Growing Up in Lancaster County (47 page)

I
t’s cold out there this morning. I think it might snow,” Rachel said as she dashed into the kitchen the next morning. She’d just finished feeding the chickens.

Jacob, who’d followed Rachel into the house, grunted and rolled his eyes. “It’s not going to snow, little bensel. It’s too early for that.”

Mom turned from the stove and frowned. “Stop calling your sister a silly child, Jacob.”

Meow! Hiss! Hiss! Meow!

Rachel jumped when her cats raced into the house, bumped into her leg, and slid across the kitchen floor.

“Ach! Who let those cats in?” Mom asked with a frown.

“Jacob did!”

“Rachel did!”

Rachel and Jacob had spoken at the same time.

“Look, the door’s open!” Rachel pointed to the back door; then she pointed to Jacob. “You were the last one in, so you must not have shut it.”

Jacob glared at Rachel. “It’s your fault because you started talking about the cold weather and said it might snow.”

Rachel frowned as she shook her head. “What’s that have to do with anything? You left the door open; that’s all there is to it!”

“Oh, grow up, Rachel, and quit trying to put the blame on me.”

“I’ll grow up when I’m good and ready!”

Mom stepped between them. “It doesn’t matter who left the door open. You need to capture those two crazy critters running around my kitchen!”

“I’ll get Cuddles!” Jacob shouted as he dashed across the room after the cat.

“I’ll get Snowball!” Rachel hollered.

Hiss! Hiss! Yeow!
Cuddles darted across the floor and swooped under Grandpa’s legs when he entered the kitchen.

Grandpa teetered unsteadily and grabbed the back of a chair. “Wh–what’s going on in here?”

“Rachel’s cats are loose and we’re trying to catch ‘em,” Jacob yelled as he ran down the hall after Cuddles.

Snowball raced into the living room, and Rachel followed.

Meow!
The kitten leaped into Hannah’s cradle.

Waaa! Waaa!
Hannah wailed.

“Snowball, no!” Rachel grabbed the kitten by the scruff of its neck and raced out of the room. She was almost to the back door when Jacob came running down the hall holding Cuddles in his arms.

“We’d better get them outside before there’s any more trouble,” Rachel panted.

Jacob nodded, and they both hurried out the door.

When they returned to the kitchen, Mom was back at the stove, and Grandpa was sitting at the table holding Hannah.

“That bussli of yours scared our Hannah,” Grandpa said to Rachel.

She nodded. “She’s okay, isn’t she? I don’t think Snowball scratched her or anything.”

Grandpa kissed the top of Hannah’s head. “She seems fine to me.”

Just then, Pap and Henry came in from doing their chores.

Whoosh!
Cuddles streaked into the room with Snowball right behind her.

“Levi, you forgot to shut the door!” Mom shook her finger at Pap like he was a little boy. “We’ve already dealt with those crazy cats once this morning. Must we do it again?”

Pap’s face turned red. “Sorry, Miriam. I didn’t realize I’d left the door open.”

Meow! Hiss! Meow!
The cats raced around the room as if their tails were on fire.

“I’ll get Cuddles!” Jacob shouted.

“I’ll get Snowball,” Rachel said.

They both took off after the cats, hollering and waving their arms.

By the time they got the cats outside again, Rachel was exhausted. She was glad it wasn’t her fault that they’d gotten in the house this time. It was nice to know she wasn’t the only one who got in trouble with Mom.

Rachel chuckled. She could hardly believe it, but even Pap had been scolded by Mom this morning.

“Could you get me a carton of eggs?” Mom asked Rachel. “I need a few more, because your daed likes to have three.”

“Okay, Mom.” Rachel scooted to the refrigerator, removed the carton of eggs, and handed it to Mom.

“Just set it on the counter.” Mom took out the eggs she’d been frying and placed them on a plate. Then she reached for an egg from the carton. The oil in the pan sizzled, and Mom wasn’t watching what she was doing as she cracked the egg and dropped it in the pan. A horrible smell rose from the pan and made the whole room stink.

“Eww…that was a rotten egg!” Mom turned to Rachel and frowned. “Apparently you haven’t been checking for eggs very well.”

Rachel frowned. She knew she was supposed to check the chicken coop carefully. Sometimes if an egg was hidden for days, it would be rotten when it was found.

Mom grabbed the frying pan with a pot holder and hauled it to the garbage can. Then she dumped the egg in the can and handed it to Rachel. “Please take this outside and dump it in the trash can. And from now on, when you’re asked to check for eggs, be sure you look in every nesting box and anywhere else in the coop that the chickens might lay their eggs.”

Rachel held her breath as she lugged the garbage outside. From now on she’d try to do better about checking for eggs.

After church that afternoon, Rachel’s family headed down the road in their buggy. They were on their way to Esther and Rudy’s to see the new baby. Even Grandpa and Grandma Yoder went along, only they rode with Uncle Amos, Aunt Karen, and their little boy, Gerald.

When the Yoders arrived, Rachel was the first one to jump out of the buggy. “I’ll meet you at the house,” she called to Mom as she raced across the lawn.

When she entered Esther’s house, she found Esther and Rudy sitting on the sofa in the living room. Esther held a baby in her arms.

“Well, Aunt Rachel,” Esther said with a wide smile, “what do you think of your new nephew, Ben?”

Rachel looked at the baby. His face was bright pink and kind of wrinkly. Unlike Hannah, who was born with pretty blond hair, little Ben had no hair at all!

Rachel wasn’t sure what to say. She didn’t think “cute” quite fit this baby, but she wanted to say something nice. “He—uh—is sure little.”

“Jah, he’s that all right,” Rudy said with a nod. “But I’m sure he’ll grow up fast.”

Ben opened his blue-gray eyes and worked his tiny mouth, making a strange snuffling noise.

Soon the rest of Rachel’s family entered the room. Everyone started talking at once, making silly sounds and wanting to hold the new baby.

Rachel moved over to stand near the fireplace. She’d finally realized that all babies got a lot of attention when they were young. But when they got older, folks didn’t fuss over them so much. Rachel figured in a few years, neither Hannah nor little Ben would be the center of attention. They’d both have a bunch of chores to do and be told to keep quiet if they made too much noise.

“Kumme! Kumme!” Gerald said, tugging on Rachel’s hand. “Horsey ride!”

“No.” Rachel shook her head so hard the ties on her kapp flipped in her face. “The last time I gave you a horsey ride, you poked me in the eye.”

Gerald’s lower lip jutted out, and his eyes filled with tears. “Horsey ride!”

“Why don’t you and Gerald work on a puzzle together?” Esther suggested. “There’s one in the bottom drawer of Rudy’s desk, and it’s fairly easy.”

Rachel wasn’t in the mood to put a puzzle together, but she figured it would be better than turning herself into a horse so Gerald could kick her in the side. “Jah, okay,” she said, taking Gerald’s hand and leading him to Rudy’s desk.

When she found the puzzle, she dumped the pieces on the floor and told Gerald to sit down.

While they worked on the puzzle, Rachel listened to the grown-ups talk.

“Now, Esther,” Mom said, “don’t try to do too much too soon. The boppli will keep you up at night for several weeks, so rest as much as you can whenever you have the chance. I’ll come over tomorrow afternoon to fix supper for you and Rudy.”

Mom turned to Rachel and said, “Be sure you come straight home from school tomorrow, because I’ll need you to watch Hannah while I come over here.”

Rachel nodded and reached for a puzzle piece.

The next morning, Rachel headed to the coop to gather eggs before breakfast. She was in a hurry and didn’t want to be late for school, so she hurried to feed and water the chickens and decided not to check all the nesting the boxes.

I can check them after school, she decided. Mom said we’re just having cold cereal this morning, and she doesn’t need any eggs for that
.

Then she remembered the horrible smell the rotten egg had made in the kitchen, so she turned around and thoroughly checked each nesting box.

Carrying a basket full of eggs, Rachel hurried back to the house, anxious to eat breakfast and head for school.

As Rachel and her family sat around the table, Mom turned to Rachel and said, “Now don’t forget, Rachel, I need you to come straight home from school this afternoon.”

“Why?” Rachel asked.

“Because I want you to watch Hannah while I go over to help at Esther and Rudy’s. I mentioned this to you yesterday, remember?”

“Oh yeah; I guess so,” Rachel mumbled around a spoonful of cereal.

After school, Jacob went to see Orlie, and Rachel, excited to see if Grandpa needed any help today, headed straight for the greenhouse. She was surprised to find the door locked, and even more surprised when she discovered a note tacked on the door that read “Gone fishing.”

Rachel frowned. She’d been looking forward to smelling the greenhouse scents, watering some plants, and helping Grandpa with whatever he needed.

Maybe I should go fishing, too, she decided. Mom said something about her taking Hannah and going over to Esther’s place, so she shouldn’t need me for anything. Even so, I guess I should leave a note
.

Rachel set her backpack on the ground, took out a pencil, and wrote on Grandpa’s note: “Rachel went fishing, too.” Then she ran to the shed where everyone’s fishing gear was kept and took out her pole. After that, she dug several worms, put them in a can, and headed across the field toward their neighbor’s pond.

When Rachel arrived at the pond, she expected to see Grandpa, but there was no sign of him.
Maybe he went fishing somewhere else
, she thought as she sat on a fallen log.

Rachel baited her hook, threw her line into the water, leaned her head back, and stared at the puffy clouds overhead. Today was a warm fall day—nothing like the cold weather they’d had lately.

She closed her eyes and let the sun warm her face as she imagined a nice big fish tugging on the end of her line.

Woof! Woof!

Rachel’s eyes snapped open. She turned just in time to see Buddy running across the field toward her.

“Oh no,” she moaned. “That overgrown mutt’s gonna scare away all the fish!”

Woof! Woof! Whomp!
Buddy bounded up to Rachel so hard that he knocked her off the log, and—
splash!—
she landed right in the water!

She came up sputtering and hollering, “You stupid mutt! I’ll get you for this!”

Buddy took off like a flash, heading in the direction of home.

Rachel’s teeth chattered as she clambered out of the chilly water. So much for an afternoon of fishing!

She gathered her things and started for the house. She’d only made it halfway there when she met Grandpa. “Where have you been, Rachel, and why are your clothes sopping wet?”

“I—I saw the n–note you left on the greenhouse d–door and decided to j–join you for some f–fishing.” By now Rachel was shivering so badly that she could hardly talk.

“We need to get you back home and into some dry clothes,” Grandpa said.

“O–okay.” Rachel hurried along. “Where were you, Grandpa? I th–thought you were going f–fishing.”

“I was. I went over to the Burkholders’ place and fished in that big pond behind their pasture.” Grandpa lifted a bucket full of fish. “I’ve got plenty of fish for us to have for supper tonight.”

He stopped walking and looked at Rachel with a strange expression. “Say, if you’re here with me, then who’s up at the house watching Hannah?”

“W–what?” Rachel’s lips were so cold she could barely move them.

“Your mamm was going over to Esther and Rudy’s to help them and fix their supper. She wanted you to babysit Hannah, remember?”

“Oh no,” Rachel groaned. “I th–thought that—” She clamped her mouth shut and started to run. “I’m gonna be in b–big trouble for this!”

When Rachel entered the house, she was greeted by Mom, who didn’t look happy. “Where have you been, Rachel, and why—” She stopped talking in midsentence and stared at Rachel’s dress. “Is it raining outside?”

Rachel shook her head. “I—uh—fell in the p–pond when Buddy knocked me into the w–water.”

Mom’s mouth formed an O. “What were you doing at the pond when you were supposed to be here watching Hannah?”

“I forgot about w–watching Hannah, and I w–went fishing instead.” Rachel hung her head, unable to look Mom in the eye. She’d messed up again, big-time!

“When are you going to grow up and stop being so forgetful?” Mom asked as she led Rachel into the kitchen.

“I—I don’t know. I want to be g–grown up, but—”
Ah-choo! Ah-choo!
Rachel grabbed a napkin from the basket on the kitchen table and blew her nose. “I th–think I might be getting a cold.”

“Let’s get you out of those wet clothes and into a warm bath,” Mom said, guiding Rachel down the hall toward the bathroom. “I need to get to Esther’s right now, but I’ll get some hot water going on the stove before I go. You can make yourself a cup of tea after your bath.”

“Wh–what about Hannah? Who’s g–going to watch her?” Rachel wanted to know.

“I’ll watch Hannah,” Grandpa said as he joined them in the hall. “I can keep an eye on her while I clean my fish.”

“Danki, Dad,” Mom said, giving Grandpa a quick hug. Then she turned to Rachel and said, “Into the bathroom with you now. We can talk about your poor memory after I get home.”

When Rachel headed down the hall, she thought to herself,
I wish I’d never gone fishing!