PART 5
Nick stirred as the door creaked open. He squinted into the light, watching Asia, Bess, and Nan climb out onto the roof. Aware of Nick's moment, Jo also awoke and, realizing for the first time that she's spent the entire night with her head on Nick's shoulder, pulled away awkwardly.
"Good mornin'" Nick said uncertainly to their audience, as he climbed to his feet and offered his hand to help Jo up.
"We were out looking at the stars last night and were locked out," Jo explained quickly.
Asia nodded. "I was real worried when I couldn't find you this mornin'. Are you two okay?"
Nick turned to Jo, who nodded. "Yeah," he assured them. "Maybe just a little tired and…" he stretched his arms "…stiff."
"We're awfully sorry," Bess offered sincerely, with Nan nodding in agreement. "I-I don't know how all this happened."
"I'm sure it wasn't you're fault," Jo said gently, making the girls feel even more guilty. "That door isn't used much, and it's given us trouble before."
"Well," began Asia, leading them towards the door, "Let's take you down and get you some breakfast and something hot to drink. You two have had quite a night."
They all filed behind Asia through the door. When the others had gone down, Jo turned to Nick with a smile. "I think," she said, placing her had on her lower back, "I know how Cassiopeia must feel!"
Dan looked down at Nat from the hayloft where he stood. "Are you ready?"
"Just a second." Nat piled the hay on the ground a little higher, looking up several times to be sure he was directly below Dan.
"Okay?" Dan repeated, holding the bird in his hands out over the hay Nat had gathered.
"No, wait!" Nat insisted. "Do you want me to catch him?"
"He's gonna fly," Dan promised.
"But if he doesn't?"
Dan paused, looking at how far it was to the ground and holding the chickadee a little closer to him. "No, he'll be okay."
Nat backed off a little and looked at Dan expectantly. Dan took a deep breath, held his arms out and tossed the bird gently into the air. Their eyes were both wide as they watched him spread and wave his little wings.
"He's flying!" Dan exclaimed.
But their faces both dropped as the bird flew lower and lower, landing on the ground a short distance from Nat, and making no attempt to fly away again.
"What's wrong with this stupid bird?" Dan demanded angrily, utterly frustrated and not having any idea what to do except give the hay a good, hearty kick.
"Come on down, Dan," Nat persuaded. "I'm sure we can think of something."
"I've tried everything I can think of!" Dan complained. "And that book don't tell me anything."
"Well, let's got find Nick," Nat suggested. "Maybe he'll have some ideas."
"I dunno what," grumbled Dan, but he hurried to climb down and follow his friend.
Tommy climbed up on the box and then onto a barrel very slowly and carefully, because in each hand he carried a bucket containing several large rocks. Safely on top of the box, he hooked the bucket handles over the tops of his feet, and reached up to the beam above him. Tommy was certain that if he could hang from the beam with the buckets weighing him down, it would help to stretch him out some. He would do it every day, adding more rocks to the buckets each time. Taking a deep breath, he rubbed his hands together and grabbed hold of the beam, removing his feet from the barrel and letting it fall behind him. He was greatly surprised by the weight of the buckets, and was struggling to keep his hold when Nick walked into the barn.
"Tommy…?" Nick called, then spotting the predicament the poor boy was in he rushed to his side. "What are you doin'?" Before Tommy could answer, Nick had skillfully removed the buckets and had lowered him to the floor. "What is all this?" Nick asked again severely. "You coulda really hurt yourself!"
"I was tryin' to grow faster," Tommy admitted sheepishly.
Nick instantly regretted his harshness. He knew the boys had been giving Tommy a hard time about his height, and Nick could see how difficult it was for him. Leaning down to look Tommy in the eye, Nick put his hand on the boy's shoulder and spoke to him seriously. "I know you wanna be tall like the other guys. But most of them are older than you, so they've had more time to grow. Stuff like you're doin'--well, all the bananas and buckets of rocks in the world ain't gonna help you if you're body's not ready to grow. But Tommy," he said encouragingly, "when you start growin' you're gonna be awful tall. Why, just look at your cousin--he's a mighty big fellow."
Tommy looked surprised. "How do you know how big my cousin is?"
"Just 'cause he's waitin' up in the front parlor to see you."
Tommy grinned like a Cheshire cat and made a dash towards the house yelling for his cousin. Nick just laughed and shook his head, muttering "buckets of rocks…"
Nan and Bess sat on the side porch, unsuccessfully trying to come up with a new plan to induce an engagement between Jo and Nick, when Asia came out and joined them. Nan gave Bess a questioning look. They were fairly certain Asia had caught on to their schemes and that she knew they were responsible for locking Nick and Jo on the roof.
"Girls, we have to talk," Asia began sternly. Neither Nan nor Bess protested, so she continued. "I know Nick and Mrs. Jo may not see past all your innocent looks, but I know somethin' more is goin' on. I don't know what kinda matchmaking project you two have goin', but lockin' Nick and Mrs. Jo out on the roof was takin' things too far. You were lucky that it was a warm night. Nights are gonna start gettin' cold real soon, and if it hadn't been so nice last night they mighta gotten sick!"
Nan wanted to protest that they hadn't meant to leave them up there all night, but she knew Asia was right-they shouldn't have locked them outside at all.
"Not to mention one of 'em mighta been hurt. Mrs. Jo said Nick wanted to climb down to a window. Think what woulda happen if he'd fallen…"
Bess and Nan were now both totally ashamed. Nan felt especially bad, since locking them on the roof had been her idea. But just when they thought Asia couldn't have any more to scold them with, she continued.
"I know you both like Nick and Mrs. Jo a lot," said Asia, a little more gently this time. "And I know you're only tryin' to help 'em. But, girls, interferin' with their personal lives ain't helpin'. It's somethin' they're gonna have to work out for themselves, 'cause that's the only way it is gonna work. I--" Asia stopped suddenly as Tommy came running out onto the porch.
"Guess what!" he exclaimed. "Tim was just here to see me! He brought me my hat that I left, and I showed him my room an' everything, and…" though he'd been talking a mile a minute, he finally paused to give the moment added suspense. "And he said that when he was my age he was just as short as I am! But a couple years later he started to grow real fast and was taller than anybody!"
"Didn't I tell you?" teased Asia with a smile.
Just then Dan and Nat came bounding across the yard up to the porch. "Has anyone seen my bird?" Dan demanded. "Nat and I just left him for a moment to talk to Nick, and now he's disappeared!"
Tommy, the girls and Asia helped Dan and Nat, following them down to the area where they'd left the bird, and scouting the ground as they walked. Suddenly Nan stopped and pointed to a nearby tree.
"Isn't that your bird?" she asked, indicating a small chickadee on a low branch of a tree.
Dan and Nat ran to get a closer look. "It couldn't be…" Dan said disbelieving, but upon closer inspection he was sure it was. He reached up towards the bird, but as he came close the bird flew out of reach. He paused for a moment on a higher branch, than took off into the sky, flying off towards the woods. "I don't believe it!" Dan exclaimed. "I've been trying all morning to get him to fly, and now he went all by himself! I don't understand it!"
"It's nature's way," Asia put in wisely. "You all want to be in control and want everything to happen when you're ready for it. But some things--healin', growin', love--don't go by our schedules. Just like Dan's bird flew when he was ready, Tommy'll grow when the time is right, and Nan and Bess's schemes, well… if that's meant to be it will happen in its own time too. Nature follows a course all her own, but I think if you just learn to be patient, you'll find that she'll manage everything better than any of us could."
Later, when Asia had gone back to the kitchen, Dan and Nat ran off to be sure the bird was really gone, and Tommy went to tell Emil his good news, Nan and Bess were left to ponder over the lesson they'd learned.
"Well, I think I'm done with matchmaking," confessed Nan.
"I guess there won't be a Plumfield wedding after all," said Bess sadly.
They were silent for a moment, then Bess's eyes brightened. "Unless…" she began, "What about Franz?"
"Oh, no!" cautioned Nan backing away.
"Really, Nan, it's perfect! If Franz--"
But Nan was already hurrying back to the house.
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