A Surprise for Lily

by Mary Ann Kinsinger

  Lily froze. She wanted to run to Mama but her legs didn’t budge. She felt as if her feet were glued to the ground. Beth, Malinda, and Effie hurried over to Lily. “I hope that ball didn’t hurt the you-know-what,” Effie said.

  Lily looked at Effie, confused. “What are you talking about?”

  Beth tugged on Lily’s sleeve. “Don’t you think we should go see if your Mama is okay?”

  The girls ran to the schoolhouse. Inside, Mama sat at the teacher’s desk. Her face looked as white as a ghost. Aaron gave her a cloth he had rinsed in cold water. Harvey filled a glass of water for her. Lily quickly ran to Mama’s side. “Are you all right?”

  “I’m sure I’ll be fine in a few minutes,” Mama said, but she didn’t sound fine or look fine. Everybody swarmed inside the schoolhouse to surround Mama’s desk.There was a big lump on her forehead where the ball had hit her. She pressed the wet cloth against her head and closed her eyes. “Really. I’m fine. You can all go out to play.”

  Aaron gave Mama a concerned look, then he shooed everyone outside. Lily stayed inside with Mama just in case she needed anything. To her surprise, she soon heard the clip-clop of a horse and buggy approach. Papa had come! Lily ran to the window and saw Aaron and Harvey climb out of the buggy with Papa. In the backseat were Dannie and Paul. Harvey and Aaron must have run to Whispering Pines to tell Papa that Mama was hurt.

  Papa hurried into the schoolroom. “Rachel, are you all right?”

  “I’m fine, Daniel,” Mama said, holding the cold cloth to her forehead. “Just a little bump.”

  Papa gently moved the cold cloth away from Mama’s forehead. His dark eyebrows shot up. The lump was even bigger now, as big as a goose egg, turning blue and purple. “I need to take you home. Is there any student who could take your place until school is dismissed?”

  Mama’s eyes scanned over the eighth graders: Becky, Ephraim, Wall-eyed Walter. “We’d better just let the children go home early.”

  Papa sent everyone home, then helped Mama into the buggy. He insisted she lie down to rest as soon as they reached home. Tonight, Papa said he and Lily would get supper ready while Mama rested. The next day, she woke up feeling better.

  At school the next morning, Effie ran up to Lily. “Is your mama all right?”

  “She’s doing fine,” Lily said, surprised that Effie would ask about Mama.

  “When a woman gets hurt during her you-know-what, it means she’s in for twice the trouble. It’s a fact.”

  Lily looked at Effie as if she was speaking Chinese. “What are you talking about?”

  Effie simply pursed her lips as if the why of it was too obvious to say.

  Aaron Yoder was up to bat. So far, just like he had predicted, he had never been out. Every day, Lily hoped he would get out. She wanted Aaron to be taken down a peg. Or two. She was banished to the outfield where she would do the least damage to the game, Aaron told her.

  Aaron’s bat hit the ball with a loud, satisfying crack. Lily watched the ball fly up, up, up before it started to come down. She held out her apron and was thrilled when the ball landed magically in her outstretched apron. All the children cheered! Someone had finally gotten Aaron Yoder out. That someone was Lily!

  Aaron scowled as he headed to the outfield and everyone else moved forward a position.

  At long last, Lily was rotating to the infield. She had moved up to third base. Only three more batters needed to get out, then she could have a turn at bat. Now Malinda was up to bat. Despite the fact that Malinda was a very timid, always worried girl, she was a surprisingly strong athlete. She hit that ball far into center field and made it safely all the way to third base. “You did a good job of catching Aaron’s fly ball,” she said, puffing and panting as she stood on the base. “I wish I had thought to use my apron to try to catch balls.”

  Sam Stoltzfus hit a ground ball and Malinda ran on to home plate. Junior Hershberger dashed past Lily to Aaron in the outfield. Aaron whispered something furiously into his ear and Junior took off. That was just like Junior. He acted as if Aaron was some kind of hero.

  Now Harvey was up to bat. Lily hoped she might catch his ball, too. Maybe today was her lucky day. The ball went up, up, up, right toward her! She opened up her apron and backed up to try to catch it. Back, back, back, then . . . she tripped and landed into something soft and squishy and moist. A steaming fresh pile of horse manure! She jumped up and swatted the back of her dress, trying to brush it all off. Aaron and Junior had dropped to their knees, slapping the ground as they roared with laughter. Junior had sneaked that manure pile out there!

  Just when Lily thought Aaron might be getting a tiny bit nicer, he did something rotten! What a coward—to get a little boy to do his dirty work. He was an incurable pain. But she was going to concoct a scheme to cure him.

  Dear Cousin Hannah,

  Thank you for your newsy letter! I’m glad you are enjoying school so much. Since you asked, yes, I do think that Tom the hired boy is too old for you. Ten years is a big difference, especially when you are eleven and he is twenty-one.

  I have gobs to tell you. Something funny happened during the softball game at lunch recess today. Harvey Hershberger’s little brother, Junior, was catching balls in the outfield and he used his baggy trousers to catch a ball! He’s always wearing trousers that are too big for him—probably Harvey’s hand-me-downs. He looked so silly! The boys just howled and now they call him Bag Boy. Junior loves the attention—any attention—just like Harvey does.

  Last week, Junior put a pile of fresh horse manure behind me on third base, so that I tripped and fell into it. It was all Aaron Yoder’s doing. So I thought of a perfect way to get back at Aaron. I filled a pail full of dried horse manure and slipped into the schoolhouse early one morning, silent as snow. Teacher Judith was outside, talking to Effie, as usual, so the timing could not have been any better. I dumped the entire pail in Aaron Yoder’s desk! Then I hid the pail in the basement. No one would ever be able to trace it to me.

  I could hardly wait to see what Aaron would do. Oh Hannah, I could hardly sit still. Finally, Aaron would be humiliated.

  Well, you won’t believe what happened. When Teacher Judith asked the sixth grade to get their spelling workbooks out, Aaron opened his desk, shuffled the manure around to find his workbook, took the book out, and closed the lid of his desk. As if a desk filled with manure was nothing unusual to him! When he was up front for spelling, he asked Teacher Judith if he could open the windows, being as how it was a warm day. Of course, she said yes, even though it was a chilly morning. She never says no to anyone.

  So Aaron opened up the window next to his desk. All day long, whenever he needed something from his desk, he pitched a few pieces of manure out the window.

  Infuriating! Nothing ever bothers Aaron . . . but that never stops him from trying to bother me! I wish he would tease Effie half as much as he teases me. She would love his attention. I loathe it.

  Your cousin,

  Lily

  Only a few weeks of school remained in this year’s term. One Monday, right before lunch recess, Teacher Judith told the children to line up, in alternating grades, on each side of the room. “We’re going to have a spelling bee. On Friday, the one student still standing will win a special prize.”

  At the mention of the word prize, an epidemic of grins swept through the schoolhouse. Most of them, particularly the boys, would rather work for a prize than eat for a week.

  For Lily, this news was straight from heaven. She loved spelling bees and was sure she could win. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to win two prizes this year? One for nearly perfect attendance, and one for a spelling bee. Papa would be so pleased.

  No sooner had everyone else lined up along two sides of the room than Teacher Judith paired the three eighth graders with the first graders: Wall-Eyed Walter with one of the Hershberger twins, Becky with the other, and Ephraim Stoltzfus with Menno King, who whistled through his missing front teeth when he talked. She paired second grad
ers with seventh, third graders with sixth, and so on. Aaron was paired with Bag Boy Hershberger. Lily was paired with Lavina, her favorite of the little girls. Each time Teacher Judith gave out a word, there was a frenzied conference of whispers. The youngest of the pair would recite the letters aloud. Effie and Toby were the first to drop on the word affect. As Effie was waved out of the round, she flounced to her chair and blamed Toby. Pair by pair went down in defeat, until Teacher Judith stopped the bee, to be continued tomorrow.

  Rounds of the spelling bee continued each day. By Wednesday, only Lily and Lavina, and Aaron and Bag Boy were left. They spelled down word after word—the entire schoolhouse on the edge of their seats waiting breathlessly for one of the pairs to make a mistake. The room was filled with claps and groans and hoots.

  On Thursday, it was a stalemate. “Only one student can win,” Teacher Judith said. “So we’re going to split up the pairs.”

  Without Aaron’s tutelage, Bag Boy went down in the first round on the word ransack. Then Lavina waffled and forgot the c. The last two standing were Aaron and Lily. “To be continued tomorrow,” Teacher Judith said and announced it was lunchtime.

  Lily was determined to take Aaron Yoder down in defeat. She stayed up late into the night, studying words.

  As the clock ticked toward the noon hour on Friday, the entire schoolhouse had a severe case of the fidgets. No one could concentrate with a matter of such import as the spelling bee on their minds. Lily certainly couldn’t. Possible words flipped through her mind: Mississippi, preposterous, extravaganza.

  By eleven o’clock, Teacher Judith gave up on teaching math to the sixth graders. “Let’s go ahead and finish up this spelling bee.”

  Aaron and Lily bolted to opposite sides of the schoolhouse. They glared at each other from across the sea of desks.

  “I’m going to make it a little more difficult,” Teacher Judith said. “I’m going to give the definition and let you figure out the word.”

  Oh, boy. This might be a little harder than Lily had expected it to be. She felt her cheeks flush. Aaron, naturally, looked as if he were enjoying a Sunday picnic.

  “Lily, you go first,” Teacher Judith said. The entire schoolhouse leaned forward in its chairs. “It contains your vocal chords.”

  Lily licked her lips. Her mind had gone blank. What was that word? She coughed nervously and suddenly remembered! “Larynx. L-a-r-y-n-x.”

  “Correct. Aaron, self-confidence or assurance, especially when in a demanding situation.”

  Oh, Lily knew this one! In her mind she spelled it: a-p-l-u-m . . .

  “Aplomb,” Aaron said. “A-p-l-o-m-b.”

  “Correct!”

  Oh, boy. Lily felt a little bead of sweat on her forehead.

  “Lily, your turn. Punishment in return for an injury or wrongdoing.”

  Lily smiled. This would be easy. “Vengeance. V-e-n-g-e-n-c-e.”

  As Aaron smirked, Lily realized she had forgotten the a.

  “Aaron, you try,” Teacher Judith said.

  “Vengeance. V-e-n-g-e-a-n-c-e.”

  “Correct!”

  The boys in the schoolhouse erupted in hoots and howls. Lily’s face felt red enough to ignite. She had lost. She had lost for all the girls. She had lost for herself. She had lost to Aaron Yoder. He had won by spelling aplomb—the very thing she accused him of being overly blessed with. She had lost by misspelling the word vengeance—the very thing that was driving her to beat him. Shame rippled through her. She deserved to lose. Head hung low, she went back to her desk.

  Teacher Judith called Aaron up to her desk and handed him the prize: a box of chocolates. Lily’s very favorite kind. If she could feel any worse, she just did.

  Lily stayed inside during lunch recess. She didn’t want to play softball and be anywhere near the boys. They couldn’t stop gloating about Aaron’s win.

  She put her lunch box back on the shelf and went to the bathroom, then came back inside to read her book. When she opened her desk lid to get her book, she found the box of chocolates that Aaron had won. Was someone playing a trick on her? She hadn’t forgotten how sneaky Effie Kauffman had been last year—switching food from children’s lunch boxes so that it looked as if Lily was stealing food. “I think there’s been a mistake,” Lily said. She gave the box of chocolates to Teacher Judith.

  Teacher Judith smiled. “Aaron slipped in while you were in the bathroom. He said you deserved the chocolates just as much as he did.” She handed the box back to Lily. “I don’t think he wanted you to know that he put them in your desk.”

  Lily was flabbergasted. F-l-a-b-b-e-r-g-a-s-t-e-d. Aaron Yoder might just have a heart, after all.

  23

  Mama’s Birthday Dress

  Mama’s birthday was coming soon. Lily tried to think of something special she could make for her. She had already made up her mind that she would not try to bake and decorate a cake. Last year it had turned into a disaster. A “dis-as-tah,” as Joseph called her kitchen mistakes.

  Lily went into the sewing room to dig through a pile of fabric scraps, searching for inspiration. She dumped several boxes filled with scraps on the floor and sat beside the pile to sort through all of it. Piece by piece, she put the scraps back into the boxes. She put the last scrap into the box and closed it with a sigh. Nothing! She wasn’t at all inspired. Maybe . . . she would be inspired if she could use fabric from the piles in Mama’s fabric cupboard.

  It wouldn’t hurt to look at the fabric. She opened the door and admired the variety of colors. They looked so pretty. A purple fabric caught her eye. She hoped Mama would use it to make a dress for her, maybe for a new school dress or a Christmas gift. She ran a finger along the fabric. It felt soft and nice. She wondered why Mama never wore a purple dress. She had different shades of blue, teal, and green, but never purple. Suddenly Lily felt selfish. Mama always saved the prettiest fabric to make dresses for Lily. She tried to envision Mama wearing a dress made with this pretty purple fabric. It would look beautiful on her, with her thick, wavy dark hair and rosy cheeks. Papa would be sure to whistle, one note up, one down, and say something nice when he saw her wear it.

  Inspired! That’s how Lily felt. She made up her mind. She would use this fabric to make a dress for Mama’s birthday. She had never sewed a dress before, but it didn’t look very hard when she watched Mama sew. No problem. She was sure she could do it.

  Digging through the pattern basket, Lily found Mama’s dress pattern. She listened for the sounds of Mama in the kitchen, then quickly darted up the stairs with the fabric and the patterns to her room and locked the door.

  Lily spread the fabric on the floor, placed the pattern on top and started to cut. The thin paper pattern shifted as she cut so she placed a few books on top of them to try to keep them still.

  When the last piece had been cut, she folded it all carefully, put it into a grocery bag and tucked it under her bed. She would have to find an excuse to visit Grandma Miller soon and sew the dress. That way, Mama wouldn’t see what she was doing and, if she needed help, Grandma would be right there to help her. But . . . Lily was quite sure she would not need help.

  A few days later, Mama asked Lily to take a recipe over to Grandma Miller’s house. Lily asked if she could stay there for a while, and when Mama said yes, Lily ran upstairs and grabbed the bag that held the purple fabric pieces that she had cut out for Mama’s birthday dress. She ran all the way to Grandma’s house. She could hardly wait!

  Aunt Susie opened the door and welcomed Lily inside. Her eyes went right to the bag in Lily’s arms. “What do you have in the bag?”

  “I’m going to sew a dress for Mama’s birthday,” Lily said.

  Aunt Susie was disappointed that Lily hadn’t come to play dolls or color in books today. When Grandma Miller heard Lily’s plans, she smiled. “Of course, we’ll help,” she said. She opened up her sewing machine and threaded the needle with purple thread.

  Lily spread all the pieces out on the table, unsure of what to
do next. Maybe . . . she did need a little help. Grandma examined all of the pieces she had cut, picked up two pieces and told Lily to sew the seams together. The treadle on Grandma’s sewing machine pumped easily, more easily than Lily’s old sewing machine, and it didn’t take Lily long. “What’s next?”

  Grandma Miller held Lily’s freshly sewn seam, frowning. She tugged at the seam a little and tried to smooth it with her hands. “Which way did you place the pattern on the fabric to cut it out?” she asked.

  Which way? Did it matter? Grandma Miller explained that the fabric had a nap to it, and it was important to cut it with the nap rather than against it. Now, even if Lily took special care to try to sew nice straight seams, they gathered together in a twisted, rippled way. Lily felt her happiness start to slip away.

  “There is nothing we can do about it now,” Grandma said. “Hopefully we’ll be able to iron it really well to make it look a little better.”

  “I hope so, too,” Lily said, starting to fold and pin pleats in the skirt.

  “I hope so, three,” Aunt Susie said. “Because it looks awful.”

  Mama’s birthday arrived on a cool day in May. She’d said she didn’t want a big birthday celebration this year, so Papa hadn’t invited anyone to come for a special birthday dinner. Lily hoped Papa would still give Mama a gift. He always chose special surprises for Mama’s birthday. Lily thought it would be sad if she didn’t end up with any presents other than the purple dress with the bunched seams. At the very least, she thought, purple always made everything better.

  As everyone sat down at the table for supper, Lily handed Mama a box that Grandma had helped her wrap. Mama opened it carefully and drew out the purple dress. She held it up, oohing and aahing over it. “Did you make this by yourself?”