After the prayer, Kelsey yawned and remarked, “I’m glad my bed isn’t on the top bunk.”
The other girls laughed and Mrs. McKenzie, reminded of the lateness of the hour, hustled the younger girls off to bed. “Let Lottie and Kelsey have some dinner. I declare I’m so bewildered that I don’t know what I’m about. They should have eaten when they got home!”
“Don’t worry, Mom,” Lottie called, “I had popcorn at the party and wasn’t very hungry until now. Too much excitement, I guess.”
“Kels, are you hungry?” Lauren asked.
Kelsey shook her head. “No, I guess not. I’m just tired. Where are my crutches, Lot? I think I’ll go to bed with the younger ones tonight.”
Mr. McKenzie stood up. “No crutches tonight for you, Kels. And no stairs either. At least not on your own.” He scratched his chin in puzzlement. “How’re we going to manage it, girls? The stairs are a might narrow, and I don’t think I could manage to carry you up.”
Lottie stood in the doorway leading into the dining room, a plate of food in her hand, as she listened. “Couldn’t Mike carry her up tonight? The doctor said she could use the crutches tomorrow, if she felt up for it. She could come down then if she wanted.”
Kelsey looked from her father to her sister’s fiancé. She trusted Mike, but she was puzzled about going down the stairs on her crutches. What if she ended up being stuck up there?
“What do you say, Kels?”
Blinking, Kelsey realized she had stopped listening. “What?”
Mr. McKenzie chuckled. “I was just asking if you wanted Mike to carry you up, or if you’d rather sleep on the couch tonight.”
An exhausted feeling swept over her right at that moment and she fought to keep her eyes open. “I don’t know,” she mumbled in the midst of a yawn.
“Maybe she should sleep here tonight, Dad. Then she won’t have to move tomorrow if she wants to be in on the action.” Lauren was good at solving troublesome problems. “I know Mike could carry her up, but the stairs are rather narrow, as you said. She might bump her leg. Besides, if we talk a few more minutes, I think she’ll be asleep right where she is.”
Kelsey gave a slight smile and let her eyes close. “Night,” she murmured, nestling her head into a more comfortable position on the pillow and relaxing into sleep.
*
“Kels, guess what?” Belle and Shannon came racing into the room where Kelsey was reclining on the couch with a book.
She looked up at her eager, excited sisters. “What?”
“The car is here again!” Belle exclaimed.
“What car?” Kelsey didn’t bother to attempt to turn and look out the window.
“You know. The one that was here yesterday to take you and Lot to the party. With Zoe and her brother,” seven-year-old Shannon said.
“Just the car is here?” questioned Lottie, coming into the room. “My, I didn’t know it was such a remarkable car.”
“It’s not just the car, it’s them too.”
Finding her bookmark, Kelsey slipped it between the pages, saying as she did so, “Don’t stand talking, go answer the front door, Lottie.” She wondered if it was both Zoe and Wally or just one of them.
It turned out to be both, and Lottie ushered them into the living room.
“Hi,” Kelsey greeted them quietly. “Would you like to sit?”
“Oh, Kels!” Zoe cried, rushing over to her and carefully hugging her. “I’m so glad you weren’t hurt any worse! How’s the leg? Does it hurt awfully? How long are you going to be laid up?”
“Hold up a minute, Zoe,” laughed Wally. “You haven’t even given her half a chance to answer. How are you doing, Kelsey?”
“I’ll be all right. The pain isn’t bad, but the doctor said I was to rest and take it easy for the first week, and then he thought I could get out and about, if I were careful. I just wish I could go see how Mrs. Stuebanks is.”
“Oh, Kels,” broke in Lottie, perching herself on the arm of a chair since Zoe had seated herself on the couch next to her sister and Wally didn’t seem interested in sitting. “I forgot to tell you, Mair and I went up there this morning and they said she was doing just fine. They said to thank you for saving her life and they’re going to keep a better eye on her.”
At the news Kelsey relaxed, a happy smile on her face. “Thanks for checking, Lot. And thank you, Zoe.”
“What for?”
“For inviting us to your party and for convincing Lauren that we should go. If you hadn’t, I wouldn’t have been there to see Mrs. Stuebanks when she needed help.” She gave a little shrug. “What’s a broken bone compared to being killed or at least seriously injured?”
Zoe had no reply.
Before the silence had a chance to grow awkward, Lauren entered the room, casually greeted the visitors whom she knew from school, and before long the younger girls, unable to remain away from the action, drifted in and were introduced.
It was a delightful afternoon, and when Zoe and her brother reluctantly said they must leave, Zoe promised to return again soon.
“There isn’t any need to,” Kelsey said. “Don’t feel obligated or anything.”
“I won’t,” Zoe promised gaily. “I like you McKenzies, and I plan to be here as often as you’ll let me. Good bye!”
The girls, except Kelsey, gathered on the front porch and waved as Wally pulled away from the curb.
“You know, Wally,” Zoe remarked, when the house with eight girls had disappeared behind them, “I really like them, and Kelsey never once complained about being laid up this summer. All she could think about was the old woman she had saved.”
“She could be a lesson to us all, couldn’t she?” Wally said thoughtfully. “A lesson in contentment with what God brings into our lives, as well as a reminder to think of others more than ourselves.”
Have you ever known someone who taught you
something without knowing they did?
Did you enjoy this story?
Will you be at my party next week?
