Growing Up in Lancaster County (21 page)

She leaned her head back and watched puffy clouds float lazily across the sky. It was so peaceful and quiet by the creek. The only sound was the steady gurgling of the water rolling over the rocks. Her eyes felt heavy, and she let them close. If she sat here long, she could easily fall asleep.

“Yahoo! This will sure feel good!”

Rachel’s eyes snapped open to see Jacob barrel into the creek. Sloshing through the water, he kicked and splashed, sending water all over Rachel’s dress.

“Cut that out!” she shouted. “You’re getting me all wet!”

“If you don’t want to be wet, then you shouldn’t be here at the creek!” Jacob splashed more water in her direction and laughed.

Rachel jumped up and, using her foot, splashed him right back. “How do you like that, Jacob Yoder?”

“I like it just fine. The cool water feels good on a hot day like this!” Jacob played in the creek, laughing and making ripples of water go in all directions. Then he dropped to his knees, leaned over, and dunked his head under the water. When he came up, he shook his head like a dog, showering Rachel with even more water. She had to admit it felt pretty good, and it gave her some relief from the sticky summer day.

“Maybe we should go to the house and put on our swimsuits,” she said. “Then we can get as wet as we like.”

“Good idea. Last one to the house has to feed Buddy his supper tonight!”

“No way!” Rachel shook her head. “I’m not feeding your mutt ever again, so I won’t race you to the house after all!”

Jacob shrugged. “Suit yourself.” He dashed away, and Rachel sprinted behind him. She was halfway there when
—ding! ding! ding
!—the dinner bell rang.

“That must be Esther,” Rachel said. “She’s at the house fixing supper and said she’d ring the bell when she needed me to set the table.”

“Does that mean you’re not going swimming?” Jacob asked.

“Probably not, and if supper’s almost ready, you won’t be going swimming either.” Rachel hurried past Jacob and ran to the house. “Ha! Ha! I won the race!” she shouted as Jacob stomped up the steps behind her.

“So what? It doesn’t matter who won the race, because I was planning to feed Buddy anyway!”

When Rachel entered the kitchen, she encountered a wonderful aroma. “Mmm…what are you cooking?” she asked, stepping to the stove where Esther stirred something in a large kettle.

Esther smiled at Rachel. “Chicken and dumplings. There’s also a tossed green salad and some pickled beets in the refrigerator.”

Rachel licked her lips. She knew Jacob liked chicken and dumplings, and she loved pickled beets, so they would both enjoy this meal!

“Do you need me to do anything besides setting the table?” she asked Esther.

“You can peel some carrots when you’re done if you like.”

“Okay.”

Rachel had just finished setting the table when she heard a vehicle rumble into the yard. She rushed to the window to see Pap help Mom out of Harold’s van. Mom held the baby in her arms.

Esther opened the back door and rushed outside. Rachel was right behind her.

“Welcome home!” Esther said when Mom and Pap stepped onto the porch. “I got your message about the boppli. How are you feeling, Mom?”

“I’m pretty tired but doing okay.” Mom glanced at Rachel. “How are things here at the house? Did you manage okay while I was gone?”

“Things are fine,” Rachel said. “Esther came over to fix supper, and I just set the table.”

Pap smiled at Mom. “Aren’t we fortunate to have two thoughtful
dechder
[daughters]?”

Mom nodded.

“Speaking of your daughters,” Esther said, pointing to herself, “your oldest daughter is eager to hold her new baby sister.”

“Why don’t we all go into the living room?” Pap suggested. “Then you can get to know our sweet little Hannah.”

Esther smiled. “That suits me just fine!”

Rachel followed Mom, Esther, and Pap into the living room. Esther sat in the rocking chair, and Mom placed the baby in Esther’s lap. Then she sat on the sofa, and Rachel sat beside her.

Pap moved toward the door. “I think I’ll walk to the fields and let the boys know we’re home. I’d also like to see how they’ve managed in my absence.” He turned around and looked at Rachel. “Where’s your grossdaadi?”

“Grandpa’s still at the greenhouse,” Rachel replied. “I’m sure he’ll be coming in soon for supper, though.”

“I expect you’re right about that.” Pap bent over and gave the baby a peck on the cheek; then he hurried out the door.

As Esther rocked the baby with a dreamy look on her face, she sang a lullaby. Then she looked at Mom and smiled. “You are so blessed to have such a sweet little boppli.”

Mom nodded as tears welled in her eyes. “You’ll feel the same blessing in a few months, after your boppli is born.”

“Jah, I’m sure I will.” Esther looked at Rachel. “There’s a gift for the boppli in the paper sack I brought with the supper items. It’s sitting on the kitchen counter. Would you get it for me?”

“Okay.” As Rachel walked past the rocking chair, she glanced at her baby sister. Hannah’s eyes were closed, and her little chest rose up and down as she breathed. She looked so peaceful nestled in Esther’s arms. Rachel wondered if she had been that tiny and cute when she was a baby. If so, no one had ever mentioned it to her. Eleven whole years had passed since she’d been born; maybe they’d forgotten what she had been like when she was that little.

“Oh Rachel, one more thing,” Esther called.

“What’s that?”

“While you’re in the kitchen, would you check on the chicken and dumplings?”

“Sure, no problem.”

When Rachel entered the kitchen, she lifted the lid on the kettle and sniffed. “Yum…this sure smells good.” Her stomach rumbled. “I can hardly wait until supper!”

Rachel found the gift and took it to the living room. “Here you go,” she said, handing it to Mom.

Mom tore the wrapping off and removed a pair of pink baby booties and a matching cap. “These are so nice. Did you knit them, Esther?”

Esther nodded. “I made a blue set, too…in case you had a
buwe
[boy].”

“Maybe you’ll have a buwe,” Mom said. “Then he can wear the other set.”

Esther sighed and nestled Hannah against her shoulder. “I think Rudy wants a buwe, and I hope he won’t be disappointed if it’s a
maedel
[girl].”

“Why would he be disappointed if you had a girl?” Rachel questioned.

“I think he’d like a boy to carry on his name and to help him on the farm,” Esther said.

Rachel folded her arms. “Well, I hope you have a maedel. We don’t need any more buwe in this family.”

Mom clicked her tongue. “We shall all love your boppli whether it’s a buwe or a maedel.”

Esther kissed the top of Hannah’s head. “That’s right, and we’ll love this little one, too, because she’s a real sweetie.”

Mom nodded. “I feel so blessed to have a new baby daughter. I’m pleased that our two little ones will only be a few months apart.” She smiled at Esther. “They can grow up together, and hopefully they’ll become good friends.”

“That’s what I hope for, too,” Esther said.

A pang of jealousy stabbed Rachel’s heart. Did Mom and Esther care more about Hannah and Esther’s baby than about her? When Esther’s baby was born, would Rachel be ignored even more than she was now?

“I guess I’ll go cut up those carrots now,” Rachel mumbled as she shuffled toward the kitchen.

Esther started singing to the baby again.

Tears rolled down Rachel’s cheeks as she entered the kitchen. She felt so forgotten. Mom hadn’t even told her happy birthday last night or today either. Mom and Esther could only talk about babies! Rachel probably wouldn’t get a birthday present from Mom and Pap this year at all!

If I ever do get married and have any bopplin, Rachel thought, I’ll make sure their birthdays are always special! I’ll make sure they get a nice gift every year, too
.

W
aaa! Waaa! Waaa!

Rachel covered her ears with her pillow and moaned. Her baby sister might be cute and cuddly, but she sure did cry a lot. In the three weeks since Mom had brought Hannah home from the hospital, every night Rachel was awakened by the baby’s cries. How was she supposed to do her chores when she couldn’t get a good night’s sleep?

She wondered if Hannah’s crying bothered anyone else. If so, they hadn’t said anything. In fact, the only thing Mom and Pap said about Hannah was how cute she was, and how blessed they felt to have a baby in the house again. Even Grandpa, Henry, and Jacob made over Hannah with silly baby sounds.

Waaa! Waaa!
The irritating cries from Mom and Pap’s bedroom continued to float up the stairs. Rachel pushed the pillow tighter against her ears, hoping to drown out the sound. It was no use. Hannah’s cries seemed to be getting louder.

With an exasperated sigh, Rachel pulled her sheet aside and crawled out of bed. She plodded over to the window and lifted the shade, squinting at the rising sun.

I guess if the sun’s up, I may as well be, too, she decided. Audra’s birthday is just a few weeks away. Maybe I can paint a rock for her before I help Mom with breakfast
.

Rachel frowned. They still hadn’t gone out for her birthday supper, and she’d almost given up on the idea. She’d asked Pap several times, but he always said they would do it later—as soon as Mom felt stronger, and when he and the brothers weren’t so busy.

Maybe Mom would never feel up to going out for supper. Maybe she’d be tired for a long time, the way their neighbor, Anna Miller, was after her last baby was born.

Pushing her troubling thoughts aside, Rachel gathered up her painting supplies, picked out a nicely shaped rock, and headed downstairs. She’d just set everything on the kitchen table when Mom stepped into the room.

“
Guder mariye
[Good morning], Rachel,” Mom said. “I’m surprised to see you up so early.”

Rachel yawned. “I couldn’t sleep. The baby woke me with all that crying.”

“She was hungry.” Mom smiled. “She’s been fed and had her windel changed, so she’s sleeping peacefully again.”

“That figures,” Rachel mumbled.

“What?”

“Oh nothing.”

Mom motioned to the table. “I’m going to start breakfast, so you’ll need to put your paints away and set the table.”

Rachel frowned. “Since it’s so early, I figured I’d have plenty of time to paint a rock for Audra’s birthday before you started breakfast.”

“I thought you planned to give Audra one of Cuddles’s kittens.”

“I do, but I want to give her a painted animal rock before she and her family leave for Sarasota.”

“Oh, I didn’t realize they were going to Florida,” Mom said.

Rachel nodded. “Her grandparents live there, and they invited Audra’s family to celebrate Audra’s birthday with them.”

“Oh, I see.”

Rachel motioned to the rock sitting on the table. “Since the kittens aren’t quite old enough to leave their mamm, I wanted to give Audra something for her birthday before she leaves.”

“That makes sense,” Mom said with a nod, “but you’ll have to paint some other time. Your daed wants to get an early start in the fields this morning before it becomes too hot. So we’ll need to eat an early breakfast.”

Rachel sighed. “Okay, Mom.”

“Speaking of birthdays,” Mom said, “I’ve been meaning to give you the gift your daed picked up for your birthday when he was in town the other day. We’re late with your gift this year because of Hannah being born on your birthday.”

Anticipation welled in Rachel’s chest. “Where is it?” she asked excitedly.

Mom pointed to the cupboard where she kept her sewing supplies. “It’s in there.”

Rachel stared at the cupboard. She hoped it wasn’t another sewing kit like the one Mom had given her last year. Rachel didn’t like to sew much, and she certainly didn’t need two sewing kits!

“Go ahead and get it,” Mom said. “It’s in a cardboard box on the bottom shelf.”

Rachel opened the cupboard door and took out the box. She set it on the table and opened the lid. A blue-eyed, blond-haired baby doll dressed in Amish clothes stared back at her. Rachel took it out of the box and faced Mom. “You bought me a baby doll for my birthday?”

Mom smiled. “Actually, your daed got the doll, but that’s what I told him to get.”

“Why? I already have the faceless doll Audra gave me, and you know I hardly ever play with it.”

Mom’s cheeks turned pink. “Well, I—I thought, with you having a baby sister now, you might like to play with the doll and pretend to feed it whenever I’m feeding Hannah.”

Rachel swallowed around the lump in her throat.
It figures that my gift would have something to do with Hannah
. “Maybe I’ll set the doll on my dresser,” she said. “Then when Hannah’s old enough, I’ll let her play with it.”

Wrinkles formed in Mom’s forehead. “Don’t you like the doll?”

Rachel bit her lower lip as she tried to think of something to say that wouldn’t be a lie or hurt Mom’s feelings. “The doll’s nice,” she said, “but I’m getting too big to play with dolls. So if you don’t mind, I’ll just set it on my dresser.”