CHAPTER 45
I woke to the smell of hotcakes, which Grandma usually only makes for special occasions. My birthday wasn’t for another month, so I knew she was plain-as-day trying to make me feel better.
When I made it downstairs, I sat slumped in front of a stack of hotcakes, watching the maple syrup drip down each one.
Grandma pulled up a chair and sat next to me. “I remember my first lamb that had to go to market.”
Now I sat up straight. “You do?”
“You never forget something like that. Name was Oscar.” She smiled when she said his name. “What a rascal! Woo-wee! Always gettin’ into trouble. Diggin’ up the garden, runnin’ through the clothesline”—she winked at me—“like somebody else we know.”
My mouth opened in surprise as she continued. “Yeah, Oscar was my buddy. And then one day, he had to go.”
“Didn’t it break your heart?”
“Sure enough did. Plumb broke it in two. Said I’d never get me another lamb ever again. And I didn’t. Till I eventually did.”
“You got another one?”
“I did. Had me many lambs over the years.”
“Did they all end up . . . you know . . . ?”
“Most of ’em did. We lived on a farm. Couldn’t change that.”
“Did they all hurt your heart . . . to say goodbye?”
She smiled and looked up, remembering. “Yeah—but nothing like that first one. Nothing like Oscar.”
“I never want to see another lamb again.”
“Maybe you won’t. Maybe you will . . .” She patted my hand and then left hers on top of mine for a minute.
Then Grandma got up and announced, “All I can tell you about the future right now is that I made hotcakes that won’t be staying hot—and if somebody don’t eat ’em soon, the pigs are gonna get a mighty good breakfast today.”
After I ate the hotcakes, Grandma reminded me that staying busy would be a good thing, which meant it was time for me to do my chores.
I finished gathering the eggs, and for once Teacher didn’t squawk at me or puff up at all. Maybe she missed Buster too.
Then I hung the laundry on the line. With each sheet and every clothespin, I wished Buster was there to knock down the sheets and make me chase him.
Just as I was hanging the last sheet on the line, I heard a car coming down the lane. I squinted and saw it was Daddy.
And there was someone sitting in the passenger seat.
Daddy stopped the car, got out, and walked around to open the door.
My heart beat so fast I could feel it in my throat as I walked closer.
The sun was shining so bright I had to put my hand over my eyes to make sure the glare wasn’t playing tricks on me.
That’s when I saw the best thing I could ever see: my daddy standing right beside . . . my sissy.
Her arms were holding up her body with a couple of crutches, and metal braces supported her legs. But I never saw her looking better before in my life!
I ran like nothing could stop me. “Sissy!”
As soon as I reached her, I had to catch my breath in order to ask, “Would it hurt you if I hugged you?”
“I reckon it’d hurt me if you didn’t.” Her voice was weaker, but just as I remembered.
With tears flooding both our faces, I held on to my sissy, not sure I’d ever let her go. I breathed in the scent of her, and it felt like something in me was cracking open as so many memories rushed back. I held on to her and the moment as long as I could, only releasing her long enough to put my hand on top of hers, which rested on her crutch. Her hand was soft and cool under mine. And it had never felt better.
I turned to Daddy. “You didn’t tell me!”
Tears filled his eyes. “I didn’t want to risk another disappointment for you—just in case the doctor changed his mind.”
By now both Granddaddy and Grandma stood next to the car too.
Holding Charlotte’s hand, I just couldn’t hold on to my broken heart anymore. I still missed Buster something fierce, but for the first time in a long time, I had hope—honest-to-goodness hope.
Finally, I let go of Charlotte’s hand so I could give Daddy a hug. I think his arms held me tighter than they’d ever held me before.
Granddaddy and Grandma both hugged Charlotte before Grandma scolded everyone by saying, “Lands’ sakes! We gonna keep this child, fresh out of the hospital, standing in the lane all day long? Or might we get her inside like civilized people?”
Charlotte smiled. “Grandma, I missed you too.” And then she laughed a laugh that sounded better to me than any song I’d ever heard.