Melinda and the Wild West (9 page)

Melinda quickly exited the room and ran upstairs
to fix her hair. As she looked into the mirror and primped, she
thought, “Why do I care what I look like? He’s just Jenny’s father.
He’s nothing to me.”

She tried to ignore the fact that just
recently her heart would flutter whenever Gilbert’s name was
mentioned at the table.

As she descended the stairs, she saw Gilbert
already sitting on the sofa with Jenny. He stood politely as she
walked into the room and he smiled with his hat in his hand.

Melinda nodded to them. “Mr. Roberts.
Jenny.”

“Please call me Gilbert. Mr. Roberts sounds
so formal. May I call you Melinda?”

She smiled and nodded her assent.

“Melinda, how are you doing?” Gilbert asked
with concern. “I haven’t talked to you since the bear attack in
October. I’ve seen you in town off and on, but we both seem to be
in a hurry and don’t take the time to visit. Are you doing all
right?”

“Yes. It took a couple weeks to get over it.
I would have nightmares and wake up in a cold sweat. I had to take
the medicine the doctor gave me just before I went to bed so I
could sleep. But I’m all right now. I’m sleeping much better. I
have a lot to learn here in the West, don’t I?” She smiled and gave
a nervous sigh. “Thanks for asking.”

Gilbert’s heart felt heavy as he listened
and knew that it must have been very difficult to overcome such a
tremendous fright. He was surprised that she still acted positive
about the West, and this made his admiration for her grow.

Jenny looked at her father and excitedly
announced, “Did you know that we celebrate Thanksgiving because of
Abraham Lincoln?”

“No, I didn’t, little darlin’.”

Jenny blushed furiously and quickly leaned
over to her father and whispered, “Pa! Don’t call me that in front
of company.”

“Oh, I’m sorry, Jen,” Gilbert said quietly
while trying very hard to suppress a chuckle. “So, tell me about
it.”

“Well, Miss Gamble taught us that George
Washington wanted to make it a national holiday, but some were
against it.”

“Against it?” Gilbert looked at Melinda and
smiled. He noticed how beautiful she looked and then turned back to
Jenny. “Why on earth would anyone oppose such a thing?”

“It was because of Thomas Jefferson. He
didn’t like the idea.”

Gilbert turned to Melinda and said, “Is that
so?”

She nodded. “Unfortunately. The idea brought
a lot of discord because many felt that the hardships of just a few
Pilgrims did not warrant a national holiday.”

Gilbert’s eyes widened. “Just a few
Pilgrims? They sound a bit snooty to me.”

She laughed. “As Jenny was telling you, it
wasn’t until Abraham Lincoln became president. He proclaimed the
last Thursday in November as a National Day of Thanksgiving.”

“Well, I’ll be! A person can never stop
learning no matter how old they are.”

That made Jenny burst into laughter. After
getting her breath back, she said, “I thought you knew everything,
Pa.”

“Not by a long shot!”

Melinda joined in the laughter. Then she
excused herself to help Aunt Martha. She walked into the kitchen to
help her aunt put the food on the table. Aunt Martha looked over at
her and smiled contentedly.

“Oh, Melinda dear, will you please go into
the utility room and fill our large barrel up with plenty of water?
I have a couple of buckets sitting beside the sink in there that
you can use and I placed the barrel on the floor. I want us to bob
for apples afterwards. It will be so much fun.”

“I’d be glad to, Aunt Martha.”

“Thanks, my dear. I appreciate it. If it
weren’t forty degrees outside, we’d go out there to do it. But…”
She let her words trail off, busying herself again.

Melinda headed for the utility room. It was
the place where they did their wash, dried and bottled fruit, and
washed vegetables from the garden.

When Gilbert saw her leave, he hopped up
from the sofa. He had been watching her intently from the living
room and heard what Aunt Martha had asked of Melinda. He thought he
could help, so he nonchalantly walked past Martha and followed
Melinda into the utility room.

Melinda looked up and saw him approaching
while she was vigorously pumping the water into the first bucket.
When she picked it up to move it out of the way, Gilbert appeared
beside her and quickly took the full bucket of water from her hand.
The sudden movement jolted the bucket and made the water slosh over
the edge and onto Melinda’s beautiful pink-flowered dress and upon
her shoes, soaking her through from her waist to the floor.

Gilbert quickly jumped back as the water sloshed
over the edges, so he would not get wet. Then looking at Melinda’s
wet dress and shoes, he chuckled. It was quite a humorous
situation. He had come out to help her but ended up spilling water
all over her instead.

Melinda looked down at her dripping dress
and wet shoes in despair and then looked up at Gilbert, who by now
was laughing heartily.

With a combination of bewilderment and
frustration, she asked, “What are you doing?”

He chuckled once again, “I thought I would
come and help.”

“Help?” The irritation in her voice was
obvious. “You’re laughing like a hyena. Look what you’ve done to my
dress and shoes.”

“It was an accident.” Gilbert looked her up
and down and tried to suppress another chuckle that wanted to burst
through. “Did you think I had planned this whole thing so I could
make you look silly? I must seem like a very devious person to
you.”

His eyes were full of amusement as he
grinned at her, trying with all his might to hold back his
laughter.

With an indignant tone, she answered, “No, I
didn’t think that at all. I just got impatient because you spilled
water all over me and you didn’t even say you were sorry. All you
did was just stand there and laugh at me.” She put her hands on her
hips and shook her head.

As Gilbert emptied the rest of the water
from the bucket into the barrel, Melinda began filling the second
bucket.

Gilbert was still chuckling as he said, “No, you are
wrong there. I didn’t laugh at
you
. I was laughing at the
situation. I had come to help, and in helping I hadn’t really
helped at all, but made everything worse. Don’t you see the humor
in it?”

Melinda looked up at him and saw a grin on
his face. She thought he had a very twisted sense of humor and all
at her expense, too. Quickly she picked up the bucket and walked
over to the barrel and poured the water in with a sober and
irritated look on her face.

“Melinda, you are so independent. Why don’t
you just let me help you with the water? You could have been
filling one bucket as I dumped the other. We could have gotten this
whole business over with a lot faster if you hadn’t stopped to get
angry with me. Where’s your sense of humor?”

Melinda glanced up at him and then turned
away. “I have a sense of humor.”

“Well, this situation would have been very
funny if you would have stood back and looked at it from a
distance.”

She glanced at his cheerful face and ignored
him. Then she went back to the sink and began filling both buckets
up.

Gilbert grinned at her stubborn attitude and
asked, “Now may I help you with the buckets this time?”

After filling both buckets full of water and
placing them on the floor, she put her hands on her hips and said
in a sober tone, “Help yourself.”

Gilbert could see that she was out of sorts with him
and he needed to smooth things over. So he walked up to her, looked
into her stubborn green eyes and then took her by the shoulders and
said, “I’m sorry for laughing. Will you forgive me? That was rude
of me and I should’ve apologized for spilling water all over your
beautiful dress. You look real nice this afternoon and I spoiled it
all. Please forgive me.” When she didn’t respond, he cleared his
throat. “I’m sort of eating humble pie right now.”

Melinda looked into his eyes and saw his
pleading look. Then she gave a slight smile. “I do have a sense of
humor. You just haven’t seen it yet.”

Gilbert smiled, dropped his hands from her
shoulders and took the two buckets.

Melinda looked down at her soaking wet dress
and then turned on her heels and walked toward the door.

“I’ve got to get changed.”

As Gilbert dumped the two buckets of water
into the barrel, he watched her leave and thought, “I’ve never met
a more independent and stubborn woman! We’re as different as night
and day.”

As Melinda passed Aunt Martha, she noticed a
questioning look on Martha’s face as she saw her dress. Before
Martha could say a word, she said, “Don’t ask, Aunt Martha.”

After everyone was seated, Uncle William
said the prayer. Then he looked around the table and said, “Before
we eat, we have a tradition in our family. We all say something
that we are thankful for. All right, I’ll begin. I’m thankful for
my sweet wife and that she puts up with me no matter how ornery I
get.” He looked at Martha and smiled. “I love you, dear.”

Melinda noticed the love that her aunt and uncle
had for one another and it touched her heart. Aunt Martha was
next.

“I’m thankful for you, too, dear. And I’m
thankful for the nice fire that makes us feel cozy and warm and for
this food that we can share with others.”

Melinda smiled and thought for a moment.
Then she said, “I’m thankful for living in this beautiful land here
and I’m thankful for my students.” She smiled at Jenny.

It was Jenny’s turn and she said, “I’m
thankful for school and learning. I didn’t know it could be so much
fun to learn.”

Gilbert was next. He hesitated. He looked
around the table. Then he cleared his throat. “I’m thankful for
many things. But, I’m especially thankful for new beginnings. When
I lost my wife eight years ago, I thought my life was at an end.
Then Jenny filled my life with joy and we had one another. She
filled every need that I had. I had someone to take care of and
someone to protect. This was all I needed, I thought. But, lately
I’ve found that I can find room in my life for others, for all of
you. And I never thought I would find room for anyone else. So, I’m
thankful for new beginnings.”

The room was quiet and everyone sat still
thinking about what he had said.

Gilbert turned to William and asked, “May we
eat now?”

Uncle William laughed and began carving the
turkey while Aunt Martha passed the rolls, mashed potatoes, and
relish around. After eating a hearty meal, Aunt Martha announced
that everyone was going into the utility room to bob for
apples.

Everyone stood around the barrel and watched
as Jenny knelt on the floor. After several tries, she decided to
try a new method. She searched for just the right apple. Then with
her teeth, she clamped down on the stem of the apple and pulled it
out of the water. Everyone laughed at her ingenuity.

Jenny took the apple out of her mouth and
grinned. “That’s how it’s done. Miss Gamble, it’s your turn
now.”

Melinda shook her head vigorously and said,
“I’ve already gotten wet once today. No more!” Then she looked at
Gilbert and he grinned.

“Pa, how about you?” Jenny said.

Gilbert smiled at his daughter and said,
“All right, Jen. I’ll show you how it’s supposed to be done.”

He knelt on the floor beside the barrel.
Just before he stuck his face into the water, he grinned at Melinda
as if he were a schoolboy getting ready to show off. He eyed the
floating bright red apples that bobbed on the water and found one
that appealed to him. Then guiding it to the edge of the barrel
with his mouth and nose, he pressed the apple firmly against the
wooden frame of the barrel. With this maneuver, he was able to sink
his teeth into the flesh of the apple. After a short while, his
face popped out of the water with the apple in his mouth. Everyone
cheered as Martha handed him a towel to dry his dripping face and
the spirit of happiness spread from one person to the next.

While everyone was cheering the difficult feat that
he had accomplished, Melinda remembered the twinkle in his eyes and
his smile just before he went after the apple and she wondered why
he seemed so charming. He had a boyish sort of grin and he was so
pleased when he came up out of the water with the apple in his
mouth. When he grinned at her, it seemed to light up the
atmosphere.

Melinda was not quite sure how she felt about
Gilbert. All she knew was that he was a very good father and she
was attracted to him, regardless of how exasperating he was at
times.

The snow gracefully fell to the ground, upon
Melinda’s hair, and on her nose. She looked at the snow-capped
mountains. Every cliff and valley was dotted with snow,
accentuating the rugged mountains. The limbs of the pines were
weighed down with snow and it sparkled in the glow of the sun. It
was almost Christmas.

Melinda watched a playful kitten that was
batting its paws at the fluffy flakes. She mischievously tapped the
snow-capped branch, which disturbed the snow and a small amount
tumbled to the ground. It startled the kitten and it arched its
back and hissed at the clump of snow. Melinda laughed out loud as
the hairs of the kitten stood on end. She stooped down and brushed
the snow off the kitten, picked it up and cuddled it in her
arms.

She was about to take it back to the shed when
Melinda heard the clip clopping of hooves. She immediately looked
up and noticed Gilbert and Jenny reining in their horses.

Gilbert had a broad smile on his face and he
seemed to be amused at Melinda’s playful ways. He said softly,
“Playful kitten.”

Melinda had forgotten they had been invited
over for supper that evening. Jenny slid off her horse and scooped
up a handful of snow in her gloved hands. She padded it tightly and
took aim.