Grandmother's Teeth

Chapter 8 Rose Red

“Curse that wretched bear! That tramper! That thief! When your Father puts his hands upon that trickster I hope he skins him alive!” With a splash Rose’s Grandmother found her foot sunken up to the ankle in a large paw print puddle.

It was true the garden had been tampered with during the cold wee early hours of the morning. Rose had her own suspicions. Her Grandmother’s one flaw and perhaps senile leave of senses came whenever there was damage in her garden. Every time she blamed a bear which had been wandering the woods since before Rose was born. According to her it was a witty creature who liked to leave patterns of destruction in its wake. Rose had learned many things from her Father about how to track and hunt. From what she could see there were several culprits, not just one. The damage seemed too random and too small in some places. A nibble here and tearing there and sometimes it was only cold that had damaged a plant. Not that there was not a bear. There was clear evidence of that today.

“My liquorish lacerated! My skullcap squashed!” Grandmother wailed. “He knows that I use these for my arthritis!”

This was why Rose had avoided telling Babushka earlier about this catastrophic news. She could lament for hours over a leaf and often did for occurrences like this would happen almost every morning.

The children and Grandmother were almost done repairing the damage. She let the little ones start to pick berries while the two older girls had been sent off to churn butter. Rose was up to her arms in mud digging out worms and beetles and planting at her Grandmother’s request. It was a mild punishment since she wasn’t wearing her hood, fortunately Rose enjoyed this chore. She merely pretended to sulk while doing it. Her Grandmother caught her smiling though and smeared more mud on her face for fun. “Not so smug.”

“Rose!” Elena exclaimed and it made Rose jump.

Her mother looked both exasperated and amused. “You were to try to stay as clean as possible today so you could come help me in the kitchen with dinner!” Normally her mother would come in fresh and bathed after rinsing off the work of the fields and give her a big hug. Today she stood her distance as she smiled warmly.

The children dumped their berry finds into the half barrels lying around for collecting and ran to their various parents’ arms. Many a woman or man was dodging smeary, sticky kisses. The hunter’s horn sounded Rose’s heart pounded with delight.

“Father’s home!” she began to run, caught by her collar. “Not until you clean up young lady!” Her mother said as firmly as she could.

“I shall take Rose to bathe. Then perhaps you will join us for dinner? I am going to wear that lovely dress you made me?” Elena asked Grandmother hopefully.

“Nay there is such noise in that lodge one cannot even concentrate on chewing.” Grandmother sighed. “Perhaps if I had more teeth I might reconsider. Still I am pleased you like the dress and wear it anyway, for Ivan.”

Elena nodded respectfully; she knew Grandmother was embarrassed to eat in front of others. “Well we shall bring you a plate later you shall see it on me then.”

“Good as it is, the breeze picking up is stinging my legs. I must make my journey home. Before I go Rose we must check our tree mustn’t we?”

Happy to be released from her Mother’s grip Rose reached out and took her Grandmother’s hand. Elena followed with a quiet smile as they took a secret path through the garden that led to two lovely little trees. Grandmother said she had kept the white rose tree for a long time. It was small and looked hardly bigger than a branch stuck upright in the ground. Still it had lots of leaves and several buds.

Rose sighed when she saw them. “Mine hardly has any buds on it.”

“That is not what I see.” Grandmother threw Rose’s red hood over her trees and when she removed it one single rose was opened. It was barely pink and it fell to the ground and its petals all scattered.

“You were right much too soon” Grandmother murmured, she picked up a petal and compared it to the hue of Rose’s hair. Though her hair had light red highlights it was mostly brown.

For some reason Grandmother forcing a rose to bloom and die had made Rose sad. Elena saw this and chanced hugging her mud and all. “Darling if you continue to work hard in the garden and wear your hood the roses will bloom faster for you I am sure.”

“That’s right and soon they will be deep and dark colored. It will be marvelous.”

Grandmother’s eyes sparkled as she stroked Rose’s hair. Suddenly with renewed energy she pulled something from her goodies basket and tossed it to Elena. It was a gourd.

“It is filled with goat’s milk, pour this on the child’s skin when you bathe her and she will be soft as a babe come morning.” Grandmother pinched her nose. The moment was spoiled for Rose.