February 22nd 2022
Chapter 53
Our Return to Knowledge
"Daddy, we gotta wait for Winnie. She has to go," Marianne informed him the moment she saw him. He'd just called out to her, and she immediately pointed back the way of the bathroom door. She hurried up to him now and motioned for him to crouch before continuing in a whisper. "She had an accident," she revealed with the air of one who knew she could trust him to keep the secret. He gave her a nod and a smile. Understood.
"Looks like you had one, too," he frowned now, noticing the band-aid on her knee. She looked down, too, holding out her leg for him to see. Even with the colorful bandage on there, signs of the damage escaped from top and bottom with angry red scratches. "Did you fall down?" he asked, and she nodded.
"It doesn't hurt," she promised with a shake of the head. "See?" she hopped in place, no sign of disturbance. "It only hurts when I poke," she added, presenting her finger like she was about to demonstrate.
"It's okay, I believe you," he stalled her hand with a smile, trying not to show how even a small bit of hurt on his baby girl could get him feeling his own bit of upset. "They cleaned it all up, huh?"
"Yeah," Marianne nodded. "That hurt," she reported, and he laughed and pulled her close. She hugged him back.
"You got through it, that's what matters."
Winnie came back around, along with Miss Alma. The small girl couldn't help but be uneasy after her small accident, but then there was her best friend, reminding her of where they were going, and it was as good of a way as any to help her perk up. Soon, they were on their way to Sullivan Stables. Lucas had briefly considered driving out the others of his daughter's class who were signed up for the program, but he really felt more secure about only taking his girl and her friend.
On the ride from the preschool, Lucas was treated to the story of Marianne's knee, which had come in contact with the ground while they were playing outside that morning. As generally brave as she could be, in that moment the four-year-old had cried and sniffled herself all the way through when Miss Alma hurried over and tended the bloodied knee. It really could have been so much worse than it actually was, and by lunch time she was much more interested in the fact that she had something cute and bright to cover up the wound.
They'd set up the start time in order to give everyone the chance to make their way out to the ranch. As such – especially as the preschool kids finished earlier than the older ones – no one had arrived yet by the time they showed up. They got to have a little time to themselves, which made the little girls feel plenty special. They were the first to get their green bandanas, marking them as being part of the 4-5 group. Had he organized the color scheme to ensure that his daughter got her favorite color, not only now but as she graduated to each succeeding age group? Yes, of course, he had, and the smile on her face was reason enough.
They'd split the kids in four groups. He would monitor the four and five-year-olds along with Dylan. Aside from Marianne, and Nicky (who wouldn't actually be four until May), and five-year-old Mia, they would see to a dozen of their contemporaries. They had fourteen kids in the 6-7 group, under the supervision of a second-grade-teacher named Pedro, sixteen kids in the 8-9 group with Zay, and then twenty for the 10-12, this final group being seen to by a fifth-grade teacher named Ryan and a sixth-grade teacher named Anna.
They all started to arrive, with his own group of little ones nearly filled out by the time the others started to come. It was a trickle to start with, followed by a deluge. Bandanas went out, green, and blue, and red, and yellow… The monitors started to gather their groups, counting them out, until they were glad to see that everyone was present and accounted for. They all looked so happy to be here. Those who had been part of the holiday camp would wave to Lucas, remembering him from December, and he would wave back at them, seeing how this one had grown, and that one had lost a tooth… Like those who were not of the brief camp, every kid looked genuinely thrilled to be here, and Lucas sincerely hoped that this would be a mood they would continue to feel.
After addressing the four groups together, welcoming them to Sullivan Stables, introducing them to their monitors, and briefly telling them what they would all get to do today and on following camp days, the groups split up, going one way and another, until Lucas and Dylan were left with their group of fifteen. Aside from Marianne, Winnie, Mia, and Nicky, they had six boys and three girls. Four of the boys already stuck together enough to show that they were friends, and for their monitors it was impossible not to picture themselves and their other childhood friends when they'd watch them go together.
Oh, this took them back to more than their own childhood memories. It reminded them of when they'd been counselors at summer camp, with kids about this age, too. Of course, they'd been in high school at the time, which made this experience now, as adults, as fathers, feel completely different, too. Then again… Dylan was Dylan, whether he was seventeen or thirty-something. He was perfect for tiny kids. In no time, he had them singing along as they made their way toward the archive to go and meet Mr. Carson.
They'd asked everyone what they would be able to do, what they would like to provide for the program. Carson had been one of the first to have an answer. It felt pretty in line with what his job was out here: he wanted to tell stories. He was always wonderful with the kids, and today was no exception. Oh, he was ready for them, and he welcomed them into the archive, leading them to a corner he had reorganized himself, all the better to host them. They got to sit on the floor, on a fuzzy carpet, as he sat on a chair facing them. He had a solid voice for telling stories, and he put it to great use with his first meeting of the green group. The kids sat there, so enthralled with him as he told them an old ranch story. To hear him tell it, his tale could have happened that same day and not several decades earlier. He even had them laughing a few times, good, giggling fits all around.
By the time they were done, the kids wanted another story. What they got was a tour of the archive's ground floor exhibit, with all the displays, and while he was a very knowledgeable guide of all the items he so often spoke about, he did not always get to share it with touring groups as invested as these little ones. They followed him, and they looked on with curious eyes, asking questions which were soon answered.
"They're pretty boots," one of the girls declared, in a solid drawl, as she pointed up to the pair kept behind a glass case.
"That's Granny Emm's boots," Marianne piped up with immediate pride. The other girl and those of the kids who weren't focused on something else turned to look at her. "I got my name from her; she was Marianne like me. She's my daddy's grandma," Marianne went on, looking up to Lucas, who smiled and nodded. "He got ones like her, too, see?" she crouched now, tugging up one of his pant legs so they could see his boot. Before he knew it, Lucas had a pack of small children crowded around his feet, inspecting his footwear.
"They're pretty boots, too," the drawling girl declared as she stood back up.
"Thanks," Lucas told her, trying not to laugh. "You like boots, huh?"
"My mama fixes shoes, and boots, too," she nodded, and even if he hadn't known her name, he would have remembered speaking to her mother when they'd done the registration. He'd been to her shop many times, even back when her father had been in charge, before he'd retired. He remembered when little June had been little more than a kicking babe in the belly of Jenny Abernathy. Now she was four, same as Marianne, though she went to a different school.
"And she's very good," Lucas tipped his head to the girl, triggering a freckled and toothy smile from the little redhead that made her look a whole lot like her mother.
In due time, they left the archive, so they could go and see what would be for some of the kids their first, real, live horse. It was very easy to see which of them had or hadn't been around horses before. Those who hadn't would fall to one of two categories. Either they were very curious, or they were very uncertain. A few of them flat out hit the brakes, refusing to get much closer. One of the girls started to cry, and good, energetic Dylan was on the case, trying to cheer her up.
"It's okay, Harper, that's Turtle. He's a nice horse," Marianne went over to them. The Beaumont girl was not at her school either, but her mother was on Lucas' basketball team, so they were getting to know each other well.
It wasn't so easy to convince her, and she spent most of that first afternoon with one of the horses just standing back and watching from a 'safe' distance. Marianne stayed with her, because clearly, Harper needed help, and anyway she already knew Turtle. When the horse saw Marianne and looked about to come toward her, Harper let out a small cry of panic and hid behind the taller girl. Marianne took her hand from behind and held it, even as she reached the other up to Turtle's head. When she told him to go see the others, he casually marched off, and she turned back to Harper with a smile. The other girl smiled back, infinitely reassured by her presence.
When the time came for parents to start showing up to pick up their children, they were all gathered near the big tree, everyone talking animatedly about what they'd seen and done. Dylan and Zay stuck around for a while to see the kids off before finally heading home with Nicky and Mia. When June Abernathy's mother came to get her, the girl brought her over to see Lucas' boots, and everyone said hello and had a laugh. Then when Harper Beaumont's father came to get her, she told him all about how she'd seen a horse, but she hadn't gotten close, but he'd gotten close, but Marianne had talked to it, not her. Somehow, despite all this, she was very excited to return on Wednesday. The feeling was one they saw all around. One day done, and it had been a great one.
"Alright, just the three of us again, huh?" Lucas looked to Marianne and Winnie. "What'd you think? It was fun?" he asked them, and they both agreed that it had been really fun. They couldn't wait for Wednesday either.
"Daddy, I need my hat, and my boots," Marianne reminded him as he buckled her up in her seat.
"For Wednesday?" he asked, and she nodded. "Sounds good," he agreed. "Sheriff Annie out there to protect the Harpers of the world," he told her, leaning in to kiss her cheek as she laughed. She would like the sound of it, naturally. "You're going to have so many stories to tell your mom, huh?"
TO BE CONTINUED
See you tomorrow! - mooners
