The Cow-Pie Chronicles by James L. Butler Page A

anymore.
    But something didn’t feel right to Tim about his parents’ behavior. He was a little suspicious when, before bedtime, Mom asked him and Dana to come out of their rooms to talk with her in the kitchen.
    The two sat down at the kitchen table and Mom got them ice cream. Being served ice cream when they didn’t have any visitors was never a good sign of things to come.
    Mom sat down across the table from her children and watched them eat. Then she said, “You two are going to have to grow up a little now.”
    Dana and Tim looked at each other then at their mom.
    â€œI will when she does,” Tim said.
    â€œYou first,” Dana said.
    â€œBoth of you will quit fighting all the time and grow up right now!”
    Dana and Tim put their spoons down and waited quietly for whatever lecture was coming.
    â€œYou two are going to have a new baby brother or sister in a few months,” Mom said.
    Dana and Tim stared at her. They didn’t know what to say. And Mom didn’t say anything for an uncomfortably long time. Finally, she asked, “Well, what do you think about that?”
    â€œIs it going to be a brother or a sister?” Dana asked.
    â€œWe don’t know yet.”
    â€œTell me when you find out, and then I will tell you how I feel about it,” Dana said. “I’m going to bed.” She got up and walked out of the room.
    Mom watched her, frowned, and then looked at Tim. “Well, what about you?”
    â€œDo you want another baby because Dana and I fight too much?” Tim asked.
    â€œWhat? How could you think that?” She stood up, looked at her son then turned away. “Never mind. We’ll talk about this again when it gets a little closer.”
    Mom walked out the back door, clearly upset with Tim and Dana’s reaction to her news.
    Dana came back into the kitchen and sat down at the table across from her brother. “What are you going to do about this?” she asked him.
    â€œDo about what?”
    â€œHaving a baby in the house.”
    Tim couldn’t figure out why he would have to do anything about it. “Are you worried about not being the baby in the family anymore or something?” Tim asked her.
    â€œNo, not me. But who has to take care of every baby born on this farm?”
    Dana was right. Most of Tim’s chores involved feeding or cleaning up after the newborn calves.
    â€œI don’t think Mom is going to ask me to take care of her baby,” Tim said.
    â€œSomebody has to while she’s working in the fields.”
    â€œMaybe that’s why Dad said he would teach me to drive the tractor, so I can work in the fields and Mom can stay home,” Tim said, nodding his head as if he had everything figured out.
    â€œYou? Operating a tractor? The poor cows will starve to death!” Dana said. The Slingers fed their cows hay, grain and corn from their fields.
    â€œI don’t want to talk about it right now,” Tim said. He didn’t appreciate Dana making that comment—it wasn’t very nice. That’s why I call her “Devil Dana ,” he fumed to himself as he got up and headed up to his room.
    Tim wasn’t sure how he felt about having a new baby in the house. He didn’t really remember Dana as a baby, but he was already helping baby-sit some of his younger cousins. Sometimes it was fun. Other times, it was filled with crying, spilling food, poking eyes and just a lot of work.
    But babysitting his cousins lasted only a couple of hours. Having a baby living with them all the time meant no escape. Still, if Tim had the opportunity to learn to drive the tractor and help in the fields instead of being a Poop Slinger all the time—including a Poop Slinger for a little baby brother or sister—it would be worth it.
    As Tim climbed into bed, another thought came to him. He wondered if this baby news was somehow linked to Mom asking Dana about moving to town.