Life with Lily (14 page)

Grandma carefully packed the lilies in their bottles of colored water into a box so they wouldn't spill on the way home. She set them beside the front door so Lily wouldn't forget to take them with her.

When Mama arrived to take Lily home, she walked care
fully to the buggy with her box of flowers, making sure that none of the water in the bottles spilled. On the way home, she told Mama all about the flowers.

“Looks like Grandma was sharing the importance of choosing your friends,” Mama said. “I remember when she showed me the flowers in colored water when I was a little girl.”

Lily tried to think of Mama as a little girl. What would she have looked like? Or acted like? Would she have liked to play dolls? It was hard to imagine.

At home, Lily carried the box into her bedroom and set the jars on her dresser. Already the colored water was starting to change the colors of the lilies. Even though Grandma and Mama were too kind to say, she knew who they were thinking of: Mandy Mast.

L
ily sat at her school desk, working in her spelling book. She heard the soft crunchy sound of gravel churning as a car came to a stop in front of the schoolhouse. All of the children turned around in their chairs to see out the window. Who had come to visit their schoolhouse?

A loud knock sounded on the door. Teacher Katie went to the door to open it. Lily leaned over in her seat and caught a glimpse of an English man. He had a thin brown satchel tucked under his arm. Lily could hear Teacher Katie talk to the man in the coatroom. Then she heard the rattle of a folding chair as it was removed from the closet—the sound that meant the man would be coming inside to stay for a while. She quickly turned around and got busy working in her book again before Teacher Katie returned.

Teacher Katie placed the folding chair at the back of the
room. She walked to the front and stood next to her desk. “Mr. Wilt is the superintendent of schools,” she said. “He came to visit our school and will be staying the rest of the day. I want you all to continue your work as usual.”

Lily peeked over at Mr. Wilt. His name didn't suit him at all. He didn't look wilted. He was very big, with a large double chin resting on his broad chest. The top of his head was bald, with a horseshoe of wispy, wiry gray hair from ear to ear. Under his nose was a moustache that looked like the bristles of a little broom. Mr. Wilt tried to cross his arms over his chest, but they were too short to reach all the way across.

Lily turned back to her spelling book but became distracted by the sound of heavy footsteps in the aisle. Teacher Katie was at the blackboard, explaining an assignment to the third grade class. Lily peeked and saw Mr. Wilt walking around the desks. He was watching the children do their lessons.

Lily tried to stay focused on her own work. Teacher Katie instructed the first grade to work on a page in their
Learning Through Sounds
book. Lily had to cut out pictures and glue them beside the letter that started with the same sound. She liked this easy work. She cut each little picture out carefully and placed them in a neat pile next to her book.

Suddenly, Mr. Wilt loomed over her desk. He pointed one of his stubby fingers at a picture of a buggy. “Where does this picture go?” he asked.

Lily pointed to the B. Mr. Wilt gave a short nod of his head and moved along to Hannah's desk to ask what she was doing. Mr. Wilt must not have realized that visitors were supposed to sit at the back of the room and remain perfectly quiet. Lily wished Mr. Wilt would go home.

All day long, Mr. Wilt looked over the students' shoulders to see what they were doing. All day long, Teacher Katie kept her
mouth pinched together. Her wooly eyebrows were knit deeper together than Lily had ever seen them. Everyone was happy when the day ended and Mr. Wilt drove away in his big car.

Several weeks later, Mr. Wilt arrived at the schoolhouse. He didn't knock at the door. He walked right in. In his arms was a big box. He marched right up to Teacher Katie and emptied the box on her desk. Lily tried to stretch her neck to see what was on the desk. It looked like flashcards and books and a big folded piece of paper.

Mr. Wilt said that he was there to test the children to make sure they had been prepared for their grade level. He told Teacher Katie to sit at the back of the room. Lily thought Teacher Katie looked as if she might explode—her face turned as red as a ripe tomato and her hands were clenched in tight fists—but she did as he said. She walked to the back of the room and sat down.

Mr. Wilt looked at the students. “First grade, please come forward.” Lily and Hannah and two other little first grade girls rose from their desks and walked up to stand in front of the teacher desk. Mr. Wilt held up some flashcards and asked if the girls could tell him if the pictures on the cards rhymed or not. Easy! Lily and the others took turns answering yes or no. Then they were excused and went back to their desks.

Next, Mr. Wilt picked up a different set of cards and asked the second grade to come forward. He tested each grade. No one had trouble answering his questions. Not even cousin Levi. Lily was relieved that Levi hardly even stuttered when Mr. Wilt called on him.

Next Mr. Wilt picked up a big chart and tacked it to the frame of the blackboard. “Who knows what this is?” he asked.

Lily looked carefully at the chart. There were pictures of monkeys and odd-looking half-animal, half-people. At the
end of the chart were real people. She didn't know what the chart was supposed to be. Neither did anyone else.

“This chart shows how evolution works,” Mr. Wilt said.

Lily didn't know what evolution was, but it sure made Teacher Katie mad. She jumped to her feet, outraged. “We do not teach evolution in our school!” she said.

Mr. Wilt dismissed her with a flick of his hand. “This is required education for the state of New York. It's important that every child learns the facts.” He turned his attention to the children. “This is how man evolved over time.” He pointed to the picture of the little monkey. “Man began looking like this, and over millions and millions of years, he has turned into a human being.” He pointed to the picture of the man.

Lily stared at him in amazement. She had
never
been a monkey! She knew that God made people and God made monkeys. When God had given them baby Dannie, he had started out tiny and ugly, but everything about him had been a person. Not a monkey! Lily wished Mr. Wilt would go home.

That evening, Lily told Papa and Mama about Mr. Wilt's chart. Their faces grew very serious as Lily told them that Mr. Wilt said they had all started out as monkeys.

Papa listened carefully to everything Lily said. “I think it's time we had a meeting with the rest of the parents to see what they think we should do about Mr. Wilt dropping into school whenever he feels like and teaching our children theories we don't believe in.”

“Something needs to be done,” Mama said. “This is one of the reasons we don't want our children going to public schools.” Her gentle face looked troubled.

Lily went upstairs to get ready for bed. She wondered how the parents could get Mr. Wilt to stop dropping by Pleasant Hill School. She thought of one idea that might work.
Whenever they heard the sound of Mr. Wilt's big car roll into the driveway, they should lock the door to the schoolhouse. That would work. That would keep him out.

Lily cringed whenever the second graders were lined up in front of the blackboard for their reading class. Levi had a stutter, and when he had to read aloud, his stutter was very apparent. Every time the second grade had their reading, Teacher Katie would get upset with Levi. She would hit him with the ruler and make him go stand in a corner. Levi's stutter had grown worse and worse since Teacher Katie became their teacher.

Today, it was Levi's turn to read in front of the class. “One d-d-d-day, M-m-m-mother w-w-w-w-ent—”

“Stop reading right now, Levi!” Teacher Katie said. “Since you are too much of a baby to read correctly, you can go sit at your desk while the rest of the class finishes the story.”

Levi hung his head, cheeks flaming, as he walked back to
his seat. Teacher Katie grabbed the trash can and followed behind him. As Levi sat down, she turned the trash can upside down on his head. Crumbled paper and shavings from pencil sharpeners fell on his lap and down to the floor. “You can sit with this trash can on your head for the rest of the day,” Teacher Katie said. “It will give you time to think about how to be a better reader so we don't have to have a big baby in this schoolroom.”

It wasn't fair! Lily wanted to shout out but didn't dare. It was wrong that Teacher Katie was mean to Levi. He couldn't help his stutter.

At home that evening, Lily didn't talk very much. She couldn't get the image of Levi, sitting with the trash can on his head, out of her mind.

“Is something troubling you, Lily?” Mama said.

“Yes,” Lily said. “But I don't want to tattle.” Not like Joseph did. Little boys tattled all the time.

“There is a difference between sharing your problems and tattling just to get someone in trouble,” Mama said. “If something is troubling you, maybe I can think of a way to fix your problem.”

So Lily told Mama about how mean Teacher Katie was to cousin Levi. “She yells at him every time he stutters when they have reading class. And today, she dumped a trash can on his head and made him sit with the trash can for the rest of the day.”

For a very long time, Mama didn't say anything. Lily could tell that she wasn't happy to hear of what was going on at school. Finally, she took a deep breath. “We will have to pray for Teacher Katie.”

After Lily went to bed that evening, she could hear Papa and Mama talking in the kitchen. When she heard her name
mentioned, she sat up in bed and strained to listen. They were saying something about school and Teacher Katie.

The next morning, Mama took Lily to school, just like she usually did. But this time, she tied Jim to a tree and went into the schoolhouse with her. In a very cheerful voice, she told Teacher Katie, “I will be visiting school this forenoon.”

Teacher Katie set out two folding chairs in the back for Mama and Joseph and baby Dannie to sit on. Lily was happy that Mama was there. Teacher Katie was much kinder. All forenoon she didn't yell or hit anyone. Not one single time. When Teacher Katie announced it was time to eat lunch, Mama got up to go home. Lily said goodbye to her and Joseph and Dannie and watched them drive away.

That afternoon, Teacher Katie acted more cross than ever before. It seemed to Lily she had stuffed down all her crossness until Mama was no longer there. Then it popped out, like Dannie's jack-in-the-box toy.

Every day, one parent or another came to school to visit. Lily was always glad when she heard a buggy drive into the school yard and someone knock on the door. It meant someone was there to make sure Teacher Katie would not yell at them for at least part of the day.

On the last day of school, all the families came and made a big bonfire to roast hot dogs. Mothers packed picnic lunches to eat as everyone sat around the fire. Papa helped Lily roast a hot dog over some red embers. Afterward, they toasted marshmallows. Lily liked the crunchy brown outside of the marshmallows and the sweet gooey centers. She gave Dannie a toasted marshmallow. She laughed when she saw how big his eyes became when he bit into the marshmallow. He had never tasted one!

As everyone cleaned up to get ready to go home, the school
board gave Teacher Katie a check. “Thank you for teaching our children,” the school board men said to her. “But we will not be needing you next year.”

Lily stood quietly beside Mama and watched as everyone lined up to shake hands with Teacher Katie before she left to go to her home. Inside, Lily wanted to clap and shout for joy! Summer was here, no more school, and no more Teacher Katie!

E
verywhere Lily looked in the kitchen there was something delicious to eat. All day long, Mama had been baking cookies, breads, and pecan tarts. Mama pulled another sheet of oatmeal raisin cookies out of the oven and lifted them carefully onto a rack on the counter to cool. Tomorrow, she told Lily, she would get up extra early to make cinnamon rolls. “And then, we're off to town to sell all of these good treats.”

Lily woke up to the sweet smell of cinnamon floating up the stairs. She hurried downstairs and found Papa had already hitched Jim to the buggy. He had fitted shelves in the back of the buggy and filled them with Mama's bread and cookies. Lily helped carry pans of cinnamon rolls outside. Papa stood on a stepladder and hung signs on the sides of the buggy: FRESH BAKED GOODS.

Mama helped Lily into the buggy and they were ready to
leave. Mama didn't let Jim trot down the driveway. It would be too bumpy. As soon as they reached the smooth asphalt road, then Mama let Jim break into a trot. When they reached the town, Mama turned onto a side street. All of the pretty houses had neatly trimmed yards and lawn ornaments in the gardens. Mama found a tree to tie Jim. She held Lily's hand and they walked up to knock on a door.

An older lady opened the door.

Mama smiled at her. “Good morning. I'm selling freshly baked bread and cookies and some other baked goods.”

The lady followed Mama and Lily out to the buggy. Her eyes went wide as she saw the delicious treats Mama had baked. “Everything looks so good, but I think I'll only buy a loaf of bread today.” She handed Mama some money for the bread.

“We'll be back again next Saturday,” Mama said. After the lady went back to her house, Mama grinned at Lily. “Our first customer!” They walked to another house and knocked on the door. This lady said she didn't need anything so they walked down the sidewalk to the next house.

A man opened the door. Lily stared in amazement. The man's skin was chocolate brown. She had never seen anyone with such dark skin. Mama didn't seem at all shocked. Cheerfully, just like at the other houses, she told the man she was selling baked goods.

The man was interested. A little girl peeked around the man. Her skin was just as chocolatey brown as her father's. She had two long shiny black braids with bright pink beads at the end. She looked curiously at Lily. “I'm Larry Smith and this is my daughter, Trisha,” the man said. “Would you mind if she comes out to see your horse?”

Mama smiled at Trisha. “I think Jim would like to meet you.”

They crossed the street and Trisha reached up to pet Jim's nose. He blew softly through his nostrils into her hand. She quickly drew her hand back and stepped back.

“Jim won't hurt you,” Lily said. “He likes children.”

Cautiously, Trisha touched Jim's nose and he nickered at her. “His nose feels so soft. Almost like velvet.” She smiled at Lily.

Lily smiled back. She liked Trisha.

Larry Smith bought one of every baked good in the buggy. Mama told him they would return next week. “We'll be watching for the horse and buggy, won't we, Trisha?” he said. They smiled and waved as Mama drove the buggy past their house to another street.

“Why is their skin so dark?” Lily whispered to Mama.

“That's the way God made them, Lily,” Mama said. “He made people in many different colors, but inside everyone is the same. God loves everyone, whether they are big or small, black or white. The color of skin makes no difference at all to God.”

Lily sat and thought about Mama's words. “So people are like God's coloring book, aren't they? He makes hair, eyes, and skin different colors.”

Mama laughed. “I guess you could say that.” They spent the rest of the morning going door to door, until the shelves in the back of the buggy were empty. Mama had sold everything!

Soon, Saturdays became Lily's favorite day of the week. The best part of the day was when Trisha would come out of her house with her father or mother. They always bought items from Mama, and Lily and Trisha could have a few minutes to visit. Trisha liked to stroke Jim's velvet nose.

One morning, Trisha's parents lingered. “Our babysitter is going on vacation for two weeks,” Larry Smith said to Mama.
“We haven't found anyone to watch Trisha while we're at work. We wondered if you might consider taking care of her.”

“I'll have to talk to my husband,” Mama said, “but I can't see a reason why it couldn't work out.”

Larry Smith scribbled his phone number on a piece of paper and handed it to Mama. “We'd really appreciate it if you could let us know your decision by tonight.”

Lily was excited to think that Trisha might be staying with them for a while. She was sure that Papa wouldn't mind and he didn't. He didn't mind a bit. Later that day, Papa called Larry Smith and told him Mama and Lily would be happy to have Trisha come stay with them. He gave him directions to Singing Tree Farm.

On Monday morning, a tan station wagon drove up the driveway. Trisha hopped out and walked around in a circle with an amazed look on her face. Lily ran outside to meet her while Mama talked to Trisha's father. After he left to go to work, Trisha followed Lily into the house. Lily had made so many plans for Trisha's visit, but now that she was here, she couldn't think of anything to say or do. Her mind was blank!

Mama sensed the girls' awkwardness. She handed a little pail to Lily. “Take Trisha and go gather eggs for me.”

Trisha and Lily crossed the yard to the chicken coop. Lily showed Trisha how to check all the nests for eggs and to reach under the hens to see if they were hiding any eggs. After all the nests were checked, Lily handed the pail to Trisha. She unhinged the ramp to the coop to let the chickens out. The chickens scurried down the ramp to peck at the grass and dirt. Another chicken sat down to make a dust bath. She flapped her wings to settle deeper into the dust. Trisha laughed at the silly hen. Lily laughed too. The awkwardness disappeared. It would be fun to have Trisha to play and work with all day.

Mama came outside to join them. “We need to take some milk to Grandpa Miller's. Run inside and wash up while I get the buggy ready.”

Trisha's face lit up. “I get to go on a buggy ride!”

As the girls washed their hands from handling the chickens, Lily wondered what could possibly seem exciting about a buggy ride. As they climbed into the back seat of the buggy, Lily noticed that Mama had brought along a loaf of bread and a few freshly baked cookies. “Are those for Grandma?” Lily said.

“No, I thought we would stop at Harold Young's house and give them to him,” Mama said. “I'll let you take them up to his porch while I watch Jim.”

As they drove into Harold Young's driveway, Lily admired the gravel on his driveway—the little rocks were smooth and white and looked like miniature marshmallows. Mama reined Jim to a stop. Lily hopped out of the buggy and Mama leaned out the window to hand her the bread and cookies.

“Can I help carry them to the house?” Trisha said.

“Of course,” Mama said.

Together, Lily and Trisha walked up to the house. Lily carried the bread and Trisha carried the cookies. A big brown dog barked furiously, scaring them. Lily was glad the dog was tied to his doghouse. Harold Young opened the door before they reached the porch. Lily's heart was thumping so loudly she was sure Trisha could hear it. She handed the loaf of bread to him. “Mama made this for you.”

Harold Young took it from her.

Trisha held out the cookies but Harold Young shook his head. “I'm not taking anything from a colored girl.” He shut the door firmly.

How mean! How cruel. Harold Young was hateful. A tear
ran down Trisha's cheek. Lily felt so bad. She took Trisha's hand in hers to comfort her. “He's a crabby old man, Trisha. He pointed a shotgun at my papa once. Don't pay any attention to him.”

As they climbed into the buggy, Mama knew something was wrong. Lily told her what Harold Young had said to Trisha. “Oh Trisha, I'm so sorry,” Mama said. “Some people are so concerned about the color of skin that they forget what color their heart is. Dark skin is beautiful to God, but dark hearts make Him sad.”

One afternoon, Papa blew into the kitchen like a warm breeze. His eyes were twinkling bright. “Come see what I brought home from the sale barn today.”

Lily had been standing on a chair to help Mama wash dishes. She hopped right down.

Papa held up the palm of his hand. “You can finish the dishes first, Lily. My surprise can wait.” He winked at her. “And waiting will give me a chance to eat some of Mama's good chocolate chip cookies.”

Lily picked up the towel and got back on the chair to dry the dishes, but all she could think about was Papa's surprise. Soon the last dish was dried and placed into the cupboard. Lily followed Papa out to the chicken coop. Strutting around the chicken yard was a big brown rooster. He had a proud red comb and a long red dangly beard hanging at his throat. His tail had red and greenish feathers. Lily thought he was the most beautiful rooster she had ever seen.

Mama was thrilled. “I had just been thinking how nice it would be to have a rooster. Daniel, you must have read my mind.”

Papa grinned. “No farm is complete without a rooster.” He pointed to the barn. “I've got something else too.”

Inside the barn was a wide-eyed calf, standing in a pen. “A baby cow!” Lily said.

“No, you don't call it a baby cow,” Papa said with a laugh. “It's a calf. Actually it's a young steer. I thought we could put him out to pasture and fatten him up until winter.”

The calf lifted his head and let out a loud, strange sound. It didn't sound like Jenny's soft moos. Lily had never heard such a strange sound from an animal. She clasped her hands over her ears. “I think we should call him Bellow!”

Papa burst out laughing. “Bellow, it is! I can't think of a better name.”

Trisha's father dropped her off early in the morning. Lily had plans to spend every minute doing something they both liked. First on the list today was to show Trisha the new rooster and Bellow, the new calf.

The two girls ran out to the barn to see the calf, but Papa had already put Bellow out to pasture in the fenced-off woods. They climbed over the fence, and walked along a creek bank looking for a place to cross. Lily still couldn't see any sign of Bellow, even in the middle of the woods.

Trisha pointed to a tree. “Do you see that squirrel?”

Lily looked up and saw a squirrel dart into a hole high in the tree. “I wonder if it has babies in that hole.”

“I could climb up and look,” Trisha said. She started to climb the tree.

Lily watched as Trisha climbed higher and higher. Lily had never seen such a brave little girl! Trisha kept climbing, but just as she reached the squirrel's hole, she paused and
looked down. “I don't want to climb higher!” she said. She started to make her way down the tree, slowly and carefully, but then she stopped. The next tree branch was too far below her. “I'm stuck!” Her voice held an edge of panic.