Around and around they went, until finally, Elsie pulled on the reins and with a gentle “Whoa,” brought him to a stop.
She dismounted as Mr. Crawford and Hannah came back into the corral. “He rides like a dream,” Elsie said. “Almost felt like we were flying through the air there for a minute. Hannah, I promise, you have nothing to be scared of. He’s amazing. You have to ride him. You just have to.”
“Do you want to, darlin’?” Mr. Crawford asked. “Seems like the perfect time to give him a try.”
Maybe so, but he wasn’t the perfect horse Hannah had dreamed about forever. “No thanks,” Hannah said. She looked at Elsie. “Want to go inside and make some cookies? I got a new cookie cookbook for Christmas, and since I ate the last cookie earlier, seems only right I bake some new ones.”
“Only if you’ll come home with me when we’re done baking and have supper at our place. My mother told me to invite you to come over tonight.”
“Is that all right, daddy?” Hannah asked him.
“Fine with me,” he said. “What kind of cookies you girls gonna bake?”
Hannah took Elsie’s arm and pulled her toward the house. “It’s a surprise,” she yelled back to Mr. Crawford, thinking back to the surprise she was so excited about at Christmas time, and how her family had crushed those dreams in an instant. “Something you’ll never expect.”
“So, what are we making, exactly?” Elsie whispered.
“Peanut butter,” Hannah said with a smile. “My brothers’ favorite, while my daddy only likes them a little bit. We’ll just see how he likes them apples.”
“Wait,” Elsie said, looking confused. “We’re putting apples into the peanut butter cookies?”
It made Hannah laugh, all the way to the kitchen.
“Hey, kids, time to dish up!” a male voice bellowed from upstairs. Elsie and Hannah were down in the basement at Elsie’s house along with some of her brothers and sisters, watching reruns of The Lacy Bell Show. Hannah had told everyone that her camp friend Mia, who lived in Southern California, was a friend of Lacy’s. They’d all thought that was pretty neat.
As the kids scurried up the stairs, Elsie explained to Hannah that everyone dished up in the kitchen, because it was easier that way with such a large group of people. Then they’d take their plates and find a seat at the table in the dining room.
The smell of onions and garlic got stronger as they approached the kitchen. “Mmm, smells good,” Hannah said.
“Yep. It’s spaghetti night,” Elsie told Hannah.
In the kitchen, kids were grabbing plates and scooping up salad, spaghetti, and slices of bread. It was crowded and chaotic, but not in a bad way. In the best way, actually. Even though Hannah had only been there less than an hour, it felt comfy and cozy. Like a home.
Hannah followed Elsie’s lead and once they’d made their way around the kitchen and filled their plates, they went to the dining room and took a seat at the huge dining room table.
Hannah sat down next to one of the younger girls, while Elsie sat on the other side of Hannah.
“What’s your name?” the girl asked. Hannah looked over at her and wondered how old she was. Five? Six, maybe? One of the older brothers poured milk into the girl’s cup and then passed the pitcher to Hannah.
“My name’s Hannah. What’s yours?”
“I’m Minnie. Like the mouse.”
“Nice to meet you, Minnie.” Hannah said as she poured herself some milk into a plastic cup that wasn’t very big. She glanced around and saw that everyone had the same small cups. Elsie reached over and took the pitcher from Hannah.
“One glass of milk for everyone,” Elsie told Hannah, leaning in so she could hear her over the buzzing of conversation. “After that, if you’re thirsty, you can get up and help yourself to water. There’s ice in the freezer.”
“Okay, thanks.” Hannah suddenly felt guilty being there. Probably the last thing this family needed was another mouth to feed. She kicked herself for taking any milk at all.
“All right, quiet now,” Elsie’s father, Mr. Weston, said from his spot at the head of the table. Hannah noticed that he and his three sons all had buzz cuts, so they kind of looked alike. One thing about Mr. Weston that stood out to Hannah as he reached over and took his wife’s and son’s hands in his — he had some of the biggest hands she’d ever seen. Minnie reached over and held Hannah’s hand, while Elsie took the other one. Everyone bowed their heads, so Hannah did the same.
“Heavenly Father,” Mr. Weston said, “we give thanks to you this day. We ask that you please bless this food, our family, and our friends who are dining with us today. Amen.”
“Amen,” everyone repeated.
And then, hands went quickly from holding to eating, as everyone dove into their plates of food.
“So tell us, Elsie, how was the mule?” Mr. Weston asked. “What’s his name again?”
“His name is Bart, for now,” Elsie said as she finished taking a drink of milk. “Hannah still might change it. Anyway, he has the sweetest personality. I loved riding him. Didn’t give me any trouble at all.”
Mr. Weston smiled as he twirled his spaghetti around and around on his fork. “Well, that’s good to hear. And what about you, Sally? How was your afternoon babysitting for the Tuckers?”
“It was fine, I guess,” Sally said. She sat across from Hannah and looked to be a few years older than Elsie. “The toddler went down for his nap just fine, but that baby boy did not want anything to do with his crib. So I turned on the radio, sat in the rocking chair, and I just held him the whole time. Didn’t get a single word read in the book I’d brought along.”
Mr. Weston chuckled. “I reckon your mama can relate to that.”
“Sometimes babies just want nothing more than to be held,” Mrs. Weston replied. “I’m glad you obliged, Sally. That was the right thing to do.”
As Hannah ate her spaghetti, which was delicious, she looked around at the kind and friendly faces of the Weston family. It made her heart hurt thinking about them getting kicked out of their home. She had this urge to ask them about it, to find out if maybe things had magically turned around somehow in the past week, but she knew that would be rude. So she just kept her thoughts to herself as she ate her supper.
When everyone was finished, Hannah followed Elsie into the kitchen, carrying her dishes. “Just set them here, on the counter,” Elsie said. “Thankfully, it’s not my turn to wash them, so we can go do something.” She glanced at Hannah and grinned. “Want to see one of my favorite things to do after the sun goes down?”
Hannah raised her eyebrows. “I don’t know. Do I?”
Elsie laughed. “Yes, you do. Come on. Follow me.”
“Thank you for having me for supper, ma’am,” Hannah said to Mrs. Weston as the two girls weaved through the bodies in the kitchen. “It was really good.”
“You’re welcome,” she replied, looking down at Hannah with her warm brown eyes. “It was a pleasure having you join us. Come back anytime.”
With the pleasantries out of the way, Hannah followed Elsie away from the chaos of the kitchen and toward the front door. There was a coatrack in the entryway, and Elsie grabbed her own coat along with Hannah’s and handed it to her. Then, Elsie went to the hall closet and took down two pairs of binoculars and two flashlights that hung from hooks on the door.
Once they’d stepped outside into the cool night air, Elsie bent her head back and took in a deep breath.
“You okay?” Hannah asked.
“I love my family, but I also love getting away from them sometimes.” Elsie reached over and hung a pair of binoculars around Hannah’s neck, then handed her a flashlight. “Come on. This way. We have to go out to the middle of the field for the best view.”
They crossed the gravel road in front of the two-story house and made their way to the grassy field. The sky was clear, with just a sliver of a moon hanging there. The two girls pointed their flashlights at the ground, to help them see whe
re they were going. Hannah wasn’t sure what they’d be able to see in the darkness, but it seemed like Elsie knew what she was doing, so Hannah didn’t say anything, just followed along behind her.
After they’d walked a ways, Elsie stopped, looked up, and said, “Okay, this is far enough.” She clicked off her flashlight and stuck it in her coat pocket, so Hannah did the same.
“You know anything about stargazing?” Elsie asked.
“No,” Hannah said. “I mean, my grandpa’s pointed out the Big Dipper to me before. But that’s about it.”
“Did you know that if you find the Big Dipper, you’ve also found part of the Big Bear too? It’s not as easy to find, though. My daddy says that ancient Greeks and Romans believed that a mythological king grabbed the bear’s tail and swung it into the sky.”
“Wow,” Hannah said. “Are there other stories like that?”
“Oh yeah,” Elsie said. “Tons of them. There are eighty-eight constellations. I have books about them and I come out here and try to find them, according to the month that it’s easiest to find them. Tonight I thought I’d try and show you Orion, the Hunter. You’ve heard of that one, right?”
“No.”
“He’s pretty easy to find in the winter because of his belt, which is made up of three stars.” She put the binoculars to her eyes and after a few seconds pointed to her left. “There. See the three stars kind of close together? That’s his belt.”
“Yeah,” Hannah said, smiling. “I see them.”
They peered through their binoculars for a while, as Elsie pointed out the other stars that made up the shape of Orion. When she was done, Hannah asked her, “So how come you like this so much? Stargazing, I mean?”
“I guess because the stars, all sparkly and pretty, feel magical to me.” Elsie paused and looked at Hannah. “I wish on stars every night, hoping I can have a little bit of their magic myself. But even if I can’t, I feel pretty lucky to be able to stand here and breathe the fresh air and watch this magical sky.” She raised her binoculars again. “Yep. We’re real lucky, Hannah. That’s for sure.”
Sunday morning, as she sat at the table with a bagel and a glass of juice, Hannah fingered her charm bracelet, thinking about what Elsie had said. We’re real lucky. Even though there was a big possibility Elsie’s family might get kicked out of their house, she considered herself lucky.
That was pretty remarkable.
After wearing the bracelet and wishing so hard for a horse, and getting Bart instead, Hannah wasn’t so sure anymore that the bracelet was lucky. It seemed her camp friends still believed it was, though, so she decided she shouldn’t be so quick to think the worst.
“You about ready?” her mama asked, before she took one last drink of coffee and set the mug in the kitchen sink.
“Yep,” Hannah said as she stood up, smoothing out her skirt. “I’m ready.”
Hannah was going to the early church service with her grandma and mother, and after that, they’d be working at the beauty shop for a couple hours. There were a few clients who worked jobs that didn’t allow them to get to Beauty by Design any other day of the week. So, the first weekend of every month, the shop was open on both Saturday and Sunday.
Church was the usual routine of singing, preaching, and praying. Hannah’s grandma hurried out the doors when it was over, with Hannah and her mother not far behind.
When they got in the car, Mrs. Crawford said, “That was a good sermon. It’s so important to remember to count our blessings all through the year, not just during the holiday season.”
“The first thing I say every morning is thank you for this day,” Grandma said. “Every day’s a gift. Right, Hannah?”
Grandma glanced at Hannah in the rearview mirror. “Right,” Hannah said, because what else was there to say, really? “You know, when I was at Elsie’s house yesterday, you’d never guess that they’re having troubles.”
“Well, that’s wonderful,” Grandma said. “From what I’ve seen over the years, sure seems like nothing good ever comes from moping around about your problems. Best to try and find the bright side somehow, some way.”
Hannah wondered if her grandma was talking about the situation with Bart, specifically. It sort of seemed like it. Except Hannah wasn’t moping around. Not really. Although she wasn’t really trying to find the bright side, either. Mostly, she just tried not to think about him as much as possible. It was easier that way.
When Hannah, her mother, and her grandmother walked into Beauty by Design, Louanne had the radio blasting and was singing along as she swept the floor. Her back was to the front door, so she didn’t see them come in.
Hannah’s grandma marched right over to the radio and turned it down. “My word, are we running a beauty shop or America’s Got Talent?”
Louanne looked a little shocked, but she recovered quickly. “Good morning to you too Nancy. We don’t have any clients coming in for another twenty minutes or so. I figured I’d have a little fun. Whistle while I work, so to speak.”
“But you weren’t whistling,” Grandma said under her breath. It made Hannah smile. She knew her grandma didn’t really mean anything by it. She was probably just a little cranky about having to come to work on a Sunday. Although she loved her little salon, there were times when all the talking and gossiping got a bit tiring, even for her.
Louanne looked at Hannah and her mom. “How are you two doing this fine, beautiful morning?”
“Just fine, Louanne,” Mrs. Crawford replied. “How about yourself? Do anything special last night?”
Louanne stuck the broom back in its spot, then turned around and grinned. “I sure did. Dwight picked me up and took me out for dinner and a movie in Chattanooga. He wanted to take me someplace where I could wear that new Anne Klein dress he bought me for Christmas. We had such a nice time. Did I tell y’all he got a new car?”
“Yes, you did,” Grandma said as she brought a basket of clean towels up to the front desk and set them in front of Hannah to fold. “About seven times now. Maybe eight, I’m not quite sure. The color is blue, to match your beautiful blue eyes, is what you told us.”
Louanne had been going out with Dwight for a couple of months now. She seemed to be head-over-heels with the guy and talked about him every chance she got. Hannah went to work folding towels while Louanne kept talking.
“Yes, that’s right. Anyway, we went to a new restaurant last night. Have y’all heard of Chuck’s Steak House? It was delicious, girls. A bit on the spendy side, but of course, I wasn’t paying, so who cares, right?” She chuckled as she plopped down in her chair with an emery board and started filing one of her long fingernails. “Tonight we’re having a nice evening in at my place. Can’t decide what I should make to eat, though.”
“How about spaghetti?” Hannah suggested as she folded another towel and added it to the pile. “I had supper with my friend Elsie last night and her mama’s spaghetti was really good.”
Louanne stopped filing and stared at Hannah. “Elsie Weston?”
“Yep,” Hannah said. “We’re in 4-H together.”
Louanne got out of her chair and walked over to the reception desk. She narrowed her eyes. “Honey, where’d you get that sweater you got on? It looks like something you pulled out of your grandma’s closet. You didn’t do that, did you? It’s really not very flattering on you.”
Hannah looked down at the plain, purple sweater she had on. It was a little baggy, but so what? She liked it that way. It was comfortable. And maybe her black skirt was nothing special, but it wasn’t like she was dressing for homecoming. She’d gone to church, for Pete’s sake. As for where she got it, she couldn’t remember, but it didn’t matter anyway because Louanne probably didn’t want to know the answer to that question. She was just naturally critical of people, and it drove Hannah crazy.
“So tell me,” Louanne said, leaning in, trying to seem sweet but looking more like a burglar eyeing a diamond necklace, “how are the Westons doing? Any news on their mone
y problems?”
Hannah stood up and looked Louanne in the eye. “They’re doing just fine. As for the rest of it, that’s none of our business, and please don’t ask me again.” She picked up the folded towels and took them over to the shelf by the sinks.
“I’m just worried about them, that’s all,” Louanne said as she strolled back to her station. “Didn’t mean nothing by it, I swear.”
Hannah wanted to tell Louanne that Hannah knew she didn’t care diddly-squat about the Westons, that she just liked to have stuff to gossip about with the ladies who came in to see her. But she bit her tongue and went back to the desk.
“Mama, can I take down all the Christmas decorations? I think it’s about time, don’t you?”
“You must have read my mind,” Mrs. Crawford replied. “I was gonna ask you to do that today. Pretty soon it’ll be time to think about Valentine’s Day.”
“Ooooh,” Louanne squealed. “Valentine’s Day! The most romantic day of the year. I can hardly wait to see what wonderful things Dwight will cook up for me.”
Hannah couldn’t help but think if Dwight knew what was good for him, he’d kick Louanne out of the kitchen and not cook up a single thing, but she didn’t say a word.
“Anything in these little packages under this tree?” Hannah asked her mother.
“Nope. They’re just for looks. Pack ’em up with the rest of the decorations and we’ll use them again next year.”
“Why, you hoping you’d find the horse of your dreams in one of them, Hannah?” Louanne teased. “Instead of that ugly old mule you ended up with?”
Hannah spun around and was about to tell her he wasn’t ugly, and that she needed to stop saying such mean things, when the phone rang.
“Why don’t you get that, Hannah?” Mrs. Crawford said before turning to Louanne. “I think my mother could use some help in the back, tallying up supplies. Could you please go check with her?”
Hannah took a deep breath, put a smile on her face, and picked up the phone. Saved by the bell, she thought. Or ring. Whatever.