Life with Lily (15 page)

Lily wasn't sure how to help her. If she climbed up the tree, they might both get stuck. They might never get down! They might never be heard from again. How awful! “Hold still, Trisha! Don't move! I'll run and get Mama.” If anything happened to Trisha, it would be Lily's fault for taking her so far from the house. She ran back along the creek bank, climbed over the fence, and into the barnyard. She didn't stop running until she burst into the kitchen, panting for air.

Standing at the stove with Dannie on her hip, Mama spun around. She looked behind Lily. “Where's Trisha?”

“She's . . . ,” Lily gasped, “stuck up in a tree . . . ,” she took a deep breath, “out in the pasture.”

Mama sighed. “Papa and Joseph aren't home. Just how am I supposed to climb that tree to help her down?”

Lily couldn't quite imagine Mama trying to climb a tree. “Maybe you could use our big ladder.”

“You will have to carry Dannie while I carry the ladder.” Mama handed Dannie to Lily and went outside to get the ladder.

Lily hoisted Dannie to her hip. He wouldn't be able to walk in the woods very far.

Mama pushed the big ladder under the fence, climbed through it, and lifted Dannie over while Lily climbed through. It took a long time to walk to the tree. Dannie was over a year old, and heavy. He was turning into a big little boy. Lily lifted him, then let him walk a little, then lifted him again. Lily thought she couldn't carry him one more step, but Mama looked tired as she carried the ladder.

When they reached the tree, Mama set up the ladder and Trisha scampered down. “I'm sorry, Mrs. Lapp,” she said as she hopped off the bottom rung of the ladder.

“I'm glad you're safe and sound, Trisha,” Mama said. “But I think it would be a good idea if you girls play around the house and barnyard instead of wandering off alone.”

Lily and Trisha nodded. On the way back to the house, Trisha and Lily took turns carrying Dannie. But Mama still had to manage the ladder by herself. And they never did find Bellow.

Lily took her favorite tan-colored dress out of her closet. It was a little worn out and getting too short, but Lily still loved
it. Down the back ran a row of bright red buttons. She wished she could see the buttons while she wore the dress, but just knowing they were there always made her feel a little prettier.

Today was the last day that Trisha would be staying at their house. Lily had everything planned. After they gathered eggs, they would play hide-and-seek in the barn. She would ask Trisha to show her how to make a chain of daisies, and then they would spend the rest of the morning in the sandbox, and help Mama whenever she needed them.

When Trisha's father drove up the driveway, Lily ran out to meet her. She had two empty peanut butter pails to gather eggs. Inside the chicken coop, the hens ignored the girls as they approached the nests to check for eggs. The rooster pecked at the grain in the feeder while the hens scratched at the straw and dirt on the floor or drank from the water pan.

Lily reached into one nest and grabbed a handful of eggs. She placed the eggs carefully in the little pail. Suddenly the rooster flew onto her back! He squawked and flapped his wings. Lily fell to the floor and the rooster kept pecking at her and beating his wings. Trisha tried to shoo the rooster away, but he didn't pay her any mind. Finally, Trisha darted out of the chicken coop and ran to get Mama.

Lily tried to get away, but the rooster kept flying at her and knocking her down. Mama dashed into the chicken coop and scooped Lily into her arms. Out on the grass, she dried Lily's tears. “I don't think it's a good idea to wear this dress when you gather the eggs. The rooster wanted to get those red buttons. He must have thought they were red berries. That is why he knocked you down.”

Lily looked down at her dress. It was covered with dirt and smudges from the floor of the chicken coop. Mama sent her upstairs to change into another dress. Up in her bedroom,
she took off her dress and looked at the buttons. The rooster had pecked them so hard that he had made scratch marks all over them. The red buttons were ruined. She would never again feel pretty and special whenever she wore that dress. Stupid, stupid rooster.

L
ily could hardly keep still in her excitement. It seemed like a Saturday even though Lily knew it was just Wednesday. She had had her bath earlier that evening and Mama had washed and braided her hair. Tomorrow was going to be an exciting day. The entire family was going, by bus, to visit Grandpa and Grandma Lapp in Kentucky. Lily was happy that her grandmother would get to see Dannie. She would be surprised at how big he had grown. He could walk now. He toddled around the big kitchen with short steps, and he was starting to talk too.

The suitcase was propped open on the couch in the living room. Lily tucked a few pretty, flowery handkerchiefs into the red satin pocket inside of the big black suitcase Mama was packing. Mama carefully placed Papa's Sunday coat on top of everything else and closed the lid. Lily helped her fasten
the clasps. Mama set it on the floor next to the door beside a smaller suitcase and her satchel. Done!

Papa was polishing shoes: Papa's, Mama's, Lily's, and Joseph's. Each one ended up shiny black. Joseph sat on the floor with his eyes fixed on Papa. Papa set the pairs of shoes on a piece of newspaper to dry. He stretched his arms high above his head and gave a huge pretend yawn. “Time for bed. We need to wake up extra early tomorrow morning to catch that bus.”

Lily was much too excited to sleep. She decided she would stay awake all night so they wouldn't miss the bus. She counted the low-pitched bells of the grandfather clock down below. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight . . .

The next thing Lily knew, Papa was calling her name. Everything was pitch dark. Then her eyes flew open. Today was the day they were going to go see Grandpa and Grandma Lapp! She hopped out of bed and quickly got her dress that Mama had hung on her bedpost last evening. She wiggled into it and then ran to find Mama to button her.

After everyone was dressed in Sunday clothes, they sat in the kitchen to wait until the driver arrived to take them to the bus station. Papa wore his Sunday vest over his light green shirt. His straw hat rested on the table so he could quickly snatch it up as soon as the driver turned into the lane.

Lily watched the second hand on the clock tick slowly around and around the clock. She wished the driver would hurry up and get here. She was ready to go.
Hurry, hurry, hurry,
she thought.

Papa jumped up. “I think I hear his car.” He reached for his hat and plopped it on his head, then pushed the chair under the table. Through the window, Lily saw two bright lights coming up the driveway. She quickly got her heavy black
bonnet and waited for Mama to tie the ribbons under her chin. She wished she didn't have to wear the bonnet. It was so hot. Mama was busy filling a jug with cold water. She set it beside a brown paper bag filled with sandwiches for their lunch on the bus. Then she turned to help Lily tie her bonnet.

When the driver pulled up to the house, Papa opened the door and carried the suitcases out to the car. He came back to help Mama carry the rest of the things. He looked around the house to make sure all the curtains were closed tight. The last thing he did was turn down the oil lamp and blow it out. It was time to go.

At the bus station, Papa paid the driver and got the luggage out of the car. They found a funny wire-looking bench to sit on in the station while they waited for the bus to come. Dannie slept on Papa's lap, but Lily had too much to look at to even think of sleep. A tall, thin man stood in front of a large metal and glass box and pushed a few buttons. The man bent down, reached into a little door, and took out a candy bar.

What a wonderful invention! She leaned over and whispered to Mama, “Can I get one too?”

Mama shook her head. “You can't just get free candy bars, Lily. The man put some money into the machine before it gave him the candy. We'll be fine with the sandwiches I packed.”

Lily wished she had some money. She wanted to see what kind of candy that machine might give to her.

A loud voice boomed from a box in the ceiling to announce that the bus had arrived. Papa and Mama quickly herded Lily and Joseph into line. Papa's hands were full, so he had Joseph hold one of the suitcases. Lily held on to Mama's skirt as they made their way to the bus. The driver took their tickets and let them climb into the bus to find seats. Lily wondered where all the other people on the bus were going. She hoped
they weren't all going to Grandpa Lapp's house. It was big, but not big enough for everyone on the bus.

Lily settled into her seat and closed her eyes. It was still dark outside and she felt a little sleepy. But she would
not
sleep! She had never been on a bus before and she wanted to enjoy every moment. She would not sleep. She would not . . . sleep. She . . . would . . . not . . .

Mama gently shook Lily's shoulder. “Wake up, wake up. It's time to get off the bus.”

Lily popped her head up to look out the window. The sun shone brightly. She scrambled to her feet and followed Mama down the aisle. This bus station was even bigger than the last one. There were people everywhere, walking fast, talking fast, coming and going. They had a short wait until the next bus arrived to take them to Kentucky. Lily scooted closer to Mama on the bench. She liked watching everything around her. They ate their sandwiches and drank some of the water from the water jug. It wasn't very cold any longer. Lily wished Papa would go to one of those wonderful machines and get a cold drink or a snack like the other people were doing.

When the next bus came, Papa quickly guided them to stand in line for the bus driver. Lily held on to Mama's skirt. She was afraid that someone might bump her and she would get lost in the crowd. Maybe the bus would leave and she would be forgotten. She might never see her family again. Oh, what a dreadful thought!

As they stood in line for the bus, Papa took Dannie out of Mama's arms. He looked around him. “Where is Joseph?”

Mama's eyes went wide. She looked behind her. “He was right here! He was holding a suitcase!” Her face looked tight and pale.

Lily started to cry. They couldn't go and leave Joseph alone
in this big scary place. He was just a little boy! He would never find his way home. Papa told Mama to get on the bus while he went into the station to look for Joseph. Mama watched Papa go. Suddenly, Lily saw Joseph! He was already in the bus and waved to them from a window. She pulled on Mama's sleeve and pointed to Joseph. Lily watched as Joseph climbed down the steps of the bus and ran to them.

“Why didn't you come?” Joseph said. “I was waiting for you!”

Papa saw Joseph run to Mama. He hurried to join them. “We have to stay in line, Joseph, and stay together.” Papa and Mama exchanged a look of relief. “Next time, keep hold of the suitcase. We don't want to lose our little boy.”

Lily was relieved when they were sitting on the bus, all together. The next time they would get off, Grandpa and Grandma Lapp would be waiting to meet them.

It was nearly dinnertime when the bus pulled into the station in Kentucky. From the window, Lily saw her grandparents.
Hurry, hurry, hurry!
she wanted to tell the people in the aisle.
My grandmother is waiting for me!
But the line moved so slowly.

Finally, Lily jumped down the bottom step of the bus and into Grandma Lapp's arms. “My, my! How you've grown!” Grandma Lapp stepped back to look Lily over. She patted her head. “You must be getting to be a good helper for your mama.”

“She is a very good helper,” Mama said. “I don't know what I'd do without her.”

Lily felt so pleased!

“I guess that means you won't want to leave her with us when you go home,” Grandpa said, eyes twinkling, but Lily knew he was only teasing. He liked to tease. He led them to a big white van that was waiting to take them to their house.

The farm at Grandma and Grandpa Lapp's looked just the way Lily remembered. They lived in a cute little white house with a porch. It was connected to a big farmhouse where Uncle Ira and Aunt Tillie lived with their eight children. Lily looked forward to playing with her cousins while they were there.

Grandma and Mama began to make supper while Papa and Joseph went out to the barn to help Grandpa feed the horses. Lily wished she could help make supper or at least set the table with Grandma's pretty dishes. She wanted to show Grandma what a big helper she was, but Dannie was acting bashful. He was clinging to Mama, so she asked Lily to play with him while they cooked.

Grandpa and Papa came back inside and sat in the living room to visit until supper was ready. Lily asked Joseph to play with Dannie and went to the kitchen to see if Grandma had something for her to do to help get supper ready. She was getting hungry.

Grandma handed Lily a big yellow flashlight. “You can go down to the basement and fetch a jar of peaches.”

Oh
. Lily had hoped she could stay in the kitchen with Grandma and Mama. Grandma's basement was dark and spooky and had a funny musty smell. Cautiously, she tiptoed down the stairs. There were no windows. The light from her flashlight wasn't very bright. Lily was sure the batteries were almost dead. She hoped the flashlight wouldn't go out completely before she found the peaches and made it safely back upstairs to the sunny kitchen.

She shined the flashlight over the shelves. Peaches! She grabbed the jar just as something cold and funny and wet and alive touched her bare foot. She flashed the light on her toes and gasped in fright. A big ugly toad hopped away. She
dropped the jar of peaches and it shattered. Lily raced up the stairs and into the kitchen.

Grandma had heard the crash and met her at the door. “What's wrong? What happened? Couldn't you find the peaches?”

“I found the peaches,” Lily said. She felt embarrassed. “I dropped the jar when a toad hopped on my foot.”

Mama put a hand on Lily's shoulder. “Do you have something I can use to clean up her mess?”

“There's an old broom and dustpan beside the staircase,” Grandma said. “And you might want to keep your eyes open for frogs while you're down there. They seem to like our basement, though I sure can't figure out where they get in.”

This visit wasn't going well. She had wanted to show Grandma what a good helper she was but had only made more work when she dropped the peach jar. She had wanted Grandma to see how big and grown-up Dannie was getting, but Dannie was acting shy. He buried his head into Mama's lap so no one could see him. During dinner, he didn't even want to taste Grandma's good food. Lily looked down at her plate. She wasn't very hungry either.