Katerina's Wish by Jeannie Mobley Read Free Book Online

splashing water and mud in all directions. A flailing arm caught Holena square in the back and she toppled forward, landing facedown in the icy water, soaked from head to toe.
    I hurried to her, scolding the older children as I went. I helped her to her feet and up onto the grassy bank.
    â€œAre you all right?” I asked her.
    She nodded, but her teeth were chattering from the cold water and she was blinking back tears. I wrung the water from her skirt and invited her to sit with me in the sun to warm up. We watched the game continue for some time, Holena chewing her lip uncertainly. A big Welsh family had arrived, and the Welsh children were especially wild. We were always wary of the Welsh, who lived on the other side of camp. There were plenty of rumors that the careless Welsh miners had caused more than one deadly accident in the mine. Their children seemed just as troublesome as they went splashing and shouting into the creek. Aneshka wasn’t bothered by them, and I knew she could hold her own. Holena, though, wasn’t one for so much rough-and-tumble play. I stood and held my hand out to her.
    â€œLet’s take a walk,” I said. “I know a quieter place I think you’ll like better.”
    With a sudden, bright smile, she jumped up and took my hand. We set off downstream. I felt a little uncertain as we walked. I hadn’t, until that moment, considered sharing my special place with anyone. I certainly didn’t want to share it with Aneshka, but Holena was different. She appreciated quiet and beauty and wouldn’t disrupt it with mindless prattle.
    Holena was still holding my hand as we rounded the bend. At once the high slope shut out the sound of the children splashing and shouting. We could hear the burble of water and the chirping of birds. I could hear another sound, too—one I hadn’t expected. Someone was whistling a tune. And not just any tune, but a Bohemian folk song.
    I shaded my eyes with my hand and looked to the tree. A man was reclining in the shade with his feet propped up on one of the roots. It was silly of me to think a place so close to the camp was a secret, but I was disappointed to learn it wasn’t.
    â€œIt’s Mark!” Holena said. She let go of my hand and skipped toward him.
    He heard her voice and sat up, the sun lighting his face. He smiled, looking glad to see us.
    â€œTrina! Hello. Come sit in the shade,” he said.
    Holena was already sitting on the big root of the cottonwood, leaning out over the pool and trailing her fingers on the surface of the water. I stepped over the root, into the narrow wedge of grass, and hesitated. It was too small a space to share with another person, though Mark seemed to be expecting me to sit down there beside him. He saw my hesitation and his smile faltered.
    â€œWhat’s the matter, Trina?” he asked.
    â€œIt’s just that it’s awfully crowded here,” I said.
    He shook his head. “Not just here. You don’t want to talk to me at my house, either, or anywhere else. What have I done?”
    The heat of embarrassment filled my cheeks. I wanted to flee, but I could not. I sat down on the root of the tree, trying to decide what to say.
    â€œIt’s always like this now,” he continued. “You hurry to get away from me. You won’t even look me in the eye.”
    I had kept my eyes on Holena, but I could hear the hurt in his voice. I forced my eyes up to meet his.
    â€œYou haven’t done anything wrong, Mark.”
    â€œThen why are you avoiding me?”
    â€œI’m not. It’s just—” I thought hard, trying to untangle my feelings. “We used to talk about school, and what we wanted to do afterward. Now that you’re working, things have changed.”
    â€œI’m still the same,” he said.
    I studied his face. It was the same—blue eyes with pale lashes, the soft beginnings of whiskers, and a mop of blond hair that