“We would have waited for you to feed the dog,” Grandma called over her shoulder.
“See,” Mark said. “You should have told Grandma and Grandpa that Twinkles needed to be fed.” He was glad Grandma had heard what Mattie said.
“But I didn’t, and you didn’t feed her, so now the poor hund is probably starving to death. You could have at least told me you didn’t feed her,” Mattie persisted.
“She won’t starve from missing one meal.” Grandpa glanced back at Mattie. “Just remember to feed her as soon as you get home. Oh, and Mark, it would have been nice if you’d fed Twinkles for your sister.”
Mattie looked over at Mark and said, “Don’t worry—I’ll never ask you to feed my hund again, and don’t ask me to feed your katz either.”
By the time they had stopped at three yard sales, Mattie was bored. She hadn’t seen anything that interested her at all. There were a lot of baby clothes, some farm equipment, furniture, dishes, and some canning jars, which Grandma bought, but nothing Mattie wanted. Grandpa had found a new handle for the one that broke on his rake, and he’d also purchased a metal milk can to store birdseed in for the winter on their back porch.
This third yard sale had something different from the first two they had gone to, however. There was a small concession stand set up selling hot dogs, barbeque sandwiches, homemade cookies, and peanut butter fudge. They also had bottled water available for anyone who was thirsty.
“How would you like something to eat?” Grandpa asked the twins. “Your grandma and I are getting a little hungry from all this yard-sale hopping, and I see there’s some food tables set up over there under those big maple trees.”
“I’m hungry, too,” Mark answered.
“Same here,” Mattie agreed.
They all decided to get hot dogs, except for Grandpa.
He chose the pork barbeque sandwich. Grandma reminded everyone that she’d made peanut butter cookies yesterday, and they’d have those once they got back to their house.
“I’ll have just ketchup on my hot dog,” Mattie told the teenage boy making the sandwiches.
“I’d like mustard and relish on mine,” Mark said when it was his turn to choose.
Grandma smiled when the boy asked her what she would like on her hot dog. “Ketchup, mustard, relish, and onions, please. I want the works.”
There were chairs and a few tables set up, also under the shade of the trees, and they all took a seat to eat their lunch. Mark and Mattie were in a conversation about what they hoped to find at the next place they were going to. As Grandpa and Grandma Miller ate, they watched the small crowd of people looking over the items for sale.
“I hope I can find a yo-yo,” Mark said to Mattie as he wiped a glob of mustard off the side of his mouth.
“I’m not sure if I’m looking for anything in particular.” Mattie took another bite of her hot dog. “I thought you wanted a new yo-yo and not another used one.”
“If I find one that’s better than the one I have, that would be okay with me. I just have to—”
Mattie looked at Mark, wondering why he’d stopped in midsentence. Her gaze followed the direction her brother was looking, and Mattie’s heart almost stopped beating. It felt like it had jumped into her throat.
“Carolyn! Carolyn! Are you all right?” Grandpa looked at Grandma with a panicked expression.
Mattie watched in horror as Grandma pointed first to her throat and then to her mouth. It looked like she was trying to tell Grandpa something, but all she could do was make little gasping noises.
Grandpa gave Grandma’s back a couple of thumps, but it didn’t seem to help. “Can someone please help us?”
Grandpa shouted. “My wife seems to be choking!”
It was like someone sounded an alarm, and several people came running over. They must have heard the urgency in Grandpa’s voice.
“Grandma’s turning blue,” Mark whimpered, reaching out to hold Mattie’s hand.
Mattie was really scared. She’d never seen anyone choke like this before, except little Ada, but she had only sputtered on milk while she was drinking it. This was different, though. Grandma couldn’t talk, and it looked like she was having trouble breathing.
Mattie quickly said a silent prayer, Lord, please help my grandma.
“She needs to stand up!” the teenage boy who’d given them the hot dogs yelled as he raced over and got behind Grandma.
Mattie’s fear increased as Grandpa helped Grandma stand. What was this boy going to do to their grandma?
Mattie watched helplessly as the boy wrapped his arms around Grandma’s waist from behind, made a fist with both hands together, and made quick upward thrusts into the upper part of her stomach. He did this only a few times, and all of a sudden a big piece of hot dog flew out of Grandma’s mouth. Almost immediately Grandma coughed and was able to breathe again.
Mattie breathed a sigh of relief as Grandma, her face turning red, whispered, “Guess I should learn to take smaller bites.”
It seemed like everyone, strangers included, went “whew” at the same time as Mark and Mattie.
Grandpa smiled and shook the boy’s hand, thanking him for saving Grandma’s life. “What is your name, son?”
“Well, my real name is Anthony, but most folks just call me Tony,” he answered, looking a little embarrassed at all the attention he was getting. “Guess it’s a good thing I was listening in class the day they taught us first aid.”
“What was it that you did to my grandma?” Mattie asked.
“That’s called the Heimlich maneuver,” Tony answered. “When someone is choking and can’t breathe, that’s what you do to dislodge the food or obstruction in their windpipe. There’s even a way to do the procedure on yourself, if you happen to be alone and start choking.”
“Well, I’m glad you were here to help. Thank you so much.” Grandma patted Tony’s arm. “Now I want everyone to quit worrying about me. I’m fine now, and you know what? I’m still hungry, not to mention eager to see some of the other yard sales that await us today.”
After the frightening experience was over, it felt good to relax, knowing Grandma was going to be all right.
“I know one thing,” Mark said to Mattie after they’d finished their lunch. “I’m gonna read up on this Heimlich maneuver. I think everyone should know how to do that.”
At the next yard sale they went to, Mattie spotted a table full of toys and games. She was on her way to look at them when she noticed a pretty snow globe on one of the tables. Inside the globe was a garden scene with flowers, a butterfly, and even a frog. Mark must have seen the globe, too, because he reached for it at the same time as Mattie.
“You’d better not touch it,” Mattie said. “It looks breakable. Besides, I saw it first.”
“Don’t be so selfish, Mattie. I have just as much right to look at the snow globe as you do.” Mark snatched up the globe and gave it a shake. Colored pieces of fake snow swirled all around inside the miniature world. It was beautiful!
“It’s my turn now,” Mattie said, taking the globe out of Mark’s hands. It was the prettiest snow globe she’d ever seen. It was not only a globe but also a music box, so that made it even more special.
Mattie had only been holding the globe a few seconds and was getting ready to wind it up so she could listen to the song it played, when Mark snatched it right back. “I wanna see that!”
“Hey! I wasn’t done looking at it yet. I wanna hear what song it plays.” Mattie grabbed hold of the snow globe, but Mark wouldn’t let go. Mattie gritted her teeth and tugged. Mark did the same. Suddenly, Mattie let go, but so did Mark. Crash!—the snow globe hit the ground and broke into several pieces. It was ruined!
Mattie gasped. Mark moaned. Grandma and Grandpa came running over with worried expressions.
“What happened?” Grandma asked.
Mattie quickly explained. Mark just stood, staring at the ground.
“If Mattie had let me hold the snow globe, i
t wouldn’t have fallen and broken into pieces,” Mark said.
Mattie frowned. “If you had let me hold the globe, it wouldn’t have broken.”
Deep wrinkles formed across Grandpa’s forehead. “Just a minute here. It sounds to me like you were both in the wrong, and now you’ll have to pay for the broken globe.”
Tears welled in Mattie’s eyes. “But I only have fifty cents, and the globe is two dollars.”
“I have fifty cents, too,” Mark said. “So between me and Mattie, we just have one dollar.”
“You two can pay for half, and I’ll pay the rest of it,” Grandpa said. “But you will both have to do a few chores for me and Grandma today to work off your debt.”
Mattie looked down, disappointed that they’d be leaving the yard sale empty-handed. Mark’s frown let her know that he was unhappy about that, too.
“As soon as you pay for the snow globe, I think we should go home,” Grandma told Grandpa. “I’ve had enough yard sales for one day.”
Grandpa gave a nod. “Mark, you can start by helping me tie the milk can I bought at the last yard sale onto the back of the buggy. It’s really too crowded for it to ride inside the buggy.” Then he looked at both of the twins and said, “If you two don’t get over your selfish attitudes, you’re going to have a bumpy ride ahead.”
“What do you mean?” Mark asked.
“If you keep being selfish, you’ll have lots of problems, just like you would if you were riding on a very bumpy road and got jostled around,” Grandpa explained.
Mattie couldn’t imagine having any more problems than she did right now, and she sure hoped they wouldn’t have a bumpy ride home.
CHAPTER 4
Tent for Two
“I’m glad we don’t have to go to any yard sales today,” Mark told Mattie as they entered the barn the following Saturday morning.
“I know,” Mattie agreed. “After what happened last week with Grandma choking and then the snow globe breaking, I don’t care if I ever go to another yard sale again—or eat a hot dog either.”
When the twins had gone back to Grandpa and Grandma’s house after leaving the yard sale, Mattie had helped Grandma with some things in the house, and Mark helped Grandpa do some cleaning in the barn. After Mark and Mattie had eaten some cookies before going home for the day, Grandma had said she hoped they’d learned a good lesson about the consequences of selfishness.
“Let’s climb into the hayloft,” Mark said, distracting Mattie from her thoughts. “Then we can swing on the rope that hangs up there.”
Mattie shook her head. “I don’t want to do that. It’ll make my stomach do little flip-flops.”
“Okay then, let’s find Lucky and play with her. I’ll get some catnip, and we can tease her with it.”
“It’s not nice to tease,” Mattie said. “Besides, I’d rather play with my hund than your katz.”
Mark shrugged. “Do whatever you like. I’m goin’ up the ladder to the hayloft.” He hurried away and was almost to the ladder when Dad entered the barn.
“Your mamm and I are going to town to do some shopping,” he said. “So we need you two to go into the house and keep an eye on your little sister and brother. They’re napping right now, and when they wake up, you’ll need to keep them entertained until we get home.”
“Why can’t one of our older brothers keep an eye on Ada and Perry?” Mark asked.
“Because Ike and Russell are visiting some of their friends, and Calvin went fishing with Grandpa today.”
Mark thumped the side of his head. “Oh, that’s right; I forgot about that. Wish now I’d gone fishin’ with them.”
Mattie didn’t want to keep an eye on her little brother and sister, but she knew if Mom and Dad were leaving, she and Mark didn’t have much choice. So she tapped Mark on the shoulder and said, “Come on, let’s go inside.”
As Mom and Dad’s horse and buggy pulled out of the yard, Mark followed Mattie into the house, shuffling his feet and grumbling, “It’s not fair. I really wanted some time to play.”
“Maybe we can find something fun to do in the house,” Mattie said.
“Sure hope so,” he said.
Once they were inside, Mattie suggested they go to the kitchen and have some of Mom’s peanut butter cookies and a glass of milk.
“That’s a really gut idea.” Mark smacked his lips. “Just thinking about Mom’s tasty kichlin makes me hungerich.”
Mattie climbed onto a stool, took the cookie jar off the counter, and set it on the table. Then, while she got out two glasses, Mark went to the refrigerator for the milk.
The twins took seats at the table, and Mark poured milk into their glasses while Mattie gave them each two cookies.
Mark reached for a cookie, bumped his glass, and—clunk!—knocked it over. “Oh no,” he groaned, quickly grabbing for some napkins to wipe up the mess before it soaked the cookies.
“You should have been more careful and watched what you were doing,” Mattie said.
Mark frowned. “You don’t have to act so bossy.” He picked up the container of milk and poured himself another glass. Slurp! Slurp! He drank it all down and poured some more. When he dunked his cookie into the milk, it fell to the bottom of the glass. “Oh great! Now my kichlin’s stuck, and it’s gonna get all mushy.”
“Why don’t you get a spoon and see if you can get it out that way?” Mattie suggested.
“I was just gonna do that.” Mark got out a spoon and put it in the glass, but the cookie remained stuck. He turned the glass upside down and tapped on the bottom while tipping the glass up to his mouth. Whoosh!—the cookie fell out, and the broken, soggy pieces stuck to his face.
Mattie giggled. Mark grunted and reached for a napkin to wipe his face. “I’m done with the cookies! I’m going back outside.”
“You can’t do that,” Mattie said. “Dad told us we have to stay in the house to keep an eye on Perry and Ada.”
“But they’re taking a nap. If we go outside on the porch, we can hear them if they wake up.”
“Maybe you’re right,” Mattie agreed. “I’ll put the cookie jar back on the counter, and then we can go.”
“I’m goin’ now. I’ll see ya out there!” Mark hurried out the back door, letting the screen door slam.
Mark had been sitting on the porch step, playing with his old yo-yo for about ten minutes, when Mattie joined him. “Are Ada and Perry still sleeping?” he asked.
“They must be,” Mattie said, “because I didn’t hear a peep out of them while I was putting the cookies away. Good thing, too. The way you let that screen door slam, it’s a wonder they didn’t wake up.”
“Oops, sorry. Guess I wasn’t thinkin’ about that. Anyways, it’s good that they didn’t wake up. Now, why don’t we play a game of hide-and-seek?” Mark suggested.
“There’s no place to hide here on the porch,” Mattie said.
“We can play in the yard. There are lots of places to hide out there.”
Mattie shook her head. “We can’t go into the yard. We wouldn’t be able to hear Ada and Perry from there.”
“I’m sure I can. I’ve got good ears.”
“Oh, alright,” Mattie finally agreed. “But we’d better not go too far from the house.”
Mark stepped off the porch and raced into the yard. Mattie was close behind him.
“Tag! You’re it!” Mark shouted, tapping Mattie’s shoulder.
“I thought we were going to play hide-and-seek,” Mattie said.
Mark shook his head. “I changed my mind. I’d rather play tag instead.”
Mattie folded her arms. “I don’t want to play tag. I’d rather play hide-and-seek.”
“It was my idea to play a game, so I should be the one to choose.”
“Okay,” Mattie said with a huff. “You’d better run fast because here I come, and you know I can run really fast!”
Mark took off across the yard. He knew Mattie could run faster than him, so he darted behind the house and
ducked behind a bush. A few seconds later, he heard Mattie calling, “Mark, where are you?”
Mark held very still and didn’t say a word.
“You’d better not be hiding from me. We’re supposed to be playing tag, not hide-and-seek!”
Mark put his hand over his mouth so Mattie wouldn’t hear him snickering. He thought it was fun to play a trick on her.
“Mark Miller, if you’re hiding, you’d better come out and show yourself right now!”
It sounded like Mattie’s voice was getting closer and closer, so Mark crouched down a little lower behind the bush. He waited until Mattie had gone a little past him, then he leaped out and hollered, “Tag! You’re it!”
She shook her finger at him and frowned. “It was my turn to tag you, not the other way around. And you shouldn’t be sneakin’ up on me like that!”
“Sorry, I just wanted to have a little fun. You can run now, and I’ll chase you.”
Mattie shook her head. “I’m done playing this silly game. Besides, we really should be in the house so we can hear when Ada and Perry wake up.”
“Oh, all right.” Mark took off across the yard like a racehorse, leaped onto the porch, and hurried into the house. Mattie never knew her brother could run that fast. He must have been practicing when she wasn’t around.
Mattie remembered the last time Mark had played ball at school. He hadn’t been able to run fast at all, and when he’d fallen, some of the kids made fun of him. If they’d seen him sprint across the lawn just now, they sure wouldn’t be laughing.
“Now what should we do?” Mattie asked when she entered the house and found Mark sitting on the sofa in the living room, trying to fix the yo-yo that had gotten all tangled in his pocket.
“I know—let’s make a tent!” Mark said excitedly. “We can drape a blanket over some folding chairs and anchor it with some of Mom’s clothespins.”
“That’s a real good idea,” Mattie said. “We can pretend we’re on a camping trip.”
Bumpy Ride Ahead! Page 3