.Enos & Daisy: In the beginning
By
LouEthelip
\ It was late at night when Daisy Duke arrived back on the Duke farm after a late night shift at the Boar's Nest. She was feeling chipper than usual. Partially because of her naturally outgoing personality but the fact that tips were better than usual didn't hurt matters either. She walked quietly through the house knowing that most likely Bo, Luke and Uncle Jesse were already asleep. In her bedroom she began to change out of her clothes and into her sleeping attire. As she made her way to her bed she found a letter laying on the table next to it. She didn't need to look at the envelope to guess who it was from. Just as he had promised when he left Hazzard all those months earlier Enos had faithfully written to her daily.
Stretching out on her bed she grabbed the letter and carefully opened it. Opening it she was excited to know what sort of news he would be sharing with her this evening.
Dear Daisy,
I've got some wonderful news to share with you today. It's now official.
This will be my last month in Las Angeles. Soon I'll be coming home to
Hazzard. I'm finding myself so excited that it is difficult to keep a thought
In my head, except when I think about you. You have no idea how much
I have missed everybody there. Not just you obviously but Uncle Jesse, Bo,
Luke, Cooter and even to a small degree I miss Roscoe and Boss Hogg.
Maybe the L.A.smog is affecting my brain (ha, ha). When the staff sergeant
gave me the news he also praised me for all the hard work I've done here.
I don't want to sound egotistical but I've got to admit it made me feel great.
You may have heard there are a lot of lovely women here in the area and yes
It is true but none of them can hold a candle to the special lady I know in
Hazzard. Time to sign off now. Looking forward to being with you soon.
Love,
Enos
It was all Daisy could do to keep from screaming her excitement over the news which would have woken everybody up. Soon Enos would be returning home safe and sound. If she hadn't worked so hard today it would have been impossible for her to sleep. Exhaustion however was overcoming excitement. Pulling back the sheets to the bed she slipped herself between the sheets and tried to relax so she could receive some wonderful slumber.
As tired as she was though her thoughts never strayed far from Enos. She thought about all the things they did together. How in most cases how Enos was a love struck puppy who'd follow Daisy anytime, anywhere. They did have a lot of wonderful moments together. Then her mind traveled back to their first time.
It was a few days after Daisy had come to live with Uncle Jesse for good. After her parents had died he was the only member of either side of the family who was willing to take her in. At 8 years old she was trying to find her feet in a new home. The first few days were spent acclimating herself to her new home and new environment. Uncle Jesse was very kind and patient with her knowing there would be moments of anger or tears over the loss of her parents. After the initial breaking in to this new environment Uncle Jesse decided it was time to sign the girl up for school. After signing her up Uncle Jesse took her to town to but the supplies she would need and a few outfits to help her fit in. That turned into a bit of a challenge trying to find something that would be appropriate yet that she liked as well. Even for a young girl she had a sense of what looked good on her. It was a great sense of relief when the pair found five outfits that were reasonably priced yet had the youngster feeling good about wearing them. That night Daisy went to bed early knowing she wouldn't have the luxury of sleeping as late as she wanted anymore.
After a good breakfast she went into her room to change for school. She picked out her favorite from the outfits Uncle Jesse got her. When she opened up her bedroom door there was a young boy waiting for her in the living room. The boy's jaw dropped slightly and seemed to look upon her with a sense of awe.
"Daisy, this is Enos. He's in your same grade at school. I've asked him to walk with you to school and show you around until you're comfortable enough to do it yourself."
There was a slight sound of nervousness that came out the lads lips when he said hello. He appeared to be a very shy individual yet it was nice to already have someone who was willing to be a friend with her. Walking toward the school bus Enos described the school and who their teacher would be. She learned there is a giant snake in a glass booth that was sort of the class mascot.
When the bus picked them up Daisy learned something else about Enos. The other kids seemed to take particular pleasure in picking on him and teasing him. As they approached a row of seats a kid would slide to the aisle and state that the other have was being saved for someone. With each incident Enos simply looked defeated and continued down until he found a row that was unoccupied.
At school Daisy noticed things didn't get any better for Enos. Though he often tried to pass it off as not bothering him she could see that with each insult his pride and dignity were being destroyed. The school was nice enough, so was the teacher who welcomed her with open arms.
At lunchtime she met the bullies of the school because of Enos. They cornered him and demanded his lunch money. At first he didn't want to give it to them but they tried to persuade him by slamming him against the wall. Daisy let out a scream that brought some of the teachers running. When they asked what was going on Daisy told them everything but the bullies denied it all. The boys were eventually taken to the principal's office. Enos warned Daisy that now she was on their list and would look for an opportunity to get even with her.
The rest of the school day went by without any difficulties. As she suspected on some subjects they had not even begun discussing in her previous school putting her behind yet in others subjects they were essentially reviewing things she had learned in her previous school. It appeared the teacher was astute enough to understand this so at no point in the afternoon did she call on Daisy to provide an answer to a question. When the final bell rang in hindsight she realized that her first day of school in Hazzard County wasn't too bad. Some good, some not so well, and through it all Enos had been there to take care of her.
The pair had just exited the school to head for the bus ride when they were confronted by the school bullies once again. This time they seemed determined to show Daisy who ran things at the school. They started to push her into one of the other bullies who grabbed her and threw her into another bully. Enos seemed torn what to do but it was obvious the bullies had him intimidated. All he could do is hold his book bag and look on to what was happening.
As Daisy was pushed towards one of the bullies he stepped aside, sticking out his leg causing her to trip and fall into a patch of mud which got all over her beautiful outfit and body. A bully offered a hand to help her up but just as she started to stand he pushed her right back into the mud with more force. Looking down at what the mud had done to her dress Daisy started to cry which only caused the bullies to laugh and mock her tears. Daisy prayed a teacher would have seen what too place and saved her but that did not happen. She did notice something though. It was the face of Enos getting angrier by the second. Finally he had observed all he could take with a loud yell swung his book bag at one of the bullies in a uppercut fashion knocking him backwards into the mud. Keeping the momentum going he decked a 2nd bully with the book bag. He tried to keep the streak going but the third bully got a good grab of the bag and yanked it out of Enos's hands. Their attention then was taken away from Daisy to that of her protector. The bullies surrounded him and the leader of the group stood before him and spoke.
"Well it looks like Enos Strait finally grew a pair and decided to be a tough guy. Big mistake runt. You need to learn a lesson in who runs things in this yard.
Without another word the bully hit Enos with a guy shot so hard it drove him to the ground taking all the wind away from him. As Daisy reached out to try and help him one of the bully's grabbed her fromnd and held her firmly in a bear hug. A 2nd bully pulled Enos up and held him in place with a full nelson hold. From there the other bullies took turns hitting, punching, kicking and assaulting the poor lad in every possible way. Daisy had to shut her eyes so it wouldn't be able to witness the devastation that was taking place. Unfortunately her ears could hear everything that was happening and she sobbed tears of sorrow that she was unable to help.
In this condition it was understandable that Daisy never heard the car coming up the road. The squealing of the tires didn't ever register to her ears but the distinctive sound of the voice that came out of that vehicle and the sound of a gun being cocked were easy enough to distinguish.
"All right boys. You get your hands off of my Daisy and let Enos alone."
Turning her head she saw her Uncle Jesse leaning over the hood of the vehicle with a shotgun rifle pointed straight at her assailants.
The bullies quickly let go of Daisy and Enos began running away as fast as they could. The young girl looked on in surprise and amazement at what she had just saw. Normally a peace loving man her Uncle Jesse just threatened violence. Sensing the unspoken thoughts of the youth he popped open the barrels of the gun to reveal there was nothing inside.
"I carry this gun when I'm on a ridge runner delivering shine. During those times its loaded in case some competitor tries to rob me. Otherwise its unloaded. Still it was enough to scare the bejesus out of those boys. Now let's get Enos in the car."
Picking up the injured body of the young lad, Uncle Jesse carefully put him in the back seat where he was joined by Daisy. Trying to offer comfort Daisy tried putting her hand on his chest but his groans indicated his soreness. Though she kept trying to move her hand trying to find a spot that wasn't hurt yet failed every time. Finally she gave up and sat back in her seat and brooded all the way back to the Duke farm.
Once home Enos was transferred to Uncle Jesse's bedroom and laid on the bed along with a couple of warm blankets. Once Uncle Jesse left the room to fix Enos a little warm milk and honey Daisy was doing her best to comfort her schoolmate.
"Oh Enos, I'm so sorry. I didn't want you to get hurt on my account. Why did you do it?"
Turning his head to look into her crying eyes he gave a weak smile before responding.
"My mother is fond of saying that if you care for someone you wind up doing some very stupid things to prove it."
Years later when Daisy looked back at this moment she started wondering if even if he didn't understand the word he was trying to say that he was already in love with her. In her presence he could never say the words 'I love you'. It was always 'I really care for you' or words of that nature. Even when Daisy became a deputy and the pair were chasing after crooks there was a moment when he injured his ankle and couldn't continue. He asked her to turn around so he could get a good look at her since because of the danger of what she was facing she might not come back. He didn't want to appear forward and could say the word I love you but easily expressed his feelings for her. Thankful for his honesty she gave him a gentle kiss on the lips and caressed his hair before continuing the chase however that would be in their future.
The voice of Uncle Jesse bellowed from the kitchen.
"Daisy, get that muddy outfit off, take a shower and get ready for dinner."
It was with a great deal of regret that she left the bedroom to do what her uncle had instructed. As she left the bedroom Uncle Jesse was going in with the warm milk and honey. Taking the dress off she could see how much mud had gotten on the dress. She wondered if the dress which she was so proud of was now ruined. Showering she made sure all the mud was washed out of her hair and body. After drying off she quickly went back to the bedroom to lie with Enos again who was now fast asleep. By this time Enos's mom had arrived to pick up her child. Going into the bedroom Uncle Jesse informed her that when he gave Enos the warm milk and honey he added a little bit of his moonshine to help ease the pain yet not enough to get him drunk but enough to put him to sleep. Surprisingly however the young man was back at the Duke farm so he could escort Daisy again .
In a short amount of time Bo and Luke Duke joined the family to make them complete and Enos remained a family friend although. Though there have been times once Enos became a deputy that things got a little rough. Still his friendship with the Dukes and his feelings for Daisy has never been in doubt.
Folding the letter and putting it back in the envelope she placed the letter in her dresser drawer where she had kept all his letters. No doubt she would read it two or three more times the next day. For now though she closed the drawer, turned off the lights, and fell to sleep hoping to dream of a life with Enos again.