Life with Lily (13 page)

L
ily woke up early. Today was her seventh birthday! She had been looking forward to it for a very long time and now it was finally here. She jumped out of bed and hurried to get dressed and go downstairs. She knew Mama would be making a special birthday breakfast. Mama's breakfast was the start of a very special day and she wanted to enjoy every minute of it.

When Mama heard Lily's light footsteps on the stairs, she turned around. “Good morning, Lily!” she said cheerfully. She gave Lily a hug. “And happy birthday!”

Lily's face broke into an ear-to-ear smile. “What are you making for breakfast?”

“I'm frying bacon right now,” Mama said. She turned her attention back to the stove. The bacon was hissing and sputtering and crackling in the heavy cast iron frying pan. “We'll have eggs and fried cornmeal mush and tomato gravy.”
She glanced at Lily. “And for a special treat I bought a box of cornflakes for your birthday when we were in town last week.”

Lily was excited to hear about the cornflakes. Bacon was nice, but cornflakes were much more special. They almost never had cold cereal. And best of all, she would not have to eat porridge today! She did
not
like porridge.

Mama handed Lily the plates to set the table. On top of the stack was the special birthday plate: it had red roses on the bottom and a narrow bright blue rim. Lily put it carefully at her place at the table. Food always tasted extra delicious on that special plate.

The kitchen door opened and in walked Papa. He held out his arms to Lily and scooped her up. “There's my birthday girl,” he said swinging her high in the air. As he set her back down on the floor, he said, “You're getting to be so big. I won't be able to swing you much longer.”

How sad! Lily liked birthdays, but she also wanted to stay small enough for Papa to swing her in the air. It felt as if she were flying.

At breakfast, Mama said that Grandpa and Grandma Miller, Aunt Susie, and Uncle Elmer, Aunt Mary, Hannah, and Levi would be joining the family for supper. “We'll wait to give gifts until after supper tonight,” Mama said. “For now, it's time to get ready for school.”

Lily would have rather stayed home today. It was the first time she wouldn't be at home all day on her birthday. She couldn't have a special birthday lunch with the special birthday plate if she stayed at school.

Mama packed Lily's lunch box as she went upstairs to change her clothes. When she came back down, Joseph acted as if he had a big secret. It made Lily mad. She wondered if
Mama had told him some fun things they planned to do while she was stuck in school with crabby Teacher Katie. Not fair!

Lily sat on a chair next to the table. “Can I stay home from school today?”

Mama looked surprised. “Certainly not. You're not sick. You wouldn't want to miss out on any of the things the first graders are learning today. Get your lunch box. We need to hurry or you'll be late.”

Lily picked up her lunch box and followed Mama outside. The ride to school didn't seem to take very long as Joseph chattered happily all the way. He was going to help Mama bake a birthday cake for Lily and they would let Dannie lick the spoons. Not fair!

At the school yard, Hannah ran to meet Lily as soon as she hopped off the buggy. “Happy Birthday!” Hannah said. She grabbed Lily's hand and pulled her into the schoolhouse. “The big girls made something pretty for you. Let's go see!”

Lily cheered up with that news and ran into the schoolhouse. Her desk was piled high with cards and gifts. Most of the children in school had made a birthday card for her, but the big girls had all made something a little extra. One of them had crocheted a bookmark with delicate thread. Another had made a pretty star from old, used wooden matchsticks and glued glitter on it. Someone else had made a tiny heart-shaped pin cushion. Before Lily could open the cards, Teacher Katie rang the bell. It was time to start school.

After the students had sung their usual three hymns, they sang “Happy Birthday” to Lily. She felt awkward. What should she do? Should she join in or just sit and listen? It was embarrassing to have everyone look at her. So many eyes watching her! After the song ended, she said, “Thank you,” but it came out in a squeaky little voice.

At noon, Lily opened her lunch box. Next to her egg sandwich and dish of peaches, Mama had tucked in a Snickers candy bar. So
this
was Joseph's secret! Lily opened it and took several bites. It was delicious. She folded the wrapper over it again and put it back into her lunch box. She would try to make that candy bar last for a long time. A Snickers bar was her second favorite candy, right behind Smarties.

When it was time for school to dismiss, Mama was waiting outside with Jim and the buggy. Dannie sat on Mama's lap and Joseph sat beside her. Lily hurried to gather the cards and little gifts from her desk. Hannah helped her carry them to the buggy. “My mama said I could go home with you tonight since we are all coming to your house anyway.”

“Oh good!” Lily said. This day kept getting better and better!

By the time they returned to Singing Tree Farm, Grandpa and Grandma Miller were already there. Aunt Susie sat on the couch with a doll. Lily and Hannah brought their dolls and went to join her. This was Lily's happiest moment: to play dolls with her cousin and her aunt.

Lily noticed a small pile of gifts sitting on Mama's sewing machine. She tried not to glance at them too often, but she couldn't help herself. She couldn't stop thinking about those gifts.

Not much later, Uncle Elmer, Aunt Mary, and Levi arrived. Levi and Joseph ran out to the barn to play while Aunt Mary set Davy on the floor next to Dannie. She gave them some toys to play with so she could help Mama make supper.

Supper was ready to eat by the time Papa arrived home from work. Aunt Mary poured water into the glasses while Grandma helped Mama dish out the hot food. Lily looked over each dish. Mama had made all of Lily's favorite foods.
Crispy fried chicken—and she knew she would get a nice big drumstick today without even having to ask—mounds of mashed potatoes with melted butter dribbled over the top and sprinkled with chopped parsley, noodles with melted store-bought cheese, bits of chicken meat topped with crisply fried buttery pieces of bread crumbs, and green beans fried with crushed crackers. On the countertop were three cherry and two vanilla crumb pies. Best of all, there was a chocolate layer cake smothered with creamy white frosting. Mama had placed seven pretty pink roses around the top, each with a twisty green vine and several leaves. In the center were the words:
Happy Birthday Lily
.

When it was time to cut the cake, Lily thought it was a shame to cut it. It looked too pretty. She watched as Mama sliced thick pieces of chocolate cake for each person. When Lily was handed her piece, she was too full to eat another bite.

“Can we save my piece for tomorrow, Mama?” she asked.

“I think that's a good idea,” Mama said. She put Lily's slice of cake into a plastic container to keep it nice and fresh until she was ready to eat it.

Finally, it was time to open her gifts. Mama and Papa gave her a pretty new purple dress and a cute white tie-on apron just like Mama wore when she cooked or baked. In another box were brand-new shoes. Black and shiny, with long laces. The shoes Lily wore now made her toes pinch tight. Lily tried them on right away, and Mama helped her tie the shoelaces. Then she put on the apron. She felt very grown-up.

Lily's next gift was from Uncle Elmer and Aunt Mary. They gave her a cute puzzle of a puppy holding a red ball in his mouth and a coloring book. Her last gift was from Grandpa and Grandma Miller. Grandma had made a new dress and bonnet for her doll, Sally, and a pretty blanket to
wrap her in. Grandpa gave Lily two special books from his book cabinet. She had often admired those very books. Lily stroked the glossy covers carefully and looked at some of the illustrations. They looked even prettier now that the books belonged to her.

Lily thanked everyone for the special gifts. She sat on Papa's big rocking chair in the living room. The room, lit by flickering firelight, was warm and cozy, filled with the people Lily loved most. This had been the best birthday of all. She was seven years old, and she was sure there was no other little girl anywhere as happy as she.

J
oseph burst through the kitchen door to find Mama. “A baby bird fell from its nest!” he said, panting. “Can you help me put it back in?”

Mama wiped her hands on her apron and followed Joseph outside. Lily trotted behind her. She wanted to see a baby bird too. She hoped it would be a baby cardinal or maybe a baby goldfinch. Those were the prettiest birds. Those would be the baby birds Lily would want to see.

Joseph was under a tree, kneeling on the ground. Mama crouched down beside him to examine the baby bird. Lily leaned over Mama's shoulder. What a disappointment! This was a very ugly bird. It was brown with little speckles on its chest. It didn't look like any bird she had ever seen before.

“It's a baby robin,” Mama said softly. “Joseph, I'm afraid we can't put it back into its nest. If the mama bird smells a
human scent on this baby or any of the other little birds in the nest, she won't take care of them.”

Joseph started to cry. “But he'll die! He needs someone to take care of him.”

Mama thought for a little bit. “There's a little box in the kitchen. We could make a nest for it in the box and try to feed it until it's big enough to fly.” She stood. “But it will need a lot of care. You will have to be the bird's mother. You'll have to dig for worms so it has something to eat.”

Lily knew that Joseph would not mind digging for worms. He was always digging for worms or trying to catch insects in a net. Sure enough, he ran to the kitchen to get the box. Mama gently lifted the little bird and set it inside. It opened and closed its mouth and made funny little chirping noises.

“Let's name him Chirp,” Joseph said.

“That sounds like a good name,” Mama said. “It looks as if Chirp is hungry. I think you had better go dig some worms for it.”

Mama carried the box into the house while Joseph ran to the sandbox to get his little shovel, then he rushed off to Mama's garden to dig for worms. Not much later, he came into the house with three big squirming earthworms in his hands. Mama showed him how to pinch the worms into little pieces to feed to Chirp.

Earthworms made Lily squirm. Watching them be fed, in pieces, to Chirp was too much. She started to gag. Joseph's bird was ugly and he ate gross things. It was too much for a little girl to bear. She ran upstairs to play with Sally.

But Joseph was a good bird mother. Day after day, he sat next to Chirp's box to talk to him and feed him when he was hungry—which was often. Joseph didn't even want to play with Lily or Dannie. All he wanted to do was to take care of
Chirp. Lily wished Chirp would hurry up and grow. Joseph was not much fun anymore.

Finally, one morning, Chirp started to stretch his wings. Mama peered in the box. “I think it's time we move his box outdoors so he doesn't take his first flight in the house.”

Lily sat next to Joseph on the porch steps. She wanted to watch Chirp fly for the first time. Joseph held the little bird in his hands. Chirp flapped and flapped his little wings. He gave a little jump and fluttered down to the ground. It reminded Lily of the time when Joseph tried to fly off the chicken coop and ended up with a broken arm.
Flap, flap, jump, crash
. Lily thought that Chirp couldn't fly much better than Joseph.

Joseph bent down to pick Chirp up. The little bird seemed to want to try to fly again. This time it fluttered a little farther before it landed on the ground. Joseph brought some worms to feed it. Feeding Chirp was still gross to Lily, but at least Chirp stayed on the grass to eat his worms. He ran and fluttered along the ground to try to test his wings.

Even for a bird, flying looked like hard work.

A few days later, Chirp was able to dig and scratch for his own worms and bugs. He was starting to take longer flights too.

And then came the day when Chirp went missing. Joseph cried and cried until Mama pointed to a branch in the big cedar tree. There sat a robin that looked just like Chirp.

“This is what we wanted for Chirp, Joseph,” Mama said. “He is able to take care of himself now. He can join his family and be a real bird. He was never meant to be a pet.”

Joseph felt sad, but Lily was glad. She wanted to have Joseph play with her and Dannie like he did before Chirp fell out of his nest. She looked up in the tree. It was high time that Chirp find his own playmates. Birds were too much work.

Early on Sunday morning, Lily hurried to get dressed for church. She pulled her black socks up to her knees and took her new shoes out of the box. She sniffed the brand-new leather smell and ran a finger along the shiny black top. They were the most beautiful shoes Lily ever had. Carefully, she tied her shoelaces to the rhyme Mama had just taught her:

Bunny ears, bunny ears,

playing by a tree.

Criss-crossed the tree,

trying to catch me.

Bunny ears, Bunny ears,

jumped into the hole,

popped out the other side

beautiful and bold.

Lily pulled the two bunny ears tight to make a knot. Done! She jumped off of her bed, wiggled her toes, and smiled. Wait until Mandy Mast saw these new shoes. Her smile faded as she thought what Mama would say if she knew what Lily was thinking. Mama was always reminding Lily to guard against vanity. Still, they were wonderful new shoes. And Mandy was always showing off her new things to Lily.

Lily heard her father's deep voice calling for her. She ran downstairs, grabbed her bonnet off the wall peg, and hurried outside to the waiting buggy. Church was going to be at Isaac's home. Isaac's farm had a big pond where the children liked to play. It was a beautiful spring day after a long, cold, gray winter.

After lunch, Lily, Hannah, and Mandy ran down to the pond. The boys were on one end of the pond—as far from the girls as they could be. They stood by the shoreline, throwing
their pocketknives on the ground. The girls were gathered on the opposite end of the pond. They liked to pretend they were fishing. When the water was warm, they would even try to catch minnows in their hands. Not today, though. The water was too cold. Hannah started a game to see who could best skim a rock along the water's surface. It took a special twist of the wrist to make the rock jump on top of the water. Levi had taught Hannah how to do it just right, so she tried to teach the other girls. Lily caught on quickly. Two skips of the rock. Three skips, then four! This was fun.

Mandy said she didn't like the game, but Lily knew it was because she wasn't very good at it. “Let's kick the rocks, instead,” Mandy said. “Whoever kicks the farthest, wins.” She glanced down at Lily's new shoes. “Your shoelaces are untied, Lily. I'll tie them for you.”

Mandy bent down to help Lily tie her shoes. Lily felt her heart soften toward Mandy, just a little. Lily wasn't very good at tying her shoelaces yet and had to keep stopping to retie them. It was nice of Mandy to help her.

Mandy told everyone to look for big rocks. She lined up the rocks along the water's edge and had the girls stand about ten feet away. “When I say ‘go,' everyone run and kick their rock!” She put her hands on her hips, like the handles on a sugar bowl. “I'll watch and see which rock goes the farthest.”

All of the little girls lined up behind their rocks. This was very exciting.

“Go!” Mandy shouted.

Each girl ran to the water's edge and kicked their rock as hard as they could. Lily's rock went flying in the air,
up, up, up!
But so did her new shoe. The shoelace had come undone. Lily was horrified! Her new shoe dropped into the middle of the deep pond with a loud
kerplop!
before it was swallowed
up by the water. A quiet hush fell over the girls, then Lily started to cry. Hannah ran to find a big stick to see if she could dredge the pond, but even Lily knew that would be hopeless. The shoe was at the bottom of Isaac's cold pond. She had to go tell her parents what she had done. Lily wiped away her tears and turned to hop up the hill to find Mama. She might have just imagined it, as she hopped along on one shoe, sniffling and whimpering, but from behind her she thought she heard Mandy's giggle.

Every now and then, Lily was invited to spend an afternoon at Grandma and Grandpa Miller's, all by herself. She loved
those special times with her grandparents. She would help Grandma bake or play dolls with Aunt Susie or work with Grandpa in his harness shop.

On this spring day, Lily was helping Grandma pick asparagus from the garden. She thought spears of asparagus looked odd as they grew, like tall trees sprouting from the straw. After the basket was filled with green spears, Grandma and Lily went back to the house. Grandma stopped at the flower bed to admire the daffodils bobbing in the gentle breeze. In front of the daffodils was a line of pretty little white bell-shaped flowers.

Lily crouched down to smell them. They had a sweet scent. “What kind of flowers are these?”

“They're called lily of the valley.” Grandma picked a flower to sniff.

Lily was happy that she shared a name with such sweet little flowers. She admired how each dainty, tiny bell had perfect little scallops around the edges.

Grandma plucked four sprays of lilies and handed them to Lily. “Let's take these into the house. I have something to show you.”

In the kitchen, Grandma opened a cupboard door and pulled out four little glass bottles. She told Lily to fill them with water.

Lily carried them to the washbasin. She carefully filled each bottle with water and set them on the counter. Grandma had her head in another cupboard, hunting for something.

“I'm sure I still have some,” she muttered. With a satisfied sigh, she pulled out a box of little bottles of food coloring.

Grandma opened the bottle of red coloring and handed it to Lily. She showed Lily how to squeeze a few drops into the bottle. Lily watched the red drops swirl through the bottle
and change the water into red. Grandma had her do the same with the blue and green coloring, but she left the fourth bottle with clear water.

“Now add one spray of flower to each bottle,” Grandma said.

Lily tucked one flower spray into each bottle and stood back to admire them. She liked the bottle with the red water best. It looked pretty with the white lilies.

“See how nice and white all those flowers are now, Lily,” she said. “Soon, the bottle with red water will turn the lilies pink. The blue water will turn those flowers blue, and the green water will turn those flowers green. The water in the bottles is just like the friends you choose. They will affect you, Lily, whether you want them to or not.”

Lily stared at the flowers, amazed.

“Can you guess what color the lilies will turn that are in the clear water?”

Lily bit her lip. “White?”

“Yes.”

“Will they stay white?”

“Yes, they will. They are like little girls who choose their friends wisely. They don't have to worry about changing who they are no matter how much time they spend with them. But those other lilies are just like friends that you don't choose wisely. Right now they are all white, but by the time your mother comes to take you home, they will start changing colors. They will never be the same again unless you remove it from the bottle and put it in clear water.”