Anna on the Farm (5 page)

"But the church supper and dance is Saturday night," Aunt Aggie says. "Surely you don't want to miss that!"

Anna takes a deep breath and sees visions of crispy fried chicken, corn on the cob dripping with butter, all the iced tea she can drink, baked beans, cole slaw, sweet green pickles, soft rolls, homemade ice cream, chocolate cake, blueberry pie. Anna's mouth waters so much her jaws ache.

"Are you going to make your special potato salad?" she asks her aunt.

"I most certainly am!" Aunt Aggie gives Anna a hug. "I might even bake a fresh peach cobbler."

Anna hesitates. Potato salad and peach cobbler are two of her very favorite foods. "Will Theodore still be here?" she asks slowly, hoping, hoping, hoping her aunt will say no.

Aunt Aggie nods. "Yes, he will."

Anna makes a face without meaning to. "I thought his mother and father might be coming to get him soon."

"Anna," Aunt Aggie says quietly, "there's something you should know about Theodore."

"I already know all I want to know about him," Anna says. Taking a deep breath, she adds, "He's mean, and I hate him."

When Aunt Aggie sighs, Anna feels bad. "Theodore hates me, too," she says quickly. "That's why he shut me in the chicken coop and stole my ribbon and made me rip my dress and called me a city slicker."

"Theodore has had a difficult time lately," Aunt Aggie says slowly. "Things have been hard for him."

Aunt Aggie pauses. The room is so quiet Anna can hear a bee buzzing against the window screen.

"Theodore's an orphan," Aunt Aggie says at last. "That's why he's staying with us. Uncle George is his guardian."

Shocked, Anna draws in her breath so hard she almost chokes. "Theodore's mother and father are dead?"

Aunt Aggie nods. A breeze stirs the hot air, bringing the smell of roses through the open window.

Anna slides closer to her aunt. She doesn't want to think about losing her father or her mother, but if something did happen to them, she'd be mad, too. Mad enough to lock someone in a chicken coop. Mad enough to make faces. Mad enough to be rude.

"What happened to them?" Anna whispers.

"His father caught pneumonia and died two years back," Aunt Aggie says. "And his mother—well, she never was a strong woman. She died of a fever in the spring."

Aunt Aggie takes Annas face between her two small hands and peers deeply into her eyes. "Promise to be patient with Theodore," she says. "The child is hurting something awful."

Anna promises. But it won't be easy. Even though she feels sorry for Theodore, she doesn't like him. Anna supposes she must be a very hardhearted girl. The heroines in her books would forgive Theodore at once and be endlessly kind to him. Elsie Dinsmore, for instance. Or Pollyanna. Too bad Anna isn't more like them.

After a while, Aunt Aggie pats Anna's hand. "Would you like to cool off in the farm pond?"

"How can I go in the water? I didn't bring my bathing costume," Anna says sadly.

"Oh, for goodness sake," Aunt Aggie says. "We're not going to a public beach. You can wear your drawers."

"Go outside in my underwear?" Anna stares at her aunt, truly shocked. "What will people think?"

Aunt Aggie laughs. "You silly goose. Who will see you?"

"Theodore," Anna mutters.

"He'll have his drawers on, too," Aunt Aggie says.

Suddenly, Anna feels very daring. Hasn't she been wearing overalls for two days and going barefoot and doing all sorts of unladylike things? Why not go swimming in her drawers? On a hot day like this, it would be fun to play in the farm pond.

"Promise you won't tell Mother," Anna begs.

Aunt Aggie promises. Lifting a long strand of Anna's hair, she says, "Suppose we braid this to keep it out of your face?"

Anna bites her lip. "Mother never braids my hair. She says my face is too long and narrow and my ears stick out. I'd look ugly."

"Fiddle faddle." Aunt Aggie takes Anna down the hall to her room and divides Anna's hair into two neat braids. When she's finished, she ties the ends with yarn from her sewing basket and leads Anna to a mirror. "There," she says. "You see? You aren't a bit ugly."

Anna studies her reflection. No matter what Aunt Aggie says, Mother is right. Her ears stick out and her face is long and narrow. To be pretty, Anna should be pink-cheeked and plump, not pale and thin. Her hair should be blond and curly, not brown and straight. She should look like Rosa. Mother is always praising Rosa's blond curls and plump little hands, her bright blue eyes and her dimples. Just thinking about Rosa makes Anna grit her teeth.

While Anna stands there staring at herself, she feels a breeze on the back of her neck. She shakes her head and watches her braids fly out like long brown ropes. No more thick hot hair hanging down her back, no more ribbons to lose, no more tangles. Anna feels cooler already.

She studies herself in the mirror again, turning this way and that to admire her braids. They aren't blond and the ends don't curl, but Anna likes the way they feel. When she goes back to Baltimore, she plans to wear her hair in braids every day except Sunday. Even if she has to learn to do it herself. Even if her face is long and narrow. Even if her ears stick out. Even if Mother thinks she looks ugly.

Turning away from the mirror, she hugs her aunt, who is just as pale and thin as she is.

"Now, go get ready to take a swim," Aunt Aggie says.

A
NNA GOES BACK TO HER ROOM AND PULLS A
union suit out of the bureau. Although she hadn't wanted to bring it, Anna is glad Mother insisted she'd need it if the weather turned cold. Except for the buttons up the front and the flap in the back, the union suit looks very much like a bathing costume. Maybe Theodore won't notice it's really her underwear.

Anna runs outside, feeling very daring. If Mother saw her, she'd send her to her room for the rest of her life. She'd tell Aunt May that Anna was a disgrace. But Aunt May would just laugh. That would make Mother so cross she'd go home in a huff and refuse to speak to her sister for a week.

Theodore is already in the pond when Anna arrives. She walks out to the end of the little wooden dock Uncle George built and watches him. He's floating on his back with his eyes closed. If he weren't an orphan, Anna would sneak up on him and duck him. But she's promised Aunt Aggie to be nice.

Anna sits down on the end of the dock and dangles her feet in the water. It feels cool. She wants to jump in before Theodore sees her underwear, but she's just a little bit afraid of the pond. Suppose the bottom is muddy? Suppose there are fish that bite? Suppose there are snakes?

Anna glances behind her. Aunt Aggie is sitting on the porch, keeping an eye on the children. Maybe she should go and ask her aunt about mud and fish and snakes and other dangerous things she hasn't even thought of.

At that moment, Theodore opens his eyes and sees Anna. He starts to laugh. "I see Paris, I see France," he calls, "I see someone's underpants!"

Anna feels her face turn bright red. She wants to turn around and run to her room and never come out, but instead she yells, "This is my bathing costume, you big dummy! In Baltimore, it's the latest style!"

Theodore hoots. "I know underwear when I see it!"

Anna is so mad she forgets about the mud and the fish that bite and the snakes. Planning to splash Theodore, she flings herself into the water and sinks into the mud on the bottom.

Anna comes up spluttering. "Oooooh," she screams. "Oooooh!" The mud is slimy and it feels horrible. She slogs toward the shore, screeching, and Theodore chases her, splashing water all over her.

Anna turns around to splash him and gets a face full of water. Without thinking, she bends down and scoops up two handfuls of black gooey mud. She throws them both at Theodore, hitting him right in the face.

He throws mud at Anna. She throws more mud at him. The mud flies back and forth.

"Stop it, Theodore!" Aunt Aggie cries from the dock. "Stop it, Anna!"

The two of them stop and stare at each other. They are both streaked and smeared with mud. It coats their skin and cakes their hair. Anna has never been so dirty in her whole entire life.

Safe and dry on the dock, Aunt Aggie begins to laugh. "All you two need is feathers," she says. "You've already been tarred!"

Theodore looks at Anna. He laughs, too. "You should see yourself," he says. "Your own mother wouldn't know you!"

Anna can't help giggling. Mother would be horrified but not so horrified she wouldn't recognize Anna. Running past Theodore, Anna throws herself face down in the pond and flops around like a fish, swishing herself clean.

When she stands up, she sees Theodore rubbing more mud into his hair. Waving his arms, he prances through the water, roaring, "Look at me, Aunt Aggie! I'm a monster!"

Anna scoops up handfuls of mud. Like Theodore, she rubs it all over herself. "I'm a monster, too!" she shouts. "Look at me, Aunt Aggie! Look!"

Anna throws back her head and howls. She waves her arms. She jumps up and down. She chases Theodore. She ducks him. He ducks her. They splutter and laugh and choke on the pond water.

Aunt Aggie calls Uncle George to come and watch. They stand together on the dock and laugh at the monsters.

Anna can't remember ever having so much fun.

By the time the two of them leave the pond, Anna decides Theodore isn't as awful as she thought. When she glances at him, he grins and tugs one of her braids, but not hard enough to hurt.

"You aren't half bad for a girl," he says and runs off.

Pleased, Anna saunters into the house. Her wet braids thwack her back as she runs upstairs to wash the last of the mud away. Just as she finishes drying her face, she hears Theodore howling in protest. Anna pokes her head out the bedroom window. In the yard below, Uncle George is scrubbing Theodore under the pump.

Anna laughs to herself and pulls on her overalls. A good scrubbing certainly won't hurt Theodore.

After supper, Theodore and Anna sit on the porch steps. It's a hazy night, still hot after the long sunny day. The honeysuckle on the fence glitters with fireflies, but Anna and Theodore are too lazy to catch them.

Behind them, Aunt Aggie and Uncle George talk softly. Their rocking chairs squeak. Jacko scratches fleas. His leg thumps the porch. Somewhere in the dark, a mockingbird sings. Crickets chirp.

"It's so quiet here," Anna says softly.

Theodore nods. "I guess there's a lot of racket in Baltimore. Cars, trains, trolleys. It's a wonder folks can sleep at night."

"You get used to it," Anna says, suddenly feeling homesick for city sounds.

"Not me," Theodore says. "I'm going to be a farmer all my life, just like Uncle George."

"I intend to travel and see the world," Anna says. "The pyramids in Egypt, the Roman Coliseum, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, the Eiffel Tower, Buckingham Palace." As she names the places she plans to see, Anna pictures them as they appeared in her world geography book, drawn carefully in black ink. Someday she'll see them in full color.

"You better marry a millionaire," Theodore says.

Anna sighs. She doesn't know any millionaires and has no idea how she'd ever meet one.

"I'm saving the money myself," she says. "Every time someone gives me a dime or a nickel, I put it in a special jar. When I'm grown up, I'll have at least a hundred dollars."

"If I had a hundred dollars, I'd buy a farm," Theodore says.

Anna gazes at the moon just swinging up from behind the trees. She thinks of Father and Mother sitting on the steps on Warwick Avenue, looking at the same moon she's looking at. If she goes to Egypt or Rome, Paris or London, the moon will be there, too. It will shine down on her in foreign lands and on Father and Mother in Baltimore and on Theodore in Beltsville. Even though they will be far apart, the moon will keep them together.

N
EXT MORNING,
A
UNT
A
GGIE FINDS CHORES FOR
Anna to do inside while Theodore works outside. First Anna washes the breakfast dishes, and then she helps her aunt make peach preserves. It's a hot job, but Aunt Aggie promises Anna she will give her three jars to take home with her.

"Each time you spread peach preserves on your breakfast toast, you'll remember your week on the farm," Aunt Aggie says.

When all the peaches are sealed up in Mason jars with tight lids, Aunt Aggie tells Anna she needs a few things from Mr. Buell's Store—a pound of sugar, a half pound of coffee, a pound of flour, and six lemons. She gives Anna a list and two dollars.

"Take Theodore with you," Aunt Aggie says. "There should be enough left over to treat yourselves to peppermint sticks or licorice."

Anna slips the money into her overall pocket and runs outside to find Theodore. He has just finished weeding the garden.

"Aunt Aggie wants us to go to the store," Anna tells him. "We can get candy with the change."

Theodore grins and throws down the hoe. The two of them set off down the lane to the road.

After a few minutes, Anna gets a funny idea. She takes off her hat. Holding her braids on top of her head, she puts the hat back on. "Let's play a trick on Mr. Buell," she tells Theodore. "Let's pretend I'm a boy."