Johnny sat at a small, corner table in the saloon, a bottle of tequila in front of him, watching the entrance way. The saloon was like many others he had been in – a bar opposite the batwing doors, with a dirty mirror and glasses on a counter top – and no doubt a rifle underneath the bar in case of trouble. A couple of men – probably local ranchers - stood up at the bar, drinking, and about half of the dozen or so tables around the room were filled with men, mostly ranch hands, and some saloon girls, drinking and talking. A poker game had just begun in the corner. He had had one shot from his bottle of tequila, but was playing with the glass, trying to organize his thoughts. A saloon girl came up to him, her lipstick slightly smeared, but he just waved her away. Dios – what had he been thinking? He respected Polly – everything she was doing - putting her life together, taking care of Martha – and he had kissed her! He could not deny the attraction he felt for her, but still … and then he remembered the way her lips had responded and flushed slightly.
He thought of returning to Lancer – where things made sense - but realized that he would already miss Polly – the smile she got on her face when Martha chatted away about innocent things, the way she had looked in the light of the lamp the night they played cards, her sense of humour and the way she would laugh … Dios, he had to stop thinking like this. And what about Martha? He had to admit he had feelings for the girl. He had enjoyed – more than he would ever want to say – playing tea party and other games with her and having her help him fix the door. But nothing more could come of things. He needed to go back to Lancer and have things get back to normal.
Drinking another shot of tequila he joined the poker game in the corner, hoping it would distract him from the thoughts running through his head.
***** L ***** L *****
Johnny woke late again the next morning, with a slight headache from the night before. He remembered playing poker, although his concentration had been off. Another girl had approached him but he had shook his head at her. He had tried to focus on his cards, drinking his bottle of tequila. When the bottle was about half finished, he had returned to the hotel, noticing that the rain had finally stopped. It was definitely time to return home now – hopefully Barranca would be better and he could get things back on track. It did not matter if the trail was wet – he needed to get home.
Coming down the stairs, Sue looked at him carefully from the front desk. Without saying anything to her, he went into the kitchen, not sure what his reception would be. Polly was making bread and she looked up at him, surprise on her face. "Johnny" she began, at the same time he said "Polly" … and they both laughed at the sudden awkwardness between them. Before either of them could begin to speak, however, they heard a sharp cry from outside and Martha yell "dammit, Tommy Johnson, you give her back to me". Polly turned on her heel and walked quickly out the open back door, Johnny following closely behind.
They found Martha standing over a brown haired boy of about her size who was lying on the grass on the ground, his overalls and colourless shirt askew. They were playing a tug-of-war with Sally, Martha crying as she tried to get the doll away from him. Polly came right between the two, pulling the doll out of both their hands and demanding in a loud voice "what is goin' on here?". Both children looked at her with guilt in their eyes, and the boy brought himself up to a sitting position. "Tommy Johnson, you know you are not supposed to be in our yard. What are you doin' here? And Martha, why is he on the ground?" Polly turned an angry face to both children, and Johnny stayed on the small porch outside the back door, watching the scene.
Martha looked at Polly and said in a quiet voice, obviously knowing what her mother was thinking, "I didn't hit him, Mama". "Well then, why is he on the ground, young lady?" her mother asked sharply. Martha continued to look at the ground, squirming, and answered in an even quieter voice, "I stepped on his foot and then kicked him". A small laugh escaped Johnny. Polly looked over at him with a glare and Johnny tried to bring his face back to neutral as he continued to listen from the porch. Polly returned her gaze to the little girl and said "go to your room, please. We will need to have a long talk about language and proper behaviour for young ladies." "But Mama, he took Sally" the little girl declared, a slight whine to her voice. "Now young lady, and no sass", Polly said, pointing to the back door. "Yes ma'am", the little girl replied, turning and heading into the house after a smart swat to the backside from her mother. Johnny smiled down at the girl as she passed him, but she did not look up to notice.
Polly turned her attention to the boy sitting on the ground. He stood up and Polly looked down at him, her eyes narrowing. "Tommy", she said in a forceful voice, "after the last fight between you and Martha, you know you were not to come into our yard except with your mother or me. What are you doin' here?" The boy looked down at the ground, and Johnny felt his eyes narrow into a glare. What was that boy doing here then? Was he teasing Martha? When the boy did not speak, Polly continued "you go home now – and you better tell your mama that you were here. And if I catch you back here uninvited again, I'll deal with you myself." After that threat, the boy started to run out of the yard, speeding up after catching the glare Johnny gave him.
Polly took the two steps to the porch where Johnny stood, and, looking at Johnny and shaking her head, went into the kitchen. Johnny followed her, trying to think of what he would say. Polly placed the doll on the table and moved back to her bowl, taking the dough out and shaping it into loaves. Johnny watched the motion, her strong hands and how she shaped the bread, finding the movement of her hands oddly attractive. Suddenly, she shook her head and turned back to him saying "you need breakfast". Placing the last piece of dough into a loaf pan, she wiped her hands and headed into the store room, coming out with some eggs and cheese. "How about an omelet today, for somethin' different?" she said. After he nodded, she broke the eggs into a bowl, beating them lightly and then poured them into a pan she had heated up on the stove. She then proceeded to cut some cheese into small pieces. She brought a basket of biscuits, with butter and jam to the table, and then moved back to the stove where she flipped the eggs, scattering the diced cheese over top. She then slipped the eggs onto a plate, and grabbing some cutlery, brought everything to the table. Placing it in front of him, she got a cup and the pot of coffee and brought it over to him. "Sit with me?" he asked and she looked at him, hesitating and then nodding slightly. She poured walked to the stove and poured them both some coffee, returning to the table and sitting, saying "I cain't sit long – Martha's waitin'." Watching her blow on her coffee before taking a sip he asked "what's goin' on with that boy?"
"Listen, Johnny" she started, "it's been real nice havin' you here, talkin' to you about things, but, I need to watch what I have here. I'm sorry if … " and as he heard the words coming out of her mouth he could not help himself but he leaned over and kissed her again, gently but insistently. He felt her tense, but then like the night before she seemed to give in, kissing him back, and opening her mouth slightly.
Sue came into the kitchen, calling "Polly, what's goin' on with Martha? She's in her room, cryin'". When her eyes fixed on the two of them, Polly quickly pulled away from Johnny and looked at her friend guiltily. She got up from the table and said "I'll go talk to her", heading up the back stairs. Sue continued to look at Johnny, who picked up his fork and started on his breakfast. He could feel her continue to stare and then she turned and walked out of the room. Realizing that he had been holding his breath, he let it out in one big exhalation. He finished his breakfast and, after taking his plate to the sink, walked from the kitchen into the lobby where Sue was behind the desk, sorting mail. She looked up at him as he headed for the door and asked "Johnny?". When he turned and looked at the woman she seemed to hesitate before saying "see you for dinner tonight?". He looked at her closely and saw the shy smile that came across her mouth and replied "7:30".