The Weathermen Sisters

 By Livia W.

 It was the kind of day in September when Andi was tired of the heat and ready for fall. It was still fairly warm, in the low 70s, but Andi would settle for that. She tried to search for fall colors but there weren't many, as usual. A slight breeze blew and the skies were a beautiful azure color.

  When Andi stepped into the classroom at school, she could tell something was different. Students were whispering excitedly and pointing to different people in the room. The people they were pointing at were all girls. New students probably. When Andi sat down With Rosa, Mr. Foster confirmed her guess.

  “Class,” he said, clapping for attention, “we have some new students today. Would the Weathermens please come to front.”

  As one, the Weathermen sisters came up next to him. There were four in all.

  “Everyone,” he said, beginning to motion to each of the girls, “This is Caroline, Mary, Polly, and Allice.”

  Caroline, the eldest who was fourteen, was tall and very pretty. She had brownish blond hair tied up in a tight bun. Her face had a serious expression and Andi had never seen such blue eyes as hers.

  Mary was Twelve. She wore a small smile on her face and had brown eyes and dark brown hair.

  Polly came next. She was ten. Her hair was a light brown and her eyes were hazel.

  The littlest was Alice, who was six. Her hair was a bright blond and she had the same blue eyes as her oldest sister. She smiled bashfully as she played with her dress, which was a bright sky blue.

  During recess Andi looked around for her new classmates. She remembered how hard her first day had been so she wanted to make sure they felt welcome and cheerful. She first saw Polly and Alice. They were sitting on the steps of the school house, looking over all the children playing.

  Then she spied Mary. She was Swinging on the swing talking to another girl. Well, Andi thought, she looks like she’s fine. Probably found a friend already.                            

  Lastly she spotted Caroline. She was sitting under a tree, reading a book. She looked up occasionally at the other children but made no move to join them.

  Andi decided to head over to Polly and Alice.

  “Hello.” She said cherily, “My names Andi.”

  “Hi,” Polly replied happily, “I’m Polly Weatherman.” She looked down at the little girl who was now pressing her face into Polly’s dress, “And this is Alice. She’s a little shy.”

  “No I’m not!” Alice protested to her sister but then pressed her head back in the frock.

  Andi giggled and bent down to Alice, “Hey,” she said, “do you want to go play jump rope with the other girls?”

  Alice looked up to shake her head, unimpressed. So Andi decided to try something different, “Well then do you want me to show you where the butterflies are?”

  Alice was now very intrigued, “Butterflies? Orange ones? And blue ones?”

  “Orange ones, blue ones, yellow ones, all kinds of colors! They like to play right over there by the flowers.”

  “Ya!” Alice said jumping up, “Let’s go! Come on, Polly! Let’s go!”

  As they walked over to the flowers, The girls showered Andi with questions.

  “How many will there be?”

  “Are there bees too?”

  “Have you ever caught one of the butterflies?”

  Andi smiled. It was off to a good start.

 

                                                         ****

  “How was school today, girls?” Justin asked as he helped them up into the buggy.

  “Great!” Andi replied, “There were new students.”

  “Si,” Rosa said, “Four girls. The Wea-ther-mens.” She tried to pronounce the new English name perfectly.

  “My, that's a lot of new students,” Justin commented, “How old are they?”

  Andi was quick to reply, “The oldest is Caroline, and she’s fourteen, next is Mary, who’s twelve, then Polly is ten and Alice is six. Polly told me. I showed her and Alice some butterflies at recess and I think they loved it.”

  “Well that’s great, Andi!” Justin replied, “How are the other two fitting in?”

  “Mary seemed to be doing fine, in fact it looked like she had already made a friend. But, I saw Caroline off in a corner reading by herself.”

  “Mmm. She’s probably having a hard time getting settled with the move.”

  “Ya…” Andi said. Now she felt bad she hadn’t at least said ‘Hello’ to Caroline. She had automatically thought the younger ones would need more help getting settled, but Caroline was the oldest and probably remembered most of their old home.

 

                                                           ***

  “Careful, now!” Melinda warned Andi as she poured a berry mix into the pie crust.

  Andi scowled, “Stop fussing Melinda! I’ve got it.” Just because I don’t bake a lot doesn't mean I need Melinda hovering over me the whole time! Andi thought, frustrated. But to be truthful, she knew how Melinda felt. She too wanted everything to be perfect for the Weatermens visit at lunch.

  After the pie had gone into the oven, Andi went upstairs to straighten up. She rebraided her hair, selected her favorite light blue dress, and checked herself over in the mirror. Good, she nodded. Then she looked around. No one was watching. So she imagined herself infront of Caroline.
           “Hi!” She pretended to be saying to the eldest Weathermen girl, “How are you?” She stopped and shook her head. Maybe that wasn’t the right approach.

  “Hello. How do you like it here?” She shook her head again. Truth was, she was a bit nervous about meeting Caroline. Well, talking to Caroline. What would she say? Caroline seemed to be having a hard time so she didn’t want to make a wrong impression accidentally. Andi was just nervous she would make a wrong move or not be able to be friends with her. She shook her head again. There was no need to be nervous.

  Just then there was a knock on the door downstairs. Again, the nervousness set in. Andi took a deep breath and went downstairs.

  When the door was opened by mother, a family of six was revealed. There were of course the girls and then the parents. The mother had pretty dark brown hair in a fancy bun, and the father had blondish brown hair. They both had green eyes.

  Mrs. Weathermen spoke first, “Thank you so much again for having us, Mrs. Carter.”

  Mother smiled her special hostess smile, “It’s our pleasure. Come right in won’t you? We have food waiting in the dining room.”

  Andi was happy to indeed see a table full of mashed potatoes, gravy, saled, and chicken. Everyone sat down.

  Andi first glanced at Caroline. As usual, she had a serious expression on. But, she seemed to brighten up a little at the sight of all the good food. Alice certainly did. She reached for a chicken leg but Polly stopped her just in time. “No!” She whispered. Alice suddenly saw her mistake with horrid realization. She Whipped her hand back and whispered a guilt filled sorry.

  After the prayer was said, everyone began to eat. Andi learned a lot about the Weathermens. They had come from Arizona, and Mr. Weathermen was starting a new job as a shop owner in town. Andi almost found that hard to believe. He seemed rather shy and didn’t appear to her as the type who would see all kinds of people every day.

  When everyone was done eating lunch, dessert came. Mother, Melinda, and Mrs. Weathermen began to clear the table.

  “Andi”, Mother said, “Go get the milk please. And, Melinda, you go get the pie.”

  Andi snapped out of her gaze at Caroline. Caroline was staring out the window, sighing. Andi really wanted to be friends with her, but...  But what if she turned her down?

  Andi went to the kitchen toward the ice box and pantry shelves. She looked back at Caroline through the doorway as she reached to open the ice box door. Or, she thought of the ice box door. Really, she opened the pantry door, and instead of taking out milk, she took out a large medicine bottle, full of white medicine!

  She slowly made her way to the counter and poured what she thought was milk but really was medicine into cups. All the time she was gazing at Caroline. We sure need more milk, she thought, glancing at the small supply.

  When all the milk was poured, she went back to the kitchen. Everyone seated down again as Andi placed the cups around and Melilnda cut the pie.

  “Mrs. Carter, this looks simply divine!” Mrs. Weathermen said admiringly.

  Mother smiled with pride. “My girls made it.”

  Mrs. Weahtermen nodded. Then, everyone tasted the pie. Andi smiled when Mrs. Weathermen stated her approval. She reached for a drink of milk. After she took her first sip, she coughed and put down the cup, “Good heavens! What is that?”

  Andi was so confused. “It was only milk, ma’am.”

  Now everyone was curious. After trying the liquid, they all reacted the same as Mrs. Weathermen.

  “Andi,” Mother said, “show me the bottle of milk you used.”

  Andi was relieved to get away, even for a little while. How embarrassing! But what had gone wrong? When she looked at the bottle she realized her mistake. Medicine! Oh, she wished she could just disappear! But, she had to face mother and tell the truth.

  She slowly walked back to the dining room. She held out the bottle for Mother.

  “Medicine!” Mother exclaimed. Everyone was speechless. Then, Caroline started laughing.  Really laughing! The kind of jolly laugh that makes tears roll down your cheeks! Andi was too glad to see her happy to be embarrassed.

  “I suppose,” Caroline said between giggles, “Andi thinks we are sick!”

  Now everyone began laughing. Andi blushed but laughed along with them.

  After getting the real milk and finishing desert, Andi went outside to where Caroline had gone.

  “I don’t need any more medicine!” Caroline teased, waving her hands.

  Andi giggled. “I know.” She took a deep breath. “Are you alright? You’ve been acting, well, sad lately. Besides the medicine mess, I mean.”

  Caroline looked down. “I missed home. I left my cousin, Anna. And, it just feels strange here.” Andi nodded. “But, ya know,” Caroline said, looking up at Andi, “I think I’ll be alright. That is, if, you think we could be friends?”

  Andi was so happy she could burst. “Yes!” 

  Caroline smiled brightly. Then she frowned teasingly, “But, only if you promise not to sneak any more medicine in my milk!”

  Andi rubbed her hands together mischievously. “Ooh, I could try ruining your milk with opium this time! Or, maybe cocaine!”

  They both burst out laughing.