Running Around (and Such) Read Online Free PDF Page B

are.”
    Lizzie swallowed the lump in her throat. She could never understand why she felt like crying when Mam was kind.
    But that was often how it was. Maybe when anger dissolved, it brought a lump to her throat and tears to her eyes. Probably.

Chapter 6

    W HEN MOVING DAY ARRIVED , Lizzie was glad to see the moving truck pull in. She just wanted to put the worst part behind her, get to the new farm, and begin living her new life in Cameron County.
    The sun shone with a golden light on the new spring leaves as they wound their way along the twisting mountain road, following closely behind the loaded moving truck in a van Dat had rented for the day. It was a lovely time of year to move, with a fresh spring breeze making everything seem soft and new. Lizzie supposed the four seasons would be the same in their new home, which was somewhat comforting.
    When the van turned down the farm’s steep drive, the front door of the house opened and Lizzie’s Glick aunts and uncles filled the yard, ready to help unload their belongings and carry them into the house. The yard looked so much better without all the pieces of junk strewn about, Lizzie thought.
    Inside the house, the girls ran excitedly from room to room. The place didn’t seem nearly as hopeless as it had on their previous visit. Mammy Glick and two of Lizzie’s aunts, all of whom lived right there in Cameron County, had emptied the house as soon as the English family had moved out. The tall, old kitchen windows shone, the glass sparkling in the spring sunshine. Even the grayish white tile of the kitchen floor was waxed to a glossy shine.
    While most of the family helped unload the van, Dat and his two brothers worked in the kitchen, connecting the gas stove and refrigerator to the propane tank that sat outside the kitchen wall. When they were finished, Lizzie turned the burner handles, one by one, and watched as an even blue flame burst forth. Next she opened the refrigerator door and stuck her head in, enjoying the cold air that brushed her cheeks. Now they could have ice cubes again and ice cream whenever they wanted.
    Mam came into the kitchen, carrying a box.
    “There is so much to be done,” Lizzie said.
    Mam nodded. “We could paint for a year and still find something to paint. But that will have to wait till we’re settled and everything is put in order,” she said.
    Lizzie knew that Mam was right. The walls looked dirty, even after Mammy Glick had scrubbed them clean. But at least they had nice things in this new house.
    That hadn’t always been the case, especially when Mam and Dat had first started the pallet shop. Then, it seemed, they were so poor that all they had to eat was lumpy potato soup.
    “What’s wrong with Mam and Dat?” Emma had asked one evening back then as she scraped Lizzie’s uneaten soup into her own bowl and added the crusts of leftover bread.
    “I think we’re very, very poor,” Lizzie had said as she gathered a handful of silverware from the table and carried it to the sink.
    “Why are we so poor?” Emma asked. “I mean, Dat and Mam are always busy in the shop. Dat makes lots of pallets, and the little bell above the door rings an awful lot lately.”
    “I know,” Lizzie said. “But they argue all the time.”
    “No, they don’t, Lizzie. Mam and Dat really like each other, and they don’t argue all the time,” Emma said.
    “I don’t care what you say, Emma. I heard them.”
    “When?”
    “One time.”
    “Lizzie, you stretch stuff. Everything isn’t nearly as bad as you make it sound.”
    “Well,” Lizzie sighed, grabbing a washcloth and wiping the plastic tablecloth furiously. There were little rips and holes in the cheap fabric, and Lizzie caught her washcloth in one. “See, if we weren’t so poor, we wouldn’t have this pitiful-looking, old, torn tablecloth on our table.”
    “Lizzie, you should be ashamed of yourself. Lots of Amish families have torn plastic tablecloths on their tables. When I get