During the summer of ’24 Jill and Leona planned to have the time of their lives, because they wouldn’t be seeing as much of each other when school started. Come fall, Leona planned to attend Bangor High School, while Jill’s mother wanted her daughter to attend a high school closer to home.
“Bangor is a mite too far for you to travel, so I think it’s best if you go to Hermon,” Mrs. Jensen told Jill.
“Please can’t I go to Bangor, Mother? I really-really want to go to school with Leona.”
“I know you do, dear,” Mary replied. “And, believe me, there’s nothing I’d like better. Leona has been such a great friend that I’d give my eyetooth if you could go to school with her. But you’d have to walk over a mile to the Haleys’ and another mile to catch the trolley on Broadway. That would be okay in warm weather, but that’s much too far a walk in the winter, especially during a blizzard, or frigid weather. And besides, I can’t handle the trolley fee.”
Leona was disappointed when Jill told her the bad news.
“That’s awful, Jill. You sure your mother won’t change her mind?”
“No. She’s made up her mind and that’s that as far as she’s concerned.”
And as far as the girls were concerned, Mrs. Jensen’s decision meant that they wanted to make this summer a memorable one, and indeed it was going to be, just not in the way they planned. The summer started off fine. The two teenagers decided to go fishing at the Kenduskeag Stream the day after school let out.
—1—
When that day came they packed a picnic lunch and headed to the Stream Road. In less than an hour they were at the old covered bridge, sitting serenely on its wide wooden rail, letting their fishing lines hang ten feet down to the clear slow-moving water while playfully talking about boys, and about the future, or the future as they saw it.
“I’ve got one!” Jill shouted less than five minutes after casting her line.
“It’s a pickerel, Jill; and a big one!” Leona said. A while later she caught a large trout.
“Boy! They’re really biting today,” Jill said.
“They sure are. We should catch enough fish to last a month if they keep biting like this.”
Within an hour the girls had all the fish they could handle, so they decided to call it a day and go for a quick swim before heading home.
“Wait up, Leona,” Jill yelled when she looked up and saw her running toward the stream.
Jill wondered what her friend was doing, and after she saw her pick up a long, curved stick lying near the riverbank she quickly found out. Leona used the stick to snag a rope dangling from the branch of a large oak tree, a good 6 feet offshore. Then, with rope in hand, Leona walked back about ten feet and took off running toward the water. When she was near the edge of the bank, the daring girl jumped and grabbed the rope as high as she could, and lifted her legs off the ground. Jill watched Leona swing out over the stream, let go of the rope, make a gigantic splash in the water, and disappear from view.
After resurfacing, Leona shouted to Jill: “Come on in; the water’s great!”
Jill immediately jumped up and ran toward the swinging rope. She caught it with her right hand and ran with it toward the stream. When she reached the riverbank she mimicked Leona and jumped fearlessly off the seven-foot bank, swinging almost 15 feet from it before she let go. SPLASH went the water, with much of it coming down on Leona.
“Hey watch it,” Leona said while swimming toward Jill, laughing as she did.
The jovial girls playfully splashed each other for about a minute, and then swam to the bank to lie in the sun for a while.
“What a beautiful day,” Jill said while lying on her back watching the clouds float by. “I can’t believe it’s this warm already.”
“I know; I hope it keeps up like this all summer. Are you still thinking about becoming a teacher, Jill?”
“I sure am. I can’t wait ‘til I get the chance to discipline boys like the ones that picked on me. But seriously, I really want to teach. I just hope I get the chance and can be as good as Miss Hutchinson.”
“I’d be surprised if you weren’t even better,” Leona said to her friend. “You’re gonna make a terrific teacher; there’s no doubt in my mind.”
“Oh! Guess what, Leona? I had a wonderful dream last night. I dreamed I was with my father in Heaven, and it was soooo beautiful.”
“You did? Well, turkey, are you gonna tell me?”
Jill began describing her dream in great detail, and Leona marveled at the colorful imagery and blissful life that her friend was portraying.
“Wow!” Leona said. “I sure hope Heaven is as marvelous as that; not that I want to find out anytime soon. Earth is more than nice enough for my tastes, for the moment anyway. Although if you can insure that boys like the simpleton Comeau brothers aren’t gonna be there, I may consider taking that trip sooner.”
Jill laughed. “Oh, I don’t think you’ll have to worry about that, Leona. Even if they should somehow sneak through the Pearly Gates, I’m sure my dad will take them by the back of their collars and escort them right out. He’s not one to suffer fools.”
Leona laughed for a while, and then became pensive. She was thinking how great it was that Jill had such a soothing dream, especially since her father was a major part of it.
“You’ve had some pretty vivid dreams in the past, Jill,” she said, “but this one has to be the best.”
“Oh, it was,” Jill replied. “But that’s not the half of it. The second part of my dream was just as amazing.”
“How so?” Leona asked.
“I dreamt that when I left my father, I was on your comet with you.”
Leona’s eyes lit up. “You were?”
“Uh-huh! And your grandmother was there too, just like you said.”
Leona always told Jill about her dreams, down to the last detail, because her friend always believed her.
“What happened?” Leona asked.
“Well, when you arrived I was there reading the book you gave me,” Jill explained. “Then we went to your grandmother’s place and she told us stories. And, of course, she gave us a nice treat.”
“Milk and cookies, I bet,” Leona joked.
“Yup,” Jill acknowledged.
Leona was happy that Jill had a dream about her comet. She always knew that Jill believed her when she talked about her dreams, and this just gave her even more assurance.
“Was anyone else on the comet, Jill?”
“No. Just you, me, and your grandma.”
“Hmm?” Leona said. “I wonder why? Do you think your dream means anything?”
“I don’t know? But your comet was just like you described it: so beautiful and serene; so I hope I have more dreams like that one, especially if I can see my father again.”
The two relaxed peacefully on the bank, soaking up more sun while talking for another ten minutes or more. Then Jill suddenly got to her feet.
“Let’s go for another swim,” she said. “The last one in’s a rotten egg!”
Then she ran and dived headfirst into the water, swimming as fast as she could for the other side of the stream. Leona watched and laughed at her fun-loving friend. Suddenly she heard a scream, and then she heard Jill yell.
“Leona! Help! Help me!”
Leona thought that her friend was just joking around, until she saw Jill struggling and then saw her head go under the water.
“Hold on!” Leona called out as she dove into the water, swimming as fast as she could.
When Leona reached Jill, she was at the bottom of the four-foot-deep stream holding onto her leg, and holding her breath. Leona submerged and pulled Jill to the surface. As soon as Jill’s head was above water she opened her mouth wide and gasp for air. Leona swam with her toward the riverbank, which was more than 50 feet away, and helped Jill up the steep bank.
“Are you okay, Jill?” she asked
“I think so.”
“What happened?”
“I guess I didn’t drink enough water today, so …”
“So you decided to drink the whole river?” Leona jokingly interrupted.
“No, silly, I didn’t drink enough water so I got a leg cramp,” Jill answered.
“Either that, or I was real thirsty,” she added.
“You!” Leona said.
“You what?”
“You jerk! Your dream about being in Heaven almost came true!”
They both laughed and then started for home. On the way, Jill thanked Leona for saving her life.
“I’m sure glad I taught you how to swim, Leona. If I hadn’t, I’d be pushing up daisies now.”
“I’m glad you taught me too, turkey. I don’t know what I’d do if I lost my best friend.”
Then she put her arm around Jill’s shoulder, and they walked like that the rest of the way home.