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Leslie walked through the
small kitchen and the door leading out to the back porch. As she looked
around the door, a scene opened up to her. A long room was flanked on all
three sides by windows and it was bright, airy, pleasant. It looked like
another house within a house. Here was a long table and lined up on both
sides of it were the men who were obviously cowboys. Rough work worn
hands, deeply lined faces from exposure to the elements, soft western
clothing of Levi's, and tall leather boots, made their occupation quite
evident. She noticed as they talked they rested their foot on their spurs
and rolled them on the floor.
Unlike the table she had just
left this one was simply piled high with food. There were crispy looking
large steaks. Mashed potatoes heaped up were in bowls. Large serving dishes
of brown gravy were placed all along the table. Drinking glasses plain and
large served these men, unlike the delicate stemmed glasses she had used
earlier. Even the silver was substantial and utilitarian looking with
heavy easy to hold handles. The plates of sturdy stoneware with symbolic
brands of ranches from all around the area was different and opposite to
the thin china on that other table. Big mugs of brown coffee cups set
beside the plates and some of the cowboys held them in their hand. The spoon
rested inside the cup while they held it to one side with their forefinger.
The men were casually
conversing and just for a moment Leslie wanted to eavesdrop on what they
were discussing.
"Did jah see that hoss
clearin' those fences with ole' Melvin jest a hangin' on fer dear life? Hot
dang! I thought fer sure he was a goner. I'd reckin' he'll do a lot of
thinkin' afore he draws that hoss agin. Ha! HAHAHAHAHAHA!" The men were
laughing with pure delight at the cowboy's observation of the the English
riding horse trained to jump fences. Melvin, a young hand, was suffering
the initiation common to all new comers.
The animal discussed was one
the owners had bought from Ben Johnson Senior so as to indulge their
daughter's wish to learn English riding. That horse was the topic and focal
point of the men's hilarity. A horse sailing over the fences with a young
surprised cowboy on his back was too good for them to pass up as to having
fun with the boy.
So as not to rudely make her
presence known, Leslie quickly left the kitchen to return to the table
where the place for her meal should have been waiting. Instead of the quiet
little group nothing was there now. The silence of the old house was once
again upon her as heavy as an old cold weather coat. It was heavy and
uncomfortable.
She turned away from this
table and the back porch to see if she could find something else yet to
touch in upon her senses. True to her wish, the back bedroom she stepped
into was furnished and looked to be just as the family left it. These
furnishings in the bedroom were striking. They were obviously most expensive
and rich looking of a cream colored off white. The bed had a solid head and
foot board. In the middle of the head board and also at the middle of the
foot board there was a raised relief decoration of a vase with flowers which
looked to be hand painted and with delicate colors. A dressing table stood
in one corner of the room. On it were three mirrors, a long one in the
middle and two smaller ones on the side with hinges to fold at any angle.
Across the room from this was
a very big low chest of drawers holding a large flat mirror. Opposite the
bed was an armoire. The rich heavy doors closing over this piece was
elegant and was for the pleasure of any guest to use while they stayed. The
windows of the room were covered with the venetian blinds which at the time
were a modern addition. Over the blinds hung lace drops of fabric.
Leslie was all of a sudden
very tired. The sprite of a girl walked over to the bed and curled up on
it. Before falling off to sleep she was seeing a large portrait hanging
above the headboard. Looking back at her were the eyes of someone just her
age who could have been her twin. Too tired to question anything, she
slept.
When this estranged resident
awoke there was the twittering of little birds outside her window. The
sunlight filtering through the tall narrow windows covered with lace
curtains and the quiet of this very pleasant room said the storm was gone.
She dropped her hand off the side of the bed to run her fingers through a
softer carpet of a delicate muted gray green color. It was more to her
liking and she somehow knew the floor covering came from someone closer to
her era.
The girl arose, walked back
over the floors now again covered with the rubble of old plaster. Her
weight, though light, still crunched the material as she trod slowly over
it. When she stepped out of the house onto the old stone porch her horse
tossed its head and whinnied to her. |
