Free More Perfect than the Moon by Patricia MacLachlan Page A

afternoon. I watched her from the side porch as she worked in her garden. She stopped working and put her hand to her throat as if she could be sick.
    “In the morning she is the last to get up,” I whispered to Caleb and Grandfather in the kitchen. “She is always, always, always the first one up.”
    Caleb smiled at me.
    “And how would you know that?” he asked. “We have to tumble you out of bed every morning.”
    Grandfather was slicing bread for lunch.
    “Once I carried you all the way down the stairs wrapped in a blanket,” he said. “I sat you at the breakfast table, and you were still asleep.”
    I frowned at Caleb and Grandfather, which made them smile all the more.
    “You can tease if you want,” I said. “But Mama’s sick.”
    Grandfather and Caleb turned as Mama came into the house then, her hair in wisps around her face. She stopped when she saw us all watching her.
    “This looks like a meeting,” she said with a little smile.
    Grandfather cleared his throat.
    “No meeting. Lunch. What can I fix you, Sarah?”
    Sarah shook her head and held up her hand.
    “Nothing, thank you, John. No food.”
    “Are you ill, Sarah?” asked Grandfather.
    Mama turned and smiled the smallest smile at Grandfather.
    “I don’t feel like eating. . . . I think I’ll rest.”
    Papa came in the door.
    “Sarah?” asked Papa.
    “I’m going to lie down, Jacob.”
    Papa looked quickly at us, then followed Mama to the bedroom. I could hear his voice, soft, then hers.
    No one spoke. Grandfather poured me a cup of milk.
    “See? She is sick,” I told him.
    “Everyone gets sick, Cassie.”
    “Not Mama.”
    I could feel sudden tears at the corners of my eyes.
    Caleb put his arm around me. I was surprised. Caleb never put his arm around me.
    “Sarah will be fine, Cassie. You’ll see.”
    I could tell that Caleb was worried, too, even though he didn’t say so. Later I saw him watching Mama.
    And that evening Mama didn’t come to dinner. She stayed in her bed. Papa made biscuits that were hard and dry, like stones. Grandfather made a stew that needed salt. Caleb set the table with forks for the stew. No spoons. Even the dogs were restless. Nick and Lottie stood at Mama’s bedroom door and looked at her. I watched her, too, until she turned her head and told us to go away.
    “I’m fine, Cassie. Don’t watch me. Go away and take the dogs,” she said.
    I didn’t go away. I stood behind the door and kept watching her. After a long while I took the dogs up to bed with me.
    Most nights Mama came up to kiss me good night. But no one came except for Lottie and Nick. They lay on either side of me all through the night. They slept while I watched the moon move across the window and out over the barn. Across the meadow. Before I fell asleep the moon washed over the prairie, making it look soft and safe, covered by a silver quilt.

3
    I n the morning Lottie and Nick were gone, leaving dog dents in the quilt. I got out of bed quickly and dressed. I ran downstairs, stopping partway to listen. There were no sounds of talk in the kitchen. No sounds at all.
    The table was set for breakfast. The coffeepot was on the stove. I touched it and pulled my hand away. Hot.
    Very slowly I walked to the door of Mama and Papa’s bedroom. Mama was asleep, the bedcovers tucked tightly around her. Lottie and Nick stood next to the bed, staring at her. They looked up at me as I came into the room. Nick wagged his tail.
    We stood there for a long time, watching Mama breathe. Finally I took the dogs and went out through the kitchen to the yard. Papa was fixing a bridle. He smiled.
    “You slept late.”
    I nodded.
    “Your mama still sleeping?”
    I nodded again.
    “She needs rest, Cassie,” said Papa.
    “Why?” I asked.
    Papa shook his head. He didn’t answer my question why.
    “She’s going to see Dr. Sam.”
    I moved closer to Papa so he had to put his arm around me.
    “May I go to town, too?”
    “Not today, Cassie.”
    “I need