BUILDING YOUR VERMONT DREAM
LITERARY CORNER : AGONY HILL
She brushed a piece of chaff off his cheek . They all waited for Hugh to answer . He took a long sip of water from the thermos and looked out across the nearly empty field . They ’ d made good time .
“ When we ’ re finished getting in the hay ,” he said , standing up , dusting crumbs off his pants . Lunchtime was over . It was four before the boys came rushing into the kitchen . “ We can go , we can go !” they shouted , gathering around her , laughing and shedding bits of hay onto the kitchen floor . She took off her apron , dropped it right in the middle of the floor ,
and laughed out loud . “ All right then .” Scott and Andy ran ahead , streaking through the field , tiny dots in the distance hopping over the gate and disappearing into the tall grass and trees that led down to the brook .
By the time she and the smaller boys had made their way through the thick trees and down the bank , Scott was standing on the diving rock , ready to jump . Green greeny water ripples soft as milk-top cream . “ Yahoooooooo !” His yelp broke the silence and then the other boys were in , leaping ,
splashing , filling the swimming hole .
It was almost supernaturally lovely , the little green pool formed where the brook dropped beneath the road . The first time she had seen it , Hugh leading her down by the hand for skinny-dipping at dusk after their wedding , she ’ d decided it was an enchanted fairy glade . The birches all around the brook were covered with green moss , beyond the basin were little waterfalls and hidden lands among tree roots . Higher up the banks , ferns waved . Fern fronds filling . She sat on the huge rock , a
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54 VERMONT MAGAZINE