| “ You missed a spot in Sarah’s room,” Mom said. I looked up from weeding the garden. “Yes, ma’am.” “And for heavens sake, what were you thinking when you made your hide-a-bed this morning? It looks crooked.” “Yes ma’am,” I replied again without looking at her, hoping that there wasn’t anything else she needed from me so I could go have some fun with my best friend Jerry. Just then, my sister pushed open the screen door and waddled onto the porch. “Mommy! Mommy!” Mom ignored her pleas for some attention. “I will call Aunt Margaret. But only after you are finished outside to my satisfaction.” I pulled a few more weeds but could feel her presence over me like a buzzing bee that just wouldn’t go away. Finally, I realized that I best stop my weeding and acknowledge her. She was standing in front of the bright sun in a red dress and high heels, determined to be the best dressed in town—even if she was just cleaning the house. The sun made me squint my eyes. “I’m sorry for messing up my hide-a-bed, Mom; I’ll make sure that I do it right this time.” She threw her hands on her bony hips and tightened her jaw, then clicked her heels back toward the front porch. Pretty soon she swooped up Sarah from the ground, dusted her off, and plunked her down inside the front door of the house where she wouldn’t mess up her hard work anymore. By the time I finished all my chores, it was three o’clock in the afternoon, so I knew I would have at least an hour to play with my cousin before dinner. “Alright then, let’s go,” Mom said. After working outside since early this morning I was ready to have some fun for a change. “Finally,” I said. “Sarah and I will walk with you over to Aunt Margaret’s. I need to return her spray bottle.” “I can bring it with me if you’d like.” “No, that is quite all right. Who knows what would happen to it if I let you take it.” “Yes, ma’am.” “Come on, Sarah.” Mom began searching our bright white living room for Sarah’s paten leather shoes that matched her frilly pink dress. “Ah, here they are. Sarah you must remember to leave your shoes by the door. I don’t need to waste my time running through the house looking for them.” Sarah grabbed onto her blanket. “Absolutely not. You are not taking that filthy thing out of this house.” My sister squeezed her lips and threw the blanket across the living room. “That is enough! Let’s go right now.” Luckily, Jerry lived on Thatcher Street, which was less than a block from our house so Mom didn’t mind carrying Sarah, even though she wrinkled her clothes an awful lot. When we rang the doorbell, Aunt Margaret started to cough right away. Her round stomach bounced and bounced until she grabbed a handkerchief that was tucked in her shirt. “Oh Margaret, I was hoping you would be over your cold.” “Well honey, I feel better than I sound. How are you doing, sweet little Sarah?” She leaned over and pinched her chubby cheek. “I can’t believe she is going to be three in a little while.” I pulled my foot loose from one of the holes on their front porch and looked past Aunt Margaret into their living room. “And I’ll bet you are looking for Jerry. Well, he is already at Hagg’s barn waiting for you.” I nodded, but before I had a chance to leave properly, Aunt Margaret continued. “Did you hear the news? Can you believe what President Roosevelt said yesterday?” “Shhhhh.” Mom kinked her neck toward Sarah and me. She never wanted to talk about the big war going on in Europe in front of us kids for some odd reason—as if she could shush everyone in Litchfield whenever it came up—which was just about all the time these days. The funny thing was that I already knew about it because Aunt Margaret let us listen to the radio in her kitchen all the time. From what I could tell, it seemed like President Roosevelt was on the radio every day going on and on and on about the advancements of the evil Nazis all over the place. Everyone was afraid the Germans would invade the United States next, but nobody ever expected that it would be a small country in the Pacific that would change our lives forever. “Mom, may I be excused to play with Jerry?” “Run along Carl, but don’t forget you need to wash and tidy up Sarah’s closet before dinner.” “Yes, ma’am.” Aunt Margaret wobbled down to her knees and looked me straight in the eyes. “You guys have fun out there; it looks like a wonderful day to be playing outside.” I nodded back before I ran through Jerry’s weedy yard on my way to Hagg’s farm on the edge of town. When I finally made it there, I ran over to the third row of corn from the ragged old barn where Jerry and I always caught up on the latest news. Before I had a chance to look around the knee-high corn stalks for Jerry, a dirt clod hit the back of my neck. I let out an involuntary yowl. “Hey!” I fell on my hands and knees from the blow. “You coward!” Jerry bobbed his head up from a row of corn just a few feet away from our meeting place. “Very funny! You could have killed me with that thing.” “I scared you—I know it.” “You wish!” I rubbed my dishwater blonde hair. “You are so full of it, Shoe!” Jerry said, rolling his dark brown eyes to the sky. Jerry loved to call me Shoe, short for Schumacher. I can’ t quite remember when he started doing that, but he rarely called me anything else. I automatically picked up some dirt clods and sprinted after Jerry. Even though we were the same age, he was a lot bigger and faster than I was. Not that Jerry was especially tall; I was just awful short. Jerry acted like he was defending himself, but somehow I managed to get him a few times in the back that day because he was a good enough friend to let me get even. That was what I liked so much about my cousin. He played tricks on me the same as any other kid my age, but he always found a way for me to save face. “Okay, okay!” he said, throwing himself behind Hagg’s barn, pretending like I had gotten him right between the eyes. “I give up! Please stop!” “Well, that’ll teach you!” “Hey, let’s play the Nazi game!” He tried to push back his thick brown hair but it fell back into his face. “That’s a great idea!” The Nazi game had become one of our favorite sports now that we heard so much about them on the news all the time. The best part was that we always played like the American soldiers who were the last ones to defend our country against the Germans. Jerry threw a dirt clod over the corn. “Take that you stinking Nazi!” “Neeeer—kaboom!” We dove down between the cornstalks to protect ourselves. Jerry rolled on the soft ground until he found a stick that could pass as a machine gun. He jumped up to his knees. “Rat a tat tat, rat a tat tat!” He quickly nodded to me, “You better go find some more ammunition! I’ll stay here and hold them off!” I jumped to my feet and searched for dirt clods, careful to keep myself low to the ground until I could find the right types of bombs that would fend off the Germans. “Great work, Shoe!” Jerry said when I dumped all of our newfound ammunition on the rich soil. I started to fling the bombs over the cornfields when I heard the barn door slam from the wind. “Phoeey!” Jerry threw down his machine gun and plugged his nose. All of a sudden I was overwhelmed with the stench of cow manure from Hagg’s barn. I grabbed my nose, but it was no use–-it was as if we were completely surrounded by the disgusting smell. “Let’s get outta here!” we both yelled at the same time. We sprinted out of the cornfields until we were on the other side of Litchfield Elementary. “That was disgusting!” Jerry said. “You’re telling me! Boy do those cows stink!” “I think I’m going to pass out!” Jerry swerved along the school’s sidewalk, bumping aimlessly into me. “Here, let me help you!” I guided him down onto the front steps of the school. “Boy, I forgot how strong those cows smell this time of year! I think they might even stink worse than those Nazis!” “Yeah, we’ll have to wear an oxygen mask next time we go to Hagg’s barn just so the smell doesn’t kill us!” “Boy, you said it!” Jerry started to laugh. “Hey, take a load off so you don’t get sick!” I sat down next to Jerry on the cool cement steps and breathed in the fresh humid air. I took a long look across the schoolyard where we had just finished the first grade. The swings made chiming sounds with every gust of wind, and the gravel was still bumpy with old footsteps from the kids running around at recess. It seemed like it wouldn’t be long before we were back in school after the fall harvest. At least Jerry and I never had to worry about being in the same class since there were only fifteen kids my age in all of Sherman County. In fact, some grades were combined to save money on teachers, but I never thought much about it because that was all I knew—or ever wanted to know. I breathed in the country air again and thought about all the fun Jerry and I would have this summer—after I finished my chores, of course. As soon as we had enough time to recover from the bad smell, Jerry plugged his nose and made a silly face, and I laughed so hard that I almost fell right off the school steps. Before I knew it, the red-hot sun started sinking onto the western prairie, and the shadows were getting bigger and bigger. I stood up from the school steps and announced to Jerry that I better get home. “Can’t we play a little longer?” “I wish we could, but you know Mom expects me back before dinner to do more chores,” I said. “It shouldn’t take me too long. Why don’t you come over to my house for a little while?” “Nah. You know your Mom will put me to work scrubbing the sidewalk or something like that. I better get home too I suppose.” We sat quietly for awhile, both disappointed that I had to leave so soon. Finally Jerry shot up. “I’ll race you to your dad’s store!” He pushed me aside and sprinted back toward town. I immediately spun around- and ran as fast as my short legs would carry me. Jerry sped past the playground, forgetting about the strong cow manure odor that had just about killed us a little while ago. When he turned onto Main Street, he dodged all of the shoppers like one of the Cornhusker running backs whenever they were lucky enough to catch the football. I found him in front of Dad’s store where we dusted ourselves off and gasped for air. Jerry always beat me there, but he still gave me a pat on the back. “I think you’re getting a lot faster,” he said with a wink, trying to make me feel better. I just smiled and nodded back at Jerry. After all, it was rather nice of him to think of me that way, because nobody else did. |
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CHAPTER ONE (EXCERPT) Litchfield, Nebraska, I mean. Situated right in the heart of America’s best source of food the world over, we supplied the country well enough to keep its dinner tables full and all the children happy. Ours was an arduous task, satisfying America’s hunger, but we took our God-given destiny in stride. During the spring, tractors resonated through the humid air day and night as they prepared the precious soil for yet another life-giving crop. For it was this time of year that was the most important—if the fields weren’t groomed and seeded just right over the next two weeks, then the whole country could go hungry. |
| It was with this huge obligation in mind that my small town had grown and prospered from a single shack on a dirt road to row upon row of two-story buildings along a bustling Main Street. I remember feeling at the time that there was absolutely no reason why anyone would go anywhere else— especially a Schumacher—because my father, my grandpa, and even my great-grandpa had spent their whole lives there. |
Lisa Schwartz |
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