The Cat
by Arren
Slim Sherman stood on
the front porch of his home looking up into the early winter night sky. Dusk was his favorite time and often he
would come outside while Daisy was putting dinner on the table, just to watch
the stars come out. Usually Jess was
with him, sitting in the rocking chair either whittling or braiding rope. Jess always had to be doing something. He could never just sit.
Today had been an
especially pretty day, and Slim hated that he had been forced to stay inside
for much of it. The superintendent of
the stage line, a Mister Brooks, had come early and stayed late and had brought
a company accountant with him. Slim
understood the visit, it happened about once a year, but he hated that Brooks
insisted that he be available for questions.
When the four o�clock stage rolled in and Brooks made overtures about
leaving on it to head back to town, Slim did not make any offer to the two of
them for dinner, and glared at Daisy lest she invite them. She got the message and kept silent. The two men boarded the stage with the
assurance that they would be back to finish up tomorrow after breakfast.
After they left, Slim
had about three hours of freedom to be outside before it got dark, and he
busied himself with chores. Not that he
usually enjoyed chores, but he was grateful on this occasion just to be out of
the house on such a beautiful day. What
was left of it.
Watching the full
moon rise, Slim thought of Jess up at the line shack where he really wanted to
be. Every year they both looked forward
to their trip up there, and this year he was cheated out of the trip by that
weasel Brooks. Jess was probably up
there working up a huge appetite, working hard in the big open, and then he�d
go back to the line shack and cook dinner over the fire in the little cabin.
Dinner always tasted
special up there. Maybe it was the
mountain air. Maybe it was just the fun
they had working up their appetites and then breaking open the hoard of supplies
that Daisy always packed for them. She
always put in some little surprise that spiced up their meals. Last year it was canned peaches. She had bought them secretly in town and
then hidden them until time for Slim and Jess to go. When she packed their supplies, she stashed two jars down in the
very bottom of the bag where they would have to dig for them. Peaches were a rare delicacy in this part of
the country and Daisy gave them, and a little piece of herself to make their
trip memorable.
Slim smiled as he
remembered last year�s trip, and thought about what Jess was probably doing
right now. He had tried to get Jess to
wait, but his argument was weak. He
knew that the snow could start at any time up there. They had already waited later than usual because Daisy had taken
ill with a bad cold and they needed to be around to help out with Mike and the
chores. The teams were always handled
by Ben who would come out from town while he and Jess were away, but they
couldn�t ask Ben to cook and take care of Mike as well. They delayed their trip by two weeks because
of that, and then when the day was set for them to leave, the telegram came
from Brooks.
Slim smiled
remembering the argument he and Jess had last night. It wasn�t a serious argument, but Slim had to put up some kind of
fuss. He couldn�t make it easy on Jess. A little guilt was good for the soul.
Slim�s thoughts were
interrupted by the opening of the front door.
A rectangle of yellow lamplight spilled out onto the darkened
porch. �Slim, supper�s on the table. Come on in before it gets cold.�
�I�m comin�, Daisy,�
he threw back over his shoulder. Slim
straightened up from where he was leaning heavily on the porch support and
turned to go into the house. Once
inside, he turned and glanced up at the full moon one more time, and closed the
door.
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