Many More Miles
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Eliza Burk sat in a straight back wooden chair. Her shoulders slumped from the stress of the day as she brushed a small strand of loose hair away from her tear-stained cheek. Next to her sat her brother James and to his right was his wife, Laura. Just five feet away was the catafalque upon which lay the casket of her mother, Clair Burk, who had passed unexpectedly in her sleep just three days prior.
The room was dimly lit. Dark curtains draped the windows and a black ribbon adorned the front door of the home that Eliza had shared with her mother since her birth. The afternoon had been spent greeting friends and neighbors who had come by to pay their respects, many bringing food and all offering condolences, anecdotes, or words of encouragement which were reciprocated with a smile, a hug, or some verbal message of appreciation.
But now, as the afternoon drew to a close, Eliza was feeling both physically and emotionally exhausted. At twenty-seven years old and unmarried, Lizzy still lived with her mother in the home where she had been born. Since her father's death just six years prior, Lizzy had witnessed her mother's slow decline and though the doctors could find no root cause, Lizzy knew her mother had died of a broken heart. This knowledge somehow gave Lizzy some comfort, knowing her parents were now reunited.
"Lizzy, I'm going to take the children home," Laura said as she leaned toward her husband and gently grasped Lizzy's arm. "It's been a long day for them and tomorrow will be just as long."
Lizzy patted Laura's hand and offered a tired smile. "Thank you for all you've done today. You've been a great comfort."
"I'll stay and help Lizzy tidy up and maybe have a bite to eat," James told Laura. "I'll be home before dark," he added.
"Ill be back first thing in the morning to help prepare for the guests," Laura promised.
Just as Laura disappeared into the kitchen where her two children were being tended by Laura's aunt, the parlor door creaked as it opened, and Lizzy glanced up to see a man she didn't recognize walk slowly into the room, then stop to remove his blue Derby hat that matched his old and dated suit. He was tall and lean and though his sandy blond hair was greying at the temples, his somewhat boyish features made it hard to judge his age. With his hat now in his hand, he glanced up and soft blue eyes settled not on Lizzy or James, but on the plain wooden casket lined with pink satin.
As he stood in front of the casket, his back to Lizzy and James, Lizzy glanced questioningly at her brother. The stranger looked vaguely familiar, but she could not recall when or where they might have met. James just shrugged his shoulders and shook his head, having no recollection of ever seeing the man before this moment. When the man turned away from the casket, Lizzy stood and greeted him with a tired but welcoming smile. And James rose to stand at his sister's side.
"I'm Clair's daughter Eliza and this is my brother James," Lizzy said with an outstretched hand.
The stranger shook her hand gently then gave James a stronger handshake. "We met at Charlie's funeral a few years back. I'm Jedediah Curry. I don't mean to intrude. It's just that I knew your mother before she was married and… when I saw the obituary in the newspaper, I had to come to say goodbye."
"That's very kind," Lizzy said for the umpteenth time that day. "Were you… an old beau?" she asked as light-heartedly as she could muster.
Jed shook his head. "I spent a summer at the boarding house her parents owned. I worked at the Wells Fargo Office that Charlie Burk managed. Clair was sixteen then and had her sights set on becoming a teacher," Kid told her.
"You're not… the Jedediah Curry, are you?" James asked. "Kid Curry?"
Kid paused for a moment. He was quite used to the question and usually responded with some pat remark but felt a need to reassure this young man that his mother was not some outlaw's conquest.
"I wasn't the Jed Curry when I knew you ma," he said with a heavy emphasis on the word. "And I wasn't Kid Curry back then. I was just Jed, a boy struggling to make an honest living. It didn't work out as well as I had hoped," he added with a slightly sly smile.
"Well, it's an honor to meet you," James replied. "When I was a boy, I read every book ever written about you and Hannibal Heyes."
"Then you know exactly two facts about us. My name is Jedediah Curry, and my partner's name was Hannibal Heyes."
"Was?" Lizzy asked.
"Yes Ma'am. Heyes took sick with the grippe and passed on just over six years ago."
"Did you travel far to come here?" Lizzy asked.
"A good many miles," Kid replied. "I've got a good many more to travel before I head home again. I'm living in Denver now and being as I've come this far, I'm going to go on to Porterville to visit an old friend after the funeral."
"Then you're planning to attend the funeral tomorrow?" Lizzy asked.
"As long as my being there ain't an intrusion, Ma'am."
"Of course it's not an intrusion. You've traveled such a long way to pay your respects, I'm sure our mother would have appreciated your coming. In fact, we're serving brunch for some family and friends before the service tomorrow. You're more than welcome to come. Perhaps you could tell us about our mother in her more carefree days."
Kid smiled. "Thank you, Ma'am. That's real kind of you to offer."
"And please, call me Lizzy."
"I'd be pleased to attend, Lizzy."
Kid offered them a warm and respectful smile and turned to leave. Lizzy gently grasped his arm and walked him to the door.
"The guests will likely start arriving around eight and brunch begins at ten," she told him.
"Yes Ma'am. Good night."
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After Jed left, Lizzy locked the front door and she and James retreated to the kitchen where she made a pot of coffee and warmed one of the casseroles a neighbor had made and delivered.
"I can't believe Ma knew a couple of famous outlaws," James exclaimed as he sat down at the table and reached for the plate of cookies that had been left on the table for the children.
"She knew Jed Curry before he was an outlaw," Lizzy replied. "He made no mention of her knowing Hannibal Heyes."
"Still, I wonder why she never told us. Knowing a man who became a famous outlaw gives a person bragging rights. I mean Kid Curry is going to be the topic of conversation at work on Monday," James said before devouring a gingerbread cookie.
"I got the impression there was more to the story than he was telling us," Lizzy confessed. "And the fact that Mother never mentioned him makes me think she had a reason for not wanting us to know."
"Sure she did. She didn't want us to have bragging rights. I would have told every kid in school about my mother knowing Kid Curry," James confessed.
"I doubt that was her reason but I'm certain she had one," Lizzy said as she pulled two cups from the shelf. "Wait a minute! There may be a way to find out," she exclaimed.
"What are you talking about? How?"
Wiping her hands on her apron, Lizzy joined her brother at the kitchen table. "Late one summer when I was about twelve, Ma and I spent a hot afternoon canning tomatoes. We canned something like forty-eight jars and sealed each one with hot wax. Then we started stacking them on the shelves in the pantry. I had to use a chair to reach the top shelf for some of the jars and up there in the corner I found a tin cracker box. I remember thinking that was odd and I asked Ma why she had the crackers stored so high in the pantry and she said she didn't keep crackers in that box. She said she kept memories there and she told me I was never to open it because it was personal and private. Then she pulled another cracker box from a shelf and put all the crackers in a jar and gave me the empty box to start my own secret memory box."
"And you never once looked in that box?" James asked.
Lizzy shook her head. "Never. She said it was private and I respected that."
"Well, there's nothing stopping us now. Ma's certainly not going to complain," James replied and went to the pantry and searched for the tin box on the top shelf.
Bringing the box to the table, he set it down in front of Lizzy. "I think you should have the honors."
Lizzy sighed and her hand hovered over the lid for just a few seconds. Then she took a deep breath and pried open the lid. Inside were a dozen or more items, the first of which was a small stack of letters bound together with a red ribbon. Without looking through them, Lizzy set the stack of letters on the table and drew out another item which was a tiny pair of brown leather baby shoes.
"These must have been her first pair of shoes," Lizzy imagined aloud.
"Or yours," James replied. "What's next?"
Lizzy pulled out a small square box and inside was a man's wedding ring.
"Pa's wedding ring," Lizzy stated. "You should have this," she added and handed the box to James.
Lizzy continued to sort through the box, finding a tintype picture of their parents that looked like it might have been a wedding picture. Clair was wearing a dark wool skirt and jacket and was holding two long stem calla lilies in her hands and Charlie wore a black suit that looked to be a size too large. Two steps to Clair's left stood her sister, Sarah and two steps to Charlie's right stood a tall, fair-haired young man that neither Lizzy nor James recognized.
Next, Lizzy pulled from the tin a pair of blue handknit baby booties, a very small book of poetry with a dried, pressed rose tucked neatly between some pages, and Clair's teaching certificate. One final item remained. Upon seeing the item, Lizzy knew not to show it to James.
"Would you check on the casserole? I don't want it to burn," she asked James and, in his absence from the table, she quickly slipped the unnamed item and the stack of letters into her apron pocket and returned the other items to the box and closed the lid.
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Dressed once again in his blue suit but this morning without the Derby, Kid waited till almost noon before arriving at the Burk home as he did not want to intrude on the family and friends who had known Clair far longer and better than he. But as he walked up to the front door Lizzy immediately greeted him and took his arm to lead him inside.
"Are you hungry? There's plenty of food in the dining room if you would like to fix a plate."
"Thank you, ma'am."
"I was hoping to have a few minutes to talk to you privately," she said as she led him into the dining room. "It's buffet style so fill a plate and perhaps you'd like to sit in the garden where we could chat, and you won't be surrounded by strangers."
"That sounds just fine, ma'am."
"And please call me Lizzy," she reminded him.
Kid filled a plate and picked up a fork and Lizzy carried a cup of coffee for him, then led him down a hallway and through the kitchen where several women were busy preparing the food for all the guests.
At the back door she stopped and spoke in a voice just loud enough to be overheard. "Let me show you the garden, Mr. Curry."
Lizzy pushed open the screen door and led Kid down a cobblestone path to a gazebo in the center of a large, well-manicured garden. She let go of his arm and they sat down on benches facing each other. Kid sat a bit stiffly and balanced the plate on his knees.
"I got the impression that there was more to your story than was shared yesterday," Lizzy said and carefully watched his reaction.
Kid half smiled and his head nodded every so slightly. "Your brother's exuberance about meeting Kid Curry was a bit offsetting given the circumstances. That's why I agreed to come by this morning. I was hoping for a few minutes like this to tell you a story about Clair and… you can decide what your brother should… or shouldn't know."
Lizzy nodded and her hand slipped into her apron pocket. "Tell me," she replied.
"Well, like I said, your ma and I were friends, and that's all we were and all we've ever been," Kid said emphatically.
"I understand," Lizzy replied softly.
"Most folks don't know that Hannibal Heyes and me were cousins and thick as thieves all our lives. Shortly before I took that job with Wells Fargo and moved into the boarding house, Heyes and me had decided that maybe it was time for us to each set out on our own. That's when he hooked up with an outlaw gang, but it didn't last long, a few months at most before the gang broke up and Heyes came lookin' for me. When he found me… well, he found Clair, too."
"What does that mean?" Lizzy asked.
"Means he took quite a shine to her and did his best to court her that summer before she took a teaching job in Greybull. Heyes had a natural charm and dark eyes and dimples as deep as a canyon that a lot of women found irresistible, or so he claimed."
"My mother was courted by Hannibal Heyes?"
Kid smiled. "I think she enjoyed the attention but by then she was beginning to have eyes for Charlie. She let Heyes down easy and the four of us stayed friends. When Heyes died, Clair and Charlie came to Porterville for the funeral. She told me that while she knew she had made the right decision, Heyes would always have a place in her heart."
Lizzy's fingers wrapped around the item in her pocket. Clutched in her hand, she withdrew it and slowly held it out to Kid. "Is that when you gave her this?" she asked and opened her extended hand. "I found it last night and remembered seeing it just once on my mother's vanity after my father's funeral."
Kid's breath caught in his throat as he looked at the hatband with the silver conchos for the first time in six years. "She kept it," he whispered through a smile that battled between sadness and joy. "Your ma gave this to Heyes when she told him she had decided to marry Charlie."
"Is that you in my parent's wedding picture?"
Kid smiled and nodded. "I'd never been a best man. I'd never even been to a wedding before that. I think I was about as nervous as Charlie that day"
Lizzy chuckled. "And Mr. Heyes? Where was he that day?"
"He was at the wedding. It pained him a bit, but he knew how nervous I was and I think he wanted to make sure I didn't lose the ring."
"How very sweet of him, to look after you like that."
"He was used to it. He'd been lookin' after me most of my life."
"And you looked after him as well," Lizzy said softly.
"Yes ma'am," Kid replied.
Lizzy looked at the tattered hatband that Jed held protectively in his hands. "Now, all these years later, you're still looking after him.
Kid gently closed his hand. "I guess I am."
"So how did my mother come to be in its possession?"
"Charlie died just a few months after Heyes, and I returned the hatband to her at Charlie's funeral. I thought Heyes would want her to have it."
"And now it comes full circle again. I know my mother would want it returned to you."
Kid opened his hand again. "Thank you. I hafta admit I was hoping to see this again."
"You told me yesterday you had many more miles to go and now, I think I know why."
"Yes Ma'am," Kid said softly. "I think maybe you do."
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Early the next morning, Kid descended the hotel stairs to check out as the train to Porterville had an eight-a.m. departure time.
"Oh. Mr. Curry, these were dropped off for you late last night," the clerk told him as he handed Kid two envelopes.
Kid took the two envelopes and noticed one was old and creased and had a slightly musty odor while the other was crisp and new. He slid them in his shirt pocket to read while on the train. He paid for his room, then slung his saddlebags over his shoulder and headed for the train station.
Settled into his window seat Kid pulled the two envelopes from his pocket and opened the newer envelope first. The note was short and to the point.
Dear Mr. Curry,
I found this letter in a box that contained the hatband. The ink is faded but still legible. I hope it speaks to you as much as it did to me. Obviously, it spoke to my mother as she felt compelled to preserve it all these years. My thoughts are with you as you travel those last remaining miles to complete the circle of friendship not only for yourself, but for my mother as well.
Sincerely,
Eliza Burk.
Kid folded the note and slipped it back in his pocket, then opened the second envelope and smiled at the sight of his partner's distinct and difficult to read handwriting.
Dearest Clair,
I'm writing this by the light of a campfire while Jed sleeps, peacefully oblivious to the depth of my despair. I understand and accept your reasons for choosing Charlie as your life partner over an out of work cowboy with a sordid past. Tonight, I sit in the flickering light of a campfire, feeling forlorn, looking at my hat resting beside me, and pondering the truth of Tennyson's philosophical claim that "tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all," and sadly concluding that I may never truly know. To this end, I bid you adieu and wish for you a life of fulfillment and joy.
Yours Truly,
Hannibal Heyes
Kid held the letter in his hand and gazed out the window and tried to recall the night this letter had been written. But having been asleep when Heyes wrote it, Kid had no recollection. The years had harshly taught him of the pain of an unrequited love and his heart ached thinking that Heyes had traveled that road alone. He put this letter with the other in his pocket, then folded his arms across his chest and pulled his hat down over his eyes, letting the rhythm of the wheels rolling on the tracks lull him to sleep.
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Arriving in Porterville, Kid walked to the hotel and got a room and dropped off his things, then headed across the street to see Lom and to borrow his horse for an hour. He then rode the half mile out of town to the cemetery.
Reaching his partner's grave, Kid crouched down and brushed leaves and dirt from the base of the gravestone and quietly chided his partner for not straightening up a bit being as he surely knew his partner was coming for a visit. But as he stood, he grew a bit more somber, and he reached into his pocket for the letter Heyes had written so many years ago.
"I s'pect you know that Clair has joined the ranks up there and I hope that don't make things awkward for you. I paid my respects down here, figuring you'd want me to do that. I met her and Charlie's children and they're both good people. Lizzy, their daughter gave me a couple of things I figured you'd be interested in. The first one's a letter you wrote to Clair. I hope you don't mind that I read it on the train this morning. I'm sorry I wasn't old or wise enough to be a comfort to you then."
Kid stooped down and cleared a shallow area in the dirt and placed the letter inside, then covered the spot and gave it a gentle pat. "I'll just leave this with you for safekeeping."
As he straightened himself, Kid reached into another pocket and pulled out the hatband that he held loosely between his fingers. "After Charlie died, I gave this to Clair. I figured that being as she's the one that gave it to you in the first place, you wouldn't mind if she held onto it for a while. Her daughter gave it back to me yesterday. I hope you won't mind if I just hold on to this for a while and I'll do my best to bring it with me when I join up with you again one day. Of course, you might hafta use that silver tongue of yours to convince the good Lord to allow you to trade your halo for a Stetson, assuming you've got a halo, that is," Kid said as he felt the sadness of being alone began making its presence known.
With the hatband still in his hand, Kid reached out and grasped the top of the headstone and uttered a long, heavy sigh. "We traveled a lot of miles together, partner. I don't know how many more miles I've got to travel till we'll be riding together again. But I know you ain't never very far away."
He reached into his pocket a final time and pulled out a shiny Indianhead penny and placed it on the gravestone. "This is in case you can talk the Lord into a coin toss over the use of that Stetson. One of you is in for a surprise on how that turns out," he said with a grin before slipping the hatband into his pocket and heading back to his horse.
Sitting in the saddle, Kid looked back at the grave one final time and tipped his hat as a final gesture before pulling on the reins to return to Porterville, a final stop before traveling many more miles home.
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Author's Note: I wrote this before I read the July Challenge topic and decided that with a little tweaking, it could become a challenge story. After two edits to get the word count right, it still ran 100+ words over so, thank you Penski for a final edit and Beta read. This is the original, slightly longer first version.