ATOP Chapter Sixty-Four

Rachel was standing on the porch when Ronnie came racing into the barnyard, Judah in her arms and Benjie tugging at her skirt. Her eyes widened in surprise as he bolted towards the house... and then faltered, his knees buckling as he fell heavily to the ground. The surprise changed to alarm and she shifted the baby to one arm as she hurried down the porch steps to kneel by his side. Benjie was on her heels, his frantic yells heightening the situation.

Mickey was not far behind Ronnie and he slowed to a walk and then stopped dead, staring at the scene before him. Ronnie was still lying on the ground, gasping for breath as he gripped his left knee, his eyes shut and his jaw clenched. Judah was crying now, frightened by his mama's sudden movements. 

"Ronnie..." Rachel cried his name at first and then whispered when he didn't answer her. She reached out to him with trembling fingers, unsure of how to help. She raised questioning eyes to Mickey who stooped to take the wailing baby. "What is wrong, Mickey?"

"I... don't know..." Mickey grimaced. "He's been acting funny... got me worried..."

"Ronnie, please..." Rachel lifted his head, pulling it into her lap. "Are you alright? Can you hear me? Are you hurt?"

He groaned, shifting slightly, his hands tightening around his knee. 

"Yeah... sorry... Rachel..." he muttered, his voice strained. "Jus'... made a dumb mistake..." He drew in a deep, shaking breath and slowly let it out. "Jus'... needed a minute..."

"Your knee again?" Rachel's eyes clouded over with worry. "Mickey... please... go get Josh. Ronnie will need help getting inside. Give the baby to your mother, please." 

"Don'... worry..." Ronnie sighed, opening his eyes and grinning ruefully up at her. " 'M okay. I'll be fine after lunch, kay?"

"Okay," she whispered, squeezing her hand. She didn't sound convinced. 

"Oh, how the mighty have fallen," Josh quipped as he clambered down the porch steps, Mickey following. Ronnie glared at him, but Josh went on, unruffled, as he helped Ronnie to his feet. "Funny way you have of resting, Chief, lying on the gravel lane when you could be inside enjoying chicken salad and lemonade." He shook his head sadly, a teasing grin tugging at the corners of his mouth. "C'mon, lean on me."

"When this dumb leg is functioning again, you'll be sorry," Ronnie said darkly and Josh grinned wider.

"Easy, Chief, you're in no position to make threats," he winked over his shoulder at Rachel who could hardly help laughing. "Don't worry, Rach, he'll be fine."

There was really no semblance of an organized meal inside the Stewart's crowded kitchen. Donna stood by the counter, managing the chaos with a calmness truly beautiful to behold, as people rushed here and there, bumping into each other and laughing. To any outsider, it looked something akin to a disaster, but everything was running quite smoothly, in all reality. Chicken salad sandwiches, as promised, were piled high on a platter in the center of the kitchen table. All around it, providing mouthwatering temptation, were bowls of potato salad, coleslaw and fresh fruit, plates of cookies, and glasses of lemonade. People snatched plates as they came in, heaping them high, and finding any spare corner of the kitchen to wedge themselves into. But nobody was eating yet. 

Mickey had found an empty spot between the fridge and the broom corner and was standing there, leaning against the fridge and watching Jakob and Bekah with darkening eyes. The two of them had been lucky, managing to snatch seats at the high stools beside the counter. Jakob was talking, gesturing dramatically, and Bekah listened intently, leaning her elbows on the counter. 

Shonie had found a much shorter stool, the one Donna used to reach the cupboard above the fridge. She was sitting there now, in front of the mixing bowl cupboard, her arms wrapped around her knees as she watched with wide dark eyes and listened, but said nothing. Thirteen-year old Jesse, one of the boys hired to help with the haying, glanced her way and offered a shy smile. She returned it and then looked away, her gaze drawn to Benjie, who was stealing cookies. Ronnie was sitting in a chair by the table, his left leg extended awkwardly. He lunged forward as Benjie snatched another cookie, managed to catch the little boy by the seat of his pants, and dragged him backwards.

Jim stepped forward then and the kitchen fell silent. 

"We are so blessed today," he began with a warm smile. "To be so surrounded by dear friends and family. Let's take a moment to bow our heads and thank God before we eat, and wow, does this food look good..."

As everyone bowed to pray, Mickey stole glances at Jakob and Bekah, feeling guilty for being so distracted during a prayer and yet somehow unable to help himself. He noted that Jakob had pulled some sort of funny-looking cap out of his pocket, placing it on his head as the prayer began. Bekah had smiled at that, but Mickey was shocked. A boy covering his head during prayer? What on earth... 

But he was shocked even further to see Bekah sitting still like a statue, her head lifted defiantly, her eyes blazing. Her hands were clenched into fists at her sides. She sat like that during all the prayer, her lips tightening every time Jim made mention of Jesus. When the prayer was finished with a final "In the Name of Thy Son Jesus, Amen," she flinched. And in the momentary silence that followed, she finally lowered her head, folding her hands, her lips moving rapidly as she murmured something. Mickey just barely caught her words, but he didn't understand them. They didn't sound like German either... probably Hebrew. 

He wanted to ask her about it... but his courage failed. He didn't want her angry at him again. Especially with Jakob there. He was treading on dangerous ground. Mickey ate alone in his corner by the brooms, cramming food into his mouth with sharp, angry movements. His eyes rarely wavered from the two sitting at the counter, chatting light-heartedly as they ate. He was in a rotten mood now, and he knew it, and he hated it, but he wasn't quite sure how to shake himself out of it. And it stayed with him as lunch finished and they trudged back out to the fields. Bekah said something to him, but he scarcely noticed what it was. And he didn't notice the startled, hurt expression that crossed her face when he brushed past her, not trusting his voice to answer.

Ronnie returned to the fields with them, still limping, in spite of Rachel's protests. He had at least let her wrap his knee before he went back to work, but even with the extra support, it was hurting him to walk. 

When the lunch dishes were washed and put away, and preparations for supper underway, Shonie moved towards Donna shyly and tugged at her hand. Donna glanced down, wiping her hands on a dish towel, and smiled in understanding.

"You want to ride on the haywagon, eh?" She curled her fingers around the little girl's hand. "Come, my dear, Emma's just pulling up in front of the barn, this is perfect timing."

A few moments later found Shonie perched on the wagon seat beside Emma, her fingers gripping the edge and her eyes wider than ever, but she was smiling. Having stacked a load of bales into the barn, Jesse and Rudy ran towards the wagon, clambering over the edge as Emma turned the horses back in the direction of the field. As they rattled along down the gravel lane, Shonie glanced back over her shoulder at Jesse. She cocked her head sideways for a moment, just looking quietly at him, and when he smiled, she dropped her gaze and then turned to look ahead again. 

"Beautiful day, isn't it, Shonie?" Emma grinned and nudged the little girl at her side. Shonie nodded, tipping her head to the sky and closing her eyes, soaking in the warm sun. She laughed suddenly... a tiny, soft little laugh... and Emma smiled to hear it.

The work settled back into a steady, even rhythm, the horses clomping slowly along as Rudy trudged along the wagon, lifting haybales for Jesse to stack. Shonie's courage grew and she turned around to kneel in her seat, watching the work with interest. She was looking everywhere at once, taking it all in. When the wagon came to a stop for a few moments, she climbed over the seat to stand on the bed of the wagon. Rudy pushed another bale over the side and she moved forward eagerly, tugging at it. It was too heavy for her, and Jesse moved to her side, pulling with her. Together they slid the bale across the wagon and then Jesse stacked it atop the others.

"Hard work, isn't it?" he grinned as he spoke to her for the first time. He started to offer his hand, then thought better of it and stuffed it into the pocket of his jeans in a brief moment between bales. "My name's Jesse, what's yours?"

Shonie didn't answer, just smiled shyly at him. Emma glanced back.

"Rishona," she offered. "Her name is Rishona. We call her Shonie." 

Shonie nodded to confirm this, and Jesse grinned again as he retrieved another bale. 

"Shonie. I like that." He didn't say more than that, accepting Shonie's silence. 

As the wagon rattled back to the field after another trip to the barn, Jesse slipped off the wagon, bending to gather something from the grass for a moment. When he caught up again, he extended his hand, offering his find... a tiny bouquet of pale pink clover... to Shonie with a hesitant smile. 

"Here, like these?" he ventured as she accepted the flowers. "Clover. They're real sweet." And he was back on the wagon and at his work almost before she could offer a smile of thanks.