Posted December 26, 2020 | Benjamin Barlow
Benjamin accompanied the woman to the table where a wide assortment of baked goods awaited anyone interested. The cookies were almost gone but he was more interested in the pies anyhow. Addy was telling him about this Emeline woman who owned and made the food for the local diner. Things seemed relaxed and pleasant enough. That's when the man she had been with earlier returned and whispered in the woman's ear. Benjamin wondered what that was all about but wasn't about to ask, none of his business. The look the man gave him indicated he was not at all pleased the woman had danced with the officer. The jealous type, huh.
The man then left, Addy followed, and he lost sight of both of them into the crowd. The whole situation bordered on strange...yes and rude but Benjamin honestly had only wanted a dance with her and they had done that. So he picked up a plate and then helped himself to a large slice of apple pie. You never got food like it out on campaign and with the summer approaching he anticipated the cavalry would be busy what with all the Indian troubles.
Posted December 26, 2020 | Clara Redmond Lutz
"And I must accept your compliment, I s'pose. Dancin' sort of comes natural to me - at least square dances and things like that." He grinned and tried to herd her surreptitiously toward the punch table.
"Ahh, I see," Clara nodded, inwardly amused at his lack of modesty. Besides she wanted to add something else.
"Thank you for asking me to dance. I confess that - prior to the dance - I was quite worried that maybe the entire evening would go by and no boy....excuse me, man ... would even take enough interest in me to ask," she admitted.
"Shucks," he said as he filled a cup and offered it to her, "I never have to worry about havin' someone to dance with. I always find somebody. But I guess it's harder for you."
Clara accepted the offered cup with a quick "Thanks."
Again the man's lack of modesty was not the sort of thing she thought was very attractive. He might be handsome but that only went so far. And then his last line.....she was quite uncertain if that was an insult or an attempt at sympathy? But she was determined not to snap at him. This evening was for fun!
"Harder for me? How so, if I might ask?" she simply could not resist.
Want... dolls!
Posted December 27, 2020 | Bridget Monahan
Bridget watched Jay go and talk to the lady who usually dressed like a man, but who was, strangely, dressed like a lady tonight. All very confusing. Then the two of them beetled off. She herself was now just standing in the middle of nowhere on the dance floor, so decided to head back to basecamp: which was where the cookies were.
The leg seemed all right! Mr. Ryker had done a good job on it, even if he hadn’t been fully satisfied with it himself. He was a very nice man, but a total perfectionist in his craft. Bridget was happy that she could walk and maybe even risk a slow dance. She looked down at her feet as she walked forward, slightly kicking with her false limb to test it. She wasn’t looking where she was going and crashed slightly into something big and blue. The ginger-haired girl gasped and stumbled back, looking up at a handsome man with a black moustache and napoleon.
Her blue eyes were as wide as saucers as they glanced from the imposing officer’s face to his nice shiny shoulder straps with their gold edging, yellow filling, (to Bridget's mind, they were very reminiscent of Ms. Em’s custard tarts), and the two silver bars catching the light of the lamps that were quickly becoming the main source of illumination in the barn as the evening Sun began to dip in the West behind the cold mountains that overlooked the town.
If Bridget had known what to say, she wouldn’t have been able to say it out loud anyway, so she did what she did best, just shrugged and smiled at the man in uniform.
Posted December 27, 2020 | Lorenzo Crabbe
Walking away his face became contorted with confusion.
“Pssst! Ryker!”
The voice seemed to come from nowhere.
“Pssst! Ryker! Over here!!”
The well dressed, bespectacled figure of Lorenzo Crabbe peeped around a corner of a building opposite the barn and waved the Englishman over.
“Jesus Christ Ryker, what’s eatin’ you, you look like you lost a dollar and found a nickel!” queried the slick entrepreneur as he caught sight of Jay’s frowning physiognomy.
“Listen, how’s our Bridget getting’ on in there? I didn’t want to go barging in there and, you know, cramp her style, but a feller’s gotta right to be worried ain’t he? I’m the nearest thing that mutton headed gal’s got to a father, and I reckon it’s my job to fret about her every once in a while.” He leaned around Jay’s form a little, peering off into the interior of the barn.
“Shit, is that her talkin’ to an Army Officer?!” he asked, nodding his head up and down a little to increase the magnification of his glasses. Then he turned his lens-distorted eyes back on Jay.
“You look like crap, Ryker. Need a drink?” he asked in the manner of a man who actually just needs one himself.
Posted December 27, 2020 | Emeline Pike
There would be so many more dances, at fetes like this, and in their own privacy, and finally Emeline was able to really let herself think about a future and how wonderful it could be, without having those thoughts dashed by dark shadows of what might happen. With Barnabas at her side, nothing could touch them!
When the dance stopped, she laughed and hugged Barnabas. "I could do with some punch, what about you?" Linking her arm in his, she started for that table, but then hesitated when she spotted Clara and Brenden.
"Wait just a bit, I don't want to disturb her." She nodded to Clara. "She's so unsure of herself when it comes to boys. I suppose I never had to worry about that, Andrew and I were friends since grammar school, so I never had much to worry about boys in general." She smiled widely. "And then you just stumbled into my life like the silly cowboy you are...I've been blessed."
Posted December 27, 2020 | Weedy
"Oh they won't have liver, they only have good food for one of these things,"
"Too bad every meal isn't a party!" Weedy laughed as he filled his plate, then followed Wyatt to one of the long tables set up around the perimeter of the hall. "I don't even know why anyone would want to eat liver anyway," he commented, then taking a big bite of the beef. "Thish ish sho goo', why hav' liver?"
After swallowing, he then continued, "I don't even know where they get liver from? I know it's supposed to be beef liver, but how can something so awful come from a cow?"
Posted December 28, 2020 | Jonah Danforth
“That is true, she actually shot and killed the bear that a party of hunters went out after. Something of a local hero as I remember.” Leah informed him. “I must get to know her better, she’s one that would see the need for the hospital and the orphanage, I’m betting.”
"She has been seeing to a boy, Weedy, whose mother is...inadequate. Of course, that doesn't make the lad an orphan, but he may was well be, and Addy lets him stay with her and insists he goes to school and does his lessons." He nodded. "You are right, she would be an asset, she isn't intimidated by anything, and her freight business could be of use. Perhaps we could even have some sort of ambulance?"
Well, mostly that was just a glorified freight wagon anyway, so that would be simple. "As for orphans..." he chuckled, "she can teach them the more base things such as working with animals and swaggering!" Leah and Addy would certainly be an odd combination!
Retired Characters and NPC Writer.
Posted December 28, 2020 | Jay Ryker
Jay was deep in thoughts about Addy when he walked away from the barn just to get whistled at.
He stopped and looked just to see Crabbe around the corner.
"Why are you hiding back there, Mr. Crabbe?"
Turned out he wanted to spy on Bridget.
"She's fine. I was dancing with her. You should just give her some..."
He stopped when an army captain was mentioned and turned back to see.
"Maybe....not sure."
It was probably advisable to get out of the line of sight.
So he joined the man in the shadows.
"Women...you know." Jay explained his miserable state.
"I should get going."
Posted December 29, 2020 | Benjamin Barlow
Fortunately the officer had just finished his slice of pie when a young woman backed into him by accident then turned to see just who she had made contact with. Benjamin had saw her dancing before, there was just something about the way she moved out there, like maybe she had a leg or foot injury? No matter. Now even though it had certainly not been his fault - their little accidental contact, he was a gentleman.
"Oh excuse me, guess these things can happen sometime in a crowded situation like this," he shrugged and smiled at her.
There was also something about her look too, like ...........well, he couldn't quite put his finger on it. But at least she did not appear at all put out by it. That was good.
Posted December 29, 2020 | Lorenzo Crabbe
It was probably advisable to get out of the line of sight. So he joined the man in the shadows.
"Women...you know." Jay explained his miserable state.
“Ohhhh, trouble with the ladies, huh?” Lorenzo consoled “Or one particular lady?” he asked, more to the point.
"I should get going."
“Whoa! Hold on there, friend.” The slickly turned out man steadied the Englishman.
“What’s the hurry? Listen, I’m just driving myself crazy here worrying about ol' Bridget in there, what say we go back to our place for a nice sip o’ whiskey and you can tell Uncle Lorenzo all about it? They reckon a problem shared is a problem doubled, Hell, no, that don’t sound right – problem halved, that’s it.” he cajoled the stressed looking craftsman.
Crabbe had known many women in his time, some were good and some were bad; some were so beautiful it almost made you cry to look at ‘em, others were more what you might call ‘homely’; some you could rely on, some would do you wrong. One thing was for sure: no man could do without them!
Well, unless he was one of them there funny fellers.