Growing Up in Lancaster County (32 page)

When breakfast was over and the dishes were done, Rachel went outside and sat on the porch swing.
Squeak…. squeak…squeak
…She pushed her feet against the porch floor to move the swing faster.

“Aren’t you coming to the greenhouse this morning?” Grandpa asked when he stepped onto the porch.

Rachel shook her head. “I need to wait for Mary.”

“You can wait for her in the greenhouse as well as you can out here,” Grandpa said. “Since you don’t know what time she’ll arrive, you may as well do something constructive while you wait.”

Rachel sighed. She knew Grandpa was right, but it would be hard to do anything when she could only think about when Mary might arrive.

“Well, what do you say?” Grandpa grabbed the armrest of the swing, and it slowed. “Are you coming to the greenhouse with me?”

“I guess so.” Rachel hopped off the swing and was about to step off the porch when a van pulled into the yard. It stopped near the house, and a young Amish girl stepped out.

“Mary!” Rachel raced to hug her cousin.

“It’s good to see you,” Mary said. “I think you’ve grown a few
zoll
[inches] since I moved.”

“You’ve grown taller, too,” Rachel said.

Mary stared at Rachel with a strange expression. “Wow, you sure look different with your new glasses.”

Rachel touched the frame of her glasses. “Do—do you think I look weird?”

Mary shook her head. “Of course not. I think you look grown-up.”

Rachel sighed with relief. She guessed she’d been worried for nothing.

She grabbed Mary’s hands, and the girls twirled in a circle until Rachel felt dizzy. Then she drew in a deep breath. “We’re gonna have so much fun while you’re here! I have so much to show you and tell you!”

Rachel gulped in another breath. “There’s Cuddles’s kitten, Snowball; Grandpa’s new greenhouse; my baby sister, Hannah; and—”

Woof! Woof!
Buddy bounded up to them with a bone in his mouth.
Crackle! Crackle! Crunch! Crunch!
He dropped the bone on the ground and—
slurp!
—licked Rachel’s hand.

Rachel pushed him away. “Do you remember this big, hairy mutt of Jacob’s?”

Mary giggled and patted Buddy’s head. “Jah, and he’s still a friendly hund.”

Rachel groaned. “Sometimes he’s too friendly, and he likes to give big, sloppy, wet kisses!”

Mary patted Buddy’s head again. “I like him. He is a nice hund.”

“You wouldn’t like him if he gave you sloppy kisses all the time!” Rachel grabbed Mary’s hand. “Come with me to the barn, and I’ll show you Cuddles’s kitten.”

Mary looked at the van. “I need to get my suitcase.”

“I’ll take care of that,” Grandpa said. “I’d like to meet your neighbor and thank her for bringing you here.”

Mary opened the van door and introduced Rachel and Grandpa to Carolyn Freeburg. Then Grandpa invited Carolyn to the house to meet Mom.

“Maybe we should go with them,” Mary said.

“Not till I’ve shown you the kitten.” Rachel nudged Mary’s arm, but Mary didn’t move.

“I think I should go inside first and say hi to your mamm.” Mary darted away before Rachel could respond.

Rachel followed slowly, kicking every pebble she could find. Didn’t Mary even care about seeing Cuddles’s cute kitten?

By the time Rachel entered the kitchen, Mary was already there. She sat in a chair beside Mom, wearing a satisfied smile and holding Hannah.

“Your little sister’s sure cute,” Mary said, looking at Rachel. “Makes me wish my mamm would have another boppli.”

Rachel shrugged. “Hannah is cute, but she cries a lot.”

“Only when she’s hungry or needs her
windel
[diaper] changed.” Mom stroked the top of Hannah’s head.

Grandpa and Carolyn stepped into the room. “Miriam, this is Mary’s neighbor, Carolyn Freeburg,” he said to Mom.

Mom shook Carolyn’s hand. “It’s nice to meet you. If you’ll have a seat at the table, I’ll fix us all some refreshments.”

Carolyn smiled. “That’s kind of you, Miriam, but please don’t go to any trouble on my account.”

“It’s no trouble at all,” Mom said. “I was planning to give the girls some lemonade and ginger cookies. This will give us all the chance to sit and visit.”

Rachel sighed. If they took time to eat cookies, she and Mary would never get to the barn.

“A glass of lemonade does sound good,” Carolyn said. “It’s turning into a warm, sticky day.” She smiled at Mom. “Can I do anything to help?”

“No, no, just have a seat. My daughter will help me get the refreshments.” Mom looked at Rachel and said, “Would you please get out the lemonade and paper cups while I put some cookies on a plate?”

Rachel left her seat to do as Mom asked, while Carolyn and Grandpa sat at the table.

When the cookies and lemonade were handed out, Rachel and Mom sat down. Mom asked Carolyn questions about Indiana. Mary continued to play with the baby while Grandpa leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. Rachel fought the urge to chew on her fingernails. She wanted to show Mary so much, and here they were wasting time at the table!

Finally, Carolyn stood. “I’d best be on my way now. I’m anxious to see my daughter and her baby boy.” She patted Mary’s shoulder. “Have a good time. I’ll be back next week to pick you up.”

Mary nodded. “I’ll be ready to go when you get here.”

Grandpa opened his eyes, yawned, and stood. “Guess I’d better head to my greenhouse and get to work.” He patted Rachel’s head. “Since Mary’s here, I don’t expect you to help me today, but you can show her around the greenhouse if you like.”

Rachel nodded. “I will after we go to the barn to see Cuddles and Snowball.”

“All right. I’ll see you two later.” Grandpa pulled his straw hat onto his head and went out the door.

“You’ll have to give the boppli to my mamm so we can go to the barn,” Rachel told Mary.

Mary frowned. “Can’t we stay here longer? Hannah’s so sweet and cuddly. I like holding her.”

“You can hold the boppli later.” Rachel started across the room but turned back around. “Are you coming, Mary?”

“Jah, okay.” Mary handed the baby to Mom; then she followed Rachel out the door.

Rachel took Mary’s hand, and they skipped across the yard.

When they entered the barn, Rachel called, “Here, Cuddles! Here, Snowball! Come out, wherever you are!”

No response. Not even a meow.

“Where are those silly cats?” Rachel ran around the barn, calling the cats and searching the obvious places. She still found no sign of Cuddles or Snowball.

Finally, Rachel turned to Mary and said, “They must be outside. I guess we can look for them after I show you the greenhouse.”

“That’s fine. I’m anxious to see it,” Mary said eagerly.

When they stepped inside the greenhouse a few minutes later, Mary’s eyes widened. “Oh, how beautiful! I’ve never seen so many flowers and plants in one place!”

“Haven’t you ever visited a greenhouse?” Grandpa asked.

Mary shook her head. “If you’re not too busy, can you show me around?”

Grandpa grinned and tugged his beard. “Since I have no customers right now, I’d be happy to give you a tour of the place.”

Rachel gritted her teeth. First Mary wanted to visit with Mom. Then she wanted to hold Hannah. Now she wanted Grandpa to show her around the greenhouse. Who had Mary come to visit, anyway?

For the next half hour, Mary followed Grandpa around the greenhouse, asking questions and exclaiming how exciting it must be to work there.

Rachel stood to one side, nibbling on a fingernail and trying to be patient. At this rate, she and Mary would never have any fun together. The big day had turned into a disappointing day!

L
et’s go look for Cuddles and Snowball now,” Rachel said after Grandpa had shown Mary every part of the greenhouse.

“Where do you think they might be?” Mary asked.

Rachel shrugged. “Knowing Cuddles, they could be almost anywhere.”

“I thought about bringing Stripes,” Mary said. “But Mom thought he’d be too much trouble. Besides, now that Cuddles has a kitten of her own, she probably would have ignored my cat.”

“Why do you think that?” Rachel asked.

“Cuddles has her kitten to play with now.”

Rachel shook her head. “Cuddles usually hides from Snowball, because that lively little kitten can be a real pescht!”

“Does Cuddles ever get jealous when you give Snowball too much attention?” Mary asked as they headed for the creek.

Rachel nodded. “I think she does sometimes, and I can’t blame her. I was jealous of Hannah when she was first born and got so much attention. That’s one reason I went to Hershey Park with Sherry and her brother and didn’t get Mom and Pap’s permission.”

Mary’s eyebrows shot up. “You went to Hershey Park without asking your folks?”

“Jah.”

As they walked along the path, Rachel told Mary how she’d gone to Hershey Park with her English friend Sherry and her brother, Dave. “When I wandered off and couldn’t find them, I got really scared.” Rachel shivered as she remembered the fear she’d felt that day. “I didn’t know if I’d ever see any of my family again.”

“How did you get home?” Mary asked.

“Sherry and Dave found me in the parking lot.” Rachel swallowed hard, remembering how glad she’d felt when they’d gotten home.

“I’ll bet your folks were really upset because you ran off without telling them,” Mary said.

Rachel nodded. “I wasn’t allowed to go anywhere except church for several weeks because of what I did.”

Mary squeezed Rachel’s hand. “If you ever visit me in Indiana, maybe we can go to the Fun Spot Amusement Park.”

“That sounds great.” Rachel felt good to know that Mary wanted her to come for a visit. Maybe things were okay between the two of them after all. Maybe Mary wanted to be with Rachel as much as Rachel wanted to be with her.

“I don’t see any sign of the cats here,” Mary said as they approached the creek. “But since it’s such a hot day, why don’t we go wading so we can get cooled off?”

“That’s a good idea!” Rachel flopped onto the grass, yanked off her sneakers, and plodded into the creek. Mary did the same.

Rachel tromped around, going from one side of the creek to the other, kicking water in all directions. “This is so much fun! The chilly
wasser
[water] feels good on my legs!”

“It felt good at first, but now I’m getting cold.” Mary shivered, stepped onto the grass, and sank to her knees. “Brr…”

Playing in the creek alone wasn’t nearly as much fun as it had been with Mary, so Rachel waded out of the water and took a seat on the grass.

Just then, she spotted Cuddles and Snowball leaping through the tall grass, batting at grasshoppers.

“There’s my silly
katze
[cats]!” Rachel laughed and pointed at the cats. “Looks like they’re having a good time!”

Mary jumped to her feet. “Let’s see if we can catch ‘em!”

Rachel joined the chase. “Here, kitty, kitty!” she called, clapping her hands.

Cuddles and Snowball acted as if they didn’t want to be caught, for they scampered up the nearest tree and climbed all the way to the top.

Rachel groaned. “At this rate we’ll never get to play with my cats.”

“Let’s go back to the house and see if Hannah’s awake,” Mary suggested.

Rachel shook her head. “It’s too hot to be inside. Besides, the boppli usually sleeps most of the morning. I don’t think she’ll be awake yet.”

Mary frowned. “Guess we’ll have to find something else to do.”

“Would you like to blow some bubbles?” Rachel asked.

Mary shook her head.

“Why don’t we jump on the trampoline? That’s always fun!”

“It’s too hot.”

“We could sit on the fence by the pasture and watch the horses.”

“I don’t think so.”

Rachel sighed. “What would you like to do?”

Mary shrugged.

“We could go up to the house and sit on the porch swing,” Rachel suggested.

“I guess that would be all right,” Mary said.

The girls picked up their sneakers and started for the house. They were halfway there when the dinner bell rang.
Ding! Ding! Ding!

“It must be time for lunch,” Rachel said.

“I wonder why your mamm didn’t call us to help her fix it,” Mary said.

“She probably thought we wanted to play.” Rachel sighed. “I know I did.”

Mary hurried toward the house.

“Tell Mom I’ll be in soon,” Rachel called. “I’m going to the phone shed to make a couple of calls.”

Mary gave a nod and kept walking.

If Orlie and Audra can come over after lunch, maybe Mary will feel more like playing
, Rachel thought as she headed to the shed. Besides,
I did promise they could see her
.

“It’s good to have you visiting with us,” Pap said to Mary as everyone gathered around the table. “I’m sorry I wasn’t here when you arrived, but the boys and I had a lot of work to do in the fields.”

Mary smiled. “That’s okay; I understand.”

“Maybe we can make some homemade ice cream while you’re here,” Pap said.

Mary smacked her lips. “That sounds real good.”

“I called and left a message on Audra’s and Orlie’s answering machines,” Rachel spoke up. “I told them…”