A Surprise for Lily Read online

  Mama packed up the meal she had prepared, including a basket of dinner rolls. Lily tried not to feel selfish, but she was mad at that man. Because of him, Papa and Joseph spent most of Christmas Eve pulling a sled in the snow. And because of him, they wouldn’t be having Mama’s special meal.

  Papa, Joseph, and Dannie hitched up Jim to the buggy and dropped the meal off at the man’s house. Mama, Lily, and Paul waited at the house for them to return before they all went to Grandma and Grandpa Miller’s. When they returned, Lily scrambled in the back of the buggy and sat between Joseph and Dannie. “Did the man seem happy about the dinner?” Lily whispered to Joseph.

  “Not really,” Joseph whispered back.

  “Did he say thank you?”

  “No. He just took it.”

  Papa overheard. He pulled the buggy to the side of the road and turned to face Lily. “We didn’t take Mama’s good meal to the man so that he would thank us. We wanted to share a Christmas blessing with him.”

  “Yes, Papa,” Lily said in a small voice.

  “And one thing I promise you. Whatever you give to others, you will never miss.”

  Lily still wasn’t sure. She was sorely missing the thought of that Christmas pudding. Mama made it only once a year. But she did appreciate her papa’s tender heart.

  A few hours later, Lily’s tummy was stuffed. She had eaten more for Christmas lunch than ever before. Grandma offered her a bite of homemade fudge, and she had to turn it down. She couldn’t eat another bite. Grandma smiled and bent down to whisper to Lily. “Your parents did the right thing to share their Christmas dinner. I have to admit that I missed your mama’s Christmas pudding, but isn’t it nice that someone else got to enjoy it?”

  Lily hoped the man did, indeed, enjoy it.

  The strangest thing was that everyone in Lily’s big family ate their fill and then some at Grandma Miller’s, yet there were more leftovers to take home than ever before. Papa said it almost seemed like a miracle. A Christmas miracle.

  15

  The School Board Comes Calling at Whispering Pines

  Lily looked out the kitchen window and saw three buggies drive up to the hitching rack by the barn. The three members of the school board climbed out of their buggies and tied their horses, looking serious and solemn. Papa walked out from his shop to meet them.

  Lily tried to think of everything Joseph had done in school recently that might have gotten him into serious trouble, but she couldn’t think of a thing. Harvey was the one who was constantly causing trouble. Then Lily’s stomach did a flip-flop. She was the only one in the upper grades who was passing English. What if the school board thought she was cheating?

  After a few minutes, Papa came to the house to find Mama. She was feeding Paul in the kitchen. “Rachel, there are some folks here who want to talk to us.”

  Oh, boy. Something must be really wrong if they needed to talk to both Mama and Papa.

  Mama looked at him curiously. “Lily, please finish feeding Paul for me.” She handed Lily a bowl of peas, grabbed her shawl, and followed Papa outside. Lily’s stomach clenched even tighter. She had a terrible feeling that something awful was coming, like the way the wind settled right before a storm hit.

  Lily sprinkled peas on Paul’s high chair tray. It was high time that little boy learned to feed himself. She opened the window a big crack to try to overhear the school board members. They were down by the buggies but their voices were too low and she couldn’t understand what they were saying. All she could hear was the murmur of deep male voices. Mama wasn’t talking at all.

  After a long time, she saw Mama turn and head back to the house. Lily hurried over to resume feeding Paul. Instead of eating the peas, he had mashed them up with his fat little hands and made a green, mushy mess. Mama came into the kitchen so preoccupied she didn’t even comment on Paul’s green glop. “Thank you for taking care of Paul for me while I was outside,” she told Lily. She didn’t say anything about what the school board had wanted. She just picked up the spoon and started to feed Paul again.

  Lily waited and waited, until she couldn’t stand it any longer. “What did they want?” she asked. “Am I in trouble? Is Joseph?”

  Mama looked up at her in surprise, as if she had forgotten Lily was standing beside her. “You and Joseph don’t have to worry about anything.”

  Lily stayed right there, hoping that Mama would tell her why the school board had come calling, but Mama didn’t say another word about it. Lily knew enough to know there was no point in asking her.

  A few days later, the three members of the school board drove up to Whispering Pines again and parked their buggies. Again, Papa came inside and asked Mama to go down to the shop to talk to them. And again, Mama didn’t say a word about what the school board had wanted. Over the next two weeks, the school board came two more times to have a talk with Mama and Papa. Then, they came for a fifth time with Uncle Jacob, the new bishop. Oh, boy. When the bishop arrived unexpectedly, even if he was Mama’s little brother, something serious was up.

  That evening, Papa and Mama told Lily and Joseph and Dannie that they needed to have a family discussion. Papa scooped Paul up into his arms and led the way into the living room.

  Lily, Joseph, and Dannie followed Papa and Mama into the living room and sat on the couch facing them. What was going on?

  Papa cleared his throat. “How would you children like a new English teacher?”

  So that’s why the school board came to visit! They wanted to get rid of Teacher Judith. In a way, Lily wasn’t entirely surprised. Teacher Judith had terrible trouble keeping order in the class. The boys were constantly cutting up and creating disruptions. She never stopped them or scolded them or kept them after school. It was probably best that she be fired. “Where will Teacher Judith go?”

  “She’s still going to be your teacher,” Papa said. “The school board is concerned about how she teaches English, so they have decided to hire a teacher to come in a few afternoons each week and teach English class.”

  “Who will it be?” Joseph asked.

  “That’s the best part,” Papa said. He was beaming, positively beaming. “Mama has agreed to teach English two afternoons a week.”

  Mama? Mama would teach at the school? Lily was horrified! Mama might be good at explaining English so that Lily knew how to do it in school, but she didn’t want her to come to school. Lily didn’t want to share her with a schoolhouse filled with other children. She wanted to be in school and know that Mama was at home cooking, baking, sewing, and doing all the things that other mothers were doing.

  Lily wanted things to stay the same, with Mama tutoring her at home so she got better grades than everybody else. Better than Effie and Aaron’s grades. She liked being smarter than everyone else in school. In fact, she loved it.

  What would happen when Harvey caused mischief? Or Aaron or Sam? Teacher Judith never knew how to handle mischief because it always came in a different form. Mama was so kind and never lost her temper. Why, Harvey Hershberger could run circles around her.

  And what if Effie said mean things about Mama, or mocked her behind her back, the way she made fun of Teacher Judith? That was a very real possibility. She couldn’t bear it if Mama were mocked by Effie.

  Lily jumped up from the couch, ran up the stairs, and flopped on her bed. She buried her face in her pillow. Before she had a chance to start crying, she heard Papa’s footsteps on the stairs.

  Lily’s door creaked open and Papa sat next to her on the bed. “Would you like to tell me why you’re upset about Mama teaching English?”

  Lily didn’t want to tell Papa all the crazy thoughts that were running through her head. She couldn’t even look at Papa. She shook her head and kept her face buried in her pillow.

  In a gentle voice, Papa said, “Lily, sit up and tell me about it.”

  Lily sat up slowly. “I just don’t want Mama to be the teacher.”

  “But why not?”

  Papa gave her a moment to g
ather her thoughts. When Lily didn’t say anything more, he tried to help her figure out what was wrong. “Are you afraid Mama won’t know how to teach?”

  Lily shook her head. That wasn’t it. She was sure Mama would know how to teach. She knew most everything.

  Papa finally gave up. “Lily, Mama needs our love and support right now. We’re all going to work together to make everything as easy for her as we can. We will all need to pitch in and help more around the house while she studies and prepares lessons for school.” He walked to the door, then turned back. “You might be surprised at how much you enjoy having Mama as a teacher. I have a feeling that the days she comes to teach might be your favorite school days of all.” He closed the door as he left the room.

  Maybe Papa was right. Maybe the whole situation would be better than Lily thought.

  But then her thoughts traveled to Effie and Harvey. She lay there for the rest of the night, without a sigh left in her.

  Lily sat at her desk in school, anxiously looking up at the clock. Only fifteen more minutes before noon recess. During lunch, Mama would arrive at the schoolhouse and become the new English teacher. Lily had all kinds of feelings: nervousness, worry, and the tiniest little bit of excitement. She wondered what Papa would do to keep Dannie and Paul out of trouble. They liked to watch him work in the shop, but often he would shoo them upstairs to Mama because they were tempted to get too close to the machinery. Lily hoped Papa wouldn’t use any noisy, dangerous machinery with Dannie and Paul nearby.

  “Put your books away for recess,” Teacher Judith said.

  Desk lids clattered open and shut as books were shoved inside. When the students were ready, Teacher Judith told them all to stand.

  The children rose and stood beside their desks to sing a little song to thank God for their food. Then they lined up to wash their hands at the sink and fetch their lunch boxes off the shelf. Lily was halfway through her sandwich when she heard a clopping of hooves and a jangle of harness. Her stomach did a funny little flip-flop as she looked out the window and saw Jim pulling the buggy. Papa stopped Jim in front of the schoolhouse and Mama climbed out of the buggy. Lily watched her wave goodbye to Papa, Dannie, and Paul before she came into the schoolhouse.

  Teacher Judith welcomed Mama in. “I’ll turn the schoolhouse over to you,” she said. “I have a dentist appointment this afternoon, so I’ll be leaving right away.” Mama seemed a little surprised by that. The school board had wanted Teacher Judith to stay and learn from Mama along with the students so she could teach English on her own.

  Mama walked to the front of the schoolhouse and placed her satchel on the teacher’s desk. On a typical day, the children finished their lunches and rushed outside to play. Today, there was an exciting game of Prisoner’s Base that had been carried over from morning recess and needed to be finished. But no one left the room. Even the big boys stuck around. Everyone was curious about the new teacher. Lily felt awkward. As she watched Mama get settled at the desk, she didn’t look like Lily’s mama. She looked like a teacher. It was an odd feeling. Lily wanted to run up to her and talk to her or help her. But at the same time, she didn’t.

  Finally, the children wandered out to the playground and picked up the game of Prisoner’s Base. Soon, Mama rang the bell and recess was over. She told the students to continue working on their assignments. She would call each class, one at a time, to the front of the schoolhouse for English class. She started with the eighth graders. A rustling sound of papers shuffling and books opening rippled through the schoolhouse as the other classes got to work. Lily could hardly concentrate on her work as she watched Mama explain English to the eighth graders. Then it was the seventh graders’ turn. Finally, Mama said, “Sixth grade, please come to the front.”

  The sixth graders hurried to the front of the room, all except Harvey Hershberger. He flipped over and started walking up the aisle on his hands. The schoolhouse was absolutely still, as if the children were holding their breath, watching Harvey and wondering how Mama was going to react.

  This was just the sort of thing Lily had been dreading! Poor Mama. She was even sweeter and kinder than Teacher Judith. Harvey needed a teacher who would punish him and keep him after school and send scolding notes home to his parents. Lily was mortified for Mama.

  Mama watched Harvey walk upside down to the front row. She didn’t look amused, but she didn’t look flustered or upset. Lily couldn’t tell what she was thinking.

  After Harvey turned right side up and sat on the bench, Mama walked up to him. Oh, boy. Here it comes. Harvey would say something sassy to Mama, like he always did to Teacher Judith. Lily hoped Mama would punish him. Scold him, Mama! Send him home!

  “Why, Harvey,” Mama said, “that was quite impressive. You’re very good at walking on your hands. Would you like to teach the other boys how to walk on their hands during next recess? I think most of them would like to know how. I can’t think of a better teacher than you.”

  Harvey sat up so straight and proud that it looked like he had a ruler down his shirt back. “Well, I believe I could do that.”

  Mama nodded and turned her attention to teaching the English lesson to the sixth grade. Lily felt her face flame with embarrassment. It was clear that Mama wasn’t going to be any stricter with Harvey than Teacher Judith. He would be running this classroom before long.

  At recess, Mama reminded Harvey that he’d agreed to teach the boys how to walk on their hands. She told the girls that they could stay and watch if they wanted to or go outside to play.

  Lily wanted to go outside and run away as far as she could. Poor Mama. She was giving Harvey all the attention he craved. He would be even more impossible to be around, and that would only encourage Aaron Yoder and Sam Stoltzfus to act up. Poor, poor Mama. She didn’t know what she was in for.

  None of the girls would go outside with Lily. They wanted to stay inside and watch Harvey. He worked up a sweat as he circled the room by walking on his hands, yelling out instructions right and left to the boys as he passed by them.

  It was a cold winter day that brought a chill into the schoolhouse, but by the end of recess the boys were exhausted, hot, and sweaty. Especially Harvey. He was silent for the rest of the afternoon, which was quite, quite unusual. Several times, Lily caught him rubbing his arms as if they ached.

  Lily never saw Harvey walk on his hands again.

  Dear Hannah,

  Thank you for writing and telling me all about the new hired boy at your farm. I’m glad your father chose someone big and strong. And cute, you said, though I’m not sure what cuteness has to do with working on a farm.

  So much has happened in Cloverdale that I don’t even know where to begin. First, here’s a story you’ll enjoy about our very own relatives:

  Since our Uncle Jacob is the new bishop, Cousin Noah has been sitting on the preacher’s bench, right up front. This morning, Noah was playing with his handkerchief. He wadded it up in a ball and popped it in his mouth (don’t ask me why! boys do strange things like that) and then he started to choke! Uncle Jacob stopped preaching mid-sermon to take care of him, and then continued preaching like nothing had happened. On the way home, Papa said that Uncle Jacob was born for the bishop job.

  During lunch on Friday, Aaron Yoder offered Wall-Eyed Walter five cents to eat a cup of sand in school. That was downright mean—everybody knows that Wall-Eyed Walter isn’t the brightest lantern in the barn. Of course, he accepted Aaron’s challenge. He took one bite and spit it out. All afternoon, he kept spitting and coughing and gagging. Teacher Judith finally sent him home.

  Mama started teaching English twice a week—on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons. The school board kept coming to Whispering Pines to ask her to teach and she kept saying no, but then Uncle Jacob came with them to ask. I guess you don’t say no to a bishop, even if he is your brother. She’s doing a fine job. She has a clever way of taking the shine off Harvey Hershberger. Harvey has a disgusting habit of sticking his pen cap on the tip of his t
ongue and flicking it in and out of his mouth. On Thursday, Mama told the whole class that we were fortunate to have a rare blue-tongued boy in school. Just as unusual, she said, as the rare blue-footed chicken. After that, Harvey stopped sticking the pen cap in his mouth.

  Lately all Joseph talks about is playing in the woods. He says he wants to live off the land like Teaskoota, the old Shawnee Indian who lives up in the hills in a little log cabin. If you ask me, I think Joseph is just trying to imitate Aaron Yoder (ridiculous! just ridiculous). Aaron is always traipsing off to the woods to fish or hike. Yesterday, Joseph disappeared to play in the woods. He saw a chipmunk and thought it would make a good pet. He waited, still as a stone, until it came near him. Then he reached out and grabbed its tail. The chipmunk scrambled to escape and its tail came off in Joseph’s hand! Joseph felt horrible.

  Your cousin,

  Lily

  16

  Beth and the House Fire

  Lily woke with a start. Something was wrong. The sharp whoop of a siren rushed past Whispering Pines—first one, then another. She shivered. Sirens made such an eerie sound, especially so in the middle of the night. She turtled her head down into her covers and wondered where the fire engines were hurrying to. Had there been an accident? The roads were icy. Sometimes cars slid into ditches. Or maybe there was a house fire. Lily burrowed down deeper under her covers. How awful it would be to be awakened by a fire in the middle of a dark, cold winter night.

  During breakfast, someone rapped on the door. Papa left the table to see who had arrived, and he returned with David Yoder. Mama jumped up to get David a cup of coffee. “Thank you, Rachel,” David said, putting his cold hands around the mug. “I came to let you know that Jonas Raber’s house burned to the ground last night.”

  “Was anyone hurt?” Mama said, first thing.

  “No,” David said. “The family got out of the house in time, but they lost most everything. Everyone is gathering today to help with the cleanup.”