“Ah, but use your imagination,” Luke urged. “Twenty years from now they will provide a glorious avenue of shade for the masses.” He had taken over Caroline’s spot on the McMillan Commission after the babies were born. Caroline wanted a year off to indulge her long-awaited motherhood, and Luke had promised to keep her seat warm until she was ready to return.
Progress on the National Mall was fully underway as old buildings were torn down and scaffolding erected to build new ones. Gray, being Gray, thought it a waste of taxpayer funds, but Luke had always loved to dream big. Marianne enjoyed listening to the two men trade arguments over the mall. When Gray and Luke got warmed up on a topic, they could go at it for hours. They were completely different in their outlooks on life, but that was what made their friendship so unique. Their differences were celebrated, not scorned, and it was a joy to be a part of such an accepting family.
The top of the carriage had been folded back. It was a perfect June evening, and the fresh air felt good after being cooped up in the train. Fifteen minutes later they rounded the bend onto Caroline’s street, where a handful of men had already gathered on her front lawn.
“Hey, that’s Princeton!” Luke said, standing in the carriage to wave to his old comrade from the Poison Squad. Luke didn’t even wait for the wheels to stop rolling before he hopped down and gave Princeton a back-pounding hug.
Gray’s eyes twinkled in amusement as he helped Marianne and the baby out of the carriage. There were dozens of men here, but Marianne only recognized a few. She spotted St. Louis and Dr. Wiley standing among a cluster of politicians on the front porch.
“A reunion of the Poison Squad?” she asked Gray.
He nodded. “Among other things. Caroline rounded up as many as she could find on short notice. There’s a big announcement to be made.”
It looked like he wanted to say more, but he was dragged away by Annabelle to help set up tables in the backyard.
Marianne hoisted Rosie over her shoulder and navigated through the crush of people to the upstairs bedroom where a nanny watched over the children in various stages of demolishing their supper. She surrendered the still-slumbering Rosie to the nanny, then headed back downstairs, scanning the odd assortment of people gathered for the party. Politicians, journalists, scientists, and government clerks crowded the main floor of the house.
Caroline spotted her across the crowded parlor and rushed to close the distance between them. “Thank heavens you could make it!” she gushed. “Luke is with you?”
“He’s surrounded by a gaggle of men outside. Shall I bring him in?”
Caroline nodded. “Dr. Wiley is ready to make the announcement. Can you help me get everyone out to the backyard? It’s the only place big enough to hold everyone.”
It took some doing to pull Luke away from the Poison Squad men, as St. Louis was boasting about his bronze medal in the 1904 Olympics. A few bottles of champagne had already been opened, and when rumor spread that there was more in the backyard, the crowd began funneling through the house to the back. Soon everyone was gathered beneath the linden trees on the grassy lawn. Dr. Wiley stood on a chair on the far side of the yard to make his grand announcement. Marianne slipped her hand into Luke’s. He seemed as bewildered as she was about the cause for this spontaneous gathering.
Dr. Wiley tapped on a glass to settle the crowd, then began speaking. “Thank you all for gathering on such short notice, for tonight marks the culmination of all our plans, and it has been a long and unexpectedly difficult journey. I remember Luke Delacroix once telling me that people who expect quick or easy solutions aren’t dreaming big enough. Luke? Where are you?”
“Here, sir!” Luke bellowed with a good-natured wave, and Dr. Wiley raised his glass in a toast.
“The sentiment is certainly true, as everyone gathered in this yard can attest. The fight for a pure food and drug supply has been ongoing for thirty years. Our first bill was defeated in 1880, and over the last twenty-six years we have had more than one hundred bills shot down in Congress. My friends, I am proud to say that as of three hours ago, the bill for the Pure Food and Drug Act has been passed by Congress. Today, we have won.”
The cheering started before Dr. Wiley had even stopped speaking. Luke dragged Marianne into an embrace and smothered her with a kiss while everyone in the yard applauded. She managed to disentangle herself from Luke long enough to hear the rest of Dr. Wiley’s speech. President Roosevelt promised to sign the bill by the end of the week, and a new agency would be created to oversee its implementation.
Dr. Wiley began pointing out members of the crowd who’d helped fight the battles over the years. He pointed out the plant explorers who searched the world to bring back seeds resistant to spoilage. He thanked the congressmen who shepherded bills through committees, the chemists and clerks who processed data, and the countless anonymous people whose daily endeavors worked to create this monumental accomplishment.
“It took the unique talents of thousands of people to arrive at this point,” Dr. Wiley said. “Each of us has a purpose in this world, for God does nothing in vain. I hope that the generation who came before us is proud of how we delivered on the foundation they built for us, but our work is not finished. We need to carry on and raise up a new generation who will be ready to shoulder the challenges in the next century.”
Dr. Wiley continued speaking, but Luke abruptly left Marianne’s side and made his way to the edge of the yard. She angled through the crowd to reach him where he faced away from the others, his hand braced against the fence and his head low.
“Are you okay?” she asked, for he was quietly beating back tears.
He sniffled and laughed. “You know I can sometimes be a watering pot at times like these. It’s been a long road to get here.”
Gray saw what was happening and joined them. “You should be very proud,” he said.
“You too,” Luke said, and it was true. Luke and Gray had both endured huge sacrifices to call attention to this issue. None of it had been easy. It took the collective strength of journalists, politicians, scientists, and rabble-rousers. The men of the Poison Squad helped not only with the sacrifice of their bodies, but by helping draw attention to the cause. It took the quiet labor of people like Annabelle, working in laboratories to compile data. It had been a long slog full of disappointments, setbacks, and compromises. After decades of slowly chipping away at resistance, they had finally arrived at the finish line. It was the struggle that made evenings like this all the sweeter.
Marianne clasped Luke’s hand. His grief over what had happened in Philadelphia was now over. It was proof that tragedies could sometimes give rise to positive change. Now that this quest was finished, Luke would probably go looking for a new mountain to climb tomorrow, but for tonight it was time to celebrate.
Once, long ago, Marianne had dreamed of a perfect family where nothing bad ever happened and life unfolded in rose-tinted harmony. That mistaken belief caused her to be hurt time and again as she dwelled on unrealistic expectations and dissatisfactions with her life. Now she understood that she should have been counting her blessings each day, for struggle and setbacks were a normal part of any relationship in this fallen world. And that was okay. Her life was filled with a wild and diverse mix of people who alternately frustrated and inspired her. Some good, and some bad, but all of them a part of this wonderful, imperfect world where each day brought new challenges and joy.