by Janette Oke
. . . And Mother said to be sure to give it to you the minute I arrived," Melissa was saying, and then added with a laugh, "I hope she meant the minute I arrived at the farm, because it's packed securely in my trunk."
Marty and Clark joined in her light merriment.
It was the first that Belinda had known anyone who said "Mother" rather than "Ma" or "Mama." It sounded so grown-up somehow
Melissa was going on with her description. "And Julia sent you a doily she made all by herself"
"Tell us about Julia," coaxed Marty. "Is she like you?"
"Oh no," and Melissa laughed again. "She's not at all like me. She does have brown eyes. Guess we all have Father's brown eyes. But she is quite fair--more like Mother--and she is very quiet. Mother says God must have known that our house could only bear one talker--and that's me."
Melissa laughed again, a joyful little laugh that seemed to make the sun shine just a bit brighter.
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"Julia is . . . Julia is sweet," said Melissa reflectively. "She's very unselfish, and she helps Mother without her having to ask, and she loves animals, and . . . and . .. I'm really going to miss her," she said quickly, and there was a hint of tears in her voice.
"But Mother says that time will pass very quickly" Melissa continued bravely. "I sure hope so. I'm going to miss all of them. I've never been away from the ranch before--not even for overnight. We used to coax Father to let us go with him to the city, but he never took us--only Mother. She did all of our shopping. Father isn't too fond of the city, I guess. But, my, I did see some interesting things on the way out. . ." and she was off again with her entertaining descriptions of people, places, and events, as she had covered nearly half a continent by train.
"There was this young gentleman who offered to help me with my things," Melissa was saying, "but Mother and Father gave me strict orders not to talk to strangers, so I just smiled as politely as I could and said I wasn't allowed to accept help. He was nice enough about it."
"An' how are yer brothers?" asked Marty.
"Fine! Nathan is taller than Father, and Joe--he wants to be called Joe now--Joe is just a couple of inches shorter. But he might be the taller of the two when he stops growing. At least, that's what Mother thinks."
"Oh my" Marty exclaimed. "Oh my. I never dreamed of them being' that big--"
"Father is helping Nathan to buy his own spread. It's not far from ours. He wants to ranch, too. And Joe has some cattle of his own. He loves his cattle, but he says he might just wait and share the ranch with Father. Joe is more of a 'homebody'--at least that's what Mother calls him."
"Nathan have his eye on any young lady?" Clark interrupted to ask.
"We've been teasing him about my teacher's daughter--Elisa
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is the same age as Joe--but he's not saying anything yet," Melissa responded.
"An' yer pa?"
"He's just fine. He loves having Grandpa LaHaye there with him, but Grandpa is at Uncle Nathan's ranch right now--though he did come over to tell me good-bye. They all came over, Uncle Nathan, Aunt Callie, and the family. And they all sent their greetings."
"Is Cookie still with you?"
"Oh, he'll never leave. He's family!"
"How many of the hands are still around--the ones thet we knew when we were a stayin' out there?"
Melissa stopped to think about it. She said she wasn't sure who had been there when her grandparents had visited the West, so she would just name all the ranch hands.
"Well," she began slowly, "let's see. We have Jake and Browny and Clyde and Tom and Hooper."
"They're all new," put in Marty. "This Tom an' Hooper, we didn't know 'em."
"And there is Shorty and Burt and Charlie."
"Didn't know any of them, either. Is Smith still there?" "No, Smith left when I was small."
"Does Wong still do the cookin'?"
"Wong? No, Wong died. About five years ago. We have a friend of Wong's from San Francisco now--Yen Soo."
"Oh," said Marty. "I'm sorry to hear thet Wong died--we liked him."
"Mother liked him, too. She had a hard time getting used to Yen at first."
"What happened to Wong?"
"We really don't know He refused to go to a doctor. He said he had his own medicine, but he just gotweaker and weaker. Cookie nursed him for months. But he didn't get better."
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A silence hung over them for a few minutes. Clark and Marty looked at each other, no doubt silently pondering whether Wong had ever come to know the Lord.
"Well, thet's our farm, jest up there," Clark told Melissa.
"Oh, it looks lovely--so big. I mean, the house looks so big. Ours is adobe and built low to the ground, but yours looks so tall--and so white. I love it! Mother said that I would."
"You will have yer own room, of course," put in Marty, "but it needs redoin', an' we thought ya might like to choose yer own colors. So we decided thet while we were workin' on it, ya could jest spend some time with Belinda in her room--iffen ya don't mind."
For the first time Melissa turned around to look at Belinda. She gave her a glowing smile.
"That will be fun," she assured them. "Julia and I share a room at home. I was afraid I would be lonely" Then she added, "Do you mind, Belinda? I mean--you've had your own room--"
"I don't mind," Belinda said immediately, shaking her head. She would have said more--more about looking forward to it, counting the days, hoping that Melissa might never move out-- but she caught Amy Jo looking at her and she decided not to make further comment.
"We were goin' to have the whole family in fer supper so ya could meet them all," Marty said, "an' then we thought it best to take it a bit slower. You'd never git us all straight at one time," she laughed softly. "So it will be jest the five of us to supper. Amy Jo will join us at table."
Melissa flashed Amy Jo a smile that Amy Jo returned, a little crooked and wobbly. Melissa turned back to her grandmother.
"Mother says that Uncle Clare and Aunt Kate live right near you--right across the yard. That must be so-o-o fun!"
"It is," smiled Marty. "You'll git to meet 'em all in good time."
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And then Clark was halting the team and helping each one safely down. All but Amy Jo--she jumped down herself, casting a peeved glance over her shoulder as Clark helped Melissa over the wheel.
"I'll bring in thet luggage later," Clark informed them and began to unhitch the team.
The rest of them proceeded to the house, Melissa exclaiming about everything as she went. Over and over she made comments like, "Oh, Mother told me about this," or "It's just like Mother said!" Marty said that Missie must have done a thorough job of acquainting her daughter with her new surroundings, and Melissa nodded vigorously in agreement.
Belinda was asked to show Melissa their room and invited Amy Jo to join them, but she shook her head. She'd help Marty with the final supper preparations, she said.
Belinda led the way to the room, and Melissa exclaimed many times about how much she loved it. Then Belinda took Melissa to see the room that eventually would be hers, explaining that Melissa was to choose her own wallpaper and curtains and spread.
"Oh, I'll love it. I'll love it!" cried Melissa. "Mother has always done the selecting. I've never even been to the city. When do we get to go shopping?"
Belinda shook her head. She wasn't sure what to say. Would the yard goods in their little town suit Melissa?
"We don't go to the city much," Belinda said slowly. "We shop in town nearby here."
"They have those things here?" asked Melissa incredulously. Belinda nodded. Of course they had those things.
"Mother always had to go to the city for shopping. They had only very crude, basic things in the local stores."
Belinda did hope Melissa wouldn't consider the store-bought yard goods "crude."
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"Your town will be just as much fun as a city," Melissa assured her. "I still get to pick."
&nbs
p; The supper hour was a busy time. Melissa still chatted away-- although, in her defense, much of it was in answer to the many questions she was asked.
As soon as the meal was over and the family had read the Bible and prayed together--"We do this, too," Melissa told them--she began clearing away the supper dishes.
"Do you like to wash or dry?" she asked Belinda.
Marty was pleased to see the young girl offering to help. She cast a glance at Clark to be sure he had also noticed. Clark had and nodded to her in answer.
"You'll need to tell me about my chores," went on Melissa. "Julia and I had a list. Once in a while we'd change jobs--just so we wouldn't get bored doing the same things over and over. Mother didn't care--just as long as all of the chores were properly done."
Belinda nodded, glad to have someone to share the household duties.
"What do you like to do, Amy Jo?" asked Melissa.
"I don't live here," Amy Jo was quick to inform her.
"Oh, I know--you live in the log house. Right? That must be so much fun! I've never lived in a log house--but my mother lived in a soddy once. Anyway, I just meant for tonight--for now. What would you like to do for now?"
Amy Jo, who hated to wash the dishes and wasn't too fond of wiping them, either, said, "I'll put things away."
Clare came over to help Clark with the luggage. Melissa seemed to have brought enough things for three or four girls. One trunk was especially heavy.
"Whewee!" exclaimed Clare. "What's thet little lady got in here? Gold?"
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"Didn't see much gold layin' round when I was out there," Clark responded.
"Oh, Grandpa," Melissa exclaimed, sounding like she was enjoying the teasing.
The luggage was all carried up to Belinda's room. Melissa could now begin to unpack. Belinda showed her the empty drawers and the closet space, and she and Amy Jo both lounged on the bed to watch the unpacking.
Belinda was sure that Melissa's things would never fit in the allotted space. She must have scores of dresses, Belinda thought with a twinge of envy.
Melissa's clothes were of fine quality and good workmanship. Belinda was sure her ma would not need to worry about preparing Melissa's wardrobe for the school term. But it was not the clothes that took all the space--Melissa's garments were really no more plentiful than Belinda's own. Books filled the heavy trunk and seemed to be Melissa's prized possessions--treasured volumes obviously captured her time and attention. Belinda and Amy Jo looked on in wide-eyed disbelief.
"Where'd ya git 'em all?" asked the candid Amy.
"As gifts," responded Melissa. "I love books. That's what I always ask for when Mother and Father go to the city. That's what I ask for on birthdays and Christmas--and other times, too."
Belinda let one finger trace the leather cover of a book lying on the top of the stack.
"Do you like books?" Melissa was asking.
Belinda nodded, but Amy Jo spoke for herself.
"I love 'em. I love 'em--but I've never see'd so many--not in all my life."
"You can borrow my books if you wish," Melissa was quick to inform them.
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"Oh, could we? Could we? I'd love to. What's this one?" asked Amy Jo, hopping off the bed to carefully lift one from the trunk.
"It's a book on nature," replied Melissa.
"It's got lots of pictures!" exclaimed Amy Jo excitedly. "Illustrations," Melissa corrected softly.
"How'd they git these pictures?" continued Amy Jo, ignoring Melissa's comment.
"An artist drew them."
"Drew 'em? Ya mean--with a pencil?"
"Or paints--or inks."
"Drew 'em," Amy Jo mused in a daze. "They look so real."
Melissa was called downstairs to come meet her aunt Kate and three boy cousins. Amy Jo did not move from her seat on the edge of the bed. Her eyes were fixed to the pages of illustrations. How could anyone make such true-life drawings! she marveled. But she'd sure like to try. She'd love to try. Something deep within her responded to the artwork in the book. Her eyes grew bright with hope as she studied the work. Oh, if only I had such a book. Her eyes went back to the trunk. So many--she'd had no idea this cousin from the West would have such treasures. And to think that she would be willing to share them! It was almost too good to be true.
Amy Jo sat for a long time, slowly paging through the fascinating book.
Clark and Marty knew Melissa must be terribly weary after her long trip. She did not protest when they suggested bed, saying that they could catch up on the rest of the news later.
Clare, Kate, and their family had returned to their log home across the yard, Amy Jo tightly clutching the illustrated nature
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book that Melissa had been more than willing to lend. Amy Jo promised she would be back in the morning as soon as her chores were done.
Marty sat quietly fingering the gifts from Missie that Melissa had promptly dug from her opened trunk as soon as she was able. The evening had been a satisfying and exciting beginning for all of them.
Melissa followed Belinda up the wide stairway and into the bedroom still strewn with books from her unpacking. As she gathered them up, she was glad she did not need to spend this first night alone in another room. She missed Julia. She missed her mother and papa. She even missed her two teasing big brothers.
Belinda folded back the spread, looking a bit shy.
"Do ya want the back or the front side?" she asked Melissa. "You pick," encouraged Melissa. "It's your bed."
"I don't care," insisted Belinda.
"Then I'll take the back. That's where I sleep with Julia."
Without further comment the two prepared for bed, said their prayers, and climbed between the fresh sheets. They said a simple good night to each other and did not talk any further.
Melissa's tired thoughts took her back over the miles to those she had left behind--to her home, her room, her family as she had left them. Oh, how she would miss her family! But she took herself firmly in hand and told herself she was going to really like it here on the farm, with her wonderful grandparents whom she loved deeply already. And Belinda and Amy Jo . . .
And then she was asleep.
Belinda's thoughts went forward as she lay in bed beside Melissa. What were the days ahead going to be like? Would they like each other? Would they become good friends as well as kin? How would Amy Jo feel? She had seemed so happy over the books that
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Belinda was sincerely hoping Amy Jo would now also be pleased Melissa had come.
It was not long until Melissa's even breathing told Belinda she was asleep. Still, Belinda could not stop her thoughts from tumbling over one another. It was all so new and different--so strange. It was much later before she was able to quiet her busy mind and follow Melissa to dreamland.
"She's a real sweetheart, ain't she?" asked Marty after she and Clark had settled themselves in bed.
Clark chuckled. "Sweetheart--an' a real chatterbox," he responded.
"She had a lot to talk 'bout. I'm glad she's not tight-lipped. I woulda hated it iffen she had come from Missie an' not told us anything 'bout what's goin' on there."
"She does a bit of talkin'," Clark agreed, and he chuckled again.
"She's a pretty little thing, too," Marty commented further. "Those flashin' dark eyes an' that glossy brown hair. Her smile is like her ma's, though--but her colorin' sure isn't."
"Uh-huh," agreed Clark.
"An' she has nice things, too. I didn't know iffen I'd hafta git out my sewin' machine to have her ready fer school, or what."
"Missie wouldn'ta sent her to us without the things she be needin'."
"No, I guess not. I shoulda known better."
The pressure of Clark's hand on hers didn't mean "I told you so," but Marty realized Clark was right when he encouraged her not to worry about things.
There was silence for a few minutes.
"She's not 'uppity,' though," continued Marty.
"Ya thought she might be?"
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"I wasn't sure. Ya know how Missie always talked 'bout all those ranch hands makin' such a fuss over her an' all."
"Well, I'm right glad she's not spoilt none," Clark was quick to point out.
Silence again.
"Did notice me one thing, though," said Clark thoughtfully. "What's thet?"
"Did you notice how edjacated she be?"
Marty was silent. She had noticed something, come to think on it, but had not put it into words. "She's had her one more year of schoolin' than Belinda," she said at last.
"It's more'n thet. She talks--well, she talks careful like . . . not. . . not like you'd 'spect someone from out west to talk." "Her ma an' pa was both edjacated."
"Yeah, but she's even more careful than either of 'em. Didn't ya notice?"
"Guess I didn't."
"You will," promised Clark.
"Maybe it's got somethin' to do with her wantin' to be a teacher."
"Missie was a teacher."
Marty thought about it. Melissa did talk more carefully than any of them. Well, it wouldn't hurt for them all to pay a bit more attention to how they spoke. It might be especially good for Belinda and Amy Jo.
"Ya know what thet there trunk was full of?" Marty asked. "The one thet ya groaned over carryin' it up the stairs?" "What? Felt like bricks."
"Books."
"Books?"
"More'n half full of books," announced Marty. "Saw it myself. An' she was quick to share 'em with the other girls, too.
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Didn't ya see Amy Jo a huggin' one to herself like she'd never let go of it?"
"So she's a book lover, huh?" mused Clark. "Maybe thet's why she talks so proper."
"Could be," agreed Marty But after thinking about it for a minute, she added another thought. "Do ya s'pose thet some of it might be Melissa's schoolteacher, Henry's wife, Melinda? 'Member how careful she always spoke?"
"I'll jest bet yer right. She probl'y drills her students on proper word talk. Melissa might notice a difference round here," said Clark. He was quiet for a few moments. "We'll hafta tread careful like," he went on. "She's got an awful lot of changes ahead of her."
