Green Fever (15 page)

As Mom helped Mark back into the house while he hopped on one foot, a sense of frustration welled in his chest. It wasn’t fair that Mattie got to go riding with John while he stayed home with nothing to do but pet his cats and limp around, making a mess of things. He couldn’t even do something as simple as carry a glass of water out to the porch!

“Sure is fun to ride this bike,” John called over his shoulder to Mattie.

“Jah,” she agreed. “I didn’t enjoy riding our bicycle-built-for-two when Mark and I first got it, but I’ve gotten used to it now.”

They rode past the schoolhouse, and then after they’d gone up a small hill, they stopped to catch their breath. “You and your cousin Stella are sure lucky,” Mattie said.

“Why’s that?” John asked.

“You both have bikes of your own, and now so does Mark.” Mattie sighed. “I’d rather have a bike of my own that I could ride without anyone else.”

“Why don’t ya ride Mark’s bike?” John questioned. “He sure can’t ride it right now.”

Mattie shook her head. “I did ride it once, but Mark doesn’t want me to ride it again.”

“Well, since he can’t pedal the bicycle, I wouldn’t think he would care. If you do ride his bike, though, just be careful not to turn too quickly or spin out in the gravel the way Mark did when he sprained his gnechel.”

Mattie thought about John’s suggestion, which had already been on her mind. Maybe one Saturday soon when she first woke up, she would take Mark’s bike out for a short ride, like she’d previously thought about doing before he hurt his ankle. Mark usually slept in on Saturdays, so if she left before he got up, he’d never even know she’d ridden his bike. And if he did find out, he might not mind so much.

Mattie smiled, feeling good about her decision.
Jah
,
that’s just what I’m gonna do
.

The next day was Saturday, and Grandpa Miller had just pulled into the yard with his horse and buggy.

“Hi, Grandpa!” Mark smiled as he hobbled over and met him at the back door.

As Grandpa entered the house, he held out his hands and Mark pointed to the left one. “How do you always guess what hand I have the package of gum in?” Grandpa asked with a chuckle.

“Guess I’m just lucky or else I have a good intuition.” Mark grinned as Grandpa handed him the gum.

“How’s your ankle doing?” Grandpa asked.

“It’s gettin’ better, but not fast enough to suit me,” Mark mumbled.

“Well, I have something to say that might lift your spirits. Where’s your mamm?”

Mark pointed to the living room. “She’s in there with Ada and Perry.”

Just then Mom walked into the kitchen and smiled when she saw Grandpa Miller. “What a nice surprise,” she said, moving over to the sink with Perry and Ada tagging along behind her.

“Thought I’d come over to see if I could borrow Mark and Mattie for a while,” Grandpa said. “Grandma wants to get those dandelions picked and cleaned today before they all go to flower.”

Mom’s eyebrows furrowed. “I don’t think Mark will be able to help pick since his ankle’s not completely healed.”

“That’s okay,” Grandpa said as Mattie skipped into the kitchen with a bouquet of flowers. “Hi, Grandpa. It’s good to see you,” she said before handing the flowers to Mom.

“Same here.” Grandpa held his closed hands out to Mattie as he said to Mom, “We were thinking Mattie could help me pick the dandelion greens, and Mark can help Grandma clean them. There’s a wooden stool he can sit on beside her as they wash the greens and place them in kettles to cook.”

“That sounds like fun.” Mattie squealed as she pointed to the correct hand Grandpa had her gum in. “When can we leave?”

“Right now, if it’s okay with your mamm,” Grandpa answered.

“Go along and have fun helping your grandparents.” Mom smiled at the twins, then she looked at Grandpa and said, “Should we come by later and pick them up?”

“Well, Grandma and I had an idea. Why don’t the rest of you come over for supper tonight?” Grandpa suggested. “By then we’ll be done with the dandelion process, and we can enjoy sharing our evening meal with the whole family.”

“That sounds real nice,” Mom said. “I’ll bake a cake to bring for dessert.”

Grandpa smacked his lips. “Sounds
wunderbaar
. I’ll let Grandma know.”

Mark wasn’t real excited about his part in helping Grandma. He’d much rather help Grandpa pick dandelions instead of cleaning them. But at least he’d be busy doing something other than just sitting around waiting for his ankle to heal. Better yet, it would be nice to visit with Grandma. She always had cookies or some other delicious treat.
Yum
. His mouth watered just thinking about it.

On a Saturday morning two weeks later, Mattie woke up with a start
. Had she slept too late? Was anyone else in the house out of bed? She glanced at the small clock on the nightstand by her bed. It was 6:00 a.m. and only a little light filtered into her room. She tipped her head and listened. Not a sound in the house. Just a gentle scraping as the branches of the tree outside brushed against her bedroom window. Maybe she wasn’t too late.

Last Saturday by the time she’d gotten out of bed, Mom was up and starting breakfast. Of course Mark, Calvin, and Russell had been up, too, and she’d even found Perry and Ada in the kitchen, anxious for breakfast. Mattie still hadn’t gotten over her feelings of envy because Mark had his own bike, so this morning she was determined to take a ride on that bike. Thanks to the money Grandma and Grandpa had given them for helping with the dandelions, she and Mark had been able to buy a new bell for the bike they shared. But riding it wouldn’t be nearly as much fun as pedaling a bike all by herself.

She hurried to get dressed, crept quietly down the stairs, and went out the back door. Mattie heard voices coming from the barn and figured Dad and Ike were inside doing their usual chores. She walked quietly past the barn door, took Mark’s bike out of the shed, and headed toward the field where she liked to pick wildflowers.

Mattie enjoyed riding the bike, and hearing the birds starting to sing made it seem even more peaceful. There was a slight warm breeze, and with the quiet of the morning, Mattie felt like she had the whole world to herself while most everyone else still slept.

After she got to the field and had parked the bike beneath a tree, Mattie took a seat on a large rock to enjoy the view. It was calm and quiet until she heard some ducks flying overhead. Mattie shielded her eyes against the glare of the rising sun and watched the ducks land in a creek on the other side of the road. She noticed the ferns softly blowing in the breeze, now high and feathered out, where she and Mark had come here to pick about a month ago.

She smiled, enjoying the moment and letting her thoughts wander. Off in the distance, she heard some cows mooing, probably coming in from the fields and lining up for milking.

Looking in the other direction, she noticed a pretty butterfly on the tip of a milkweed stem. She walked over to get a closer look and watched as it slowly flapped its wings, drying them out from the morning’s dew. It seemed too early to be seeing a monarch butterfly, but yet here it was, pretty as a picture.

Mattie stood and went a little farther up the hill, where she found a grassy spot all matted down. She figured a deer had probably slept here last night.

She bent over and felt that the area was still warm.
I wonder if I scared the deer when I pedaled up on the bike
. The spot was dry, since it was high on the hill, so she lay down and looked up at the sky. With her hands behind her head, Mattie watched as soft white puffy clouds moved at a snail’s pace across the bright blue sky.

Her thoughts wandered as she reflected on how two weeks ago she had enjoyed helping Grandpa Miller pick the dandelion greens in his yard. Later that afternoon, the rest of the family had arrived, and they’d had a delicious dinner of fried chicken, baked beans, and a huge dandelion salad. Mattie had eaten so much of it that her mouth felt dry and her tongue turned green. But it was so good, she couldn’t stop eating it. Grandma had prepared the salad with some sliced onions and a little oil drizzled over the leafy greens. Even Ada and Perry had eaten their share of it, too.

Bringing her thoughts back to the present, Mattie drew in a deep breath. It was so relaxing here.
I wonder if I should have left a note on the table so Mom would know where I was if she got up to start breakfast
, she thought as her eyes grew heavy.
It’ll probably be okay ’cause I’m sure I’ll be back in plenty of time before
Mom starts breakfast
.

“Where’s Mattie?” Mom asked when everyone else in the family sat down for the morning meal.

“I don’t know,” said Dad with a shrug of his shoulders. “Didn’t she help you with breakfast?”

Mom shook her head. “I haven’t seen Mattie at all this morning.” She looked at Mark. “Have you seen your sister?”

“Nope,” Mark answered. “The last time I saw her was last night before we got ready for bed.” Mark was happy to be back in his own room after switching with Perry until his ankle had healed enough that he could climb the stairs.

“Would one of you go upstairs and see if Mattie’s in her room?” Mom asked, looking at each of her children.

“I’ll do it,” Calvin offered. He jumped up from his chair and dashed from the room.

Several minutes later, Calvin was back, but Mattie wasn’t with him. “She’s not there,” he said. “But her bed’s been made up.”

Mom’s eyebrows furrowed. “Now that’s sure strange. I wonder where she could be.”

“Did you knock on the bathroom door?” Dad asked. “Maybe she’s in there.”

“I was going to do that,” Calvin said, “but the bathroom door was open, and Mattie wasn’t inside.”

“Did you check the rest of the house?” Mom questioned.

“Jah, I did, but she was nowhere to be found.”

Dad pushed his chair back and stood. “Come on, boys, we’d better check the barn and all over the yard. Ike and I didn’t see Mattie when we went to the barn earlier this morning, but if she was outside, we may have missed her somehow.”

After looking in the barn and around the property, Mattie was nowhere to be found. Mark noticed that his bicycle was missing, though, so Dad hitched his horse to the buggy and took Mark and his three older brothers to look for her.