The next morning, I woke to the smell of pancakes. I quickly slid from underneath the covers and walked into the kitchen where everyone, except Ma, who was cooking up the last of the cake mix, was already sitting down at the table with a glass of milk and a plate full of pancakes.
"We thought you were going to sleep all day," Ma remarked.
“The early bird gets the worm,” Billy said.
“But the second mouse gets the cheese,” Grandma Viola remarked, grinning at Billy.
I sleepily rubbed my eyes and sat down next to Luke. The event of last night was still fresh in my mind. I felt mildly awkward in front of Luke, but I couldn't remove the smile from my face.
“What are you all smiles about this morning?” Ma asked, although I had a pretty good idea she already knew why her daughter was so happy as she glanced over at Luke who had the same silly grin plastered on his face.
“You two are grinning like a weasel in a hen house,” Grandma Viola added.
“Can’t we just be happy without a reason?” I asked defensively.
“I suppose you can,” Ma remarked and winked at me.
“Are you going with us to go see Anamosa?” Billy asked Luke.
“If Miss Cooper doesn’t mind.”
“I don’t mind…and call me, Annie. “Miss Cooper” makes me feel old.”
“Just wait ‘till you start being called grandma,” Grandma Viola commented.
Ma either didn’t hear Grandma Viola or was just ignoring her. Her attention had turned to Katie.
“I know you don’t have that rat at the table!” Ma said sternly to Katie.
“He’s hungry!”
“Put that thing back in its crate! You can feed him after we’re all done.”
“If there’s anything left,” Billy tauntingly said.
Katie stuck out her tongue at her brother who returned the jester. She then hopped down from her chair and returned Chippy to his crate.
“These are good pancakes, Miss…I mean…Annie.” Luke said.
“Thank, you. I learned from the best.”
Ma bent over and kissed her mother on top of the head.
“I taught you well,” Grandma Viola said with a mouth full of pancakes.
“Since Billy has already milked the cow this morning, Lizzy, I want you to gather up some eggs so we can take a few to Anamosa. And see if we have anymore corn ready to be pulled.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
I finished my breakfast and got up from the table to head outside.
“Can I help?” Luke asked.
“Of course,” I said with a smile.
“Can I help? Or course,” Billy teasingly mocked, batting his eyes and making kissing sounds.
“Shut up!” I ordered.
“Lizzy and Luke sitting in the swing, k-i-s-s-i-n-g,” Billy started singing.
“You sneaky little pervert!” I cried, my face glowing red with embarrassment.
“Billy, that’s enough!” Ma warned. “You know better than to spy on people.”
“But Lizzy and Luke were---”
“Not another word! You heard me! You’re not too old for a switching.”
“I was just playing… gosh!”
Luke and I quickly went outside to the chicken pen to escape any further humiliation.
“I’m sorry about my brother. I can’t believe him, sometimes.”
“It’s all right, but now I feel a little awkward around your ma.”
“Don’t be. She’ll be fine.”
I began nudging chickens from their nests looking for a few eggs to give to Anamosa. Every nest that had a chicken nestled on it presented eggs. Grandma Viola always said that was a sign of good fortune coming one’s way. I never gave much mind to such nonsense.
Luke watched me as I collected eggs but said nothing. The awkward silence began to make me nervous and I wondered what he thought of last night’s happenings. Did he enjoy it as much as I did? Did he think I was too audacious for kissing him not having known him very long? I needed to know how he felt about all of it before I burst.
“I really enjoyed last night,” I said, not daring to look at him. “I’ve never kissed a boy before. I hope I didn’t completely make a fool of myself.”
I felt Luke walk up behind me and brush the back of my hair with his hand. My heart immediately began beating fast and my breathing became more rapid. I turned around to face him. He gently moved a strand of hair from my face and tucked it behind my ear. He then softly brushed my lips with the tip of his finger. I quickly got lost in his eyes just as I did last night. He slowly leaned in. Again, my body tingled and trembled as we exchanged kisses in the middle of clucking chickens.
I then heard a faint “cracking” sound and immediately felt something wet and sticky running through my fingers…a chicken egg! I had forgotten I was holding an egg in my hand before Luke started kissing me. Now, yoke ran down my fingers and onto the ground. We both looked at the mess and started laughing and finished filling the basket with eggs.
The ride to Anamosa’s cabin was short compared to our trip into town. Anamosa’s cabin was only half the size of ours and it was in much need of repairs but she stubbornly refused to let anyone work on it, saying it was fine just the way it was. The elderly Indian woman, I knew as my adopted grandmother, stepped out of her cabin and onto the porch as we approached.
“I hear you coming for long time,” Anamosa hollered in her high pitched, broken- English, voice.
“Well, there sure ain’t nothing wrong with your hearing,” Grandma Viola yelled back.
Ma stopped the wagon in front of the cabin. Luke jumped out and held out a hand to help Grandma Viola down.
“I can get down myself. I don’t need some young huckleberry trying to hold my hand. Move out the way. You can help Lizzy down.”
I handed Katie down to Luke and then offered my hand to him with a smile. We all walked to the cabin where Anamosa invited us in.
“This is Luke, a friend of Lizzy’s,” Ma told her.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Luke said, extending his right hand.
Anamosa took both of Luke’s hands in hers and looked strongly into his eyes.
“I know you coming here. I have dream about you. The Great Spirit tell me you will take me home. It is time. You are very special boy!”
Everyone looked puzzled at Anamosa’s comments but we just brushed them off as crazy talk from an old woman close to senility.
“We brought you a few things,” Grandma Viola said.
“You no have to do that. I get my own things.”
“Now, Anamosa, you’re getting too long in the tooth to be going into town to get your own supplies,” Grandma Viola said. “Besides, we don’t mind doing it.”
“Thank you. Come in kitchen and sit. I have coffee on stove. Almost ready.”
We all sat down at her over-sized maple-top table. It nearly took up the whole space of the kitchen. Ma tried on several occasions to get her to sell it and buy her a smaller one, but Grandpa Cooper had built it with his own two hands and she refused to get rid of it.
“Anamosa, we don’t care for any coffee today, but thank you anyways,” Ma said.
“I wouldn’t mind a cup,” Luke spoke up.
I lightly kicked Luke’s leg under the table and motioned for him to come closer. I cupped my hand over his ear and whispered in it.
“I forgot to warn you. Her coffee taste like something coming out the south end of a donkey. You’re going to be sorry!”
“How bad could it be?”
“You’ll see.”
Anamosa poured Luke a cup and placed it in front of him.
“Here you go. I no have milk for coffee. Betsy all dried up.” She pointed out the back window to where her lone cow was corralled.
“Yeah, that old heifer has been dry for nearly a year now,” Grandma Viola told Luke. “I tried a few times to draw milk from her, but it was as useless as back pockets on a shirt.”
As Anamosa walked back
towards the stove, Luke cautiously took a sip of coffee. Immediately, a look of discuss swept over his entire face. As hard as he tried, he just couldn’t force himself to swallow the retched brew and had to spit it back into his cup.
“I told you,” I mocked while quietly chuckling.
Anamosa removed a pan of cornbread from the stove, divided it into squares, and served it to us along with mason jars filled with sweet tea. We ate and talked for a few hours.
“If that cow ain’t giving you any more milk, you should have it butchered. Ain’t no since in letting good meat just stand around like that,” Grandma Viola said.
“I know, but I give her name. Her name, Betsy. Now, she like a friend. I no can eat my friend.”
Luke leaned over to me and whispered, “I’ll be right back,” and left the cabin.
Anamosa grabbed a few dirty dishes from the table and carried them to the sink to be washed.
“Let me help you with those,” Ma offered.
“No, sit down! I wash them. Visitors in my house no do chores. You sit.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Ma said, sitting back down.
“Now, what that fool boy doing to Betsy?” Anamosa said out loud.
We all looked at Anamosa and saw her looking out the kitchen window. Luke could be seen kneeling down beside the cow with both arms around its belly and his head against the cow’s side.
“It looks like he’s hugging the cow,” Grandma Viola observed.
I tried to think up a good excuse for Luke’s strange behavior, but all I could come up with was, “He really loves cows!”
“Well, if he keeps loving up on ole Betsy like that, I’m going to have to get them two married,” Grandma Viola joked.
“Now, he try to milk Betsy. Ain’t no use, she dry as dust,” Anamosa said.
“Well, you know how stubborn these young ones are today. They think they know everything, but most of them are plumb weak north of their ears,” Grandma Viola commented.
“Here he come with one of my milking pails,” Anamosa informed everyone.
Luke stepped through the door and placed the pail on the counter. Anamosa looked inside and her eyes widened in surprise. The rest of us followed suit and saw that the bucket was half filled with milk!
“Well, butter my butt and call me a biscuit!” Grandma Viola exclaimed. “You got milk from ole Betsy! How’d you manage that?”
“I suppose she was just going through a dry spell,” Luke said, looking at me and smiling. “But she seems to be all right now.”
“When you go, take some milk with ya,” Anamosa said. “I no can use all this before it go bad. I keep enough for me and enough to make head-cheese for when you come back.”
“Thank you, Anamosa,” Ma said. “We best get scooting along now. The kids have got their chores to do at home and I’ve got Katie’s dress to mend before church tomorrow.”
“You no gotta run off so quickly. You just get here. Your heels ain’t even cooled down yet!”
“We’ll be back in the morning to take you to church with us. You’re going with us to church, aren’t you?” Ma asked her although Anamosa had never turned down an invitation to go to church. She loved listening to the gospel songs, clapping her hands and trying her best to sing along. Ma said listening to those hymns was how she learned to speak English.
“Yeah, you’re going to the ole gospel mill with us, aren’t you?” Grandma Viola added. “Although, they should call it the gossip mill.”
“Ain’t that the truth,” Ma agreed. “Oh, that reminds me. I hear tell from some of the ladies that Mr. Folger fell off the wagon again.”
“You don’t say. I can’t blame him though, being married to such an old bitty like Victoria.”
“Ladies, the good book says spread the gospel, not the gossip,” I joked.
“It ain’t gossip if it’s the truth,” Grandma Viola snipped.
“So, Grandma Viola, you’ll place your hand on the holy bible and swear that what you two are saying is the truth?”
“I wouldn’t…I mean to say…If I…”
“That’s what I thought. Now, say good bye to Anamosa and you two heathens get your fannies in the wagon,” I playfully ordered Ma and Grandma Viola.
Surprisingly, they both turned around like two scolded children and headed for the front door.
“I wonder how she got so mean,” Grandma Viola pouted.
“Look who’s asking,” Ma said through a chuckle.
We rode back towards home leaving Anamosa standing in her doorway waving goodbye. I always hated leaving her there by herself, all alone except for an ole milking cow, but she had repeatedly and stubbornly refused Ma’s offer to come move in with us. She would say,” The time soon come when I return to my people. Until that time, I stay here.”
A few hours after arriving home, I was sitting next to Ma on the front porch swing. She was sewing a tear in Katie’s dress from the Sunday before when she decided to chase a rabbit through some briars. Luke was out back helping Billy clean the barn stalls and Grandma Viola was taking a nap.
“Ma, when did you know you were in love with Pa?”
“I suppose it was the moment I laid eyes on him. He was the most handsome thing I’d ever seen.”
“What did it feel like to be in love?”
“It felt… wonderful.”
“But how did it make you feel inside, when he got… close to you?”
“Oh, you want to know how I felt inside.”
“Yeah.”
“Well, I remember my heart beat so hard that I feared your pa could hear it. I couldn’t seem to catch my breath, my hands would sweat, and my body trembled uncontrollably.”
“Oh.”
“Oh, what? Have you been experiencing these “feelings” when Luke is around?”
“I don’t know.”
“Yes, you do. Have you taken a fancy to that boy?”
“No.”
“Don’t lie to me. I’m not blind. Heck, it’s about time you showed an interest in boys. Grandma Viola was worried you’d be a gal-boy forever.”
“It’s just that…it’s embarrassing. Just last week I was making fun of Laura at church for making goo-goo eyes at Steven and, now, here I am doing the same thing with Luke. Why can’t I control myself when I’m around him? Why can’t I think of nothing else but him? I don’t like feeling this way.”
“I’m sorry, Sweaty, but you’re in love.”
Chapter 5