Weedy had seen chicken coops in town, although not this big, and chickens were...well, they didn't hunt or attack anything, although that would be interesting...killer chickens!
He laughed to himself, then answered, "Miz Addy can cook eggs pretty well...boiled or scrambled or fried." He laughed. "She says that if you just have them with bacon, it doesn't matter how bad they're cooked, and I think she's right!"
Actually, until Miz Addy had taken him on as her charge, he'd tended to find breakfast elsewhere. "Miss Clara makes good eggs, and flapjacks, too. She and Miz Emeline give me breakfast sometimes if I sweep or pull weeds." He laughed. "It's worth it, they have real good food!"
Storyteller / Shared NPC
Miz Addy can cook eggs pretty well...boiled or scrambled or fried." He laughed. "She says that if you just have them with bacon, it doesn't matter how bad they're cooked, and I think she's right!"
"I love'em any of those ways. And bacon too, who could look at a pig and think they tasted so goshdarn good?" Wyatt nodded.
"Miss Clara makes good eggs, and flapjacks, too. She and Miz Emeline give me breakfast sometimes if I sweep or pull weeds." He laughed. "It's worth it, they have real good food!"
"I will give my sister credit, she is a real fine cook. Which means Pa doesn't have to cook, probably a good thing," Wyatt smiled.
That also left Wyatt with a perfect opening for his question, "Hey, how did you get your name, Weedy? That can't be your real name? Aren't you supposed ta have a saints name?"
"I guess because Miz Addy said I was as big as a dandelion weed." Weedy shrugged. "That was a few years ago, so I guess that was true, especially compared to the horses!"
He could remember those first days, when he'd wander into the barn and Miz Addy would give him a comb to work on the 'feathers' that decorated the massive hooves, or she'd even set him on the broad back of one of the horses and let him watch her work.
"Then she said I was growing as fast as a weed!" He shrugged again. "My name is really Porter James, but I don't think there's a Saint Porter." Well, he wasn't Catholic, so what did he know about Saints? "Is there a Saint Wyatt?"
Storyteller / Shared NPC
Wyatt grinned, "Well you grown some since then. Me, I'm hoping I get at least as tall as Pa. And taller than Clara but then she ain't short."
Weedy revealed, "My name is really Porter James, but I don't think there's a Saint Porter."
"Porter, I can see why you prefer Weedy," obviously Wyatt wasn't thrilled with the other boy's name.
"Is there a Saint Wyatt?" Weedy now asked.
"Course there is! Yer lookin' at him!" Wyatt poked himself in the chest and gave a Cheshire Cat smile.
Weedy rolled his eyes, giving Wyatt a playful shove. "Don't you hafta be dead or something to be a saint?" He wasn't sure, he wasn't Catholic, and they were the ones with the saints, at least he thought so. "And you have to do something great," he continued the challenge. "So, what was the miracle you did? Milking cows don't count!"
Storyteller / Shared NPC
"I'm pretty sure St. Peter and some of those other Apostles were saints before they were dead," Wyatt hazarded a very uninformed guess.
Weedy seemed to believe you had to do something great...miraculous even to get to be called a saint. He probably was right on that. Wyatt paused to come up with something worthy.
"Oh I know! I gotta live with and put up with Clara!" he suddenly declared.
Of course the truth was his sister wasn't so bad at all, she did a lot for him. It's just that she pestered him all the time about boring stuff like homework, washing up, going to bed at night, and other unpleasantries.
Well, he'd never had a sister, but Weedy was pretty certain that living with one couldn't be that much fun, and especially when she was bossy and demanding, even if it was just sometimes.
"Yeah, I guess that counts!" He laughed. "But then, you'd think a saint would have better things to do than milk cows and gather eggs."
Menial chores should be too, well, menial for a saint!
"Hey, you want to go riding someplace? Miz Addy's horse will ride two!"
Storyteller / Shared NPC
"Well, the trick is convincing my Pa and Clara I'm a saint. Until I do they're gonna make me do my chores and go to school. Now that would be a real miracle if I could finagle myself out of school," Wyatt grinned.
"Hey, you want to go riding someplace? Miz Addy's horse will ride two!"
"Sure we could," he nodded, "or go swimmin'? Nice warm day for it. "
"I'm fine with whatever you pick," he wanted to be a good host.
"Swimming is all right, too," Weedy agreed, "only I don't know how that much so you'll have to show me." He laughed. "Not too many places in town to swim besides watering troughs, and I'm afraid a horse might drink me up!"
He laughed again, then headed for the door. "If I drown, make sure Miz Addy gets Arabesque back, she really does like that horse!"
Of course, things wouldn't get that dire, but he wouldn't be too surprised if he sank like a rock! Hopefully, the water wasn't too deep.
Storyteller / Shared NPC
"Oh, I know you told me that. It won't be a problem as I am a good swimmer, and if worse comes to worse, I'll just rescue you," Wyatt spoke with the confidence of youth.
"I won't let you drown and Addy will get both of you back safe and sound," he assured the other boy.
Wyatt then led the other boy on an almost imperceptible trail thru some deep grass until they reached the lake, it wasn't a huge lake by any means but it sure wasn't a pond. The Redmond children had found a perfect spot to swim in it and often did so when the weather got warm. Wyatt hadn't just been bragging, he was actually a fine swimmer, his sister claimed she wondered if he had gills and fins he would spend so much time in the water during the hot spells.
"This is it! I like to think this is our lake but the Evergreen and Lost Lake ranches touch it too so they might have something to say about it. Hey, did I ever tell you about what happened to my sister out here? She was swimming by herself and two Evergreen cowboys came riding up and stole all her clothes and Pa's Dragoon Colt too. I don't think I ever seen Clara so mad in all my life," he smiled.