I stayed upstairs in my bedroom the rest of the evening, studying over the Anatomy. Even though I'd earlier told him I didn't want any
popcorn, Adam still brought me up a bowl for a snack.
He tapped on my door, and came in, offering me the bowl.
I looked up at him, from where I sat, cross-legged on my bed, with books in my lap. "Extra butter?" I asked him.
"Absolutely," Adam said.
Adam went back downstairs, and I kept on, reading and rereading over the two chapters that were planned for the test. At least-I thought it was
just those two chapters. From what I remembered. I had the thought, for the first time in a long time, that this was what that chocolate-covered daily
school planner was for. To write things down, so that they could be read, and not just memory-relied upon.
There was a loud rap on my door, and Guthrie hollared from the hallway.
"Your turn in the shower, Har!" he hollered out.
"Okay!" I yelled back.
I didn't go right then, though, to the shower. I kept reading over the vocabulary words from the Anatomy book.
When I finally did take a break, my eyes were strained, and I had a slight headache. I left my stuff strewn across the bed, and grabbed
pajamas from the drawer, going to the bathroom. I'd waited too long. There was hardly a drip of hot water left at all. I shivered thru
what was one of the quickest showers in history. I rubbed my skin extra hard with the towel to try to warm up, and got dressed as quick as I
could.
I shuffled down the back stairs to the kitchen, and did my diabetes shot, and then set about fixing myself a snack.
Hannah came into the kitchen, and over to where I was standing at the counter, slicing small pieces of cheese.
"I thought I heard somebody out here," she said, smiling, and putting a hand on my waist. "You've been upstairs all
evening."
"Test tomorrow," I said. "Have to study."
Hannah, obviously knowing about my grades and the discussion with Crane and Adam, nodded, and then said, "I'm sure
you'll do well on it."
"I'm glad one of us is sure," I said.
"Oh, Harlie," Hannah said, and, then, spontaneously, she dropped a kiss on my shoulder. Unique, just as she is. I turned to
face her, eye to eye.
"You will do fine," Hannah said, sounding firm. "Do you hear me?"
"I hear you," I said.
"You can get back on course."
I nodded, and then yawned.
"You're too tired to study more," Hannah said. "Time to go to bed."
"I don't have all the vocab memorized," I said.
"Set your alarm to get up a little earlier in the morning, and look over them again then," Hannah said.
"Okay," I said.
"Are you just agreeing to get me to hush up?" Hannah asked.
I gave her a half-smile. "No. I am tired. I'll do what you say."
"Alright." She gave me a kiss on my cheek. "Goodnight, sweetie."
I hugged her neck. "Night, Hannah."
Once upstairs, I ate my snack, and then brushed my teeth. I set my alarm, and left on my lamp instead of the overhead light, and thought I'd just look
over the words one more time. I closed my eyes, just for a minute. I woke up to my lamp being turned off, and a tall figure, lit by the hallway light,
by my open door.
I turned on my side, pulling my quilt up tighter. "Night, Crane," I said.
He paused. "I didn't mean to wake you."
"It's okay," I said, sleepily.
"Goodnight, Harlie."
"Night."
7
I did everything I was supposed to do the next morning. I read over the Anatomy vocab words again. I ate a healthy bowl of oatmeal. I took
some diabetes-friendly snacks to put in my locker.
When I pulled up into the school lot to park, Kenny was waiting, leaning against a tree.
"Hi," he said, in greeting, and gave me a quick hug. "You doing okay?"
"Sort of okay," I said. "I've got that test this morning."
"Yeah. Did you study?"
"I studied a lot," I said.
"I called you last night," Kenny said, as we walked together towards the building.
"You did?"
"Yeah. I think it was Clare that answered. It was pretty late. Around 9:30. She said you were already in bed."
"Nobody told me," I said.
"I should've called earlier, but my dad wasn't feeling so good, so I was busy all day."
I looked at Kenny in concern. "Is your dad okay?"
"Yeah. He's just been a little tired lately."
I could tell Kenny was worried. Ever since his dad had cancer last year, and then went into remission, Kenny worries about him.
"I just wanted to talk to you for a couple of minutes," Kenny said. "See if you were okay."
"Well, the talk with Crane was pretty rough," I said.
"You grounded?"
"Yeah." I sighed.
"Man," Kenny sighed. "That's gonna be rough, only seeing you at school. Not being able to go out."
"I'll try hard to get my grades up fast," I promised him.
"Can I come over at all? If we hang out around the house, I mean," Kenny said.
"I don't know for sure. It was so tense that I didn't ask."
We parted ways at our first hour doors. "See you at lunch," Kenny said. "Good luck on the test."
During the Anatomy test, I focused, and remembered a lot of the material that was on it. I even finished before the time was up. When I
did finish, and looked around, I saw that nearly everyone else still had their heads bent over their papers. Surprised, I thought that I must have
not done well, being done so quickly.
So I read over my answers again, and found that I did not want to change any of them.
I walked out of the classroom feeling a cross between confident that I'd done well, but also fearful that I had bombed it.
By lunchtime I had a headache. I sat with my usual group at lunch, of Kenny, Lori and Trent, and Guthrie. Kristen was absent again. It seemed
as though she was absent more and more often. Usually, she would say that she hadn't been sick or anything like that, but that her mom had
'needed' her.
I was eating, quieter than usual, and Kenny was holding my hand under the outdoor table. As we were finishing up, Guthrie asked me, low,
if I was alright.
"Yeah, I am," I told him.
"Got a headache?" he asked.
How did Guthrie always know? "I did, but I got a couple of aspirin from the nurse's office," I said.
7
At work that afternoon with Ivy, we worked together, tending to a litter of puppies that had been left on the vet office back doorstep. I was the one
who found them when I went out to begin feeding the two horses that Ivy was boarding. There were three of the pups. Someone had taken the time
to put them into a basket, lined with an old sheet.
When I felt my heart prick at the sight of them, and I'd called to Ivy, she came to look for herself, wearing an old apron that was
covered with blood stains from doing a cesarean earlier in the week on an expectant mother dog.
"Oh, my goodness," Ivy said, seeing the basket.
I reached down to pick up one of the pups, brushing his soft fur against my cheek.
"People are such idiots," I said.
"Sometimes," Ivy agreed. "But-at least this particular idiot left them here, instead of drowning them, or dropping them on a back road somewhere."
"Yeah," I said, in agreement.
"They're too young to be away from their mother, that's for sure," Ivy said. She paused, looking thoughtful.
"I think there's some pet nursers in a box somewhere-I'll look for them if you don't mind feeding and watering the horses," Ivy said.
So, I did that, and then went back in, to stand over the basket of warm, wriggling little pups.
We each took a puppy to bottle feed, and then Ivy went to return telephone calls while I fed the third one.
"They'll have to be fed every two to four hours," Ivy said, when I carried the basket up to the office to join her.
"How are you gonna manage that?" I asked her. "You won't get any sleep at all-"
"I'll take them home with me. I'll manage alright," she said. "But, I do need to go out to John Potter's place right now, and vaccinate some goats."
"Will you be back by their next feeding time?" I asked her.
"I'll try to be."
"Maybe I could stay a while longer today," I said. "Until five-that way I could make sure I'm here to feed them in case you're not back."
Ivy paused in her preparations. "Harlie. You know what we agreed to. With Adam."
"I know-but this is sort of an emergency," I said. "I think he'd understand."
"I don't want to ruffle any feathers," Ivy said. "The puppies will be alright until I get back. Just make sure they're warm enough, when you
leave."
Ivy finished gathering supplies, and left. I straightened the office, took some messages, and held the puppies. When there was only a 45 minute period left, and
Ivy hadn't returned, I grumbled to myself how dumb this restriction was-
I dialed the number at home, and the phone rang for four to five times before Clare answered the telephone, sounding breathless.
"Hi, Clare, it's Harlie," I said.
"Hi, toots," she said, in answer.
"Is Adam inside?"
"Not right now, he's not," Clare said. I wasn't surprised. I hadn't really expected him to be. Hannah was my next best bet. Before I could ask for
Hannah, Clare said, "We just got home from the doctor's office."
Instantly, I was on baby alert. "Is everything alright? You're okay?"
"Yes, toots, I'm fine," Clare said, and I could hear her smile thru the telephone wire.
"So-Brian's inside?" I asked. She'd said 'we' when she talked about the doctor.
"He is for the next few minutes, anyway."
I hesitated, and then said, "Can I talk to him?"
"Sure. Hang on." I heard Clare set the receiver down and then voices in the background. Hers mixed with Brian's.
"Hey, peach," Brian came onto the line. "What's up?"
"Somebody left a basket of newborn puppies on the back doorstep," I said, wasting no time in coming directly to the point. "Ivy had to go
give shots to some goats-and the puppies have to be bottle fed every two to four hours."
"Shots to goats, huh?' Brian said.
"Yes. And, I'm not sure when she'll be back to the office. She might not make it back for the next feeding-"
"You're not bringin' those pups home, Harlie Marie," Brian interrupted. "Stayin' up all night feeding them-"
"No, I know that," I said, interrupting him right back again. "I didn't mean that. I wanted to ask if I could stay a little later than
four today so I can feed them the next feeding?"
There was silence on the other end of the telephone, and I knew Brian was turning things over in his mind.
"Four's the agreement, isn't it, Harlie? For you to leave?" he asked, sounding no-nonsense.
"Yes. But-this is sort of an emergency type of situation, so I thought Adam might understand," I said.
"You thought that, huh?" Brian asked, dryly.
"Yes. Is it okay, Bri?"
"When's the next feeding time?" he asked, and I knew that he was going to give his okay on this.
"About 4:30 or 5:00," I said.
"So-you'd be home by 5:30 or so?"
"Maybe six, at the latest," I said. "If Ivy's not back, I'd have to lock up and all-"
"Alright," Brian said.
"Thanks!"
"Then straight home," he said.
"Straight home," I assured him.
7