Growing Up in Lancaster County (22 page)

Mom shook her head. “I don’t mind, but—”

“I’ll put these paints away now.” Rachel scooped up the bottles of paint, put them in the box, and forced a smile. “Danki for the birthday present, Mom.”

Before Mom could reply, Rachel scurried out the back door and set the box of paints on the little table on the porch. She was afraid that if she stayed in the kitchen one minute longer, she would burst into tears. Mom still saw her as a little girl who played with dolls. Mom was so busy with the baby that she couldn’t even see that Rachel was growing up and might want something more exciting for her birthday than a baby doll.

“I guess things will never be the same around here now that Hannah’s living with us,” Rachel mumbled. “I guess no one will think much about me ever again.”

Rachel had just finished drying the breakfast dishes when Mom said, “I’m going to the cellar to wash some clothes. When I’m done, I’d like you to hang them on the line while I feed the boppli.”

Rachel sighed. More work. Maybe she could get out her paints while Mom washed clothes. She could probably finish painting the rock before it was time to hang the laundry on the line.

“One more thing,” Mom said as she started for the door.

“What’s that?” Rachel asked.

“While I’m washing the clothes, I’d like you to watch Hannah.”

Rachel frowned. “I thought she was sleeping.”

Mom nodded. “She is—in her cradle in the living room. Of course she might not stay asleep.”

“What should I do if she wakes up and starts crying?”

“Give her the pacifier.”

“Oh, okay.”

Mom left the kitchen, and Rachel picked up another dish to dry. She figured that if Hannah woke up while she was painting, it wouldn’t take much time to put the pacifier in her mouth. Then she could get right back to work on the rock.

Rachel soon had all her paints laid out on the table. She picked up her brush, dipped it into the black paint, and was getting ready to paint the body of the ladybug, when—
Waaa! Waaa!
—the baby’s shrill cry almost caused her to jump out of her seat.

“Oh, great!” Rachel set the rock aside and hurried into the living room. The pacifier wasn’t in the cradle with Hannah, and she didn’t see it on the table by the sofa, either. Maybe Mom had left it in the bedroom.

Rachel ran into her parents’ room and looked around. She didn’t see the pacifier anywhere.

Waaa! Waaa! Waaa!
Baby Hannah’s cries grew louder.

Rachel dashed from the room and down the cellar stairs. She found Mom bent over their gas-operated washing machine with a pair of trousers in her hand.

“What are you doing down here, Rachel?” Mom asked. “Can’t you hear the boppli crying?”

“I hear her all right.” Rachel frowned. “I can’t make her stop crying because the pacifier’s gone.”

“I’m sure it’s in her cradle.”

“I didn’t see it.”

Mom’s glasses had slipped to the end of her nose, and she pushed them back in place. “You’d better look again.”

“Okay.” Rachel tromped back up the stairs. At this rate she would never get Audra’s ladybug rock painted!

When Rachel entered the living room, the baby’s cries grew louder, and her little face had turned bright red.

Rachel covered her ears. She wished Mom wasn’t washing clothes. She wished the baby would stop crying. She wished she could find that pacifier!

Waaa! Waaa!
Hannah’s face turned redder.

Rachel put her fingers to her lips. “Shh. Please go back to sleep.”

Hannah continued to wail.

Maybe a song will help
, Rachel thought. She leaned close to the cradle and began to sing.
“Bisht du an schlaufa; bish du an schlaufa? Schweschder Hannah, Schweschder Hanna? Ich hei-ah die bells an ringa. Ich hei-ah die bells an ringa
. [Are you sleeping; are you sleeping? Sister Hannah, Sister Hannah? Morning bells are ringing. Morning bells are ringing.] Ding-dong-ding! Ding-dong-ding!”

Hannah stopped crying for a few seconds; then she scrunched up her nose and let loose with a shrill
Waaaaa!

Rachel rocked the cradle back and forth. Hannah cried. Rachel made silly faces. Hannah cried more.

In desperation, Rachel reached into the cradle and picked up Hannah. To her surprise, there was the pacifier—right where the baby had been lying!

Rachel placed Hannah back in the cradle and put the pacifier in her mouth.

Hannah’s lips moved in and out as she sucked on the pacifier. Rachel sighed with relief.

She hurried back to the kitchen, dipped her brush into the paint, and had finished half of the ladybug’s body when—
Waaa! Waaa!
—Hannah began to wail.

Rachel groaned. “No! No! Not again! Is there no end to my troubles?”

She set the rock down and returned to the living room. Hannah’s face had turned red again, and she waved her little hands. The pacifier had fallen out of her mouth; this time it was beside her.

Rachel put the pacifier in Hannah’s mouth; then she headed back to the kitchen. She’d just sat down when the baby started howling again.

“I give up!” Rachel marched to the living room, picked up the baby, and sat in the rocking chair. She remembered how Hannah had fallen asleep when Esther had rocked her. She hoped that might work now.

Squeak…squeak…squeak
. The old chair protested as she rocked back and forth. Soon Hannah’s cries turned to soft snores, and Rachel knew Hannah had finally fallen asleep.

She was getting ready to put the baby back in her cradle when Mom stepped into the room. “I’m glad to see you holding the boppli,” she said, smiling at Rachel. “You haven’t held her much since we brought her home.”

“She kept crying, and nothing helped. So I decided to try rocking her.” Rachel nodded at the cradle. “I was just getting ready to put her back to bed.”

“The clothes are washed and the basket’s sitting by the clothesline,” Mom said, taking the baby from Rachel. “I feel tired, so I think I’ll rest a bit while you hang the clothes out to dry.”

“Okay. When that’s done I’m going back to the kitchen to finish painting Audra’s ladybug rock.”

Mom shook her head. “You’ll have to find another place to do that, Rachel. After I catch my breath, I need to cut out some material to make a few dresses for Hannah. I need the table for that.”

Rachel fought the urge to bite her fingernail. Everything seemed to revolve around her baby sister these days, and nobody cared about her.

As she started across the room, Mom called, “Why don’t you take your paints outside? After you hang the laundry, you can use the little table on the porch to paint Audra’s rock.”

“I guess I could do that.” Rachel went to the kitchen, gathered her painting supplies, and carried them to the porch. Then she dashed across the yard, reached into the basket for a towel, and hung it on the line.

As she took out another towel, she spotted Jacob’s dog lying on the porch with his nose tucked between his paws. She figured Buddy was asleep, but just in case, she would hurry to get the towels hung on the line. The last thing she needed was for him to grab a towel and tear it to shreds, as he’d done one other time.

When the towels were all hung, Rachel stepped onto the porch and opened a jar of black paint. At last, she could paint Audra’s rock.

“What are you up to?” Grandpa asked when he stepped out the back door.

“I’m painting a ladybug rock for Audra,” Rachel said. “Her birthday’s coming, and I want her to have it before she leaves for Florida.”

“I’ll bet it’ll be hot in Florida this time of the year,” Grandpa said as he sat on the porch swing.

Rachel dabbed her sweaty forehead with the corner of her apron. “It’s hot here, too.”

He nodded. “Jah, hot and plenty humid.”

“Why aren’t you working in your greenhouse?” Rachel asked.

“I haven’t had much business this morning, so I decided to close it and come to the house for a nap.”

“Didn’t you sleep well last night?”

He shook his head. “Hannah’s crying kept me awake, and since she’s crying right now, I decided to see if I could catch a few winks on the porch.”

“Well, don’t let me stop you,” Rachel said. “I’ll quietly paint Audra’s rock, and I promise not to make any noise.”

“I appreciate that.” Grandpa leaned his head against the back of the swing and closed his eyes. Soon he began to snore softly.

Buddy got up and plodded across the porch. He stood by the swing and nudged Grandpa’s hand with his nose. Grandpa didn’t budge. Rachel figured he must be really tired.

Grandpa’s snores grew louder. Buddy tilted his head and whined.

“Be quiet, Buddy,” Rachel said. “If you wake Grandpa, I’ll put you back in your dog run where you belong.”

Buddy plodded over to Rachel, and
—slurp! slurp!—
licked her face.

“Stop that, you hairy mutt!” Rachel pushed the dog aside and dipped her brush into the paint.

Oomph!
Buddy bumped into the table, knocking the jar of paint over and spilling some onto the porch.

“Now look what you’ve done!” Rachel shook her finger at Buddy. “You’re nothing but trouble!”

She dashed into the yard and grabbed the hose. Then she squirted the paint with water.

Woof! Woof!
Buddy bumped Rachel’s hand with his big nose. Water shot out of the hose and hit Grandpa right in the face!

“Yeow!” Grandpa jumped off the swing. “What are you doing, child?” He pointed his finger at Rachel. “Why’d you squirt me with the hose?”

“I–I’m sorry, Grandpa. I—I didn’t do it on purpose.” Rachel ran into the yard, turned off the hose, and stepped onto the porch. “I was trying to wash off the paint Buddy made me spill on the porch, and then the mangy critter bumped my arm and the hose got you.”

Grandpa wiped his face with his shirtsleeve and motioned to the greenhouse. “Looks like I’ve got a customer, so I guess it’s a good thing I woke up. I just didn’t expect such a cold awakening.” He started down the steps but turned back around. “You’d better put Buddy in his dog run. I don’t want him coming out to the greenhouse and bothering my customer.”

“I’ll see to it right away.”

Grandpa was halfway across the yard when Rachel called, “Do you need my help in the greenhouse?”

He shook his head. “No thanks. I can manage this afternoon.”

Disappointed, Rachel reached for Buddy’s collar, but he dashed across the porch, slid into one of Mom’s flower pots, and darted into the yard.

Rachel ran after him, waving her hands. “Come back here, you troublesome dog!”

Woof! Woof! Woof!
Buddy ran in circles then took off toward the barn.

Rachel dashed after him, slipped on a pile of hay inside the barn, and landed on her knees. “Trouble…trouble…trouble,” she mumbled. “I’m so sick of all this trouble!”

Buddy screeched to a halt, pranced up to Rachel, and—
slurp!
—licked her nose.

She grabbed his collar. “You’re coming with me, you hairy, bad-breathed brute.”

Slurp! Slurp!
The dog gave Rachel’s nose a couple more swipes with his big wet tongue.

Holding tightly to Buddy’s collar, Rachel led him across the yard. When they reached his dog run, she opened the gate and ushered him in. “You’re nothing but trouble,” she muttered as she slammed the gate. “But at least you won’t cause me any more trouble today!”

A
trickle of sweat rolled down Rachel’s forehead and nearly ran into her eyes. With the corner of her apron, she wiped it from her forehead. Pap, Henry, and Jacob were in the fields this morning; Grandpa was working in his greenhouse; and Mom had taken the baby to the doctor’s for a checkup. Rachel had been left at home to clean her room. She’d already made her bed, swept the floor, and washed the windows. Now she sat on the floor going through some old things she’d found in her dresser drawer.

“I wish I didn’t have so many chores to do. It’s not fair that I never get to do anything fun. I wish I could help Grandpa in the greenhouse today,” Rachel grumbled as she tossed two broken pencils into the trash can.

Tears stung her eyes, and she removed her glasses to wipe her face. When she put the glasses back on, she noticed a smudge on the lens. “Oh great; now I can barely see!” She took off her glasses and placed them on the dresser, then went to the window and looked out. Everything in the yard looked blurry without her glasses, reminding Rachel that she needed to wear them all the time.

When she’d first gotten the glasses, she hadn’t liked them at all—especially when boys at school had called her “four eyes.” Eventually the boys quit their teasing, and Rachel had gotten used to wearing her glasses. She’d also realized that wearing glasses didn’t make her look ugly or stupid. In fact, Audra said glasses made Rachel look smart.

Rachel put the glasses back on and continued to stare out the window. Even with the smudge she could see Cuddles and her little ones frolicking in the grass. The kittens were getting so big. By the time Audra and her family got back from Sarasota, the kittens should be old enough to leave their mother. Then she could give Audra the one she’d picked out.

Rachel thought about how excited Audra had been when she’d given her the ladybug rock the night before. She’d told Rachel that she and her family would leave on the bus for Sarasota this morning. She said she’d take the painted rock as a reminder that she had a friend waiting to greet her when she returned home.