Beautiful day for a picnic

[Mattie Barnett Davis]

The sights, sounds, and smells of Golden Valley's Independence day party could bring a smile to anyone's face.  One side of the open meadow near to the schoolhouse and the church was dotted with the quilts  or blankets as families and friends sat picnicking on roast chicken, sandwiches, pickles, pies, fresh fruit and vegetables, and cookies.  On the other side of the meadow, children ran around playing, yelling, and chasing dogs, as two adults made preparations for a potato sack race and a greased piglet contest.  Mattie Bennett Davis shook her head, laughing, as the youngest of the Leery children headed straight for the cache of giant watermelons cooling in a clean horse-trough in the shade near the schoolhouse steps.  Trevor Leery's little legs kept running in midair as he was scooped up by the back of the overalls, turned in the direction of the passel of kids and animals, and released.  Without missing a step the little boy's legs kept moving and headed him safely toward the children and the games.

Mattie adjusted her good straw bonnet to better shade her face -- her one concession to finery today, as it was too hot and too impractical to wear a silk gown -- and then smoothed down her best cotton dress.  This little town party would be unlike the Independence Day festivities back East, where a parade and an artillery reveille was followed by hours of speeches at the church or courthouse, where women were attired in their finest visiting dresses and drank tea and lemonade in the shade, where the young men played a quiet, gentlemanly game of base ball.  Like as not the only significant similarities would be the truly important ones --  the reading of the Declaration of Independence, and the opportunity for every person to freely spend the day with friends and family and the community, enjoying food and camaraderie.

Breaking out of her reverie, Mattie looked about the picnic field and mused, "It's been so long since I've seen some of the townsfolk."  Then she realized she was speaking to thin air, as Cosette Leery, her friend and housekeeper of the Flying K Ranch,  was already in the shade of the schoolhouse in deep conversation with the person who ran the mercantile.  Mattie'd been woolgathering and hadn't heard heard Mrs. Leery's adieu.  Adjusting her grip on the picnic basket, Mattie started across the field when a voice called out to her.

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[FYI, if you want to find out more about the Leerys, there is a post on the Ranches board.]

 

[Deleted]

Home again, it had only been a day, not even. Jesse had come back into town after a long train ride from Dodge City where he had been hunting someone on the most wanted list. Federal Marshall, that was his job title. Having stayed for long enough in a town that many considered to be quite dangerous, the man for which he was after had disappeared. Getting word of the death of his brother, Wyatt headed back home, here in Golden Valley. When he stepped off the train his first and only desire was to find a place to rest and clean himself up, when that was said and done, the sun shinning down he made his way about town.

Cleaned up, as good as one could in this era he surveyed the area. Hair slicked back, it had changed, not much, but enough from his absence. It had been some years since he had been here and it had grown, Golden Valley. New Faces, still some of the old he greeted and was greeted by as he made his way along the boardwalk on one side of the road. It was a warm welcome, as warm as one could get after having been known as a trouble maker as a child. The Wyatt boys enjoyed causing trouble as children do, pulling ranks and the like. His reputation as an Ex-Marshall got back to town though, surprised some as they felt pride to have one of there own represent Golden Valley as a Federal Marshall.

"Whoaaa..."

Trevor's little legs found themselves up in the air one more time running in mid-air. He was turned around and passed right by the other children and was headed the other way. Jesse caught him with one arm and had him up in the air before he let him down, this time right in the middle of the other children. Jesse had been making his way past the school when he caught the boy headed for the road. When he sat him down, the teacher thanked him for it as Wyatt nodded his head in thanks and turned to see Mattie headed across the field. He had been so busy with work and thinking about his brothers death it was easy to say he forgot about the 4th.

"You're going the wrong way!"

He shouted it out to her, she already knew she wasn't heading to town. The basket should have tipped him off she didn't want to eat right in the middle of the road in town. Then it hit him after he had started after her and slowly came to a stop when he saw everyone else, he felt like an idiot. Here Jesse was worried she was headed off out of town on her own after all these bandit sightings and attacks had acquired and she was just going where everyone else already was.

"Uh...nevermind."

He stuck his hand up in the air as a gesture toward her to forget what he had just said, kicking himself for even opening his mouth after having seen the people and then some and realized what the day was.

[Mattie Barnett Davis]

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