Just like Mother's
A prequel to the Change of Life stories
It all started the Sunday before his birthday, at the Dodge City Community Church Sociable. Young Marshal Matt Dillon had talked saloon gal Kitty Russell into attending the outdoor celebration with him. In the two years since coming to town, she had avoided these religious affairs. Considering her line of work, she'd felt unwelcomed by the upstanding ladies of Dodge City, who often looked at her with eyes of scorn. Her friend Bessie Roniger had done much to promote her status within the community and it had been Mrs. Roniger's encouragement that had coaxed Kitty into accepting Matt's invitation.
The outdoor potluck, which followed morning service was a predictable affair. The children were busy with gunny sack races, tug of wars and the like. The matron ladies, having been up half the night preparing the food had flocked together and were fanning themselves and cackling amiably. The married gents were smoking cigars and carrying on about the crops and the price of seed and on occasion, when their wives weren't looking, passing around a jug filled with Homer Watkins special home-brew.
Tables had been set, laden with the tempting food. Each church matron had brought her own specialty, hoping her contribution would be the first to go, and not the last one left, at the end of the day, enjoyed only by the ever-present black flies and red ants. The most popular table was the one set up for desserts. The young unmarried girls used this opportunity to tempt any and all unmarried men. The bachelors; cowboy and city slickers alike, were all lined up at the table waiting for a piece of cake or pie and perhaps a little sugar from the pretty girls who had baked the sweet treats.
Matt had chosen a spot, under a maple tree, to spread out a wool blanket he'd snatched from a Dodge City jail cell. Young Dillon had gone to the table and returned to the shade of the tree to sit next to Miss Kitty. His plate was filled with all manner of desserts; chocolate cookies, angel food cake, sweet potato pie and some sort of indefinable spice apple cake. He must have taken a sample of every offering on the table. Kitty watched him in complete awe, she drew her knees up under her skirt, clasping them with her arms and asked. "You going to eat all that?"
He grinned, mouth full of cake, and said, "Well, I didn't want to hurt anyone's feelings."
A green tinged emotion tugged at her heartstrings. She glanced at the dessert girls in their demure white summer frocks, crisply ironed that morning by their proud mothers. Kitty glanced at her low-cut blue calico, not nearly as demure and certainly not crisp, for she had been on her own without a mother to care about her for years. Not for the first time Kitty Russell wished she had acquired a few domestic skills, it would have been nice, she mused to herself, to have him sampling a piece of her own sweet confections as well!
As she watched, Matt took a bite of the spice cake and said "Hey! This tastes just like the apple cake my mother used to make when I was a boy."
Little alarms went off in Kitty's head. He seldom talked about his childhood. Any glimpse into his youth came by bits and pieces. So this news was a major revelation, a cake that tasted just like the cake his mother used to make! Her face brightened at a sudden inspiration. What if she were to get the recipe and somehow learn how to bake a cake before Matt's birthday on Wednesday! It would be the perfect gift to show how much she cared. "Who made the cake?" she asked trying to sound off-hand
.
He thought a moment. "Susan Bart." He replied.
Susan Bart! Kitty's nemesis, her arch rival, her bitter enemy. Miss Susan had been trying to dig her female claws in Matt Dillon for the past two years. Susan, with her richest rancher in the territory father. Susan with her back east education. Susan with a closet full of the latest clothes in the finest fabric. Susan with her lily-white hands and perfect freckle free complexion. Oh, how Kitty hated that woman!
Kitty's blue eyes narrowed and her lips flattened to a straight line as she tried to contain her fuming. A wound still raw began to ache, there had been that month or so about a year back when Matt and Kitty had decided to cool their romance. It had been Matt's idea. He had felt that he had no right to keep Kitty in a relationship when he was unable to commit himself. He had boldly declared that it might be better if they saw other people, and tried being "just friends". Kitty had no desire to see anyone else, but she had agreed for she had no other option.
Matt had cooled it right over to Susan. For that month or so, Kitty had to stomach seeing Matt and Susan at the barn dance, Matt and Susan having dinner at Delmonico's, Matt and Susan taking buggy rides. The 'friendship' phase of their relationship had ended one hot and steamy summer night, when Matt came in the Long Branch, after a "date" with Susan. He had felt the "need" to be with Kitty growing over the past month, until it could no longer be denied. The two had exchanged a passionately longing look that had captured the attention of most of the Long Branch customers. They had taken a late night stroll, that hadn't ended until the early morning hours.
Oh! Kitty thought, Matt Dillon knew just how she felt about Susan Bart, and now here he was eating her cake, how thoughtless could one man be! This was just too much! The idea of jumping to her feet and marching off in a huff almost took control of common sense.
Matt beat her to the punch, for he had scrabbled to his feet before Kitty could think another mean thought. Dressed in dotted Swiss and eyelet lace, Susan Bart had sashayed over to the couple, "Hello Matt," Susan gushed in a sing-song voice, "I just wanted to know how you liked my apple cake? I made it especially for you. I remembered how much you liked it."
Matt removed his hat and nervously ran his fingers through his hair. "Hello Susan," Matt's grin was a little too wide, "I was telling Kitty here, that your apple cake tastes just like my mother's. It brought back a lot of memories."
"Oh, I am so happy to hear that." she looked up at Dillon, smiled her dimpled smile and literally batted her eyelashes at him. It was enough to make Kitty queasy.
"Won't you sit down and join us Susan." Matt asked.
"Sit on the ground? In this pretty frock? Oh, my no." She turned from Matt to look down at the saloon girl. "Perhaps if I were wearing calico like Kitty, I might."`
Kitty willed herself to maintain control. After all it wouldn't do to disrupt the church social with a cat fight. Instead she smiled, and said as sweetly as she could muster, "Yes, calico does have its advantages."
"Oh! " Susan continued, her full attention directed back at Matt, "I almost forgot, my father would like you to stop out at the ranch when you get the chance, he has something he needs to discuss with you."
"I'll do that Susan, do you think tomorrow will be soon enough?" Matt asked.
"Oh yes!" replied Susan, gushing again, "I'll see you then." She reached up on tiptoes and kissed Matt right on the cheek and then turned and walked away.
It was a walk designed to draw the attention of any male watching, and as Kitty observed, Matt was definitely watching. "Oh sit down Sunshine." Kitty grumbled.
Dillon obeyed. "What's wrong?" he asked innocently.
Apparently he really didn't know, and she supposed that was a good sign. She smiled and inched closer to him, "I just like sitting next to you." That served as explanation enough. Good thing too, because Kitty's active mind was already weaving the plan. Leaning back against the tree, she gave a small sigh. Matt eyed her cautiously, in their brief relationship he was aware her temper could erupt given proper provocation. He relaxed; she had smiled at him and now seemed the picture of calm and tranquility.
As fate would have it, Doc Adams and Chester Goode happened to stop by to pass the time of day with the young couple. This circumstance afforded Kitty the opportunity she was looking for. Doc and Matt were soon absorbed in deep conversation. Miss Russell beckoned with a finger to Goode, and when he leaned in close, she whispered her request to him, "Go up to the dessert table and bring me the biggest piece of Susan Bart's apple cake you can find, wrap it up in this." She produced a clean lace embroidered handkerchief.
This seemed a strange request, especially for a lady like Miss Kitty, who was never known to indulge in sweets, but Chester did as she asked and went to the dessert table to retrieve the cake. He returned with the filled hanky and Kitty stuffed it into the pocket of her cotton dress and went on pretending nothing was amiss. However, all she could think of was getting that piece of cake home before Matt discovered it in her pocket. A short time later she tugged at his shirtsleeve, "I've really enjoyed the church sociable but I've got a big day tomorrow, so I think I'm ready to go home." She announced.
He saw her to the front doors of the saloon and waited as she let herself inside. He felt a slight sense of disappointed at the abrupt end to their day together. Without giving the problem undue worry, he then returned to the office to resume his duties as U.S. Marshal.