Country Mouse, Chapter 7

I wake up to Maleen calling my name from the door. "Tamar! Get up! You need to get ready to go, and Threbus is getting antsy!" she hisses.

I roll over. "All right, I'm up," I mumble. I look out the window; the sky is bright with morning. I've gotten lazy since coming here! Too many late nights, it will be good to be back to going to bed early. I pull on my dress, the nice one I came here in, and brush my hair back into a braid. Then I go outside and nearly run into Threbus, who is standing in the hallway waiting for me.

"Tamar! I'm going to miss you so much!" he cries, throwing his arms around me.

"It's not like you'll never see me again, you know," I remind him after a minute passes and he's still holding onto me.

He releases me suddenly. "Yeah, I know," he chokes out, his face turning red.

"I mean, I'm gonna miss your pancakes," I continue, teasing him a little.

He relaxes and picks up my bag. "Come on, you need to eat before we leave," he says, heading down the stairs.

-------------------------------------------------------------

Breakfast is delicious, although I'm so excited to see my family again that I can barely eat. After we finish, we barely have time to head down to the train station and say goodbye before my train pulls out. I shake Maleen's grandmother's hand; she is most gracious and invites me to come back anytime.

"Thank you," I say, smiling at her. She really is a wonderful lady, and Meleen and Threbus are lucky to have her.

Threbus is nowhere in sight, so I ask Maleen to say goodbye to him for me. I then throw my arms around her. "It's been wonderful seeing you, thank you so much!" I tell her.

"No, thank you for coming! It's been so marvelous having you here, like having a sister," she says, smiling with tears in her eyes.

I pick up my bag and am turning towards the train when I hear a voice yelp, "Tamar! Don't go! Wait!" and feel Threbus fling his arms around me. "I wish you didn't have to leave!" he whispers.

I give Maleen a look over his head; I can tell that she's enjoying this immensely.

Turning my attention back to Threbus, I gently pull away. "Don't worry, you'll see me again," I laugh, gently tugging at one of his curls. He grins a little sheepishly and steps back.

Before I can start crying, I pick up my bag and board the train. I pick a seat next to the window and wave until they're out of sight.

-------------------------------------------------

Early the next morning, I wake up and stumble off the train. Through eyes half squinted shut with sleep, I can see Jerusalem standing with Daisy May and Lavender. Josiah is standing next to her, but runs to me as soon as he sees me.

"Tamar! You only wrote once!" he cries, looking hurt.

"I'm sorry. There was just too much to say, I couldn't write it down, I had to tell you in person," I try to explain.

But he's already shaken it off. "I'm so glad you're back. Mama thought I had turned good, I was so quiet! But I was just so bored without you!" I had almost forgotten how exuberant he can be at times.

But Jerusalem has already pushed him out of the way and flung herself onto me so that she is hanging from my neck. "I'm so glad to see you, Tamar! And Daffodil hasn't had her foal yet, it's as if she's waiting for you. Ninevah and I have so much to tell you, we've missed you so much! And guess what! Judith is having a baby! And..."

"All right, all right, tell me about it later. Let's not keep the horses standing," I gently push her off of me. I turn towards Josiah questioningly.

"I finished my chores already, Mama says Ninevah and I can come to your house," he tells me.

I grin. "Good, let's go home," I say, picking up my bag and hanging it from Daisy May's saddle. I've missed my horse so much, and I can't wait for the new foal to arrive, hopefully any day now that I'm back.

END

OOC: All right, I know this is a really lousy ending to a book. But, my excuse is that this is not a chapter book or a novel, it's a collection of short stories. The chapters of "Country Mouse" are just a breaking down of one story about Turtle Creek. There will be more of Tamar! :)