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doing. Marge says that her father is in bad shape."
Jimmy looked around. "It's going to be a tight fit in the car."
"I can take the boys with me in the truck, Jim."
"That'll be fine," Elizabeth agreed, and the boys immediately got excited.
"I call shotgun," Bill immediately shouted, and there ensued a fast and furious argument which George
ended with a shouted, "Shaddup!"
Everyone looked at him with wide eyes. "Little Jim has shotgun. Literally. Jim, grab the Ithica 12-gauge
out of the cabinet. I've got the M-14. Jimmy, you and Marge grab a gun too. If we're driving around
these parts, we're going armed."
Jimmy looked at him and nodded. "We've got two 12-gauges in the car."
George looked at him and nodded, not needing to say anything else. Melody came out of the kitchen
just then and announced that breakfast was ready. Soon everyone was eating, sitting at the little table or
standing in the kitchen, and Anna was timidly trying the strange food but apparently liking what she tried.
The boys did the dishes automatically, just like at home, and soon they were sorting themselves out in
the vehicles. Bill and Alex were wedged tightly between George and Little Jim in the truck seat, but it
wasn't too crowded. The two younger boys together weren't as wide as George, and Little Jim wasn't
much bigger than his little brothers. Anna was wedged into the back seat of the Reardon's car between
Elizabeth and Melody, with Jimmy and Marge bracketing Lizzy in the front.
Jimmy led off, with George close behind them. It was a fair drive to the school, and George was
watching everything as they passed. Everything seemed to be normal, except there were hills missing
from the distance.
Mike Stearns and a beautiful woman with dark hair met them at the school. Elizabeth had explained
where they were going to Anna, and she immediately looked around."Wo ist Mutti? Wo ist mein
Vater?"
The woman with Mike smiled and said,"Komm' mit," then took Anna by the hand and led her into the
school, talking every step of the way. George and the Reardons followed along in their wake, with Mike
bringing up the rear.
In the makeshift hospital, Anna was led to her father first. The dark-haired woman explained what the
doctor said, and comforted her as the seriousness of his situation became clear. Then they led her to her
mother.
Anna spoke, but the woman on the cot hardly noticed. Then Anna cried, and collapsed, begging her
mother to look at her, to speak to her. Finally, the woman on the cot seemed to realize who was there
and burst into tears. She grabbed Anna in a fierce hug, crying and talking all the while.
George and the others stayed back, giving them as much time and privacy as they could. Finally Anna's
mother pushed her away as she drifted off to sleep. Anna sat on the floor, staring at her mother, until
Elizabeth went and collected her and led her from the room.
Mike Stearns was waiting for them when they came out. "Mr. Blanton, thank you for taking care of her.
None of us had any idea where she went after she knocked Dan down and ran off. We'll see if we can
find a place for her to stay until her parents are ready to go home."
George looked at Anna, then at Elizabeth, and back to Mike. "She has a place to stay, Mike. And her
mother, too, when she's ready."
"I thought you liked living alone, George," Elizabeth said softly. "That you didn't want any company."
"I thought so too, Beth. But I guess that I was wrong." Smiling at Anna, he held out his hand. "Kommen,
Anna. Let's go home."
2
The drive back to George's farm was silent. Neither of them could speak the other's language beyond a
few words.
Anna didn't want to risk annoying the old man. She was getting a sense of him, of his personality. He
wasn't really a mean old man. He was just set in his ways. That, at least, she understood. Grandfather
Steffan was like that about some things. He had his own ways, and no one could change him. That
thought steadied her.
She looked out at the scenery as it sped by, amazed by how fast they seemed to be going, and how
smooth the ride was. The farm wagon was nothing like this. Soon they were driving into the barn.
George opened his door and got out, but Anna just sat staring at the door.
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