Chapter 36 - Second Sunday After Supper

While Kai and Jay were attending to their errand in town, Sam assisted Miss Gayle in preparing the Sunday supper. Sam felt embarrassed about her lack of kitchen skills. A cook had prepared all the meals in her well-to-do household while she was growing up, and at the time she simply had no inclination to learn. Now, however, she was dismayed over her culinary inexperience, for she hoped she would soon be a wife who could prepare decent meals for herself and her husband, and it was a bit intimidating that Kai's knowledge of food seemed somewhat advanced, based on his fruit sauce comment back at Morro's house.

Though Sam did not share her thoughts with Miss Gayle, the astute housekeeper could guess what was going on in her mind. Miss Gayle patted her shoulder and assured her that by the end of the week, Sam would be able to prepare several meals and desserts with the cooking lessons she would learn from Miss Gayle. Tonight, Sam would learn how to chop vegetables.

After supper, the men profusely thanked Miss Gayle and her assistant Sam for the meal. Then Cole and Zane headed to the bunkhouse, but not before each received a hug and a kiss on the cheek from Sam, who thanked them for their help in rescuing her. Sam did the same for Lloyd before he left to head to Ninjago Town. Doc Julien and Kai and Jay were still at the main house. Doc Julien went to check on Bansha. The two cowboys and Mr. Wu had disappeared into the ranch owner's office room and closed the door behind them after Kai told her they had some old business they needed to finish up.

Sam helped Miss Gayle - as best she could, given her back injury - to clear the dishes from the picnic table and store the leftover food items in their proper place. Miss Gayle suggested to Sam that before they wash the dishes, they spend a few minutes saying howdy to Bansha. Sam agreed. She could give to Bansha the small wrapped package that had traveled with the group from the log house in the Stone Mountains.

The last time Sam had seen Bansha, the sickly older woman was being put on Archer's horse by Morro and Archer early last Tuesday in Noscut. Sam had been watching them as she sat on Morro's horse, bound and gagged.

When Sam and Miss Gayle stood at the doorway of the first-floor bedroom, which Sam would be sharing with Bansha due to it being large enough to hold two twin beds, they saw that Bansha's eyes were closed as she lay on one of the beds. Doc Julien was standing over his black bag on her bedside table, measuring out some liquid medicine. He silently nodded to the ladies, giving them permission to enter, and he motioned for Sam to sit in the wooden chair he had pulled up to Bansha's bedside.

"Bansha, let's have some medicine, and then you can visit with your guests who have just arrived," Doc Julien said to the frail woman as Miss Gayle helped Sam to sit down. The housekeeper then went over to Bansha and lifted her head up as the physician administered the liquid. The patient's eyes remained closed.

When the medicine was gone, Miss Gayle went to stand behind Sam's chair. The doctor gestured to the younger woman, indicating it was all right for her to speak.

"Bansha? Bansha, it's Sam. Er, I mean, it's Missy. How are you?" Sam asked quietly.

Bansha's eyes fluttered open. She stared at Sam.

"Oh, Missy, you came home," Bansha said in a groggy voice, her hand searching for Sam's. Sam took the old woman's hand in hers as Bansha asked, "Did yer feller come home, too?"

"Yes, he did," Sam smiled.

"Good," Bansha said as she weakly squeezed Sam's hand.

Then Sam noticed a tear on Bansha's cheek. "What's the matter, Bansha?" Sam asked in alarm. "Are you in pain?" Doc Julien turned around from what he had been doing to see what was happening with his patient.

"Oh, Missy, can you and yer feller ever forgive me for what I did to ya? I didn't know Morro was gonna be like he was."

Listening to the sincerity in the voice of the ill septuagenarian caused a lump to form in Sam's throat.

"Everything's all right now, Bansha," Sam tried to assure her. She swallowed the lump in her throat as she softly said, "I forgive you."

"I forgive you, too, Bansha," said a young male's voice, startling everyone in the room.

It was Kai. He walked in and placed his hand on Sam's shoulder. Sam looked up at him with watery eyes.

To distract herself, Sam said, "I brought something for you, Bansha." She asked Kai to retrieve the package which sat on Sam's bedside table, wrapped in plain brown paper.

Sam unwrapped the package and held the framed photograph close to the old woman's eyes.

Bansha's eyes widened with recognition as she whispered, "Emma!"

Tears began to stream down her face. "My baby girl! It's so good to see her face! Where did ya get this photograph?"

"It came from Morro's house in Skeleton Territory," Sam answered.

Bansha looked at her visitors. "Morro's dead, ain't he," she stated.

They looked at each other, not knowing how to respond. "Yes," Doc finally answered.

Bansha showed no emotion at the news as she turned her attention back to the photograph.

After a minute of silence on Bansha's part, Sam thought it would be best to leave her be. Kai helped Sam to her feet. But before they said goodbye, Bansha set down the photograph, looked up at Sam, and said, "Give me yer hand, Missy."

Sam complied.

Bansha squeezed her hand. "I hope ya have a daughter that gives ya as much joy as my daughter gave me."

Sam's throat once again tightened with emotion upon hearing the beautiful sentiment. "Thank you, Bansha," she said to the old woman, blinking back tears as she turned to leave.

"And sonny, I got one thing to say to ya."

Kai leaned forward to listen. "What's that?"

"Always treat her good, y'hear?"

Kai smiled at the repeat of the advice she had given him last Monday while she had pointed a steak knife at him. "I will, Bansha," he said, tipping his hat to her before he put his hand on Sam's shoulder to guide her out of the bedroom.

He looked back over his shoulder at Miss Gayle and the doctor and said with a wry smile, "Pardon the expression, but I'm kidnapping Sam for a few minutes to say goodbye."

Doc Julien chuckled. "All right, as long as it's just a few minutes. I need to show Miss Gayle how to tend to Sam's back."

"And she need be helpin' me with the dishes!" Miss Gayle called out.

Outside the back door of the main house of Garmadon Ranch, Kai was carefully holding his woman in his arms for a few more minutes, knowing he would soon be returning to the bunkhouse without her.

It would be strange not to have her within his reach tonight. Aside from that awful night after Morro had abandoned him in the desert, Kai and Sam had spent at least some time together between each sundown and sunup during the past week. After she had injured her back, he had slept on the floor by her bed while at Morro's house. On the trail home, she slept in a small tent purchased in Qubla, but she rested her head outside the tent so that they could talk until they fell asleep under the stars.

Now that Kai and Jay had spoken with Mr. Wu about a certain subject, it was time to put into action the next step of Kai's plan for making sure he and Sam spent the rest of their nights on earth together, starting on a night about two weeks from tonight.

"After church next Sunday, would you like to do a little sightseeing around the Ninjago Town area?" he asked her. "You haven't had a chance to see much of the pretty countryside we have around here."

Kai's brown eyes had an extra twinkle in them which made Sam suspect that next Sunday he might be asking her a certain question. But she hid her suspicion, and her excitement, and simply smiled.

"That sounds like a lovely idea," she replied.

"Good." Kai gave her a kiss and then looked up at the darkening twilight sky above. "Guess I'd better go. Mr. Wu's expecting us to get up before sunrise tomorrow and put in a full day's work."

Sam laughed. Mr. Wu did seem like quite the taskmaster.

"I guess the next time we see each other will be at supper on Thursday," she said to him. "Miss Gayle said she's going to teach me how to bake a pie and we'll serve it for dessert."

Kai smacked his lips. "Mmm! I'll be sure to bring my appetite!"

Their hands intertwined, they walked over to where Flame stood, waiting for his rider. Kai had already settled Morro's horse in the main house's stable and retrieved his own mount.

"So this is your horse?" Sam asked.

"Yep. Flame, say howdy to Sam."

Sam laughed as she petted the horse's nose. "Howdy back, Flame!"

Kai tilted his head and studied his animal for a few seconds. "Flame likes you," he concluded with a smile.

The couple's joviality subsided as the inevitability of Kai's departure could no longer be delayed.

Sam turned to her cowboy. "Kai?" she said, intertwining his other hand in hers.

"Yes?"

"Thank you. For everything."

"Not exactly sure what you need to thank me for, but the pleasure's all mine." He gave her one last kiss and smiled at her as he mounted his horse. She waved as he rode away to the bunkhouse, tipping his hat to her in farewell.

Miss Gayle smiled as she secretly watched them from the window.

Hours later, during the night, Bansha would lapse into a comatose state from which she would never waken.