Josh let the front door swing closed once both the ladies were outside and he reached down and rubbed 'ole Buster on the top of his head. He had learned quickly not to try'n pick Buster up. Buster had dealt him a nasty slap across his hand and left a gash behind that last time he'd tried that. Josh didn't care though he still loved the cat! He ran ahead, pulling his brow together though when Anesthesia said that whistling was uncouth. Uncouth? Was that good? He got the feeling though that it wasn't but then she impressed the heck out of him when she whistled like she did! Boy she and Aunt Addy were good at that. He was going to have to keep practicing!
As they got closer to the barn where they could show Anaesthesia the horses Josh could start to hear his Pa in there making a ruckus and the words comin' out of his mouth weren't very nice! Josh knew, even at his young age, that these weren't the kind of words you would say in front of a lady and certainly not a lady like Anaesthesia! His eyes grew wide as the saucer the kittens were drinking milk from and looked at his Aunt Addy as they continue inside and his Pa's ruckus got even louder.
Isiah had been in the barn working to repair some of the Addy's saddles for her horses. Their arrival to the barn was a bit untimely as seconds before they entered he had, instead of hammering down on the saddle, hammered down on top of his thumb. His thoughts still distracted by his late wife he was making mistakes that a handyman like him did not normally make. The choice words were raining from his mouth as he went between shaking his throbbing thumb, to holding it in his other hand to try and ease the pain. Of course had he known there were listening ears he wouldn't have made a peep and done a much better job at concealing his pain!
"Dad-blasted! Son of a ...."
"Ladies should be seen and not heard"
As the three of them approached the barn, the most unholy joining of curse-words was to be heard issuing forth from that cathedral of horse husbandry. Anæsthesia had heard her late Father swear, of course, but had often been unable to locate the precise meaning of many of the words he used, even in the family's enormous, morocco-bound 1864 Unabridged edition of Mr. Noah Webster's dictionary.
The said tome went straight from Fuchia to Fuel, straight from Cunning to Cup and right from Shirty to Shiver with no elucidating stops in between to explain the words he used. Even the words she could find, seemed to have a number of meanings different to the way Papa had used them. She had never heard her mother swear at all, until the reading of her Father's will, but that was another matter entirely.
"Dad-blasted! Son of a..."
Anæsthesia's new role as a Teacher (with a capital T) must have been getting to her, because she selflessly allowed her own ears to be defiled by the filthy swear words and used her hands to cover Josh's protuberant lugs.
"Oh, do not listen, dear child, I am afraid that your Papa has so demeaned himself as to have uttered an oath!" she cried, melodramatically.
Sit down, shut up, don't touch anythin'
"What in tarnation are ya carryin' on about, Isiah Chappel?" Addy shouted as they entered the barn, where the words seemed to echo off the wooden walls, prolonging their life, as if such a thing was necessary! Still, she couldn't help but chuckle at little at the whole scene.
"These kids is learnin' how ta whistle, not raise Beelzebub from his fiery rest!"
She slugged her brother in the arm, then, as a means of distraction, scooped up a couple of the kittens and held them to the children. "I think Buster is their pa, so they'll be real brave an' playful, an' good mousers, too."
Kittens solved everything, right?
Well Isiah wasn't much worried about his sister hearing him talk like that. Growing up around all them brothers and their Pa she had heard her fair share of obscenities! He had his back to them as they came in and as he first spoke. "Hammered my d - " He started as he turned and saw that his sister wasn't the only one in his presence but instead a young lady and his own son. He quickly stopped and scrunched up his face a bit "Apologies, missus." He said as he inclined his head to the young lady he had not yet been introduced to.
He thrusted the pounding thumb towards Addy so she could see what he'd been carrying on about, only to quickly reach up and rub his arm where she'd slugged him. Didn't hurt but of course he jokingly played the victim. He was real good at that having had 6 older brothers! He chuckled as she went on about the kittens and Josh was then runnin' over to Addy and taking one from her.
"Ma would have had your hide if she'da hearded you talkin' like that in front of me!" He said with a laugh, for which Isiah was thankful...that the boy could talk about his Ma with a smile.
"You hush." Isiah laughed some. Isiah was practically sweating from head to toe from the hard manual labor he'd been putting in in the barn. He used the bottom of his white tank top to wrap around his thumb, for now it was bleeding some around the nail. "Who's yer friend there Addy?" He asked as he smiled at the young girl. At first he extended his hand towards her but then scrunched up his own face at the unsightliness of it and knew such a prim and proper young lady as herself likely wouldn't want to come within 10 feet of him.
"Ladies should be seen and not heard"
"Hammered my d - " He started as he turned and saw that his sister wasn't the only one in his presence but instead a young lady and his own son. He quickly stopped and scrunched up his face a bit "Apologies, missus." He said as he inclined his head to the young lady he had not yet been introduced to.
Anæsthesia could hardly bear to look at Addys foul-mouthed and uncouth brother. 'Apologies' could not begin to make up for the disgraceful words that had sullied her delicate pink little ears and although men sometimes had to strip down to do manual labour, especially in the Summer heat, they should immediately cover up if a lady happened to come in view. She certainly didn't want to have to look at his grimy, sweaty half naked torso as the perspiration trickled down the rippling muscles of his well thewed and powerful arms and stained his skimpy top with dark sweat patches.
Did she?
No!
Far from it!
She averted her gaze and looked slightly to the side and down at the barn floor hoping that he would get the message that his bronzed brawny biceps were not a pleasing sight. The equally uncouth Addy didn't think anything much of either her brother's appearance or his rather choice language, and young Josh seemed to find it a source of nostalgic reminiscence.
"Ma would have had your hide if she'da hearded you talkin' like that in front of me!" He said with a laugh, for which Isiah was thankful...that the boy could talk about his Ma with a smile.
"You hush." Isiah laughed some. Isiah was practically sweating from head to toe from the hard manual labor he'd been putting in in the barn. He used the bottom of his white tank top to wrap around his thumb, for now it was bleeding some around the nail. "Who's yer friend there Addy?" He asked as he smiled at the young girl.
Urgh! The half naked barbarian was talking about her now and... oh!... looking at her! AND... oh.. oh no! ... offering his filthy plebeian hand.
At first he extended his hand towards her but then scrunched up his own face at the unsightliness of it and knew such a prim and proper young lady as herself likely wouldn't want to come within 10 feet of him.
"Please excuse me if I don't shake hands, I've just had these gloves cleaned." she said frostily, leaving him hanging but at least doing him the honour of looking up into his face as she did so. It was all horrible and handsome and yucky, and just looking into his deep blue eyes made her tummy do flips and her legs feel weak. It must be all the revulsion.
But, what had Josh said? 'Ma would have had your hide' Would have? Then he was bereaved, just as she was bereaved. If was her duty, yes duty, to show the loutish man some pity. She suddenly felt herself pulling at her right hand glove with her left. Taking of the pristine white glove, she held out her pristine white hand and took his calloused, dirty, bloodied hand. It was warm, you could almost feel the pulse of his strong lifeblood coursing through it.
She looked up again into his eyes: crystal blue, intense, haunted, perhaps, by recent sadness.
"I'm sorry, that was awfully rude of me. I am Anæsthesia Orr. It is a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Chappel."
Sit down, shut up, don't touch anythin'
"Poor widdle ting!" Grinning, Addy gave her brother's thumb a fake kiss, then shrugged. "Sorry I done fergot my manners. This here young lady's helpin' me with readin' an whatnot. She's a right proper gal."
Gently, she stroked the kitten she still held, shaking her head. "Gonna have folks thinkin' we're heathens, what with ya carryin' on that way. An' all half nikked like that."
Well, she couldn't help but laugh at the whole thing, then explain, "We come here ta look at th' horses, but I think we got more'n we bargained fer!"
Isiah could tell that the young girl was almost repulsed by the sight of him and then she was looking away, can’t even hold his gaze….Addy saying he was half naked. At her words he looked down at himself and well, damn it was hot and he was just doing his best to keep himself cool. He sighed and reached over and grabbed the button down shirt he had and pulled it on over the tank top, buttoning a few in the middle.
“I knew I was ugly but didn’t know it was that bad!” He said with a laugh, and then was surprised that, who he know knew as Anaesthesia Orr, was pushing her hand forward to shake his.
“Oh missus, you don’t have ta.” He told her but since she had made the kind gesture he shook her hand back and smile down at her genuinely.
“The pleasure is mine, Ms. Orr.” He said before he pulled back his filthy hand and raised a brow as he leaned back against the table crossing his arms over his chest. “You goin’ off and learnin’ ta read?” He addressed Addy as he reached down and rubbed the head of the kitten that Josh was shoving towards him. “You got yurself a difficult job there.” He spoke to Anaesthesia. “It’s hard to keep that one sittin’ still for any length o’ time.” He chuckled.
"Ladies should be seen and not heard"
The half naked savage covered himself, which was (mostly) a relief for the girl who had lived a quite sheltered and cosseted life. At least she didn't feel she needed to keep looking away, like a horse shying at a jump.
“The pleasure is mine, Ms. Orr.” He said before he pulled back his filthy hand and raised a brow as he leaned back against the table crossing his arms over his chest.
Although she rather agreed with him, Anæsthesia managed a polite enough smile.
“You goin’ off and learnin’ ta read?” He addressed Addy as he reached down and rubbed the head of the kitten that Josh was shoving towards him. “You got yurself a difficult job there.” He spoke to Anaesthesia. “It’s hard to keep that one sittin’ still for any length o’ time.” He chuckled.
"I hardly agree." countered Anæsthesia "Miss Chappel is a very good student. Any restlessness reflects badly upon only myself and my shortcomings as a teacher. I am a complete beginner. In fact it is your sister who has the difficult job of being patient with me."
This wasn't entirely true, but the eighteen-year-old Miss Orr felt an odd and totally unexpected protective feeling toward the woman some ten years her senior by dint of their Teacher-Pupil relationship.
"Are you visiting for some time, Mr Chappel?" Anæsthesia asked politely: for among her many, if rather slight, talents, was a suitable mastery of small-talk.
Sit down, shut up, don't touch anythin'
"Oh, well, now, I'm just tryin' ta keep up with a ten year old sprout!" Addy declared with a laugh at Miss Orr's praise. "I knowed a few letters already, an' Miss Orr has th' patience of a saint." She grinned. "Just no appreciation'a horses."
Not that everyone needed to be thrilled to be around horses and shoveling manure, but sometimes you should get your hands dirty and let loose and have some fun! Addy couldn't imagine being strapped into linen and lace all day everyday. What was the point?
Well this young lady, I could tell, seemed destined to be a teacher. I raised my brows impressed by what she said about herself and about Addy. Isiah kinda half wished he could learn to read and write, but he wouldn't dare to say nothing, well not right now at least. It would have been nice to learn as a kid, that stuff comes so much easier and you actually retain it. Learning it as an adult...well the brain just doesn't work the same.
"Oh, well, now, I'm just tryin' ta keep up with a ten year old sprout!" Addy declared with a laugh at Miss Orr's praise. "I knowed a few letters already, an' Miss Orr has th' patience of a saint." She grinned. "Just no appreciation'a horses."
Isiah smiled some at them both. "Well perhaps ya'll could teach each other a thing or two. Horses really are great." He said to Anæsthesia agreeing with his sister. "You should give them a chance." He said to the girl.
"Are you visiting for some time, Mr Chappel?" Anæsthesia asked politely: for among her many, if rather slight, talents, was a suitable mastery of small-talk.
"Well." He answered her. "Pretty sure I'm here to stay. So yes, I'd say I'm here to visit for quite some time."