The boys had one more day together before Will had to leave with his parents on Tuesday. They spent some more time with Bo and Lamar and Mattlock's new pony. Cattle Annie had a small saddle that she brought to the Houstons, and Bo and Lamar taught Mattlock how to saddle his pony. Cattle Annie warned Mattlock not to spoil her, and Bo and Lamar taught him how to tend her. Cattle Annie spent the day playing poker with Bill, Roy, and even dealt in novice Flo, teaching her the game. Sergei prepared the meals on this low-key day, and in the end, no punishments were meted out to Mattlock and Will for wandering off alone into the woods and not telling anyone.
Tuesday morning came and Will and Mattlock were in his bedroom while Roy and Flo packed up their car to head back to Tucson.
"It was nice catching up, Roy," Bill said. "And nice to finally meet you, Flo."
"Let's make a point to see each other more regularly," Roy said. "At least summers and holidays."
"I'd love to," Bill said.
"Mattlock is a special boy," Roy said.
"So is Will. He's a little more sensitive than Mattlock, and the world needs more sensitive people. I'm glad I finally got to meet my nephew too," Bill said.
"He actually reminds me a lot of you," Roy said. "How you were when you were his age."
Bill smiled.
"Bill, I meant to tell you something the other day," Flo said.
"Oh?" Bill replied.
"Yes. Mattlock wanted to buy his friend a present from the gift store at the museum and I helped him pick out something he thought she would like. He had some of his allowance money, but was a couple of dollars short so I made up the difference."
"That was nice of you. I could have done that, though," Bill said.
"That's alright. I loved helping him out," Flo said. "It made him very happy."
"Well, thank you, Flo," Bill said.
"It's the least I could do for such a gracious host," Flo replied.
"Yes, Bill. It's been wonderful. I'm really going to miss you and Mattlock," Roy said, as he reached out and hugged Bill.
"We better get going," Roy said. "We've got a long drive ahead of us." He walked back to the house and opened the door and shouted for Will. "Will, we have to get going!" About a minute later, Will emerged from the mansion with Mattlock.
The boys walked over with Roy to the car.
"Maybe we can get together this summer, Daddy," Mattlock said to Bill.
"Maybe so, son. We're going to try," Bill replied.
"I had fun," Mattlock said to Will. Each boy paused and shuffled their feet a little and Mattlock finally grabbed Will and hugged him tight.
The adults smiled at each other.
"Okay, son. Better get in the car. We've got to be going," Roy said.
"Bye Mattlock," Will said to his cousin.
"Bye," Mattlock said with a frown. Will climbed in the backseat of the car as Roy held the door, and Roy closed it behind him. Roy and Flo hugged Bill and Mattlock one more time and got in the car. They all waved as they left and finally drove out of view.
Will ended up visiting the summer of 1956. In the fall of 1956, Roy took a job with The Company in Budapest from October 23 – November 4. Bill kept close tabs on Flo and Will via nightly phone calls during that period, but Roy never said what he was doing overseas.
After Roy and his family left, Bill said, "So son, Flo tells me you bought C.J. a gift."
"Am I in trouble?" Mattlock replied with a worried expression on his face.
"No," Bill said. "I was just wondering what you got her. Your aunt said you got her something at the museum."
"I can show you," Mattlock replied as he took Bill's hand.
"I'd love to see it," Bill said.
The two went inside and it was Bill's last day off before he had to go back to work, so he sat down with some coffee and the daily paper while Mattlock went to get the present he had gotten for C.J. He came back down the stairs with it. He climbed onto the couch next to Bill and handed him the gift.
"Marc Chagall: His Life and Work by Isaac Kloomok?" Bill said and he leafed through the book.
"Yep," Mattlock said.
"This is a big book for a kindergartner," Bill said.
"C.J.'s smart. I bet she can read all the words," Mattlock said.
"What made you pick this one for her?" Bill asked.
"The pictures look fun. I wish they were in color. There was one in the museum on the wall that was in color and I liked it," Mattlock replied.
"These paintings do have a certain amount of light-heartedness. I must agree," Bill said.
"Even if she can't read the whole book, her momma and daddy could read it with her and they might enjoy it too," Mattlock said.
"Says here in the foreword, that this artist is Jewish. Was that a reason for your choice?" Bill asked.
"I just told Aunt Flo everything I knew about C.J. That she was smart, funny, strong, likes to color, what her momma and daddy do, and that she and her momma are Jewish. Aunt Flo showed me this book and I liked the pictures, so I picked it," Mattlock said.
"I see. Well, he looks like a very interesting artist. I think it's an excellent choice," Bill replied as he squeezed Mattlock closer to him. "I think she'll love it."
"I think she will too," Mattlock said, smiling at the book on his lap.
"Would you like help wrapping it or would you like to handle that yourself?" Bill asked.
"I think I can do it," Mattlock said confidently.
"I meant to tell you that I'm hoping to have C.J.'s daddy out here this coming Saturday on a legal consultation. And I was going to have him bring C.J. if he can, and if she wants to come. Would you like that?"
"Oh yes!" Mattlock said.
"Well, don't get your hopes up just yet. I haven't asked Roger yet, and he may be busy. You may have to wait until school starts to give C.J. her present," Bill explained.
"That's alright," Mattlock replied.
That night, Bill called Roger and he said he was available that coming Saturday and said that he'd bring C.J. Cynthia was working at the hospital since it was New Year's Eve day and would be working through the night, and Julia's family was going to still be out of town for the holidays. Wednesday through Friday, Mattlock played with his new toys and got acquainted with his new pony and even rode her a few times.
Roger and C.J. arrived just after lunch on Saturday. They pulled up the driveway and parked and walked up to the front door of the Houston mansion. Roger visually explored the large building and whistled to himself.
"Why'd you whistle, Daddy?" C.J. asked.
"It's a big place, isn't it?" Roger said.
"Very big," she concurred as she looked around.
Roger knocked on the door and Bill answered. "Hi Roger. Was it hard to find the place?" Bill asked.
"Not at all," Roger said.
Bill turned to C.J. "And how are you, C.J.?" he asked.
"I'm fine, Mr. Houston," she said in a mature tone. She wore her hair in a single ponytail with bangs and wore her jeans, saddle shoes, and a turquoise gingham shirt under a long-sleeved camel colored corduroy jacket.
Mattlock bounded by Bill and almost ran right into C.J. "Hiya C.J.!" he said excitedly.
"Hi," she said with a big smile.
"You have to come see what I got for Christmas," Mattlock said, taking her by the hand and heading toward the barn.
"Son, slow down," Bill shouted after him. "Don't drag C.J. around like that." But C.J. kept up just fine, leaving Bill and Roger together to talk business.
Once they arrived at the barn, it was immediately evident what Mattlock was going to show her. "You got a pony for Christmas?" she asked with enthusiasm. She ran up to the pony and started petting her mane immediately. "Oh, she's so pretty!"
"I think I'm going to name her 'Miss Kitty' after Miss Kitty on Gunsmoke," Mattlock said.
"A pony named 'Kitty?'" C.J. replied and then laughed. "That's funny!"
Mattlock laughed too.
"Did you have fun with your cousin?" C.J. asked while she was petting the pony.
"We had SO much fun," Mattlock replied. "We played in my tree house and rode horses and played with our Christmas presents. We got lost in the woods after dark and almost got in trouble."
"Was it scary?" C.J. asked with her eyes wide open.
"A little. Just before they found us," Mattlock said. He puffed out his chest. "Will was scared and I kept him calm."
She looked at him askance. "My momma would have been worried if I went missing. My daddy too," C.J. said.
"Everyone was worried, but we weren't gone long."
Bo and Lamar walked up to Mattlock and C.J. Bo leaned on the railing in the pony's stall and pushed back his hat. Lamar stood there with his hands in his pockets.
"Well, hey, Mattlock. Are you going to introduce us to your friend?" Bo asked.
"This is C.J." Mattlock replied.
"Well, hi C.J. I'm Bo. Are you the one that knocked Mattlock on his hind end not too long ago?"
"Yes," she said with a big smile and put her hands in her pockets.
"Well, I like your style, girl," Bo replied.
"I sure wish I would have been there to see that," Lamar said with a laugh.
"Bo, Lamar….you're embarrassing me," Mattlock said.
"Ohhhhh….Did you hear that, Lamar? We better leave these two alone," Bo said to Lamar with a wink.
"Okay. Let us know if you want to take the pony out for a ride. We'll be over on the other side of the barn," Lamar said, rubbing Mattlock on the head.
Mattlock straightened his hair as the two men walked away. "What have you been doing?" Mattlock asked C.J.
"I went to Gramma and Grampa's for Christmas," she said.
"What did you get?" Mattlock asked.
She hesitated before answering. "Can I tell you a secret?"
"Sure," he replied.
"I don't like what Gramma picks out for me," she said.
He leaned against the pony's stall and listened intently.
"She gets me dolls and lots of girlie toys. Some of that is okay, but I don't like all of my presents like that," she said.
"What do you like?" Mattlock asked.
"I like coloring, drawing, painting, and writing stories. I like reading. I like playing outside. I don't want to be cooped up inside playing with dolls. I might want to play sports when I get bigger," she said.
"Have you told your gramma?" Mattlock asked.
"Momma has. She doesn't listen to her or Daddy," she replied.
"That's too bad," Mattlock said. "Hey, do you want to ride my pony?" he asked, changing the subject.
"Miss Kitty?" she said, laughing again.
"Yep," he replied.
"Yes!" she exclaimed.
"Bo!" Mattlock yelled.
Bo walked over to the two children. "Are you ready to take this 'horse' out for a ride?" Bo asked.
"Yep," Mattlock said.
"Well, let's teach C.J. how to saddle up this pony," Bo replied. "What do you think, C.J.?"
"Sure!" she exclaimed.
Bo demonstrated and C.J. watched, and then he took the saddle off again and let C.J. try her hand at it. She mastered it right away.
"Well, girl… good job. Got it on the first try," Bo said.
"Mattlock, are you gonna drive this pony?" Bo asked.
"Yep!" Mattlock said as he climbed in the saddle.
"Okay, girl," Bo said as he lifted C.J. before she could say anything. Mattlock scooted forward in the saddle. "There ya go," Bo said as he placed her behind Mattlock on the pony.
"Now, you better hold onto Mattlock. This pony's gentle, but sometimes she springs forward fast," Bo said.
C.J. put her arms around Mattlock's waist.
"Hey Lamar, you need to come over here and look at this," Bo yelled with a smile.
Lamar walked over from another side of the barn. He pushed his hat back and smiled and said, "Well, would you look at that?"
"Lamar, it's times like this I wish I had a camera. This is just about as picture perfect as it gets," Bo said with a smile.
"Can we go now?" Mattlock asked impatiently.
"Sure," Bo said. "Now don't you wander off like you did the other day. I'd like to keep my job. Make sure you just ride around the yard and barn, okay?"
"Okay," Mattlock said.
The two rode Mattlock's pony for a while, talking about what they did on their holidays and wishing they had more time before they had to go back to school. Bo and Lamar watched them as they worked on cutting fence posts outside the barn – never letting them out of their sights. After about an hour of riding, Mattlock brought them back to the barn and they put Miss Kitty in her stall.
"I got you a present," Mattlock said.
"You did?" C.J. said. "I didn't get you anything."
"You didn't have to. I thought about how you said you give gifts on Hanukah and I wanted to give you one," Mattlock said. "It's in the house."
The two walked up to the house and went inside. Roger and Bill were talking in the living room. "Hello, Mattlock. I didn't get to say hello to you earlier….You were in such a hurry."
"Hi Mr. Parsons," Mattlock replied. "I'm gonna go upstairs and get something." He left C.J. standing with the two men in the living room and ran right back down with a wrapped package in his hand.
"Sit here," he said, pointing to a chair in the living room while Roger and Bill looked on. She looked at him with a sideways glance and climbed up on the chair and sat down. Mattlock handed her the package. She looked at it and then looked at him and started unwrapping the haphazardly wrapped gift. When she revealed the gift, he leaned on the arm of the chair and said, "He's a painter. It's a book about his life," Mattlock said.
Reading the cover, she said, "I see that." She leafed through the pages and smiled.
Mattlock smiled when he saw her smile. "I wish you could see it in color," he said.
"I like it," she replied. "His paintings are pretty and make me happy and sad at the same time." She stopped on a page. "I like this one called The Three Candles. It doesn't need to be in color for me to like it," she said.
"It's weird, but I like it. I like this one," Mattlock replied as he leafed through the book and pointed to the painting, Paris Through the Window.
"C.J. does it look difficult to read to you?" Bill asked.
"I can read some of it. Momma or Daddy can read me the rest. Right, Daddy?" she said to Roger.
"You bet, baby," Roger said with a smile. "I think we'll all enjoy it. Her mother and I both like art too," Roger said to Bill.
"Mattlock's Aunt Flo is an artist. She helped him pick out the gift," Bill said. Roger nodded.
Mattlock and C.J. looked at her new book together, and then he showed C.J. all that he had gotten for Christmas and Bill and Roger continued their meeting until it's conclusion around 3 o'clock when Roger and C.J. got ready to leave.
"Thanks for coming over on a Saturday, Roger. I appreciate it," Bill said.
"I don't mind. C.J. really wanted to come over too and I'm glad they got to spend some time together. We'll have to do this again sometime," Roger said.
"Say goodbye to C.J., Mattlock," Bill said.
Mattlock frowned, but said, "Bye C.J. I guess I'll see you at school."
"You will," she said confidently and adjusted her ponytail. "I had fun on the pony ride and thanks for the present. I love it."
"You're welcome," Mattlock said. Bill and Roger smiled at the pair.
"Okay, baby. Let's go," Roger said.
"Nice seeing you again, C.J. Don't be a stranger," Bill said.
"Thanks, Mr. Houston," she replied.
Roger and C.J. left the house and got in the car and drove off. Bill walked with Mattlock back to the mansion and into the living room.
"Did you have a good time today, son?" Bill asked.
"Yes, Daddy, I did," Mattlock replied.
"I'm glad, son," Bill replied.
C.J. came over to the Houston mansion a few times, and eventually, Mattlock and her were in the same first grade classroom and saw each other more and more.