High Hurdles (17 page)

Chapter
•
5

DJ leaped to her feet. She dashed toward the horses, only slowing in time to keep them from shying. Why hadn’t she brought the saddlebags with her? Or at least the bee kit. What kind of a teacher was she?

She fumbled in the first saddlebag but came up empty-handed. She could hear Amy cautioning the girls to be calm.
Please, God, don’t let Angie quit breathing
. The prayer beat in DJ’s mind at the same pace as her thudding heart.

Megs backed away when DJ hurried around her to get into the other saddlebag. “Easy, girl.” But DJ could tell her own actions were anything but easy.
Calm down!
She made herself stop and take a deep breath as her fingers closed over the plastic box. But her mind continued to race.
I’ve never given a person a shot before. What do I do?
A more calm voice spoke gently but firmly.
Just read the instructions. You’ve seen lots of shots given, just do the same
.

“She’s starting to wheeze,” Samantha called. “Hurry, DJ.”

“It’s going to be all right, Angie, take it easy. The more uptight you get, the worse it will be.” Amy acted as if they did this every day.

What if the shot doesn’t work?
The reassuring voice came again.
It will
. Was this what listening to God’s voice was like? DJ felt herself calming down. She took another deep breath as she dropped to her knees on the ground beside the wheezing girl.

Angie’s chest rose and fell with each struggling breath, as though she were being pumped by a bellows—slowly. Sweat broke out on her forehead.

Angie looked up at DJ. “I don’t want to die.”

“You won’t.” Amy wiped the girl’s hair back from her forehead. “Come on, you’ve been through this before. You can tell DJ what to do.”

“No, I don’t remember.” Her breathing sounded like a marathon runner’s who’d just crossed the finish line.

In, out, in, out. DJ could feel her own breaths come in time with Angie’s, as though she were trying to breathe for the girl.

DJ held the prefilled syringe between her teeth and ripped open the square packet of alcohol rub. She took the syringe out of her mouth. “Easy, Angie—just bend your arm like you do at the doctor’s office. Good. Now we’ll wipe it . . .” DJ’s actions followed her words. She dropped the gauze square on the ground. “And . . .” She closed her eyes.
Please, God
. With a quick jerk, she pulled the cap off and, without giving herself time to think, stabbed the needle into Angie’s bicep.

After depressing the plunger, DJ pulled the needle out and sat back on her heels. Her heart raced like a bike going downhill with a tailwind. She put the cap back on the syringe. “Thank you, God.” Her whisper blended with the agonized sound of Angie’s breathing.

“That . . . didn’t even . . . hurt. You’re good.” Angie leaned back against Amy’s knees and chest. Her eyes closed and she tried to take a deep breath. Instead, she coughed.

“Easy, just think about how much fun we’ve had. Seeing the deer on the hillside.” DJ kept her voice smooth and gentle. The singsong worked with horses, why not a sick kid?

“You want me to ride down and get help?” Amy asked, her hands busy smoothing Angie’s forehead.

DJ forced her careening mind to stop and think. “Maybe you better. But Mrs. Lincoln said this stuff really works, if we get it into Angie fast enough.”

“Do you think we did—get it in quick enough, I mean?”

“I’ll go,” Sam volunteered.

DJ looked up to see the scared expressions on the faces of the other girls. “No, Sam, but thanks. Amy will get help, if anyone. I can’t take a chance on someone else getting hurt.”
Why’d I ever let this happen? Maybe Angie shouldn’t do this kind of thing. But she wants to so bad. Why couldn’t the stupid bee have stung me instead?

“I’m getting better, DJ. I can feel it.” Angie reached out a shaky hand and stuck it in DJ’s.

A rash of relieved giggles broke out from the other girls. Both flopped back on the ground as if someone had just cut their puppets’ strings. “Angie, that was the scariest thing I ever saw.”

“Man, DJ, you did that just like a nurse.” Krissie pointed a finger at DJ. “You are awesome.”

Angie sat up on her own. While she was still wheezing, now it was more like a whistle than a freight train. “Thanks, DJ, you saved my life.”

DJ blinked her eyes and gritted her teeth. She would not cry now, not in front of these girls. She looked up at Amy to see a sheen of moisture in her dark eyes. A smile trembled at the sides of her mouth.

DJ rolled her lips together, licked them, and took a deep breath. “Well, girls, you all finished with your lunches?” She looked around at heads shaking no. “Okay, then let’s do that. If I don’t get something to drink, I might faint.”

Amy handed DJ her water bottle. “Drink fast. We don’t want any fainting up here. We might have to give you a shot . . .”

“A shot of water will do just fine.” DJ glugged and felt the boulder stuck in her throat go down with the water.

Krissie picked up the syringe and the leftover pieces of the bee kit. “Here, DJ, we don’t want to be litterbugs.”

“No way.” Sam started to giggle, then Krissie. DJ and Amy tried to keep straight faces.

Angie giggled, wheezed, and giggled some more. “We c-could litter th-the ground with b-bees.” She fell back against the log, her laughter growing stronger with each easing breath.

“Dead bees.”

“Definitely dead bees.” They all rolled on the ground, clutching their stomachs and wiping their eyes.

“Wh-what’s s-so funny?” DJ made the mistake of looking at Amy. She knew better.

“G-got me.”

Finally the giggles let up.

“I have to go to the bathroom.” Angie lay on the ground, the back of one hand over her eyes.

“Pick a tree—any tree.” Sam waved her hand. “We have plenty.”

“Sure, and get stung on my rear this time.”

That did it. The girls fell against one another, their giggles floating up through the branches like a strange kind of bird song. DJ tried to take another drink from the water bottle and ended up blowing the water out her nose.

“Ow. Knock it off. See what you made me do?”

By now Angie could laugh without wheezing. She was making up for lost time. Every time one person calmed down, another started in. Finally they all lay flat on the leaves and dried grass.
Better giggling than crying
, DJ thought, gazing up through the gnarly oak branches above them. Sunbeams outlined the leaves. DJ drew in a deep breath and let a prayer float up toward heaven.
Thank you, God. I couldn’t have done it without you
.

“DJ, you want one of my cookies?” Angie nudged DJ’s shoulder with her boot toe.

“Sure.” DJ pushed herself upright and accepted the offer. Munching and sitting spraddle-legged, she studied her group. While they all had bits of leaves and twigs in their hair and could use a good dusting, no one looked the worse for wear. Her heart had resumed residence in its normal place, and when she held up a hand, it no longer trembled like a leaf in a windstorm.

“Thanks, Angie. Good cookie.”

“I made them.”

“Wow, you can come bake cookies for me anytime.” DJ rose to her feet and dusted off her rear. “You guys ready to hit the trail?”

“No, I’d rather stay up here.” Angie finished packing her saddlebags.

“Yeah, well, if one of those mean bees comes after you again, we’re fresh outta bee kit.” DJ extended a hand to pull the girl to her feet. “And I’m just so grateful you’re all right that next time I’ll pack a whole case of ’em.” She turned Angie around and brushed her off. The girls took turns doing the same for one another. By the time they rode back into the academy lot, the beesting was nearly a forgotten incident, until the girls started telling their mothers about it.

“Should we call your mother and have her take you to the doctor?” DJ stopped by Angie’s stall where she was unsaddling her horse.

Angie shook her head. “Once I’m breathing okay again, the doctor can’t do anything. I’m just a little tired. Right now I need to wash my horse and soap my saddle. Mom’ll be here about five. Don’t worry about me, okay? I hate having people worry and watch me.”

DJ nodded. “I’d feel the same. Holler if you need help.”

She accepted the other mothers’ thanks, reminded them of next week’s schedule, and headed for Bridget’s office.

“I hear you are the hero of the day.” Bridget turned from the filing cabinet where she’d been inserting papers into their proper files.

“How’d you know?”

“A little bird. I am really proud of you; it sounds as though you handled yourself in a totally professional and competent manner.”

“Bridget, I was so scared. More than I’ve been any time in my whole life.”

“Heroes are not necessarily brave when the chips are down; they just keep on going, doing what needs to be done. You kept your head about you—”

“I prayed hard.”

“That helps too. The main thing is, you did not panic. I have always felt I could count on you, and now I know it.” Bridget sat on the edge of her desk.

“You should have seen the giggle fit we had when it was over and Angie was starting to breath easy again.”

“Natural reaction. To laugh, cry, get mad, giddy.”

“
I
felt like crying. So did Amy.”

“That would have been normal, like I said.”

“But it might have scared the girls.”

“Right. That is why I say you are a hero. You got the job done and thought of others first. You can always fall apart later, if need be.”

DJ could feel her lower lip tremble. “I hate crying.” She swallowed hard and rolled her eyes toward the ceiling. Blinking quickly, she fought back the tears.

“There is nothing wrong with crying. Tears help wash both the eyes and the soul.”

“I gotta check on the girls.” DJ bolted from the office.

Mrs. Lincoln had tears in her eyes when she told DJ thank you. She wrapped her arms around DJ and hugged her as though she’d invented hugging. And hugging with a baby-big stomach between them wasn’t easy. DJ grinned.

“Hey, what was that?” DJ pulled back and stared down at the mound under Mrs. Lincoln’s top.

“The baby said thank you, too.” Mrs. Lincoln patted her tummy.

DJ’s eyes traveled from the huge belly to the woman’s face. “Did you feel it?”

“Of course. This one’s been kicking like he plans to join a World Cup soccer team tomorrow.”

“I never knew it felt like that.”

Mrs. Lincoln took DJ’s hand and laid it on her abdomen. The baby let loose with a one-two punch that bounced DJ’s hand.

“Wow! Didja see that?”

Angie and her mother burst out laughing. “We see it all the time. If this one’s as active after it’s born as it is now, we’ll be chasing him down the street in a couple of weeks.”

DJ glanced up for permission and, at Mrs. Lincoln’s nod, put her hand back on the woman’s belly. When nothing happened, she looked up again.

“Guess we wore him out.”

“You know for sure it’s a boy?”

“No, so it’s a good thing there are girls’ soccer teams, too. You ready to leave, Angie? We have tons of things to do.”

DJ watched them drive away, waving in return when Angie rolled down the minivan’s window to wave good-bye. Babies had never seemed so real to her. And just breathing had never been something she thought to be grateful about. If only Gran were here. What stories DJ had to tell her!

When she walked into the empty house after pedaling home, the light was blinking on the answering machine. She pushed the rewind button.

After a squawk, the machine let loose with Gran’s voice.

“Hi, darlin’s. We’ve been having such a wonderful time, Joe and I decided to stay a bit longer.”

DJ felt her chin drop to the floor. “No, you can’t do that!”

Chapter
•
6

“Just teasing! We’ll be home Sunday night.”

DJ sagged against the wall. “Not funny, Gran. Not funny at all.”

The next message was from her mother. “If you get home before 4:30, call me. Otherwise we’ll plan on going out for dinner; you choose the place.”

“I’ll believe that when I see it.” DJ checked the clock. It was already 4:45. She looked down at her clothes. If her mother caught her looking and smelling like horse and the woodsy ground she’d lain on, they’d never go out.

She shucked her clothes by the washing machine and threw the shirt and jeans in, along with others in the hamper. Then while that started running, she charged upstairs to shower.

Where should we go? Pizza? Nah
. She thought of places and discarded them as fast while the water pounded on her head and shoulders. By the time she wrapped a towel around her stringy wet blond hair, she’d decided on Chinese. If they ordered enough, they could warm it up for dinner tomorrow night. Only two more days and Gran would be home.

For a change, DJ and her mother spent an entire evening together without arguing. They each chose a dish at the restaurant and even tried a new one, Mongolian Beef, which they both loved. And when her mother suggested a movie and ice cream afterward, DJ nearly fainted.

“You . . . you don’t have to study tonight?”

“Nope. And I didn’t bring any work home, either. We should mark this on the calendar.” Lindy flipped the lock so DJ could get into the car. “ ’Course I can always find more to do. . . .”

“Who can’t.” DJ thought of the mess she’d left in her bedroom. She’d made sure the door was closed so her mother couldn’t see in.

Later, at the ice-cream parlor, Lindy licked hot-fudge sauce off her spoon and bobbed it at DJ. “You know, about that emergency with Angie. I’m not sure I could have given a shot like that.”

“There was nothing else to do. It wasn’t much different from giving a horse an injection.” DJ twirled her spoon in the fudge sauce. “Making sure to give her the right amount would have been worse. This syringe was all loaded.”

“Still, it took plenty of nerve.”

DJ watched her mother from under her eyelashes. What was going on? Could this be a peace offering? Lindy never ate ice cream—said there was too much fat in it—let alone a hot-fudge sundae. And after popcorn at the movie and Chinese food?

“I think I’m going to burst.” Lindy wiped her mouth with her napkin.

DJ could hear Gran’s voice in her ear.
Your mother loves you, she just doesn’t always know how to show it. She’s been so tied up at work and school, she let motherhood slip right past her.

They didn’t say much on the way home, but what was new? They’d already talked more in one evening than a typical month. And when her mother thanked her for a nice time, DJ’s red flags really went up. Danger! Warning!
What’s going on?

DJ left for the Academy in the morning before her mother woke up.

“Get real,” Amy shouted at DJ’s back when they pedaled up the hill. “Maybe your mom just wants to spend more time with you. You know, that old ‘quality time’ thing. I think grown-ups get hung up on that pretty easily.”

“But she didn’t yell at me once. Wouldn’t you be suspicious?”

“Nah, I’d be grateful.”

After clipping Patches to the hot walker where he could dance off some of his energy, Amy and DJ rushed through their chores so they could take Patches and Josh into the ring at the same time. DJ wanted Patches to get used to having other horses around him when he had a rider.

“All right, settle down, you hyper thing.” DJ pulled the gelding to a standstill for the third time. Even after his hot walker workout and four times around the ring, Patches wanted to race whoever else was present. Sweat from his excitement already darkened his shoulders. She watched Amy put Josh through his paces. The two of them looked as though they were welded together. “See, silly, that’s what we’re supposed to look like. We’re supposed to work together.”

Patches jigged in place, his front feet raising puffs of dust as they pounded the ground. When he finally relaxed, DJ loosened the reins and let him walk. “And here I thought you were ready for your owners. You’d shake them senseless.” When Patches finally managed to make an entire circuit of the ring at a walk, she let him jog. He made it with only one return to a walk this time.

“Looks like he’s trying.” Amy rode beside her for a circuit.

“Yeah, trying my patience.”

“You know what I mean.”

“Sure, he’s trying to run. He wants to catch up to anyone ahead of him.”

“Don’t worry about it, DJ. Pretty soon you’ll have him obeying just like Diablo did. I know you will.”

This time when DJ neck-reined Patches in a circle so he could go back the other way, he minded. “So there is hope for you after all,” she muttered.

They had to rush to get ready for their next pony party, but it was worth it. The hostess stayed with them the entire time, making sure all the kids took turns. She brought DJ and Amy punch to drink and offered them ice cream and cake if they’d stay longer and let the children ride again. When she offered to pay them an extra ten dollars, the girls agreed.

“This sure beat the last one,” DJ said when they trotted Bandit up the road toward the Academy. “Poor John. He hated it. And those kids were just awful.”

“We could tell John about this one and blame him for the other.” Amy wore a sly grin. This was her chance to get even with a big brother who thought teasing his younger sister was what he was put on this earth for.

But John wasn’t home when they got there; he and his dad had taken a load of yard clippings to the dump.

“Fiddle.” DJ plopped down on the curb in front of the house.

“Double fiddle.” Amy joined her. “Well, at least the party went well and we made extra money.”

“We have only one party to go. You know, I’ve been thinking—”

“No.” Amy shook her head so hard her black hair swished her cheeks. “We’re not keeping on with the parties. Once school starts, we just don’t have time.”

“But . . .”

“No. Nada. Ix-nay.”

DJ wrinkled her mouth to one side. “Next summer?”

“Maybe. If we don’t come up with a better idea by then. But if we do the pony parties, we are going to train Bandit to pull a cart.”

“It’s a deal.” The two slapped high fives.

DJ entered her house to the sound of the vacuum cleaner and her mother’s easy-listening music playing on the stereo. “I’m home.” She heard the vacuum shut off.

Even for cleaning house, her mother managed to wear things that matched. The observation crossed DJ’s mind at the same time as she registered the scowl her mother sported. A frown of that type caused wrinkles, but DJ didn’t feel stupid or daring enough to comment.

“Have you noticed your room and bathroom lately?” The tone matched the face. They were certainly back to normal. The evening before must have been a fluke.

“I know. I was in a hurry.”

“It doesn’t take any more time to hang up the towel than to drop it on the floor.”

The words pricked like a burr under a saddle. “I know, I’ll take care of it.” DJ bit her lip to keep from answering back and climbed the stairs to her room. Gran would say to count her blessings. Last night had been a blessing—a fun one. She sighed. If only it had lasted.

The next morning revealed another hole in DJ’s life. She attended church with the Yamamotos since Gran was out of town. She’d thought of asking her mother to take her, but they hadn’t said much to each other the night before. In fact, they hadn’t said anything. The house didn’t need an air-conditioner with her mother in
that
kind of mood.

DJ looked up at the stained-glass shepherd behind the altar. Jesus looked so kind; He held the lamb as if He really cared. The window made DJ miss Gran even more. She needed a hug, a Gran-type hug. It wouldn’t be long now until the newlyweds returned. During the moment for silent prayer, she prayed for a safe flight for Gran and Joe. But the pastor started talking again before she got around to praying for her mother.

Later, at home, DJ asked, “Who’s picking Gran and Joe up at the airport?”

“Robert. He’ll take them back to Joe’s for his car, and then they’ll come out here.” Lindy looked up from the book she was reading. “I’ve told you this before.”

“I forgot.” DJ gnawed on the nub of her right thumbnail. “You don’t think they had an accident or something?”

Lindy shook her head. “No. The flight was probably late, that’s all. Or maybe there’s traffic, or they had something else they had to do first.” Her tone said she was losing patience.

DJ headed to the kitchen for a drink of water. “They’re here!” She set the glass in the sink and barreled out the front door. “Gran! You’re back!” She flew around the hood of the car and threw her arms around the petite woman just emerging from the front seat.

“Oh, my Darla Jean, if you’ve missed me as much as I’ve missed you . . .” Gran patted her granddaughter’s back and hugged her again. Arm in arm they came around the car, talking nonstop.

“Hi, DJ.” Joe leaned his arms on the top of the open car door. “Lindy.” He raised a hand in greeting to the woman standing in the doorway.

“Hi.” DJ caught herself. She’d almost forgotten about Joe. “Won’t you come in?” There, she’d remembered her manners. She stood back to let Gran hug Lindy and Joe do the same. A funny kind of feeling invaded her stomach. Not a ha-ha kind of funny but an oh-oh kind. “You want me to get your suitcases, Gran?”

“No, we left them at Joe’s. Come see the things we brought you.”

The oh-oh turned to an oh no and left DJ with a new hole in her heart. Gran wouldn’t be staying here. She wouldn’t be sitting in her chair, Bible in her lap, to tell DJ good-bye in the morning.
She won’t be here when I come home from the Academy
.

“Darla Jean, whatever is the matter?” Gran turned and wrapped an arm around DJ’s waist. “You look as though you’ve seen a ghost.”

“You’re not going to stay here.” DJ choked the words out.

“Of course not, but soon we’ll move into our new house and we’ll only be a mile away.” She moved forward, drawing DJ with her. “You knew that, surely.”

“Yeah, I just never thought about it.” DJ didn’t say what filled her heart and mind.
But, Gran, I need you here. Mom and I, we aren’t doing so good. I need you
. She studied the raw spot on her thumb cuticle. Gran looked so happy. So did Joe. She couldn’t be a brat again—she just couldn’t.
Shape up! Don’t ruin it for them again by saying something stupid. You want to be grounded for life?