Chapter 27 "Chester's Return" Part 2

"Yes, Chester, welcome back to Dodge," Kitty echoed her husband's words. "Welcome to you too, Ann."

"Thank you, Mr. Dillon and Miss Kitty," said Chester. "It's really good to be back."

As Chester spoke, Matt and Kitty had both noticed that his southern accent wasn't as detectable as it was when he was living in Dodge. Matt also noticed that Chester was still calling him, Mr. Dillon. Chester called Matt, Mr. Dillon, while he was working for him, but that was when he was working for him. Chester stopped working for Matt seven years ago. There was no reason for Chester to be still calling him, Mr. Dillon. Matt would have to let Chester know he could call him, Matt.

"Chester, please, call me, Matt," Matt insisted. "You called me, Mr. Dillon when you worked for me. You haven't worked for me for seven years. There's no reason to call me, Mr. Dillon anymore."

"I'll try, Mr. Dillon," said Chester, realizing he just addressed Matt as Mr. Dillon. "I guess it's habit calling you, Mr. Dillon." Chester then turned his attention to the two young boys that were with him. "I'd like for you to meet our two boys. This is six year old Adam and three and half year old Maxwell."

"It's very nice to meet the two of you," said Kitty with a smile.

The boys were spittin' images of their father. If Matt and Kitty wondered what Chester had looked like when he was a child, all they had to do was look at Adam and Maxwell. Looking at the boys, one could infer that Chester had been a cute child.

"It's very nice to meet you," said six year old Adam. "Daddy and mother told me and Maxwell all about you."

"Did you and daddy weally put bad guys in jail?" three and half year old Maxwell asked Matt.

Both boys looked up at Matt, waiting for an answer. You could tell by the looks on their faces that they were in awe of the big man in front of them. Their daddy was tall, but Matt Dillon was a little taller and had a bigger build. He also wore a badge and carried a gun.

Matt knew the boys were eagerly awaiting an answer. "Yes, we did. Your daddy was a great guy to work with." The boys smiled, pleased with Matt's answer.

"Since we're making introductions, I'd like you to meet our four year old daughter, Ruby," said Kitty.

Chester walked over to Matt, who was still holding Ruby, and held out his hand to the little girl. Ruby took Chester's hand. "It's a pleasure to meet ya, Miss Ruby Dillon."

"Very nice to meet you, Unca Chester," said Ruby as she shook Chester's hand.

Matt and Kitty told Ruby about Chester. They told her that Chester was a good friend of theirs, but they never referred to him as Ruby's uncle. However, the four year old had her own logic of thinking. If Festus and Newly were good friends of her parents, and they were her uncles, then Chester must be her uncle because he was a good friend of her parents.

Chester smiled. He was more than happy to be called Uncle Chester by Ruby Dillon. He saw it as an honor. If Ruby was going to call him Uncle Chester, then he would introduce Ann to her as Aunt Ann.

"This beautiful woman is my wife Ann," Chester told Ruby. "I know she would be proud if you called her Aunt Ann."

Ruby looked over at Ann, who nodded and smiled at her. "It's very nice to meet you, Aunt Ann." She held out her hand to Ann.

Ann took Ruby's little hand. "The pleasure is all mine."

Chester noticed that Ruby was a very pretty little girl who mirrored her mother. She had Kitty's vibrant red hair and sapphire blue eyes. There was no doubt that Ruby would grow into a beautiful woman. Not only would Ruby have her mother's looks, Chester had a feeling she had her mother's temperament.

"I imagine that once this pretty little girl comes of age you'll be beating the boys off with a stick," Chester said to Matt.

"Don't get started on that," Kitty warned. "Ruby may only be four years old, but I know Matt has already thought about her growing up and dating."

Kitty then took a better look at Ann. She could see that her midsection was distended. It wasn't too much so, but enough to show that Ann was more than likely expecting their third child. Getting Ann off her feet was probably a good idea.

"I don't mean to pry," said Kitty. "But it looks like you're expecting another family member."

Chester's face beamed with pride. "We sure are. Ann is almost five months pregnant. We're expecting this little one sometime in late February or early March."

"We thought this would be the best time to travel. The baby isn't due for another four months, so there's no worry of it coming anytime soon," Ann explained.

"I'm sure you probably want to get off of your feet," said Kitty.

"Actually, after sitting on the train for so long, it feels good to stand," said Ann.

"We hope it's a brother baby," said Adam.

"Yeah a bwutha baby," Maxwell echoed.

"We don't want a sister baby," said Adam.

"No sista baby," Maxwell repeated.

"Now boys, we talked about this. We are going to love whatever the good Lord blesses us with," Chester reminded his sons.

"Yes, daddy," said both boys.

"Why don't we put your travel bags in the back of the wagon," said Matt. "Kitty, Ann and the kids can ride the wagon into town. Chester, you and I can walk back. We'll meet at the office. There are no occupants right now. Maybe the boys would like to see the jail." Both boys' faces lit up.

"That sounds like a plan, Mr. Dillon. I mean Matt," said Chester.

Chester put the travel bags in the back of the wagon and then helped Ann climb up. After Ann was seated, Chester lifted Adam up. Ann set him next to her. Chester then handed Maxwell to her, she placed him on her lap. While Chester was helping his family, Matt was helping Kitty and Ruby. Kitty set Ruby next to her. After everyone was on the wagon seat, Kitty and Ann were at the edges, with Ruby and Adam in the middle. Maxwell was on his mother's lap. Kitty maneuvered the wagon and they made their way back to town. Mat and Chester started walking.

It took about five minutes to reach town. Kitty parked the wagon on a side street, close to the jail. Kitty got down first and helped Ruby get down. She then went to get Maxwell from Ann so that Ann could get down. Adam insisted on getting down himself. He wanted to jump down. Ann shook her head, and Kitty had to smile. It seemed like such a little boy thing to do. She just hoped that Ruby wouldn't insist on jumping down from the wagon. Kitty had a feeling Matt wouldn't let that happen. It wasn't long after Kitty, Ann and the kids arrived that Matt and Chester had also arrived.

"We've been waiting forever," Adam said impatiently. "We want to see the jail."

"Patience obviously isn't a strength of a six year old boy," Ann said. She then turned her attention to her son. "We haven't been waiting forever."

"But we can't wait to see the jail," said Adam, fidgeting with excitement. Maxwell was doing the same thing.

"There's no point in making them wait," said Matt. "The jail is right down there. Let's head on down."

Everybody walked to the jail. If the boys had their way, they would have ran down there. However, Chester told them they had to stay with the group and walk. The boys listened to their father and obeyed him. When they reached the jail, Matt opened the door to let everyone in.

Festus was sitting behind the desk. He smiled when he saw the company that had entered the jail. He only met Chester a couple of times, but instantly recognized him. Festus stood up to make a proper greeting.

"Howdy, Chester," said Festus. "Matthew told me you and yer family were a comin' to Dodge fer a visit. It's nice ta see ya." Festus offered Chester his hand.

Chester took the offered hand. "Thank you, Festus. It's nice to see you again. This is my wife Ann and our two boys, Adam and Maxwell."

Festus removed his hat and turned towards Ann and the boys. "Ma'am, I'm mighty glad ta meet ya. The same to the two of you."

Adam and Maxwell looked around the office and studied their surroundings. "I thought this was a jail," said Adam. "I don't see a jail."

"The jail is behind that there door," Festus explained.

"Are there bad guys back there?" asked Adam. He was hoping for a yes.

"I'm afraid not," Festus replied. He saw the disappointed look on Adam's face. "But that's a good thang. If there were bad guys back there, I wouldn't be able to show you the jail cells. Come on back."

Adam and Maxwell followed Festus to the jail cells. Kitty noticed Ruby didn't follow the boys. She stayed next to her momma. Kitty couldn't help but compare Ruby's mannerisms to the boys' mannerisms. Ruby had been to Matt's office a number of times, but had never asked her daddy to show her the jail cells. She just didn't have an interest in them. Whenever Kitty and Ruby would visit Matt, Ruby was more excited to see her daddy.

After seeing the jail cells, the boys, along with Festus, came back to the office. The boys were quite satisfied that they had the opportunity to actually see a real jail.

"Festus, is Newly around?" Matt asked. "I'd like for him to meet Chester and his family."

"Fraid not, Matthew," Festus answered. "He rode out to the Nobis farm with Doc. Liam Nobis took a nasty fall off the roof that he was reparin'."

"I'm sorry to hear that," said Kitty. "I hope he'll be alright."

"Maybe you can meet Newly some other time," Matt told Chester. "He's another one of my deputies, but he's also the town's gunsmith and he assists Doc whenever Doc needs him."

"He sounds like a very talented man," said Chester. "I look forward to meeting him. It sounds like Doc isn't in his office. We'll have to visit him some other time, maybe tomorrow."

Kitty had noticed that Maxwell had yawned several times. The little guy was probably exhausted from the trip. Being a mother herself, Kitty knew it was best to head to the house. Chester and his family would be staying with them.

"How about we head on to our house and get everyone settled in," Kitty suggested. "I'm sure you would like to rest after your long trip."

"That sounds wonderful," said Ann. She too had noticed Maxwell's yawns. "But how are we all going to ride in the wagon or is your house walking distance from here?"

"Our house is a couple miles from here," Matt responded. "But I think I have an idea of how we can all use the wagon."

The group said goodbye to Festus and left the jail. They walked down the wooden boardwalk, back to the wagon. Ann looked in the back of the wagon and was pleased to see their travel bags were still there. That wouldn't have been the case in Philadelphia.

"So I figured that Chester, Ann, and the boys could ride up front, and Kitty, Ruby, and I could ride in the back. That is if Chester doesn't mind driving and Kitty doesn't mind riding in the back," said Matt.

"I'm fine with that," said Kitty.

"Me too," said Chester. "You'll just have to tell me where ta go."

"It's easy to get to our house," said Matt. "You just take the road that heads north out of town. Stay on it for two miles and our house is the first house you come to on the left."

Chester was still familiar with the area. He had a pretty good idea of the house Matt was talking about. "Did you buy the Pugman house?" he asked.

"Yes," said Matt. "They decided to move to Colorado."

The Goode family climbed up onto the seat, while the Dillons climbed in the back. Surprisingly, neither Adam nor Maxwell asked to ride in the back. Ruby was quite thrilled to be riding in the back. She had never ridden in the back of the wagon. She always rode up front with her parents. Chester got the wagon going, and Ruby decided to turn around and look over the edge. Matt immediately noticed this and stopped his daughter.

"Hold it, young lady," Matt addressed his daughter. "You need to turn around and sit down." Ruby did as she was told. Hearing the words, hold it, come from Matt made Chester smile. It brought back fond memories.

Ten minutes later they arrived at the Dillons' house. Chester and Ann saw that it was a handsome looking house with a small barn. Everyone exited the wagon, and Chester grabbed the bags. They walked into the house, and Chester and Ann observed how nice the house was on the inside, not that they expected it not to be.

"Welcome to our home," said Kitty. "We can give you a quick tour. You can set the bags on the couch. This is the parlor room. Down the hall is our bedroom, Ruby's bedroom, and the water closet. Through this door is the kitchen."

After seeing the kitchen, the Goodes and the Dillons walked back into the parlor room. "There are two more bedrooms upstairs," said Matt. "That's where you'll be staying."

"Are you sure we're not putting you out?" asked Ann. "We don't want to be a burden."

"Nonsense," Kitty replied. "You are not putting us out. We're happy to have you."

"This is a nice house for a family to grow in," Chester observed. "If you two have more babies, you have the extra bedrooms."

"My momma can't have no more babies in her tummy," said Ruby. The room suddenly became quiet.

"Oh my, uh forever more," Chester was stumbling over his words, clearly embarrassed. "I'm so sorry. I had no idea."

"It's alright, Chester," said Kitty. "You had no way of knowing."

When Matt and Kitty announced Ruby's birth, they didn't mention the complications in the letter. They felt it wasn't necessary. The purpose of the letter was to deliver good news, not bad news.

Chester and Ann took their bags upstairs and then came back down to join Matt and Kitty in the parlor. Ruby and the boys were playing with Ruby's toys. Adam was impressed with the toys that Ruby had. He wasn't sure what to expect, considering she was a girl. However, there were building blocks and a set of farm animals that he could play with. The adults had been visiting for a bit, when Kitty decided it was time to start supper.

"I'm going to start supper," said Kitty. "I thought we could have beef stew with homemade bread."

"That sounds delicious," said Chester. "Then again, I rarely complain when it comes to food."

Ann nodded her head in agreement. "Let me give you a hand, Kitty."

"There's no need for that," said Kitty. "You're on vacation. You sit and relax."

"Trust me," said Ann. "My body starts to ache if I sit too long."

"I know what you mean," agreed Kitty. "Well if you insist, you are more than welcome to come and help me."

"I do insist," said Ann as she got up from the couch.

"We'll let you two know when supper is ready," Kitty said to Matt and Chester. "Maybe you can take the kids outside for a little bit, while you wait."

Matt and Chester took the kids outside to play, while Kitty and Ann made supper. Kitty didn't have to do too much. She was going to use leftover pot roast from supper the other night. All she had to do was chop up some vegetables to add that to the stew. Ann helped with that. She chopped them up extra small, so they would cook faster.

An hour later, supper was ready. Kitty set the table, and Ann called everyone inside. Matt and Chester washed their hands, and then helped the kids wash theirs. Hands washed, Matt, Chester, and the kids joined Kitty and Ann in the kitchen. They all sat around the table and began to enjoy the delicious stew and homemade bread.

TBC in the part 3 conclusion

*Author's note: My original plan was to have this story be a two parter. But I realized I have enough to make this a three part story. In the conclusion, the Dillons and the Goodes enjoy supper together, and Chester takes his family into to town to introduce them to people and places that he was fond of.