Bubble Troubles (11 page)

That night, as Mattie lay in her warm, comfortable bed, with a smile on her face, she thought about this wonderful day. Even though it had started out with many worries, the day ended up being practically perfect.

Both grandparents had arrived safely; they’d had lots of good food to enjoy together; everyone liked the gifts she and Mark had made; and they’d even had a white Christmas.

Once again, Mattie had been worried for nothing, and she knew she should have put her trust in the Lord.

Thank You, dear Jesus
, Mattie prayed,
for giving us a wonderful Christmas and for keeping my family safe. Thank You for blessing us with the beautiful snow, and please keep everyone safe in their travels tomorrow. Most of all, dear Jesus, thank You for today, when we celebrate Your birthday
.

Mattie’s eyelids grew heavier as she thought about all her gifts. Each one was special in every way. She was even excited about the ceramic plate Ike had given Mark for his frog. Mattie knew that Mark’s frog would enjoy keeping cool in the water during the hot summer days. She also thought maybe some of the birds that came into the yard might like getting a drink or taking a bath in that little pool. Many times on the way to school, she and Mark had seen birds splashing around in puddles along the road after a heavy rainfall. She figured they might do the same thing in Mark’s little frog pool.

As Mattie’s eyes finally shut, her last thought was about what kind of flowers she would plant around the frog pool to give it some shade. Maybe she’d put in a small shrub or several of her favorite flowers. In any case, it would be wonderful to have something to look forward to in the spring.

Today was so much fun
, Mark thought as he lay in bed. He felt good about how wonderful the day had turned out.

Mark listened to his parents and grandparents visiting downstairs. Their muffled voices and joyous laughter matched his own feelings as he fluffed up his pillow and snuggled under the covers.

Mark liked all the gifts he’d received today and was glad everyone liked what he’d made them, too.

Grandpa Miller had surprised Mark and Mattie when he’d given them two straws with a long piece of string put through the end of each one, along with a bottle of homemade bubble solution. Grandpa had shown them how to make huge bubbles with this simple creation.

After all the gifts had been opened, everyone had gone out to the porch to watch Mark and Mattie dip their straws and string into the soapy water, and then stretching each straw, and making the string really tight, they’d waved it in the air, creating huge bubbles. They were the largest ones Mark had ever seen. He and Mattie had fun seeing who could make the biggest bubbles. Everyone had been quite impressed when Mark made a bubble that looked like a caterpillar, with one big bubble and a bunch of smaller ones attached. The funny thing was, Mark hadn’t even been trying to do that. It had just happened.

Mark snickered, reflecting more on Grandpa Miller’s simple but fun gift. His two cats and Mattie’s dog had enjoyed jumping up at the bubbles and making them pop.

Mark thought some more about how this night had ended. Before going to bed, he’d looked out his bedroom window and realized it had stopped snowing. Then he’d looked up and seen a beautiful, bright star among the smaller ones that filled the night sky like sparkling diamonds.

“I’ll bet that was the Christmas star,” Mark whispered, snuggling deeper into his pillow. “I wonder if that could have been the very same star in the Bible days that guided the three wise men to the place where Jesus was.”

As Mark grew tired and more relaxed, he pictured the star in his head and was reminded of what today was really all about. Before falling asleep, he whispered a prayer. “Thank You, Lord Jesus, for blessing us in every way, not only today but all year long.”

“Can we make some pumpkin kichlin this morning?” Mattie asked her mother one Saturday in January.

“Not today,” Mom said. “I’m taking Ada and Perry to the Shoe and Boot Store in Charm. Their feet have grown, and they need new winter boots.”

“How about when you get back? Could we bake the cookies then?” Mattie asked.

Mom shook her head. “I’m sorry, Mattie, but I need to clean Ada’s room this afternoon. After that, I’ll be taking Ada and Perry over to Grandma Miller’s so I can help her clean house.”

“So Ada and Perry will be spending the whole day with you?”

Mom gave a nod.

Mattie frowned. “What am I supposed to do here all day by myself?”

“You won’t be alone. Calvin and Russell will be at home, and your daed and Ike are out in the wood shop, so if you need anything, just let them know.” Mom patted Mattie’s arm. “You can do whatever you want while I’m gone. Just don’t try to do any baking. It wouldn’t be safe for you to turn the oven on when no grown-ups are in the house.”

“I won’t,” Mattie promised. She wished she was older and could turn the oven on by herself. She wished Mom wasn’t too busy to help her bake cookies. She wished Mom would spend time with her today instead of with Ada and Perry.

Even though Mattie knew it wasn’t really true, a little voice put a thought in her head.
I wonder if Mom loves Ada and Perry more than she loves me
, Mattie thought as she ambled out of the kitchen and tromped up the stairs to her room.
She didn’t ask if I wanted to go with them to the Shoe and Boot Store, or even to Grandma Miller’s house. I’ll bet she’d rather spend the day with my little sister and brother instead of me
.

Mark took his sled from the barn, eager to try it out now that there was plenty of snow on the ground. First, though, he was going over to his friend John’s to see if he’d like to go sledding. Mom had said it was okay for him to go, so he grabbed the rope on his sled and headed down the path toward his best friend’s house.

Sure hope John’s able to go sledding with me
, Mark thought as he tromped through the snow in his rubber boots. He’d made sure to wear his new vest, too, so he could be seen easily by any cars going by. Now that the weather was colder, Mark didn’t wear his straw hat anymore. Instead, he wore a knitted stocking cap on his head. On Sundays, though, when he dressed up for church, Mark wore a black felt hat, just like Dad and his brothers.

When Mark arrived at the Schrocks’ house a short time later, he found John playing on his rope swing in the barn.

“Would ya like to go sledding with me?” Mark asked. “I’m goin’ over to that big hill behind our neighbor’s house.”

“Sorry, but I can’t go with ya today,” John said, hopping off the swing with a grunt.

“How come?”

“Allen Hostetler’s comin’ over. I’ll be visiting with him while our mothers do some sewing.” John grinned. “When he gets here, I’m gonna ask if he wants to take turns swinging on the rope.”

Mark frowned. “I was hoping you could go sledding. It would be a lot of fun.”

“Maybe some other time,” John said.

“Okay. See ya later then.” With a feeling of disappointment weighing him down, Mark left the barn and headed out the driveway, wondering if John liked Allen better than him.

Holding tightly to the rope on his sled, Mark tromped all the way back home through the snow. When he got there, he found Mattie on the front porch brushing her dog.

“Wanna go sledding with me?” Mark asked as he approached the house.

Mattie looked at him strangely. “I thought you were going with John.”

“I was hoping for that, but he’ll be visiting with Allen Hostetler today.” Mark stepped onto the porch. “I need someone to go with me, because it wouldn’t be any fun to sled alone.”

Mattie motioned to her dog. “I’m busy with Twinkles right now.”

“Can’t ya do that some other time? Come on, Mattie, please go with me. The schnee is just right, and I wanna do some sleddin’ before the weather turns warm and all the snow melts away. Go get your sled and come on. Time’s a-wasting.”

“Oh, all right,” she finally agreed. “But only for a little while. I want to spend some more time with Twinkles today.”

“You need to walk faster or your feet will get cold!” Mark hollered to Mattie as they trudged along the snowy path leading to their neighbor’s hill.

“It’s hard to walk in these rubber schtiffel I’m wearing when the snow’s so deep,” Mattie panted. “Sure wish I had a pair of snowshoes like Ike owns.”

“Well, just keep walking, ’cause we’re almost there.” Mark pointed to the hill up ahead. Mattie huffed and puffed until they were finally at the top, and then she stopped walking and took a deep breath. “Can I ask you a question, Mark?”

“Sure. What do you want to know?”

“Do you think Mom loves Ada and Perry more than she loves me?”

Mark scrunched up his nose and looked at Mattie like she’d said something really strange. “Now why would ya ask me somethin’ like that?”

“Mom spends a lot of time with Ada and Perry, just like she’s doing today,” Mattie said.

“They’re little. They need more attention, and Mom needs to be around ’em more.”

“I know, but I think Mom would rather be with them more than me.”

Mark gave his stocking cap a tug. “I doubt that’s the case, but I do believe that John Schrock would rather be with Allen instead of me.”

“How do you know?” Mattie asked.

“If he liked me better, he’d be here sledding right now. I’m worried that I might have lost my best friend.”

“You still have me,” Mattie said. “I’ll always be your twin sister and also your friend.”

“I appreciate that, and you’re my friend, too.” Mark seated himself on his sled. “Now I think the two of us should start havin’ some fun!”

Mattie jumped on her sled and raced Mark down the hill.

“I won!” he hollered when they reached the bottom.

“I don’t care. It was fun just the same,” Mattie said as she began pulling her sled back up the hill.

The twins continued to sled for a while, until Mattie’s sled veered off course and jammed into a snowbank. She ended up with a face full of snow! “That’s it for me,” she said, spitting snow out of her mouth while shaking her head. “I’m cold and wet, and now all my teeth hurt from that icy schnee. I want to go home!”

“You’re not hurt, are ya, Mattie?”

“No, but I have schnee in my schtiffel. When my feet are cold, the rest of me is chilled to the bone.” She jumped up and down a few times. “Think my toes will be numb till I get home.”

“Don’t go yet, Mattie,” Mark pleaded. “We haven’t been here that long, and I want to sled some more. If you have snow in your boots, take ’em off and dump it out.”

Mattie frowned and shook her head. “If I take my schtiffel off, then my stocking feet will get wet while I’m standing there trying to dump out the snow.”

“You can sit on your sled to take off your boots. Besides, if you’ve got snow in the boots, then your feet are already wet.”

“That’s right,” she said with a nod. “And that’s exactly why I don’t want to sled anymore. I wanna go home where it’s nice and warm.”

“Go right ahead then,” Mark mumbled. “I’ll just stay here and sled by myself.”

Mattie hesitated a moment, and then she bent down and brushed the snow off her sled. “I’ll see you at home, Mark.” She grabbed the sled’s rope and started pulling it down the hill toward home.