A New Home for Lily (17 page)

L
ily was excited. It had snowed and snowed and snowed last night! A real January blizzard. Snow made the world look so much prettier. She could hear Papa come into the basement from the outside. He stomped his boots to knock the snow off so he wouldn't track it into the house. When he came into the kitchen, he handed a pail of Pansy's milk to Mama. She would strain and cool the milk.

Papa smiled at Lily. “We got a little over a foot of snow last night.” Lily couldn't wait to get started for school. It would be fun to walk through the snow. Joseph was already putting on his boots. He was in as much of a hurry to get ready for school as she was. Usually, Joseph dawdled over breakfast while Lily waited by the door. But not today. Joseph liked snow almost as much as she did. Maybe more.

Some of the children were already at school by the time Lily and Joseph arrived. Snowballs sailed through the air. Lily
liked playing in the snow, but she didn't like snowball fights. She had two little brothers who liked to throw snowballs at her, two against one. Not fair. Always outnumbered. Snowball fights were just one of the many reasons she wanted a sister. She hurried inside the schoolhouse where there was no danger of being hit. She would rather stand at the window to watch the snowball fight until Teacher Rhoda rang the bell and the school day began.

During recess, the children piled back outside to play Fox and Geese. They lined up to trudge paths through the snow. One of the eighth grade boys was the leader and everyone followed behind him. They shuffled their feet to pack the snow down as much as they could. First, they made a wide circle on the playground, like an outline. They kept trudging through the snow, in smaller and smaller circles, until they had all reached the center and were ready to play. Lily thought the tracks looked like a giant snowy cinnamon roll.

Fox and Geese was a fun game: whoever was
it
had to run along the circle path to try to tag someone. Everyone else could jump from path to path, but when a person was tagged, then that person was also
it.
The more children who were tagged, the more were
it
.

Lily was glad she wasn't chosen to be
it
for a long time. She liked being able to jump from path to path to avoid whoever was
it
. By the time Teacher Rhoda rang the bell, nearly everyone had been tagged. All but Aaron Yoder. Lily could have tagged him once, but she didn't want to touch him. She shuddered. Too awful.

Lily went inside and straight to her desk, feeling happy, even if her pink cheeks stung from the cold. Recess on a snow-filled winter day was the best day of all. The very best.

During lunch, Lily tried to eavesdrop on the upper-grade
boys without being too obvious. They were debating what to play for the rest of lunch recess. Lily wanted them to play Fox and Geese again, but plans were brewing to sled down the long, steep hill behind the schoolhouse.

Lily wasn't sure that would be a good idea and not just because they didn't have sleds. The hill was long and steep and it wasn't even part of the school playground. It belonged to the farmer, Ben Fisher, right next to the schoolhouse. She was glad when Teacher Rhoda overheard the boys and said, “We don't go playing on other people's land without their permission.”

Marvin Yoder raised his head. “May I go ask Ben if we can slide on his hill?”

Teacher Rhoda gave that some thought. “You can ask him on your way home from school today.”

The boys were disappointed, but Lily was glad she didn't have to worry about sledding today. And maybe Ben Fisher would not want them to sled down his hill. She hoped so. Sledding was too risky. Somebody might get hurt. Somebody . . . like Lily.

Ben Fisher was waiting at the schoolhouse as the children arrived the next morning. He had brought a big stack of empty feed bags to use as makeshift sleds to slide down his hill.

Oh, this was not a good idea. Lily wasn't sure how feed bags would even work as sleds, but the big boys were thrilled. Even the little boys and some of the girls. Aaron Yoder wanted to try it out right away, but his brother Marvin said they would have to wait until recess. There wasn't enough time left before school to walk all the way up the hill and sled down before the bell rang.

When Teacher Rhoda dismissed the class for recess, everyone ran to get a bag. Lily was sure that Beth wouldn't want to sled down that hill, but she grabbed a bag and ran after the boys. They clambered over the fence and stood at the top of the hill. Lily stayed by the fence and watched to see what they would do next. She was the only one who didn't climb up the hill to slide down.

Marvin Yoder placed a feed bag on the snowy ground and sat on it. He held the front end up between his legs and pushed off to start down the hill. He went faster and faster. It almost looked as if he were flying! As soon as he reached the bottom, he hurried back up the hill.

One by one, the children lined up to slide down. The snow quickly packed down and became slippery as the children went whizzing down the hill.

Beth was the first girl to slide down the hill. She squealed and laughed all the way down. Joseph followed behind her. He sounded like he was having the most fun he had ever had.

Lily was relieved when Teacher Rhoda rang the bell and everyone trudged back to the schoolhouse. She hoped that during lunch they would want to play something else.

Sadly, that didn't happen. Day after day, as soon as the children were dismissed for recess, they bolted to get their coats and mittens and a feed bag and hurried up the hill. Day after day, Lily stood by the fence and watched them slide down the hill.

One time, Teacher Rhoda came up beside her to watch the children. “Wouldn't you like to try to sled down, Lily?”

Lily shook her head. She was absolutely positive that she did not want to slide down the hill, and Teacher Rhoda didn't say anything more about it.

Later in the week, Teacher Rhoda came outside and stood
next to Lily by the fence. “Everyone is having a lot of fun. I think you would too, if you ever tried.”

Lily looked down at her boots. “The hill is long and steep.”

“I could hold the bag for you until you get settled. If you try it and decide you don't like it, you won't ever have to again.”

Lily faced a conundrum. She wanted to please Teacher Rhoda, but she was scared of that big hill. Teacher Rhoda held a hand out to her. Lily hesitated, then took hold of her hand and climbed through the fence. Teacher Rhoda helped her place the bag on the slippery path and held it until Lily sat down. “Hold it at the sides,” Teacher Rhoda said.

It surprised Lily to think a teacher would know how to slide down a hill. She gripped the sides of the bag as firmly as she could. The hill looked so steep and long and she felt so small as she sat at the top.

Teacher Rhoda gave her an encouraging smile. “Are you ready?”

Ever so cautiously, Lily gave a brief nod. Teacher Rhoda let go of the bag and gently pushed her off. Lily started whizzing down the hill. Faster and faster. So fast it took her breath away! Her eyes started to water from the stinging wind. She could hardly see! The feed bag went faster and faster, then hit a bump, and Lily went sailing. Her hand got caught beneath her and scraped along the ice. Lily wanted to stop but couldn't. Everything was going too fast.

When Lily reached the bottom, she tipped over. Slowly, she rose to her feet, but her legs felt shaky. Her hand hurt. She looked at it and started to cry. Her mitten was torn and the back of her hand was bleeding. She looked up the hill and saw Teacher Rhoda waving to her. She looked so small up there. Other children whizzed past Lily, laughing and squealing. Lily knew she never wanted another ride. Not ever!

Teacher Rhoda came down the hill to see what was wrong. Lily held out her scraped-up hand. Teacher Rhoda took Lily inside the schoolhouse and gently washed the blood from her hand. She covered the scrapes with a bandage. “I'm sorry you got hurt, Lily. Did you enjoy any part of the ride?”

Tears filled Lily's eyes again. “No! It was too fast and lasted too long and I couldn't see anything.”

Teacher Rhoda wiped Lily's tears from her cheeks with a handkerchief. “I'm sorry I encouraged you to try. I won't ask you to take another ride again.”

The rest of the day, Lily tried to concentrate on her lessons. Her bandaged hand felt awkward. She couldn't hold her pencil very easily. When recess came, she went outside to watch the children slide down the hill. She felt lonely. The only thing the children wanted to do was slide down that dumb hill. She wished the snow would melt, at least for a while. She wished spring would come.

Even more so, she wished she weren't afraid of sledding. She wished she could join in the fun. But she would never ever slide down that hill again. Too dangerous.

O
n Saturday afternoon, Mama sent Lily and Joseph upstairs to finish the cleaning. Lily was told to dust the furniture while Joseph cleaned under the beds with the dust mop.

They were in a hurry. They wanted to spend the afternoon building a snowman, but Mama kept finding more chores for them to do. Lily finished dusting the furniture in her hallway bedroom and hurried to dust Joseph and Dannie's room.

Their bunk beds looked rumpled and unmade. Several shirts were tossed on the floor. Lily sighed. Boys were so messy. She picked the shirts up and put them into the laundry basket. Then she made up the beds.

“I beat you!” Joseph yelled as he ran down the stairs. That wasn't fair. If Lily hadn't cleaned up his mess, she would have been done by now too.

As she walked through her hallway bedroom, she noticed
the handle of the dust mop sticking out from under the bed. She should go downstairs and make Joseph put the dust mop away. He hadn't beaten her after all.

Then she had a better idea. She decided to teach Joseph a lesson for being so messy. She took the dust mop and tucked it into Joseph's bed. She smiled with satisfaction. Joseph would have a surprise when he jumped into bed tonight.

Later that evening, Papa made his usual bedtime announcement: “It's bedtime for little lambs.” Lily rushed upstairs to brush her teeth and jump into bed. She wanted to pretend she was already asleep by the time Joseph discovered the dust mop. She tried not to giggle when she thought how surprised he would be.

The boys got into their pajamas, brushed their teeth, and hopped into bed, just like every night. There were no sounds or squeals or screams. Lily was disappointed, but she said nothing.

The next night, as Lily climbed into bed, there was the dust mop, resting its head on her pillow.
Joseph!
Grrr. What a disgusting trick.

She set the mop in the corner of her room and turned her pillow over to sleep on the clean side. She would wait a few days, just to make Joseph think she had forgotten all about it, then slip it back into his bed.

Several days later, she put the dust mop back into Joseph's bed. The next evening, she checked her bed carefully before hopping in, but there was no dust mop. The next night, there it was, resting on her pillow again!

So much for teaching Joseph a lesson about being so messy. This was an entirely different kind of matter. She was going to
pick a careful time to put that mop into Joseph's bed again, a time when he least expected it. She would win the battle of the dust mop.

At school that day, Effie had bragged that she had invited Teacher Rhoda home for supper and to stay for the night. When Lily heard, she couldn't wait to run home and ask Mama about inviting Teacher Rhoda to her house. How special! Usually, Mama liked to think things over for a while before she answered Lily. She liked to talk to Papa, think some more, talk to Papa again, and then . . . she would make her decision. But this time, Mama said yes, right away. She sat right down to write a note, asking if Teacher Rhoda would like to come for dinner next Wednesday.

Even better, Teacher Rhoda wrote a note right back to Mama, saying she was happy to accept their invitation.

Lily could hardly wait. She started making plans about what they would do. She thought Teacher Rhoda might like to visit with Mama and hold baby Paul. And maybe she would like to play a board game or read a story to them.

Of course, they would need a special meal. Mama had already told Lily she could help make Pineapple Fluff Pudding for dessert. It was Lily's favorite pudding and she was sure Teacher Rhoda would like it.

When Wednesday finally came, Lily could hardly pay attention at school. As soon as school was dismissed, Teacher Rhoda locked up the schoolhouse to walk home with Lily and Joseph. They chatted all the way home. Lily loved having Teacher Rhoda all to herself—well, almost all to herself. She had to share Teacher Rhoda with Joseph. But at least she didn't have to share Teacher Rhoda with twenty other
children. Somehow, Lily thought, Teacher Rhoda didn't seem so teacher-ish tonight. She seemed younger and more fun.

When they got home, Teacher Rhoda helped Mama make supper. Lily stayed in the house to watch instead of going out to the barn to do chores with Papa and Joseph and Dannie. She didn't want to miss one single minute of the visit.

After the supper dishes were done, Teacher Rhoda held baby Paul on her lap while she helped Lily and Joseph play a game of Sorry. Lily thought Papa announced that it was time to get ready for bed much too soon.

As they headed up the stairs, Lily was so happy she was a girl. Teacher Rhoda would sleep in her room tonight, in her bed. Lily would sleep on a blanket nest on the floor. She hoped Teacher Rhoda didn't mind too much that Lily slept in a hallway.

As Lily slipped under her covers, she let out a contented sigh. It had been a perfect evening. Teacher Rhoda blew out the oil lamp on the dresser. As she climbed into bed, she said, “Good night, Lil—”

A scream came out of Teacher Rhoda that rocked the room. She jumped out of bed and reached for the flashlight she had placed on the dresser.

Lily jumped up to see what was wrong. Teacher Rhoda shined the flashlight on the pillow. The dust mop!
Oh, Joseph
, Lily thought for the hundredth time,
what have you done?
The sound of little giggles echoed through the boys' bedroom.

She apologized to Teacher Rhoda and explained all about the silly dust mop battle. Teacher Rhoda wasn't mad. She seemed to understand. She even laughed. A little. Lily swapped pillows with her. Teacher Rhoda climbed back into bed and it wasn't long before Lily could hear her even breathing and knew she was asleep.

Lily lay awake for a long time, upset. She was mad at Joseph for putting that mop in her bed, tonight of all nights. She wished she had never started the dust mop battle.

What must Teacher Rhoda think about Lily? What if she thought Lily were as mischievous as Aaron Yoder? Lily shuddered.

Even more distressing, Lily had lost the dust mop battle.