Chapter 39 "A Is For Apple" (Part 1)

*Author's Note: Now that I'm back to teaching, I thought I'd write a story about Ruby starting school.

Dodge City's school house was buzzing with excitement, yet the school year was not scheduled to begin until another two weeks. The open house taking place was the reason for the excitement. Dodge City had a new schoolmarm, Miss Helen Grey, and she wanted a chance to meet her students and their parents. Miss Grey was taking over for Miss Mary Patrick, who was now Mrs. Mary Schlauf. She had gotten married over the summer.

Both Matt and Kitty agreed that the open house was a wonderful idea, especially for Ruby. Ruby was apprehensive about going to school. She was afraid she would miss her momma. Matt and Kitty felt if Ruby had a chance to meet her teacher, that would ease some of Ruby's anxiety.

After arriving at the school house, Matt parked the buggy. Once he exited the buggy, he helped his girls get down. Matt and Kitty started towards the school, but Ruby stayed behind. Realizing their daughter wasn't walking with them, Matt and Kitty stopped and turned around. They walked back towards Ruby.

Matt crouched down so he was at eye level with his daughter. "It's gonna be kind of hard to meet Miss Grey, if you're out here and she's in there. Maybe we should go inside."

"I'm scared," Ruby's voice trembled.

"Why are you scared?" Kitty inquired. "You have nothing to be afraid of."

"What if Miss Grey is mean? What if she doesn't like me?" Ruby answered with her own questions.

"I don't think you have to worry about that," Matt reassured Ruby. "I met her in the post office the other day, 'n she seemed real nice."

"What if she eats kids?" Ruby asked.

"Eats kids?!" Kitty questioned. "Ruby, where on Earth would you get an idea like that."

"Uncle Festus told me a story," Ruby started to say.

"Well, that explains that," Kitty interrupted. She turned and looked at Matt. "Matt…"

"Don't worry," Matt sighed. "I'll have a talk with him. Now Ruby, Miss Grey is a nice lady who does not eat kids. Let's go meet her." Matt stood up and offered Ruby his hand.

Ruby looked at her daddy's offered hand, thought about it for a brief moment, and then put her little hand in his large one. "Okay, let's go."

"That's our girl," Kitty said as she took Ruby's other hand.

The trio of Dillons walked across the school yard and up the small set of stairs into the school house. There were school kids of all ages inside. You could see the difference between the older school children and those just beginning their school years. The older ones displayed confidence, whereas the rookies weren't quite sure what was going on.

"Look, there's a line to meet Miss Grey." Kitty pointed towards the line. "Let's get in it, so we can meet her."

While waiting their turn, Ruby fidgeted around. Kitty thought about saying something to Ruby, but changed her mind. She knew her daughter was nervous and telling her not to be so fidgety would not help. After standing in line for ten minutes, it was the Dillons' turn to meet Miss Grey.

"Well, hello," Miss Grey greeted them with a smile. "Who do we have here?"

"Ruby, introduce yourself," Kitty instructed.

"I'm Ruby Dillon," Ruby said softly.

Miss Grey extended her hand to Ruby, who took it. "It's very nice to meet you. I'm Miss Grey. Who did you bring with you?"

"My momma and my daddy," Ruby replied.

Miss Grey turned her attention to Matt. "I know I met you in the post office the other day. You're the Marshal."

"That's correct," Matt confirmed. "And this is my wife, Kathleen."

"A lot of people call her Kitty," informed Ruby.

"Kitty has been my nickname since I was a little girl," said Kitty. "And it's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Grey."

"Same here, Mrs. Dillon," said Miss Grey. "I can see where Ruby gets her beautiful red hair." Kitty and Ruby gave Miss Grey a smile. "Why don't you look around the room and try out the desks. The first year students sit up front."

"We will most certainly do that," said Kitty. "What will Ruby all need for school?"

"Since it's her first year, she'll start out with a slate board and a slate pencil," Miss Grey answered. "I do have some paperwork that I will have you fill out. Ruby can bring it back on the first day of school." Miss Grey went to her desk to retrieve the papers. "Here ya go."

"Thank you." Kitty accepted the papers and looked at Ruby. "How about we go 'n you can try out one of the desks." Ruby shook her head in agreement.

Going to the school open house did a world of good for Ruby. Being able to meet Miss Grey and see how nice she was put Ruby at ease. She was now looking forward to starting school.

Finished with taking care of Buttercup and the buggy, Matt strolled into the house. When he entered, he locked the door and found Kitty sitting at the desk and Ruby playing with her toys. Hanging his hat on the hook, Matt walked over to Kitty.

"Are those the papers from Miss Grey?" Matt questioned as he peered over Kitty's shoulder.

"Yeah," Kitty responded. She put her pen down and faced Matt. "There's a paper here wanting to know if Ruby has any allergies or other medical concerns and one wanting to know who is allowed to take Ruby off of school grounds."

"Let's do the one with who's allowed to take her off school grounds first," Matt suggested.

Kitty put that paper on top. "Obviously the two of us. And then Doc Adams, Festus Hagen, and Newly O'Brien."

"What about Will and Bess Roniger?" asked Matt.

"Good thinking," said Kitty as she added Will and Bess' names to the list. "That looks good. Now let's fill out the other paper."

"As far as we know she doesn't have any allergies or medical conditions to be concerned with," said Matt. "She's a pretty healthy little girl."

"Do you think we should mention Ruby's broken arm?" Kitty questioned, tapping the top of the pen on the paper while she waited for Matt's answer.

"We might as well," Matt answered. "I mean it wouldn't hurt to do so."

Once Ruby's school forms were completed, it was time to put her to bed. Grandpa Doc had given her a new book, "The Princess and the Pea," and she was excited for her momma to read it to her. Ruby was so excited for story time that she wanted to skip some parts of her bedtime routine. Kitty, however, wouldn't allow Ruby to rush through her routine.

A few days later Kitty was hanging the last piece of laundry on the washline. Ruby was galloping around the yard on her stick horse. It was mid morning, and Matt had left for work a couple hours ago. Kitty's plan was to take Ruby to town and go to Jonas' store to buy Ruby a slate board and a slate pencil. She was also going to let Ruby help her pick out some material for a new school dress. They would have Miss Sarah make the dress.

"Hello, Miss Kitty, Miss Ruby," Jonas greeted the two Dillon ladies as they entered his store. "What can I do for you?"

"Ruby is going to be starting school soon, and we need a slate tablet and a slate pencil," Kitty answered.

"You'll also need a cloth to clean the tablet," Jonas told them. "I'll go get 'n your items. Is there anything else you'll be needing?"

"Ruby and I want to look at your material," Kitty responded.

"I'm gonna get a new dress for school," Ruby proudly stated.

"Aright," said Jonas. "Just let me know when yer ready."

Kitty and Ruby went over to the table where Jonas kept his material. After thoroughly searching through several bolts of material, Kitty and Ruby agreed on one. The material had a dark blue background with lighter blue flowers on it. The color brought out Ruby's blue eyes. Kitty told Jonas how much material she needed, and then paid for everything. They took the material to Sarah and told her what they needed. Sarah reassured them that she would have the dress completed before Ruby started school.

"I don't know about you, but I'm hungry," said Kitty as she and Ruby walked down the boardwalk of Front Street.

"Me too," Ruby agreed.

"How about we go over to the jail and see if daddy wants to take his girls to lunch," Kitty suggested.

"Oh boy!" Ruby exclaimed, clapping her hands. "That's a great idea."

Kitty and Ruby crossed the street and stepped up onto the porch of the jail. Kitty knocked on the door. She always did when Ruby was with her. She wanted to make sure it was okay for Ruby to come inside. Matt opened the door and was pleasantly surprised to see his girls standing there.

"To what do I owe this surprise visit?" Matt asked, stepping back to allow Kitty and Ruby to enter.

"We thought that if you weren't busy, you might want to take us out to lunch," Kitty replied.

"I'm not busy at the moment," Matt responded. "And I would love to take the two of you out for lunch."

Matt, Kitty, and Ruby enjoyed their lunch together. Ruby told her daddy about her new slate tablet, slate pencil, and cleaning cloth. She also described the new material she and her momma selected for her new dress. Matt loved to hear the joy in his daughter's voice.

Less than a week before Ruby's first day of school, Matt returned home from work, but he wasn't his usual self. Kitty immediately picked up on it, but decided not to ask Matt about it until after Ruby was in bed. Immediately after Ruby was tucked in for the night, Kitty cornered Matt.

"Alright," she said. "What gives?"

"What are you talking about?" Matt was trying to avoid Kitty's question.

"Don't give me that," Kitty told Matt. "You know exactly what I'm talking about. You haven't been yourself since you came home from work. Why?"

"I have to take the prisoner that's occupying one of the jail cells to Hays," Matt answered.

Kitty looked directly into Matt's eyes. "When?"

"I'll leave tomorrow morning," Matt replied.

"Matt you can't be serious." Kitty wanted to be louder than she was, but kept in mind that Ruby was in the bedroom down the hall. "Ruby starts school next week, 'n she's been looking forward to both of us taking her."

"I'll do my best to be back in time," Matt tried to promise. "But I have no choice. I have to do this. It's part of the job."

'It's always part of the job,' Kitty thought to herself.'

The night before the first day of school arrived, and Matt still hadn't returned from Hays City. Kitty told herself that he could still make it home in time, but she was having serious doubts. Ruby kept asking if daddy would be home to take her to school. The only thing Kitty could do was tell Ruby that he would do his best to be there.

"Momma, I'm not going to school tomorrow," Ruby stated matter of factly. "I want you and daddy ta take me."

"You can't miss the first day of school," informed Kitty.

"Daddy is gonna miss my first day of school." Ruby had a tear trickling down her face.

Kitty did her best not to cry. Her heart broke for her little girl. 'Damn you, Matt Dillon,' she thought to herself.

TBC