Janie's Decision

Janie's Decision


Janie's eyes popped open as the last strains of the night faded giving way to the pink and purple sunrise of a Holy Easter morning. She was thankful Lent was over and looked forward to the smells at Grandma's house after Easter services. There would be ham and scalloped potatoes, bacon-drenched green beans and hot cross buns that melted on her tongue. But the best of all would be the flaky, dough-encrusted baked apples dripping with butter and syrupy, brown sugar mingled with cinnamon.

Thoughts of Easter dinner made Janie's stomach rumble and grumble sending her bolt upright. The air hinted of a chilly dampness left behind after spring thunderstorms rolled over the farm during the night. Janie sprung out of bed and into her new Easter dress. She danced across the floor carefully missing the discarded clothes scattered everywhere.

Just then, she caught sight of her gloriously scraped and scabby knees in the mirror. She stood in silent awe as she surveyed the way the scrapes peered out from under the pink, lavendar and yellow dress Grandma had made. She breathed a deep sigh of satisfaction. Those glorious knees could almost help her forget the flounces and ruffles and cascades of ribbons spilling all over her like some nightmarish Easter accident.

Mother had insisted that Janie wear her white tights to cover her battered knees! Imagine! Such a horrifying thought! What was the glory of having skinned knees if she had to cover them up?! Besides, she knew Tommy Nichols would finally notice her! He liked girls who didn't mind knocking about the old fallen ash trees down by the creek and getting a little banged up in the process. Promptly, she triumphantly pulled on a pair of plain white bobby socks. Checking in the mirror, she was quite satisfied with the way her knees glowed. Slipping through the back porch door, she slid into her trusty red sneakers.

It was Janie's job to feed the chickens in the coop and gather the eggs everyday. As she skipped through the dewy grass toward the chicken coop a few straggling Canada geese honked overhead. Janie slowed to a stop turning her face up toward the sound. A breeze tossed some limp strands of her stringy light brown hair onto her face before they slipped back down around her shoulders. Waving her arms in the air, she gave a cheerful whoop of a greeting to the passing geese, but they didn't notice her. She continued skipping on her way.

Her brother's old rusty bicycle leaned feverishly against the trunk of an apricot tree. The bicycle was used to launch any adventurous soul into the branches where imagination took flight on sunny windswept afternoons. The fragrant blossoms on all five apricot trees were bursting with the promise of an abundant harvest.

As Janie reached the coop, she tossed handfuls of corn and oats from an old coffee can calling "chick, chick, chick" just as Grandma had taught her. She sat on the stump of a once grand oak tree hugging her knees to her chest. She thoughtfully watched the momma hens teaching and urging their chicks to scratch and peck at the rich, brown earth speckled with corn and oats. The chicks were balls of yellow fluff with glass beads for eyes and twigs for feet. They hopped about with feverish excitement as the mommas continued scratching and pecking. Occasionally, a hen would scold her fluffy charge for getting in the way. Eventually, all settled into a feeding rhythm and enjoyed the harvest of corn and oats.

Janie thought about those mommas and babies for a long while. How obedient those chicks were. If they did as they were urged to do, they would enjoy full bellies of corn and oats. If they chose not to...hunger would be their reward. Janie couldn't think of a whole lot of things worse than feeling hungry. Her own momma was a good Momma. Oh, how she loved her mother! A smile crept over her face.

The sun blazed radiantly drying the dew covered grasses to a lush, velvety green. With new fervor, she jumped off the old oak stump and ran to the back porch door. Throwing the door wide, Janie skipped through the house leaving the wooden screen door to slam closed behind her.

A short while later, she appeared at the front door. She had replaced her white bobby socks with snow white tights just as Momma had urged her. Her heart felt a fullness...like corn and oats to her soul. She felt a freedom she'd never felt before. She wanted to leap and dance with the balmy breeze. Instead, she slipped her hand into Momma's. Momma smiled warmly into her daughter's shining eyes.

Tommy Nichols would see her prized skinned knees...tomorrow.