![](\"https:\/\/images.dailykos.com\/images\/674770\/large\/DexterCiderMill1958.jpg?1557598920\")
Molly was excited when she came over to get me. I was going with her and her mom and dad to the Dexter Cider Mill. It was a cold, cloudy, windy day, and I almost forgot to bring my jacket, but mom reminded me. Molly and I walked across the street together, looking both ways like our moms and dads had told us.<\/p>\n
Molly\u2019s mom and dad were coming out of their front door and Molly\u2019s mom called out to her, \u201cMolly, you and Coop can sit in the way back if you want!\u201d<\/p>\n
Their car was called a \u201cstation wagon\u201d, because it had more seats than a regular car. A regular car had a front and a back seat. But a station wagon had another seat behind the back seat. Molly called it the \u201cway back\u201d, because her mom and dad had told her it was the seat \u201cway in the back\u201d of the car. Molly and I both liked the \u201cway back\u201d seat because it was far away from the grownups in the front seat. Also because it was different, when you sat in it you were looking out the back window of the car. You couldn\u2019t see the grownups driving, so it was easier to pretend you were driving, even though the car was going behind you, not in front of you.<\/p>\n
Molly ran toward her front door, leaving me standing by the car. \u201cI got to get something\u201d, she said, as she tried to slide between her mom and dad back into the house.<\/p>\n
Her dad put a hand out and grabbed her waist, lifting her off the ground, her legs still moving, trying to run. \u201cWhere you going, young lady?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust up to my room to get my steering wheel\u201d, she said, a fierceness in her voice as she continued to move her body, though she didn\u2019t look unhappy being captured by her dad.<\/p>\n
\u201cOkay\u201d, he said, putting her down, \u201cBut hurry up!\u201d<\/p>\n
From near the car I could see Molly running up the stairs and disappearing out of sight around the corner.<\/p>\n
Molly\u2019s mom shook her head, saying, \u201cYou don\u2019t need to encourage her Jack!\u201d<\/p>\n
Molly came running down the stairs and ran past the two of them, the steering wheel thing with the buttons and circles in her hand. This time her dad didn\u2019t try to grab her. She ran out to where I was by the car.<\/p>\n
\u201cI got it!\u201d she said, looking at me with fierce eyes. With her other hand she opened the back door of the car. She pulled open the back door and climbed onto the back seat, feet first, and then tumbled herself over the seat into the \u201cway back\u201d.<\/p>\n
I thought about following her but instead stood just outside the open door and looked at her mom and dad as they came up to the car.<\/p>\n
Her dad looked at me as he walked towards the back of the car, his hand reaching into his front pocket, making clinking noises. \u201cYoung man\u201d, he said, \u201cHow about I let you in through the tailgate!\u201d<\/p>\n
He pulled a big ring of keys out of his pocket and with his fingers found one for the car, opening the back part so I could climb into the seat next to Molly.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll aboard, Sky King!\u201d he said to me laughing.<\/p>\n
\u201cDad\u201d, said Molly, sounding mad, \u201cI\u2019m Sky King!\u201d<\/p>\n
Her dad tilted his head down and looked at her over the top of his glasses. \u201cNow you don\u2019t expect Coop to be Penny, do you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cJack!\u201d Molly\u2019s mom\u2019s voice came from the front seat behind us, sounding like she was kind of mad, \u201cWhere are you going with this conversation?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOkay\u201d, he said, laughing again, \u201cYou both can be Sky Kings!\u201d He closed the back part in front of us. It felt like we were in some sort of airplane or a rocket ship, which made me think of Tom Swift.<\/p>\n
I had told Molly about Tom Swift. We had opened that door on the dresser in my room and looked at all the pictures on the front parts and all through all six books. We had even played like her room was Tom\u2019s flying laboratory and invented things.<\/p>\n
Molly remembered. She looked at me in the seat just next to her. She put the tip of her thumb in her mouth and bit it with her teeth, then pulled it out to talk.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can be Sky King and you can be Tom Swift\u201d, she said.<\/p>\n
I nodded. That was okay with me, though I wish I had my space helmet.<\/p>\n
But it was a lot of fun pretending even without the helmet. The leaves on some of the trees had turned brown or red or orange or yellow, and were even falling off the trees onto the ground. It made everything we drove by look different, like we were in some strange new place.<\/p>\n
My mom knew a lot about plants. She said that every year in the \u201cautumn\u201d, the leaves fell off the trees, which was why they also called it the \u201cfall\u201d. The lilac bushes in the park looked strange because they had no leaves and you could see right through them. Other trees were still green because they were \u201cevergreens\u201d, like the two spruce trees in our backyard. Mom said the fall was also when the apples that had grown on the trees were ready to be picked and mushed up into cider. But the cherry tree in Kenny\u2019s backyard was all done making cherries.<\/p>\n
Molly and I were glad that it took a long time to go to the Cider Mill. She was flying the airplane through the leaves with her steering wheel and buttons while I was busy working on inventing a new button that would tell when bad guy airplanes were coming.<\/p>\n
\u201cKeep working on that new bad guy button\u201d, Molly said, looking out the back window and turning the steering wheel when the car turned.<\/p>\n
\u201cRoger\u201d, I said, \u201cAlmost done!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou inventing radar back there?\u201d Molly\u2019s dad asked from way behind us in the front part of the car.<\/p>\n
We were surprised he was hearing our words and we both didn\u2019t say anything.<\/p>\n
Finally he said, \u201cWell don\u2019t let me stop you. Carry on!\u201d<\/p>\n
Molly whispered to me, \u201cKeep working, Tom. The bad guys are coming and we need it!\u201d She pushed the different buttons around her steering wheel and kept flying the plane.<\/p>\n
I pretended I was done. \u201cIt\u2019s ready Sky King\u201d, I whispered back to Molly.<\/p>\n
\u201cOkay Tom, let\u2019s turn it on!\u201d She flipped the switch by her steering wheel and the red light started flashing. \u201cDammit Tom, there are bad guys all over the place\u201d, she said quietly but fiercely.<\/p>\n
\u201cMolly\u201d, her mom called out from the front seat, \u201cWhere did you learn to say that?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know\u201d, said Molly, caught by surprise and being shy.<\/p>\n
\u201cJack\u201d, Molly\u2019s mom said, \u201cShe must have heard you say that. You need to be more careful!<\/p>\n
\u201cMolly\u201d, her dad said, \u201cGirls don\u2019t say things like that!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOr boys\u201d, Molly\u2019s mom added, \u201cWhat\u2019s good for the goose!\u201d<\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t know what she was talking about.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve heard Eric say his share of the D word and the H word\u201d, Molly\u2019s dad said.<\/p>\n
\u201cJack\u201d, the word burst out of Molly\u2019s mom\u2019s mouth, then talking softly but with a fierce voice, \u201cI\u2019m not comfortable with this whole discussion, can we drop it please!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMolly\u201d, her mom said, \u201cYou should say \u2018darn it\u2019 when you want to sound angry, and people won\u2019t think you are being rude or using bad words.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDarn it\u201d, Molly said out loud like she was mad, then looked at me. She had a kind of smile like she had a secret that was funny. I wondered if she said it instead of \u201cdammit\u201d, or because she was mad that she couldn\u2019t say \u201cdammit\u201d. Looking at her twinkling eyes I figured that was her funny secret.<\/p>\n
Molly\u2019s mom started laughing.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s so funny, lady?\u201d her dad asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s nothing\u201d, her mom said, waving her hands in front of her face. \u201cMolly dear. Sometimes I wonder if you are three or thirteen!\u201d Then turning to look back at the two of us, \u201cJust wait until you two grow up and become parents!\u201d<\/p>\n
Wait for what, I wondered. Again grownups said strange things sometimes.<\/p>\n
Molly flew us across the bridge over the river and then we turned to fly next to the river. Finally we landed at the Cider Mill. Molly jumped up on the seat and let her body fall and tumble into the back seat. I tried to do the same thing but ended up falling on top of her. She pushed me off her body and laughed. We both liked it when our bodies touched.<\/p>\n
\u201cMolly Wheeler\u201d, her mom said, \u201cMy god! Cooper\u2019s parents are never going to let us take him ANYWHERE again if he ends up coming home swearing and throwing his body around like a maniac.\u201d But she didn\u2019t really sound angry.<\/p>\n
\u201cG word\u201d, her dad said laughing.<\/p>\n
Molly\u2019s mom looked at him, then slapped him on the shoulder. \u201cMister Wheeler\u201d, she said smiling, \u201cYou just mind your own\u2026 gol darn business!\u201d<\/p>\n
He made a face like he was pretending it hurt him. Then he pointed his finger at her and moved it up and down. \u201cI\u2019ll deal with YOU later Mrs. Wheeler!\u201d Then turning to Molly and me he said, \u201cReady for some fresh made donuts and cider?\u201d<\/p>\n
Molly bounced up and down on her toes as she nodded. I nodded too, but didn\u2019t do any bouncing.<\/p>\n
Molly, her mom and I sat at one of a bunch of picnic tables while her dad went and stood in line. Above us, the trees were whooshing in the wind and leaves kept falling down on the ground around us or right on our table. There were other grownups with kids sitting at the other tables. I liked looking at the older kids, seeing what they were doing and how they talked. They didn\u2019t make me worried like grownups did.<\/p>\n
Finally Molly\u2019s dad came back to the table with two boxes, one on top of the other, and set them down in the middle of the table. The top box had cups full of the clear brown liquid, and he gave one to each of us. Then he opened the bottom box and it was full of the darker brown donuts that smelled really good. I knew all about donuts because dad loved to talk about them, get them, and eat them.<\/p>\n
Molly, her dad and I all ate two donuts. Molly\u2019s mom only ate one, and ate it slowly, saying \u201cumm\u201d with every bite and chewing for a long time. She told Molly that she was eating too fast, that she should \u201cenjoy every bite\u201d. But Molly\u2019s dad and I ate our donuts as fast as Molly did but Molly\u2019s mom didn\u2019t tell US that. I wondered if that was because her dad and I weren\u2019t girls.<\/p>\n
The \u201ccider\u201d was cool and sweet but also a little bit something else, which made it taste even better. Molly\u2019s mom said it tasted \u201ccrisp\u201d. The donuts didn\u2019t taste as sweet as the cider, but felt warm and good in my mouth as I bit into and chewed them. I thought of dad while I ate them.<\/p>\n
Molly\u2019s mom looked at the two of us and said, \u201cYou two can play down by the stream. Just stay where we can see you and try not to get wet. Okay?\u201d<\/p>\n
Molly nodded and then I nodded too. Molly ran down to the side of the stream and after a second, I ran after her. As I did I could hear Molly\u2019s mom say, \u201cThat Molly!\u201d and then heard her dad laughing. Molly\u2019s mom was always telling Molly to be more \u201cpolite\u201d, whatever that was, but I think I liked it better when she wasn\u2019t \u201cpolite\u201d, and just did what she wanted and told you what she was thinking.<\/p>\n
The water in the stream was moving but was not very deep because you could see the bottom ground part under it. The water moved over round rocks of different gray colors, some covered by the water and others sticking out. There was a little middle part that the water went around on either side and there were some big rocks sticking out of the water between the side of the stream where we were and that tiny \u201cisland\u201d in the middle. Different colored leaves with pointy edges floated by on either side of that middle part like little boats. The trees above the river blocked out the sky and made that same whooshing noise when the wind blew and made more leaves fall. It was a very different outside place than my backyard, Molly\u2019s backyard or even the park. The wind made the skin on my face and hands feel cold, but I liked it.<\/p>\n
Molly and I both looked at that middle part and the stones sticking out of the water and had the same idea at the same time. If we walked on the stones we could get to the \u201cisland\u201d without getting our feet wet. I took a step onto the first rock just before Molly thought to do the same thing.<\/p>\n
She pulled back and said, \u201cYou go first!\u201d<\/p>\n
With Molly watching me, I carefully stepped on each rock over the moving water with the leaves like boats going under me. I held my hands out like mom showed me to keep from falling. I jumped from the last rock to the tiny \u201cisland\u201d part. I looked at Molly and felt good that I could show her how well I could walk on the rocks and not fall down into the water.<\/p>\n
She looked back at me with her hands on her sides. She did the same thing with her face that her dad did when he was thinking hard. \u201cWhy did you hold your hands out?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt helps you not fall off\u201d, I said, not telling her that mom had shown me how to do that, so Molly would think I figured it out all by myself.<\/p>\n
She put her thumb between her teeth and I could see her thinking that she didn\u2019t need to do that. She started to step from rock to rock over the water with her hands at her side and not out. She almost got to the island but then she started to fall. One of her shoes splashed into the water up to above her sock. The other one got to the island. She pulled her other foot out of the water, but the shoe and sock were all wet.<\/p>\n
\u201cDammit\u201d, she said, then looked up at her parents still sitting at the picnic table, wondering if they would get mad at her. They were talking but we couldn\u2019t hear what they were saying. Her mom looked our way but Molly was already standing on the island like her foot had not gotten wet. Her mom waved at us and her dad turned and looked. Molly waved back then stopped looking at them and looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is OUR island\u201d, she said, and she let her bottom fall down onto the small dry round rocks we were standing on, making a crunch sound. I did the same thing in front of her. There was just enough dry part to sit on so the water didn\u2019t touch us. We watched the leaves go by on either side and float along the water and then disappear under the bridge that we went over in the car to get here. We heard the trees whooshing above us.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re in charge of the leaf boats\u201d, I said. \u201cThe red ones need to go on this side of the island and the yellow ones need to go the other side.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat about the brown ones?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\n
I was thinking and said nothing.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe keep the brown ones\u201d, she said, \u201cBecause those ones are fish and we need to eat them so we don\u2019t starve!\u201d<\/p>\n
Then she looked out at the leaves that were coming down the stream.<\/p>\n
\u201cUh oh, yellow boat on the wrong side!\u201d she called out with a voice like she was pretending to be a grownup in charge of the river.<\/p>\n
I reached out and grabbed the leaf starting to go by to my left.<\/p>\n
\u201cGood work\u201d, she said, still with that grownup voice, \u201cNow give it to me.\u201d She looked at it. \u201cLooks okay to me. Off you go!\u201d And she
\nput it back in the water on the right side.<\/p>\n
\u201cOh\u2026 Brown one coming!\u201d she called out, pointing.<\/p>\n
\u201cI see it!\u201d I said.<\/p>\n
The leaf floated towards us and I wasn\u2019t sure which side of the island it was going to go by. I saw how the bigger round rocks that the water flowed over made the leaves go faster, but where the water was deeper, the leaves moved more slowly. Finally it was close enough to grab.<\/p>\n
\u201cGot it!\u201d I said as I stretched out to grab the stem part sticking up.<\/p>\n
\u201cGood job!\u201d she said. \u201cHand it over!\u201d<\/p>\n
I felt her hand on my shoulder. It felt good. I lifted the leaf and held it over that same shoulder. She took it.<\/p>\n
\u201cMmm\u201d, she said, \u201cThis one will be for dinner tonight!\u201d She put it between her folded legs.<\/p>\n
We continued to play boats and fish for a long time. Sometimes the leaf floating toward us was orange, between red and yellow, and we had to figure out what side it should go on. Then Molly\u2019s dad was down by the side of the stream. \u201cTime to go, you two islanders!\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
I stood up and started walking over the rocks with my arms out so I didn\u2019t fall. Molly\u2019s dad stretched out to grab my hand after I\u2019d taken a couple steps. Then Molly got up with a handful of leaves.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe got lots of dinner tonight\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d her dad asked, \u201cYou eating leaves for dinner?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFish!\u201d Molly said. \u201cFive of them.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFish\u2026 got it\u201d, he said. She started to step on each rock, holding her arms out this time like I did, the leaf fish in one hand. Her dad grabbed her other hand and swung her off the rock to the side of the stream.<\/p>\n
When we got back up to the picnic table where Molly\u2019s mom was sitting, she saw that Molly\u2019s shoe and sock were all wet.<\/p>\n
\u201cMolly Wheeler, your foot is soaking wet!\u201d Her mom said it like Molly didn\u2019t already know that, but she already did.<\/p>\n
Molly nodded and said, \u201cIt\u2019s okay.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s NOT okay\u201d, her mom said, \u201cIt\u2019s a chilly day and you could get a chill and catch a cold or worse!\u201d Then after thinking some more, \u201cWhen we get home you\u2019re going to take a hot bath!\u201d<\/p>\n
Molly wrinkled her nose, pushed her lips together, and made a funny face. She looked at me and I knew she was thinking that that was stupid. But she didn\u2019t say anything. My mom would tell me sometimes that I needed to take a hot bath too, like when I started sneezing or I got a stuffy nose.<\/p>\n
\u201cJack\u201d, Molly\u2019s mom said, \u201cIs there a towel in the car somewhere? We need to get Molly\u2019s foot dried off!\u201d<\/p>\n
Molly\u2019s dad did that same thinking look that Molly did, though he didn\u2019t put his thumb in his mouth. Then he said, \u201cI don\u2019t think so. There\u2019s just an old rag in the glove compartment I use for checking the radiator and the oil.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOh my god, Jack\u201d, her mom said, \u201cNot that filthy thing!\u201d She looked mad for a second but then she started to laugh, like she was laughing at what she just said.<\/p>\n
I wondered if Molly\u2019s dad would tell Molly\u2019s mom that she shouldn\u2019t say the \u201cG word\u201d, but he didn\u2019t.<\/p>\n
Molly\u2019s mom continued, \u201cMaybe you can tell the cider mill people what happened to Molly and ask if they have a towel we can borrow, and bring back the next time we\u2019re here.\u201d<\/p>\n
As she spoke I could see Molly\u2019s dad\u2019s face look more and more like he didn\u2019t want to do that. Finally he said, \u201cThis is right up my alley actually, an engineering problem\u201d, he said. \u201cLet\u2019s put Molly in the front seat and then take that wet shoe and sock off. Then I\u2019ll turn up the heater and direct it down at her feet.\u201d<\/p>\n
It sounded to me like something Tom Swift might have figured out to do.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m going to take my shoe off\u201d, Molly said. \u201cIt feels all squishy when I walk!\u201d<\/p>\n
Molly\u2019s mom looked like she couldn\u2019t figure out what to do. Finally she looked at Molly\u2019s dad and said, \u201cHoney, would you mind carrying Molly to the car?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t mind at all\u201d, he replied laughing a little bit, \u201cThat\u2019s what dads are for!\u201d He looked at me and winked, like I knew his secret. But I didn\u2019t, because he was a grownup.<\/p>\n
Molly stood on the sitting part of the picnic bench. Her dad bent down and reached around her and she put her hands around his neck as he picked her up like she was a little kid. She laughed and I could tell that she liked it.<\/p>\n
\u201cHoney\u201d, he said to Molly\u2019s mom, \u201cCan you bring the box of doughnuts?\u201d<\/p>\n
She nodded and picked up the box with both her hands. Then she looked at Molly\u2019s shoe on the sitting part of the picnic table and frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cCooper dear\u201d, she said to me, \u201cCan you bring Molly\u2019s shoe?\u201d<\/p>\n
I nodded and picked it up. It was cold and soaked with water, but it still felt like Molly\u2019s shoe.<\/p>\n
We all walked back to the car. Still holding Molly in one arm, her dad opened the front car door with the other, and let Molly slide down into the front seat where Molly\u2019s mom had sat before. Her dad then opened the back door.<\/p>\n
Molly\u2019s mom put her hand on the top part of my back. \u201cGet in sweetie\u201d, she said, \u201cYou can keep me company in the back seat rather than sitting by yourself way back there.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCoob can sit next to me in the front\u201d, Molly called out. \u201cHis feet might be cold too.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at Molly\u2019s mom.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s up to you dear\u201d, she said smiling.<\/p>\n
\u201cSit next to me\u201d, Molly said again, patting the sitting part next to her like grownups did sometimes when they wanted you to sit next to them.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell\u201d, Molly\u2019s mom said laughing a little, \u201cI don\u2019t know that I can make you a better offer than that! Guess I\u2019m all by myself in the back.\u201d<\/p>\n
Molly moved over to the middle of the front seat and I got in next to her. Molly\u2019s mom closed the door by me and got in the back. Her dad got in the front by the steering wheel, closed his door and started driving the car.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou going to turn on the heat honey?\u201d her mom asked from behind us.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt won\u2019t be warm yet\u201d, her dad replied. Then he glanced at Molly and me and pointed at a circle thing behind the steering wheel. \u201cThat\u2019s the temperature gauge. When that little red pointer gets to the middle that means the engine is warm, so turning on the heat and the fan will give us warm air.\u201d<\/p>\n
Molly looked at the circle and all the other buttons and knobs in front of her, then looked up at her dad. \u201cCan I turn on the radio?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou remember how?\u201d he asked back.<\/p>\n
She nodded. She had to wiggle herself forward in the seat to reach the knob and turn it.<\/p>\n
The music was really loud everywhere.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhoah\u201d, said Molly\u2019s dad, reaching out to turn the same knob, which now made the music softer. A woman\u2019s voice sang slowly\u2026<\/p>\n
I stop to see a weepin’ willow
\nCryin’ on his pillow
\nMaybe he’s cryin’ for me<\/p><\/blockquote>\nMolly\u2019s mom leaned over the top of the back seat behind Molly. \u201cYou can change the station if you like\u201d, she said.<\/p>\n
Molly\u2019s dad laughed. \u201cYour mom\u2019s not much for country music. She thinks it\u2019s just for hillbillies.\u201d The woman\u2019s voice kept singing\u2026<\/p>\n
I go out walkin’ after midnight
\nOut in the moonlight
\nJust hopin’ you may be somewhere a-walkin’
\nAfter midnight, searchin’ for me<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\u201cJack, that\u2019s not fair!\u201d her mom said. \u201cI acknowledge it\u2019s a legitimate type of folk music. It\u2019s just not my cup of tea.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWell boys and girls\u201d, he said, glancing at Molly and me, \u201cThat\u2019s no hillbilly singing. That\u2019s the queen of the Grand Ole Opry, Patsy Cline.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGood to know Jack\u201d, her mom said, though it didn\u2019t sound like she felt it was good to know. \u201cThe kids can make their minds up for themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n
I remembered mom and dad talking about hillbillies too, and making fun of them, they pretended THEY were hillbillies, saying words in a funny way. But the song on the radio sounded like something dad would like to sing.<\/p>\n
I go out walkin’ after midnight
\nOut in the moonlight
\nJust hopin’ you may be somewhere a-walkin’
\nAfter midnight, searchin’ for me<\/p><\/blockquote>\n