Green Fever (14 page)

“You sure are
schmaert.”
Mattie smiled. “Let’s just hope it’s not that.”

Mark managed a weak smile as he took the peanut butter cookie Mattie handed him from his lunch pail.

Mattie paced the living-room floor like she always did when she was nervous about something. She’d been praying for Mark ever since he and Mom left for the clinic and hoped they would be home soon with good news about his ankle. If it was broken, he wouldn’t be able to ride his bike for many weeks. Any other time she would have been glad if he couldn’t ride the bike by himself, but not this way, with him getting hurt. Mattie wouldn’t wish that on anyone. She decided that she might have to put off riding Mark’s bike because she didn’t want to upset her brother any more than he already was.

She glanced toward the stairs, wishing Ada and Perry would wake up from their naps. Usually Mattie liked it if they slept, giving her some time alone. But this was different. If she had to keep her little sister and brother occupied, it would give her something to do and she wouldn’t worry so much about Mark. Too bad Russell and Calvin were in the barn doing their chores. It would have been nice to have them to visit with right now.

Mattie went to the window and looked out. No sign of Mark and Mom, but Dad’s horse and buggy had just pulled into the yard. She watched Ike come out of the wood shop and walk up to Dad’s buggy. They talked a few minutes; then Ike unhitched the horse and led him to the barn while Dad headed for the house.

Mattie met him at the door. “Mom’s not here,” she said. “She took Mark to the clinic to see—”

“I know,” Dad interrupted. “Ike told me about Mark falling off his bike.”

“That’s right,” Mattie said. “He’s worried that his gnechel might be broken.”

“I hope that’s not the case,” Dad said, removing his straw hat and placing it on the back of a chair. “I wish now we’d never let him ride that bike by himself.”

“But it could have happened if Mark and I had been riding the bike we share,” Mattie said.

“That’s true.” Dad was about to take a seat when a car pulled into the yard.

“Oh, they’re back,” Mattie said, looking out the window.

Dad rushed out the door, and Mattie followed. “What’d the doctor say?” she and Dad asked at the same time.

“Thankfully, Mark’s ankle isn’t broken, but he does have a pretty bad sprain,” Mom replied. “He won’t be able to ride his bike or even walk to school for several days. He’ll need to use a pair of crutches until his ankle is better and he’s able to walk on that leg without pain.”

“I’m glad it’s not broken,” Dad said, reaching into their driver’s car to pick Mark up. “I’ll give you a ride to school every day until your ankle is healed.”

Mark smiled. “Danki, Dad.”

“What about me?” Mattie questioned. “Can I ride in the buggy, too?”

“Of course,” Dad answered. “And if Russell and Calvin don’t want to ride their bikes to school, they can ride with us as well.”

Mark had a hard time getting used to the crutches, but his ankle was too sore to put any weight on that foot, so he hobbled along the best he could. During recess the next day, he was jealous when he watched the other boys and girls running around the schoolyard or playing on the swings. He even felt envious when he sat on the schoolhouse porch, watching as several of the scholars, including Mattie, played a game of baseball. Normally, he wouldn’t have cared because he didn’t like playing ball. But today, knowing he couldn’t run or even walk without the crutches, he wished he could join in the game.

Last night Dad had carried Mark upstairs to his room, and this morning he’d carried him back down. Mom said that wouldn’t be necessary tonight, though, because she thought Mark should sleep in Perry’s bedroom, and Perry could move to Mark’s room upstairs until Mark’s ankle was better. That was fine with Mark. He didn’t want to rely on someone having to carry him up and down the steps. It would be a lot easier if he slept downstairs.

“Are you doing okay?” Mark’s teacher asked as she took a seat on the porch step beside Mark.

Mark shrugged his shoulders. “Just wish I hadn’t sprained my gnechel. It’s not fun to walk with crutches or be forced to sit and watch while others have fun.”

“I understand,” Anna Ruth said with a sympathetic smile. “When I was a young girl, I ran into the leg of a chair and broke my big toe. I couldn’t wear any shoes or walk on that foot without pain for several days. Fortunately, it was during summer break, so I didn’t have to worry about going to school. Even so, it was hard to see my sisters and brothers running and playing while I sat and watched.” Anna Ruth gave Mark’s shoulder a squeeze. “I know how much you like to learn about new things, so while you’re waiting for your ankle to heal, you can get lots of reading done.”

“Guess that’s true.” Mark felt a little better after talking to his teacher, but he would still be glad when he could ride his bike again and have fun with the other kids at school. When Dad dropped Mark and Mattie off this morning, Mark’s friend John said he would try to come by Mark’s house after school to visit. That had put Mark in a little better mood because at least he had something to look forward to now.

By the end of the week, Mark’s ankle was doing better, but he still couldn’t walk very far without the crutches or ride his bike
. He was glad none of his ankle bones were broken like he’d first thought. That would have been much worse and meant a longer recovery for Mark. He hoped he’d be able to pedal his bike to school again soon. But then, of course, he’d have to ride with Mattie on their bicycle-built-for-two because he was sure she wouldn’t want to walk. Mark also knew that Dad wouldn’t hitch their horse to the buggy just to take Mattie to school. Once Mark was able to get there on his own, that would put an end to Dad giving rides to and from school.

Today had been a good day at school since Mark had done well on both his math and spelling tests. He’d been confident about passing the tests—especially because he’d had lots of time to study for them. But now that he and Mattie were home from school, Mark was bored, so he went out and took a seat on the porch.

Ever since Mark had sprained his ankle, either Calvin or Russell had been doing his chores. Mark guessed that wasn’t really a bad thing, but he did enjoy feeding the animals—especially his cats. For now, though, he’d be content to pet them, which was what he was doing while sitting on the porch swing with Lucky on one side of him and Boots on the other.

Rocking back and forth, Mark’s hand tingled as Lucky licked it with her sandpapery tongue. He snickered as Boots rolled over on his back with all four feet sticking straight up. “You want your belly rubbed, don’t ya, boy?”

The cat gave a quiet
meow!
Then he started purring real loud.

“Okay, okay.” Mark rubbed one hand over Boots’s stomach while Lucky continued to lick his other hand. That went on for several minutes until Mark’s friend John showed up. He often rode his bike when he came over to visit, but today John had walked.

“Wie geht’s?” John asked, joining Mark on the porch.

Mark shrugged. “I’m okay, but I’ll be doin’ better when I can start ridin’ my bike again.”

“It is more fun to ride than walk,” John agreed. “Any idea how much longer you’ll have to keep usin’ those?” he asked, pointing to Mark’s crutches leaning against the porch railing.

“I’m able to walk a little without ’em,” Mark said, “but when I go too far, my ankle starts hurting again. I’m hopin’ by next week the pain will be less and I can start riding my bike to school.”

“That’d be good.” John took a seat on the other end of the swing and scooped Boots into his lap. “I thought about bringing my katz Tippy over to play with Boots and Lucky today, but changed my mind ’cause he likes to run off.” John grunted. “Sure didn’t want to spend my time chasin’ after the cat.”

“I can’t blame you for that.” Mark glanced at Lucky who had stopped licking his hand and was now curled into a tight ball, sleeping. “My cats are pretty good about staying close to home, except for when Mattie’s hund starts chasin’ them.”

“Sometimes Boots and Lucky chase after Twinkles,” Mattie said, coming out of the house and onto the porch.

Mark didn’t say anything, just continued to rock while he stroked Lucky’s soft fur. He hoped Mattie wasn’t going to cut in on his time with John. After all, his friend had come over to visit him, not her.

Mattie took a seat in one of the wicker chairs on the porch and smiled at John. “I don’t see your bike parked in the yard. Did you walk over here today?”

“Jah,” John said with a nod.

“Never thought I’d say this, but I miss not riding on our bicycle. I’m glad our daed’s been giving us rides to and from school, though.”

“If you miss riding so much, why don’t you take the bike out for a spin?” John asked.

Mattie shook her head. “It’s too hard for one person to ride a bike that’s built for two.”

John sat several seconds; then he smiled at Mattie and said, “Say, I have an idea. Why don’t the two of us take a ride on that bike? I’ve never ridden a bike with two seats and two sets of handlebars before, but I’ll bet it would be a lot of fun.”

Mattie looked at Mark as if waiting for him to say something.

Mark lifted his shoulders in a quick shrug. “You don’t need my permission. If ya wanna go ridin’ with John, then go right ahead.”

“All right then!” Mattie leaped up from her seat. “Come on, John, let’s get the bicycle out of the shed!”

“Are ya sure you don’t mind?” John asked, looking over at Mark.

Mark shook his head. “Said it was all right, didn’t I?”

“Okay, Mattie, let’s go!” John hurried off the porch and followed Mattie across the yard to the shed.

A short time later, Mark watched as John and Mattie rode out of the yard. That familiar feeling of envy swept over him, and he wondered if he might be losing his best friend.
Does John care more about spending time with Mattie than he does me?

Knowing he should think about something else, and feeling the need for a drink of water, Mark left the swing, grabbed his crutches, and went into the house.

When he entered the kitchen, he leaned his crutches against the wall and hobbled over to the cupboard to get a glass. Then, remembering that he wasn’t tall enough to reach it without a stool, Mark started back across the room.

“Do you need some help?” Mom asked when she came into the kitchen.

Mark nodded. “I need a glass so I can get a drink of
wasser.”

“If you’d like to take a seat, I’ll get you some water,” Mom said, motioning to the table.

“That’s okay,” Mark replied. “I was gonna take it outside and sit on the swing. I want to wait for Mattie and John to get back.”

“Where did they go?” Mom asked with a curious expression.

Mark frowned. “They went for a ride on our bicycle-built-for-two.”

“You look unhappy about that,” Mom mentioned as she took down a glass and filled it with cold water from the kitchen sink.

Mark didn’t want to admit that he was jealous of John and Mattie spending time together, so he forced a smile and said, “Just wish my gnechel was better so I could start ridin’ my bike again.”

“I know, son.” Mom handed him the glass. “Some-times a bad sprain takes a while to heal. Hopefully, by this time next week your ankle will be strong enough to pedal your bike. In the meantime, you need to be patient.”

Mark gave a nod and headed out the door, leaving his crutches behind. He’d just stepped onto the porch when a sharp ache shot through his ankle, sending ripples of pain all the way up his leg.

Wincing, he teetered and let go of the glass.
Whoosh!—water
rushed out all over his trousers, and the glass fell to the porch with a
crash!

“Are you all right?” Mom asked, rushing out the door and clasping Mark’s arm, helping him to keep his balance.

Tears welled in Mark’s eyes as he pointed to the porch floor. “It hurt when I stepped wrong, and I—I’m sorry that I dropped the glass.”

“It’s okay,” Mom said. “Let’s go inside so you can change out of those wet clothes; then I’ll take care of that broken glass. I don’t want anyone getting cut on it.”