February 10th, 1872
For one of the first times all winter, the sun had come out, the snow had melted, the muddy ground had dried up and it was a lovely day. It was uncharacteristically warm for February and everyone wanted to take advantage of the nice weather.
It had been almost a month since her birthday and Ariadne had gone out with Arthur to shoot several more times. She was actually getting pretty good. They had created a bull's-eye target and she was able to shoot the middle of the target almost as many times as he did. She knew it was sinful to lust after another woman's man the way she did, but she cherished their time shooting more than she should have. Every time Regina mentioned something about Ruth and Arthur, Ariadne wanted to cry… Or scream she wasn't sure which. They always saw each other; Roy, Ashley, Arthur and Ruth were inseparable. Just as they had always been.
"Arthur, come on, you can sacrifice one afternoon… It's too nice outside! Plus we won't be too far outside of town, we can let a few guys know where we'll be and they can ride out to get you if anything happens…"
Roy had come into the sheriff's office just after 10:30am and was trying to convince Arthur to close up and come on a picnic. In truth, Arthur didn't see a problem with going, it was Saturday, things had been quite all day and it really was a very nice day.
"So what's the catch… You seem awfully keen on having me at this picnic…" Arthur smiled as he looked at his friend. Roy was up to something.
"Well… Ashley can't come if it's just me and her… You know how her father is." Roy rolled his eyes in annoyance. It was almost comical how strict Ashley's father was, especially considering how proper and respectful Roy had always acted.
"Ok, fine. When are we leaving?" Arthur said with a laugh. Roy grinned and jumped out of his chair.
"Well, I'm going to go pick up the girls and then I'll head back into town and get you. I was thinking we could go out by the Parker's land. There is that nice little tree on that hill, you know which one?"
"Ya, of course." Arthur hadn't realized that it was going to be the four of them, a nice little double date. The spot that Roy was talking about was pretty close to the school which gave Arthur an idea, "You know, I should invite Ariadne, she's our age… I don't think she's really gotten to go out much."
Roy smiled a little and seemed to give Arthur a look but he nodded and agreed, "You go do that."
Arthur couldn't deny that a picnic was a great idea, and the food the ladies had brought looked delicious. Ariadne even convinced Regina to give them a pie she had just pulled out of the oven. God bless women and pie… He thought as his mouth was watering over the thought of the delicious dessert.
When they got to the spot below the tree, Roy jumped down and started to unhitch the horses. Arthur helped the ladies out of the wagon and together they all walked towards the blanket Ashley was putting down.
Ruth took Arthur's arm after he helped her down from the wagon. This was a common way for them to walk, together arm in arm, he had never really thought much into it before. But here, knowing Ariadne could see, he realized how uncomfortable it made him feel.
After they had eaten everyone sat around talking. Ariadne listened as Ashley spoke of the different families in town.
"Oh well Mr. Saito moved into town back in 1862. I remember because that was the year I broke my ankle. He came into town in his fancy suit and bought that house on Main Street by the bank in cash. I heard my parents talking about it. He made a fortune out West, in California, I imagine." Ashley was smiling as she saw she had everyone attention. Ruth looked at her friend and Ariadne knew she probably had heard this story a dozen times. The two of them knew everyone's business.
Ariadne was secretly glad that she was getting to hear the story. Even if it wasn't all the complete truth, she had always been curious about the Saito family. The kids always had such fine clothing and they lived in an extravagant house. Plus, this was not a town in which many Japanese people had settled. Aside from the Tanaka family, they were the only ones.
"He lived here for about a year before Amina came along. She was his mail-order bride from Japan. They got married and then a few years later had the twins. I don't know about you guys, but I wonder why he moved out here… I mean, do you think he's, I don't know... Hiding? What if he stole someone's gold or hid it from his claim partners or something?!" Ashley said. She loved that part. It was all such a romantic notion.
Run-away Japanese railroad worker strikes it big, hides the gold from his partners and steals away in the middle of the night to Wyoming… Where he settles down, then when he thinks he's safe, he sends for a wife and then the two of them fall in love and start a family.
"Honestly, Ashley do you really think Kentarou is the kind of man that would steal someone's gold?" Arthur asked as he stretched back on the blanket. He put his hand behind his head and laid down closing his eyes and enjoying the sunshine. Ariadne couldn't help but notice the way his arm muscles seemed to bulge out in his shirt when he rested that way. She quickly looked down at the blanket, playing with a loose string by her foot.
"Arthur, really. You don't know! It could have happened! What if someday men come into town trying to find him? And you… Mr. Sheriff, have to protect him!" Ashley said with a laugh.
"Well when that day comes, I'll make sure I don't go anywhere near you… Because I know the second you figure out what's going on I won't be able to get two paces further without you shouting 'I told you so!' in my ear!" He said with a laugh. Roy chuckled and turned so that Ashley could lean up against him. He wrapped his arm around her as she tilted her head against him. Ashley snuggled into his chest and sighed with sweet contentment. It had been such a perfect afternoon.
It had only taken about twenty minutes for the wind to pick up and the clouds to roll in. None of them had seen it coming but all of the sudden it was cold and windy. Wyoming was like that though. Arthur's father would always say, 'If you don't like the weather, wait five minutes and it will change.' That couldn't be more right…
"Guys, we'd better go back. It looks like we might get a storm today after all." Arthur said, standing up.
"Oh but Arthur," Ashley said, pouting "We've only been out here for a few hours… Let's stay just a bit more!" She looked over at Ruth and together they gave him a 'sad puppy dog' look.
"We could go to the school…" Ariadne spoke up, "Its close by and we could get out of the storm, if there is one."
He looked at all of the girls and decided that he couldn't win this argument. Smiling, he looked at Roy and rolled his eyes. Roy laughed and shrugged his shoulders so Arthur said, "Ok fine! Let's get everything back into the wagon."
They had gotten to the school about ten minutes before the rain hit. Of course it was so cold that it was more like sleet. Good thing they left when they did. Ariadne didn't feel like the girls really welcomed her into the group, so she had settled in a desk next to Arthur and Roy and was listening to them. Roy and Arthur had been arguing over the cost of building the new barn out at Ashley's farm.
"Well you cannot discount the value of labor," Ariadne stated, finally taking part in the conversation. "The value of anything has to be measured by not only by the price of the parts but also what it cost of the labor required to produce it."
Roy looked at her like she had just started speaking Japanese with Mr. Saito. Ariadne smiled and was about to try and explain her theory further when Arthur spoke up. "So you agree with Adam Smith?"
Ariadne snapped her head in his direction at his question. Had Arthur read Wealth of Nations? "Well of course I do. He lays a solid foundation for economic theory. If you look at the process of demand and supply or the value of labor in the market for goods, among dozens of others things, you really cannot refute what he says." She could feel her cheeks getting flushed as she defended her position. She only knew the basic theories of this philosophy, however she agreed with his logic.
Arthur smiled and looked at her with a renewed respect. She couldn't help but blush and smile back as his eyes never leave hers. She felt her stomach do a little flip and finally broke eye contact to turn her attention back to Roy. Maybe if she distracted herself with labor and consumerism she would be able to stop thinking about how Arthur had dimples in his cheeks when he smiled. She hated that she found him so attractive. It made things so difficult.
"Roy, think about it like this… What would you charge if I asked you to build a fence around the school yard? Would it be only the price of the wood?"
"Well no…" He looked up as he seemed to be trying to mentally calculate what he would charge her.
"Exactly, because your time is valuable. Say you could earn a dollar working at the hotel that day. Then the time for your labor would be worth a dollar. And so building that fence would have to cost at least the price of the wood plus one dollar. That way you were getting paid for your time. Does that make sense?" Ariadne hoped that she was getting better at teaching. She knew that this topic was above the level of study that she typically taught her students, but it fascinated her and she wanted him to understand it too.
"No I get it! It makes sense when you don't use such fancy terms." Roy smiled as Ariadne giggled. He stretched his arms up and arched his back and Ariadne looked back to Arthur to see that he was trying to hide a yawn. It had been a long day for everyone. Roy looked in Ashley's direction. She seemed to sense it because she stopped her conversation with Ruth and looked up at her man.
"Honey, I don't know what you guys are talking about. Ruth and I stopped listening a while ago" She said with a laugh. Ruth looked from Arthur to Ariadne and frowned. Ruth did not like Ariadne, that much was certain. It didn't seem to matter what Ariadne did, she felt like Ruth always looked at her like she was a rattlesnake, ready to bite at any minute. What did I ever to do her? Does she feel threatened by me? Am I really so transparent with Arthur that she can tell how I feel? She wondered.
"Hey guys, I'm really enjoying this conversation but I need to get back home. I have to be here tomorrow morning for school and I still need to prepare the lesson." Ariadne hoped that this would direct Ruth's attention away from her and towards leaving. Instead it had the opposite effect.
"Surely you don't expect to walk home by yourself," Arthur said looking at Ariadne.
"Well… It's not a long walk Arthur. I can manage. I do it every day." She said with a smile, distracted by his dimples again.
He had gotten up from his seat on top of one of the school desks and walked towards her, "Well that's every day. Not at night. Roy can take the girls home in the wagon and I will stay here till you're done. Besides Ruth and Ashley live outside of town and you and I both have to go the opposite direction."
Ariadne knew what he was doing. Ruth lived closer, so she would be dropped off first. That meant Roy and Ashley could have some time alone before she had to go home. Arthur was just being a good friend and helping his best friend spend time with the love of his life. It was sweet. Deep down Ariadne would barely admit that she wished his intentions were different. That he was staying so that he could spend time with her. Also she was certain he would have rather taken Ruth home… He is just a gentleman… Especially with the recent problems in town, he just wants to make sure I get home safe.
"I guess I shouldn't be surprised that you've read Wealth of Nations… " Arthur was playing with a piece of broken chalk on a little board. "You really do make a great teacher you know"
Ariadne blushed, again, for what seemed like the hundredth time tonight. "Thank you, Arthur. And you make a great artist." She said, teasing him as she came to look over his shoulder and saw the little drawing of a house.
"Yes, I'm going to be extremely famous. I'll let you keep this one free of charge though." He said, sounding an awful lot like Eames. His teasing was an unexpected but wonderful side of him that she hadn't really seen before.
"Well thank you kind sir," she replied with laughter in her voice. "I'm finished with my lesson, if you are ready to leave."
"Good. I wouldn't want to keep you out too late." Arthur said as he set down his chalk and board. Ariadne picked it up and moved it to her desk after he turned around. It was a darling picture and she intended to keep it. As she looked down at the cute little chalk house she couldn't help but imagine what it would be like to own a house; to have children and a husband to come home to every night.
She was a little sad at how eager Arthur seemed at the prospect of leaving. Ariadne loved spending time with him... It was so easy to pretend otherwise. Had he been overly friendly or flirtatious with Ruth by comparison to her? Ariadne tried to remember but it didn't seem like he had treated her any different than the other girls… He was so confusing, weren't they dating? Ariadne determined that he simply cared for her safety as a proper sheriff should.
With a sigh Ariadne blew out the last remaining candle and followed Arthur outside.
She really is perfect, Arthur thought. She is smart and funny and beautiful. Not to mention she is smart. In all the right ways, she could keep a conversation with him. Arthur had always enjoyed learning but never felt like his friends shared an equal enthusiasm for it. They all enjoyed school and none of them were stupid, of course. But everyone seemed fine to be done with learning once they left school at sixteen. Abigail was the only one with whom he felt equally matched. But here was someone who was probably smarter than he was.
The best part was seeing how passionate she was about it. When she had been explaining economic theory to Roy her eyes lit up and her movements were more animated. Typically people didn't get that excited about economics. But that's what made her a great teacher. He had had to suppress an urge to jump across the desks and kiss her right then.
His only problem now was the fact that it was much too late at night to be with her. He had seen firsthand the problems created when rumors started. How something so innocent as walking down the street with a man at the wrong time of day could be to a woman's reputation. And after what had happened with Abigail, Arthur couldn't let that happen with Ariadne. At least he had his profession to fall back on. As sheriff, he could justify the need to see her home safely, even late at night.
Sorry if they Econ part was boring! I wanted to bring back the fact that Arthur and Ariadne both like the same type of advanced learning that no one else really cares about. Thanks for reading!
I know Ariadne's reasoning for Arthur/Ruth's relationship if weak but girls do that kind of crap all the time! Every time she sees them talk or hang out, it's just another thing convincing her that they're together. But it will get addressed very soon! ;)