Bubble Troubles Page 4

  Everyone sat around the living room for a while; then Mark and Mattie went outside with their sister and brothers to play on the swings in their grandparents’ backyard. Mark and Mattie’s older brother, Ike, who was sixteen and had auburn hair like Mom’s, stayed inside with the grown-ups. Before Mark had gone out the door, he’d noticed that Ike had been fiddling with his straw hat and looked kind of bored. Mark wondered if his brother would rather be with his girlfriend, Catherine, today, or maybe he wanted to do something else.

  I’m glad I’m not old enough to start courting a girl, Mark thought as he returned to the porch. He’d been eager to play a few minutes ago, but now he didn’t feel like doing much at all. Sometimes I wish I could stay a kid forever, but then if I did, I’d never grow up to be tall like Dad.

  Mark plunked down on the steps and rested his chin in his hands.

  “What’s wrong?” Mattie asked, tromping up the steps and taking a seat beside him.

  “Nothin’,” he mumbled.

  “Jah, there is. You wouldn’t be sittin’ here by yourself with a glum expression if something wasn’t wrong.”

  “I’m worried,” he admitted.

  “About what?”

  “I’m afraid I might always be short, and then the kids at school will make fun of me.” Mark groaned. “It’s bad enough that some of the boys call me Flame Brain and Brainiac ’cause I’ve got red hair and do good in school. I don’t need ’em callin’ me Shorty now, too. ”

  Mattie placed her hand on Mark’s arm. “You heard what Dad said before. I’ll bet you’ll have a growth spurt real soon. You might even end up taller than me.” Her forehead wrinkled. “Maybe there’s something wrong with me ’cause I’ve grown so tall.”

  Mark shook his head. “I don’t think so, Mattie.”

  “Well, try not to worry about it.” Mattie grabbed Mark’s hand. “Come on … Let’s take turns pushing Perry and Ada on the swing.”

  “I don’t feel like it. I just wanna sit here by myself,” Mark mumbled, noticing some oddly shaped rocks in Grandma’s flower bed. Normally he would have picked some of them up and taken them home to add to his collection, but he wasn’t in the mood for that today. He didn’t want to run, swing, or play tricks on anyone, either. He just wanted to sit there and think.

  Mattie shrugged. “Suit yourself. If you wanna be an old sour puss, that’s up to you, but I’m gonna have lots of fun today!” She jumped up and raced across the yard to the swings.

  Mark continued to sit there feeling sorry for himself. A few minutes later, Calvin joined him on the porch. “Look, Mark,” he said, pointing to one corner of the backyard. “Grandpa has the branches stacked for the bonfire we’ll be having later on.”

  Mark glanced at the place where his eleven-year-old brother had pointed and gave a brief nod. “Jah, I can see that.”

  Calvin grinned and pushed a hunk of blond hair away from his eyes. “It’ll be fun to roast marshmallows later on, don’t ya think?”

  “I suppose.”

  “You sure look unhappy right now.” Calvin bumped Mark’s arm. “I thought you were excited about comin’ to visit Grandpa and Grandma Troyer today.”

  “I was, but after Grandma said how much Mattie had grown, it made me worry that I might always be short.”

  “I’m sure you won’t be,” Calvin said with a shake of his head. “I was short like you once, ya know, and just look at how tall I am now.” He stood to his full height and smiled from ear to ear. “Just give yourself some time, and someday you’ll be just as tall as me.”

  Mark hoped his brother was right. “Maybe I’ll be ginormous,” he said, relaxing a bit.

  Calvin’s eyebrows shot up. “Gi-what?”

  “Ginormous. It means really big.”

  Calvin chuckled. “You never can tell about that.”

  Maybe if I eat more, I’ll grow quicker, Mark thought, giving his right ear a tug. Jah, that’s just what I’ll do. I’ll start eatin’ more food.

  “Would someone please pass the grummbiere?” Mark asked during supper that evening.

  Mom’s eyebrows furrowed. “You want more potatoes? But you’ve already had two helpings so far, not to mention the three pieces of chicken you ate.”

  “I’m hungerich,” he said, reaching for another roll and slathering it with some of Grandma’s sweet-tasting apple butter.

  “My little brother’s a growing boy.” Ike chuckled and poked Mark’s already full stomach. “Least he will be if he keeps eating like that.”

  Russell, who was thirteen, bobbed his blond head.

  “It’s not good to overeat,” Grandma said. “You might end up with a bauchweh.”

  “That’s true,” Dad agreed. “You don’t want a stomachache, do you, Mark?”

  Mark shook his head. “But if I eat more, I might grow quicker.”

  “You’ll grow fat but not tall.” Ike snickered.

  “Your big brother is right,” Mom said. “If you eat too much on a regular basis, you might become overweight, but it won’t help you grow any taller.”

  “What will help me then?” Mark questioned.

  “Time is what you need.” Grandpa Troyer spoke up, giving his full gray beard a quick tug. “You’ll grow taller when the time is right. I thought we’d had this discussion already.”

  “Mark’s worried that the kids at school might start calling him Shorty,” Mattie announced before Mark could respond.

  “If they do, just ignore them,” Mom said. “I don’t think they will, though. Not unless you bring attention to the fact that Mattie’s taller than you.”

  “Some of the other kids our age aren’t real tall, either.” Mattie smiled at Mark. “You’re taller than my friend Stella Schrock.”

  Mark didn’t say anything as he finished eating his roll and reached for another piece of meat. By the time supper was over, he was so full he could hardly get up from his chair. Maybe he’d been wrong to stuff himself like that. If he was going to eat more food, it might be best if he didn’t do it all at once. Now he was too full for dessert.

  “Don’t anyone leave the table yet,” Mom said after their meal was over and the dishes had been cleared away. “It’s time for Grandma to open her presents, and then we’ll have cake and ice cream.”

  Grandma smiled as Mom handed her the gifts. “You didn’t need to get me anything. Just having you all here is gift enough for me.”

  “We’re glad we could be here,” Mom said, “but we wanted to give you something.”

  Everyone nodded in agreement.

  As Grandma opened her gifts, she smiled and commented on each one. When she got to the framed wildflower design Mattie had made, she smiled and said, “Danki, Mattie. I can see you worked hard making this for me.” Then she mouthed the words, “I love you, too,” to Mattie. “Maybe you can explain to me later how you dried the wildflowers.”

  Mattie smiled. She was glad Grandma liked what she had created with the flowers.

  “I’m going to get Grandma’s birthday cake now.” Mom moved over to the counter and came back with a huge chocolate cake. It had been decorated with creamy white frosting and red flowers that looked like real roses.

  “This looks appeditlich,” Grandma said when Mom placed the birthday cake in front of her. “Why, it’s almost too pretty to eat.”

  “I made it to eat, and Mattie helped me decorate it,” Mom said as she lit the candles on the cake. “Now, let’s sing ‘Happy Birthday’ to Grandma, and then she can blow out her candles and make a wish.”

  “I really don’t know what to wish for,” Grandma said. “I’m with my family tonight, so I have everything I want right here in this room.”

  Grandpa gave a nod. “Same goes for me.”

  “You can blow out your candles even if you don’t make a wish,” Mattie said.

  Everyone sang “Happy Birthday,” and when the song ended, Grandma leaned close to the candles and blew. All the candles went out except one. She blew on it again, but it stayed lit. Twice
more Grandma blew, although it did no good. That one lone candle continued to flicker.

  “All right,” she said, squinting her eyes at Grandpa. “Are you the practical joker who put a trick candle on my cake?”

  Grandpa’s cheeks turned bright red as he leaned his head back and laughed. Everyone else joined in. Mattie thought it was pretty funny, until Grandpa’s false teeth shot out of his mouth and landed on his plate with a clink! Everyone laughed even harder after that—everyone but Mattie, that is. Seeing Grandpa without any teeth in his mouth, and with his lips kind of sunken, caused Mattie to worry. What if she lost all her teeth and had to get dentures? That would be much worse than being short like Mark.

  “What’s the matter, little bruder?” Ike teased Mark as they all sat around the bonfire Grandpa had started in the backyard. “You only had a little piece of cake for dessert and no ice cream at all. Did you eat too much for supper?”

  “Jah, I did.” Mark held his belly, feeling annoyed at his brother for mentioning food. Mark loved chocolate cake and wanted to eat more, but his stomach was so full he thought it might burst. Now here they were, two hours later, and he wasn’t sure he’d be able to enjoy the marshmallows the rest of the family had started roasting.

  “Be careful now, son,” Dad warned when Perry got too close to the flames.

  Perry stepped away from the fire, and Mom gave him and little Ada each a marshmallow. That seemed to make them both happy, as they handed them to Dad to roast.

  “I like my marshmallows to catch on fire so the outside turns black.” Calvin smiled, showing evidence of ash between his teeth from the marshmallow he’d just eaten.

  “Me, too,” Russell agreed, waving a flaming marshmallow back and forth with his stick.

  “You all need to watch out that you don’t burn your fingers or mouths,” Mom warned. “Those marshmallows can get hot real quick when they start melting.”

  Grandpa had a nice fire going by then, and the warmth from it felt good as the night air started to chill. He also kept a hose nearby, which he always did whenever they had a campfire. Every now and then he’d wet the grassy area around the burning branches so the fire wouldn’t spread any farther than it should.

  “Here comes Grandma with some hot chocolate.” Grandpa grinned, running over to assist her with the thermos, mugs, graham crackers, and chocolate bars for s’mores. Suddenly, the hose got wrapped around his foot, and down he went with a thud!

  “Grandpa, are you all right?” Mark yelled, forgetting that his stomach still hurt.

  Dad and Ike hurried over to help Grandpa to his feet. Then they held on to him as they moved over to one of the lawn chairs.

  “I—I think I’m okay. Just need to catch my breath is all.” Grandpa panted, taking a seat. “Guess I didn’t realize the hose was around my foot. Don’t think I broke anything or pulled any muscles, though. It just knocked the wind out of me.”

  “Maybe we’d better go inside,” Mom said, kneeling down next to her father with a look of concern.

  “Are you kidding me?” Grandpa took Grandma’s shaky hand. She was obviously quite upset. “Your grandma and I have been looking forward to this all week, and nothing’s going to ruin her birthday celebration. And don’t you worry, ’cause I’m really not hurt.”

  Everyone sighed with relief—especially Grandma, whose sigh was the loudest.

  What if Grandpa had been seriously hurt? Mark wondered. I hope there’s nothing else in the yard that could cause an accident. Mark thought about the time Grandma Miller had gotten some food caught in her throat and how a teenage boy had saved her by using the Heimlich maneuver. Last month Grandpa Miller had gotten a book showing how to do the maneuver that could dislodge something that was stuck in a person’s throat. He’d taught Mark and the rest of the family how to do it, as well.

  Mark might be little, but he wanted to know all he could about helping his family and friends in an emergency, because one never knew when a situation like that could arise.

  While the rest of the family went back to having fun, enjoying hot chocolate, and making s’mores, Mark took the hose, straightened it out, and moved it away from where everyone sat. After that, he made a quick jaunt around the backyard to make sure there was nothing else that could cause another accidental fall. Seeing Grandpa Troyer go down like that had caused Mark to worry it might happen to someone else. He was thankful Grandpa was okay.

  CHAPTER 5

  Mattie’s Tooth

  A week after the Millers returned home from Grandpa and Grandma Troyer’s, one of Mattie’s bottom teeth started to ache. It felt worse by the time she and Mark rode home from school on Monday afternoon.

  Oh no, Mattie thought. This can’t be happening to me.

  “What’s wrong, Mattie?” Mark called over his shoulder. “How come you’re not pedaling anymore?”

  “I’m worried,” she replied, rolling her tongue over her throbbing tooth.

  “Again? What are ya worried about this time?”

  “One of my teeth hurts.” Mattie swallowed hard, trying hard not to cry.

  “How long’s it been hurtin’?” Mark asked.

  “Off and on all day, but it’s gotten worse since we left the schoolhouse. It’s really aching right now, and I’m getting a headache.”

  “You’d better tell Mom as soon as we get home,” Mark said. “Zaahweh is schlechdi kumpani.”

  Mattie sniffed. “I know a toothache is a bad companion, and I can’t help but be worried.”

  “Aw, don’t worry, Mattie. Mom will take ya to the dentist, and he’ll fix your tooth.”

  “What if he pulls it? I—I don’t want to lose all my teeth and end up having to wear dentures like Grandpa Troyer does.”

  “Is it a permanent tooth?” Mark asked.

  “No, I think it’s one of my baby teeth,” she replied.

  “Then there’s nothin’ to worry about, ’cause even if the dentist does have to pull your tooth, another one will sooner or later grow in its place.”

  “Maybe so, but …”

  “You weren’t worried about losin’ all your teeth and havin’ to wear dentures when you lost some of your baby teeth before,” Mark reminded Mattie.

  “That’s true, but that was before I saw Grandpa Troyer without all his teeth.” Mattie sniffed, imagining what she would look like with no teeth in her mouth.

  “You’re not gonna lose all your teeth. The dentist will probably just drill a hole in your tooth and put a filling in.” Mark glanced back at Mattie again. “You’re not cryin’, are ya?”

  “A little bit,” Mattie admitted with a sniff. She didn’t want to be a baby about it, but it was hard not to cry.

  “Well, there’s nothin’ to cry about. I’m sure you’ll be okay.”

  “That’s easy for you to say. You’re not the one with a zaahweh.”

  “You’re right, but I have lost some of my baby teeth, and I never worried about ending up with dentures.” Mark laughed. “Remember the time Ike wanted to pull one of my top teeth ’cause it was loose?”

  “Jah, and you wouldn’t let him.”

  “That’s because I wanted to pull it myself.”

  Mattie cringed, just thinking about the way Mark had grabbed hold of his tooth with a piece of tissue and given it a quick twist. He’d let out a yelp when the tooth popped out, and then he’d run for the bathroom to rinse out his mouth. Mattie had never pulled any of her baby teeth when they were loose. She’d just wiggled them a bit and let them fall out on their own. But this tooth was different. It wasn’t loose, and unfortunately, it hurt really bad. Even so, she wanted to keep the tooth until it fell out on its own.

  Forcing herself to think of something else, Mattie kept her legs pedaling as they neared home. She was glad when they finally arrived and she was able to get off the bike.

  As soon as the twins put the bike away, Mark and Mattie hurried into the house. They found Mom in the kitchen, washing a head of lettuce at the sink.

  “How was you
r day?” Mom asked, smiling as she turned to look at Mark and Mattie.

  “It was okay,” Mattie mumbled. She couldn’t get up the nerve to tell Mom about her toothache. She just wanted to go to her room and have a good cry.

  “Would you like a snack?” Mom asked, motioning to the table. “I baked some banana bread earlier today, and it’s very good.”

  “No thanks,” Mattie said. “I’m not hungerich right now.”

  Mom’s eyebrows raised high on her forehead. “Now that’s a first. Whenever you come home from school, you’re always hungry and want something to eat.”

  “She doesn’t want to eat ’cause she has a zaahweh,” Mark blurted out.

  “Is that true?” Mom asked, lifting Mattie’s chin so she was looking into her eyes.

  Mattie nodded slowly, and her chin began to quiver.

  “How long’s it been hurting?” Mom questioned.

  “All day, but it got worse on the way home from school,” Mattie admitted. Tears sprang to her eyes. “Oh Mom, I don’t want to lose any of my teeth!”

  Mom tipped her head. “What are you talking about, Mattie?”

  “She’s worried that if she goes to the dentist he might pull her tooth, and then she might end up with dentures like Grandpa Troyer,” Mark spoke up.

  “That’s not going to happen,” Mom said, pulling Mattie into her arms.

  Mattie sniffed. “H–how did Grandpa lose all his teeth?”

  “He didn’t take good care of them when he was a boy, and from what I was told, by the time he was a young man he had to have them all pulled. Soon after that, he got a pair of false teeth. But they look really nice, and unless he takes them out, most people don’t know they’re not his real teeth.” Mom gently patted Mattie’s back. “I’m sure that won’t happen to you, because you brush your teeth twice a day, and your daed and I make sure that you and all our kinner go to the dentist for regular checkups at least once a year.”

  Mattie knew Mom was probably right, but she was still worried about seeing the dentist, because she was afraid it might hurt.