Nearly a week had passed since Pam had arrived at Green Gables, and she had made the acquaintance of every tree, flower and animal on the entire property, not to mention Mrs. Lynde. The only entity she had not met yet was the promising Kelly Barry, who had been in Charlottetown visiting her aunt.
Pam anxiously awaited her return, though it was with some trepidation that she entered the kitchen on the day of Kelly's return. Phyllis was there with Mrs. Marjorie Lynde, having tea.
“Good morning, Pam,” said the latter, “How are you today?”
Pam smiled a small smile. “Extremely well in body, but considerably rumpled in spirit,” she said, “Phyllis, may I go visit Bob in the barn?”
Phyllis smiled. “Certainly,” she said, “but mind you don't get dirty, and come back soon. It’ll be time to dress for the Sunday school picnic.”
Pam nodded fervently and dashed out the door. “She's real sweet little thing,” said Phyllis, “She's nervous about meeting little Kelly Barry. She says she's never met a kindred spirit at the orphanages, and she hopes that she and Kelly can be bosom friends.”
Marjorie sniffed and nodded. She wasn't about to admit she had been wrong in forming opinions about orphaned girls, so she said, “She doesn't quite seem the type to put strychnine in the well.”
Phyllis laughed. “I should hope not. She's darling. She asked us if we wouldn't mind if she didn't call us Mother and Father, since she didn't want to 'revoke the memory of her parents.'”
Marjorie nodded in approval. “She's an interesting creature; and my goodness, that hair! I generally prefer long, smooth curls like Katy Pye has got, but Pam's hair suits her, in a way."
*
Pam's morning fairly flew by, and in no time at all, she was standing between Bob and Phyllis, surveying the bustling lawn at the Barry house, where the Sunday school picnic was in full swing.
She was scrubbed and clean, her cheeks flushed. She was attired in a new dress Phyllis had made her, a pale blue and grey striped starched cotton made up rather plainly. Phyllis had not much experience in sewing for young girls, and therefore did not realize what a boon puffed sleeves and frills could be to a young maiden. Pam would never dream of asking for frills, for she hoped never to hurt Phyllis's feelings.
Phyllis motioned across the lawn, and Pam followed her over to a tall, dark-haired woman in a white lawn dress. “Mrs. Barry, how nice of you to invite us,” said Phyllis by way of a greeting, and Pam smiled shyly.
Mrs. Barry smiled, “How do you do, Phyllis? This must be the girl you've adopted.”
Pam proffered her hand as Phyllis said, “Yes, this is Pam Shirley. Pam, this is Mrs. Barry.”
Mrs. Barry shook her hand as Pam said, “How do you do, Mrs. Barry?”
“My daughter Kelly has been looking forward to meeting you, Pam,” said the kind lady, beckoning behind Pam. A girl her own age came running lightly over to stand beside her mother. She had long black hair that supported a large pink bow, and her dress was of beautiful rose sateen, with the puffiest sleeves Pam could ever have hoped for.
“Kelly, perhaps Pam would care for some ice cream,” said Mrs. Barry, and Kelly's eyes shone as she took Pam by the hand and trotted over to the ice cream table.
Pam savored each bite of the ice cream; she had helped Bob make it the day before, flavoring it delicately with strawberries, and she thought that it tasted much better in the company of a friend.
“Mother says you're just my age, so maybe we can sit together in school,” said Kelly, leading Pam over to a large swing hanging from the branches of a genteel old tree. “I think it will be jolly fun to have a girl so close by. I haven’t anyone to play with, really. I had a sister, but she died of the galloping consumption when I was just five. Say, isn't this ice cream delicious?”
Pam felt slightly dizzy, possibly from the gentle motion of the swing, but more likely from Kelly's speech, which seemingly surpassed her own when she was excited. She smiled. “It even tastes pink,” she said, and was about to speak again when two boys ran past them, kicking up dirt.
“Kelly, who's your friend?" called the shorter one, a round boy with dark hair. Kelly tossed her hair and said, “She's Pam Shirley and you just leave us alone, Kevin Spurgeon MacPherson!”
The boys ran away, though the tall one gave Pam a little wave before he turned, stumbling, to catch up with his friend. “Who were they?” asked Pam.
“The short one's Kevin Spurgeon MacPherson, and the taller one is Toby Sloane. Can you believe his mother still keeps him in short pants? It’s quite silly.” answered Kelly.
“Are they in our class?” asked Pam. “Yes, and now there's almost as many girls as boys in our class, now that you're here,” answered Kelly, “Although now that I think about it, Jim Blythe is coming back this year. He's a year older than us, but he's in our class. His father took sick and went to the shore, and Jim went with him, so he's behind on school work.”
“Oh, I’m glad! Not that he’s behind on work, but I’ll feel better knowing that I’m not the only one out of sorts,” said Pam.
“Oh, Pam! Don’t worry, you’ll be just fine, Mother says Mrs. Vance told her you were a bright girl, and if you have trouble, I’ll help you,” said Kelly, squeezing Pam’s hand. The two girls smiled at each other, and Pam’s heart fairly swelled at the realization that she had a friend.
Both girls turned to look as a gentleman called out through a paper cone, “Any contestants for the three legged-race should report to me now!”
Kelly jumped off the swing. “Let’s enter!” she said. Pam jumped down beside her. “I’m a fast runner,” she said, “And I’ve always wanted to enter a three-legged race!”
The two girls trotted towards the man. “That’s the schoolmaster, Mr. Scott. Father thinks he’s useless, but Mother says we should respect the school board’s decision to appoint him,” whispered Kelly as they approached the race area. “He’s nice enough, and if you mention anything about the Widow Gould, he’ll be off in dreamland for a good long while. That’s how we girls find time to write little notes to each other,” Kelly continued, “Once, Katy Pye stitched up a whole little sewing purse without Mr. Scott even noticing.”
By then, the girls had reached the area where a redheaded boy was handing out strips of cloth. He gave them three and said, “Make sure you tie them extra tightly, Kelly. Knee, ankle and calf. No cheating.”
Kelly glared at him in exasperation. “Dwighde Schrude, leave us be, we’ll tie it tight enough,” she said. “Dwighde, don’t be ridiculous, one tie is enough,” called Mr. Scott.
Kelly and Pam took their places at the starting line, and a dark-haired boy stood next to them. Kelly gripped Pam’s hand tightly and whispered, “Pam! That’s Ryan Wright! I just adore him, but Mother doesn’t approve. His mother is one of the White Sands Baileys, and his family and Mother’s have never gotten along. Isn’t that terribly romantic?”
Pam whispered back, “He is handsome, and that is terribly romantic- forbidden love! I read a novel like that once!”
She was about to elaborate on the story to Kelly, who she felt would truly appreciate it, unlike Phyllis, who said she should read only wholesome things, when a boy came to stand beside Ryan.
He was tall and lanky and had brown hair that flopped in his eyes as he bent over to tie his leg to Ryan’s. He looked up, saw Pam watching him, and winked. She blushed, and her stomach gave a funny little twinge as she looked away. “Who is that next to Ryan?” she whispered to Kelly.
"That’s Jim Blythe, and I think he’s not so handsome as Ryan,” answered Kelly. Pam felt shy, for this was the first time all afternoon that she did not agree with Kelly.
"All right, on your marks, and GO!” called Mr. Scott, and Pam and Kelly took off running. “One and two and one and two,” panted Pam, keeping time. She and Kelly found a rhythm right away and did not stumble, even as Ryan and Jim tumbled onto the grass beside them. They were in the lead, with Kevin and Toby close behind, when someone charged past them and crossed the finish line.
"I win!” called Dwighde, raising his arms in victory, “I beat all of you that have three legs on only two legs!”
Mr. Scott shook his head in exasperation. “Dwighde, you have to have three legs to enter! You are disqualified; please leave the field!”
Pam and Kelly looked at each other with joy and clapped their hands when Mr. Scott announced, “The winners are Kelly Barry and…the other girl!”
As Pam and Kelly stepped onto an apple crate to receive their blue ribbons from Mr. Scott, Pam saw that Jim had untied his leg from Ryan’s and was standing up. He winked at her again, and she whipped her head to the front, cheeks tinged with pink.
*
Later, as Phyllis came to bid her goodnight, she asked Pam, “Well, did you have a nice day?” and Pam laughed as she answered, “Oh, it was the best day I’ve ever had!”
When Phyllis left the little gabled room with the candle, Pam turned over and closed her eyes, remembering the golden moments, some particular ones more than others as she drifted to sleep.
