Mail Order Bride

Chapter 6 - The Altercation

After dinner, Janessa wandered aimlessly around the house. She was bored, but didn't know what to do. None of the girls at school would play with her, because she was such a rough-and-tumble little girl. The boys did not want to get teased by their fellow friends for playing with a girl, so she was basically left alone during recess. She would at times assist the teacher with cleaning up for the second half of school, but for the most part, she kept to herself. She walked home from school, alone, did the majority of her homework, alone, and played, alone. She was so lonely, but refused to admit it. She went to her father's room, and knocked on the door. "Pa?" She called from outside his room. "I'm bored." Her father opened the door, and glanced down at her lonely little face.

"Hey, sweet potato. Let's see...Why don't you ask Miss Emily if she needs any help?"

"No," Janessa replied stubbornly.

Patrick sighed. "Well, then, how about you help me with my boots. I haven't taught you how to polish boots yet, have I?" Janessa shook her head. Her eyes brightened. She plopped onto her father's bed and watched as he skillfully ran a rag up and down, up and down the boot. Finally he gave it to her and instructed,

"Here's the polish. Dip the rag into it, now smear it onto the boot, and rub the boot hard. Use some force." Janessa's small face wrinkled in concentration. Patrick smiled at her, and playfully nudged her with his elbow. Yep, you've got it. You'll be a shoe-shining pro in no time."

Janessa grinned up at him. "This is easy," she replied, giggling a little. When she finished polishing the shoes, she gave them to her father to do a little touch-up work, and headed into the kitchen to eat a snack of bread and butter. Before she could take a bite, however, Emily approached her, holding a couple of things in her hands.

"Hello Janessa," she said sweetly. "I have some things for you. May I give them to you now?" Janessa nodded, and sat her bread down on the table.

"Your father told me in his letters that you only have two dresses. He said that he didn't realize that you had grown so much, and they were probably getting a bit small." She smiled at the girl, and held out her gift. "I made this for you." She opened up a beautiful pink dress, with a dark pink collar and white ruffles around the sleeves. A large, pink bow completed the outfit.

"I hope you like pink is all," she said concernedly. Janessa took the dress from Emily and held it up to her. She looked down at her short, far- above-the-knee dress, then directly at Emily. Her eyes never wavered and her small face registered no emotion.

"Thank you. It's very pretty. I think it will fit." Emily smiled again. "I'm glad you like it. Now, for the second present." Janessa raised her eyebrows in surprise, but said nothing. Emily reached onto the floor and picked up a book.

"Do you like to read?" she asked. Without waiting for an answer, she said, "It's called Vanessa of Valley Forge. Have you heard of it?" Janessa shook her head.

"I used to read it over and over when I was a little girl. It's a great story about a girl your age who goes on lots of adventures and encounters some mishaps along the way." She handed the book to Janessa. Janessa took the book, and stared blankly at the cover. Emily looked confusedly at the child.

"Is it all right? You like to read, don't you?"

Janessa shook her head. An angry look crossed her face. "No!" she exclaimed sharply. "I don't like reading!"

"Why Janessa," Emily said calmly, getting to her feet. "I'm so sorry! I thought your father told me that you like to read. I must have misunderstood him. I can send it back." Her voice changed to a gentler tone. "Why don't you like reading?"

Without warning, Janessa burst into a flood of angry, embarrassed tears. "I can't read!" she yelled, jumping up and stomping her foot. "I never learned! Don't you know anything?!"

Emily looked shocked. "Can't read?......Oh, honey, I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have asked."

"You should be sorry!" the girl screamed, her face red. "My real momma was teaching me how to read before she died!" With that, Janessa slammed the book onto the table, threw down the dress, and stormed out of the house, slamming the door behind her.

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"Patrick, I am so, so sorry." Emily brushed a lone tear away from her face, as Patrick rushed out of his bedroom after hearing the commotion. "I didn't know, I didn't know she couldn't read."

Patrick groaned and buried his face in his hands. "I must apologize as well, Emily," he said. "I don't know how I managed to forget, but it's true. Janessa can't read." He sat down wearily at the table. Emily sat across from him.

"She said something about her mother teaching her to read?" Emily questioned.

"Yes," Patrick said. "Rebecca was teaching Janessa how to read before she passed away. Janessa knows all of the alphabet, but for some reason, cannot do anything more than recite it. I have taken her to the doctor several times and to a specialist once, but there is nothing they can do about it. She refuses to learn how to read. They said it is an emotional problem that she will have to overcome on her own. Hopefully with time, she will be able to learn to read."

"Oh my," Emily said softly. "Poor little girl." How does she do in school then?"

Patrick sighed. "She can do math like there's no tomorrow. She's actually quite advanced in math. The other subjects the teacher discusses with the class, and she can remember each lesson. She does all right. But they will not allow her to advance past the first grade in reading. She will not be able to graduate from eighth grade if she does not learn how to read. I would like for her to go to college if possible, maybe to get her teacher's license, but I don't know how that will happen if we cannot get past this reading block." He sighed again, and looked directly at Emily. "Again, I am so sorry for not telling you. I guess that it has been a part of my life so long that I almost see it as being normal. But it isn't. It really isn't."

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Janessa had fallen asleep in the warm hay. In her anger and sadness, she had rushed to the only place that offered her comfort: the hay loft. She had cried for awhile, and then, without realizing it, drifted off into a restless slumber. Emily still felt terrible for what had happened, and she asked Patrick what she could do to make amends with the little girl.

"Well, I don't really know," Patrick mused thoughtfully. "She's probably getting chilly now. Maybe you could take a blanket out to her?"

"Yes, that is an excellent idea," Emily agreed. She went into Janessa's room, and took her blanket off of her bed. Before she left, she looked around the girl's room: Janessa's small bed was pushed up against the wall. She had a couple of wooden bins that her clothes were hanging out of. To the right of the foot of the bed, sat a small chest of drawers that looked handmade. "Patrick probably made that," Emily thought to herself. There was a small house made entirely out of sticks sitting on the floor, along with a few rocks, feathers, a ball, and a rag doll. She smiled at the odd assortment, and then gently shut the door behind her to find Patrick. Patrick led her to the barn, and pulled open the heavy door. Poking his finger up toward the loft, he whispered, "She's up there. If there's ever a time when you can't find her, I can guarantee you she'll be in the loft." Emily smiled and ascended the ladder towards the loft. When she reached the top, she found the girl curled up, asleep in the hay. Emily gently laid the blanket over her small figure, and then quietly made her descent. "She's asleep," She said to Patrick, as they left the barn together. "Will she be okay out here all night?"

Patrick nodded. "She falls asleep out here all the time. It's literally her second bed. Sometimes she'll wake up and come into the house during the night. I'll find a trail of hay and know that she came back inside." He chuckled to himself. "She's a funny girl. I can't wait until you see the real Janessa, underneath her little ball of fury. She really is a joy."

Emily smiled. "I can tell," she said. "And don't blame yourself for any of this, Patrick," she said, facing him. "I can handle Janessa. I really can. I don't know what these next few months have in store for us, but I know that soon, things will get better between her and I. I can promise you that." With a fleeting smile, she turned, and walked into the house.