A Field of Onions – Part 2

                                              “Life is like a field of onions; one cries while peeling it.” ~ Proverb

“Molly….you’re going to be late, come on!” Katherine yelled out the bathroom window at her youngest daughter.

She had to smile and shake her head. Molly was standing in the middle of the garden that John had planted in early spring before he died in May. It had been a rough time for them, but somehow every day they managed to move forward.

Her husband, John, had thrived on farming and gardening. Each year he planted way too many vegetables, but they were never hungry. Katharine would spend all summer canning and freezing as much as possible. The rest they gave away to family and friends.

She was already worrying how she, Jena, and Molly were going to be able to manage it all. Her oldest daughter, Judy, was already out of the house, working with her own apartment. She came on the weekends to lend a hand. At this point, it was going to take every hand willing.

Her brothers-in-law and nephews had been so good about coming by to check on things and make sure everything was okay. Katharine was an industrious woman, but she had never had to worry about the heavy things. Now everything felt heavy.

She was most concerned about Molly. She had not seen many tears and she feared that she had picked up her own trait of stuffing her feelings.

Molly took one more look at the two long rows of green onions. Tiny green sprigs were up and growing. She missed her dad so much. She realized these onions would be the last she would help plant with him.
He always said that they were the onion-eaters of the family and made sure to plant extra, just for them. John would till the ground first and then the two would start the process. She carried the tiny onion sets they had gotten from the Co-Op in a huge wicker basket. John would walk ahead with a post digger, and she would come behind dropping the little onion into the holes.

Next, John would go ahead with a hoe to cover the hole. Molly would then water each hill with an old tin watering can. It could be cumbersome and heavy, but she never complained.

She waited impatiently for harvest time. You must be careful to grab the green shoots gently so not to break them off before you pull the onion out of the soil. You never knew what size it would be until you pulled it from the ground and then removed the clumped soil from the bulb.

From previous years, Molly already knew that it would be at least another three weeks before the onions would be ready to eat. Sighing one last time, she headed back to the front of the house to await her ride to Mason Academy.

This year, she was riding with her Chemistry teacher, Mrs. Twigg. At first, she had been a little shy, but once the two discovered their love of music, they quickly found things to talk about. They even sang along together, mostly to Neil Diamond tunes.

By the end of the week, Molly had checked on and watered the onions at least three or four times. She could almost hear her dad telling her not to over-water.

She was excited because Nina was coming over after school for a Friday night sleep-over. Summer vacation was about to start and Disco was the new craze. The two friends loved sliding around in their socks on the tiled floor in Molly’s room. Nina had given her a disco ball for Christmas. You blew in the top of the globe and the colored disc inside spun around throwing rainbow-colored stars on the wall and ceiling.

Jena had recently moved into their grandmother’s house, now empty, after John passed to be close by. This meant that Katharine and Molly had the whole house to themselves. Nina especially loved coming over because Ms. Katharine did not care how late they stayed up or how loud the music was. Plus, she made the best cakes!

They made a pizza, danced, and giggled over drama at school. Both were finally ready to climb in bed, but neither one stopped talking. Molly had an itch on her neck and reached up to scratch it. Hey, wait…what is that she wondered. She felt a lump on the left side of collar bone. When did they get there? She hadn’t remembered feeling it before. She pressed and moved it around. That’s funny, it doesn’t hurt.

Something in Molly’s spirit sent out a gush of fear. She couldn’t put her finger on what was bothering her, but she decided she would show Katharine the next morning.

“Hey Nins?”

“Yeah?”

“I think I am sleepy after all, is it okay if we go to sleep?” Molly asked. She didn’t feel like talking any more.

“Sure, I am beat.” Nina replied with a yawn.

“Okay, sleep sweet. Love ya.” Molly turned to her side, running her fingers over the lump on her neck.

“You too, Mols, love ya back.”

It took Molly a while to finally fall asleep. She woke earlier than normal for a Saturday, but something was urging her to show Katharine the lump on her neck. Her mom had a way of making everything seem okay. Molly really needed that reassurance right now.

Walking into the kitchen, Molly saw her mom at the stove cooking pancakes.

“Hey, Molly girl…. think you and Nina can help me eat these fluffy pancakes? I picked up that syrup you love so much.” Katharine smiled over at Molly.

“Uh, yeah, sure. Nina’s still asleep but I will wake her up in a few.”

“How late did you two stay up talking? Bacon or sausage?” She asked.

“Bacon, and around 1 a.m. or so, I cannot remember. Hey, Mom? Can you feel this for me?” Molly sided up to Katharine.

“Feel what, honey?” Drying her hands she turned toward Molly, noticing for the first time she wasn’t her usual cheery self.

“This…here feel.” Molly took Katharine’s hand and placed it over the lump.

Katharine’s facial expression did not change, but the last time she had felt a lump like this was on Tim. Molly’s only brother passed away when she was three years old. ‘Lord, please no! Not again!” She quickly prayed to herself.

Not wanting to upset Molly, she hugged her and said, “Honey, I’m not sure what it is, probably a swollen lymph node. Have you felt, okay?” she asked, pulling back looking at Molly’s sweet face.

“Yeah, I guess. I have been a little tired lately, but school has been really busy, and the garden.” Molly shrugged. Katharine was acting like it was nothing. Molly instantly started to feel better.

“Well, I will call and see if you can get an appointment with Dr. Conner just to make sure. Okay?” Turning back to the bacon, she said, “Now why don’t you go see if Nina can help us with these pancakes.”

“Okay, Mom. Thanks!”

After Molly left a tear slid down Katharine’s cheek. She began to think about Molly as of late. Come to think of it, she had lost weight and had not been eating as much. She had also been going to bed early. Molly was by nature a night owl and several school nights she was in bed by 8 p.m.

Katharine tried to maintain a positive outlook over the weekend, but first thing Monday morning she called and made an appointment for that afternoon with their family doctor, Ted Conner.

She remembered Molly talking about a dark cloud following their family around not long after John died. She silently prayed, ‘Dear Lord, please let us both be wrong.’