Slow Lope'n A Beeson Tree 
A Nice Long Ride On A Horse

    The splendor of the Anderson Valley countryside was very relaxing to Beth and Alice as they rode along on their horses. They finally had time to talk, muse and brood over the event of the dance. 

    The morning milky had burned off from the peaks of the drearies and you could see how green they were. The fields were filled with enough sunflowers blooming to make Old Sol jealous. Every tree, flower or weed was in full bloom. It looked to be a beautiful spring. 

    “How’d you get away from your chores today, Alice?”

    “Well, it seems that my daddy got it into his head to build some new fangled thing called a bathroom. He’s gonna build it right off the kitchen.” 

    “Is that sanitary?”

    “Well, it’s not really in the house. Him and my momma saw one of these on a trip. He’s been talking about building one and he decided that today was the day to build it. 

    “I wonder what it will look like.”

    “I have no idea. He was all excited and was trying to explain it to my momma and all she would say is, they’d better not put it anywhere near my garden.”

    Beth laughs “She loves her garden.”

    “Anyway, she said that she was going to town to go shopping and I could come over to see you. Truth be told, she knows that she’d worry the whole time they were working on it and would be harpin’ at my daddy. She wanted him to build her an apple dryer and he was arguing that a place to soak his ‘weary’ bones was better. This is more fun anyway.”

 
                
                                    (miniture of a real Boonville Apple Dryer)  

    “He buildin’ it alone?”

    “No, Thomas and Sylvester are going to help him.”

    The smile leaves her face. If only she could get rid of this rain cloud over her head about Thomas and the dance.

    “Beth, I need to talk to Thomas.”

    “Maybe you do and maybe you don’t.”

    “What do you mean?”

    “Well, he’s not expressed his intentions yet. Those are all wishes in your mind.”

    “True.”

    “Until you know his real feeling you don’t have anything to respond to. I mean after all, you are not his girlfriend or Mason’s for that matter.”

    “You bite your tongue, Beth.” Alice laughs.

    “It’s good to see you laugh, oh, oh you want to hear something funny?”

    “Sure.”

    “Last night at the dance Jeb asked me to be his girl. But he said it really funny. He used that crazy Boontlin’.”

    “What’d he say?” 

    “He asked me if I’d be his applehead. Is that the funniest thing? Apparently that is the word the boys decided to call their girlfriends.”

    Alice sucks in her cheeks like a shrunken head.  “Is this what we look like to them?”
The girls laugh and the horses whinny at the girls. It’s almost as if they are laughing with them. 

    “I hope they aren’t kissing all the gannos in the Gowen orchard for practice!” Both of the girls roar with laughter until tears run down their face. Alice fans herself.

    “My goodness, it feels so good to laugh. I am taking things too seriously.”

    “Amen.”

    “You’re right. He hasn’t even expressed his intentions. You’re right, I’ve been putting words I want him to say in my own head and then telling myself he said it or at least, that he wants to say them!” She thinks for a moment. “I am a silly, almost applehead! The girls laugh some more.

    “Oh, oh my ribs, I can’t laugh anymore.”

    “Okay, hey we’re right by the river, let’s stop here and have some of the good food my mom packed us. It’ll let the horses rest a bit, too.” Alice says.

    The girls stop and dismount. They open the bags on the side of the horses and take out the items. Beth spreads the red checkered table cloth on the ground as Alice unloads the lunch. 

    “This all looks so good,” Beth says as she licks her lips. “Your mom is such a good cook.”

    “Thank you, I think so too.”

    Soon the tablecloth was filled with delectable items festooned on the tablecloth that would rival a king’s banquet table. There was Old Sol Cake. It was made with 10 Easters and a teaspoon of orange extract. It was so light and fluffy it almost dissolved in the air. There were fresh picked apples, peaches, berries, raisins and nuts mixed together. Salted cheese and beef jerky. There was a loaf of fresh baked potato bread lightly dusted with powdered sugar. There was barbequed chicken, corn, churned butter that was melting faster than the girls could spread it on the bread. Mary had outdone herself.

    “I hope my stomach is bigger than my eyes because I am going to make this all disappear,” Beth said. 

    After eating they were so full that all they could do is lay on their backs on the ground and talk. The girls giggled and talked for what seemed like hours. 

    “I’m surely going to die from eating all this food,” Beth moaned.

    “You’d better hope you live until Sunday so you can repent for your gluttony!” 

    Beth laughs and then immediately moans. The girls go silent as they stare at the cloud formation and listen to the water slowly trickle over the rocks in the river. It seemed like forever before either of them said anything. Then Alice spoke up.

    “I’m so ready to have a home and start a family.”

    “Me, too. Having babies and cooking for my husband is my dream. I hope I have a dozen kids.”

    “You going to marry the stork?” The girls laugh again.

    “Maybe Jeb,” Beth whispers.

    Alice can’t believe her ears. Jeb was almost as bad as Mason, he was always in trouble or causing trouble.

    “Why Jeb?”

    “He’s cute.”

    “Is this because he asked you to be his applehead? We have a lot of dances still to go to. You could be an entire orchard of appleheads before you meet the right man. And anyway, cute doesn’t make up for how rotten he is!” Alice is getting revved up over this.

    “What are you so mad about?” asked Beth.

    “It… it’s just that we’re best friends and I always thought that our husbands would be, too. And then our children... You know what I mean?”

    “Alice, have you counted the eligible bachelors in this town? Half of them are related and the other half are… well, let’s just say they’re a bit odd.” Alice is stumped for a moment. Beth speaks up.

    “I’m not a math expert, Alice. I just know that there’s not that many to choose from and besides I sort of like him. I can tame his wild ways.” 

    Alice rolls her eyes. “You like him for the very reasons I can’t stand Mason.” 

    The girls realize they have reached an impassable part of the debate. Alice stares down Beth and Beth refuses to blink as long as Alice is staring at her. Simultaneously they say, “I’m not going to blink!” Then they both hold their breath to not blink but not for long. Alice breaks the silence.

    “Did Jeb ask you to marry him?”

    “No, did Mason ask you to marry him?”

    “No.”

    Beth blinks, “Did Thomas ask you to marry him?”

    “No.”

    “Then what are we fighting about? We don’t even have a decision to make except for…”

    “For what?”

    “Except for the last piece of the Old Sol cake.” Alice looks at it and so does Beth. Alice smiles, “Let’s share it.”

    The argument was as quickly behind them as it started. They shared the last slice of the Old Sol cake and talked some more about boys.

    The day was coming quickly to an end and they knew that they needed to head back to their respective homes, so the girls packed up their belongings. After they’d ridden awhile they came to the divide in the road that lead to each of their homes.  Alice hugs Beth good-bye.

    “That was fun. I guess we are growing up and are going to have different opinions about things.”

    “I know, funny thing Alice, I always thought we’d see things the same way, too.” 

    “Yes… but then if we both did the same thing we would be married to the same man and that just wouldn’t work.” The girls laugh. They both got the point. 

    Alice looks at the rock covered dirt road. “I guess this road is sort of like you and me. We both have homes and families but there are different roads that take us there.”

    “Well said, my friend. But did you notice there are no locked fences to our homes. We are both free to come over to each other’s home.”

    Alice looks at the storm clouds beginning to blow over the hills. “Looks like it's going to rain. We'd better hurry. It looks like it's going start raining before we get home.”

    The girls reach from their horses and hug each other good-bye again.

    At the Smith ranch the men had been hard at work building the framing for the bathroom just off the kitchen. It wasn’t a big room but it was large enough for the tub and to dry yourself off. There was no plumbing, of course. They had built a door from the kitchen that opened into the bathroom so that it would be convenient to carry the large black cast iron pots full of boiled water from the kitchen to the tub. 

    “It’s a mighty fine addition, Mr. Smith.”

    “Thank you son, I couldn’t have done it without qou and Sylvaster’s help.”

    Sylvester grumbles, “Don’t know what you need it for. We’re only about a half mile from the river. Works fine for me.”

    Thomas looks at Mr. Smith. They both know that Sylvester only visits the river in the spring and a couple of times in the summer.

    “Well, Sylvester, I ain’t much on long walks naked or wet, but I thank ya for helping me.”

    Bayless is always the master of diplomacy. He was a rare man for his time. He wasn’t a rough man but he was a good man and apparently he liked to be clean.

    “Well, you ready to get the tub in here?” 

    The men head toward the barn to get the tub. Sylvester muttering about the nonsense of having a tub in the house.

    “It jest don’t make sense but you rich folks do crazy things.”

    As the barn door opens and the light fills the barn, there it was. A large tub made of wooden boards, shined and shellacked. Not a splinter or a rough spot on it. The interior of the tub was lined with tin. Sylvester and Thomas are impressed. Bayless had built it by hand himself and he was rather proud of it.

    “Why, this is finer than any buggy I’ve ever seen in town, Sir.”

    Bayless pats it,    “Yes, she is.”

    Sylvester rubs his hand inside the tub on the smooth tin. “Where’d ya get the shinny tin?”

    “They’re from the five gallon cans of coal oil we use for the lamps. We had a mess of them.”

    Sylvester ponders the nicely made tub and then asks, “You got any tin left?”

    “We have a few, but I’ll betcha a bucky that Floyd Hutsell has a passel of them. Whatcha got in mind?”

    Sylvester grins, “I’m thinkin’ you rich folks need to have cleaner ranch hands.”