“Is this where you tell me I need to make lemonade out of lemons?”
“No, I won’t tell you that,” she said with a smile, patting Hannah’s arm as she walked toward the kitchen table, “because you just said it. Though that is exactly what you need to do, my dear, sweet daughter.”
The next morning, Hannah did as she’d promised. She went out to the barn, fed Bart some hay, and when he was finished, attached a lead rope to his halter and took him to the outside pen.
“Just so you know, I’m sorry about this,” Hannah said as she walked with him. “I mean, I’m sorry you ended up somewhere you don’t belong. And that’s really all I have to say to you.”
She turned and looked at him and saw that his ears were forward, like he was listening intently. As she unclipped the lead, he gave her the slightest of nudges with his muzzle. A friendly one, as if to say, It’s all right.
He didn’t give her a bit of trouble that day, or the following days, either. After she talked to Bart that first day, she didn’t say another word to him. And she refused to pet him or give him any affection. This was temporary, she told herself. Soon, everyone would see the two weren’t a good match and they’d sell Bart and get Hannah what she’d wanted all along — a beautiful horse.
When the day of the New Year’s Eve party arrived, Mrs. Crawford and Hannah went out to the barn to figure out what they needed to do to get ready.
“I have a surprise for you,” Hannah’s mother told her as she opened the barn doors.
After the disappointment of Christmas Day, Hannah knew better than to get her hopes up. “Let me guess,” she said. “I get to clean out Bart’s stall again.”
Her mom laughed, then pointed toward the other end of the barn. “You know that for years, we’ve kept the hayloft closed off to you kids. It needed repairs we just didn’t want to deal with. But this past week, your father had someone come out and do the work. It’s a fantastic space, and the perfect place for your party tonight.”
Hannah looked at her mother. “We get to go upstairs? Really?”
“Yes, really.”
Hannah clapped her hands together. “Oh my gosh, this is so exciting. Do you know when I was like six or seven, Adam and Eric had me convinced you were stashing dead bodies up there?”
Her mom shuddered. “Hannah, no! That’s terrible. What kind of people do you think we are?”
“Hey, don’t get upset with me. Talk to my mean older brothers who loved to torture me every chance they got. I’m pretty sure there was an entire year where I kept my room immaculate because I was scared of what might happen if I didn’t.”
Her mom laughed again. “Oh, dear. I hope you didn’t tell your friends about your suspicions.”
“Yeah, that was also the year I didn’t have any friends over to play. You mean you didn’t notice?”
They reached the end of the barn, and where there was nothing before, there was now a set of stairs for climbing up to the hayloft.
“Where’d they come from?” Hannah asked.
“They were folded up into the trapdoor in the ceiling. Pull on the rope, open the trapdoor, and stairs magically appear.”
“Wow,” Hannah said. “That’s like something out of Minecraft. You know, that game?”
Her mom smiled. “Well, clearly, the builders of this barn were way ahead of their time.”
“I can’t believe I finally get to see what’s up there.”
“After you,” her mom said, waving her arm toward the stairs.
Hannah climbed until her head reached the loft, then she stopped and peered around. At the far end of the barn was the large window that her grandpa called the hay hole. He’d explained to her that hay bales were brought into the loft through that hole by way of a hay elevator. Since it was wintertime and not exactly warm outside, it was closed up. There were small windows up near the roof, though, that provided some light.
In the corner, to Hannah’s immediate right, was something she couldn’t quite make out. “What is that big thing in the corner?” she called down to her mother.
“Climb up and take a look!” her mother called as she made her way up the stairs.
So Hannah went ahead and climbed all the way up, until she was standing in the loft. The thing she’d wondered about had a wooden platform with a few stairs, so she went closer and only then could she finally see what she couldn’t see before.
“Mama, seriously? A trampoline?”
Her mother stood behind her now. “Yes. Isn’t it just so fun? Your grandpa and a few of his friends built it up here many years ago, for his three young boys to play on.”
“How come you’re just now telling me about it?” Hannah asked.
“Well, because one of the springs broke and no one ever had it fixed. It was the New Year’s Eve party that pushed your daddy to finally get it done.”
“Can I try it out?” Hannah asked.
“Sure! Go right ahead. You’ll notice the mat is woven, which is different from today’s trampolines. And the springs are nice and big, so you’ll bounce really high. Stay away from the edges, all right?”
Someone had piled bales of hay around the platform so you couldn’t fall, but Hannah could see that what her mother was mostly concerned about were the big gaps between the springs, especially in the corners.
Hannah jumped, higher and higher, until it felt like she was flying. For fifteen minutes, she jumped, until she was out of breath. When she stepped off, her mama said, “I haven’t seen you smile that much in a long time.”
“It’s fun!” Hannah said. “The kids are gonna love it. Can we jump in groups?”
“Probably no more than two at a time. Safest that way. Now come on, we have a lot of work to do. Let’s go get your brothers to help us haul the folding tables and lights and other things we need to put up here for the party.”
Hannah looked around and thought maybe it wasn’t such a bad place to have a New Year’s Eve party after all. That is, until she walked by Bart, and all of her anxiety came rushing back.
Hannah’s mother was right. All the kids in the Mane Attraction 4-H club had heard about the mule. Word had gotten around, no thanks to her grandma, who’d probably told everyone who came into the beauty shop the past week.
There were nine kids coming to the party, and once they’d all arrived, around eight o’clock, Hannah and her parents along with Mr. Brody took the group out to the barn. Of course, everyone wanted to see Bart.
Hannah’s grandpa and father had strung Christmas lights all around the barn, giving it a fun, festive look. They also helped to brighten up the place, since the few light fixtures in the barn didn’t give off a ton of light. The kids oohed and ahhed as they walked in.
When the group got to Bart’s stall, everyone stood there and stared at him. Darren, one of only two boys in the club, said, “Can we take turns riding him? I want to see if it’s any different from riding a horse. It has to be, right? I mean, he looks different, he must ride different too.”
“Yeah, he looks weird,” Carson, the other boy, said.
“Hey, now,” Mr. Brody said. “Come on, that ain’t nice. Didn’t your mama teach you, if you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all?”
“Well, I think he’s beautiful,” Mary Beth said as she twirled a strand of her red hair around her finger. “And look at those eyes. When he looked at me, I swear, it was like he could see into the deepest part of my soul.”
Hannah glanced over at Elsie and rolled her eyes. Mary Beth was a sophomore in high school and she was like a walking, talking love poem.
“We’re not going to ride Bart tonight,” Mr. Crawford said, stepping forward. “We have other things planned. Did y’all know we have a trampoline in our hayloft?”
The kids looked at each other with surprise.
“No way,” Carson said.
“Yes, way,” Mr. Crawford replied. “Come on. I’ll show you!”
“Be careful going up those stairs,” Mrs. Crawfo
rd called out.
While everyone else went up to check out the trampoline, Hannah hung back, trying to shake off Carson’s nasty comment. She told herself it shouldn’t bother her. After all, wasn’t that sort of what she thought every time she looked at Bart?
“I like him,” a soft voice said. “Your mule, I mean.”
Hannah turned to find Elsie still standing there. Her long brown bangs were braided and pulled back, making her brown eyes behind her glasses stand out a lot more. She usually kind of hid behind those bangs.
“You do?” Hannah asked. “I like your hair, by the way.”
“Thanks. And yeah, I think he’s real pretty. I noticed his legs are darker than the rest of him. You don’t see that very often.”
“So, you don’t think he’s … weird?” Hannah asked.
Elsie smiled. “No. Just because he’s different doesn’t mean he’s weird.”
“It doesn’t?” Hannah asked, although as the words came out she realized she actually already knew the answer to this question.
“Okay, look at Tanya Lovelace,” Elsie explained. “No one in country music has ever captured the thoughts and feelings of girls the way her music does. Is that weird? No, it’s just different. I wish people would stop thinking of different as being strange, you know? If we all looked the same and acted the same and talked the same, wouldn’t that be boring?”
Hannah nodded her head slowly. “It makes a lot of sense, when you say it like that.”
“My mama always says I’m a very sensible person.”
Hannah laughed. “You’re also pretty quiet. I think this is the most I’ve ever heard you talk.”
“I have a big family and they don’t let me talk much,” Elsie said as she walked closer to the stall, her eyes glued to Bart the entire time. “I guess I forget that not everyone is like that. You know, you’re really lucky, Hannah. I’d be jumping for joy if he were mine. I bet he rides like a dream, doesn’t he?”
Hannah looked down at her red cowboy boots. “Actually, I haven’t ridden him yet.”
“You haven’t?” Elsie asked, her eyes big like an owl’s. “How come?”
Hannah shrugged. “Wasn’t very excited to, I guess. I really wanted a horse, you know? I mean, it’s all I ever dreamed about, and then I walked out here and found Bart.”
“He’s better than nothing, isn’t he?” Elsie asked as she stroked Bart’s muzzle.
Hannah didn’t answer that.
“Can I ride him?” Elsie asked. “Not tonight, since the party’s going on, but maybe this weekend? I can try him out for you, if you’re scared. I don’t mind at all.”
“Hannah,” Mr. Crawford yelled from the loft. “You coming up soon?”
“Yeah, I’ll be up in a minute,” Hannah called back. She looked at Elsie again. “I guess you could come over Saturday. If you’re sure you really want to.”
“I really, really do,” Elsie said. “Now come on. We better get up there. You know, because there’s only three and a half hours left until the clock strikes midnight. We might miss it.”
Hannah laughed again. Then she asked, “Do you think it’s going to be a good year?”
As they approached the stairs, Elsie stopped walking and said, “All I can say is, I hope it’s better than this stupid, lousy year.”
For Elsie’s sake, Hannah hoped so too.
Saturday afternoon, Hannah’s phone beeped, letting her know someone wanted to video chat. She picked it up and squealed when she saw Crystal’s name.
“Hey! Are you home?” Hannah asked as she looked at Crystal’s freckled face on the screen of her phone. Her thick, brown hair was extra curly (and frizzy) today.
“Yes, ma’am, I sure am,” Crystal said with a smile.
Hannah had told her not to call her ma’am hundreds of times, but it didn’t do any good. Her parents were big believers in manners, and Crystal got carried away sometimes.
“I’m sorry I didn’t call while we were gone,” she continued. “Mama took away my phone. Said I was on it too much when I should be spending time with the family.”
“It’s fine,” Hannah said. “I totally understand. Did you have a good Christmas?”
“Oh yeah, it was awesome. I got new boots. Super cute blue ones.”
Hannah gasped. “I got red ones! I love them to pieces.”
“Yeah? But that’s not all you got, right? Tell me, Hannah, please. Tell me all about him. Or her. I want to know everything. When Mama handed my phone back to me, I was shocked that you hadn’t sent me any pictures yet.”
Clearly, there was no getting out of it. Before Crystal had left, Hannah had told her about the conversation she’d heard between her parents, sure as the sky is blue that she’d be getting a horse for Christmas. “Well, things didn’t turn out quite the way I thought they were going to,” Hannah said.
Crystal narrowed her eyes. “What does that even mean? You didn’t get a horse? What’d you get, then?”
Hannah sighed, then said it quickly, to get it over with. “A mule.”
Crystal wrinkled her face. “A what?”
“A mule,” Hannah repeated. “His name is Bart. They got him from a family who had to move to Arizona. I guess he’s won a bunch of ribbons and —”
“Hannah, wait,” Crystal interrupted. “You can’t be serious.”
“Yep. Serious as the evening news.”
“Well, can you, like, exchange him? For something better? I mean, it just doesn’t seem fair. How come they didn’t ask you first, before they went and did that?”
“I don’t know,” Hannah said, falling back on to her bed, holding her phone above her. “I guess they didn’t think I’d mind that he’s different. I told them that to me, it’s like asking for a dog and getting a cat instead. Not everyone thinks it’s strange, though. Elsie loves him. She’s actually coming over to ride him in a little while.”
“Elsie?” Crystal asked. “That shy girl from 4-H?”
“Yeah. We had the New Year’s Eve party here, so she got to see him. Honest and true, she thinks Bart’s the best thing since the Snickers bar.”
“Maybe you should give him to her.”
“Yeah, I don’t think my family would let me do that. Besides …” She almost told her about Elsie’s family’s financial problems, but decided she’d better not. The last thing she wanted was to be like Louanne, spreading gossip around town like it was good for you. “Never mind,” she muttered.
“Well, what are you gonna do, then?”
Hannah sat up and ran her fingers through her long, straight hair. “I don’t know. I just keep hoping some brilliant idea will come to me one of these days. I better go. Elsie should be here any minute. See you at school on Monday, I guess.”
“You know it. Wear your new boots, please. I want to see them.”
“All right, I will. Bye.”
“Bye.”
Hannah went downstairs and found Mr. Crawford at the table, having some coffee and cookies.
“Daddy, Elsie’s coming over any minute, and she wants to ride Bart. Think you could help me saddle him up?”
He smiled, his dark blue eyes practically twinkling. He stroked his scruffy beard and said, “Why, that’s the best news I’ve had all day, darlin’. Been waiting for you to ask me. He’s got a real nice saddle that his other family gave us.” He finished his cookie and stood up. “I’ll go out now and bring him in from the pen and get him ready. When Elsie arrives, you girls come on out and join me, all right?”
“Okay. Thanks for doing that.”
He gave Hannah a hug and said, “My pleasure.”
After he left, Hannah helped herself to the last cookie from the cookie jar, thinking about Crystal’s reaction after hearing about Bart. She hadn’t even asked Hannah if she liked him or not, just crinkled up her face and suggested Hannah try and get rid of him. It kind of hurt Hannah’s feelings, but hadn’t that pretty much been Hannah’s reaction? Still, it bothered her.
When Elsie arrived a
little while later, they went out to the barn and found Hannah’s dad riding Bart.
He waved at the two of them. “I haven’t told you this, Hannah, but I’ve ridden him a few times already. Wanted to make sure he’d be easy for you to handle in these new surroundings, and he hasn’t given me a lick of trouble.”
“Well, that’s good,” Hannah said. She looked at Elsie. “Are you sure you want to do this?”
“Are you kidding?” Elsie said. “I can’t wait!”
Mr. Crawford rode Bart out to the small corral while Hannah and Elsie followed along. “Gosh, I just think he looks so pretty,” Elsie said. “I even love his roached mane.”
Hannah looked at her. “You mean, how it’s clipped super short?”
“Yeah. Looks nice and tidy. The only thing that bothers me is he doesn’t look like a Bart. Have you thought of changing his name?”
“Yeah, my parents said I could change it if I wanted to. I just haven’t thought about it that much, to be honest.”
“The right name will come to you,” Elsie said. “Just wait and see.”
Once they were in the corral, Mr. Crawford brought Bart to a stop and hopped down. Elsie went around to the mule’s left side, put her foot in the stirrup, and mounted Bart like a pro. “You look like you know what you’re doing,” he said. “You ride quite a bit, then?”
“Not as much as I’d like to. We’ve got one horse at home. With seven kids, we have to take turns. I ride once a week or so.” Elsie bent down over the saddle horn and gave Bart’s neck a nice rub. “All right, Mister. You ready to do this thing with me?”
Elsie held the reins like she was ready to go and squeezed her legs against Bart’s sides, which got him to start walking. Hannah and her father stepped out of the corral, so they wouldn’t be in the way. They leaned up against the railing and watched Elsie and Bart walk around the circle.
After a few minutes of walking, Elsie clicked her tongue a couple of times, gave a little kick of her feet, and the mule started trotting.
Hannah was mesmerized. Bart looked incredible. Not only that, Elsie was grinning from ear-to-ear, and she looked so comfortable, like she’d been riding him forever. Pretty soon, she had him break out into a nice canter.