CHAPTER 17
"Lucy!" her hands on her hips, Miss Smith stared at the little girl.
The girl hid behind Enos' legs, just her little hands visible in her grabbing her savior.
Enos rested the chickens into Clara's arms, he turned to the little girl freeing himself from her grasp, he bent forward and he took her in his arms, "Don't scold her, Miss Smith. I guess Lucy didn't want to open the hen-house on purpose," he looked at the little girl in his arms, "did you, Lucy?"
Lucy wrinkled her lips and buried her face against Enos' chest.
Miss Smith had a deep sigh and started to help Clara and the children with the chickens, and Daisy too, after looking tenderly at Enos and the little girl in his arms, joined the 'chicken rescue'.
The chickens finally safe and sound in their hen-house, Miss Smith entered the kitchen followed by Enos and Daisy.
Daisy looked at Lucy and smiled: the little girl was still burying her face against Enos' chest, her hands grabbing his shirt.
"Lucy! No pudding for you after dinner": Miss Smith's sentence.
Lucy simply glanced at Miss Smith and she buried again her face against Enos' chest, just a muffled "I don't like pudding" from her, and Daisy held back a laugh.
Miss Smith rolled her eyes in exasperation and had a deep breath.
"Lucy," Enos gently put Lucy down, "apologize to Miss Smith and promise you won't open the hen-house any more; do you want chickens get hurt? You know, if you open their house they get confused and they can run in the street. You know 'bout cars, streets and safety, don't you?" short appendix of his lesson about road safety.
Lucy folded her arms around her chest, her worried face down as she muttered a quick "Sorry Miss Smith."
"Ok, but it doesn't change you aren't goin' to have pudding after dinner, Lucy," Miss Smith folded her arms, mirroring Lucy's position, "and now, go out with Miss Clara."
Lucy walked outside, her arms still folded and her head down showing her offended pride, and Miss Smith's eyes followed her until the little girl sat down with the other children in their circle around Clara while the young woman tried to cool down their previous excitement with a story about fairies and other fantastic creatures.
"She isn't a bad girl, but sometimes she's too much lively, and stubborn. A tomboy, stubborn like a mule," Miss Smith shook her head and walked to the stove.
Enos glanced at Daisy with a smile, a knowing smile saying more than thousands words, in his mind another lively tomboy with long pigtails; remembering the day they talked of her nightmare about losing people she loved, a talk leading to Boss' fake funeral, to Coy and Vance and finally to Enos' teasing her about the two-paws-mules at the farm (being her a two-paws-mule, at Enos' eyes), Daisy gently punched Enos' arm.
Miss Smith caught that brief exchange of looks and Daisy's gesture, verbalizing Enos' thoughts, "And you too were a stubborn tomboy, Daisy. You should remember how many times uncle Jesse and aunt Lavinia spanked you 'cause of your pranks."
"I can't reckon it," Daisy folded her arms and looked down as a scolded child, her figure somehow superimposing on Lucy's previous figure.
"A stubborn but lovable tomboy," Enos looked at her, his eyes wide open, his eyebrows raised and his smile dreamy and sweet.
Daisy grinned and pinched his cheek, "Oh Enos," laughing at his blushing. She was used to his adoring way to look at her and to his candid compliments, used but anyway flattered and moved every time he showed her that pure affection, even more now, after their relationship's change: in L.A. their relationship turned into something real, physical and earthly, so that ethereal and candid adoration stirred her heart and filled it with joy. Enos kept on looking at her as a goddess, though he now knew her in the most earthly way, and it amazed her.
Miss Smith smiled sweetly and turned again to the stove, "I still remember when you found Lucy," she glanced at Enos, "in front of the Police Department, in a small basket, and when you brought that small baby here. It was few before you went to L.A."
"I can't forget it. Someone abandoned her in front of the Police Department; when I saw that basket in front of the door, early in the morning, the last thing I thought was to find a baby."
"You found her and it's like if Lucy somehow feels it. That girl is always so happy when you come to the orphanage. She always talks about you: Enos here… Enos there…" Miss Smith burst out laughing, "your youngest suitor."
Enos scratched his nape and smiled shyly, "I don't think she remembers I found her. Beside, I left Hazzard few after, and I saw her just after my coming back."
"It doesn't change the fact that girl has a sort of crush on you," Miss Smith winked at him, "you are the only one she obeys."
Enos shrugged, "Not just me, but uncle Jesse too."
"Oh, Jesse is Jesse. Everybody obeys Jesse Duke… except J.D. Hogg," Miss Smith looked at Daisy, her smile mirroring Daisy's one, "your uncle has always helped me with the children, and your aunt Lavinia helped too. And now it's your and your cousins' turn." Everybody in Hazzard knew how much the Dukes were fond of the little orphanage, and it wasn't a secret that the most part of the money the Dukes gained from various bounties was used for benefit, especially benefit to the orphanage.
And not just the money the Dukes gained from bounties: Miss Smith moved her eyes from Daisy to Enos, "I risked to lose the orphanage, some years ago, but thank to you I managed to save it. You were in L.A., at that time, and I was so surprised when I had that money from you, Enos. I'm happy this orphanage has friends like you," she smiled both to Enos and Daisy.
Enos shrugged and smiled, unused to any form of compliment, parrying behind his usual shyness, "I was in L.A., yeah, but Daisy warned me by letter 'bout what's goin' on, and I simply did the right thing to do."
Daisy recalled their letters, monthly letters during the whole time he stayed in L.A., no month left despite her sparse crushes along that time, letters she still cherished in a box hidden in one of her bedrooms' drawers. At that time she didn't know why she kept so scrupulously his letters, re-reading them from time to time, understanding the real meaning of her cherishing those letters some time after Enos' coming back.
She recalled the painful letter he sent her about an arrested robber claiming him to have pocketed the money of the robbery, and about his colleagues' doubts, since everybody knew he needed $5,000 for the Hazzard County's orphanage: Daisy knew how much that kind of false charge could hurt him, a charge totally against his honest nature, an offensive and ravaging charge.
She recalled how that letter helped her, beside uncle Jesse's support, to wash finally away the pain for her broken love affair with Jamie Lee Hogg; thanks to Enos' letter she realized what Jamie Lee lacked and what she was longing for: she needed an honest man to be proud of, though at that time she still thought of Enos more like a close friend, and, in effect, after washing away the idea of Jamie Lee, she started again to fell for charmers, hoping to find that honest man she was longing for (not realizing she's already found him).
Her thinking of that letter paralleled his thoughts; Daisy turned to Enos and stared at him, his head down and his eyes lost in a distant image, the image of his time in L.A. and probably of how Turk helped him to prove his innocence against that robber's charge.
"I have to go back to work, Miss Smith, sorry" his voice low and his eyes still lost when he walked outside the kitchen.
Miss Smith caught the distress in his voice, and probably the reason of that distress too, regretting her words about that money (and so about L.A.), and she looked at Daisy who simply nodded and walked after Enos.
"Enos!" Daisy's voice stopped him as he walked to his patrol car, parked in front of the orphanage and so at the opposite side of the kitchen, "Enos, stop!"
Enos turned to her, "I have to go, now."
She walked closer him, "OK, but don't try to hide what's goin' on in your mind," she rested her hands on his waist, "I guess you're thinking of your time in L.A., when you sent that money to Miss Smith, and so… you're thinking of Turk too."
Enos averted his eyes from her but he didn't move, a sad smile on his face, "it seems you know me pretty well, Daisy Duke."
"Yeah, I know you pretty well, Enos Strate. And I want you rely on me, instead of running away."
He slowly looked at her, "You're right 'bout Turk. I was there, in Miss Smith's kitchen, and all in a sudden her words recalled me that money and so what happened in L.A. and how Turk helped me. It was like a slap, I couldn't breath, so I came out the kitchen," he had a deep sigh and he sat down, his back against the building's wall.
Daisy knelt down by his side, her hands moving from his waist to his nape.
He complied with her hands and he rested his forehead on her shoulder, letting her caressing his nape and spine.
In that spot nobody could see them: the children were with Clara, in front of the kitchen's door, and nobody could see them from the street.
Nobody, except one.
"Is Enos sick?" The little girl was standing near them, her hands behind her back and her left foot gently rubbing against her right leg.
Daisy turned to the soft voice and smiled, "Enos is OK, Lucy, don't worry. He's a bit tired because of his job. Enos works a lot, you know, helping people, children… and chickens."
Lucy kept on rubbing her left foot against her right leg, "I can ask Miss Smith to give him my pudding so he'll feel better."
Enos had a brief laugh and parted from Daisy, staring at Lucy and smiling, "Thanks little lady," he stood up and he showed his best smile to the little girl, then he turned to Daisy, "I have to go, now, really," he kissed her lips, a brief and gentle kiss, and he walked away.
When Daisy turned to Lucy, the little girl was looking at her, her head bent on her right shoulder and her hands still behind her back, on her face a thoughtful look.
"You shouldn't walk away Miss Clara and Miss Smith," Daisy came closer Lucy and stretched out her hand.
The little girl caught Daisy's hand and hopped by her side until they reached the kitchen.
In this chapter a reference to the episode "The head hunter", of "Enos", the series: Enos needs $5,000 (and I recall pretty well he wants to send this money to the orphanage) but a bank robber claims Enos pocketed the money when he arrested the robber. And a general reference to the letters Enos sent to Daisy while he stayed in L.A. (every episode started like a sort of letter to Daisy).
The story is almost over :-) Thanks for reading.