Bill sat in the living room drinking the morning coffee Sergei had made for him. He was wearing a camel-colored flannel work shirt and dark blue denim pants and work boots – a major departure from his usual work attire. Mattlock wandered sleepily down the stairs rubbing his eyes.
"I thought you were going to get up early, son," Bill said with a smile.
"I wanted to," Mattlock said.
"You must have been worn out from all your adventures yesterday. Did you get enough sleep?" Bill asked.
Still rubbing his eyes and yawning, Mattlock said, "Uh-huh." He climbed onto the couch and sat next to Bill who put his arm around him.
"I wouldn't get too comfortable. Bo and Lamar will be here soon. You best get dressed and have something to eat. Breakfast is in the kitchen," Bill said.
"Okay, Daddy," Mattlock said through another yawn. He hopped off the couch and went into the kitchen. Sergei had prepared a breakfast casserole.
"Milk or juice, Mattlock?" Sergei asked.
"Juice," he said, and climbed into his booster seat to eat. Sergei put a plate of food and his juice in front of him. A few minutes later, Bo and Lamar came through the front door. Bo was wearing a cotton work shirt with a faded denim jacket and pants, and a leather cowboy hat. Lamar wore a straw cowboy hat with a red and black checked flannel shirt and denim overalls.
"Mr. Houston….We're ready when you are," Bo said.
"Have you had your breakfast yet?" Bill said.
"Well, now that you mention it, I haven't. You, Lamar?" Bo asked.
"I wouldn't call it 'breakfast.' Beulah's an awful cook," Lamar replied.
Bo laughed. "Yer right about that. I wouldn't even call it 'food.'"
"Feel free to get some food in the kitchen," Bill said.
"Thank you, kindly. I think I will," Bo said. Lamar nodded and they both went into the kitchen. "Mattlock, I thought you were going to help us find and chop down a tree this mornin'," Bo said.
"I am," Mattlock said.
"Well, why are you in your jammies, then?" Bo asked.
"I just got up," Mattlock said. The two men made their own plates of food and poured their own coffee and sat at the table with Mattlock.
"How long have we been up, Lamar?" Bo asked.
"Don't know. Don't wear a watch," Lamar said. "I know I've been up since it was dark." Mattlock chewed his breakfast, unimpressed.
"Me too. Must be nice to sleep in," Bo said, winking at Lamar.
"I wouldn't know anythin' about that," Lamar said.
"I know that when I was Mattlock's age, we had to get up in the dark, 'cause we was so poor, we couldn't afford the daylight," Bo said. Lamar laughed.
"You're teasin' me," Mattlock said.
"We are?" Bo asked with a mouthful of food.
Mattlock furrowed his brow, "Yes."
"Lamar, were you teasin' this little cowboy?" Bo asked.
"No, sir," Lamar said, shaking his head vigorously.
Mattlock harrumphed to himself and jumped off of his booster seat and walked back into the living room.
"What did we say?" Bo asked. The two men laughed and worked on finishing their breakfasts.
Mattlock walked through the living room. "I'm gonna get ready now, Daddy," he said.
"Okay, son," Bill said, sipping his coffee and reading his morning paper.
Mattlock ran up the stairs and into his bedroom. A few minutes later, he descended the stairs in some denim pants and a solid red flannel shirt and Bo and Lamar were sitting with Bill talking about the plans for the day.
"Ready to go?" Bill asked.
"Yep," Mattlock said with his hands in his pockets.
Lamar and Bo stood up. Bill said, "Let's go, then."
They all walked outside where a horse was hitched up to a wagon that contained rope, work gloves, and a chainsaw. The wagon was used for special project like this one, and for the occasional autumn hayride hosted by Bill on his property. Just as they walked outside, Cattle Annie Hickok pulled up in her latest model Cadillac convertible, and pushed herself up and sat on the back of the driver's seat.
"What are you boys doin' today?" she asked, wearing her latest Dale Evans-inspired getup.
"We're going to cut down a tree for our Christmas tree," Bill said.
"I don't know where you're going to find a suitable evergreen 'round here," Annie said.
"There's some pine trees in the forest behind the house," Bo said.
"Pine trees? Those are terrible trees for Christmas," she said.
"Land sakes, Bill. I think you're the only wealthy man I know that cuts down his own tree at Christmas. You can just buy one and get a spruce or somethin' better," she said.
"Thanks for the advice, Cattle Annie, but it's more fun this way – an activity we can do together," Bill defended.
"True, I guess," Annie said.
"This keeps Mattlock grounded as well. He'll learn that some things are better when they aren't bought," Bill said.
"Well, that's down right respectable," Annie said.
"I'm grounded, Daddy?" Mattlock asked with a frown.
"Not that kind of grounded, son," Bill replied.
Cattle Annie turned her attention to Mattlock. "Well, Mattlock, you have a good time today. You'll have to tell me about it the next time I see you."
"I will, Cattle Annie," Mattlock said.
She pointed her fingers like guns and made a clicking sound with her mouth, "See you soon, little one." She continued, "I guess I'll let you men get going."
"My brother and his family are coming in on Wednesday, Cattle Annie. They'll be staying for a week. Would you like to join us all for drinks one evening?" Bill asked.
"I'd be honored, Bill. Thanks for the invite," Annie said.
"I'll give you a ring or drop by," Bill said.
"Alright. You boys have a great time today, choppin' yourselves a tree," she replied.
Bill squeezed the top of Mattlock's shoulder. "Thanks. We will," Bill replied.
Cattle Annie sunk down into her seat again and pulled off, waving backward over her shoulder.
"I wanna ride up front!" Mattlock said.
"Well, I figgered you'd want to ride shotgun, Mattlock," Bo said, and lifted him onto the wagon bench. Mattlock sat against the wood back of the bench and sat straight up with his hands on his knees. Lamar and Bill crawled in the back of the wagon and Bo jumped up to drive the horse. He drove it around the mansion to the forest on the back side of the house. It was a fairly dense forest but the leaves had all fallen so there was some slight visibility – not as thick as it was in spring or summer. There was a well-worn path that snaked back into the woods about half a mile. Then, it gradually got more overgrown until the path ended altogether about a quarter of a mile after that.
Bo stopped the wagon almost near the edge of the Houston property. The men and Mattlock jumped out of the wagon. Bo wrapped the rope over his head across his chest, and put on his work gloves and handed gloves to the other two men. Lamar took the chainsaw and all of them began walking southwest through the flat landscape until they reached a small grove of Afghan pine trees hidden away in the mostly deciduous forest.
"How do you know which one to pick?" Mattlock asked anyone who'd answer.
"You wanna make sure that the tree is healthy," Bo said.
"Yeah. No bugs or bag worms or other critters," Lamar said.
"Then, you want to make sure the tree is a good, even, shape," Bill said.
"Make sure the limbs all face up and make good ornament holders," Lamar added.
"And that there aren't any holes or gaps in the tree," Bill said.
Mattlock listened intently to all the men explain the finer points of choosing a quality Christmas tree and their remembrances of that special tree they all recalled from their life histories. Then Bo and Lamar went their separate ways to evaluate the pines and Bill took Mattlock to look at the others. A few minutes later, Bill located one.
"What do you think of this one, Mattlock?" Bill asked.
Mattlock rubbed his chin pensively and looked the tree up and down and walked around it. He shook his head, "Let's look at the others, Daddy," he said.
"You don't like it?" Bill asked.
"No," Mattlock said.
"Okay," Bill said with a smile and the two walked through the trees looking for a better one. Bo and Lamar picked trees too and they were either too big or had gaps in the branches, or some other issue. Finally, Mattlock saw one that seemed perfect to him.
"How about this one?" He asked.
Bo evaluated the tree closely and said, "Well, Mattlock, I do believe you've picked a dern near perfect one."
"Sure has," Lamar said.
"What do you think, Daddy?" Mattlock asked with both hands on his hips.
"I think Bo and Lamar are right. I think this is the one," Bill said. "Good job, Mattlock."
"Alright, then. Let's get to cuttin'," Bo said as he slipped on his work gloves. He began by trimming some of the bottom limbs clear of the trunk with the chainsaw. Lamar removed the limbs and tree debris after Bo finished. The tree was about ten feet tall – a perfect fit for the high ceilings at the Houston mansion. Lamar tied the rope around the trunk as high as he could reach and pulled back on it.
"Okay, Mattlock. You better back up now with your Daddy," Bo said.
"C'mon Mattlock," Bill said with his hand on Mattlock's back and moved him away from the tree.
Bo took the chainsaw and notched the bottom of the tree trunk and Lamar pulled back gently on the rope – standing clear from the eminent fall of the tree. Bo cut a little deeper and Lamar pulled a little harder until the tree slowly descended to the ground. Once there, Bo finished cutting the trunk.
Then, Bo and Lamar wrapped the rope tautly around the tree so the branches would be protected and it would be easier to carry. Then the three grown man carried the tree on their shoulders while Mattlock walked through the dry leaves and pine needles nearby. They made it back to the wagon and placed the tree in it. Mattlock got in the back of the wagon with Bill on the way back, while Lamar rode up front with Bo.
When they arrived back at the mansion, Mattlock and Bill went inside. Sergei had put out the tree stand, skirt, and decorations.
"Sergei?" Bill called.
Sergei came out of the kitchen, "Yes, Bill," he said.
"Thanks for getting all the Christmas decorations out. Were you able to get everything you needed at the store?" Bill asked.
"Oh, yes. Plenty," Sergei confirmed.
"Great. The boys are outside unloading the tree and I'll have them set it up and we'll decorate it together," Bill replied.
"Good. I'm looking forward to it," Sergei said.
Just then, Bo and Lamar carried the tree in through the front door. They laid the tree on the ground and Bill handed Bo the stand, and he put it on the bottom of the trunk and twisted the screws into place.
"Where do you want the tree?" Bo asked.
Bill gestured the large front window, and said, "Right in front of that window."
Bo and Lamar carried it over and lifted it into place in front of the window and then they worked together to make minor adjustments to the stand.
"How's that?" Bo asked.
"What do you think, Mattlock?" Bill asked, looking at Mattlock.
He stood there for a second or two, put his hands on his hips and made the "OK" sign with his fingers and said, "Looks good," and smiled.
Bo and Lamar took their gloves off and stuffed them in their back pockets. "Okay. Well, Lamar and I are going to take the horse and wagon back to the barn, then," Bo said.
"You have a fun time decoratin', Mattlock," Lamar said as he patted him on the head.
"Thanks, boys," Bill said.
"You're welcome, Mr. Houston," Lamar said as he tipped his hat.
"I hope you'll be able to join us one night while the family is here," Bill said.
"Well, I expect I might could do that. You, Lamar?" Bo asked.
"Depends on what the wife has planned," Lamar said.
"I hear ya loud and clear, Lamar. I wouldn't want to cross her myself," Bo said, smiling at Bill.
"Have a good day, boys," Bill said.
"Thank ya kindly," Bo said, tipping his hat, and both of the ranch hands left to return the horse and wagon, and work on some daily chores.
Sergei made Bill and Mattlock lunch, which they ate, and afterward, they went to work decorating the tree. There were mostly commercially made ornaments and a few handmade ornaments from Bill and Rebecca's individual family histories, as well as some handmade ornaments Rebecca had made herself. There was a box full of multi-colored Christmas lights that Bill set Mattlock to detangling. Mattlock sat on the floor working on his daunting project while Bill kneeled over an ornament box, fishing ornaments out. Every few moments, he would hold up an ornament, inspect it, and smile to himself. Eventually, he came to one and stood up and sat down on the couch with the ornament in his hand, looking wistfully at it. Mattlock was having no luck with the lights and had gotten them more tangled then when he had begun. He looked up at Bill.
"Daddy, I can't fix the lights," he said.
"Don't worry about it. Come up here and sit next to me for a minute," Bill said. Mattlock shook his feet loose from the tangled mess and climbed up on the couch next to Bill.
Bill was holding a homemade ornament with a black and white picture of him and Rebecca who was holding Mattlock as small child. They were wearing their Sunday best outdoors. The photo was carefully placed in a small gold frame and there was a hook affixed to the back of it.
"That's Momma," Mattlock said, having only pictures to go by, and no memory of his mother.
"Yes it is," Bill said. "It was a beautiful day that day. You were almost two years old. Your momma had already gotten sick, but was feeling very good that day, and Cattle Annie snapped the photo."
"Did Momma love me?" Mattlock asked.
"That's a strange question. Can't you tell by the photo that she did? She's smiling ear to ear and holding on for dear life," Bill said showing the picture to Mattlock.
"I wish I remembered her," Mattlock said.
"Me too. She was a good person and a lot of fun," Bill said. Mattlock took the ornament and jumped off the couch and walked over to the tree.
"Let's put it right here, so it's the first one people see," Mattlock said with pride.
"That's a great idea, son," Bill affirmed.
After a few hours of detangling the lights and decorating the tree, the Houston men did what they usually did on a Saturday. Bill read a lot, stopping occasionally to play with Mattlock. Mattlock spent his day playing inside and out and managed to get in another horse ride with Bo and Lamar. They had dinner with Sergei and watched a little television, and finally, Bill tucked Mattlock into bed.