Growing Up in Lancaster County (37 page)

“I doubt it.” Rachel started walking fast again.

“Slow down!”

“I want to get to school early so I can use the new jump rope I bought the other day.”

Jacob grunted as he caught up to her. “That was a dumm thing to buy with the money you saved.”

“It was not a dumm thing to buy!” Rachel raced ahead of Jacob. He thought everything she did was dumb!

When Rachel entered the school yard, she set her backpack and lunch pail on the ground near a tree. Then she found a level spot on the grass, opened her jump rope, and started to jump.
One…two…three
…She never missed a beat.
Four…five…six
…Her arms swung up and over in perfect rhythm with her feet.

“Did you know…what Rachel did…the other day…?”

Rachel’s ears perked up when she heard her name mentioned. She glanced to the left. Audra stood beside Orlie, whispering something in his ear.

Rachel gripped the handles of the jump rope a little tighter.
I wonder what Audra said to Orlie about me
.

Seven…eight…She’d better not have said anything bad about me. Nine…ten…Maybe I should go over there and ask
.

Ding! Ding! Ding!
The school bell rang, calling everyone inside. Rachel stopped jumping. She’d have to wait until later to learn what Audra had said to Orlie.

Racing across the school yard, the scholars burst into the schoolhouse.

“My, my,” exclaimed Teacher Elizabeth as Rachel stepped inside, “it looks like everyone’s happy to be back in school!”

Rachel forced a smile. She had been happy until she’d heard Audra whispering something to Orlie about her.

She put her lunch pail and jump rope on the shelf over on the girls’ side of the coatroom; then she shuffled to her seat. After she sat down, she glanced across the aisle where Audra sat.

Audra looked at Rachel and smiled. “It’s good to be back in school, isn’t it?”

Rachel shrugged her shoulders then turned her attention to the front of the room when Elizabeth rang the little bell on her desk. “Good morning, boys and girls.”

“Good morning,” the scholars all said.

Everyone stood to recite the Lord’s Prayer and sing songs.

Then Elizabeth went to the blackboard. She’d just put the arithmetic assignment on the board when Rachel heard a familiar
bzzz…bzzz…bzzz
…

She looked up and saw a bee buzz in front of her face. She ducked. It zipped across the aisle and circled Audra’s head.

Audra squealed, jumped out of her seat, and raced tothe back of the room. Audra’s reaction came as no surprise to Rachel, for she knew Audra was afraid of bugs. And after Rachel’s encounter with the bee that had stung her nose, she was a little nervous about a bee buzzing around her, too.

The bee continued to buzz and circle everyone in the room. Soon all the girls, including Rachel, joined Audra at the back of the room.

The boys jumped out of their seats and chased after the bee.

“I’ll get that pesky iem!” Orlie shouted.

“Children, children, please take your seats.” Elizabeth clapped her hands. “It’s just a little bee; there’s no need to panic.” She looked at Jacob and said, “Would you please open the window? Maybe the bee will fly out.”

Jacob hurried to do as Elizabeth had asked, but the bee kept buzzing and didn’t go anywhere near the window.

Jacob grabbed his notebook and swatted at the bee.
Whoosh!

The bee stopped buzzing and dropped to the floor.

“Is it dead?” Orlie called.

Jacob shook his head. “Its wings are still moving, so I think it’s just stunned.” He tore a piece of paper from his notebook, bent down, and scooped up the bee. Then he marched across the room and tossed it out the window.

Sighs of relief sounded around the room as Jacob shut the window.

“You may all take your seats now,” Elizabeth said to the scholars.

Rachel followed behind Audra. She wished there was time to ask her what she’d said to Orlie when they were outside before school started. But she knew that would have to wait until recess.

When recess finally came, Rachel hurried out the door, tripped on the porch step, and—
floop!
—went down on her knees!

“Always trouble somewhere,” she mumbled as she picked herself up.

“Are you okay?” Teacher Elizabeth asked, rushing to Rachel.

“I—I think so.” Tears stung the backs of Rachel’s eyes as she struggled not to cry. Her knee hurt, but she didn’t want anyone to think she was acting like a baby.

“Let’s go inside so I can look at your knees,” Elizabeth said. “They might be bleeding.”

Rachel nodded and limped into the schoolhouse. After she’d taken a seat at her desk, she lifted one corner of her dress. Sure enough, both knees had been scraped and were bleeding.

“I’ll get some bandages and antiseptic.” Elizabeth quickly went to her desk and opened a drawer. She returned with two bandages and a bottle of antiseptic, which she put over the scrapes on Rachel’s knees. “There now, that should feel better,” she said after she’d put the bandages in place.

“Danki.” Rachel winced as she stood.

“If your knees hurt, maybe you should stay inside for recess today.”

Rachel shook her head. If she stayed inside, she wouldn’t get to talk to Audra. “I’m okay. My knees don’t hurt real bad.”

Elizabeth patted Rachel’s shoulder. “Okay. Just be careful not to fall again.”

“I’ll be careful.”

When Rachel stepped outside, she spotted Audra on one of the swings. Phoebe Byler sat on the other swing.

Rachel frowned. At this rate, she’d never get to talk to Audra!

Maybe I should talk to Orlie instead
, Rachel thought.
I can ask him what Audra said
.

She limped her way over to the fence, where Orlie sat with Jacob and Brian.

“What do you want?” Brian asked, glaring at Rachel. She wondered if he was afraid she might say something about his bed-wetting problem.

“I need to talk to Orlie for a minute.”

“About what?” Orlie asked.

“I just want to know—”

“Go play with the girls and quit bothering us,” Brian said.

Rachel clenched her fingers, tempted to nibble on the end of a fingernail.

“You heard what Brian said.” Jacob flapped his hand at Rachel. “Go away now—shoo, little bensel!”

Rachel flapped her hand right back at him. “I’m not a silly child!”

“Jah you are.”

“No I’m not. You’re a silly child!”

Before Jacob could respond, Rachel raced over to the swings. “Can you stop swinging now?” she called to Audra.

“How come?”

“I need to talk to you.”

“About what?”

“If you’ll get off the swing and come over here, I’ll tell you.”

Audra shook her head. “I’m having too much fun. You can talk to me from where I am.”

“What were you telling Orlie about me before school started?” Rachel shouted.

Whoosh!
Audra’s swing went so high that the ties on her kapp blew out behind her. “What was that?”

“What were you telling Orlie about me before school started?”

“I wasn’t telling him anything about you!”

“Jah you were. I heard you mention my name.”

Audra halted her swing, tipped her head, and looked at Rachel as if she’d lost her mind. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I heard you say, ‘Did you know what Rachel did the other day?’”

Audra shook her head. “I never said that.”

“Jah you did.”

“No I didn’t. What I said was, ‘Did you know that Rachel’s cousin lives on a dairy farm?’”

“But you said something about what Rachel did the other day,” Rachel insisted. “What were you telling Orlie that I did the other day?”

“You’re jumping to conclusions,” Audra said. “I wasn’t talking about you at all. After I mentioned that your cousin lives on a dairy farm, I said that the other day my daed decided to buy some goats because he likes goat’s milk better than cow’s milk.”

“So you weren’t saying anything bad about me to Orlie?”

“Of course not. You’re my good friend. I’d never talk bad about you.”

Rachel sighed with relief. “You’re my good friend, too, Audra.”

When Rachel and Jacob arrived home from school that afternoon, Mom had a snack waiting for them on the kitchen table. Beside two glasses of chocolate milk was a plate of chocolate cupcakes. Mom placed one glass in front of Rachel and one in front of Jacob; then she gave each of them a cupcake. “I’m going upstairs to check on Gerald,” she said. “He should be awake from his nap by now.”

When Mom left the room, Rachel studied the snacks on the table.

“Your glass of milk’s fuller than mine, and your cupcake’s bigger, too,” she said, frowning at Jacob. “I think Mom favors you over me.”

“Don’t be lecherich, Rachel. Mom doesn’t favor any of her kinner. She loves us all the same.”

“I’m not being ridiculous.” Rachel took a drink of milk and wiped her lips with a napkin. “Since you got the most chocolate milk, I think you should give me the bigger cupcake.”

“No way! Mom gave me this cupcake, and I’m eating it right now!” Jacob quickly peeled back the paper and popped the whole cupcake into his mouth. “Umm…this is sure good!”

Rachel wrinkled her nose. “That’s disgusting, Jacob! Don’t you know you’re not supposed to talk with your mouth full?”

“I can do whatever I want; you’re not my boss.” Jacob grabbed his glass of milk and took a big drink. Some of the milk ran out of his mouth and trickled down his chin.

Rachel looked away. She wished Mom would have come back into the room and seen Jacob acting so rude. He’d be in big trouble, and if Mom had been favoring Jacob by giving him the fullest glass of milk and the biggest cupcake, she’d probably never do it again.

“Well, guess I’d better get out to the fields and see about helping Pap and Henry,” Jacob said, pushing his chair away from the table.

“That won’t be necessary,” Mom said as she and a sleepy-eyed Gerald entered the kitchen.

“Why not?” Jacob asked, wiping his mouth with his hand.

“Your daed and Henry went to town to run some errands.” Mom motioned to the plate of cupcakes. “So if you’d like to have more to eat, go right ahead.”

“Since I don’t have to work this afternoon, I think I’ll go fishing in the creek.” Jacob grabbed a cupcake. “I’ll take this along!”

“Can I go fishing, too?” Rachel called as Jacob headed for the door.

“Suit yourself!” Jacob opened the door and rushed outside.

Rachel jumped up and followed. She’d just stepped onto the porch when she spotted Aunt Karen’s buggy pulling into the yard. “Aunt Karen’s here,” she called to Mom over her shoulder. “She must have come to get Gerald.”

Mom joined Rachel on the porch. “Would you mind keeping an eye on Gerald while Aunt Karen and I visit awhile?” she asked.

Rachel groaned. “Do I have to, Mom? I wanted to go fishing with Jacob.”

“You can join him later—after Aunt Karen and Gerald go home.”

Rachel sighed. “Okay, Mom. I’ll take Gerald to the living room and read a story to him.”

“I’d rather you get him a cupcake and go outside,” Mom said. “Hannah’s taking a nap in the living room.”

“Oh, all right,” Rachel said. “I’ll take Gerald outside on the porch, and we can blow some bubbles after he’s had his snack.”

A short time later, Rachel and Gerald were seated on the back porch steps, blowing bubbles.

“Blos!” Gerald shouted as he raced into the yard and chased the bubbles Rachel had made.

Rachel laughed and made several more bubbles. She waved them in the air so they floated into the yard.

“I’m glad you told me this. It’s important that we pray for him.”

Rachel heard Aunt Karen talking through the open kitchen window, and her ears perked up. She became especially interested when she heard Mom mention Jacob’s name.

“Blow more blos!” Gerald hollered as he jumped up and down.

“Okay, okay.” Rachel blew several more bubbles, and Gerald chased after them, giggling and leaping into the air like a wild goat.

“I feel so bad that Jacob’s sick and might not make it,” Aunt Karen said through the open window.

Rachel gasped.
Jacob’s sick and might not make it?

Might not make what?
Rachel wondered. Then she realized that’s what people said sometimes when someone was dying—that they may not make it!

No, no, it just couldn’t be! Even though she and Jacob had their share of misunderstandings, and even though he teased her, Rachel didn’t want him to die.

“It’s always hard when we have to say good-bye to a loved one.” Mom’s voice sounded very sad, and Rachel wondered if she’d been crying. She couldn’t blame her if she had. Hearing that Jacob was sick and would probably die made Rachel feel like crying, too.

No wonder Mom gave Jacob the biggest cupcake and fullest glass of milk
, Rachel thought.
Mom wanted to be sure that Jacob’s happy
.

Rachel’s hands shook so badly she dropped the bubble wand.
I’ve got to do something to make Jacob’s last days as happy as they can be. Even though Jacob teases me a lot and makes me mad sometimes, he needs to know how much I love him
.

Rachel rested her elbows on her knees and closed her eyes. She couldn’t tell anyone what she’d heard. If she did, she’d be in trouble for eavesdropping again. And if she told anyone that Jacob was sick and might not make it, that would be gossiping.

Dear God
, Rachel silently prayed,
please show me what I can do for Jacob
.

That night after supper, Mom asked Jacob and Rachel to do the dishes while she fed and diapered the baby.

“Jacob doesn’t have to help,” Rachel was quick to say. “I can do the dishes by myself.”

Mom’s forehead wrinkled as she stared at Rachel over the top of her glasses. “Are you sure?”

Rachel nodded. “I’m very sure. Jacob’s free to do whatever he pleases.”

Jacob grinned and thumped Rachel’s back. “Danki, little sister.”

At least he hadn’t called her a little bensel this time. Even if he had, Rachel wouldn’t have said anything about it. From now on, she was determined to be nice to Jacob.