Ha'penny Jenny Read online

  “Yes, I understand that I don’t understand everything, if that’s what you mean. And it’s okay.” Jenny gave a silly grin and wagged her head like a bobble doll. “It’s okay that I don’t know everything because I’m still a child.”

  “Yes, but I’m an adult and I’m still learning. Granny is a great healer and has been to school for many years to learn ways to mend people’s bodies, but she’ll be the first one to tell you that there’s so much she still doesn’t know…and that many times she learns from people who aren’t as schooled as she is. Just because you’re older or have been to more schools, doesn’t make you smarter.”

  “So smart people lie, too?”

  “Jenny, too many people lie. There have been times I’ve not told people things that I thought they didn’t need to know, but I promise you, I have always tried to tell the truth.” Uncertainty suddenly kicked in. “You haven’t been lying, have you?”

  “No. My brothers lied to me. I didn’t even know what lying was for a long time. Sometimes they’d tell me one thing, like the sun always came up in the east because that’s where the sun birds stayed in the mornings and it was their job to carry the sun across the sky. Other times, they said it was because the sun was a great big candle and it floated from one side of the mountains to the other and then big giants blew it out for the night. They never told me how it got back again, though, or what sun birds looked like, or where the giants slept.”

  Jenny’s frown was back. “But when they lied to me, they made me feel like there was something wrong with me because I was a girl. They said I was born a boy, but that part got chopped off because I wasn’t smart enough. That’s why I had girl stuff, because my boy stuff got chopped off. Well, they called what you pee with stuff, but still, it’s okay not to have a penis, isn’t it?”

  “Oh, good Lord, yes! Honey, all animals, and even some plants, have either female or male stuff—that is, parts. And in the case of animals, there have to be both males and females—like boys and girls, men and women—in order for the world to continue; that is, so new babies can be made.”

  Jenny still didn’t look convinced. I whispered, as if sharing a secret, “Didn’t you notice the boy horses were different from the girl horses?”

  Jenny covered her mouth and whispered from behind her hand, “They got real big penises, huh?”

  “Yes, but that’s because they’re big animals. And if they didn’t have them, the girl horses couldn’t have babies. No one chopped off the penises on half the animals in the world to make them girls.” I paused, then added, “And they didn’t fall off by themselves, either.”

  Jenny giggled. She had put that question in Mommy’s head just by thinking it real hard. Mommy had answered it without even hearing it. She swallowed her smirk and said, “So you won’t lie to me, and if I think maybe something I learned from my brothers, or maybe someone else like Mrs. Short, is wrong, I can ask you or Grannie or Daddy or Grandpa Jody about it…”

  “Yes, and if none of us knows, well, then probably no one knows. Let’s go back in the house and make a cake. We have enough sourdough starter for biscuits in the morning and cake tonight.”

  8 Jenny’s Gold and Gems

  The day was bright and sunny—but not too hot—with random breezes just strong enough to keep bugs off and sweat evaporating. Perfect for laundry. Jenny was helping me with it, but she was unusually quiet. I could feel her eyes on me. She was staring at me, but every time I tried to catch her, she’d turn away. Her energy level was also low. No one I knew had been sick, but I guess it was possible that a flu bug had hit the area.

  “Is there something wrong?” I asked, and handed her a basket of clean clouts to wring out.

  “What are those bumps hanging around your neck,” she asked, bashfully pointing with one hand, clutching the basket close to her chest with the other.

  “That’s my necklace and these are gold nuggets,” I said, fingering the largest one in the middle.

  I hoped I didn’t have to explain where it came from because I didn’t remember. I had arrived in this 18th century world with a backpack, the clothes I was wearing, and a gold nugget necklace. What I didn’t have was a memory of who or where I was...or when. I soon found out I was in 1780 North Carolina, but it wasn’t until almost a year later that I found out I was a time traveler, that I had been born in the 20th century, and that although I seemed to be barely twenty, I had an adult daughter living in the 21st century.

  “Are nuggets like dried out grapes or currants?” she asked.

  “No, these are special rocks that were dug out of the ground and put on a necklace. See, feel them. They’re pretty hard, but not as hard as quartz. Gold is a rare and precious metal found in the earth. It’s used for currency—that is, money—for decorations, and a few other things.” That was good enough for her. I certainly wasn’t going to explain wiring, dental work, and the reflective coating on astronaut’s visors to her!

  “Hmm, so if they make money out of gold, and gold is in rock nuggets, then maybe I can dig some out of the ground so we’ll have money. Then we can buy more stuff, like a better plow for Daddy and more cloth so you and my brothers and sister can have new clothes. I’ll bet I could dig for gold after all my chores were done. Would that be okay?”

  Her eagerness to be allowed to help resolve our financial situation was evident in her fast blinking, sparkling eyes. That sweet and pure look of longing was priceless.

  “Well, I think we’d be better off if you…well…um,” I paused, hoping to find the right words to say. “I appreciate the offer,” I stalled, “but I know you like to do other things like carve and crochet and…” Jenny’s bottom lip was pouched out in frustration. Here she had come up with a plan of how to ‘make’ money, and I was trying to dissuade her. “Okay, you can dig, but how about if you start your gold mining where Daddy’s planning on putting the next privy. That’ll help him, and if you find any gold, you can have it all.”

  “Okay,” she replied, jumping up and down in place, “I’ll find enough to share with everybody!”

  Ӂ

  “Daddy, I want to help you dig the next privy. Mommy said I could dig for gold wherever you’re going to put it since we needed a hole there anyway and it would actually help you and I want to get some gold so we can use it for money and buy you a new plow and some cloth for new clothes and maybe another pot and if I find lots of it, maybe you can buy other stuff I don’t even know we need.”

  “I appreciate the help, and don’t let me stop you, but gold is usually found near creeks and rivers. If you want, you can go down to our little creek and dig near the edge. But don’t dig in the stream…and keep your dress clean. I don’t want your mother scolding me because I let you get in the mud.”

  Wallace knew Jenny worked hard helping with the household chores, gardening, and watching her younger siblings, but she needed some time to herself, too. It would be nice if she had another change of clothes that she could get dirty. He never got the chance to make mud pies when he was little and would like the chance to do it with her at some point before she grew up too much. Hmph. Jenny wasn’t too far from puberty, but her innocence was that of a six-year-old. He’d see if he could talk Evie into letting Jenny have a ‘dirty clothes’ day where she could play in the mud just before it was laundry time.

  Ӂ

  “There wasn’t any gold, but look what I found,” Jenny told Wren. She held up the six rocks with red stones imbedded in them. “I think they’re pretty and I’m going to keep them forever and ever. I think if I use Daddy’s hammer, I can knock off that gray rock around it.”

  Wren grabbed for the rock with the colorful bits. “No, no, you can’t eat this. I have to take these to my special hiding place.” Jenny put the rocks in her pocket and hoisted the baby over her shoulder. “Come on, I’ll bet it’s almost dinnertime.”

  Ӂ

  “Lass, what can I do to turn that frown upside down?” Jody asked.

  Jenny’s lips pursed as she t
ried to figure out his riddle, then her smile grew as she realized what he was asking. “Well, you can tell me an easier way to find gold. I went to the creek, but I didn’t find gold, just some pretty rocks. Is there an easier way, like when you make funny noises to call in the turkeys?”

  “Well, I dinna ken of a ‘gold call,’ but I do ken that gold is heavy and it gets washed down creeks. That’s where it’s easiest to find. Ye may want to look about the edges of the rocks in the creeks, maybe even lift some of the lighter ones, and see if there’s gold trapped underneath. Oh, and make sure ye check the rock on the leading side of the creek’s flow. Fishin’ in the creek is the easiest way I ken.” He chuckled, then added, “After dinner, do ye want me to go with ye and show ye what I mean? It’ll still be light out, and maybe yer da wants to go, too.”

  Jenny nodded rapidly, too giddy to speak. She reached over and gave Grandpa Jody a big hug. She looked up at him and sighed. She loved her mother and her Grannie whole heaps and loads, but she really did like being with the men more, especially when they were building things or figuring out how to make something work. Maybe someday, maybe next week, she could find a book that had lots of drawings in it about how things worked. Yes, she knew there was a book out there like that. But she’d have to wait for it.

  Ӂ

  “That was a mighty fine dinner ye made, Evie. How ye can accomplish anythin’ with havin’ three wee bairns about is amazin’,” Jody said.

  “Well, Jenny’s a big help, and the garden is overflowing, so there’s lots of variety. This winter might be tough, though, and the fare limited. Hmm, maybe I can figure out how to make freeze-dried meals so all I have to do is add water.”

  “Freeze-dried?” he asked.

  “Actually, I don’t think I’ll have to freeze anything first. I can put together a food dehydrator in no time with Jenny’s help,” I patted Jenny on the head. “Yup, we can dry all sorts of fruits and veggies and then, hmm. I’ll have to figure out a storage system and containers so they won’t get dusty…”

  “It’s always something, isn’t it?” Sarah said. “I mean, sometimes I miss having freezers and, oops.” Sarah had forgotten that Jenny was in the room, and she couldn’t speak of the luxuries and conveniences of the 20th and 21st centuries. “Jenny, would you refill the ewer, please?” she asked to change the subject.

  Jenny grinned, said, “Yes, Grannie,” and grabbed the pitcher. She didn’t want them to know that she knew their secret. She didn’t understand why, but she knew Grannie and Mommy weren’t the same as everyone else. Mrs. Short had talked about fairies—maybe that’s what they were. She didn’t know what a fairy was, and Mrs. Short was having another ‘headache day’ when she was talking to herself about them. She had wanted to ask her about them later, when she felt better, but that’s when her other brothers, Clyde and Clayton, came and took her back.

  But it really didn’t matter if Grannie and Mommy were fairies or not. They were her family. She loved them and they loved her. It was all right that where they lived before, they could ride in carriages that moved fast on the ground, and even faster in the air, and they had books that talked to you with pictures that moved. They were still the same people. It was just the things they had in their lives before that were different from the things they had now. Just the things.

  9 The Trip to Town

  “I’d like to take Jenny into town with me today. The cabinets I modified for Mr. Gibson are finished. I’d like to see if I can get a few things for us in exchange for my labor. I’d also like to get Jenny a peppermint stick. She deserves it. I doubt any parent has a child as eager to perform chores as she. “

  “Sounds like a plan to me,” I said.

  Wallace tilted his head to the side, wordlessly asking, ‘Please explain.’

  I clarified, “That’s a great idea. And bring back some candy for me, too.” I chuckled. “I really don’t know when the last time I had any was.”

  Just then, Jenny popped in, her hair freshly braided, her face spotless. She looked down at her hands, gave them a quick inspection, then presented them to me, showing off how she had washed them—with soap, this time—and had even cleaned under her fingernails.

  “Looks like you’re ready to go somewhere, dear. Do you have plans?”

  Jenny tried to hide her grin by lowering her head, but her excitement was too great to contain. Her smile bloomed as she looked up at her father. “Do you need some help today? I mean, if you need to go somewhere, I’ll come with you and help. That is, if it’s okay with Mommy.”

  “As a matter of fact,” Wallace said, drawing out the tension, “I was planning on taking the wagon into town. Would you like to come with me?”

  Jenny bounced up and down on her toes, her head nodding just as fast, “Ooh, ooh, yes, yes. I want to go.”

  Wallace bent down and gave me a quick kiss. “I guess we’re all set. We’ll be back before dinner.”

  “Have fun, but stay out of trouble, you two,” I said. They were so cute together. The tall and short of it. The mellow and the hyper. Who would have thought that two such diverse personalities would get along so well? Hmph. I guess the same could be said of Wallace and me. Nah! We were very different from each other, about 250 years apart in education, customs, and many experiences in general, but we complimented each other. Yin and yang, sweet and sour, tall and short. Yup, we were a perfectly balanced couple. And a very happy one, too.

  Ӂ

  It probably would have been easier for Jenny if she could have run beside the wagon rather than ridden in it. She had boundless energy and it was hard for her to sit still. “I haven’t been to town in a long, loong time,” she said. “Did you know that I used to live there a long—maybe even a longer—time ago?”

  “I think your mother mentioned something about it to me. Did you like living in town?” When Jenny didn’t answer, he looked down to make sure she had heard him. She must have. She was pondering her answer, her bottom lip stuck out in deep and confused thought. “Well, did you?” he asked again.

  “I liked being warm in the winter, and the food was all right. I didn’t mind working, and sometimes Mrs. Short—she was the lady who sorta bought me from my brothers, my other brothers who are in heaven…” Jenny looked up to make sure he understood. He nodded, so she continued. “Sometimes Mrs. Short was mean, but I think that was because she hurt all the time. But her son, he said some real mean things to me. I don’t miss him at all!” She looked up. “I’m sure glad I have you and Mommy now. And the babies, and Grandpa Jody, and Grannie, and Grandpa Julian, and José, and their pretty horses, and the goats…”

  Wallace grinned as he flipped the reins, urging the sturdy draft horse along. Just like her mother…she’d rather concentrate on the good parts of her life than the past. One of these days, the right man will come along for her. He’ll be very blessed to have her as a wife. As long as he can get used to her chattiness, they’ll be fine.

  Ӂ

  Wallace hoisted the redesigned display cabinets out of the wagon and brought them into Gibson’s for inspection. Jenny stayed at his elbow, her eyes wide, gawking at the inside of the store she had never been allowed to see by her former guardians.

  The men were immediately busy, inspecting the workmanship and talking about angles and chamfers, shelving and drawers, so after an hour—or so it felt like to her—Jenny stepped outside to look at the town, the trees, and the cluster of buildings from a new perspective.

  She wasn’t a servant girl now, kept on a short rein, not allowed out of the house by the woman and her son who never let her forget that she was there as a favor, that she had to earn her meals and the right to sleep warm at night. Yes, she had a real family now, and never had to worry about a cuff to the ear or missing a meal because she talked too much, or said the wrong words. It felt good to say what was on her mind. And if she pulled an apple off a tree to eat because she was hungry, she wouldn’t get smacked.

  She walked to the front of the wagon, reached into h
er pocket, and grabbed a handful of oats for the big Belgian. Xerxes wasn’t her pet—he was a work horse—but she liked to think of him as a big dog that just didn’t know how to fetch or roll over. Slurp! But he sure could lick the treats out of her hand.

  “Well, if it isn’t Ha’penny Jenny,” called a voice from behind the wagon.

  Jenny froze. She knew that voice. And there was only one person who had ever called her that. Her eyes darted side to side. She didn’t see him, but he must have seen her. Quick! Find Daddy!

  Jenny ran toward the store, but was intercepted by the grizzled and stinky old man. “Well, if it isn’t Ha’penny Jenny,” he repeated with a sinister laugh. “I guess your brothers didn’t want you after all, eh?”

  “Da…”

  Jenny’s scream for her father was cut off by a grimy hand to her mouth. “Were you going to call for your daddy?” he asked. “You and I know your daddy died a long time ago. What I think is that you’re here to rob the store. And then take all the goods to the devil. You’re his child now, aren’t you?”

  Dick Short was back, causing trouble, but this time, his intended victim was too small to fight back.

  Or so he thought.

  Jenny stomped down on his foot and turned around and head-butted him in the crotch. She ran from his clutch, not paying any attention to which direction she was headed.

  Dick bent over, stunned, in too much pain to even attempt to draw a breath. He fell forward onto his knees, his forehead breaking his fall. “My stuff! You broke my stuff!” he whimpered when he found his wind. He rolled over onto his side, tears falling and nose running, and curled up like a dried-up earthworm in the dust and dung of the narrow country road. “You broke it…”