Journey With the Comet

by Dana Wayne Haley

As Wally walked away, Margaret shook her head and said to herself:

  “And if you do make it to ten without changing your ways, I’m sure as heck not gonna make it to my next birthday.”

  Then she smiled.

  —5—

  One day Leona was visiting Jill and they were talking about the four boys who had picked on her.

  “If I never see those boys again, it will be too soon,” Jill joked.

  “Like I said before, Jill,” Leona said, “I don’t think we have to worry about them anymore.”

  As soon as Leona said that, she laughed.

  “What’s so funny, Leona?” Jill asked.

  “I was just thinking: maybe we don’t have to worry about boys, but I’m not so sure about Arlene.”

  “How so?” Jill asked.

  “There’s one boy she has a lot to worry about: Wally.”

  “Huh?”

  “He drives her crazy with the tricks he plays on her. He’s always short-sheeting her bed, and just last night he was lucky she didn’t kill him.”

  “Why, what was different about last night?” Jill asked.

  Leona began her story.

  “I was in my room getting ready for bed, and when Arlene jumped into her bed I heard her scream. And then I heard her run down the stairs yelling: ‘Mama, Papa, I’m gonna kill Wally.’

  “‘What did he do now, Arlene?’ Mama asked.

  “‘He poured a cup of sugar between my sheets,’ she said. Her face was beet-red with anger.

  “Mama said: ‘All right, change your sheets and your Papa and I will take care of Wally.’

  “Arlene was so mad, she said: ‘I hope you beat the living crap out of him.’

  Jill laughed.

  “‘Never you mind,’ Mama said. ‘Now get to bed.’

  “I had sneaked down the stairs and was watching, and when Arlene turned away from them I saw Mama and Papa look at each other and smile.

  “Papa asked: ‘Are you gonna talk to Wally this time? Or am I?’

  “Mama says: ‘I’ll do it; you did it last time.’ And then she went looking for Wally. He was in the living room, and when she found him he was giggling. He had heard everything and was real proud of himself.

  “Mama said: ‘Okay, Wally, what’s your excuse this time? And while your at it you might as well tell me why I shouldn’t ground you for a month.’

  “‘A month!?’ Wally screamed. ‘Come on, Mama; it wasn’t that bad. I could’ah done a lot worse. Besides, Arlene asked for it.’

  “Then Mama says: ‘I’m sure you could have done worse, young man! There’s not a doubt in my mind about that. And how in God’s name did she ask for it?’

  “‘She’s annoying. Plus, she looked at me funny,’ he answered.

  “‘Oh! Well, that’s different,’ Mama said. ‘I can understand how that would upset you so.’

  “Wally is so dense; he thought he had gotten away with it. He didn’t realize that Mama was being facetious; or is it sarcastic? I guess both. Regardless, Wally had no clue, as usual.

  “‘Wally, do you think I’m an idiot?’ Mama asked. Wally knew he was in trouble then. ‘Now go to bed,’ she said, ‘and I’ll tell you in the morning what your punishment will be. And don’t you ever go wasting my sugar like that. Money doesn’t grow on trees you know.’

  “Mama’s smart, Jill. She knew he’d toss and turn all night wondering what she and Papa were gonna do. When she went back to the kitchen, she told Papa: ‘Making him wait like that will be worse than the punishment.’ And she was right.”

  —6—

  “Did Wally play any other tricks that you haven’t told me about?” Jill asked.

  “Are you kidding? Leona said. “I could tell you Wally stories the rest of the day, and all day tomorrow, and I’d still have more to tell.”

  Jill laughed and said, “Then tell me the worst thing Wally did, and save the rest for another day.”

  “Hmmm? The worst thing? Let me think. Oh yes, Wally nearly met his Maker when he played this one.”

  “Oh, I can’t wait to hear it,” Jill said.

  “Well, just last spring, on a Sunday afternoon, Wally and Lillian were outside playing catch, and the rest of us were in the house. Suddenly, Wally comes bolting through the door and runs to Arlene, screaming in a panicked voice: ‘Help! Help! The baseball rolled into the road and Lillian chased after it, and she was run over by Mr. Kelley’s horse and buggy. I think she’s dead.’

  “Well, Mama let out this gawd-awful scream, and she and Papa went running out the door, and Arlene and I were right behind them. Our hearts must’ah been racing a hundred miles an hour, and we were all crying hysterically. Well, except for Papa; he had this worried, determined look on his face.

  “We looked toward the road and didn’t see Lillian, so we ran to it, thinking she was hidden by the bushes on the side of the road, or maybe lying in the ditch. When we got to the road, we still couldn’t see her.”

  “Where was Lillian?” Jill asked.

  “It turns out she was using the outhouse. Anyway, it wasn’t long before we heard Wally behind us, laughing his fool head off. When we turned around, the idiot yelled: ‘April Fool!’”

  “What!?” Jill exclaimed. “Are you serious, Leona?”

  “Ohhh yes. Mama was sooo mad she could have killed him right then and there. In fact, she said: ‘Murdy, get your son out of my sight before I introduce him to the grim reaper.’

  “Papa says: ‘Don’t worry, Maggie, I’m of a mind to kill him myself. If I decide to, promise me you’ll visit me at the jail.’

  “And Mama says: ‘No problem; it’ll be my pleasure.’

  “Well, Arlene and I nearly died laughing when we heard that. Anyway, Papa grabbed Wally’s arm and dragged him to the woodshed. I tell ya, he wasn’t laughing the least little bit when Papa got done with him. But Arlene sure was.

  “After he could finally sit, Mama and Papa sat Wally down and read him the riot act, for at least an hour. I remember them telling him that most any April Fools joke was fair game, but joking about someone dying crossed the line. They finally got it into his thick skull, and he never did anything like that again, although he came close a few times.”

  Jill was laughing when Leona finished the story.

  —7—

  Now it was Jill’s turn to make Leona laugh.

  “You know, I always wanted a little brother,” she said, “but now, after hearing about your brother, I should get down on my knees and thank the good Lord for sparing me the agony.”

  Leona laughed hysterically.

  “Speaking of God, Jill, that reminds me of something that Arlene did.”

  “What’s that?” Jill asked.

  “Well, Arlene was always good at making up poems, and she made up one about Wally when he was being particularly obnoxious. It was hilarious.”

  “Do you remember it?” Jill asked.

  “I could never forget it,” Leona replied. “It goes:

  “MY OBNOXIOUS BROTHER!

  “When I was born, I had the best mother.

  “A wonderful sister, and soon another.

  “I prayed to God, to give me a brother.

  “A few years later, He gave me a brother.

  “I really loved my cute, little brother.

  “And for a while, with love I did smother.

  “Then he changed, becoming like no other.

  “Playing mean tricks on me, making me suffer.

  “He became the devil, so I ran for cover.

  “Thinking, with a pillow I could smother.

  “I prayed to God, can I please kill my brother.

  “God said NO, so much longer I must suffer.

  “Still, I can’t stop thinking, with a pillow I could smother.

  “My annoying, obnox
ious, devil of a brother.”

  “That’s so funny,” Jill said. “What did Wally think of the poem?”

  “He loved it,” Leona said. “Probably because now he knew how much he was really annoying Arlene. And Mama and Papa really loved it too, but of course for a very different reason.”

  Chapter 46

  Jill’s Dream

  During the summer of ’24 Jill and Leona planned to have the time of their lives, because they wouldn’t be seeing as much of each other when school started. Come fall, Leona planned to attend Bangor High School, while Jill’s mother wanted her daughter to attend a high school closer to home.

  “Bangor is a mite too far for you to travel, so I think it’s best if you go to Hermon,” Mrs. Jensen told Jill.

  “Please can’t I go to Bangor, Mother? I really-really want to go to school with Leona.”

  “I know you do, dear,” Mary replied. “And, believe me, there’s nothing I’d like better. Leona has been such a great friend that I’d give my eyetooth if you could go to school with her. But you’d have to walk over a mile to the Haleys’ and another mile to catch the trolley on Broadway. That would be okay in warm weather, but that’s much too far a walk in the winter, especially during a blizzard, or frigid weather. And besides, I can’t handle the trolley fee.”

  Leona was disappointed when Jill told her the bad news.

  “That’s awful, Jill. You sure your mother won’t change her mind?”

  “No. She’s made up her mind and that’s that as far as she’s concerned.”

  And as far as the girls were concerned, Mrs. Jensen’s decision meant that they wanted to make this summer a memorable one, and indeed it was going to be, just not in the way they planned. The summer started off fine. The two teenagers decided to go fishing at the Kenduskeag Stream the day after school let out.

  —1—

  When that day came they packed a picnic lunch and headed to the Stream Road. In less than an hour they were at the old covered bridge, sitting serenely on its wide wooden rail, letting their fishing lines hang ten feet down to the clear slow-moving water while playfully talking about boys, and about the future, or the future as they saw it.

  “I’ve got one!” Jill shouted less than five minutes after casting her line.

  “It’s a pickerel, Jill; and a big one!” Leona said. A while later she caught a large trout.

  “Boy! They’re really biting today,” Jill said.

  “They sure are. We should catch enough fish to last a month if they keep biting like this.”

  Within an hour the girls had all the fish they could handle, so they decided to call it a day and go for a quick swim before heading home.

  “Wait up, Leona,” Jill yelled when she looked up and saw her running toward the stream.

  Jill wondered what her friend was doing, and after she saw her pick up a long, curved stick lying near the riverbank she quickly found out. Leona used the stick to snag a rope dangling from the branch of a large oak tree, a good 6 feet offshore. Then, with rope in hand, Leona walked back about ten feet and took off running toward the water. When she was near the edge of the bank, the daring girl jumped and grabbed the rope as high as she could, and lifted her legs off the ground. Jill watched Leona swing out over the stream, let go of the rope, make a gigantic splash in the water, and disappear from view.

  After resurfacing, Leona shouted to Jill: “Come on in; the water’s great!”

  Jill immediately jumped up and ran toward the swinging rope. She caught it with her right hand and ran with it toward the stream. When she reached the riverbank she mimicked Leona and jumped fearlessly off the seven-foot bank, swinging almost 15 feet from it before she let go. SPLASH went the water, with much of it coming down on Leona.

  “Hey watch it,” Leona said while swimming toward Jill, laughing as she did.

  The jovial girls playfully splashed each other for about a minute, and then swam to the bank to lie in the sun for a while.

  “What a beautiful day,” Jill said while lying on her back watching the clouds float by. “I can’t believe it’s this warm already.”

  “I know; I hope it keeps up like this all summer. Are you still thinking about becoming a teacher, Jill?”

  “I sure am. I can’t wait ‘til I get the chance to discipline boys like the ones that picked on me. But seriously, I really want to teach. I just hope I get the chance and can be as good as Miss Hutchinson.”

  “I’d be surprised if you weren’t even better,” Leona said to her friend. “You’re gonna make a terrific teacher; there’s no doubt in my mind.”

  “Oh! Guess what, Leona? I had a wonderful dream last night. I dreamed I was with my father in Heaven, and it was soooo beautiful.”

  “You did? Well, turkey, are you gonna tell me?”

  Jill began describing her dream in great detail, and Leona marveled at the colorful imagery and blissful life that her friend was portraying.

  “Wow!” Leona said. “I sure hope Heaven is as marvelous as that; not that I want to find out anytime soon. Earth is more than nice enough for my tastes, for the moment anyway. Although if you can insure that boys like the simpleton Comeau brothers aren’t gonna be there, I may consider taking that trip sooner.”

  Jill laughed. “Oh, I don’t think you’ll have to worry about that, Leona. Even if they should somehow sneak through the Pearly Gates, I’m sure my dad will take them by the back of their collars and escort them right out. He’s not one to suffer fools.”

  Leona laughed for a while, and then became pensive. She was thinking how great it was that Jill had such a soothing dream, especially since her father was a major part of it.

  “You’ve had some pretty vivid dreams in the past, Jill,” she said, “but this one has to be the best.”

  “Oh, it was,” Jill replied. “But that’s not the half of it. The second part of my dream was just as amazing.”

  “How so?” Leona asked.

  “I dreamt that when I left my father, I was on your comet with you.”

  Leona’s eyes lit up. “You were?”

  “Uh-huh! And your grandmother was there too, just like you said.”

  Leona always told Jill about her dreams, down to the last detail, because her friend always believed her.

  “What happened?” Leona asked.

  “Well, when you arrived I was there reading the book you gave me,” Jill explained. “Then we went to your grandmother’s place and she told us stories. And, of course, she gave us a nice treat.”

  “Milk and cookies, I bet,” Leona joked.

  “Yup,” Jill acknowledged.

  Leona was happy that Jill had a dream about her comet. She always knew that Jill believed her when she talked about her dreams, and this just gave her even more assurance.

  “Was anyone else on the comet, Jill?”

  “No. Just you, me, and your grandma.”

  “Hmm?” Leona said. “I wonder why? Do you think your dream means anything?”

  “I don’t know? But your comet was just like you described it: so beautiful and serene; so I hope I have more dreams like that one, especially if I can see my father again.”

  The two relaxed peacefully on the bank, soaking up more sun while talking for another ten minutes or more. Then Jill suddenly got to her feet.

  “Let’s go for another swim,” she said. “The last one in’s a rotten egg!”

  Then she ran and dived headfirst into the water, swimming as fast as she could for the other side of the stream. Leona watched and laughed at her fun-loving friend. Suddenly she heard a scream, and then she heard Jill yell.

  “Leona! Help! Help me!”

  Leona thought that her friend was just joking around, until she saw Jill struggling and then saw her head go under the water.

  “Hold on!” Leona called out as she dove into the water, swimming as
fast as she could.

  When Leona reached Jill, she was at the bottom of the four-foot-deep stream holding onto her leg, and holding her breath. Leona submerged and pulled Jill to the surface. As soon as Jill’s head was above water she opened her mouth wide and gasp for air. Leona swam with her toward the riverbank, which was more than 50 feet away, and helped Jill up the steep bank.

  “Are you okay, Jill?” she asked

  “I think so.”

  “What happened?”

  “I guess I didn’t drink enough water today, so …”

  “So you decided to drink the whole river?” Leona jokingly interrupted.

  “No, silly, I didn’t drink enough water so I got a leg cramp,” Jill answered.

  “Either that, or I was real thirsty,” she added.

  “You!” Leona said.

  “You what?”

  “You jerk! Your dream about being in Heaven almost came true!”

  They both laughed and then started for home. On the way, Jill thanked Leona for saving her life.

  “I’m sure glad I taught you how to swim, Leona. If I hadn’t, I’d be pushing up daisies now.”

  “I’m glad you taught me too, turkey. I don’t know what I’d do if I lost my best friend.”

  Then she put her arm around Jill’s shoulder, and they walked like that the rest of the way home.

  Chapter 47

  Revenge

  That summer of ’24 Leona had two more experiences that would have a tremendous impact on her life, and the way she thought about it. The first happened two weeks after the start of summer vacation. She was walking alone in the woods on her way to Jill’s for a quick game of Cribbage. As she turned left from the Stream Road onto Friendship Path, Leona noticed two boys loitering up ahead, maybe 200 feet or so. She immediately recognized one of the boys to be Jake Comeau, and the other, his best friend Billy.

  “There she is! Come on; let’s get her!” she heard Jake call out.

  Leona could tell from the tone of Jake’s voice that they were up to no good, and she turned to run home. But two more of Jake’s friends, Mike and Justin, were sneaking up behind her on the Stream Road, no more than 100 feet from her, blocking the path home. She realized that these were the four boys who had picked on Jill a couple of years ago. Knowing that they really resented Jill and her for embarrassing them in front of the other children, Leona suspected that they were now looking to get even. Instinctively she began running as fast as she could down the road, in the direction of the Kenduskeag Stream. Fortunately the 14-year-old was wearing her best sports shoes that day, and got a good head start on the boys, who were caught off guard and surprised by her quickness.