Unprepossessing
It was an unprepossessing farm house - four rooms, two up and two down, with a porch across the front. The house was not new, but it was well cared for, and there were flowers planted along the base of the porch by the stairs. Nothing about the house to make a man nervous, nevertheless Heyes and the Kid looked at each other and gulped before walking up the stairs together and knocking on the door – together.
Ellie Johnson opened the door and looked at the two men in front of her. Although they were dressed in suits, and held their hats in their hands, there was something about them that told her, suits were not their normal attire. Their faces were tanned and creased by the sun – they were not the faces of men used to spending their time indoors.
"Can I help you?"
Heyes and the Kid looked at each other. Heyes opened his mouth, then closed it and cleared his throat, then stated quietly, "Ma'am do you own this farm?"
She looked sharply at them and wiped her hands on her apron. "I guess that means you're looking for a story. Well we don't speak to reporters, thank you very much…" She turned back and went to shut the door.
The Kid held out his hand. "Ma'am, we're not reporters. We just…, we just…" he trailed away.
Something about these men caught her attention. She looked closely at them, examining them thoroughly. "No I guess you're not. Why don't you come in? I have some lemonade."
"Thank you," they said quietly as they entered the front parlor.
As they sipped the lemonade, they explained who they were and why they had come. "It's been a long time, we shouldn't have come," Heyes sighed. "Come on Kid, let's go." The Kid nodded and stood, prepared to leave.
Ellie looked at them considering. "Wait a minute…" She left the room quickly. Heyes and the Kid looked at each other uncomfortably.
She came back and thrust a cigar box at them. "Here. This is my husband's home. His parents bought both farms twenty years ago, when he was only eight years old. The farms had been abandoned for years, and they were able to get a good price. Naturally, they told him to stay away from the ruins as they pulled them down, and then built this house right on the line, between the two old ones. Like any boy, he was fascinated by it all, and didn't stay away. The things he found there are in this box."
"Ma'am?" the Kid whispered, reluctantly taking the box.
He sat back down, and he and Heyes opened the box. Inside were a tarnished bracelet, a chipped clay pipe, some marbles, and two toy soldiers. Heyes lifted one of the soldiers and looked at it wonderingly. The Kid picked up the bracelet. "Do you remember?" he asked hoarsely.
"Yeah, Kid, I remember Pa gave that to my Ma that last Christmas."
They sat staring at the treasures in the cigar box.
Ellie spoke softly. "Ever since you two got amnesty, Lawrence has tried to capitalize on the fact that you come from here. We've had so many reporters come by, but we would never talk to them… Here take it. He's out in the fields now, but Luke, my husband, would want you to take them."
Both looked at her blinking rapidly. They nodded their thanks, unable to speak, stood, and walked out the door and down the steps of the porch. They walked back to the buggy and drove away from the unprepossessing home that had preserved their greatest treasures.