The Cow-Pie Chronicles (11 page)

Roxy stuck it out on the Slinger farm for the entire week, even helping by doing her own chores—some which Mrs. Slinger had assigned her—much to Tim's surprise.

Tim was sad to see Roxy go back to Chicago, but didn't have time to become too lonely. It was September and school was starting in a few days. Plus, it was the busiest time of the year on the farm since harvest season was in full swing. For the next month, Tim would be getting up early to help with the milking, going to school, coming home, changing clothes and either helping unload wagons of hay or cleaning up after the evening milking. Harvest made for a long day, and chores lasted nearly until bedtime. Then Tim would have to get up early and begin the same routine all over again until the harvest ended.

Believe it or not, starting school each year was always exciting for Tim. Christmas and the start of school were the only two times of the year Tim got brand new clothes. Plus, starting school meant he would see his school friends for the first time since May—if he survived the 30-minute bus ride.

“Bus is here!” Tim heard his mom call on Monday morning, the first day of school.

Tim dropped his spoon into his empty cereal bowl and ran out the back door. There sat the large, dusty, yellow vehicle in his driveway. Dana was already in her assigned seat.

“Good morning, Mr. Horner,” Tim said to the bus driver as he boarded.

“Hi, Tim. Are you going to be late every morning this year?” Mr. Horner asked.

Everyone in the bus laughed as Tim made his way down the aisle. The Slinger farm was the last pickup on the route, which made finding a “friendly seat” a challenge. The bus was full of farm kids, ranging in age from kindergarteners to high school seniors. The youngest kids, those in kindergarten through fourth grade, had to sit in the first five rows. After that, it was every kid for himself. Since Tim was entering fifth grade, this was his first year to pick out his own seat.

Tim walked past Dana and she stuck her tongue out at him. He spotted an empty seat in the sixth row, right next to an older girl. He sat down.

“Hey, Slinger, who said you could sit next to my girl?” one of the high school boys in the row behind him said.

Tim stared straight ahead, ignoring the teenager. The next thing Tim knew, he was lifted out of his seat and passed row to row to the back of the bus. Of course, everyone burst out laughing again. They finally put him down in the last row, right next to one of his classmates.

“The same thing just happened to me,” Rick said.

“Ugh! I think they left that seat open to trick us,” Tim said.

“Yeah. It's going to be a long year.”

“Maybe not. Did I ever tell you about breaking my nose on the barn steps when I was four?” Tim asked his friend.

“What's that got to do with anything?” Rick asked.

“The least little bump now and it'll bleed like crazy. Watch.” Tim slapped the side of his nose with the palm of his hand and a stream of blood instantly appeared, running down his lips and chin. He quickly rubbed it around then took his hand away revealing his blood-smeared face. Tim shouted to the bus driver, “Help me! He hit me!”

Several girls screamed and Mr. Horner slammed on the brakes, got out of his seat and headed to the back of the bus to see what was going on.

“I didn't touch him!” the biggest boy said, but Mr. Horner ignored him. He was more concerned about Tim. He studied Tim's nose for a moment then pulled a white handkerchief from his pocket and started wiping the blood away.

“You okay?” he asked.

“Yeah, just a nosebleed. I need a tissue.”

“Come up front.”

Tim glanced at his friend and winked. “I want Rick to come with me,” he said to Mr. Horner.

“Fine. Mary, come back here,” Mr. Horner said to the girl in row six, the one the teenagers had used as bait for their prank.

“Little brat,” Mary said to Tim as she slipped past him.

Mr. Horner retrieved the first aid kit and gave Tim a tissue for his nose. Then he asked Tim in a hushed voice, “How many times do you think that trick is going to work before somebody catches on?”

“This time is the only one I care about,” Tim said.

“Good luck,” Mr. Horner said, returning to his driver's seat.

Finding a seat was not a problem for Tim and Rick for the rest of that week, as row six was mysteriously left open for them every day.

* * *

Going to school was a nice break from chores. But the harvest made up for any rest school provided. Harvesting the crops was hard work. Fortunately, the harvest was ahead of schedule and life was good, until Thursday afternoon.

“Tim, please go to the principal's office after school,” his teacher said.

“What'd I do wrong?”

“Nothing. Your grandmother is picking you up after school.”

Tim was excited at first, but his excitement soon gave way to reality. There had to be something seriously wrong at home if he wasn't going there during the harvest season. He stared at the clock on the wall—the 30 minutes left in the school day passed like
molasses
.

Finally, the bell rang and Tim headed out the door. Dana was already in the office with their grandmother when he got there—her eyes were red and puffy like she had been crying. “Mom's in the hospital,” she told Tim.

Tim's heart raced as he feared the worst. “What's wrong? An accident?”

“No, she was out on the tractor baling hay and had severe pains in her tummy. They were afraid something was wrong with the baby, so they took her to the hospital,” Grandma said.

“Is she going to be okay?” Dana asked.

“
Yes, thank heavens. She has some torn muscles around her tummy, but everything will be fine as long as she rests and takes it easy until the baby is born.”

Tim let out the breath he was holding in. “You mean she can't work in the fields anymore,” he said.

“She can't work on that farm anymore, period. Now, bring your things out to the car. You're spending the night with me.”

It was a short ride to Grandma's house. Tim looked at Dana, who was sitting in the back seat next to him and quietly staring straight ahead.

“How will we get the harvest done and the milking, too?” Tim asked his grandma. “Dad can't do it all.”

“Uncle Jack is going to help on weekends until the harvest is done. Your mom and dad will talk to you about the rest of it.”

Dana looked at Tim. She had tears in her eyes.

“When will Mom be home? When can we see her?” Dana asked.

“Tomorrow, after school. I'll take you to school in the morning then you can ride the bus home, like you usually do,” Grandma said.

Their grandma turned into her driveway and parked the car next to the side door. “Go put your things upstairs and get ready for supper,” she said.

Tim headed for the staircase without saying another word. He wasn't sure what was going to happen when they got home, but he was pretty sure things would never be normal again.

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Chapter 14

The next day after school, Tim and Dana sprinted to the house as soon as they got off the school bus. They were so concerned about their mom that they didn't even say goodbye to Mr. Horner.

Bursting through the back door, they found their mom sitting at the kitchen table, peeling potatoes for supper. They ran to her and each gave her a big hug.

“Are you okay, Mom?” both kids asked at the same time.

“Yes, yes. I'll be fine. Sit down and I'll get you a treat.”

Mom walked slowly to the freezer as Dana and Tim took their usual seats at the table. They sensed bad news was coming.

Mom returned, holding two Popsicles. “Who wants cherry and who wants grape?”

“Grape,” Dana said.

Grape was Tim's favorite and Dana knew it, but Tim took the cherry Popsicle without complaining. Dana stared at him, confused because she expected him to whine. Mom sat down at the end of the table.

“Grandma said you can't work anymore,” Tim said.

“Not until after the baby is born.”

“How long is that?” Dana asked.

“Middle of February. Uncle Jack will help us finish the harvest.”

Tim's melting, untouched Popsicle began to drip on his hand. He was afraid to ask the next question, but had to. “Then what?”

His mom grabbed a dish towel and reached over to wipe Tim's hand. “Then we sell the farm.”

Tim and Dana sat still, waiting for her to say something different. But she did not. With sad eyes, Mom looked at her two children.

“We're going to move into town?” Dana finally asked.

“
Not right away. We can't sell the land until spring, so we're going to sell all the equipment and crops we just harvested at
auction
to keep us going until then.”

“Sell everything in an auction? Can't Dad hire somebody to help him like the neighbors do?” Tim asked.

“We don't make enough money to support ourselves as it is, especially with another mouth to feed and one less person doing the work.”

“I can do the work,” Tim said.

“This isn't your future anymore, Tim,” Mom said. Then she spoke to both children. “Don't worry about things right now. Keep doing your chores and we'll work through it one step at a time as a family. Okay?”

Tim turned his head to hide his tears. Dana sat quietly watching Tim, and then she started crying, too. They got up and walked slowly out of the kitchen and to their bedrooms to change clothes. It was time to do chores.

Tim heard Dana sniffling. “What're you crying for? Your dream came true—you get to move to town.”

“But I didn't want to sell our farm,” Dana said.

“That's stupid. How could we live in town
and
still have the farm?”

Anger replaced her tears. “Mom never asked me how I would feel about selling our farm!” Dana said.

“It's too late now, isn't it, Dee-Dee?” Tim said as he headed to his room.

Dana clenched her fists and screamed at Tim's back, “Poop Slinger!”

Tim stopped and slowly looked back over his shoulder at his sister. Her face was red with rage as she glared at him. Tim suddenly had no desire to fight back. He hung his head for a moment then looked up at Dana. “Not for long,” he said.

* * *

Because Mom had to rest, Tim's workload was brutal for the next month. Mr. Slinger showed Tim how to work the milking machines—that way, his son could do the milking and he could spend more time in the fields, getting the last acres of crops harvested before the auction date. Tim didn't complain because he knew it was all going to end soon, much too soon for him.

Mr. Slinger had taken Tim to a few farm auctions in recent years, and they were always a lot of fun. Since the auctions took place on someone's farm, there was lots of activity. People interested in bidding inspected equipment, livestock, machinery and even harvested crops. And the food was always plentiful and great.