Wishes

Chapter Twelve

"Gran! Come here! I have a surprise!" I called into the home.

She came running out of the kitchen and had a shocked look on her face. I think she thought I had gotten into an accident, or worse, killed a man.

"Oh Leah baby girl, I'm glad you're okay, what is it now?" She asked while hugging me.

I opened the door to the car and waved at the four children smiling back at us.

"Gran, this is Willow, May, Sunny and Donald, I'm just looking after them for a few hours. They're Mrs.Newmans children," I explained while pulling the four of the out of the car.

I helped them into the house and gave Gran the grocery bags. I sat the kids on the old couch that was positioned in the middle of the old family room. My phone vibrated from my pants pocket. It was Kyle.

Kyle: Hey babe, how is your trip? miss ya loads!

Leah: Ahhh I miss you too much :( I've made a few friends, they're a bit younger though.

I sent him a picture of the five of us sitting on the couch watching cartoons.

Kyle: who's kids? Haha you look like a great group!

Leah: A local grocer's kids, I met up with her in her old workspot and offered to look after them. She has 14 kids!!!

Kyle: #goals, That'd be a dream with you babe <3

Leah: Awh, I'm obsessed with little Willow, she's so cute, and I love the name :P

Kyle: That is a cute name, I wish I would have thought of such a unique name, its really pretty! I guess I'll text you later, I have to go to that stupid support group now, I promise I'll text you later baby, love you

Leah: okie, love you too, I gotta go out and do chores now :(

~

"Donald can you carry this bucket out to the man sitting on the stool?" I asked handing little Donald the big silver bucket.

"Um, Willow do you want to help feed the kitties?" I asked and showed her where they were.

Sunny and May sat on a hay bail in the middle of the barn because I didn't have a job for them to do yet. I took Willow's hand and led her to where the cats lived. We had closed off a few stalls for them and had multiple toys and climbing posts for them. I mean, it was a barn, they could potentially climb wherever they liked.
I gave Willow a handful of cat treats and she set them down on an old place mat that had been in the barn for years. The four kittens came out first. Then, the old Tom cat came. It was quite fascinating how they lived.
Old Mr. Tom always put his babies first. They had it so good. I wish everyone's lives were like that. There were some people I knew that barely had roofs over their heads. And I'm actually very surprised the Newmans did, because they don't have enough money to have fourteen children. They have to pay for costs of babysitting, food, rent, and they don't have a car, so they take the local trolley everywhere they go.
When I was younger, I always used to give everyone in their family a birthday card. With a little bit of my allowance in it. I always gave Elijah and Everest money, I sort of regret that now because Elijah is a multimillionaire who sings songs for a living. I've never seen his daughters but I know their names are interesting. Phoebe and Daisy. Crazy.
I'm pretty sure Everest was married, maybe even had one kid.
I hope one day, my life will be put together, because right now, nothing is cutting it.

"Kitty! Kitty!" Willow giggled.

"I think she loves you!" I smiled at Willow and one of the kittens.

I decided that the cat coop was the best place for Willow. I left her there and went to find Donald, Sunny and May. Gramps sat on the old wooden stool and Donald, Sunny, and May surrounded him.

"What are you guys doing?" I laughed.

"Mikking the cow" Sunny smiled.

It was too cute when kids couldn't pronounce all their letters. Donald pulled me over towards the cow and showed me how to milk the cow. After the bucket was full, I helped the kids wash up and we met back in the Cat coop with Willow. Gramps and I sat on the bench in the coop and watched the kids run around with the kittens. Mr. Tom sat on my lap.

"You know, You're really good with kids Leah, You're going to be a good mom one day," Gramps told me.

"Thanks, but we both know, that's not going to happen for a long time," I laughed.

~

"Thank you so much for looking after these monkeys. Were they good?" Mrs Newman asked.

"Yes Mrs Newman, they were beyond amazing, I couldn't have imagined them being any better!"

"Wow Really? You must have some magic touch Leah. Here's a few dollars in this envelope. Oh and here is my number too, If you are ever looking for some babysitting jobs or a little extra cash, I always have opportunities!" She handed me a brown envelope.

"Thank you Mrs Newman, This is more than enough. I'll remember this day for a lifetime,"

After Mrs Newman and the kids left, I sat down at the dinner table with Gramps and Gran. They both had mugs of some sort of amazing smelling tea. They looked sad.

"Leah, There's something we have been hiding from you and I think its time to tell you," Gran spoke softly.

"A young man stopped in this morning while you were at the grocery store, and he wanted to buy the farm and our house," Gramps's voice cracked.

It felt as if a bomb had dropped on me. This was where I was raised, in fact I was even born here. How could anyone ever want to buy this old place? Especially from an old couple who had no other choice than to sell it.

"You're not going to give it to him though right?"

"Well, We don't really know. But, it is about time we move into an old age home and get cared for, we are getting old and soon we won't be able to look after the animals everyday. No one else lives around here to take care of all these critters for us. You certainly can't live here," Gran explained.

"Well why can't I? You know I would take very good care of you and the animals,"

"Leah, You can't! You're only fifteen, your family would miss you too much. You need to live your teenage years to the fullest, and there's no need to waste it on us. Your boyfriend is back in Nashville too! Do you really want to leave him for us?" Gramps shouted.

"If I don't stay here, You're going to die! You can't keep doing what you're doing, you're going to have a heart attack on the job!" I shouted back.

I couldn't believe I had just said that. I ran upstairs to my small bedroom and slammed the door. It was a horrible thing to think, but it was true. If they don't find someone to help out around the farm, they are both going to die. Taking the horses out into the pasture is a big job, too big for a little old man who walks with a cane. Milking cows is a huge job, too huge for a little old woman who can barely stand on her own without holding onto something so she doesn't fall over.
And so then, I pulled out a piece of paper from a binder I brought and set it on the floor. I took a pencil and wrote on it.

WISHES:

1:Bring Kyle to Gatlinburg
2: Find cures/easier ways to manage Type one Diabetes and Lung Cancer
3:Move in on Gran and Gramps's ranch
4:Get married to Kyle
5: Have children

I guess my wishes weren't that practical but I mean it was a start.