to a week. Mariah wasn’t looking forward to being stuck in her seat that long, but was grateful the conductor wasn’t enforcing Jim Crow, otherwise she might’ve been forced to pass the time in the end of the train with the cattle or with questionable men with pipes and cigars in the smoking car.
    While the train chugged along, she took out her embroidery hoop to keep busy. She also gazed out her window and wondered about the people on the farms and in the towns they passed. Were they content with their lives? Did they have dreams of adventure, too? Were any of them estranged from their parent? She had no answers.
    By the time they took on more passengers in Chicago and pulled away from the station, it was full dark. Although Mariah’d had no seat mate upon leaving Philadelphia, she was now joined by a tiny, dark-skinned older woman who got on with a large number of brown shopping bags. She introduced herself. “I’m Mrs. Daisy Stanton. Was in Chicago visiting my cousin.”
    “I’m Mariah Cooper. Pleased to meet you, Mrs. Stanton.”
    “Same here. Where are you traveling to?”
    “California.”
    “Ah, the only state in the Union named for a Black woman.”
    Mariah stilled.
    Mrs. Stanton gave her a kind smile. “You look surprised.”
    “I am. I never heard of such a thing.”
    “Few outside of the state have. I’m a native of California and taught school there for many years. Live with my daughter in Denver now. I’ll tell you all about Queen Calafia in the morning. Too tired right now, so I’ll bid you good night, Mariah.”
    “Good night, ma’am.”
    A few seconds later, her eyes closed, leaving a very stunned Mariah to try and find sleep as well.
    The following morning, true to her word, Daisy told Mariah about the Black queen the state of California was named for.
    “She was written about in a book back in the fifteen hundreds titled , Las sergas de Esplandian, which in English means, ‘The Adventures of Esplandian.’ Its stories of Calafia and her island of gold are