Aunt Susie’s eyes went wide. “Daniel, is my sister Rachel sick?” Her eyebrows knit together in a worried look.
“Rachel is fine, Susie,” Papa said. “Just fine. Grandma Lapp and Grandma Miller are with her. They’re . . . having a long talk.” He wiped his forehead with his shirtsleeve. “It’s already warm. It’s going to be a hot day today.” He looked out the window at the rising sun, peeking through the tops of the trees.
Lily took a bite of lumpy porridge. She never liked porridge, but this tasted like glue. She put down her spoon. Her appetite was gone. Everything felt strange. Why was Papa cooking? Why would Lily’s grandmothers be upstairs having a long talk with Mama on a warm summer morning? Long talks with her grandmothers weren’t unusual—Papa often said both of them were blessed with a gift of gab—but the long talks took place on the porch or in the living room, after the day’s work was done.
Papa turned to Lily. “After Paul wakes up, I want you to take Aunt Susie and your brothers out for a few hours. Maybe a picnic. Anyplace you’d like.”
Lily and Aunt Susie exchanged a happy look. “Can we make the picnic?” Lily said.
The pot with the awful porridge started to bubble over on the stovetop so Papa hurried over to turn off the burner. “Yes. As soon as breakfast is over, you can prepare a picnic.”
At the exact same time, Lily and Aunt Susie said, “Breakfast is done!” The boys looked up in surprise. They didn’t mind eating lumpy porridge and burnt toast. Sometimes, Lily thought they didn’t have any taste buds at all. They ate anything that was in front of them.
A mournful moo floated in from the barn. Papa wiped his hands on a rag. “Pansy needs milking. Lily, I’m counting on you to handle everything in the kitchen.” He stopped at the door. “Everyone stay downstairs. Give Mama some privacy.”
As soon as the door closed behind Papa, Lily turned to Joseph. “Where should we go?”
“I want to go out to Teaskoota’s. I promised him I’d show him my rock collection.”
Lily rolled her eyes. Joseph and his rocks. Who’d want to look at rocks, anyway? But she liked the idea of visiting their kind old friend. It would be cooler in the mountains and they could share their picnic with him. “Aunt Susie, let’s get the picnic ready before Paul wakes up.”
Lily and Aunt Susie packed Mama’s chocolate chip cookies, shoo-fly tarts, half of a blueberry pie—and then remembered sandwiches. They slapped slices of bread with peanut butter and strawberry jam. Just as Lily put it all in a basket, she heard Paul calling from his crib. She hurried to get him and change his clothes. On the way back down the stairs, she stopped to listen beside Mama’s door. All she could hear were the sweet low voices of her grandmothers, chatting away. She didn’t hear Mama’s voice at all, but the grandmothers sounded cheerful. She heard the squeak of a rocking chair as someone rose to her feet, so Lily hurried down the stairs with Paul. She didn’t want to be caught eavesdropping. She did eavesdrop—often—but she certainly didn’t want to be caught. She still thought it was odd that Mama and the grandmothers chose early morning for a visit, but she was too excited for the day’s adventure to think any more about it.
Joseph and Dannie ran up the trail while Aunt Susie and Lily took turns carrying Paul and the picnic basket. Joseph had insisted on bringing Dozer despite Lily’s objections. Dozer was nothing but a nuisance. He never obeyed anybody except Papa.
Lily worried it might be too far to hike all the way to Teaskoota’s log cabin on such a hot day. On the other hand, the cool, dark air of the tunnel would feel good. It took even longer because Paul kept wanting to get down and walk. Finally, they reached the tunnel and Dozer disappeared inside. At first, Aunt Susie didn’t want to go in. “It’s too dark,” she said.
“Give your eyes a moment or two to adjust,” Lily told her. “Just stay on the tracks and we’ll be out the other end in no time. You’ll like how cool the air feels.”
Aunt Susie followed Lily in, tentatively, until a sweet cool breeze floated around her. She smiled and picked Paul up. “Hold on tight to me, Paul.” Her confidence grew as they ventured farther into the tunnel. “I wish we could have our picnic in here.”
“It’ll be cooler at Teaskoota’s log cabin,” Joseph said. “At least cooler than back at the house.”
Water dripped down the sides of the tunnel as they trudged along. Then they heard a funny sound up ahead and Dozer started to bark furiously. The hair on Lily’s neck stood up. Something seemed strange. Eerie.
Lily reached out to stop Joseph from going any farther, but when she stepped out, she slipped in a puddle of wet gravel and her ankle twisted, jamming under the metal railing. She felt a shooting pain. Joseph tried to help her up, but her foot was tightly pinned. Dozer was up ahead, barking like a crazy dog, and then Paul started to wail. Aunt Susie contributed a scream. Lily had to think fast. She was frantic, but sometimes her best ideas came when she was in such a state.
“Joseph, take Aunt Susie and the boys and go get Papa to come help.”
“It might be faster if I run up the tunnel to Teaskoota’s,” Joseph said.
Whatever Dozer was barking at was a worry to Lily. If it happened to be a snake, Aunt Susie would scream. “I think you need to go back to the house—”
“But—”
“Go, Joseph!” Lily’s foot hurt badly. She tried not to cry. If she cried, Aunt Susie would start to howl.
“Do you want Dannie to stay here with you?”
Lily looked at Dannie, who was starting to wander up toward Dozer. He didn’t mind Lily at all, and he was still weak from the appendix surgery. “No. He can help Aunt Susie with Paul.”
Joseph looked all around. “Where’s the picnic basket?”
Lily’s ankle was throbbing. Who cared about lunch at a time like this? “Joseph, GO!”
Joseph grabbed Dannie’s hand and helped Aunt Susie pick up Paul to walk back out of the tunnel. Lily watched until they had disappeared. She tried to gently pull her foot out from under the railing, but each time she pulled, splinters from the rotten railroad ties pricked her foot. Tears started rolling down her face. She didn’t want to be left alone in a dark tunnel with only crazy Dozer for company. She called to him and he ran back to her, then licked her face. He stiffened and she figured he was going to leave her to run after Joseph. Suddenly, Dozer flew down the tunnel again, barking and growling. Lily saw a big shadow move, way down in the dark. Then an ear-piercing growl, so loud it could have raised the hair on the dead, filled the tunnel.
A bear!
Lily heard Dozer’s awful snarls and the bear’s ferocious growls, and she thought she was surely going to die. She tried to dig the gravel under the metal railing that pinned her foot. Suddenly, someone came up behind her and started to scoop gravel away with his hands. She looked up, confused. She was sure Papa had come, but it was Aaron Yoder.
Carefully, Aaron eased her foot out from under the railing. Her foot was free! “Can you walk on it, Lily?”
“I’ll try. There’s a bear down there. He’s fighting Dozer.”
“I warned you not to go in this tunnel. I told you about the bear and her cubs.”
And wasn’t that just like Aaron? He thought now was the time to give her a lecture? She tried to stand up but couldn’t put weight on her sore ankle. Terrible sounds came from down the tunnel, where the bear and Dozer were fighting.
Aaron looked down the tunnel. “We need to get out of here. Lily, put your arms around my neck.”
“Never.”
“Now!” He swept her up in his arms and ran down the tunnel. As soon as they were out in the daylight, Aaron set Lily down on a tree stump. Out of nowhere, Harvey Hershberger ran over to them.
Harvey peered at Lily’s swollen ankle. “Oh, that’s broke, for sure.”
It was twice the size of her other foot, bleeding and scraped up. “Where did the two of you come from?” she asked.
“We were heading out to the fishing hole when we bumped into Joseph,” Harvey said. “He told us you
needed help, so we came straight away.”
Aaron gave Harvey a sharp look.
“I acted as lookout,” Harvey said.
Aaron rolled his eyes.
A sharp bark from the tunnel drew their attention. “Dozer!” Lily tried to climb off the tree stump. “I’ve got to call him out.”
Aaron had his hands on his hips, staring at the tunnel. “Harvey, you go get him.”
Harvey’s eyes went wide as half dollars. “Oh no. Not me. I don’t like tunnels so much. Or bears. I’ll get Lily home while you fetch the dog.”
Aaron threw Harvey a disgusted look and started toward the tunnel.
“Aaron!” Lily said. “Don’t go back in. Just call to Dozer. Whistle for him. But don’t go back in.”
Naturally, Aaron paid her no mind. He picked up a big stick and walked tentatively into the tunnel, calling and whistling for Dozer.
“Aaron’ll be fine,” Harvey said, waving off any worries. “He’s a bright boy. But I’d better get you home so your mother can see to your ankle.” He scooped her up in his arms.
Once again, Lily found herself picked up and carried off by another boy. Twice in one day. Humiliating! If her ankle weren’t throbbing like it was, she would be furious. Those boys acted like she was a bag of flour.
Just as they reached the road, they saw Papa running toward them. “Lily, what happened to you?” He examined her swollen ankle and took her from Harvey. “Thank you, Harvey. Thank you for your help.”
“No problem at all,” Harvey said, quite pleased with himself. “I was in the right place at the right time. That’s just the kind of fellow I am.”
Aaron Yoder came jogging down the trail, a bothered look on his face.
“Did you get Dozer?” Lily said.
Aaron shook his head and looked away. “No.”
Papa thanked both boys and started for home. On the way, Lily told him about the bear and about Dozer. New concern flooded Papa’s face.
“If only Dozer would have learned to listen!” she said. She dreaded telling Joseph that Dozer was gone. From the serious look on Aaron’s face, she thought Dozer might have been killed by the bear.
“Lily,” Papa said gently, “don’t you realize that Dozer was protecting you from the bear? He was trying to keep the bear from getting close to you. Just the way a mother bird tries to coax a threat away from the nest.”
What? She had assumed Dozer had tangled with the bear because he was just being dumb Dozer. She had never liked Dozer, had never wanted to play with him, had never forgiven him for chewing up Sally . . . but here he had saved her life. One tear started, then another.
“Don’t cry, Lily. Your ankle doesn’t look broken, just a bad sprain. It will mend quickly and we still have Joseph’s crutches from last summer. Don’t cry.”
But that was the problem with crying. Once she started, she couldn’t stop. Her ankle hurt, her sadness over Dozer hurt, and so did her pride. To have to be rescued by Aaron Yoder and Harvey Hershberger was just about the worst thing that could have happened to her. She should be grateful—who knew what might have happened before Papa arrived? But those boys would brag about the rescue all summer long. She would never live it down.
Aunt Susie was out on the porch when Papa carried Lily up the steps. She had already forgotten about Lily’s fall in the tunnel. Her face was lit up with happiness. “Lily, there’s a surprise! Two surprises!”
“First things first, Susie,” Papa said. “I want to make sure Lily’s ankle is taken care of. Then she can see the surprise.”
Papa set Lily on a chair in the kitchen. Grandma Miller and Grandma Lapp fussed over her, examining the ankle and wiping her tears away. Gently, Papa cleaned the bad scrapes, washed off the blood, and took out splinters with tweezers. He turned Lily’s ankle, holding it carefully, until he was convinced it wasn’t broken and the grandmothers agreed. “Just a bad sprain. But let’s get cold water on it.” Papa wrapped Lily’s ankle with a cold, wet rag.
“Can she see the surprises now?” Aunt Susie asked, clasping her hands together in excitement.
Papa laughed. “I’ll have to carry you upstairs, Lily, to see the surprises.” He picked Lily up and took her into Mama’s room. Mama was lying in bed. In each of her arms lay a tiny, red, wrinkled baby. Why, Effie had actually been right about something! Mama was going to have a baby. Two babies! Lily was finally getting a sister. Two sisters!
“Oh, Mama, can I name them?”
But Mama’s eyes were fixed on Lily’s wrapped-up foot. “What happened to you?”
“It’s a long story,” Papa said, cutting Lily off just as she was about to launch into the bear story.
Dannie came into the room and sidled next to Mama to look at the babies.
“Lily’s ankle isn’t broken, Rachel,” Papa said. “We can tell Mama all about your adventure later. She needs to rest now.”
He turned to go, but Lily leaned over his shoulder. “Mama, can I name my sisters?”
Papa froze. Slowly, he turned around so Lily was facing Mama and the babies. He and Mama exchanged a look. “Lily,” Papa said in his gentlest voice, “these little babies . . . they’re . . . not . . .”
“Oh no,” Lily said, as a thought started to dawn. “No, no, no.” A horrible feeling started in the bottom of her stomach.
Dannie smiled at Lily. His grown-up front teeth were about halfway in now, and he didn’t whistle and spit quite so much when he talked. “They’re brothers!”
29
A Very Mad Bull
Twin babies, Lily thought, were much, much more trouble than just two babies. One or the other was always crying, eating, or needing a diaper change. Both grandmothers were now at Whispering Pines to help, which was the only nice thing about having twin babies.
Papa and Mama named the babies after Grandpa Lapp: Phineas and Enos. Lily loved her grandfather, but what horrible names to give two little funny-looking boys!
She still hadn’t gotten over her disappointment that they weren’t the sisters Effie had predicted. There were so many boys in this house. Lily tried to show interest in the babies, for Mama’s sake, but it wasn’t very sincere.
Mama thought they were beautiful boys, and Lily didn’t want to hurt her feelings with the truth. They were odd-looking babies: bald and toothless, with ears that were too big for their heads. Dannie and Paul had been ugly babies, and they looked pretty normal now, so she hoped these new babies’ looks might improve in time. She couldn’t remember Joseph as a baby, but she suspected he had been ugly, too.
Mostly, Lily tried to stay outdoors with Dannie and Joseph, even on crutches with a sprained ankle, so she wouldn’t be called on to rock a crying baby. She was trying to do all she could to keep Joseph from thinking about Dozer. When she had told Joseph that the bear might have killed Dozer, he covered his hands with his ears and refused to believe it. He was adamant about it, convinced Dozer had fought off the bear. He was always on the lookout for that dog and wanted to go search for him in the train tunnel, but Papa wouldn’t let him. The train tunnel was off limits this summer.
Every time Lily thought about Dozer, she felt a stone drop in her stomach. She was grieving over that silly, crazy, pest of a dog.
On Saturday morning, babies or not, it was housecleaning day. The grandmothers told Joseph and Dannie to carry every rug in the house out to the front porch. It was Lily’s job to shake the rugs, which wasn’t easy with a sprained ankle. She picked up a dark blue rug from the pile of rugs. Six hard shakes on one end, then she flipped it over the porch railing and gave the other end six shakes. Good enough. She rolled it up and reached for the next one. She didn’t like the little bits of dirt that flew off and stung her face and arms. Shaking rugs and washing dishes topped the list of things Lily didn’t like to do but had to do quite often. These rugs needed to be whacked every single Saturday.
If anyone was to ask Lily’s opinion, she would get rid of the rugs. There were too many rugs in the house. One for each door. One
in front of the kitchen sink and another in front of the stove. Two for each bedroom, and one for each rocking chair and in front of the sofa. It might not seem like all that much until they sat on a pile waiting for Lily to shake the dirt off of them.
As she rolled up the last rug, she made up her mind to ask Mama if she could have the afternoon to play. Maybe she would take Joseph and Dannie for a walk in the woods or gather some buttercups in the pasture. She could get around pretty easily on the crutches. And wouldn’t Mama like a bouquet of buttercups?
“Yes, you can all go play,” Mama said when Lily popped into her room to ask. She peeked at the babies in their cradles and was glad they were both sound asleep. One squeaked while he slept. She thought that was Phineas, but she still couldn’t tell one twin from the other.
Lily went to the shop to find Joseph and Dannie. They were happy to go along with her.
“Let’s pretend we’re playing pioneers,” Joseph said. “We could go to the top of Mr. Beal’s hill and then pretend we’re going to California by covered wagon. We can pretend our house is in California.”
Mr. Beal was very nice about letting Lily and Joseph walk through his fields. She shielded her eyes against the sun and scanned the fields, but she didn’t see Mr. Beal working anywhere. “Okay. But go slowly. Crutches are hard in the field.”
“What will we use for covered wagons?” Dannie asked.
“People used to walk beside their wagons,” Joseph said. “I know that for a fact. So we can pretend to be walking beside a covered wagon.”
They walked across the pasture and slipped through the fence to reach Mr. Beal’s hayfield. Just last week, Mr. Beal had baled hay, so the grass was nice and short except for a few clumps that the mower had missed, which made it easier for Lily. They crossed the hayfield and walked through the cornfield. She did not like walking through cornfields. Even though the corn was only up to her knees, the long green leaves brushed and scratched against her as she walked. Cuts from corn leaves felt just like paper cuts. Plus, there was always the worry of snakes.
A Surprise for Lily Page 19