“Hannah got quite the Christmas gift. A beautiful chestnut-colored mule named Bart, who she can ride and show.”
Louanne’s scissors stopped clicking. Hannah wanted to crawl under the desk and hide. Why’d her grandma have to go and say that? Knowing the way these women liked to gossip, the whole town would probably know about Hannah’s mule by sunset.
“A mule?” Louanne asked, as if she might have heard wrong. “As in, one of those stubborn animals with long ears?”
“His ears aren’t that long,” Grandma said. “And he’s not stubborn at all. He’s got a real sweet disposition, from what we hear. Isn’t that right, Hannah?”
“Mm-hmm,” Hannah replied. She glanced at the two women in the waiting area. They’d both looked up from their magazines, and were now staring at Hannah with confused looks on their faces. Fortunately, she didn’t have to say anything else. Her mother walked over and said, “Good morning, Lydia. I’m ready for you.”
The younger woman stood up and followed Mrs. Crawford back to her station.
“Come on over, Gladys,” Grandma said. “I can’t wait to hear all about your holiday.”
Gladys stood up and threw the magazine she’d been looking at on the chair. “Doesn’t sound like it was nearly as exciting as yours.”
Hannah doodled on a note pad that sat by the phone. Yeah, to Grandma it’d be exciting. To Hannah, it was more like horrifying. What should she do about it, was the question. There was no way she was going to get up on that mule and ride him. Obviously, she couldn’t return him to his original owners, since they’d moved away.
Maybe she could convince her brothers to take him on as a project. Yeah, right. After they’d heard about Bart, they hadn’t even wanted to go outside and see him. Maybe after a little time went by, she could convince her parents that he’d be better off with someone else. She had to get them to understand they weren’t right for each other. She just had to.
“It’s almost time to start thinking about New Year’s resolutions,” Grandma said as she and Gladys walked over to the sink to wash Gladys’s hair. “Any ideas yet, ladies?”
Grandma did this sometimes — threw out a subject for everyone in the shop to talk about. Lydia spoke up first. “I want my family to put together a float for the Valentine’s Day parade. Did you hear the theme this year? Good Friends, Great Neighbors.”
“I love that parade,” Hannah’s mom said as she stood at her counter, mixing up the color solution she would soon put on Lydia’s hair. Mrs. Crawford turned and looked over at her daughter.
“Hannah, maybe you can ride Bart this year with the 4-H club! Wouldn’t that be fun?”
About as fun as swimming in a lake filled with leeches, Hannah thought. She knew it was best to keep those thoughts to herself, though.
“Maybe,” was all she said as she stood up from her seat. Her mother knew she’d always been envious of the girls in the club who rode their horses in the parade. It’d been a dream of hers to ride in the parade since she was a little girl. But right now, Hannah didn’t want to talk about the stupid parade. In fact, she really didn’t want to talk about anything. “Grandma, can I turn on the television?”
“Sure, dear,” she called out. “Go right ahead.”
Hannah went over to the waiting area and searched around for the remote, stacking magazines neatly as she looked.
“Did you hear about the Weston family?” Louanne asked.
“No. What’s going on?” Mrs. Crawford replied.
“It’s been over six months since Tom lost his job, and they haven’t been able to pay their rent the last couple of months. Rosie told me the landlord swears he’s gonna have them evicted if they can’t come up with the money.”
“Oh, dear,” Mrs. Crawford said. “How terrible. And they have all those kids too. Wherever would they go if they got put out on the street?”
Hannah knew one of those kids her mom was talking about. Her name was Elsie, and she was in the Mane Attraction 4-H club with Hannah. She was a shy and quiet girl, so they hadn’t talked much. But Hannah had always liked her, because the two of them had something in common. They’d both joined in fourth grade, which was the minimum age for the club, but they’d been the only ones who didn’t have a horse of their own. Owning a horse wasn’t a requirement, only a love of horses, and Hannah had plenty of that.
Hannah told herself to be extra nice to Elsie at the next Mane Attraction meeting. If Hannah had gotten a horse for Christmas, like she’d wanted, she could have invited Elsie over for a ride to help cheer her up.
Well, too bad. She’d have to think of something else.
The remote was buried underneath a stack of hairstyle books. Hannah pointed it at the flat screen on the wall in the corner.
“Oh good,” her mom said as the shopping channel appeared on the screen, “it’s Jewelry With Juliette. I love her. She’s absolutely adorable.”
And with that, talk of the mule and the parade and Elsie’s family was forgotten. Just like Hannah had hoped.
That night, at supper, Hannah poked at her meatloaf as she tried to think of an excuse to get out of feeding Bart and putting him in the barn for the night.
“You all right, Hannah?” her mother asked.
She felt everyone’s eyes on her all of a sudden. “I don’t know,” Hannah said softly. “Not feeling very well, I guess.”
Mrs. Crawford wiped her mouth with the napkin and put it back in her lap. “You had a real good appetite at lunch. Pretty sure I’ve never seen a girl eat as many fries as you did.”
“Aw, man,” Adam said. “Did you guys go to Fries and Pies without us?”
“Yep. Sorry, boys,” Mrs. Crawford said. “I’ll have to take you two another time. You want to come to the beauty shop with me tomorrow and help out, like Hannah did today?”
They both wrinkled their noses. “You’re kidding, right?” Eric said. “Not in a hundred years.”
Mr. Crawford chuckled. “Well, that’s good. I was counting on you boys taking care of that squeaky pen gate tomorrow. Grandpa said he’d help, since I’ll be at work.” He turned to Hannah, reaching out and putting his big, calloused hand against her forehead. “You don’t feel warm. Just got a stomachache, darlin’?”
“Yeah,” Hannah said. “Can I be excused? Think I’ll go lie down for a while.”
“All right, but you should take care of Bart first. It’ll only take a few minutes.”
Hannah sighed. “Can you do it for me, Daddy? Please?”
Mr. Crawford leaned back in his chair and looked hard at his daughter. “Hannah, why do I get the feeling you’re doing your very best to avoid that mule? This isn’t how it works. We gave him to you. He’s your responsibility.”
“I know, but I —”
“You realize you could work with him to do whatever class you’d like for shows, right?” Mrs. Crawford said. “Single driving, halter, even barrels. He’s good, Hannah. You’ll see.”
“He could do all of those and more, in one show,” Mr. Crawford said, turning back to his plate of food. “That’s the great thing about mules. Horses need to be more specialized, but mules are smart and don’t tire as easily.” He took a bite of mashed potatoes and gravy, then turned to Hannah. “One thing is for sure. That mule needs to get to work. Soon. He’s not meant to stand around, day after day, doing nothing.”
Now Hannah’s stomach really did hurt. She didn’t want to ride Bart, or work with him, or show him. When would her parents realize they could talk for hours about how great Bart was, but that didn’t mean Hannah was going to suddenly change her mind about him?
No. Her mind was made up. She pushed her chair back from the table and stood up. “I’m going to my room. If you could please take care of Bart, Daddy, I’d really appreciate it.”
“Hannah —”
She didn’t wait to hear what he had to say, but instead rushed up the stairs, her hand clutched to her stomach. Maybe it was rude, but she just couldn’t handle any more talk about
Bart right now.
When she got to her room, she sat at her desk and picked up the letter from Caitlin she’d received earlier that day. In the letter, Caitlin had talked about her plans for winter break, which included lots of fun activities with her new friends, Esther and Tezra. She’d asked about Hannah’s plans, and had told her to write to her as soon as she could, to tell her all about her new horse.
Hannah leaned back in her chair and sighed. She had written to all three of her camp friends and told them she was getting a horse for Christmas. What a stupid thing to do. Now she’d have to write to each of them and tell them about what had really happened. Either that, or lie, and she really didn’t want to do that.
She opened a drawer and pulled out one of the cute note cards she’d gotten for Christmas from her best friend in Soddy-Daisy, Crystal. This particular card had an adorable pig on it along with the words “Hogs and Kisses.” Crystal was out of town, visiting her grandparents, and wouldn’t be back for another week. They’d exchanged Christmas gifts before she’d left, just like they’d done every year since they’d met in second grade. Hannah opened the card and started writing.
Dear Caitlin,
It’s the day after Christmas, and I keep wishing for a do-over of yesterday. Okay, so the cinnamon rolls Grandma made were fabulous, like always. My five boy cousins were annoying, like always. We played games all afternoon and by the end of the day, I just wanted to disappear to my small but peaceful bedroom and read a book.
But here’s where things went really, really wrong. There was an envelope tucked into the branches of the Christmas tree. It told me to head out to the barn for my last gift. Yes, yes, I know what you’re thinking, because it’s what I thought too. It has to be the horse, right?
Wrong.
They didn’t get me a horse. They got me a mule. My daddy told me, he’s half a horse, like that’s supposed to make it okay. Well, it’s not okay with me. I’m trying to understand why they did it, but I honestly don’t understand. They tell me he needed a good home. Well, I bet there are a lot of horses out there that could use a good home too. They tell me he’s a blue-ribbon winner and he’s got a sweet disposition and all this other stuff, and all I can think about is that it’s a mule they’re talking about, so why does it matter?
To them, it doesn’t matter, but to me it matters so much. I don’t know what to do. It’s not like an ugly sweater that can be returned to the store, you know? The people who sold him to my family moved away. They’re gone.
And I’m stuck with Bart. Yeah, that’s his name — Bart. Nice, right? Not.
I sure hope your Christmas was better than mine. At least I have the bracelet to wear, and I love it so much. When I put it on after I got it last week, do you know what memory popped up? You won’t believe it. It was the evil squirrel, running toward me. I swear that squirrel is going to haunt me for the rest of my life.
I miss you, Caitlin! I’m glad it’s almost the new year because in that new year, I’ll get to see you again and I cannot wait! Please write back when you get the chance.
Your Cabin 7 BFF,
Hannah
The next morning, Hannah was downstairs by eight, hoping her mother would let her go to the salon again.
Mrs. Crawford was in the kitchen, filling up her mug with coffee. “Morning, Mama,” Hannah said as she went to the fridge to get the carton of orange juice.
“You feeling better?” she asked Hannah before she took a sip of her coffee.
“Yes, and I was hoping I could go to work with you again today,” Hannah said as she poured the juice.
“I suppose it’s all right. It’ll be busier than yesterday. We’ll be there most of the day.”
“Fine with me,” Hannah said. “Not much to do around here anyway. Crystal doesn’t get back until next week.”
“You know, you could spend some time —”
“Mama, please don’t,” Hannah said as she put the juice back in the fridge. “I know what you’re going to say, and I think maybe I just need a little bit more time to get used to the idea, all right? Please don’t be upset with me. Please?”
“I’m trying to understand,” her mother replied. “We all are. But you need to put in a little effort too, I think.”
Hannah went to the pantry and pulled out a box of cereal bars. “Can you call Grandpa and ask if he can take care of him again? Just for today.”
“Hannah, this really has to stop. You’re not even giving Bart a chance.”
She didn’t understand what it was like for Hannah. None of her family did. Bart wasn’t what Hannah had wanted, at all, and spending time with him wasn’t going to change her mind.
“It’s not fair,” Hannah said softly as she slowly pulled one of the bars from the box, avoiding her mother’s eyes. “He’s not what I wanted.”
“Look at me, young lady.”
Hannah set the box on the counter and did as she was told.
“I’m sorry you’re disappointed. But until you give him a chance, there’s nothing to discuss. You’re spending all your time trying to avoid him, based on things you’ve made up in your mind, rather than getting to know him. You think you’ve been treated unfairly, but I say, Bart is the one being treated unfairly in this situation.”
“But Mama, I just don’t … I don’t think he’s the right animal for me.”
Mrs. Crawford threw her arm up in the air, clearly exasperated. “You don’t even know him!”
Hannah bowed her head. She could tell this was a war she couldn’t win. She had to at least look like she was putting in some effort. “Fine,” she said, meeting her mother’s eyes again. “I’ll take care of him tomorrow. But there isn’t time now, if I’m going with you to the shop.”
Her mother narrowed her eyes. “You really mean it?”
Hannah crossed her heart with her finger. “I promise. Tomorrow it’ll be Bart and me. You’ll see.”
Mrs. Crawford sighed. “All right. I believe you.” She took a long swig of coffee. “Oh, I meant to tell you, Mr. Brody called last night after you went up to your room. He wanted to talk about the New Year’s Eve party for the Mane Attraction Club.”
Mr. Brody was their 4-H leader. Hannah and the other kids really liked him. He’d worked around horses most of his life, but was retired now. He said the 4-H club was a way for him to stay connected to the world of horses that he loved so much.
“Oh yeah,” Hannah said. “He was supposed to let us know where the party would be held. What’d he decide?”
“Well, that’s why he called. He asked if we’d be willing to host it here.”
“Oh no,” Hannah said. “You didn’t agree to that, did you?”
Her mother shook her head, confused. “What’s wrong with having it here? I told him I didn’t mind at all. I offered up the barn, since there’s plenty of room out there, and you kids can be as loud as you want to be.”
“The barn? Are you kidding me? Mama, I think that’s a terrible idea.”
“It’s not terrible,” she said as she went to the fridge and pulled out the carton of eggs. “It’ll be great, you’ll see. We’ll set up tables for food and take the laptop out there so you can play music. Mr. Brody said he’d come up with games for you guys to play throughout the night.”
Hannah munched on her cereal bar as she paced the kitchen. She’d already decided she wouldn’t say anything about the mule to the kids in the club. But if they came here, they’d see him for sure.
It was like her mother could read her mind. “Honey, are you afraid they’ll make fun of you because you have a mule instead of a horse?”
She stopped pacing. “Yes. Yes, I am. I mean, it’s a horse club, isn’t it? Not a mule club.”
“But you can still ride him like a horse. Show him like a horse. I think they’ll understand, when you explain why we did it. You know, they might even think it’s cool, having something that’s a little bit different. Who knows, maybe you’ll make mules the next big thing.”
?
??I really don’t think so,” Hannah said under her breath as she shoved the rest of the cereal bar into her mouth. She washed it down with orange juice.
Her mother cracked four eggs into the frying pan and scrambled them up with a whisk. “Well, you should try to be excited when you introduce Bart to your friends. If you’re excited, they’ll be excited.”
“Can we please call Mr. Brody back and ask him to find somewhere else to have the party?” Hannah asked. “I really don’t think it’ll be very fun here. I mean, last year we met at Lazerport and played laser tag and video games all night. This party will be so lame compared to that.”
Her mother turned from her eggs for a moment and looked sternly at Hannah. “He’s trying to keep costs down this year. Unfortunately, not everyone has the money for things like laser tag and video games.”
Hannah felt her cheeks get warm, and she instantly felt bad. She’d forgotten about Elsie’s financial situation. Of course Elsie wouldn’t be able to spend money at a party. Having it at someone’s house did make the most sense in terms of cost.
Her mom continued, as she went back to cooking the scrambled eggs, “We’ll do everything we can to make it fun, I promise. And as far as Bart is concerned, everyone probably knows about him by now anyway. You know how things spread around our little town.”
“Yeah, I know,” Hannah said. “Like wildfire. Or a contagious disease. Or …” Her voice trailed off.
Her mother laughed. “Can’t think of another one to compare it to?”
“Nope. Oh well. You really think everyone already knows?”
“I sure do. Can you get a couple of plates, so we can eat these eggs?” her mother asked. “Grandma will be here shortly.”
Hannah went to the cupboard and pulled out two plates. “My life would be so much easier if you’d just gotten me a regular horse, like I wanted.”
As her mother put some eggs on each plate, she said, “And since when, may I ask, is life supposed to be easy?”