The Second Half

by Lauraine Snelling

  “He’s afraid all that will send you back to the punching bag?”

  “Or worse.” Mona looked toward the creek from where she could hear children’s chatter. “Should we go over there and check on them?”

  “You realize he may be right?”

  “I know. But this is a really big project, the kind of thing I dream of doing.”

  “I know, but…”

  “You have your hands full, too.”

  “I mean, I could help you once in a while, but not on a regular basis. You could advertise for an assistant.”

  “I’ve thought of that. But training a helper…” She shook her head. “Maybe I need to put what I want on hold and hopefully pick it up again when Steig returns.” She tipped her head back and stared up into the branches of a maple tree that come fall would burst into a magnificent flaming beacon. But right now it was just getting into full leaf. Was she like that tree that needed time before the glory? “I’ve prayed and asked God to guide me in this, but He seems to be off dealing with other more important things.”

  “Someone I know once told me that times like this He was saying, Wait. That person who shall remain nameless even gave me a few verses to back it up. Verses like ‘Wait upon the Lord’ and ‘Be still and know that I am God’ and…”

  “You know how much I hate eating my own words?”

  “I do. You gave me a ditty for that. Remember? ‘Oh, dear Lord, make my words so sweet, when I have to eat them, ’twill be a treat.’”

  Mona tossed the bits of ice left in her glass at her daughter. “Think about it, okay?”

  Marit brushed the ice off her shirt. “I will pray with and for you. That you will do what is best for all concerned.” She glanced at her watch. “We better round up the animals and get them washed off so they can get back in the car. This has been pure delight.”

  “Saturday will be too.”

  Marit nodded. “And VBS starts Monday. Can Dad help?”

  Mona grimaced. “We’ll have to see. The time he is spending back at the job gives me a pain in the backside. They can hire him as a consultant if they need him that bad.”

  “Are you surprised?”

  “Not in the least.” Together they folded up their recliners, repacked the baskets, and carried them to the car.

  “Have you mentioned how you feel?”

  “Not in so many words. What good would it do?”

  “If you phrased it carefully—at just the right time.” Even Marit’s face looked a question mark. Mona shrugged and shook her head, sliding the last of the baskets into the back of the van.

  “Mooooom!” Brit’s voice carried from the creek. “Come see.”

  Together, mother and daughter ambled over to the small creek that tinkled merrily to the lake.

  “See our boats? Grammy, you get to be the judge. Go stand at that rock where the creek goes into the lake, and whichever boat gets there first wins. Mom, you stand here and yell ‘go’ when we are lined up, okay?”

  “Good idea!” Mona looked at each of the kids with their leaf boat in hand.

  “See, Grammy, I put a sail on mine.” Arne showed her. He had used another leaf as a sail on a boat made of two or three leaves tacked together with tiny sticks.

  She looked at Marit, who nodded and shrugged. This kid had been blowing their minds since he was three. Ken always said he was an engineer in the making. She made her way to the rock some twenty feet away and turned with a wave.

  “Okay, get your boats ready.”

  All six lined up in the creek, ready to set their boats down.

  “On your mark, get set”—Marit chopped with her arm—“go!”

  Boats on the water and the cheering began. They took to the banks and followed their bobbing crafts. Arne’s boat caught on a piece of wood and bobbed a few times until it spun around and kept on going, now way behind the others. Brit’s leaf tipped over but kept on in the current. Mellie’s boat took the lead, then caught on a rock. Brit’s floated on ahead but was listing to the side more with every swirl. The kids yelled for their boats, the adults laughed and clapped. Jake’s boat sank lower and lower until a swirl caught it and whirled it on. But by the end, only Torin’s and Mellie’s boats were still in the race.

  Mona threw up her hands. “Tie! The boats are tied!” She clapped for the winners. “And everyone else did a fine boat job. Mellie and Torin get two scoops at the ice cream shop on the way home. So load ’em up and let’s hit the road.”

  “After you wash up at the faucet!”

  All the way back to town, the kids talked about the boat race and what they would do on the next one.

  “Actually, I hadn’t planned on ice cream.” Marit glanced at her mother.

  “I figured the winners needed an award, so this is my treat. Oh my, but that was fun. They were so creative.”

  That evening after supper, the four of them headed for the river walk with the animals on leash. Jake rode his three-wheeler, and both kids explained the boat race in detail to Ken, then Jake said, “I sure wish you had been there, Grampy. You really missed out.”

  Ken glanced at Mona, who was nodding along with the kids. “I do, too,” he answered.

  “So, Grampy, I thought you retired.” Mellie slid her hand into his and looked up at him. “Doesn’t that mean you don’t work there no more?”

  “Anymore,” Mona corrected automatically.

  “Anymore?”

  Ken nodded slowly. “That is what retired is supposed to mean, but sometimes one should help a friend out. I think we got it all straightened out today.”

  “I sure hope so,” Mona muttered for his ears alone.

  Saturday wore a cloud cover that looked an awful lot like rain.

  “But they predicted sun.” Mona grumbled as she flipped the switch on the coffee and removed breakfast fixings from the refrigerator.

  Ken checked his phone. “This is supposed to blow over by ten.” He returned to his paper. Flipping the corner down, he whispered, “Does she know?”

  “Only that the party is at two.” The night before, they’d had a birthday dinner of spaghetti with crispy bread (as Jake called French bread under the broiler), red Jell-O salad, and ice cream. Mellie had opened her present from her daddy and immediately lost herself in book one of a series about horses.

  “Someday I get to have a horse,” she announced later.

  “Now where would we put a horse?” Ken had asked.

  “At a stable.” Her answer sounded like every horse-loving girl got to stable her horse. Ken smiled at the memory.

  “What are you making?” Ken asked Mona.

  “French toast with syrup, or applesauce if you’d rather.”

  “I want applesauce,” Jake announced, climbing up in Ken’s lap.

  “Where’s Mellie?”

  “Reading her book.”

  “Will you go get her, please?”

  Jake slid to the floor and, dragging his blankie, yelled from the bottom of the stairs. “Mellie, breakfast! Grammy said.”

  Mona shuddered. She turned to Jake. “I asked you to go get her, not call her.”

  “Oh.” He climbed back up in Grampy’s lap and leaned against his shoulder. “Can we go walk again tonight?”

  “I hope so. That was nice, wasn’t it?”

  “Uh-huh.”

  Mellie slid into her chair just as Mona set the platter of French toast on the table, then brought both the warmed-up syrup and the applesauce. “Applesauce, thank you, Grammy.”

  “Can I have both?” Jake asked.

  Ken rolled his eyes. “You really want both?”

  Jake nodded. “The applesauce on first and then the syrup, just like Mommy liked hers.” He ducked at the look Mellie sent him.

  Ken and Mona exchanged a look of sadness, then Ken wrapped his arm around his grandson. “That’s okay, Jakey boy. You can have your French toast any way you like it.”

  “We don’t talk about her,” he mumbled, tears brimming and about to run over. />
  “I understand. You want to fix it yourself?”

  Jake shook his head, so Ken spooned out the applesauce and ran a drizzle of syrup over the top.

  “There you go. Now, let’s have grace and we can dig in. After all, we have a big day ahead.”

  After they silently finished eating, Mellie turned to her grandma. “Grammy, what should we wear to my party?”

  Mona appeared to be thinking deeply, then nodded. “I think jeans would be best. And a T-shirt.”

  “Me, too?” Jake popped up. “I like shorts.”

  “I know, but today I think you better wear jeans.” She grinned at the two studying her, hoping for clues, she suspected. “That’s all I’m going to tell you.”

  “T-shirt! But it’s raining,” Mellie whined.

  “Weatherman says nice day by noon.”

  “And the party is at two?”

  “Right, but we’ll need to be in the car by one fifteen. We are taking both cars today.”

  “Cousins?” Jakey asked.

  “You got to have cousins for a party,” Mellie said as if they’d always had cousins at their birthdays.

  Both kids were waiting by the door by one. As predicted, the sky had cleared and they climbed in the SUV giggling with excitement.

  Jake looked over the backseat. “What is all that stuff back there?”

  “Party stuff, silly.” Mellie helped him buckle into the car seat.

  “Everybody ready?” Ken asked.

  When Mellie read the sign where they turned in a long driveway, she shrieked and giggled. “We’re going to a pony farm. Look, Jake, all the horses and ponies out in the pasture. Will we get to ride one?” Her words tripped over each other as she plastered her nose to the window. “Oh, Grammy, this is the best birthday ever.”

  They parked next to Marit’s van, and all the cousins bailed out at the same time, Mellie and Brit dancing in place as they watched a lady with boots and a Western hat come to greet them.

  “Welcome to Clauson’s pony farm. I’m going to give you kids a tour while your moms do what they need to do.”

  “This is my grammy and grampy,” Mellie said, turning to look at each one with a huge smile.

  “All of ours,” Brit clarified.

  “Ah, I see. Well, you can call me Miz Beverly and I will be your wrangler for today. And if you will tell me who the birthday girl is, I have a special hat for you that you can take home and keep as a souvenir.” She held up a red Western hat with sparkles on it.

  Mellie’s eyes rounded. “Oh, for me, I mean this is my birthday party!”

  Miz Beverly set it on the child’s head. “Now, don’t you look purty? Okay now, you follow me and I’ll give you a tour of the farm first so you can meet our family, and then we’ll head on over to the corral where you can all ride, just not at the same time.” She turned and beckoned them. “Come along now. Your moms can set up the party while you ride.”

  Marit gestured. “You go. You wanted to see the operation.”

  “You can handle this alone?”

  Marit smirked. “I’m a big girl now.”

  “And she has her daddy to help her.” Ken stepped in beside her.

  Magnus joined the party. “I want to see what they have here.”

  Miz Beverly paused beside the first pony pasture. “Here is our newest member. Her name is Shadow for short, but her mama isn’t going to let her come visit with you yet. She was born three days ago.”

  As Mona snapped some photos of a terminally cute gray baby pony, she realized that she and Mellie would both want photos of this party—Mellie for memories and Mona for reference as well as memories. This would make a great event attraction.

  Two other ponies joined them at the fence, sticking their noses between the wooden boards. Beverly showed the children how to feed a treat from a flat palm and soon the carrot pieces disappeared, leaving contented ponies and giggling children. Mona took pictures, including a close-up of Torin’s little hand feeding nibbling pony lips.

  They gave carrots to several of the Norwegian Fjord ponies in another field. Mona had seen articles and pictures, but she had never seen one up close—short, stocky, and incredibly shaggy.

  Magnus smiled. “The only ponies of this breed I’ve ever seen are in Norway.”

  They walked through the long pony barn with stalls on either side, and Mona noted that the barn was clean, airy, and smelled fresh. Yes, she would bring children’s parties here.

  They met the family of barn cats, including a lovely little calico miss who sat picturesquely on a hay bale with her tail curled around her paws. Jakey cringed, pressing against Mona, and would not look at them.

  And all the while, they were accompanied by the fluffy mottled-gray farm dog, who obviously had decided Jake could become his best friend. When they stepped back out in the sunshine, two of the golden Fjord horses were hitched to an open carriage big enough for all of them. Mellie was helped to the place of honor up by the driver.

  The party preparations must have been completed, for Ken and Marit joined them. She frowned at Miz Beverly. “Are those horses strong enough to take all of us? It’s such a big carriage, and all these people…”

  Miz Beverly laughed. “Oh my, yes. Pound for pound, these ponies are the strongest horses in the world. Hop up there; the load is not too heavy.”

  And so they all climbed in, including adults, and rode all around the farm, crossing a bridge over the flowing creek, down a tree-lined path under a canopy of rustling branches overhead, and eventually back to the barn.

  “Now we get to ride?” Mellie whispered.

  Miz Beverly nodded. “Now you get to ride. We have three ponies saddled and ready. Have you ridden before?”

  Mellie nodded. “But only in a circle that led the ponies.”

  “Today you will have one of our helpers with you but there will be no machine. See the corral over there? That’s our riding corral for beginners.” She climbed down and opened the half door for the rest of the party. “Pony riders over there, please. Moms and dads over there.” She pointed to a separate building over near the parking lot. “One of my helpers will meet you there and be your host.”

  The more she looked around, the better Mona liked this place. The place was neat, orderly, and spacious. She paused to watch the budding horsemen in the far corral. Mellie, already aboard her steed, was wearing a riding helmet. Good! This operation made safety a top priority.

  By the time the children had all ridden, enjoyed their cake and ice cream, and were headed home, Jake had fallen asleep almost before they cleared the entrance.

  Behind Mona, Mellie took off her hat and studied it. “Thank you, Grammy and Grampy, for the best birthday ever.”

  Mona twisted to smile over the seat back. “I’m so glad you liked it.”

  “Miz Beverly said they give riding lessons at the farm.”

  “I know.” Mona caught the raised-eyebrow look Ken shot her.

  “Maybe someday I could take some lessons out there.”

  “We’ll have to see.” Mona stretched across and patted her granddaughter’s knee. “We’ll send the video to your daddy, too. He’ll be so proud of you.”

  A tear meandered down Mellie’s cheek. “I wish he could have come, too.”

  “So do I, Mellie, so do I.” If only they would hear from him. Perhaps tonight, Lord, please let him contact us.

  Chapter Twenty

  What’s the matter, honey?” Ken poked his head in the kids’ bedroom doorway Sunday afternoon.

  Sniff. “Nothing.” Mellie wiped her eyes.

  Ken crossed to lean his arms and chin on the upper bunk where his granddaughter lay on her stomach, open book in front of her. “Is it a sad story?”

  She shook her head.

  “You can tell me.”

  A hiccup caught on her sigh. She sniffed again and mumbled, “Daddy didn’t call me on my birthday.”

  “Did he say he would?” He stroked her back.

  She shook her he
ad. “He said he’d try, but Grampy, I always talk to him on my birthday. If he’s not home, he calls me.”

  Ken closed his eyes. Lord, give me wisdom here. “Remember, he might not be near any telephones. Lots of places in the world don’t have phones like we have.”

  “He always has his cell phone. He said so.” She chewed on her bottom lip. “Something musta happened. He might be hurt real bad.”

  “He could be, or he might be out of cell service. You know how our phones go out sometimes when we are camping far from a town or fishing out on the lake. The cell tower doesn’t always reach everywhere.”

  “But he said!”

  “And when Steig says he’ll do something, he tries his very best to do it. He’s always been like that, Mellie. Remember, I’ve known him his whole life. He’s true to his word. That’s why I am absolutely sure that he would call if he could, and he will call as soon as he can.” He blew out a breath.

  “That’s what Grammy said, too,” Mellie said quietly.

  “Well, Grammy is pretty smart and always right. Right?”

  Mellie nodded slowly.

  “You want to go for a walk with me?”

  “Can I ride my bike? Just us?”

  “Yes and yes, unless someone else asks to go along, like a certain dog or a cat.”

  “Or Grammy. What if you and Grammy rode your bikes, too? Jakey could ride in the kiddie seat on your bike. We could go farther that way.” Her eyes sparkled through the tears.

  Going for a bike ride right now hadn’t been in his plans, but oh, well. He had to admit it was a good idea for cheering up a sad little girl. “Let’s go see.”

  She stuck her bookmark in her book and scrambled off the bed, dropping to the floor. “We can go faster that way, too.”

  “That’s for sure.” He stuck his head in Mona’s office only to find it empty. Their bedroom the same. He heard Mellie pelting down the stairs. Where were Mona and Jakey? He found them in the kitchen, where she was giving Jake a lesson on how to peel a potato. He watched from the door. Talk about concentration. Jake stared at the potato as if daring the skin to ignore his peeler. When he finished it, he splashed it in the water bowl and announced, “One done.”