Bubble Troubles (5 page)

“What is it?” Mom asked, stepping out of the kitchen to greet the twins in the utility room, where they were hanging up their jackets.

Mattie grinned, handing her mother a piece of paper. “I passed the spelling test and only missed two words!” She glanced over at Mark as he showed Mom his. “ ’Course, he didn’t miss any of the spelling words.”

Mom looked at the twins’ test scores and gave them each a hug. “I’m glad you both did so well. It sounds like you had a good day.”

Mark and Mattie nodded.

“See, you were worried for nothing.” Mom gave Mattie’s shoulder a gentle tap. “You just need to do your best and train yourself not to worry. As your Grandpa Troyer used to tell me when I was a little girl, ‘There are two days in the week you should never worry about—yesterday and tomorrow.’ ”

“That’s right,” Mark put in. “Worry gets ya nowhere. Oh, and I think Mattie did well on the test ’cause she practiced the words like I told her to do.”

Mom smiled. “I have some apples and cheese slices ready for you in the kitchen. You can have either a glass of milk or some cold apple cider, to go with your snack.”

“That sounds good. I’ll have some apple cider, please.” Mattie smacked her lips. “I’m
hungerich
!”

“I’m hungry, too, but I’ll have milk instead of cider,” Mark said. “But before we eat our snack, I wanna ask Mom a question.”

“What’s that?” Mom asked.

“John invited me over to his house tomorrow to play. If it’s all right with you and Dad, I’d like to go.”

Mom shook her head. “Tomorrow is Grandma Troyer’s birthday. Did you forget?”

Mark slapped the center of his forehead. “Oh, that’s right. I wouldn’t wanna miss that for anything. Guess I’ll have to call John and leave a message on his folks’ answering machine so he knows I won’t be coming over tomorrow.”

“I’m excited about going to Grandma and Grandpa’s,” Mattie said. “I like it when we hire a driver and go all the way to Burton.” It was always good to spend time with their grandparents, and with it being Grandma’s birthday, Mattie knew the day would be even better. She was sure they’d have lots of fun and that it would be a good day for everyone.

“Do you think Grandma Troyer will make some of her delicious corn fritters while we’re there?” Mark asked.

“I don’t think we should expect her to do that this time, since it’s her birthday we’re celebrating.” Mom looked at Mattie. “Would you like to help me bake a cake this evening to surprise Grandma with for our dessert tomorrow?”

Mattie smiled and bobbed her head. “That sounds like fun.”

“We’ll do it after supper,” Mom said. “Oh, and I spoke to your grandpa earlier today, and tomorrow evening he’s planning to make a bonfire like he usually does when we go there to visit.”

“Oh boy! I hope we can roast marshmallows!” Mark exclaimed. “Maybe Grandma will make us some hot chocolate, too.”

Mom smiled. “I’m sure she will.”

Mattie couldn’t wait to see Grandma and Grandpa Troyer, since they didn’t get to visit them as much as they did their other grandparents who lived nearby. She was also eager to see if Grandma would like the birthday present she’d made for her. Mattie had saved some of the wildflowers she’d picked a few weeks ago and hung them to dry out. She’d glued them to a piece of cardboard, spelling out the words “I love you” with different pieces of flowers. Mattie even had enough flower parts left over to make a design around the three words. After that, she’d taken an old picture frame she’d bought for a quarter at the flea market a few weeks ago and framed her finished creation. It had turned out quite nice, and she hoped Grandma would think so, too.

What a good week this had turned out to be. First she’d done well on her spelling test, and now she had tomorrow to look forward to.
Guess Mom was right about me being worried for nothing
, Mattie thought.

Feeling like she had springs on her shoes, Mattie skipped into the kitchen, singing, “To Grandma and Grandpa’s we will go…. To Grandma and Grandpa’s we will go…. I am so excited…. Oh!”

Then Mark joined in, and they both sang at the top of their lungs, “To Grandma and Grandpa’s we will go! We’re so excited…. Oh!”

“What are we stoppin’ for?” Mark asked when their driver, Tim Norton, slowed his van.

“Looks like there’s an accident up ahead,” Tim called over his shoulder. “Probably a fender bender. It might have happened because of the rain.”

Mark craned his neck. Sure enough, there were two cars with smashed-in fenders, and a police car had pulled up beside them.

“Looks like traffic is tied up a bit,” Tim said. “Accidents happen sometimes when the roads are wet.”

“And even when they’re not,” Dad added. “Sometimes drivers follow too close, or else they go too fast.”

“You’re right about that,” Tim agreed. “Whenever I’m behind the wheel of my van, I try to be careful how I drive. I also make sure to watch out for other vehicles. It’s important to keep a safe distance from the cars in front of you, in case you have to stop quickly.”

Mattie shivered while nibbling nervously on her lip. “We still have a ways to go before we get to Grandma and Grandpa Troyer’s. What if we get in an accident? Maybe it’s not safe for us to be on the road today.” Mattie tried not to, but she couldn’t help looking as the policeman waved them slowly past the accident site. Tim was right—both cars had banged-up fenders. Then she noticed two little girls standing in the wet grass with a lady holding an umbrella over their heads. Mattie assumed it was their mother, trying to comfort the girls, since they looked like they might be crying, although they didn’t appear to be hurt. She couldn’t be sure about the people in the other car, though, because she wasn’t able to see them.

“Now don’t start fretting,” Mom said, turning to look at Mattie. “Just say a prayer and give your worries to God.”

Mattie closed her eyes and bowed her head.

Dear Jesus, please be with us, and take us safely to Grandma and Grandpa Troyer’s house. And help those people who were in the accident
.

When the twins and their family arrived at Grandpa and Grandma Troyer’s, everyone climbed out of the van and headed for the house.

“See, Mattie,” Mark said as they stepped onto the porch, “we got here safely, so you were worried for nothing.”

Mattie didn’t say anything, just dashed into the house.

Mark tromped in behind her. He didn’t understand why Mattie had begun to worry about so many things lately.
My twin sister
, he thought to himself.
Seems like she’s always frettin’ about somethin’
.

Once they had entered the house, Grandpa and Grandma greeted each of them with a hug. The last time they’d seen their grandparents was when they came to Walnut Creek for Mark and Mattie’s ninth birthday, but that had been at the end of summer.

“Ach!” said Grandma, touching Mattie’s head. “I believe you’ve grown a few inches since we saw you last.”

Grandpa nodded in agreement.

Grandma and Grandpa both had gray hair, but their blue eyes twinkled as they smiled at everyone. Mark didn’t think either of them looked old. Maybe that was because they liked to do fun things and didn’t act old.

Mark’s joy over being there diminished a bit as he thought about Grandma’s comment concerning Mattie’s growth spurt. Mark hadn’t grown at all in the last few months. It didn’t seem right that Mattie was taller than him. They were twins, and he thought they should be the same height.

“Don’t worry about it, son,” Dad said, as though reading Mark’s mind. “I’m sure you’ll do some growing soon, too.”

Mark wasn’t so sure, but he tried not to think about it. He was excited to be there and wanted to have fun. Grandpa usually played a game of checkers with Mark, and he looked forward to that.

Everyone sat around the living room for a while; then Mark and Mattie went outside with their sister and brothers to play on the swings in their grandparents’ backyard. Mark and Mattie’s older brother, Ike, who was sixteen and had auburn hair like Mom’s, stayed inside with the grown-ups. Before Mark had gone out the door, he’d noticed that Ike had been fiddling with his straw hat and looked kind of bored. Mark wondered if his brother would rather be with his girlfriend, Catherine, today, or maybe he wanted to do something else.

I’m glad I’m not old enough to start courting a girl
, Mark thought as he returned to the porch. He’d been eager to play a few minutes ago, but now he didn’t feel like doing much at all.
Sometimes I wish I could stay a kid forever, but then if I did, I’d never grow up to be tall like Dad
.

Mark plunked down on the steps and rested his chin in his hands.

“What’s wrong?” Mattie asked, tromping up the steps and taking a seat beside him.

“Nothin’,” he mumbled.

“Jah, there is. You wouldn’t be sittin’ here by yourself with a glum expression if something wasn’t wrong.”

“I’m worried,” he admitted.

“About what?”

“I’m afraid I might always be short, and then the kids at school will make fun of me.” Mark groaned. “It’s bad enough that some of the boys call me Flame Brain and Brainiac ’cause I’ve got red hair and do good in school. I don’t need ’em callin’ me Shorty now, too. ”

Mattie placed her hand on Mark’s arm. “You heard what Dad said before. I’ll bet you’ll have a growth spurt real soon. You might even end up taller than me.” Her forehead wrinkled. “Maybe there’s something wrong with me ’cause I’ve grown so tall.”

Mark shook his head. “I don’t think so, Mattie.”

“Well, try not to worry about it.” Mattie grabbed Mark’s hand. “Come on … Let’s take turns pushing Perry and Ada on the swing.”

“I don’t feel like it. I just wanna sit here by myself,” Mark mumbled, noticing some oddly shaped rocks in Grandma’s flower bed. Normally he would have picked some of them up and taken them home to add to his collection, but he wasn’t in the mood for that today. He didn’t want to run, swing, or play tricks on anyone, either. He just wanted to sit there and think.

Mattie shrugged. “Suit yourself. If you wanna be an old sour puss, that’s up to you, but I’m gonna have lots of fun today!” She jumped up and raced across the yard to the swings.

Mark continued to sit there feeling sorry for himself. A few minutes later, Calvin joined him on the porch. “Look, Mark,” he said, pointing to one corner of the backyard. “Grandpa has the branches stacked for the bonfire we’ll be having later on.”

Mark glanced at the place where his eleven-year-old brother had pointed and gave a brief nod. “Jah, I can see that.”

Calvin grinned and pushed a hunk of blond hair away from his eyes. “It’ll be fun to roast marshmallows later on, don’t ya think?”

“I suppose.”

“You sure look unhappy right now.” Calvin bumped Mark’s arm. “I thought you were excited about comin’ to visit Grandpa and Grandma Troyer today.”

“I was, but after Grandma said how much Mattie had grown, it made me worry that I might always be short.”

“I’m sure you won’t be,” Calvin said with a shake of his head. “I was short like you once, ya know, and just look at how tall I am now.” He stood to his full height and smiled from ear to ear. “Just give yourself some time, and someday you’ll be just as tall as me.”

Mark hoped his brother was right. “Maybe I’ll be
ginormous
,” he said, relaxing a bit.

Calvin’s eyebrows shot up. “Gi-
what
?”

“Ginormous. It means really big.”

Calvin chuckled. “You never can tell about that.”

Maybe if I eat more, I’ll grow quicker
, Mark thought, giving his right ear a tug.
Jah, that’s just what I’ll do. I’ll start eatin’ more food
.

“Would someone please pass the
grummbiere
?” Mark asked during supper that evening.

Mom’s eyebrows furrowed. “You want more potatoes? But you’ve already had two helpings so far, not to mention the three pieces of chicken you ate.”

“I’m hungerich,” he said, reaching for another roll and slathering it with some of Grandma’s sweet-tasting apple butter.

“My little brother’s a growing boy.” Ike chuckled and poked Mark’s already full stomach. “Least he will be if he keeps eating like that.”