Vacation Dreams (2 page)

A shaft of early morning sunlight
streamed into the darkened room through a heart-shaped hole in the wooden shutters. Becky frowned in puzzlement.

Wooden shutters? Her bedroom didn’t have…

And then she remembered where she was. “Foxglove Farm!”

Becky was staying at her aunt and uncle’s farm while her mom and Aunty Katy were away on a business trip. They taught classes in country crafts and knitting.

Even though it was a bit strange being at the farm with only Uncle Den and her cousin Leon, who played computer games all day, at least there was more to do on the farm than at her house. Her dad was at home working
on an important assignment for his job and needed peace and quiet—and that was not how Becky wanted to spend her vacation!

“See if you can’t drag Leon away from his computer for an hour or two,” Dad had said as he kissed her good-bye last night. “If you can’t, no one can!”

Becky grinned to herself as she
went to the bedroom shutters. Dad was always teasing her about being too enthusiastic and not taking no for an answer.

She stood looking out at the view of the farmyard with its huge barns and fields full of corn and vegetables.

There was the faint outline of a village far away in the distance; beyond that, all she could see were thick woods and the green slopes of rolling hills.

Becky sighed as she turned away from the window. The farm was miles from any other people. She had no choice but to make the best of things.

As she dressed in jeans and a T-shirt, she tried hard to think of something Leon might like doing besides playing computer games. Soccer! All boys liked
that, didn’t they? Maybe she could persuade him to come outside and play.

She was pulling on her sneakers when there was a knock at the door.

“Come in!” Becky called.

Leon stuck his head around the door. He had sandy hair that flopped over his forehead and serious blue eyes. At twelve years old, he was three years older than Becky.

“Hi, Leon! Do you want to kick the soccer ball around later? I’m pretty good at sports. Look!” Becky shuffled her feet encouragingly as if she was dribbling a ball. But in her eagerness she caught the toe of her sneaker on the rug and almost tripped.

Leon looked at her curiously. “Er, sorry, I can’t. I’ve got stuff to finish.”

“Oh…okay. Well, when you’re done, maybe we can do something together?” Becky tried again. “How about tennis or baseball? Or you could show me around those woods—”

“Maybe later.” Leon edged out
of the doorway and called from the landing. “I only came to tell you that breakfast’s ready!”

Becky tried to ignore a growing feeling of dismay as she followed her cousin downstairs. Maybe Leon didn’t like hanging around with younger kids. Whenever Becky was here, he always stayed in his room.

Uncle Den sat at the kitchen table drinking tea and reading a farming magazine. He looked up and smiled as Becky came in. “Hello, honey. Did you sleep well?”

“Yes, thanks.” Becky returned his smile and sat down next to Leon, who was staring into space as if he was deep in thought.

“This is Mrs. Kelly.” Her uncle
nodded toward a small round figure bustling about at the stove. He explained that she’d be doing the cooking and house-keeping while Becky’s aunt was away.

“Hello, Mrs. Kelly,” Becky said cheerfully.

“Good morning.” Mrs. Kelly smiled back at Becky, but only briefly. Her gray hair was pinned into a neat bun and a spotless apron covered her blue flowered dress. She placed a steaming dish of eggs, bacon, and sausage on the table, followed by a stack of toast.

“Here you go. Help yourselves.”

Becky could feel her tummy rumbling at the sight of the feast in front of her. She began loading her plate.

While they all ate, the housekeeper
washed pots and pans at the speed of light. She then strode into the laundry room next to the kitchen. Becky heard a whooshing sound as the washing machine went into action.

“I’ll be giving those bed sheets a good airing,” Mrs. Kelly said loudly, to no one in particular. “I don’t use those new-fangled tumble-dryers.”

What’s the big deal?
Becky wondered.
Mom dries our laundry—doesn’t everyone?

Becky finished everything on her plate. She was just enjoying some toast with butter and jam when Leon stood up and asked to be excused from the table. “It’s okay, isn’t it, Dad? I’ve got something really important to do.”

“Sure, go ahead. But I don’t want you shut away upstairs for hours on
end while Becky’s staying with us,” his father said. “I’m relying on you to entertain our guest.”

“Yeah, of course I will. I just have to finish this first!” Leon said over his shoulder, already rushing out.

Becky heard him clattering upstairs and then slamming his bedroom door.

Uncle Den shook his head slowly as he turned to Becky. “Leon writes a column for an online magazine—or ‘’zine’ as he calls it. He takes it very seriously. Do you like computers, honey?”

“They’re okay. But I get bored sitting down all the time,” Becky replied. “I usually prefer being outside and doing stuff.”

“An action girl, eh? Sounds like
you’ll be good for Leon!”

Becky smiled, hoping he was right. But things didn’t look too promising. Leon hadn’t shown much interest in spending any time with her so far.

Uncle Den began reading the classifieds. A kitchen clock ticked loudly in the silence.

Becky finished her toast. She leaned
forward and propped her cheek on one hand, wondering what she might do next.
Is it worth going upstairs and trying to persuade Leon to come exploring with me or should I just go on my own?

“There will be no elbows on the table, young lady, if you don’t mind!” A stern voice spoke close to her ear as Mrs. Kelly reached for Becky’s empty plate.

Becky almost jumped out of her skin. “Um…sorry.”

She blushed as she quickly leaned back and put her hands in her lap. No one minded about stuff like that at home.

Uncle Den put down his magazine and stood up. “Don’t worry about Mrs. Kelly. She has very high standards. But
her bark’s a lot worse than her bite,” he said, winking at her. “Well—I have a rabbit problem to look into. The little devils have been playing havoc with my crops and I have got to take some serious action. You and Leon have a good day. If you need anything, just ask Mrs. Kelly.”

“Okay. See you later,” Becky said.

Mrs. Kelly was now sliding a floor mop under the table. As it almost whisked across her sneakers, Becky leaped up out of her chair and headed into the back garden. The housekeeper was seriously scary.

It had been raining earlier, but the sun was shining now and everything smelled fresh. Becky made her way around the side of the house. One of
the farm workers was driving a tractor across the farmyard and another was coming out of the barn. They smiled and waved at her so Becky waved back.

She spotted a gate that led into a field with a duck pond. She went through and wandered over the damp grass.

There were a number of wild rabbits
hopping about in the next field, their white cottontails flashing.

“Watch out! Uncle Den will be after you if you get into his crops!” she warned them.

Suddenly, there was a bright flash and a shower of crystal dust drifted toward her in a twinkling cloud.

“Oh!” Becky narrowed her eyes, trying to peer through it. As the dust slowly cleared, she spotted a fluffy pale coffee-colored bunny on the grass right in front of her.

“Can you help me, please?” it asked in a scared little voice.

Becky’s jaw dropped and she stared at the cute little bunny in total amazement. Perhaps it was someone’s pet. She didn’t know a lot about pet bunnies, but she was pretty sure that they couldn’t talk.

She laughed at herself. Just because Leon wouldn’t talk to her, it didn’t mean a rabbit would!

The pale brown bunny’s little pink nose twitched nervously and it looked up at her with huge eyes like chocolate drops.

Becky edged closer and slowly bent down, trying not to frighten it.

“Hello. Aren’t you sweet?” she crooned. “You don’t seem all that scared of me. Do you want to be friends?”

“Yes. I would like that very much,”
the bunny said in a trembly little voice.

“Whoa!” Becky gasped in shock. She lost her balance and sat down hard on the damp grass. “You…you really can talk!”