The Wagon

by Morgan Dawson

  I pick an area where there's not many people working, and look over at Robert to see how to do it. I watch him cut the wheat in big sections, letting it fall to the ground in a neat pile. He lifts it over his shoulder and swings again.

  Focusing myself toward the first area of crop, I lift the scythe over my shoulder. I count down from three and feel myself grimace as I hear the wheat fall to the ground. Smiling, feeling happy with myself, I find myself looking to Robert to see if he saw me.

  He gives me a quick nod and returns to his work. He'd been watching to make sure I hadn't messed up. I slice the next bit of wheat, and it falls just as the other one had. I continue doing this down the row, each time feeling more sweat dripping down my back.

  The late morning sun beats down on the top of my head, but I continue to work through it. After an hour of me cutting the wheat and watching it fall to the ground, I decide to take a quick break. Setting the scythe on the ground, I find myself some shade.

  I immediately regret giving myself time to think about anything else besides the field. The solitude gives me too much time to worry. I worry about not getting the crop done, being a disappointment to Ma and my sisters, losing the farm and how we would cope if the farm is taken away.

  Shaking the thoughts from my mind, I stand up brushing the dirt off my dress. Sighing, I take the scythe in my hand again and walk over to where I had started. The sight before me stops in my tracks.

  Blinking a few times, thinking I am surely imagining things, I look again. Sure enough, my eyes have not deceived me.

  Pa is walking toward the field!

  Chapter 21

  I drop the scythe and run over to him. Getting closer, I see he's changed clothes and has cut his beard to the stubble I'm used to. He looks like he's cleaned himself up.

  "Pa! What are you doing?" I exclaim, running up to him.

  He beams a warm smile at me, which melts my heart. "Darlene. When you told me how all of you girls were working in the field, it nearly broke me. It snapped me out of whatever haze I've been stuck in. I should never have locked myself in that room after your Ma died. I shouldn't have let my grief take over me." I can see his throat move as he swallows hard. His eyes are wet with unshed tears.

  "I should've been here for you girls, more than ever. To tell the truth, I feel sick imagining how upset you were and to top things off, I was practically gone too. Darlene. I messed up bad. I hope that you and your sisters can forgive me."

  The tears pour out of me as I wrap my arms around his neck and he hugs me back. It was everything I'd wanted to hear him say for so long now. I knew he was still there somewhere. I'd never let myself stop believing it.

  I let go as I hear footsteps running up behind me.

  "Pa?" Hazel cries, running over to him. Lydia and Genevieve come rushing over too with disbelief on their faces.

  "Are you going to help us now?" Genevieve asks, looking up at Pa.

  Pa laughs, putting his arm around her. "You bet I am. I have a lot to make up for. Don't plan on me leaving you girls for a long, long time!"

  The three of them swarm Pa with a mix of tears and pure happiness pouring out of them. I notice Adeline standing a few paces away from me with her arms crossed over her chest.

  Walking over to her I rest my hand on her shoulder. "He's back Adi."

  Adeline pulls away from me, replying sharply. "Yah, how nice of him to come back just as we're running out of time. If he'd helped us sooner, maybe we could be a little more relaxed right now. I find it terrible how he thinks he can just walk back into our lives and expect us to forgive him."

  "You know Adeline, sometimes you make things more complicated." I start, getting cut off before I have the chance to finish.

  "Do I make things more complicated, or is it him?" She points hastily at Pa, who's still being hugged by the girls. "Because I'm pretty sure it wasn't me who locked myself in my room and didn't out when others needed me. I wasn't the one who didn't get the crop off so I could use some of the money to pay for the loan the bank gave me."

  "Adeline." I start wording what I plan to say in my head. "I'm not expecting you to forgive him right away, but don't be mean. I'm still a little hurt too, but you have to remember, everyone makes mistakes. I know Pa. He'll make up for this, and feel guilty for the rest of his life knowing how much pain he put us through. Hopefully someday, you can move on and forgive him, but for now, at least be nice."

  She sighs, hugging me. "Okay Darlene. I'll try."

  We walk over to catch up to Pa who's now walking closer to the field. Everyone in the field has stopped and is looking confused.

  Pa laughs and exclaims loudly. "What are we waiting for? We've got a crop to get off!"

  Everyone cheers with a yell, and soon everyone's working again. Pa takes the scythe I was using and chops the wheat much faster than I was, while I go back to my job of using the pitchforks and moving the wheat to the wagon.

  Everyone works hard and as the sun begins to go down, we keep working, not stopping for anything. Waiting for Hazel to get back from emptying the wheat from the wagon, I look around, feeling a warmness in my heart.

  Somehow, everyone had come together and we were all working to help. Half of the people I didn't even know.

  "Darlene! Darlene!" Hazel is running over to me and I hear the panic in her voice. "The wheat. It's all...gone!" She pants, and tears streak down her face.

  Chapter 22

  "What? Where is it?" I cry out.

  She brings her hands to her eyes and begins to cry. "I don't know! We're never going to save the farm now!"

  "What's going on?" Robert asks coming up behind me.

  Turning to face him, I reply. "The wheat is gone. We don't know where!"

  "Come on! Let's hurry. Hazel, go tell your Pa and make sure to tell him to watch for anything suspicious." Robert says, taking my hand and pulling me behind him. Running to keep up with his long strides and fast pace, I am panting by the time we reach the spot by the shed where the wheat was supposed to be.

  "It's actually gone! I should've been smarter and told them to put the wheat inside the shed." I sigh, frustrated. Everything seemed like it would be fine, and now this happens. Robert remains quiet and he's looking around the area.

  "Hmm... Wait, over there!" Robert points at the worn dirt lane where I see the outline of a wagon like the one Pa made, with two horses pulling it. "C'mon!"

  We run through the long grass following the wheat stealer. The grass brushes against my fingertips as I run past, somehow managing to keep up with Robert. Everything begins to dawn on me as I realize how badly this could turn out. Whoever was driving the wagon was a thief, who knows what other bad things he was.

  I grab Robert's arm with both hands and plead with him to stop. "Robert! What if they have a gun?"

  "That's a chance we're just going to have to take." Robert says with determination in his voice.

  He actually thought we would be able to succeed, so I go along with it. Giving a quick nod, I continue running at the wagon.

  Getting near the wagon, I know the thief's horses were not fast because the wagon was not going any quicker than before.

  "Stop the wagon! Stop now, wheat stealer!" Robert yells raising his fist.

  After running faster and farther than I've run in my life, a feeling of exasperation washes over me as I pant, with my heart beating ferociously in my chest. Telling myself to keep going and not to slow down, we continue to chase the wagon.

  My eyes widen as Robert leaps through the air and grabs on to the back of the wagon. He looks back at me for a quick second, a flash of fear on his face before he climbs over the hatch and disappears into the back of the wagon.

  "No! Robert!" I shriek unsure of what to do.

  Without hesitating, I feel myself jumping into the air behind him, grabbing the back of the wagon. After a moment of shock over what I have just done, I climb in after Robert. I land on my back inside the wagon, and sure enough, I'm lying beside a huge pile
of wheat. My wheat to be exact.

  Robert looks down at me from the top of the pile, his mouth hanging open. I can tell he never imagined I would be leaping in behind him. He presses his lips firmly together as he shakes his head. I can hear him sigh before he reaches down to take my hand and pull me up to the top of the pile with him. We climb over the pile of wheat with it falling down with each step and movement of the wagon.

  When we get to the front, I want to scream, but no sound comes out. A young man, with thick black hair and an ugly scar stretching from the corner of his lip across his cheek, is staring at us with reins in his hand.

  Robert grabs him and drags him back onto the bed of the wagon. In horror, I watch him punch Robert in the nose and Robert pulls back grimacing, giving the man time to stand up and take another swipe at him. Thankfully, this time he misses. Wanting to help Robert, I leap at the man and knock him down again, while Robert grabs his hands and pulls them behind him.

  The man thrashes, trying to get away until he finally gives up.

  "Who are you?" I yell crawling closer, while Robert still has the man's hands behind his back on the hard wagon floor.

  "I meant no harm. Please don't hurt me!" The man thrashes around, his voice soft.

  I scowl at him, clenching my fists. "I said who are you!"

  "Joel! Joel Adams." He replies quickly. I hear people coming toward the wagon, including my Pa who is yelling for people to hurry up. I'm assuming all of the neighbors have followed too.

  "Why did you steal our wheat? Did you think you could get away with this?" Robert says, his face red with anger.

  Joel looks up at us with a faint smile, his eyebrows raised. "Well, I was kinda' hoping I could, but you know... I was going to sell it, okay?"

  As he says it, immediate anger washes over me. Robert stands up, pulling the man up with him sharply. Joel winces, but stands reluctantly. Robert drags him to the wagon's hatch and I open it so he can jump down with Joel dragging behind him.

  "Don't move!" Robert orders the thief.

  Pa has veins showing on his forehead as he screams at Joel. "Why were you stealing my wheat? I could kill you with one hit if I wanted to!"

  "Well. I uh...was going to sell it. Please, don't hurt me! I was going to return any extra money after!" Joel is nearly in tears. "The money, I was going to use it to help my Ma get better. She's sick and..."

  Pa stares down at him for a while, causing Joel to close his eyes until Pa sighs. "I'll give you sympathy boy. Now get off of my property and never come back, or you'll be in big trouble. Now!"

  Joel jumps up and runs away from the property. Pa looks around at all of us. "I would've been fine if it was just a little wheat, but not half of my field's worth! Now, let's get back to work. This field won't get done by itself. Genevieve, take his wagon and empty the wheat back where it belongs!"

  Genevieve takes one of the horse's reins and leads the wagon past all of us as we move out of the way. We all walk back to the field, with Robert and I trailing behind them all. I take his hand and he squeezes it in return.

  Once we are back in the field, everyone rushes back to where they'd left off and I go back to helping Lydia with pitching wheat. After a while, I look up and see Genevieve trailing into the field.

  "What took so long?" I tease as she walks past.

  She tenses and looks up at me. "Sorry. I guess I was just working slow." Genevieve keeps walking, not looking back.

  I raise my eyebrows. "Okay, that's fine."

  I wonder if she's mad at me, and I try to think back to all I've done today that could've upset her. Nothing comes to mind, unless she's mad about Pa too, but I get rid of that thought immediately remembering how happy she was when he came out earlier. Deciding to forget it for now, I go back to pitching the wheat.

  After a few hours, the sun has set and is replaced with darkness. All of the neighbors leave, promising they'll be back tomorrow while we keep working under the moonlight. It's bright enough we can still see, and after all day of doing our jobs, we could work with our eyes closed if we had to.

  Lydia and I finish filling the wagon, but Hazel hesitates to take it. "It's dark. What if there's a bear?"

  Smiling at her, I rub her shoulder. "It's okay. We can get Genevieve to come back and do this and you can help Lydia. I'll go cut wheat." I call Genevieve over and she agrees, taking Old Red's reins, leading the wagon away. I pick up the scythe she'd been using and begin cutting wheat in the spot I'd been working earlier.

  After what I guess to be an hour of working, Pa stops us. "It's getting late. I would say as long as we have the crop done by tomorrow, giving us two days to get it all to town and sell it, paying the bank while we're there, we'll be all right. We're over three quarters done now. We've made good progress today."

  Looking forward to sleeping after the work of today, I rush to collect all the tools. We put them into the wagon, which Genevieve decides to park by the house tonight. After we get inside, she takes out a big bowl of water for Old Red to drink

  Once everyone gets safely in the house, Pa goes to his room. Robert settles himself into his blanket bed on the floor, and my sisters and I trail to our room where we get ready for bed. After making sure all of my sisters are in bed, I lay down myself and instantly feel my body relax into sleep, feeling safe and warm under the covers.

  Chapter 23

  To my relief, it's cloudy today and I know it won't be as blazing hot as yesterday. We're already out working again, and the neighbors were out earlier this morning, eager to help us finish. It's humid and warm, with not a breath of wind, which I decide is almost worse than the sun. Almost.

  All of us work in peace, getting a lot of the remaining crop done, only stopping for a short lunch break. We all keep working throughout the day, and by the time the sun sets, we're down to one row of wheat. Excitement drills through me as the last row becomes smaller and smaller with each passing cut of the scythe.

  Robert stands over the last bit of wheat still standing and looks up at me with a smile. "I think that Darlene deserves to do the last bit of this field. Who's with me?"

  Everyone cheers and I walk over to Robert, feeling my cheeks burn. Don't mess up, don't mess up. I repeat to myself in my head as I lift my scythe. It's quiet and everyone is staring at me, waiting for me to cut it.

  Holding my breath, I swing and watch the wheat fall to the ground in a heap. I feel a huge grin spread across my face as we all cheer and laugh. We were done. We still have to get the wheat to town, but it finally felt as though everything was going to be okay.

  Lydia puts the last bit of wheat in the wagon to finish it off.

  My pa jumps up on the back of the wagon and looks around at the people gathered.

  "I personally want to thank all of you for helping us get this done. I would like to invite you all back here in a few days for supper to show my gratitude for all of your help while I couldn't do it myself." Pa speaks loudly, and people cheer again before they turn to start loading up their things.

  Before long, we're waving goodbye to the final wagon as it rumbles down the road. Pa takes my sisters inside with him while Robert and I take Old Red and the wagon back to the shed where we empty it.

  It's dark outside now as I close the shed door and latch it, not wanting anyone to steal the wheat again that we have moved inside the shed. I jump down from the ledge and Robert stares down at me. "What?" I ask confused.

  He takes both of my hands in his and continues looking down at me, his light blue eyes sparkling. "Darlene? Do you love me for real?"

  I feel like my breath is taken away, sure I'd said I did a few days ago, but did I really?

  I think of how the man I thought was so arrogant, and someone I couldn't stand when I first met him, had changed. He'd stayed here and helped on the farm, for complete strangers, and how he was always so sweet at the same time. Like when he talked to me about his family and why he left them, and he always knew how to listen through my endless ramblings.

 
; Smiling at him, I reply. "Yes, Robert Thompson, I do believe I love you, for real."

  Robert grins and leans down to kiss me. Closing my eyes, I feel my chest warm and the world swirl around me. He pulls back and I smile again. He sighs, giving me a sly grin. "I might as well just say it. Darlene Carter, will you marry me and be mine forever?"

  Once again my breath is taken away, and I think of all my worries. The farm was sorted and my sisters had Pa now, as unhappy as some may be about it. Robert had saved my family, and I knew I loved him, even though we hadn't known each other long. Every time I was with him, he made me feel happy again. He'd helped get me through one of my darkest times.

  "Yes, I will marry you." I stop to think. "Under one condition. We can't move far from my family."

  He smiles. "Deal. I know how much they mean to you, and I wouldn't dream of separating you from them."

  Robert quickly kisses my cheek and we walk back to the house, hand in hand. Opening the door, I nervously enter where my sisters and Pa are sat at the table.

  Sitting down beside Adeline and Hazel, I clear my throat. "So... I don't like hiding secrets, so I'm just going to tell you that I'm... I'm getting married."

  "To who?" Hazel asks. I look at her eyebrows raised and begin to laugh at the seriousness embedded on her face.

  "Who do you think?" I point at Robert who is laughing too.

  Hazel grins and shrugs. "You never know. Do you know how embarrassing it would be if it wasn't Robert?"

  Adeline laughs, then rests her hand on top of mine. "I'm so happy for you, Darlene. Just promise me you won't go too far from home?"

  "I won't. I made Robert promise that we could stay near here. Maybe we can find a property in the area." I'm happy to see the worried looks turn into excited faces and huge smiles.