Fathers and Sons Chapter Twelve: New Beginnings
Fightin' the comancheros wuz a heckuva lot easier than these last coupla months at the Chaparral, Buck thought. John's about running ever'one ragged gittin' ready for this spring drive to Kansas an' it ain't no fun. Men are tired an' mean. Buck had mostly started eating in the bunkhouse since Victoria'd been gettin' 'bout as het up as John and mealtimes weren't exactly relaxing.
Preferring his sister's cooking to the bunkhouse fare, Mano so far had not deserted her table...but he had thought of it, especially on such evenings as this one when John growled and Victoria snapped. Ay yi yi, hermanita mía, you have the voice of a clanging cymbal and it is most unwelcome, he thought.
He knew she was worried. John's haggard face spoke only of overwork which began at dawn and continued in the office long after sundown.
May I be put up against the firing wall and shot if I am ever so consumed by business, Mano thought. That would be kinder. Yet he knew some paperwork to be inevitable and he ensured that his new ledger, a Christmas gift from his sister and her husband two days before, was kept up to date.
He sat now at John's desk, fingering the leather with its embossed C-Bar-M brand on the cover and smiling at the memory.
"Manolito, this is just a small token of our appreciation for you, not just for your work, but for your presence here in our lives, my brother," Victoria had said when presenting him with a large package wrapped in brown paper. Her eyes and smile shone. John had looked on with a big grin. Mano had not known how to thank them. He regretted the insignificance of the items he had purchased as their gifts-tortoiseshell hair combs for Victoria, a bottle of brandy for John. Well, it had at least been a decent coñac...of course Mano knew he would drink it also.
"It is magnificent," he had said. And you are trying to domesticate me, he laughed to himself. But their gesture touched him beyond measure and he felt the warmth of their affection. He knew Victoria had always loved him, but John, too, treated him as family. Ay Juano, could you have ever guessed it would be so that day I stole your horse? He thought also of his father and wondered what Papá had done on Christmas. A grand feast for the servants and their families at which Papá presided usually occurred. Mamá had filled the home with her laughter and joy when she was alive.
"Mano, where is you at?"
"In here, Buck."
"Oh, I didn't know you spent time in this old office." Buck's eyebrows rose in surprise.
"One of us has to keep records, compadre, or we would never know where we were."
"An' John might take advantage, too!" Buck chuckled, knowing his brother would never dream of such a thing.
Mano laughed at the thought of John's taking advantage, especially as he felt they were the ones with the upper hand in recent months.
"Anyways, I come to tell you to git ready, we's goin' into Tucson."
"What? Why?"
"I decided we are due some fun. Now you remember fun, dontcha? That's where we don't do no work; we drink a little; we play us some cards and we spend some time with Polly and the gals for relaxay-shun!"
"I remember fun, Buck, but I did not know we had time to waste going into to Tucson at the moment."
"We do and we is, cuz I said so." Buck grabbed Mano and dragged him outside where he already had Rebel and Macadoo saddled and tied to the hitching rail.
"Does Big John know?" queried Mano.
"He soon find out," Buck muttered under his breath.
"Juy, juy - ayyyy - vamonos!" Mano kicked Macadoo into a lope.
Quicker than he thought possible, Mano found himself in El Toro Loco, sitting at a table with a drink in his hand, a girl on his knee, and the noise of a tinny piano in his ear. Life could be worse, he thought. Better to enjoy life than to be always anxious about it. An escape from responsibility for a moment at least.
The ride home late in the crisp moonlit night was quiet till Buck breached the silence. "What you figger ol' Roy is doin' right now?"
"Ah compadre, he is sitting by the barn door, gazing up at the stars so big in this cloudless, cool night sky and he is wishing for February to arrive sooner than it will, because he longs to be gazing at those same stars with his Teresa."
Buck chuckled, "I do believe you is right, amigo. Cos that's whut I'd be doin' too, if I had me a Teresa that is."
They both grew quiet, their minds drifting to the possibilities of Teresas of all forms, shapes, sizes, and ages.
Days melted into weeks. February arrived, time soon for the collection of the mares. Mano sat at the breakfast table savoring his coffee when John strode in from the kitchen, red-faced, with the air of a naughty schoolboy. What have you been up to, brother-in-law? thought Mano with a smile. Victoria, blushing, rushed in bearing a pot of fresh coffee.
"Más café, hermanito mío?"
"Sí, gracias."
"Ah, Mano, I picked up a letter for you from general delivery in Tucson yesterday. Sorry. I forgot to give it to you last night."
"That's okay, Juano, it is probably just from Ruiz. Another report about the mares."
"Uh, I don't think so. Have a look."
"Oh? This is from Vaquero, I think." Puzzled, Mano opened it taking out a sheet full of writing on both sides in a very small hand. "Ay yi yi! What is all this?"
Victoria and John both focused anxious eyes on Manolito as he started reading and breathed sighs of relief when his smile turned into a chuckle and then laughter.
"Manolito, are you not going to tell us what it is all about?" his sister enquired.
"Oh sí, hermanita mía, sí. It is wonderful news. The best news. Incredible news."
"Well, what is it?" John's strident voice demanded.
"As we have surmised, Roy is getting married this month."
"But this is not news, Manolo! This we already knew, did we not?" Victoria cried, annoyed with what she perceived as her brother's teasing.
"Sí, but he is getting married el día de San Valentín!"
"Oh, but that is so romantic!" chirped Victoria.
"Oh sí! But better than that, it is also the birthday of Teresa, and..."
"And what Mano? For goodness sakes, just tell us!" John exclaimed.
"It is also the adopted birthday of Roy himself. They are having two birthday parties and a wedding party all on the same day and they have named Buck and me as padrinos!" Mano announced.
"Oh, Manolito ! What an honor!"
"Buck, a padrino!" Mano dissolved into helpless laughter.
At that moment, a dusty Buck marched in from outside. "What's all this commotion?"
Mano could not speak but just pointed at Buck and collapsed into fits of laughter again. Victoria tried, but she was unable to open her mouth while biting the inside of her cheek. John looked at Buck and at Mano, and a loud guffaw burst from his mouth.
"What's goin' on?" Buck's eyebrows furrowed.
It was several minutes before Mano could bring himself to speak. When he told Buck that he had been chosen to be a padrino, Buck's eyes grew wide and his jaw dropped. The quizzical look set Mano off again.
"What's a padreeenoh?" Buck asked, elongating the vowels of the strange new word.
"Oh Buck, it is an honor to be chosen," Victoria explained. "The bride or the bridegroom can ask for a special person to be in their life, as a father figure...a little bit like a godparent at a baptism."
"Oh."
"It seems that Roy or perhaps Teresa has chosen you and Manolito to be padrinos for them at their wedding."
"Oh. You mean we got to attend the wedding and be oh-fishul like?"
"Yeah Buck, and you'll have to wear a clean shirt, too!" roared John.
"Huh?"
Jes' keep laughin', you three, Buck thought as he plunked himself down at the table, grabbed the bread knife and sawed off a couple of hunks from the loaf. He slathered these with butter and reached for the six thick slices of bacon remaining on the platter. He smashed the bacon between the hunks of bread, picked up the sandwich and took a big bite. "Mmmm, now this is good," Buck announced, chewing. "Padreeenos, huh? Well, ain't that nice?" The other three burst into laughter again.
"Manolito, what will you do about gifts for Roy and Teresa?" Victoria asked at dinner that evening.
"What you mean gifts, Victoria?" Buck looked up.
"Well, Buck, as a padrino it is your job to give an expensive gift to the bride on behalf of the bridegroom, and you must contribute to the cost of the wedding. And you also must give the thirteen gold coins to the bridegroom so he can present them to the bride on their wedding day. And then there is the lazo to be thought of as well."
"Whoa, hold on there, Victoria, what do you mean? Mano and me, we gotta spend all this money and fix stuff up for the weddin'?"
"Sí, amigo, it is our, cómo se dice, privilege to do these things for the young couple."
"But Mano, I ain't got no money, well not much anyways, an' I don't really know Roy. I mean not like you do."
"Buck, it is all right, compadre. I do not need your money for this, but your help with the other responsibilities would be welcome."
"Huh? But Mano you don't got money either, do you?"
"Sí, Buck, I do. Remember the money from my father for that, eh, rainy day? I have never spent it, hombre. I have enough. Do not worry."
"But Mano I do. Worry, I mean. I ain't never done nothin' like this at a weddin' before."
"Oh Buck, I will help you, if you want me to," Victoria offered, sensing his growing discomfort. "You don't have to do it all alone, you know." Her smile was warm.
"Thank you, ma'am, I'm obliged, I purely am, but jes' what do I got to do?"
"Buck, Vaquero has written everything down. Let's take our coffee into the office, sit down and work out exactamente what is required, yes?"
"Okay, Mano, if you say so."
The two picked up their coffee cups and walked into the office, closing the door behind them. Victoria looked amazed; John, amused.
Years later they would all remember this day, just before spring, as one heralding changes none of them expected. But for now there was much work to be done.
The morning of February 9 dawned clear, bright, and cool. Desert temperatures were rising but had not yet relieved Mano of his warm suede jacket. Buck wore a topcoat over his trademark black. They finished an early breakfast and prepared to say their goodbyes.
Victoria had packed their saddle bags with every possible necessity. Joe led a mule loaded with gifts and trinkets for the guests that she had insisted they must take. Included in the packages was a white embroidered wedding shirt for Roy that she had sewn. She would have liked to have embellished it further but time was short. She hoped the size would be right; Sam had balked at more than a few fittings. "Miz Cannon, I have a lot to do for Big John," he had insisted.
Pedro and Joe waited at the hitching rail while Sam entered the ranch house.
"Mano, Buck, everything's good to go."
"Adios, hermanita mía. I wish you could accompany us," Mano smiled, kissing her cheek.
"As do I, Manolito," Victoria returned the kiss. She loved weddings but there was too much to be done. John's contract with the army came due at the first of the next month. Somebody had to stay on the ranch. Besides, a buckboard would prove cumbersome on the return trip with the mares.
"Gracias, John, for allowing the boys to go along."
"We shore appreciate it, Brother John."
"Well, if those mares are as good as you say they are, you need some good men to see you get 'em back safe."
"Sí, es cierto and we are grateful. Hey, and gracias also for assigning Wind to look after Toronado in our absence."
"The boy volunteered. That's some mighty good horseflesh and we can't risk anything happening to him. He'll take good care of him."
"Thank you, Brother John."
"As for that mule, your father may just want to buy it, Mano. Or you can leave it with Vaquero."
"Seguro que sí," Mano replied, doubting very much his father would be interested in acquiring the animal.