Hannah could hardly wait. Over the years the family has never been able to drag Emily out of bed on time and they always arrived an hour late for the park opening. This year Emily had an easier time waking up, knowing that Lucy was joining them.
After picking up their friend, the car headed down Route 6 into the heart of PEI tourist country. Traffic was usually heavy from the Cavendish Boardwalk all the way to Green Gables and Hannah enjoyed gazing at the many themed attractions, family parks and restaurants lined up along this small strip of highway.
Although Hannah had already visited Avonlea and Green Gables many times, she never tired of it. She also had high hopes of seeing the Fantasmic Museum, Wax World and the Sandspit. Ripley’s Believe It or Not Museum was a blast last year (there were only two Ripley’s museums in Canada, the other being in Niagara Falls). Hannah definitely wanted to go back for another look at the grotesque and unusual.
“Hey, we passed Avonlea,” cried Emily, looking at her dad with a panicked look on her face.
“We need to get gas, and at the same time I’ll buy some ice for our multi-purpose cooler. It will keep our picnic lunch cold.” Just up the street from the gas station and Cavendish Cemetery was a National Parks Canada information building, and Hannah always noticed streams of cars coming out of the small parking lot. “Can we visit the National Park later?” she asked sweetly.
“Not today, Hannah-girl,” replied Dad, getting back into the car. “It’s a holiday today and Cavendish Beach will be very crowded. Everyone goes there because they often see it in the PEI Travel Planner book. This whole area is for tourists and everything is close by for them. After Labour Day in September, the stores, museums, and motels along this road are closed and boarded up for the winter. It looks like a ghost town. I think only Green Gables stays open, and that’s because of the golf course next door. The Green Gables post office is closed after Thanksgiving weekend.”
“Then we’re being tourists today too,” giggled Emily, putting down her Game Boy as the car’s tires crunched on the gravel parking lot of Avonlea Village. “Wayne said that we’re mosquitoes of summer. So we’re going to buzz around and bother everyone, not that I ever do that. Oh look, there’s Anne. First one to get her autograph is queen for the day!”
Avonlea was one of Hannah’s favourite places in PEI, not counting the beaches. No trip to the island would be complete without at least one visit to this increasingly popular attraction. Since many of the activities were held out of doors, Hannah’s parents always made it a point to visit on a sunny day. Today was no exception. It was a gorgeous morning with clear skies. A slight breeze forced Hannah to grab her sweater out of the car, just in case.
“Wait for me,” yelled Hannah, running to catch up. Everyone had already moved into the period train station. Many of the props found lying around the ticket booth (where her parents paid the park fees) were from actual island train stations no longer in operation. In fact, the entire Avonlea Village was built according to various descriptions found in the Lucy Maud Montgomery books.
“Here you go Hannah,” said Dad as he handed everyone their colour-coded bracelets. A woman dressed in vintage costume welcomed visitors at the door fronting the village. Hannah took a Schedule of Events from her outstretched hand. Quickly glancing at the paper, she told Lucy, “Let’s go sit in the wagon. We’ll be the first to ride around the village plus get our choice of seats.”
The horse-drawn wagon was parked in front of Avonlea’s barn, and passengers were greeted by the strong aromas of horse and cow coming out of the large building. Avonlea had a real working farm, complete with horses, cows, pigs, goats, chickens and barn cats. Hannah loved going inside the barn, looking for the cats, although her sister usually beat her to it. Emily had a real talent for finding animals, especially the ones that were hiding from her.
“Hi Hannah,” waved Emily from the front of the wagon. “I saved you some seats,” (she patted one of the red leather benches) “but Farmer Bob let me sit up front with him. He said I might even drive the wagon! Isn’t that cool? And look at the horses. They’re be-u-ti-ful! Names are Chester and Daisy-Mae. Chester’s the big dark brown one. Daisy-Mae has a gorgeous tail to go with her blond coat. See … our hair matches!”
Hannah and Lucy looked at each other resignedly. How did she do it? Well, they weren’t the first ones on the wagon, but at least they had choice seating. After a few more minutes the wagon had about 15 passengers and Emily grabbed hold of the reins. Off they went, lurching from side to side as the horses trotted down the wide street. It was a great way to get a first look at Avonlea.
Opened in 1999, the village contained a combination of newly built stores and original buildings that accurately represented a small PEI village at the turn of the century. Staff members dressed in period costumes stroll along the dirt roads or sidewalks made from plank boards. Actual historic buildings were physically taken apart, moved to this site from their original spots, and re-built in the new village. Among the more famous of these buildings were the Belmont schoolhouse, where the famous author taught, as well as the Long River church where Montgomery once attended service.
“Look at all these activities,” gushed a young boy sitting next to Lucy as he looked at the brochure. “I want to go on the pony ride!”
“And I want to see the 1908 Men’s Swimwear Competition,” added the boy’s mom, smiling slyly while fiddling with her digital camera. “The County Fair sounds like fun too,” added her husband.
A day in Avonlea was a day spent running from one activity to the next. A series of dramatic productions based on the popular Anne of Green Gables books were interspersed with village activities such as potato sack races, pie eating contests, oyster shucking and the infamous manure toss (last year Dad came in second place!). An added bonus were the numerous musical concerts (or ceilidh) held in some of the village buildings.
The three girls tried really hard to follow the suggested schedule. Hannah and Lucy went to school with ‘Anne and Gilbert’ and cringed when the red-headed heroine smashed her slate over Gilbert’s head.
“He deserved that!” whispered Emily, sneaking in just in time to witness the drama. She then proceeded to one of the empty desks in the front and sat down to watch the rest of the play.
Towards mid-day the gang decided to have lunch and set up their picnic spread under the white gazebo in the heart of the Avonlea flower gardens. Charlie Sloan, the funny guy in the Anne stories, ambled by on his way to the barn, and decided to inspect Hannah’s sandwich. Not finding it to his liking, he went through the family’s cooler and bit into a peach while stuffing his denim overall pockets with carrot bits.
“Want a cheese stick?” asked Emily, waving it in Charlie’s face. Taking off his patched straw hat, Charlie scratched his head in puzzlement.
“What’s a cheese stick?”
“It’s cheese.”
“But it’s skinny, and it’s got orange spots and it’s wrapped in something funny. Ain’t never seen anything like that in my world.”
“DON’T EAT IT LIKE THAT!”
Quickly snatching the cheese stick back, Emily peeled off the plastic covering. “Here. Now you can eat it.”
And he did, in one big gulp, swallowing both cheese and peach at once.
“Boy, talk about getting into character.” Hannah and Lucy laughed as Charlie waved goodbye.
The afternoon concert in the white Long River church building was a hoot. Lively fiddling music poured from the building’s numerous open windows. Hannah and her family sat in the upper balcony and had a wonderful view from above. Emily managed to find a seat in the front, and joined Anne in the square dancing up on stage.
“How does she manage to get into everything?” Hannah was not sure if she should be frustrated with her sister or proud of her gumption to plunge into all kinds of adventure (trouble too!). Hannah was much too shy to even think about standing in the front of the church. She would never ever volunteer to dance like that on stage
in front of all these strangers. But she wondered whether she was doing the right thing. Just look at the Emzo’s face! It was lit up with pure delight, thought Hannah. Her sister was having the time of her life. In a way, Hannah envied her for the ease and enthusiasm in which Emily approached everything life had to offer.
After the concert, Emily pulled everyone along to the pony rides. She had waited patiently all day for her chance to ride one of the miniature horses that always grazed in the Avonlea pasture. And Mom needed to take a picture of her on top of Thistle, her chosen pony. Thistle was soooo beautiful, gushed Emily to anyone unfortunate enough to be close by. The horse had a sandy brown coat with patches of white on its chest and over one eye. The pony’s light blond mane was free of tangles and its pink muzzle blew out a loud gust of air, much to Emily’s delight.
“He likes me,” she yelled to Hannah, laughing as she bounced along in the saddle. Meanwhile, Lucy and Hannah perched themselves along the fence, waiting for their turn. No one should ever be too old to ride a pony, thought Hannah, deciding this year she was going for it. Guided by one of the farm hands, Emily and Thistle made their way towards the far end of the pasture.
Suddenly from out of nowhere, a small boy crawled under one of the fence beams and ran towards Thistle, wildly waving his arms and screaming “Horsie! Horsie!” at the top of his lungs. The horse jerked hard to the right, startled by the unexpectedness of the boy’s presence. Trying to avoid hurting him, Thistle tried to retreat, but stumbled on a patch of hay. The momentum of his retreat whipped the reins out of the farmer’s hands and Emily was thrown to the ground, hard.
The whole incident took less than a minute. Mom and Dad ran down the pasture towards the fallen Emily, followed by a crowd of anxious spectators. As Hannah took off after her parents, she heard her sister shrieking, the screams piercing the air with an intensity that Hannah had never heard before. Fear gripped her heart, and her stomach clenched in terror as Hannah sensed that something was really wrong.
“MOMMY! IT HURTS SO MUCH!!!”
When Hannah and Lucy reached Emily, they saw her lying half-buried in a mud puddle. Emily’s pale face was streaked with tears mixed in with a bit of horse manure for good measure. Her blond hair dripped rivulets of mud down her much cherished Anne of Green Gables t-shirt. If it weren’t for the look of genuine agony on her sister’s face Hannah would have found the entire incident quite funny. However, Emily’s forehead was already sporting a bump the size of a walnut. More disquieting was the fact that Emily’s arm did not look normal. Mom was cradling Emily’s head in her lap and bent forward as she whispered soothing messages in her ear.
“Daddy, why is the Em’s arm all twisted like that?” she whispered, eyes bulging with panic. Without waiting for an answer, Hannah quickly knelt next to Emily and held her other hand, trying to calm her down. Emily tried to focus on Hannah, but her eyes were already beginning to glaze over from the shock. Through her own tears Hannah tried comforting her sister.
“You’ll be okay, teeny one,” cried Hannah, babbling at her sister while she wiped Emily’s face with a crumpled napkin. “Everything will be alright, you’ll see. Remember, we’re mosquitoes of summer, and it’s our job to be the biggest pests we can be. And you’re the best at that job. So we need you in tip top shape.”
“We need to get her to the hospital in Summerside right away,” said Dad. “Waiting for an ambulance will just take too long so we’ll drive her ourselves. Hannah, run back to the car and prepare the blanket for Emily. Here are the keys. Hurry.”
As the girls ran off, Hannah glanced back uncertainly and saw Avonlea staff helping Dad lift Emily into his arms. Carefully cradled against his chest, Emily was groaning, while Mom, consumed with worry, walked briskly beside them. Hannah’s summer was certainly turning into an adventure. Unfortunately for Emily, it came at a painful cost.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
STORM FRONT
The wind howled all night. Sudden gusts rattled the doors and windows. Rain lashed violently against the glass. Lightning flashed erratically, cutting bright streaks across the pitch black sky. Seconds later, thunder boomed, drowning out whispers or shouts. Hannah felt the power of the storm through the soles of her feet and nuzzled closer to her stuffed cat, Boots.
Mom and Dad were still at the hospital with Emily. Hannah was spending the night at Lucy’s house. They had planned a sleepover, but it was not supposed to happen under these circumstances. She missed her family… especially Emily. Her sister always shared a room with Hannah and they were rarely apart at night. Even though Lucy was sleeping in the upper bunk above Hannah, it was strange knowing that the Emzo was lying in a hospital bed.
The trip to the hospital had seemed to take forever, but as soon as her parents walked through the hospital doors, nurses took charge and Emily was whisked off to triage. Unlike the Quebec hospitals that Hannah was used to, the Summerside institution was efficient and fast. Within an hour they had Emily sedated, stabilized, and prepped for surgery.
“How long will it take, Dad?” asked Hannah.
“Not too long I think,” he replied. He watched Mom pace the hallway. “Why don’t you and Lucy walk around and explore the shop and cafeteria. Here’s some money if you want to get yourselves something to eat or drink. Roger and Alice should be here in about an hour to pick the two of you up so be sure to be back here by seven o’clock.”
The surgery took an hour. It was a bad break, not just a fracture and the procedure was explained using nasty sounding medical jargon, half of which Hannah could not understand. By the time her sister was out of surgery, Roger and Alice had joined her parents in the waiting room. After the happy verdict came in that Emily would live to annoy another day, Hannah left for French River.
The storm moved in sometime during the night. It was quick and sudden. According to the 11 o’clock evening news, the island was placed under a severe wind warning, with gusts blowing around 90 km/hour. According to Roger, those were major winds, not far from hurricane force. Hannah wondered if their flags would still be there in the morning.
The Buzzel House shook. The Buzzel House creaked. The Buzzel House protested with each gust of wind. Hannah crawled under her blanket and listened to Roger or Alice moving about in the next room, probably making sure the windows were still tightly fastened. Meg was shaking under Hannah’s bed, poor thing! Finally, after an hour spent listening to the storm, Hannah drifted off to sleep and woke up late next morning.
“They’ve closed the bridge,” said Lucy as she smeared some maple butter on her toast. “The wind is much too strong and I guess everyone is afraid that cars and trucks will be blown off into the water. Power is down in a lot of places. Summerside lost its streetlights and the shopping area is closed because there is no electricity. Parks Canada is warning everyone not to go near the water because the rip tides are so strong. The waves are gynormous!”
Hannah joined her friend at the table and helped herself to a Mary’s Bake Shoppe cinnamon bun (best bakery in PEI, according to Hannah). “Too bad Emily’s not here. She’s missing out on her favourite breakfast,” continued Lucy, in between bites of her toast.
Hannah paused in mid-bite, looked down at her bun, and shrugged. Oh well, Emily was sure to make up for it one way or another.
By late morning the rain slacked off and the sun came peeking out behind scuttling clouds. However, the wind still showed no signs of weakening. Sitting on the porch in the back of the house, Hannah and Lucy could hear the distant boom of crashing waves coming from Arrowhead beach. The sea was in an uproar.
“Do you think anything will wash up on shore today?” asked Lucy, licking the drips from the sides of her ice cream cone. Every once in a while the wind whipped a drop of sticky vanilla ice cream on to the girls. By the time they crunched on the last bit of their cones Hannah and Lucy were covered in white smears.
“Maybe,” said Hannah, watching the wind flatten the rye field just past the Smith’s backyard. Seconds later the yell
ow grass sprang back up, ready to face the next gust. “But we don’t have time to head down there. Your parents will be driving me back home. Emily must have left the hospital by now and I want to be the first to sign her cast.”
Route 20 from French River to Darnley was a disaster zone. Hannah gaped out the window of Alice’s Toyota, unable to believe her eyes. Huge trees lay sprawled across lawns, roots exposed. Multi-coloured mailboxes were knocked down into driveways. Bed & Breakfast signs hung crookedly from broken hooks. Large wooden picnic tables were completely overturned and lay where they had fallen. And the leaves! They were everywhere except in the trees. The strong winds had ripped them off, sometimes with the branches still attached.
Wow, thought Hannah. She never saw such a violent aftermath from a summer storm before. As they passed Jack’s house she noticed that his trampoline was no longer in the backyard but instead lay in the drive, upside down. As the car pulled into the Blue Lobster’s driveway, she noticed the flag pole lying on the ground in between the lobster traps that had held it up.
When Hannah opened the front door, she noticed that Jack was inside; already drawing on Emily’s cast. Looking up, he waved to Hannah and Lucy. “Look at this! I drew a pirate on your sister’s cast. Isn’t it cool? And I’m the first one to sign it. The Bean pooped on it, so I guess he left his signature too.” When he saw Hannah’s dirty look he exclaimed: “What?! She said I could!”
Hannah sighed and went to see her sister. “How ya doing?”
“Great! Mom and Dad got me McDonald’s. Then they got me this stuffed dog. It’s pink! They said I can lie on the sofa and watch TV all afternoon. And I get to have my favourite food. And they’re going to rent me a DVD. And I get to take a special bath tonight. And Jack is here. And he drew a real pirate. And did you see the storm? And what about that ocean? The waves are HUGE! I saw it from the bridge in Darnley. And the people of Avonlea Village called and said I get a lifetime pass to get in. No more paying for me! Isn’t that cool? And what’s new with you? ”
Mosquitoes of Summer Page 9
