A Surprise for Lily by Mary Ann Kinsinger Page B

trees. Wide-eyed, Joseph stood there shaking his hurting hand, awaiting his fate. Even Dozer sensed something was going on and snuggled tightly against Joseph’s legs.
    The unnatural silence beckoned Teacher Judith from herdesk. She popped her head out the window and said, “What’s going on out here?”
    Effie, the bearer of all news, true or otherwise, said, “Joseph punched Aaron right in the nose.”
    Teacher Judith hurried outside. She peered at Aaron’s nose, trying to see if it was broken or swelling up. She didn’t know what to do next. Lily figured she probably hadn’t had to deal with nose punching before. “It’s okay,” Aaron said, waving her away. “I was teasing him about his dog.” He glanced at Joseph, still holding onto his nose. “Sorry about that.”
    Aaron Yoder never apologized for any crime he committed, not unless a teacher made him. The world was turning upside down and Lily didn’t know what to make of it.
    Teacher Judith gathered her wits about her. “Joseph, I want you to apologize to Aaron for hitting him.”
    Joseph scuffed the gravel with the toe of his shoe. “I’m sorry I hit you,” he said, though he didn’t sound too terribly sorry to Lily. He walked off to join his friends and Dozer trotted behind, jumping and oblivious to the chaos he’d created.

    Papa had an idea to keep Dozer from following Lily and Joseph to school. Each morning, he kept Dozer in the woodworking shop until Lily and Joseph were safely in school.
    Papa’s plan worked for a few days. Lily thought Dozer might be teachable after all, until the day when Dozer sneaked into the schoolhouse during lunch. Everyone was quietly eating when Sam Stoltzfus suddenly let out a yelp. “Hey! Get that dog away from me!”
    Lily looked over at Sam’s desk, and there was Dozer, calmly finishing off the last of Sam’s sandwich. If it hadn’t beenDozer, she might have had a good laugh over the sight of Sam, looking so indignant, as Dozer polished off his sandwich. But since it was Dozer, she couldn’t enjoy the moment.

    It was a sunny Tuesday in September. Mama checked each pin in Lily’s dress to make sure they fit neatly. “Okay, Lily, I think you’re ready to go.” Lily wished Mama meant she could go to school, but there would be no school today. The whole community was taking a day off school and work to help Uncle Elmer and his family load a semi with their belongings. They had sold their farm and were moving to live with Hannah’s grandparents on her father’s side. Uncle Elmer would manage his parents’ farm.
    Lily ran out the door to join Papa and Joseph and Dannie. Mama decided to stay home with little Paul. “I don’t want to see them leave,” Mama had admitted at breakfast. “We said our goodbyes last evening when they were all here for supper, and I don’t think I can say goodbye again.” It looked as if Mama was trying not to cry. She was going to miss her sister Mary as much as Lily would miss her cousin Hannah.
    But Lily felt differently about saying goodbye. She was sad, so sad, that Hannah was moving, but she wanted to spend every minute with her before she left. It would be a long time before she could see her again.
    When Papa steered Jim into the driveway, Lily was dismayed to see horses and buggies parked everywhere, filling Uncle Elmer’s driveway. As soon as Papa said she could go, Lily jumped off the buggy, ducked around people, and ran into the house to find Hannah. The house was strange, empty, and echoey. Boxes were piled along the wall beside the frontdoor, waiting to be carried out. Men carried furniture out to the waiting semitrailer.
    Aunt Mary spotted Lily from across the kitchen. “Hannah is upstairs in her room.”
    Lily flew up the stairs. Her heart caught when she saw Hannah’s room. Her bed and dresser were gone. She was