Seasons

“Davie, don’t tease your sisters!  Sarah don’t hit your brother!  Now go sit back down, all of ya, and stop askin’ questions that aren’t any of your business! ”

Moaning a little, the four of them restitute themselves around the parcels in the wagon.

“You’re startin’ ta sound like Mrs. Allen from church, ya know, Beka!”  Davie says as he sits down with a ‘humf’.  “Next you’ll be sayin’ children should be seen and not heard!”

Before I can respond to this, Miriam leans over to Davie and in a very loud whisper observes, “Hey, I bet he never had to get told that!” and inclines her head toward the man sitting next to me.

“Miriam!” I cry, sure that by now, Ike must think we are extremely rude.  I’m about to give the fiftieth lecture for the day when I hear a loud snort from my right.  I look over to see Jimmy barely containing his mirth.  Feeling movement on my other side as well, I sheepishly glace at Ike, only to find he is shaking in silent laughter, too.  I’m so relieved he isn’t insulted I forget to deliver my lecture.  Ike’s eyes meet mine and he seems to be asking me if they’re always like this.

“Aye, and sometimes they’re much worse!”                                          

As if on cue, I catch another conspirital whisper from the back, this time Davie.

“Speakin’ of Mrs. Allen, do ya remember how fat she was an’ how she used ta jiggle as she sang at church?”

 “DAVID PETER MCLAUGHLIN!” I exclaim as I feel myself blush furiously.  Beside the wagon, Jimmy loses all control and bursts out in a deep laugh.  I don’t even dare look at Ike, already learning just how much can be said without words!  Instead, I stare straight ahead, wishing the ground would open up and swallow me.  If I didn’t love these darn kids so much, I would have dropped them in the sea months ago!

It’s a great relief when we pull into the yard of what must be the express station about twenty minutes later.  While all my little devils are still confined in one place in the back of the wagon, I hastily take a look around.  Jumping down from the wagon, forgetting that I’m supposed to let someone help me, I notice a large, white, frame house surrounded by a fence and several small trees.  It appears cozy and inviting, and I feel a sharp longing for home shoot through my heart: longing for the small stone house where all of my memories center, longing for the dense forests that I roamed for hours as a child, and deepest of all, longing to hear the sound of the sea crashing on the rocks once again.  Quickly, I turn away from the house.  There is no need to dwell on what can never be again!

To the right of the house is a huge, weathered barn.  That barn is going to become the McLaughlins’ personal play-house, I stake my word on it!  Not that I could really blame them, it looks like fun with its enticing doors and the hay poking out from the waiting loft.

Finally, I turn to the last building on the far right.  A smaller, squarish building, with a wide front porch and red curtains hanging at the windows, it too looks welcoming, but in a more rugged way than the big house.  I’m sure this has to be where the boys live, and secretly I’m surprised they tolerate something as domestic as curtains! 

This is all the time I have to study my new surroundings, because people are coming out of the buildings to meet us.  I walk around to the back of the wagon and lift a sleepy-headed Abby into my arms as the rest of my clan tumbles excitedly from the buckboard.  A not quite awake Ben, determined not to be left behind, tries valiantly to follow, but he just can’t seem to figure out how to get down from the tall wagon bed. 

“Beka, somebody moved the ground!” Ben cries alarmed, as Ike’s hat slips over his eyes again.  “My feet lost it!”

Before I can answer him, Ike picks my little brother up with a pair of strong hands and places him on the ground with his siblings.  His feet firmly on solid earth again, Ben gazes up at Ike with an expression close to adoration as he utters softly, “You found it!” and Ike beams.

“Looks like ya got a new friend, Ike,” a woman’s voice says from behind me.  I turn and see that the owner of the voice is tall, with soft blonde hair pulled up off her neck and a pleasant smile. At the moment she is standing with her hands on her hips as she teasingly addresses Ike and Jimmy.

 “I send you boys inta town for some flour, salt, and kerosine, an’ ya come back with the whole population a Ireland!”

“It ain’t our fault!” Jimmy smiles mischievously.  “They was causin’ so much trouble, Teaspoon said we had ta get ‘em outa town!”           

“Hey!  We was not!”  Davie cries indigently.

“Yeah, THEY started it!!”  Sarah and Miriam shout at the same time, stepping closer to Jimmy.

Jimmy backs up a little, playfully raising his hands in mock surrender.  “Whoa, I was just kiddin’!” and everyone chuckles.

When the laughter has died down, the woman steps forward and warmly puts her arm around me, giving me and Abby a welcoming hug.  “Hello, I’m Rachel Dunn.  I guess ya could call me the ‘den-mother’ a these here boys!”

“I’m Rebekah McLaughlin,” I respond with a smile, “But please call me Beka, everyone does.  I’m so thankful for your invitation to stay here.  I hope we aren’t imposing.”

“Nonsense!  What’s a few more children compared ta the ones I already got?”  she says with a wink as she looks at the young men standing around, waiting to meet us.

“Rachel!” several voices cry in protest.

“Guess ya wanna met the rest of the boys, don’t ya,” Rachel continues.  She turns to the group standing just behind her.  Indicating to the first young man she introduces us.

“This is The Kid.”

The Kid?  That’s his name?  I’m a little puzzled, but I hope it doesn’t show on my face.  He is a nice looking boy, with brown hair that falls to just above his eyes and an honest expression.  He steps forward and nods to me as he says, “It’s nice ta meet ya, Ma’am.”

I immediately notice his slight southern drawl, making his voice pleasant to listen to.

“It’s Beka.  Just call me Beka.”

Rachel is about to move on to the next youth, a rather short boy with his hat pulled down low and a pair of spectacles hiding his eyes, when the twins interrupt.

“The Kid?  What kinda name is that?!?”                                               

 “That ain’t yer REAL name is it, ‘cause if it is yer parents musta had lousy imaginations!”           I hide my head behind Abby and moan slightly.  I should’ve seen that one coming; should’ve headed it off at the pass!  Sometimes I just want to throttle these kids!  Will they EVER grow out of this?  But everyone else seems to think it’s immensely funny!  Cody is practically rolling on the ground, he is laughing so hard.

“Ya know, Kid, we been wonderin’ the same thing for a long time!” one of the other riders, a tall black man with a handsome, if somewhat guarded face says with a smirk.  Kid just gives him a friendly glare and ignores the comment. 

 Rachel finally regains her composure enough to finish the introductions.  She turns to the small boy, who is standing in a very defensive position, arms folded across his chest.  For some reason, he doesn’t look at all happy to see us.  I wonder why?

“This is Lou McCloud.” 

Lou barely acknowledges me and the children.

“And last but not least is Noah Dixon,” Rachel says, indicating the black man who had spoken earlier.  “Buck, another rider is out on a run right now, but ya should meet him tomorrow.”

“‘Tis a pleasure ta met all of ya,” I return.  I look around at my brothers and sisters who are gazing with expressions raging from Ben’s total awe, to Button’s fright at all the cowboys surrounding them, and shake my head.  Now it’s my turn to introduce this wild family. 

“Just so ya all know what name to yell the next time they get in trouble,” I say with a slight grin and the kids give a collective groan, “This is Davie, Hannah, Sarah, Miriam, Ben, and lastly Abby.”

“Okay, now we all know each other.  So can we eat now?” Davie pleads, barely waiting for me to finish speaking.

“My kinda kid!” Cody says with a laugh.  “Skip the small talk an’ get right ta the important stuff!”

“Cody, ya ain’t gonna eat nothin’ if ya don’t go help Jimmy put these horses away!” Rachel chides firmly.  Cody gives a small yelp and takes off toward the barn, Jimmy following with the horses.  Then Rachel comes over to me, “Why don’t ya just bring them bags up ta the house an’ then we’ll see about gettin’ some food inside these youngins.”  She pauses and looks at Ike, Noah, Kid, and Lou still standing around, “And maybe the big ones, too!” she says with a smile, and I grin back.

Miriam and Sarah each grab a bag and with a whoop at the mention of food, run off toward the house, Davie hot on their heels with Papa’s fiddle.  Abby, who is finally awake, sees her siblings running off without her and doesn’t approve.

“Down, Beka,” she commands me in her voice she is just learning to use, with all the authority of a two year-old going on twenty.   I set her down on the ground and she immediately grabs Button’s hand and drags her in the direction the twins and Davie went.

I start to walk with Rachel to the house as the riders scatter to their respective chores: Kid and Lou follow Jimmy and Cody to the barn, while Ike and Noah start unloading the supplies from the wagon, when I remember something.   Where’s Ben?  Looking behind, I see him still standing in the same place Ike set him, a very frustrated expression on his chubby face.  Ike’s hat appears to be giving him some problems.  It keeps sliding down over his eyes no matter how many times he pushes it back up.  Finally, he walks over to Ike, who is just taking a sack of potatoes out of the wagon, and tugs on his vest.

“Hey, Mister,” Ben calls up to him. 

Ike sets the sack on the ground and crouches down so he is eye-level with my brother.

“Ya better take it back,” Ben says as he pulls off the hat and gives it to Ike, a very serious look in his eyes.  “It don’t work right.”          

Grinning, Ike reaches out and takes the hat, putting it back on his own head.  Next to me, Rachel bursts out laughing again.  Ah, the logic of a four year-old!

Still kneeling by my brother, Ike looks at Ben and starts to move his hands.  He must be telling Ben something in the sign language he uses, but I don’t understand at all and neither does Ben.  He puckers up his lips in a frown as he watches Ike’s movements, his forehead creasing in thought.  Thankfully, Rachel comes to the rescue.

“I think Ike’s sayin’ ya just have to grow a little, Ben,” she says to my little brother, and Ike nods.

“Come on, Ben,” I laugh as I walk up behind him and swing him up in the air, “Let’s go save this house from your brothers and sisters, kay?  Ya wanna eat too, don’t ya?” and Ben nods dramatically.  I set him back on the ground and he dashes off to the house.  Rachel and I follow, leaving Ike and Noah to finish unloading the wagon in peace.  For now.

I’ve heard there are places where you can pay a nickle and go visit a zoo full of wild animals.  I’d like to find one of those places and tell them that they really shouldn’t waste their money, they should just come have dinner in a bunkhouse with fifteen people, six of them under the age of thirteen! 

As I sit at the table eating my now cold supper, I try to forget the last hour of my life.  The spilled bowl of soup wouldn’t have been that bad, if it had only happened once, instead of three times!!  I’m sure Kid wanted to change his clothes anyway...  Then there was the food fight.  Even if Cody did start it, my gang FINISHED it with relish!  And finally, in a never ending stream that went through everything, there were the questions.  By all the saints, if there’s one gift the McLaughlins have, it’s the gift of the blarney!

“Can I ride one of the horses....?”

“Have ya ever had to fight any Indians...?”

“Is that a REAL gun...?”

“Why do ya wear that bandanna...?”

“How come yer name’s Teaspoon...?”

“Can I have some MORE soup...?”

“Don’t yer head get cold with no hair...?”

I sigh deeply and start to play with the end of my braid, a nervous habit I’ve had since my hair was long enough to pull over my shoulder.  I think this family is long over-due for a lesson in tact!

“Did ya get enough soup, Beka?”

Rachel’s voice breaks through my wall of thoughts and draws me back to the now quieter bunkhouse.  When Noah, Kid, Cody, and Ike offered to show the kids the barn and the horses, you would have thought it was Christmas, and all my red-heads but Abby and Hannah dashed wildly out of the room, like a school of tuna that found a hole in the net! 

“Aye, Rachel, thank you.  That was plenty,” I respond to her question as I stand up and carry my dish to the washbasin.  The only other adults left in the room are Lou, who’s brooding in a corner, his arms still crossed, and Jimmy, cleaning his guns at the end of the table.  Abby is asleep again on one of the boys’ bunks, and Hannah’s sitting opposite Jimmy, just as quiet as usual.

Abby

I sigh as I look at Hannah and pause what I’m doing.  I’m worried about her.  She’s always been shy, but lately she can go for days without saying anything, and when she does, it’s almost always whispered in your ear.  Maybe that’s what happens when you’re the middle child in a family full of blabber-mouths, but still.  Since we arrived in Sweetwater, she hasn’t uttered a word, and all through dinner she just sat next to me and stared at the boys.  No, stared at Jimmy, I correct myself, just like she is doing right now.

As if she can hear me thinking about her, Hannah looks up at me and smiles her sweet smile, the one that melts my heart.

“You sure you don’t wanna go to the barn with everyone else, Button?”  I ask her, but she just shakes her head ‘no’ and goes back to watching Jimmy with fascination.

“Alright.  It’s getting late anyway and they all need to come in and go to...”

BANG!

The door to the bunkhouse bursts open and four breathless streaks of red dash in, already talking!

“Beka!  They showed us the horses...”

“An’ this donkey named Samson...”

“Only Cody called it somethin’ else.  Jack-something, but I can’t remember what...  What was it, Cody?”

Rachel rounds on Cody as Sarah finishes this last remark.  “Don’t you DARE tell her that name again, young man!”

“Aw Rachel, but that’s what it is!”

I cover my mouth with my hand to stifle a laugh, but my siblings don’t even notice this other conversation.  They keep right on talking to me.

“...an’ there was one horse that was all black like coal, and another that was all spotty!”

“An’ they said they would let us ride ‘em tomorrow if it’s okay with you!”

“So, PLEASE, Beka!  Can we?”

“PLEASE!”

“PLEASE!”

“Whoa!  Slow down you three!”  I tell the twins and Davie, but I’m interrupted again, this time by Ben.

“Please, Beka!  I wanna ride a horsey!”

Before answering, I look up at the riders.

“You sure ya know what you’re gettin’ into?” I ask them, raising my eyebrows.  While I’m talking Davie is crossing all his fingers, his eyes squeezed shut, and the twins are pretending to be angels, their hands pressed together.  Ben’s just bouncing up and down as he waits.

The four boys look at my brothers and sisters, back at each other and then Noah turns to me.  “Ya think we could say no now?” he says with laugh.

“Alright then, it’s okay with me.”

“YEAH!!!!!”

“But only if ya all go to bed right now,” I add, trying to look stern, but failing miserably.

“But...”

“Aw Beka...”

“We just....”

“Nae buts!  Ye dinna be ridin’ them cratures tomarra if ye dinna be goyn tae sleep now!” I tell them, falling into Papa’s lilting brogue as I often do without thinking. 

“Okay, okay!  We’ll go ta bed right now!” Davie says quickly, the thought of being denied riding privileges overcoming his distaste of going to sleep.

“Do we get ta sleep in here?” Sarah asks hopefully.

I haven’t really given any thought to where we are going to sleep!  Ababúna!  How is Rachel ever going to find room for us all?  But before I can voice my concerns, Rachel answers Sarah’s question herself.

“I suppose we could put some blankets down and some of ya could sleep in here on the floor,” she sais with a smile.  “But I warn y’all, Cody can snore like an approachin’ train!”

“That’s okay.  So does Beka, so we’re used to it,” Miriam says helpfully and the bunkhouse erupts with laughter.

“Oh, Lassie!  Ye be goin’ tae get it fer that one!” I growl slightly as I playfully start toward her, and she yelps and ducks behind Kid.

“Alright,” Rachel says through her laughs, “If ya boys will move the table over, I’ll be right back with some bedding.”

Jimmy gets up from the table and the riders slide it to one side, leaving the middle of the bunkhouse exposed.  Rachel quickly returns with the blankets and we start building some make-shift beds on the floor.  I send the kids over to the house to change into their nightclothes while we work.

“You guys sure ya don’t mind havin’ the twins ‘n Davie ‘n Ben in here with ya,?” I ask the riders as I tuck some corners into place.

“It’s not a problem, really,” Kid reassures me from the corner where the riders have all congregated, out of the way of our domestic activities.

I finish smoothing the last blanket and stand up.  Abby’s still sleeping on one of the bunks despite the noise we’ve been making.  I guess the ability to sleep through anything is a survival skill necessary for the youngest of seven rowdies!  Gently, I pick her up just as the rest of my crew comes back into the bunkhouse.  They’re quieter now, finally showing some signs of how tired they really are, but every single one of them is too stubborn to admit it.

“Do we hafta go ta bed now?” Davie pleads.  “They aren’t going to bed yet,” he says and points at the riders, still watching with smiles from the corner.

“Yeah, an’ we ain’t even.....”  A huge yawn splits Miriam’s face before she can finish her sentence, and I can’t help bursting out into laughter. 

“You ain’t even what?” I tease and she just grins sheepishly.  “Alright, now come get in these beds before you fall asleep on your feet!  I’m gonna put you guys to bed here, then go get Abby an’ Button settled in the house.”  The twins and the boys start climbing in the makeshift beds, but suddenly Sarah stops.

“Beka, ain’t we gonna pray?”

In all the bustle of trying to get everyone situated, I’ve forgotten about Mama’s tradition.  Ever since I can remember, my mother has insisted on praying with her children at night.  Papa always joined in, but he never took the lead for this was Mama’s area.  After Mama died, this roll fell to me and after Papa died I’ve continued doing it.  Mama and Papa would want me to for my brothers and sisters.  But I’ve never been faced with praying in front of a group of rough and tumble cowboys before!  But what kind of example and I setting if I skip it tonight, just because I’m embarrassed?

“You’re right, Sarah.  We forgot that,” I tell my sister.  Feeling for all the world like I’m on display, I carefully kneel down with Abby in my arms and my siblings join me in a circle, another of Mama’s traditions.  As we’re getting situated I steal a glance at the riders in the corner.  Realizing what’s happening and under Rachel’s stern glare, they’re awkwardly removing hats and bowing their heads.  They look so much like a bunch of boys caught sluffing Sunday School that it’s hard to hide the smile tugging at my lips.

“Miriam,” I say, turning back to my family, “I think it’s your turn.”

Nodding, she folds her arms and squeezes her eyes shut.

“Dear Heavenly Father, thank Thee for today, thank Thee that we got here safe, and thank Thee for letting us stay here.  Please say hi to Mama and Papa in Heaven for us, okay?  Please keep me safe tonight and bless Beka ‘n Davie ‘n Button ‘n Sarah ‘n Abby ‘n Ben.  Also please bless Rachel ‘n Cody ‘n Jimmy ‘n Ike ‘n Noah ‘n the guy with the funny name an’ the other guy that I can’t remember either.  And please make Davie give me back my shiny rock.  Amen.”

Not exactly the most orthodox of prayers, but it did come from the heart I suppose.  I open my eyes to find the kids already scrambling into bed.

“Davie, I think you’d better give her back her rock,” I tell my brother.  He gives Miriam a disgusted look before tossing something onto her blanket.  Miriam smirks back and sticks her tongue out at him when he turns his back and I silently wonder if I’m cut out to do this for the next twelve years!

“The boys an’ I are gonna go on over ta the house.  When ya get everyone settled here,” Rachel says from the doorway, “Come on over an’ have a cup a coffee an’ we can talk for awhile.”

I nod in answer and she and the riders quietly exit the bunkhouse as I finish tucking Ben in.

“Okay, now go to sleep.  I don’t want ya lying here talking and I don’t think the riders will either.  I’ll be right next door in the house, alright?”

“Kay, Beka.”

“We’ll be fine.”

“Night, night Beka.”

The last comment from Ben makes me remember that despite the “leap-first-look-later” way they tackle life, I’d still do anything for them.

“Goodnight, you guys.  I love ya,” I tell them as I blow out the lantern.  Then, still carrying Abby, I take Hannah by the hand and start out the door.  I’m about to shut it when I think of something.

“An’ no talkin’ includes no whispering!”

“Aw shucks!”

The muffled remark floats to me out of the dark bunkhouse.  With a grin and a shake of my head, I take my two littlest sisters and walk to the house.

 

*Ababúna means “good heavens” in Gaelic.