Chapter Six
“Harper, are you awake? Did you forget to set your alarm?” Mrs. Monroe walked into her youngest daughter’s bedroom.
“I don’t feel good.” Harper barely popped her head out from under her Rainbow Brite comforter. Her head hurt, she was hot, and her throat felt like it was on fire. She didn’t want to move.
“What’s wrong? Does your stomach hurt?” Her mom sat on the edge of the bed.
“My head and throat hurt.” Harper burrowed deeper into her pillows.
Mrs. Monroe touched Harper’s forehead; she was burning up. Harper was definitely not faking being sick. Walker was a big faker and Mrs. Monroe was always concerned he was going to rub off on Harper.
“Let me go get the thermometer. I’ll be right back.” Mrs. Monroe patted Harper on the hand before leaving the room.
Harper hugged her stuffed lion, Leon, closer to her. He was her favorite, a gift from her sister. Leon went everywhere with her except school. She was trying to to leave him behind every now and then but it was a process. She liked having him close by especially when she was sick.
Her mom came back with the thermometer and took Harper’s temperature. Harper looked miserable. She hated when any of her children were sick; they looked small and helpless. She smoothed the comforter down and held Harper’s hand until the thermometer beeped.
“102, Harp. Looks like you’re staying home. I’m going to try to get you in with the doctor later today. Do you want some juice or water?” Her mom stood up.
“Apple juice, please,” Harper’s voice cracked a little.
“Ok, I’ll be right back.”
Harper tried to go back to sleep but her head hurt too much. She also thought of all the things she was going to miss at school; a French test, art class, and a new letter writing lesson. Mrs. Henderson would send her work home but Harper hated missing school. She actually liked school a lot. She had been looking forward to writing Ben a new letter in class but that would have to wait. Just as she was drifting off, her back started to itch. It felt like the time she got bit by fire ants. Her back was itchy and hot. Her mom came back in with her juice.
“Mama, my back is itchy and it hurts.” Harper only called her mother “Mama” when she was sick.
“You’re itchy too? Honey, can you sit up for me?” Mrs. Monroe was pretty sure she knew what was wrong with her little girl.
Harper sat up with some effort. Her mother lifted Harper’s shirt and as she suspected, there were small, red spots on Harper’s back. Chicken pox. Harper had a mild case as a baby; Mrs. Monroe was hoping she wouldn’t get them again but no such luck.
“You’ve got chicken pox, Harper. It’s going to be itchy and uncomfortable. You can’t scratch them though, it’ll cause scars.” Mrs. Monroe lowered Harper’s shirt and handed Harper her juice. Harper drank her juice and sighed. Sophie had chicken pox over the summer and one of the kids in the other fourth grade class had them a few weeks ago. Sophie had told her all about how horrible it had been and how the spots got worse.
“I promise it won’t be that bad. The twins had it at the same time when they were about your age. You get to stay home for a few days. You’re going to have to take oatmeal baths which help with the itching. When I go to the store later today, I’ll get you some magazines and your favorite ice cream. The twins will let you be in charge of the tv all week too. How does that sound?” Mrs. Monroe smiled as she tucked Harper in.
“Ok. Can I have some cinnamon toast?”
“Absolutely. Let me get Flannery and Walker off to school and I’ll bring it back to you. Try to rest.”
Harper spent the week watching cartoons and napping. Her mom brought her the latest issues of Tiger Beat and Bop. Flannery let her look at the new Seventeen too. Her mom also made her take an oatmeal bath everyday; she said it would keep the scars at bay and stop the itch. Harper didn’t believe her but did it anyway. Flannery kept making comments about her spotty face so Harper obsessively put calamine lotion on and refrained from scratching her arms and face. It was sonhard to keep from scratching her face.
Walker sat with her most days after school. They watched MTV and he humored her when she wanted to watch The Last Unicorn for the hundredth time. The movie creeped her out but she still loved the story. They also watched Labyrinth one afternoon. What a bizarre movie, Harper thought, but she loved David Bowie. He was mesmerizing.
Harper also spent some time re-reading Ben’s letters. She really liked him; he was funny and seemed really nice. He wasn’t like the boys in her class who were all loud and acted stupid most of the time. Even Peter was like that. He had barely spoken to her after Sophie’s birthday party. Stupid boys. She needed to write Ben soon; she hadn’t replied to his last letter yet. She was supposed to write it this week at school but guessed she’d do it at home instead. She no longer wrote Ben because it was homework, even though it still was. She wrote to him because she truly enjoyed writing to him.
Monday she would go back to school. She was hoping her chicken pox spots were less noticeable. Harper walked to the bathroom to survey the damage. It seemed like luck was with her. Most of her spots were on her arms, legs, and back, all places she could cover up easily when she went back to school. She looked in the mirror and only noticed a few spots on her face; two on her forehead and a little cluster on the right side of the neck. The rest had faded thanks to her mom and the oatmeal baths. As she contemplated what to do with the few spots on her face, Flannery walked by the open bathroom door.
“Hey there, Spots.” Flannery called to Harper.
“Hey.” Harper ignored the unfunny nickname her sister had given her.
“You fared pretty well actually. It shouldn’t be too bad going back to school on Monday,” Flannery sat on the edge of the bathtub and watched her little sister.
“I guess so. I have to wear a long sleeved shirt but that’s okay.” Harper kept her eyes focused on her face.
“Yeah, it’s not hot anymore so it’ll be fine. You know, if you push your bangs over differently, no one will see those spots.” Flannery stood behind Harper and played with her Harper’s bangs. She tried a few things before settling on a style. With the slight change, pushing Harper’s bangs to the right side a bit more, Flannery covered the spots and gave Harper a new look.
“Thanks! That looks good.” Harper was enjoying the extra attention from her sister.
Flannery smiled, “Let’s ask Mom if you can wear concealer. That’ll help with the ones on your neck.” Flannery pushed Harper out of the bathroom. “Makeup always helps.”
“I’ve never worn any except for Halloween. Mom said I have to wait until I’m in high school like you.” Makeup made her nervous but she was also curious and a little jealous of Flannery for getting to wear it every day.
“I know. I wasn’t allowed to wear it until this year. All my friends got to start wearing makeup in, like, 6th grade. I was so jealous. We’ll start small. It’ll be killer.” Flannery grabbed her sister’s hand.
“Did you get to wear makeup when you had chickenpox?” Harper asked.
“Nope. Mom wouldn’t let me. I’m pretty sure she’ll say yes to you though. Once she does, I’ll show you how to apply it and I’ll tell you all about what a baby Walker was when we had them. He was such a wimp.”
The girls walked toward the kitchen to find their mother. Harper loved these moments when she and Flannery really got along. She could learn a lot from her sister; makeup was just a start.
Hi Ben, Oct. 21, 1988
Sorry it’s taken me so long to write back. I got chicken pox from a kid in my class and was out of school for a week. I didn’t feel like doing much except sleeping and watching tv. I had a lot of work to make up too. Chicken pox is gross. I had red spots everywhere and it’s itchy. My mom made me take oatmeal baths. Oatmeal baths smell bad but it did help with the itch. My sister made fun of me the whole time. She told me I was always going to be spotty and no one would want to talk to me. She’s weird because then she showed me how to use concealer (that’s makeup) so I wouldn’t look bad when I went back to school. Sometimes she’s mean and then she’s really nice. I don’t get it. Have you had chicken pox before?
Your tree house sounds cool. I never thought to ask if I could have a tree house that could be taken apart and moved. Maybe those do exist. We had a swing set at our house in Ohio but we had to leave it behind when we moved. My dad works for the government (I think I spelled that right). He works with the Army but isn’t in the Army. I don’t really know what he does; grown-up stuff I guess. He told me the other day that we’re probably not going to move for a few years so maybe I can get a tree house here but then it could move when we do have to move again.
Bye for now,
Harper
Dear Ben, December 15, 1988
Merry Christmas and Happy Birthday! You never told me when your birthday actually was. Did you get guitar lessons like you hoped? We’re going to Michigan next week once school is out to see my grandparents for Christmas. I wanted to write before I left since I won’t get any mail while I’m there and may not have time to write.
We decorated outside of our house only this year since we’re going to be gone. Both of my grandmas said they’d leave some of their trees for me to decorate once we get to Michigan. I hope it snows while we’re there; my mom’s mom lives on top of a hill so if it snows we’ll get to go sledding. It doesn’t snow in Alabama!
You said in your last letter that you’ve never been anywhere but Milwaukee. Do you want to go other places? We travel all the time; my dad loves an adventure and my mom loves a road trip. The twins hate everything. I think what I like best is watching the trees and everything pass by. It’s like watching a movie.
What does your family do for the holidays? We baked cookies last night; my mom let me be in charge of the oven this year. Usually that’s my brother’s job but he wanted to decorate this year. His name is Walker. We all have weird first names.
Anyway, talk to you again in 1989!
Merry Christmas,
Harper
(Drawing of a sad Christmas tree.)
Hey Harper, January 6, 1989
Happy New Year! Hope you had fun in Michigan. Did you get to decorate the trees? Did it snow? How was the sledding?
We watch Christmas movies and always decorate the tree on Christmas Eve. My mom also lets us open one present when we’re done. It’s always pajamas so it’s not that much fun. We go to midnight mass too. I fell asleep this year on accident. I did get guitar lessons. I can start in two weeks.
You never told me what you and your brother like to build with Legos. What’s your sister’s name if you all have weird names?
Also, do you listen to music? What do you like? Please don’t let it be New Kids on the Block.
Ben
P.S. - I liked your tree.
Chapter Seven
The kitchen table was covered in pink and red construction paper and glitter, so much glitter. Flannery and Harper were hard at work making Valentine’s Day cards for their friends. They’d been doing this for as long as Harper could remember; when she was in kindergarten Flannery put her in charge of stickers and drawing hearts on things since that was all she could really do. Now they both made their own cards and occasionally helped each other. Flannery was great at drawing and Harper always seemed to come up with clever poems and phrases.
The girls had been working quietly and steadily all morning. The Top 40 Countdown with Casey Kasem was on in the background. Flannery really liked INXS and two of their songs were on the charts this week. She hummed along as she drew hearts and filled them in with glitter. She had a huge list of friends she was making cards for; it seemed to grow longer every year. Harper’s pile was smaller: her four best friends, her teacher, her parents, and the twins. She thought about making one for Peter but decided against it. One couple skate didn’t mean he deserved a Valentine.
“Are you going to make a card for your pen pal?” Flannery hadn’t asked much about Ben in the last few weeks. She could tell Harper liked writing to him so Flannery stopped teasing Harper about him. There were other things to tease her little sister about.
“Ben? No. We’re pen pals not friend friends.” Harper was lying a little. Ben was definitely her friend but she didn’t want Flannery to know. She wasn’t sure why but she wanted to keep Ben to herself. Before Flannery could respond, their brother came in. Walker never made Valentines but had a habit of coming in to bother them at some point. He had a girlfriend and bought her a huge box of chocolates. Harper helped him pick it out.
“Walker, do you think Harper should send her little pen pal a Valentine?” Flannery winked at Harper.
“Why not? Everyone likes to get Valentines.” Walker smiled at Harper and started playing with a jar of glitter.
“See? I was right. What kind of things does he like? I could draw something he likes. Walker, if you spill that glitter you are cleaning it up.” Flannery grabbed a new sheet of paper and waited for Harper.
Harper wasn’t getting out of this; she knew when the twins, particularly Flannery, were set on something they wanted her to do she would do it. “He likes Transformers and Batman and some of the books I like to read. I can’t draw any of those things.”
“Tell you what. I’ll draw Batman for you and then you trace it onto a new card so it’s like you did it.” Flannery started sketching Batman on her paper. Harper focused on finishing the card she was making for her dad instead of responding to her sister. She drew a big star like the logo on the Big Star album. She wrote Happy Valentine’s Day in the star and decorated the rest of the card with glitter. Her dad would put it on his desk at work like he always did.
“Here you go. You can use that thinner paper and trace it then write your letter on the other side. It’ll be awesome.” Flannery passed the Batman over to Harper. It was a great drawing; Harper was impressed with her sister’s skills. It would never do since Harper couldn’t draw that well. She’d have to make it her own or not.
“Thanks.” Harper took the drawing but didn’t move to start a card for Ben. “We need to finish soon. As soon as Mom and Dad get back Mom’s taking me to Sophie’s for our slumber party.”
“Harper, you’re so serious. It’s Valentine’s card not an exam!” Flannery laughed at her little sister.
The siblings worked in silence. Harper finished up the cards for her family and tucked each one into a box she kept them in until it was time to hand them out. She put the Batman drawing in the box without creating an actual card. She would make it later...probably. They started cleaning up without another word being said about Batman or Valentines for Ben.
Dear Ben, February 14, 1989
My sister and I spent all day yesterday making Valentines for our friends and parents. Flannery wanted to make sure we made one for you. I hope you like it. I drew Batman on it but I don’t think it really looks like Batman. Drawing isn’t really my thing.
Is it snowing? It never snows here. My mom says I should be glad it never snows since that means I don’t have shovel snow or remember to wear gloves. I kept forgetting to wear my gloves at Christmas. Sledding without gloves was not fun.
My best friend Sophie really likes New Kids on the Block but I only think they’re ok. Her skating party was NKOTB themed. Even the cake was decorated with pictures of them. The skating was fun at least.
Happy Valentine’s Day!
Harper
Hey Harper, 2/28/1989
Happy Valentine’s Day (late)! Thanks for the card. I thought Batman looked good. A little squished
but I could tell it was Batman. I drew you a Transformer cupid on the back of the letter. Best I can do.
It’s been snowing a lot, just not enough to get a snow day. That’s a bummer. My brother broke his arm playing hockey two weeks ago so I have to help him. He calls me his servant. I don’t really mind doing stuff for him.
Started guitar lessons. It’s really cool. I can play some chords and basic songs.
Later,
Ben
Ben, March 8, 1989
Mrs. Henderson said that we completed enough letters for our pen pal assignment. We had to write 20 and we’ve written 35. She also said we wrote really fast. Our assignment isn’t due until April. Do you still want to be pen pals? We don’t have to keep writing to each other but I don’t mind if you don’t. I like hearing about your guitar lessons and the tree house.
Let me know. I started reading “The Westing Game” this week. It’s kind of creepy (new word from my sister) and weird. I like it a lot.
I guess this is goodbye unless you want to keep writing.
Harper
Harper, 3/12/1989
We should keep writing to each other. How else am I going to know what girls like and what books to read?
My mom got me “The Westing Game” yesterday from the library. I’ll let you know what I think soon.
Ben
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