I scrambled out of the truck as soon as Evan got out, and went into the house and up to my bedroom, without

stopping in the kitchen like I usually did.

I changed out of my school clothes, and then I went back downstairs the back way, intent on slipping outside without

being seen. It was a good plan, too. Just not a successful one.

I had my hand on the back door, ready to escape outside, when Hannah said, "Hey, there!"

I paused to look at her, not moving my hand from the screen door. "Hi."

"How was your day at school?" she asked, with a big smile.

"It was okay."

"I made cookies," Hannah said, gesturing to the kitchen counter, where a plate of gooey-looking chocolate chip

cookies was at.

"They look good," I said.

"Come and have some. You want some milk, too?" Hannah went to the refrigerator, as if to retrieve the milk.

"No, thanks," I said. "Maybe later."

"Oh," Hannah said, pausing with her hand on the refrigerator door handle. "Well, okay."

"See you later," I said, and left quickly.

I went to do my chores, but I was keeping a good eye out. Waiting for the return of who it was that I needed

to talk to. When I saw the Jeep roaring up from one direction, and the four-wheeler from the other, I left the bucket of

feed for the goats right where it was at, and went running.

Brian greeted me by trapping my head in the crook of his elbow. "Hey, kiddo," he said.

"Hi."

"How was school?" Crane asked. He's the one who always, always asks that. He's real big on the whole school thing, and rides

all of us hard about making good grades. His favorite thing to say about it is that everybody has a job, and that ours is to do

well at school.

"Okay."

"How'd you do on that spelling test?" he asked me.

"I don't know. She didn't give them back yet."

Adam was pulling off his leather gloves, and shoving them into his back pocket. He said hi to me, too, but then he went

on talking to Brian about a certain cow. I waited until they'd all walked a bit away, and then I turned to Daniel.

"I need to talk to you," I told him.

We began walking along together, and Daniel draped an arm over my shoulder. "What's up?" he asked.

"What are you doing tonight? After supper?" I asked.

"I've got band practice. At Josh's house. Why?"

We were coming too close to where Adam and Brian had stopped to talk, and so I pulled Daniel's wrist off my shoulder,

and then kept hold of his hand, to make him stop walking.

"Can I come with you?" I asked, then.

Daniel sometimes will let me tag along with him when he has practice with the other guys he plays in the band with. Depending

on where they're practicing at, and stuff like that.

"Tonight's a school night for ya," he reminded me. A fact of which I did not need reminding.

"I could still come," I said.

"I'm probably gonna be pretty late tonight, though."

"Oh," I said, feeling discouraged. There was no way that Adam would let me go along. Not if Daniel thought it was

going to be a late night.

"You can come the next time," Daniel said, trying to console me. "Maybe Friday night. How about that?"

"No," I said, flatly.

"I'll even take you for pizza first," Daniel said, ignoring my negative response. "That's a heck of a deal right there."

"Friday night won't work," I said, feeling as though I was going to start crying. Of all the ridiculous things! "It has to be tonight!"

Adam and Brian were still too close by for my liking right then. They might overhear. Or see that I was upset. I turned, deliberately,

so that my back was to their direction, and they wouldn't be able to see my face. If they were paying attention, that is.

As soon as I'd said that, and Daniel could tell I was emotional, he changed his demeanor. He stopped being so casual,

and I knew he was zeroing in, to know that something was truly up with me, and that I wasn't just pitching a fit because I

wanted to go along with him to band practice.

He gave me a look-over for a couple of moments, and then said, quietly, "You need to go for a walk with me?"

I was trying not to cry. I really was. I nodded, and said, "Yeah."

"Okay. Come on," he said.

We started walking towards the barn, then. Halfway across the yard, Brian hollered and asked Daniel where he

was going. And then hollered out a reminder about putting some tools away.

Daniel hollered back that he'd put the tools away, and we kept walking. Nearly at the barn, Daniel said,

"Is this a private talk?"

"Real private," I said.

"Well, let's go in the feed shed then, instead of the barn," he suggested. "Less chance of somebody walkin' in on us."

Once inside the feed shed, Daniel left the door ajar, just enough to let some air and sunshine in. Without saying anything,

he cupped his hands so I could use them as a step up, to sit on the stack of feed. He stayed standing, and patted

my knee a little.

"What's goin' on, squirt?" he asked me.

"I need you to take me to town. That's why I wanna go with you tonight."

He was watching me, looking really serious, and I rushed on talking. "It has to be tonight," I insisted. "I need to go to the store."

"Okay. Why is it so important that you go to the store tonight?" he asked.

"You have to promise. You have to swear you won't say anything to anybody else," I told him.

"I promise," he said, solemnly.

I bit at my lip, studying his face. "I need to go to the store, because I need to buy-" I hesitated. "Some stuff for

my period."

"Ah," Daniel said, in sudden understanding. "Today was the day, huh?"

"Yeah," I said, a little glumly.

"It happen while you were at school?" he asked.

"Yeah. Right before the spelling test."

I was regarding him with a sort of a bemused look, I guess, because Daniel smiled. Just a little smile. Not a big grin or

anything like that. "It's cool, kiddo. It means you're growin' up."

"I know all that," I said. "It's just-I wasn't prepared, or anything. A sixth grader loaned me a quarter so I could get something

out of the machine in the bathroom-" I paused in my rambling, wondering if Daniel would be embarrassed by me giving so

much information.

"Is this embarrassing to you?" I asked him.

Daniel smiled a little again. "No, squirt. I'm not embarrassed."

"Okay. Good," I said. "So, will you take me to the store?"

"Yeah. I'll take you," he said, and I breathed a sigh of relief.

"Okay. When?" I asked. "After supper?"

"Yeah, we'll go after supper."

I bit at my lower lip again. "Everybody's gonna wonder where we're going, though, and then if you bring me home, and leave

again for band practice, they'll really know something is up."

"I'll think of some way to explain it," Daniel said. "Don't worry."

"Okay," I said, and felt as though a weight was off my shoulders. Daniel was going to help me. Everything was going to work

out.

7

I was helping to set the table for supper, when everybody began streaming into the kitchen, making lots of noise,

and washing up at the kitchen sink.

Hannah had made sloppy joes and French fries for supper, and then chopped up a bunch of fruit for a fruit salad.

Neither I, nor Daniel, were on dishwashing duty that evening. Guthrie and Evan had landed that chore, and they were both

not pleased about it.

Daniel told me, in a low tone, that we would leave within the next thirty minutes or so. I ran up to my bedroom, and

got what little bit of money that I had, tucked away in my top dresser drawer.

When I came back downstairs, Daniel was waiting at the front door for me, his guitar case in hand.

Adam and Hannah, Brian and Crane were sitting around the living room and talking. Guthrie was lying on the floor on his back,

tossing a ball up into the air, and then catching it. Over and over. I didn't know where Ford and Evan had gotten to.

I waited for Daniel to tell them all that I was going with him. Somewhere. I wasn't sure what scenario he had

concocted.

But, he must have already done it, because all that was said was by Adam.

"You got your homework done?" he asked me.

"Um, yeah," I said. "I only had a little bit of English vocabulary."

"Okay," Adam said. "So, not too late for her, alright, Daniel?"

"Yep. I promise to have her home before her carriage turns back into a pumpkin," Daniel said, jokingly.

"Which means before eight," Adam was saying.

"Yeah, before eight, got it," Daniel said, and propelled me out the front door, his hand in the center of my back, as

goodbyes were being exchanged by everyone.

I called back a general 'goodbye', and we went out. Walking to Daniel's truck, I asked, "How did you convince Adam

to let me go with you on a school night? He thinks I'm going to band practice with you, right?"

"I have my ways," Daniel said, trying to sound mysterious. He winked at me, and opened his truck door.

I slid into the seat from that side, over to the passenger seat side.

We talked about ordinary stuff on the way to town. Nothing too in-depth. A couple of miles from Murphys,

Daniel asked me if I wanted to go to the general store in Murphys to get what I needed.

"I guess so," I said, looking at him, a little confused. "What do you mean?"

"I just wondered if you wanted to go there, or over to Angels Camp. I'm not sayin' you should, or anything. I

thought you might not want to run into anybody you know at the store here."

Such a thought hadn't occurred to me! Well, I'd thought over, briefly, that it might be a little embarrassing to buy

from the store in Murphys, and be checked out by Tim Taylor, who sometimes worked the evening shift after he got

off of football practice. But, I'd just figured I would have to turn every shade of red and just get thru it, with no alternative.

It was so thoughtful on Daniel's part, that I almost felt like crying again.

"Yeah. Angels Camp," I agreed, my voice sounding all muffled. "Thanks."

Daniel could tell, too. He reached over and ruffled my hair with his hand.

"You don't have to cry, squirt. It's no big deal to go over to Angels Camp."

7

Once we were at Angels Camp, we went into the store, there. It's a little small, but they handle a bit of everything. I

found the aisle I needed, and actually found way more than what I was expecting. Rows and rows of different products.

I was standing there, wanting to just grab something and go, but yet, not sure.

"What's wrong?" Daniel asked me, at my elbow.

"There's a lot," I said, vaguely, in explanation.

"Yeah. There sure is," he agreed.

I picked up a box of Tampax. "Some of the other girls use these," I said.

"Tampons?" Daniel asked.

"Yeah."

"Hmm," he said, and I looked up at him. "What?" I asked.

"I don't think you should get those-not for a while," he said. That was all he said, but I knew what he meant.

"Yeah," I said, with a sigh, and put the box back onto the shelf. I finally chose a box of regular pads.

"I'll get these," I said.

"Okay. One box, or two?" he asked. "That way you won't have to worry about gettin' any, for a while."

"Yeah," I agreed. I took down a second box of the same, and we went to check out. Daniel grabbed a bottle of pop out of

the cooler for both of us, and a pack of gum, as well, and we laid all of that, and my stuff, on the counter.

The checker was an older lady, which I glad of. That it wasn't a man, I mean.

Once Daniel had paid for everything, and we were walking out of the store, I tried to hand him my money that

I'd brought along.

"What's that for?" he asked me.

"For my stuff," I said.

"I've got you covered," he said. "No worries."

I smiled at him, and we got into the truck again. We drove back to Murphys, and Daniel asked me if I wanted

a shake from the Dari Kurl.

"Yeah," I said.

Daniel pulled up, and parked, and when the car hop was there, ready to take our order, he asked, "Chocolate, right?"

"Yeah. Chocolate," I said.

Daniel told the girl, (she was in high school, but I wasn't sure of her name) to bring a chocolate shake, and a strawberry shake.

When she'd begun the trek back to the Dari Kurl hut, and we were waiting for our order, Daniel leaned back a little in the seat,

and turned to look at me.

"So?" he said. "Think you're all set for awhile? With stuff you need?"

"Yeah," I said. "Thanks for bringing me, Daniel."

"I don't mind." He looked serious. "I'm glad you talked to me."

"I'm glad you're not the sort of brother that gets embarrassed about this stuff," I said.

"Not embarrassed," he agreed. "It's not a breeze for me, either, though. It means you're growin' up. I'll have to stop

treating you like such a kid."

For a moment, I felt all funny inside. "Don't treat me different, Daniel!"

Daniel's expression changed. He looked regretful. "Aw, squirt," he said, and reached out to give me a tug. "Comere."

I let him pull me over closer, against his side, and he put his arm around my shoulders.

"I didn't mean it that way," he said. "I won't treat you any different."

"Okay," I said, relieved.

Daniel ran his fingers over one of my wayward curls, almost absentmindedly. "You know, there's nothin' wrong in

others knowin' that you started your period."

"You mean the family?" I asked.

"Yeah."

"I guess not. It's just today-I didn't want anybody to make a big deal out of it. And I didn't want anybody to tease

me."

"Who would have teased you?" he asked. "I know Ford wouldn't. Or Guthrie."

"Not them," I said. "Besides, I'm not even sure what Guthrie knows about all this stuff."

"The boys have the same talk as the girls do, when they're in the fifth grade," Daniel said. "Guthrie's not completely in the

dark."

I nodded in agreement, as the girl came back with our shakes. Daniel paid her, and as I was taking my first sips of the

shake, she was flirting with him. Big surprise. I'm used to it. I just rolled my eyes, and kept sipping until she'd gone.

Instead of starting up the motor to go, Daniel just sat, sipping on his own shake.

"I don't think anybody would tease you," he said, returning to our conversation.

I thought of Evan, but then realized that Evan would be so riddled with embarrassment, and awkwardness about it,

that he would avoid the subject altogether.

"I guess. I just didn't want a big deal made," I said.

"Well, it is kind of a big deal," he said, and I gave him a 'you're kidding' sort of a look.

"I'm not sayin' we should shoot off fireworks, or anything," he said, tugging on my hair. "But, it's not a 'nothing' sort

of thing, either."

"I guess."

"Most girls have a mom to talk to at times like this," he said. "Or at least an aunt, or somethin'."

"I have you," I said, stoutly, looking up at him.

"Yeah. You have me," he agreed. "Always."

I smiled at him, and he went on, "I still wish Mom was here for you, though."

I thought of my mother sometimes. Well, I thought of both of my parents at times. They were sort of an enigma to me.

Two figures, not in my memory, but still there, in my mind. Vague. And basically unknown. I always held to the belief that

they'd been wonderful. And that they had loved me. Sometimes, I thought of them more than at other times. But, it wasn't

a huge ache or anything. My brothers had so encompassed my growing up years.

I knew, though, that Daniel had been extremely close to our mother. He'd inherited his love and gift for music from her. That's

what Brian said.

"I'm tryin' to think of what Mom might have said to you," Daniel said. He looked as though he was thinking so I stayed quiet.

"You already know it's a normal thing to growin' up. It's part of becoming a grownup woman. But, it's only one part. It

doesn't mean that the growin' up is all done. It's physical, but there's other things to learning to be the best woman you

can be," he said.

"Like caring for other people, and being a hard worker, right?" I asked.

"Yeah. Like that," he said. "And, other stuff that you'll figure out as you get older."

I took another sip of my shake.

"I'm gonna be late tonight," he said. "Like I told you, earlier. So, what I'm gonna do is, take you home, and then

head back to Josh's for practice. You can tell everybody at home that I decided I was gonna be too late for you to

stay around. That way, nobody will suspect anything."

"Okay," I agreed.

"Let's get you home, then," he said, and I scooted over to my seat.

Daniel started the motor, but instead of backing out immediately, he sat still.

"Don't you think you could talk to Hannah?" he asked me.

I looked over at him, thinking, and nibbling at my lower lip.

"I'm not sayin' that you have to feel like you should," Daniel went on, sounding as though he was measuring his words

carefully. "But, she'd definitely be able to give you more of a woman's viewpoint, and understanding."

I was still silent, just looking at him, and he put the truck in reverse, and began to back out of the Dari Kurl parking lot.

"I'm just sayin', think about it. Okay?" he told me.

"Okay," I agreed.

7