Ethel and Bert Baylor were both crying, and tears formed in Billy's eyes as they disappeared from his view. But in a few moments he composed himself and turned his thoughts to the new life he faced with his natural mother. It was as if he were launching into a new and exciting adventure, and he felt as if he had suddenly become a man, ready to tackle life.

His real mother and a sister! A new home. A new life! He wondered if his mother were as beautiful as he imagined her. He had asked Ma Baylor a hundred times about her – what she looked like, what kind of personality she had, and a hundred other details about the mother he'd never met. He was sure she would be beautiful, soft and kind, an angel on earth. Ma Baylor hadn't told him much except that his mother had dark hair and was petite and pretty, because that was about all the Baylors really knew about Laura Moore.

But Billy had conjured up an image of his mother, that made her a shining, vivacious, lovable creature. He had always dreamed of the day when he would meet her, and now it was here. He had thought of her wishfully every night, after he and Ma Baylor had had that nasty scene.

The sandy-haired thirteen-year-old stared at the scenery flashing by as the train picked up speed, and his mind lapsed back to the Saturday it had happened. Ma Baylor had gone shopping and Pa Baylor had gone to a ballgame. Billy was in the bathroom playing his new game – the game that had almost overnight become his favorite pastime. It felt so good when he played with himself, so good that he saw no reason not to do it often. And though he felt a vague guilt afterwards, he pushed it aside, for he felt too good while he was doing it to ever give it up.