The Family

On a cool spring Saturday in Linsville County, Mrs. Allen drove down the dusty country road headed for her home. The clouds were scattered and the air smelled of possible showers. Rain was needed right now to grow the wheat crops on the old Allen farm. The farm's been in the family for over 75 years, and Trevor and Anita Allen, the proud owners for the last 10 years. Each year, Mr. and Mrs. Allen worked hard and struggled to make enough money to live the life they truly desired. Was this year going to be different? Perhaps this would be the year that the farm made such a profit they could finally take a family vacation with Mrs. Allen's mom Patricia, who had lived with the family since her husband passed away six years ago, Danton, the couple's 12-year-old son, and Sasha, the nine-year-old daughter who had lived on the farm her whole life.

Sasha was always a busy little girl, and often found herself in a mess; through no fault of her own of course. There was always some outside influence that drew Sasha into her interesting experiences. When she got caught throwing ripe plums at the neighbour's house and ended up staining the stucco and breaking a window, she was trying to knock down a bee's nest. When she cut off four inches of her long brunette hair on just one side of her head at age six, it was because her brother told her to. When she got into arguments at school with that horrible Bradley King, it was because Bradley started it by insulting Sasha.

Because Sasha was shy she had some difficulty making friends. She had her brother, her horse Frisco, and other farm animals to keep her company but her mother constantly encouraged her to make new friends; someone she could go into town with on a Saturday to catch a movie or take a dip in the community swimming pool. Her mother felt that Sasha spent too much time on the farm and not enough time socializing. As such, today Mrs. Allen would register Sasha to play baseball and would enrol her on the local swim team. Both sports were starting up soon but Sasha didn't really care. She could do without being involved in organized sports. She was happy just playing catch with Danton in the yard using her old worn, black baseball glove that was once her father's.

Sasha's brother helped his dad on the farm and was rewarded for his hard work with a weekly allowance. He was a typical boy who played with snakes, climbed trees, and collected baseball cards. He had lots of friends and was often away from the farm on the weekends, spending his time and money at Cliff's Cafe which was about two miles away from the farm. Danton and his friends would hop on their bikes after Danton finished his chores and spend the rest of the day in town, drinking sodas and tormenting the girls from his school who were out shopping with their moms. Danton loved having money and appreciated the time he could spend away from the farm. He, unlike his sister, enjoyed school, although neither of them really excelled. They earned grades that just got them by. Danton enjoyed the social aspect of school more than the academics while Sasha couldn't wait to get home from school to spend time by herself or with her animals.

Mr. and Mrs. Allen were high school sweethearts who knew the minute they met they would be together forever. They dated all through junior and senior high school and were married shortly after graduation. They refused to listen to parents and teachers who encouraged them to wait a few years, so they could see some of the world before they settled down. Some of the adults in their lives even suggested the two continue their schooling, but the couple wouldn't hear of it. They knew they were meant to be together and Trevor Allen knew he would be taking over his dad's farm when his dad retired. He saw his future and couldn't wait to start. Anita Allen had a part time job working at the local bakery while attending high school. She got up at three o'clock every morning and baked loaves of bread and cookies before heading to school. She was proud of her domestic skills when she married and continued to bake fresh bread, buns, and sweets for her family every Saturday morning.

When Mrs. Allen's dad fell ill, the family never dreamed that the worst was about to happen. He had a few aches and pains, but nothing he couldn't deal with until one day when Patricia found him after he collapsed in the back yard. She was out hanging clothes on the line while her husband Drew was pulling a few weeds from the garden. Patricia was talking to him and when she realized she was getting no response, she turned around to see him slumped over his wheel barrow, still clutching a weed. A trip to the hospital by ambulance was necessary, and it wasn't until later that evening that the family was delivered the devastating news. Drew would have only six to eight weeks to live by the specialist's estimation. He had cancer in his pancreas and it was inoperable. The family helped him arrange his affairs and spent hours at his bedside in the hospital where Drew was kept comfortable with pain medication. It was a devastating time for the family. Drew's main concern however, was Patricia. He asked his daughter Anita to promise him that she and her husband would take care of Patricia, to which the daughter fully agreed. It was shortly after his death a mere four weeks later that Patricia packed up her belongings, sold her house, and moved in with her daughter's family. Luckily their large, two story white farm house had enough room for Patricia to live comfortably and have some room to herself.

Meeting Louise

Mrs. Allen returned home mid-afternoon with Sasha's Linsville Lions baseball jersey which sported the number 16. She had also been to the local sporting goods store and purchased a new one-piece swimsuit, swim cap, and goggles for the newest member of the Linsville Stingrays swim team. Sasha would be in the "tadpole" division, for girls eight and nine-years-old. "Tadpole?" asked Sasha. "Does that mean next year I'm a frog? How repulsive!"

"No dear. I think the next division up is the eel," Anita said with a laugh. "How do you like your new sports equipment?"

Sasha looked at the jersey and swimsuit. She didn't really want to swim or play ball so didn't really care about her mother's purchases. She knew that it would be a waste of time telling her mother she wasn't interested as they had this conversation many times before today.

"Well, if I'm being forced to play ball and swim, I guess this stuff is okay." Her mother wrapped her arms around Sasha and hugged her tightly.

"I knew you would love it," she cooed. "You are going to have so much fun and you are going to meet so many new people who will fast become your friends. This is going to be a great year for you," her mother said.

"Yeah ... just great," murmured Sasha as she gathered her new belongings and walked toward her bedroom. She dumped the clothing on her bed and went outside to the old tire swing. She always felt better swinging, and relished the peace and quiet, and shade, that the big old oak tree provided. It was her "thinking" swing. She could sit out there for hours and just let her imagination run away with her.

After about 20 minutes of lying on her stomach through the opening of the tire, with her head, arms, and legs dangling loosely, Sasha noticed a little girl standing at the end of the Allen's long gravel driveway watching her. Sasha backed herself out of the tire, and wiping her long hair from her face, she stood staring back. It was odd that Sasha had never seen this girl before. Where did she come from? There were no cars around and she hadn't heard any drive past while she was relaxing on her swing. The two girls stood staring at each other until the stranger took a step up the driveway. Sasha yelled out to her "What are ya doing here?" No response from the girl who from Sasha's standpoint looked about the same age as Sasha.

"This is private property you know, and if you aren't going to say anything, you may as well move along."

The little visitor took a few more steps up the long gravel driveway that was lined with beautiful red hedge roses that had just started to blossom. "I like your flowers," the little voice called out. "I've been admiring them for a long time, even before they had any flowers on them. I knew once they bloomed they would be amazing."

Sasha waved the little girl closer and hollered "If you like those flowers, you should see what we have growing in the back. They haven't all bloomed yet, but when they do, they'll be amazing too. Why don't you come take a look?"

With that, the little girl started slowly up the driveway. As she got closer, Sasha noticed that she was about the same height, but had a smaller frame than herself. She had blonde hair which hung down around her shoulders in subtle curls. As she neared, Sasha noticed her bright blue eyes and pink lips. She looked like a doll with her perfect creamy skin that wasn't even marked by a freckle. This little girl almost had a glow about her as she neared the area where Sasha now stood. She was dressed in a white and blue checked dress that came just below her knees and was wearing white socks and black leather shoes.

What an odd outfit for visiting a farm, mused Sasha to herself. She should be dressed more like me if she wants to play, with a pair of old cut-off jeans, a t-shirt, socks and runners. That's the type of clothing you wear on a farm.

"I would love to see what's growing in the back," the little girl said quietly. "If you don't mind showing me that is."

"Course not. I wouldn't have asked it if I weren't willing to show you," Sasha said with a laugh.

The two girls took the stone path that led them to the back of the large white farm house. Mixed annuals were planted along the path and the lawn was freshly mowed. The little stranger looked toward the house and saw large windows covered by gauzy white sheer curtains that were pulled part way back and tied. When they reached the back of the house, Sasha proudly pointed to the massive wild flower garden that her mother and grandmother had planted. Some of the flowers were blooming, and some were about to. The girls could see the small buds on the stems and little specks of green poking out of the earth.

"Those green dots are the seeds mom planted. They're just starting to sprout, so there won't be any flowers on them for a while," advised Sasha.

"I think this is going to be a place I would like to spend time, once these flowers grow," whispered the little girl.

"Well you can come back here anytime," stated Sasha matter of factly. "We aren't going anywhere. And by the way, I'm Sasha ... what's your name?"

"You can call me Lou."

"Lou? That's an odd name for a girly little girl like you," said Sasha, her eyebrows raised. "How come you got a boy's name?"

"It's short for Louise," explained the girl. "Everyone just calls me Lou."

Family Dinner

Sasha walked Lou back to the driveway and told her she could come back any time and hoped it would be soon. Lou agreed to pay another visit and watched Sasha walk back up the long drive way toward her house. By the time Sasha got to the front door and turned around, Lou was gone. She's a quick little thing. Sasha should have asked her where she lives.

Sasha opened the front door to the house and went inside. It was almost dinner time so she ran to the second floor bathroom to wash up. Her mom and grandma were in the kitchen, talking, laughing, and putting vegetables into serving dishes. Her dad was in the bathroom on the main floor having a shower and Sasha could hear him whistling happily. Sasha didn't know where Danton was, but she knew he'd be around. Danton never EVER missed a meal.

When the family was seated at the table, Sasha's dad said the grace. They always said grace, but the Allen family was not a church going family. Her dad said that "a family can pray at home and be close to God, they don't necessarily need to attend church." Sasha had been inside a church but once, and that was to attend her grandpa's funeral when she was too young to remember much of it.

Mrs. Allen used to attend church and was a member of the church choir before they moved onto the farm. She gave that up when she decided she should stay home on Sundays to help her husband with the chores. Sasha was curious about God and church, but decided that one day, when she was older, she would attend services to see what it was all about. For now, she was content with saying grace and repeating the Lord's Prayer the occasional night before she went to bed.

Conversation at the dinner table quickly turned to the children.

"And what did both of you do today?" asked Mrs. Allen.

Danton jumped right in with his mouth full of food to tell his family about being at the old garbage dump just outside town and shooting pellets at rats. It wasn't until he got into the gory details that his father put a stop to the story.

"Not really a dinner time topic," his dad said as he cut into his piece of broiled chicken. "Let's talk about that another time."

"Well, I met someone today," Sasha chimed in. "A little girl was hanging around our driveway and she liked mom's roses so I invited her into the back to see the flower garden. Her name is Lou, short for Louise."

"And does Louise go to your school?" Mrs. Allen asked.

"Nope, never seen her before today," responded Sasha.

"Let's use `no' instead of `nope' shall we?" instructed Sasha's grandmother.

Sasha shoved a heaping forkful of mashed potatoes in her mouth and responded "nope" while looking at her grandmother.

Mr. Allen interrupted the two. "You know what I saw today? I saw two silk worms having a race. Unfortunately they ended up in a tie."

The family groaned in unison at his joke, and then in typical Allen fashion, they talked over top of one another as they finished their meal.

Sasha's job was to clear the table after dinner and load the dishes in a sink of soapy water while her mom, dad, and grandma drank tea on the large front porch. Danton would always retreat to his room after dinner to have some time alone. The kids liked Saturday nights because mom would always bring out chips and dip at around 8:00 and the family would watch a couple hours of television before retiring for the night.

At around 10:00, Sasha headed to her second floor bathroom, washed her face and brushed her teeth, and stared at herself briefly in the mirror. She remembered Lou's bright blue eyes and wished that she had blue eyes instead of the ugly hazel ones she had. She'd have to buy tinted contacts when she got older, that's all there was to it. Sasha turned off the bathroom light and went to her room. She changed into her pyjamas and crawled into bed. The crisp clean sheets felt good against her skin and she loved the way the linen smelled. It wasn't long before Sasha was sound asleep and dreaming about her animals.

A Lesson with the Kittens

Sasha awoke around nine o'clock and looked toward her bedroom window. The sun was shining brightly outside, and she couldn't wait to get out into the yard and start her day. She knew she would be cooped up in school all day tomorrow so she had to get the best out of today.

She hopped out of bed and threw on an old pair of pink shorts and a pink and yellow t-shirt, and walked herself into a pair of baby-blue flip-flops that she wore so often there was a permanent indent of her feet in the soles. She ran downstairs and sat at the kitchen table and waited for her usual breakfast of toast and peanut butter and a tall glass of milk.

"Good morning sweetheart," said her mom who was leaning against the kitchen counter clutching a cup of coffee. "Did you sleep well?"

"I sure did mom."

Her mom popped a piece of whole grain bread into the toaster and smiled at Sasha while she waited for it to pop up.

"What are your plans for today?" she asked her daughter.

"Oh, just going to play with my animals; maybe ride my bike, help dad, see if Danton wants to play catch. I don't really know."

Just then the toast popped up and Mrs. Allen put it on a plate and covered it with peanut butter. She reached into the fridge and took out the milk jug and poured Sasha a 12 ounce glass. Once Sasha started eating, Mrs. Allen refilled her coffee mug and sat down across from her daughter.

"You know that baseball practice starts this week. It's Tuesday and Thursday nights, so you'll have to come home right after school and do any homework that you have right away because you won't have time after practice."

Sasha stopped chewing her toast for a minute and was going to tell her mom she didn't really want to play, but then thought better of it. Why get into this again and ruin a perfectly good morning?

"I will mom," Sasha said as she washed down the last bite of her toast with her milk, wiped her hand across her mouth, and jumped from her chair. "Thanks for breakfast."