3 Moving Day

FROM THE STREET BELOW, A PEDDLER called, “Po-taaay-toes! Fine po-taaay-toes!” His horse’s hooves clip-clopped on the pavement.

Esther sat up in bed and scrabbled beneath the sheet until she found Margaret. The doll had been a gift from Kate and Julia the Christmas Esther was five. Margaret had golden curls, a frilly pink dress, even real satin slippers. Esther had never seen a doll so beautiful. As the years passed, first one and then the other of her tiny shoes had been lost. Her dress had grown faded and worn. And her curls had gone limp from brushing. But Esther still thought Margaret was beautiful. She especially loved the doll’s china-blue eyes. They never failed to look interested in whatever Esther had to say.

“Today’s the day we move to the farm,” she whispered, hugging Margaret close. “But don’t be scared. Julia says it’s going to be a great adventure. I just wish she was coming with us.” Esther sighed. Julia had convinced Ma and Pa to let her stay behind with Kate. Kate was the oldest sister in the Vogel family. She was ten whole years older than Esther, and she was married. She and her husband, Howard, had an apartment with an extra bedroom.

“I can be company for Kate when Howard works at night,” Julia had pleaded. “And I can keep my job at the telephone company.” Both reasons were true enough. But Esther knew there was another reason Julia wanted to stay in Chicago. She didn’t want to leave David. David was a tall young man with laughing eyes and crinkly red hair. He and Julia planned to be married as soon as they saved up enough money.

Esther hugged Margaret tighter. She didn’t want to say good-bye to Julia. Julia was the sister she was closest to, even if Violet was nearer to her in age. She and Violet were very different. Violet didn’t love books. She didn’t enjoy school. She didn’t like animals. And she didn’t pretend things in her head the way Esther did.

“What’s the point?” Violet would say. And Esther didn’t know how to explain the magic of pretending. Julia understood without explaining. She spun daydreams right along with Esther—dreams of riding an elephant, or singing on the radio, even flying an airplane like Amelia Earhart!

“Now you’re going to have a real adventure,” Julia told Esther the night before the move. “And you must write to me and tell me all about it.”

Esther’s spirits had lifted at that. She’d never had anyone to write letters to before. “Will you write back?” she asked.

Julia laughed. “Of course I will! Just wait and see.”

Remembering Julia’s promise, Esther cheered up. It would be fun to get letters. And it would be fun to have a real adventure instead of just pretend ones.

“Es!” Violet hissed, poking her head into the room. “Ma’s looking for you.”

Esther dropped Margaret and scrambled out of bed. Ma thought Esther was too old for dolls. She said so more and more often lately. She wouldn’t be happy if she found Esther playing with Margaret on such a busy morning. Esther snatched clean underwear from her drawer and hurried into the bathroom. A few minutes later, dressed in yesterday’s jumper with a fresh white blouse, Esther started for the kitchen, where Ma and Pa were talking.

“In the dream it was as if Tatiana was trying to warn me,” she heard Ma say fretfully.

Tatiana! Esther stopped abruptly. That was the sister Aunt Olga said Esther looked like. What had Ma dreamed about her?

“Did she speak to you?” Pa asked. “What did she say?”

“She did not speak. She just stood there with a suitcase in her hand.”

“That doesn’t sound so terrible,” Pa replied.

“But it had been raining. Rain at the start of a journey is always an omen of bad fortune. Maybe—maybe the move is a mistake.” Esther had never heard Ma sound so uncertain.

“Sometimes a dream is just a dream, Anna,” said Pa. “Besides, you say it had been raining. So the rain had stopped. The sun was probably about to come out. That would make it a dream of good fortune.”

“Maybe you are right . . . ,” Ma said.

“Of course I am,” Pa said. “Now, no more worries. I must go watch for the movers.”

Esther listened to his footsteps go out of the apartment and down the stairs before she went into the kitchen. Ma was wrapping plates in old newspaper and stacking them in a metal washtub. Esther was relieved to hear her humming softly under her breath. She must have decided that Pa was right and this time a dream was just a dream.

“There you are!” Ma said when she saw Esther. “You must hurry and eat. The movers will be here soon and there is still much work to be done.”

Esther ate the slice of homemade bread Ma had set out for her. She drank her glass of milk. And all the while she watched Ma. How quickly her hands flew from one plate to the next. Already the tub was nearly full. The next time Esther saw those plates, she’d be in the new house on the farm. She’d have begun her first real adventure.

Impulsively, Esther said, “It’s an exciting day, isn’t it, Ma?”

Ma’s hands paused at their work. She looked surprised by Esther’s question. But she nodded. “Yes. A very exciting day.” Her voice was soft. A smile played at the corners of her mouth. Esther smiled back at her. It was as if she and Ma shared a special secret.

“Can I help you pack the dishes, Ma?” she asked. If Ma said yes, she’d work her hardest and fastest. Then Ma might say, “Nu, Esther, what would I do without you?” She might even give Esther a hug. Barely breathing, Esther waited for Ma’s reply.

But Ma shook her head. “No. You go help Violet with the bedding.”

Esther was disappointed. But obedience was as important to Ma as hard work. So Esther said, “Yes, Ma,” and hurried to the bedroom. She helped Violet tie the corners of their sheets together with pillows, quilt, and blankets—even Margaret!—all snug inside. It made a big, bulging bundle too awkward for them to carry, but not for Pa. He picked it up as if it were a bag of rolls and went away whistling.

Esther guessed from the sound of his whistling that he had liked being a farmer. And anything that Pa liked so well, she would like, too, she decided. Suddenly she couldn’t wait to see the farm in Wisconsin. Only Pa had been there, but he came back with glowing eyes.

“Good land,” he’d said to Ma. “It is good land.”

“And the house?” she asked.

He blinked and shrugged. “Fine. The house is fine.”

A little crease had appeared between Ma’s eyebrows. “There are enough rooms? There is a stove?”

Pa had waved his hand and nodded. “Yes, yes, Anna. We will have everything we need. Do not worry. Life will be good.”

Until that morning, Esther had mostly thought of the bad things about moving. But both Ma and Pa were so happy and hopeful. Life on the farm really might be better than life in the city. And if life was better, Ma would be happier. Why, she was already happier, and they hadn’t even moved yet. Once they were actually living on the farm, she would probably smile all the time. It would be easy for Esther to slip her arm around Ma’s waist and hug her. Then, surely, Ma would hug her back. Esther’s heart beat faster just thinking about it.

When the three big moving men arrived, they carried beds, dressers, tables, and chairs outside. They loaded them onto their truck. Pa and Howard helped. They carried lamps, mirrors, and dishes Ma wouldn’t trust to the movers. Esther was not surprised to see Pa carry the radio downstairs himself, too. She looked out the window and saw him gently set it in the back of the truck. He pointed to it and said something to one of the movers. She guessed that he was telling him to take very good care of it.

Pa had saved up months of streetcar fares to buy the radio from Mr. Greenberg’s secondhand store. He’d traded his Victrola and records, too. When he brought the radio home, Esther, Violet, and Julia had been delighted. Ma had raised her eyebrows, but the radio had stayed.

Every night after supper, Pa listened to the news. Then they all listened to the funny radio shows and laughed together. Later still, when Esther and Violet were going to bed, Pa listened to music. Pa loved all kinds of music, but he especially loved waltzes.

Ma called the radio a waste of money. But she listened to it, too. She smiled at the silly programs and she scowled at the news—especially if it mentioned President Hoover. Ma blamed the president for all the bad things happening in the country.

Best of all, though, Ma enjoyed the music. Esther didn’t realize just how much until one night when she got out of bed to get a drink of water and saw Ma and Pa waltzing around the parlor. She’d never seen Ma look so happy.

Moving was hard work, Esther discovered. She and Violet scurried around, sweeping each room as it was emptied. Kate made sandwiches for their lunch and supper. Julia scrubbed the bathroom. Ma cleaned the icebox and the stove. Even Walter was put to work dusting baseboards and windowsills. The apartment had to be left clean for the new tenants.

Finally the last box was loaded onto the truck. The last room was swept. The last sandwich was put in the basket. The bathroom and kitchen were spotless. Only then did Ma take the cross from its place of honor on the shelf in the parlor. Carefully, she wrapped it in a soft cloth and tucked it into her purse.

Ma’s father had given the cross to her when she had left Russia to sail across the ocean to America. “To keep you safe,” he had told her as he pressed it into her hands. Ma had told Esther and Violet the story many times. How she had been sad to leave her father and little brothers and sisters even though she was excited to come to America. The iron cross had comforted her on the long journey and during hard times in all the years since.

“My father had the village blacksmith make the cross out of iron so it would have the strongest powers of protection,” she explained. “And he had my poor dead mother’s red enamel cross set in its center to always remind me of her.”

The tiny red cross in the center of the bigger one made Esther think of a heart. She knew the iron cross had very strong powers, but she liked to think that her grandmother’s little one gave it extra-special power to protect their family and home.

Last of all, on their way out of the apartment, Pa reached up and plucked free the string of tiny bells that hung above the door and tinkled every time the door opened or closed. They jingled as he dropped them into his jacket pocket.

Pa would soon be hanging the bells above the door of the farmhouse. Fairies loved the sound of bells, and having them ringing on the threshold of the house—right where the fairies lived—would make them happy.

Happy fairies were a good thing. Unhappy fairies were not, and they could cause bad things to happen to the humans who were their neighbors. Sometimes little things like skinned knees and lost gloves. But bigger things, too, like fires and sickness. Ma would never spend a night in a house without bells above the door and her cross standing guard within.

“Time to go,” Pa said. He touched Julia’s cheek. “We will miss you.”

Julia sniffled.

Always impatient with tears, Ma said, “Nu—I thought you wanted to stay!”

Julia half laughed, half sobbed. “I did. I do. But I’ll miss you all terribly.” She hugged Violet. Then she hugged Esther. “Don’t forget to write,” she said into Esther’s ear.

Esther felt something being pressed into her hand. A coin.

Julia curled Esther’s fingers over it. “For postage,” she whispered. Esther hugged Julia hard, her throat too tight to speak.

Howard had borrowed his brother’s old Buick to drive them to the farm. Pa sat up front with him, and Walter sat between them. The backseat was more crowded because at the last minute Kate decided to ride along.

“I want to see the farm,” she said. “And this way I can be company for Howard on the ride home.” So Ma, Kate, Violet, and Esther all squeezed in together.

Usually Esther thought any automobile ride was a treat. But this one was too crowded right from the start. On top of that, Kate and Ma talked on and on about babies. Kate was going to have her first baby at the end of summer. She had lots of questions. Ma knew all the answers. She knew what to feed babies, how to dress them, what to do when they cried. Kate seemed fascinated. But Esther and Violet rolled their eyes at each other.

Esther looked out the window. She watched the city buildings slip away behind them. She saw more and more open fields and trees ahead. But they had a very long way to go. Over one hundred miles!

They stopped once at a roadside picnic area. They ate some of the sandwiches Kate had made and washed them down with cold water. Then Ma made Esther and Violet and Walter use the outhouse. It wasn’t a real bathroom, just a tiny wooden shack. And it didn’t have a real toilet that flushed. It just had a hole cut into a wooden bench.

Esther hated it because it smelled and there were spiderwebs in all the corners.

She held her breath and hurried as fast as she could. Esther feared all bugs, but spiders most of all. She was glad when her family climbed back into the car. It might be crowded, but at least it didn’t smell, and there were no spiders to worry about.

After a while, Violet’s eyelids drooped. Esther closed her eyes, too, but not to sleep. She wanted to daydream about life on the farm. Her mind was like the screen at the movie theater, except it showed pictures in color, not just black and white. She saw rolling green fields, an apple orchard, a splashing brook. She saw a big red barn, a fat brown cow, two prancing gray horses, and dozens of chickens. She saw a snug white house with green shutters. And best of all, she saw a dog dozing on the porch steps. The dog looked just like Rin Tin Tin . . .

“Here!” came Pa’s voice. “Here is where we turn. Our farm is just ahead.”

Esther awakened with a start. She had fallen asleep after all! She sat up straight and blinked quickly as they bumped down a rutted dirt road. Everyone was leaning forward in their seats, straining to catch a glimpse of their new home. Esther leaned forward, too, to peer around Ma and look out the side window. But when she saw her mother’s face, she stared at Ma instead.

Ma’s cheeks were flushed. Her eyes were bright. Her nose was so close to the glass, her breath made a foggy cloud on it. And the corners of her mouth were curved up expectantly. She looked as happy as when she’d been waltzing with Pa. Esther had been right. Ma was going to be different here. Everything was going to be different here!

But as Esther watched, Ma’s mouth sagged. Her eyes closed. She drew back sharply from the window. A chill skipped up the back of Esther’s neck. What was wrong? She looked out where Ma had been looking. She saw bare black fields, an old faded-pink barn, and some crumbling sheds. Off to the right was another building. It was small and shabby, the color of ashes. Esther’s chest tightened. She squinted and craned her neck, but there was nothing else to see. That shabby gray building had to be their house.

Disappointment swelled from her chest to her throat and stuck there. All of Ma’s hard-saved nest egg had gone for this? She had to be even more disappointed than Esther. Impulsively, Esther reached out to give Ma’s arm a loving squeeze. But just at that moment, Ma stiffened. She raised her chin and she set her mouth in such a grim line that Esther jerked her hand back.

The car stopped near the barn and Pa jumped out. He pointed to the fields. “Only thirty acres,” he said, “but enough for a start.” He led them into the barn. He pointed out the wagon and buggy, the plow, and other tools. “All this is ours,” he said proudly.

Best of all were the animals. The two big workhorses were brown, not gray. And the four cows were black with white spots, not brown as Esther had imagined. But she didn’t care. They were real. They let Esther pat them. One cow bobbed her head as if to say, “Howdy-do.” Both horses nickered gently. Esther’s disappointment in the house was forgotten. Horses! They owned horses! She couldn’t wait to ride them.

“We have to name them,” she said excitedly.

“Later,” Ma said. Then she turned and stalked out the door. After a stunned moment, everyone trotted after her.

Ma marched right past the sheds. Pa pointed out the pigsty. He pointed out the henhouse. And he pointed out the icehouse where he would cool and separate the milk. But he didn’t stop again, because Ma was moving ever faster toward the house. He must have realized something was wrong. He walked faster, too. His long legs caught up with her just as she reached the front door. Pa took a key from his pocket, put it in the lock, and opened the door. Then they went quickly inside.

Esther and Violet weren’t far behind and would have followed Ma and Pa into the house, but Kate called to them to wait. When she and Howard joined the girls on the porch a few moments later, Kate said, “Let’s give Ma and Pa a little time alone.” Holding on to Howard’s arm, she walked gingerly across the sagging porch, shaking her head. “Oh, Pa,” she sighed.

Esther bit her lip. Things weren’t going at all the way she had imagined. Of course, the house might be much nicer inside than it was outside. It might. She crossed her fingers and tried to peek through a window. But it was so coated with dirt, she couldn’t see a thing. Meanwhile, Walter was running dizzily around the house, blowing a whistle he’d pulled from his pocket. Violet was staring at the empty fields with a bleak expression. And Howard was trying to cheer up Kate.

“It’s not so bad,” he said heartily. “A little paint and a good cleaning and it’ll be real cozy.” But Esther could tell he didn’t mean it. He was smiling too hard. And Kate’s raised eyebrows said she didn’t believe Howard, either.

Ma and Pa finally came out. Ma’s back was very straight. Her mouth was very tight. It was Pa who invited everyone in to see the new house. “After the first harvest I will fix it up,” he told them. “Until then, it will do.”

Esther and Violet went through the house together. It didn’t take long. There were only three rooms downstairs—the kitchen, the parlor, and a bedroom for Ma and Pa. Upstairs there were two small rooms with sloping ceilings—one for the girls and one for Walter.

“Where’s the bathroom, Pa?” Violet called down.

“Out back,” he said. He added quickly over Violet’s shrieks, “Just until the first harvest. It will not be so bad. Be thankful it is spring.”

Esther shivered at the thought of using an outhouse in winter. Then she imagined using it in summer and shivered even harder. There would be all kinds of horrible bugs!

The toot of a horn announced the arrival of the truck with their furniture. Esther trudged down the stairs after Violet. Ma and Pa went out to greet the movers. But Esther stopped to look more closely at the kitchen. It didn’t look like any kitchen she’d ever seen.

“Where’s the icebox?” she whispered to Kate. Surely it wasn’t outside, too!

Kate sighed. “There doesn’t seem to be one.”

Esther felt her mouth fall open. No icebox! “How will we keep our food cold?”

“There’s a cellar.” Kate pointed to a small door in the middle of the floor.

Esther’s “oh” was very soft. Things were getting worse and worse.

“And I may as well tell you, while Ma and Pa are outside—there’s no electricity, either.” Kate rubbed between her eyes as if she had a headache.

“That does it! We can’t stay here,” Violet objected. “Nobody lives like this anymore!” She stomped her foot indignantly.

“Shush! Ma and Pa will hear,” Kate said with a worried glance at the door. “Look, I know it’s bad. It’s not what anyone expected, least of all Ma. But it was the only farm Pa could afford and he’s so excited about it . . .” She smiled encouragingly. “Give it a chance. Maybe it won’t be so bad.”

“Easy for you to say,” Violet said sourly. “You don’t have to go outside to the bathroom. And you’ll still have—”

“The radio!” Esther suddenly gasped. “Without electricity we can’t listen to the radio.”

Kate groaned. Violet actually whimpered. Esther felt the last bits of hope drain out of her, like air from a dying balloon. This was not an adventure; it was a disaster. And there was no going back. Like it or not, this was their new home. Esther looked at the peeling walls, the water-stained ceilings, and the cracked linoleum floor. Ma would never become more like Mrs. Rubinstein in this horrible place! Never.

A sob was crawling its way up her throat, but Esther wouldn’t let it out. They were here to stay. There had to be a way to make it good. Esther rubbed furiously at a grimy window with the cuff of her coat. She cleaned a big circle and looked out. In the distance she saw the bare black fields. They’d be green before long. And Howard was right about the house. Some scrubbing and paint would brighten it a lot. It might not be so awful then. In time, they might even get to like it.

Esther closed her eyes tight. She imagined the house bright and snug and clean. Good smells wafting out of the kitchen. Pa working out in the fields. Ma waving to him from the porch. And Esther standing beside Ma, with her arm around Ma’s waist and Ma’s arm around her shoulders . . .

Esther opened her eyes and blinked. For a moment she’d thought Ma had come up behind her. Then she realized it was her own reflection she was seeing in the glass. It was her uplifted chin. It was her squared shoulders. Things hadn’t turned out the way she’d expected. But that didn’t mean Esther was going to give up. It might take a little longer here to make Ma love Esther enough to hug her like Mrs. Rubinstein hugged Shirley. But Esther would work and wish harder than ever to make it happen.