Getting to Know You, Bobby, Matilda

[Robert Munroe]

June 21st
In town
Later at the lake
Early afternoon


Bobby had been slowly meandering up and down what passed for the main street in this town for a good hour or so, he wasn't rightly sure. Seemed more like half a day but he figured that was nothing more than nerves. He was waiting for the gal he'd met the day before to make her appearance, hopefully alone and with picnic basket in hand as she rode into town. A part of him worried that she would change her mind, consider how reckless she'd been to even agree to see him again. Or....even worse, what if her folks had found out somehow or she'd been bold enough to tell them all about her new acquaintance? That would no doubt ruin any chance of this lakeside picnic.

All of those nagging worries made perfect sense yet there he was, walking up and down the boardwalk, eyeing every new arrival be they on horseback or buckboard to see if it was Matilda. Why he had not even slept as soundly as he usually did from nervous anticipation. Mazie, his mare, stood patiently by a hitching post, already saddled so they could leave as soon as the girl showed up. He had already been at the creek but didn't exactly know where the lake was she had talked about so she'd have to lead the way. It sounded like a nice place though for a picnic. Although, truth be told, if it meant spending time with such a pretty girl, he would be willing to picnic in the middle of baked desert.

The weather was cooperating, it was a bright June day. Now he had to hope that Matilda's folks were also cooperating, or if not that exactly, at least were completely unsuspecting of their girl's plans for the day. Suddenly he stopped dead in his tracks, was that her coming into town? He raised one hand in a wave to draw her attention to where he was but did not call out to her. That would be unseemly.

[Matilda Watson]

Mattie had spent all night and much of the day so far thinking of ways to smuggle a proper lunch out of the house without getting her parents too worked up. It pained her to be so secretive about her new friendship, but she was sure that her mother would die of a heart attack if she knew her daughter’s new found friend was a boy. Never mind the fact that they were going out with just the two of them. A few hours before she had to leave, she came up with an idea. She simply offered to make lunch for everyone. Simple, but brilliant. At least she thought so. She had decided early on that would be best to be upfront with her mother. Somewhat. The girl had simply told her that she was going to eat lunch with a friend and hoped that her mother wouldn’t ask for an elaboration as to whom her daughter was going out with. She never asked, so Mattie didn’t go into detail, instead offering to make lunch since she wouldn’t be there to eat it.

Her mother headed out to the garden to work and Mattie set to work cutting a chicken into small pieces and frying them before frying slices of green tomatoes. The green tomatoes, a favorite treat of the Watsons, were her way of apologizing for being so secretive, whether her family was suspicious or not. As she worked, she made a bit more than was necessary for the three people who would be eating at the Watson home, carefully packing the excess into a basket along with few uncooked carrots and sliced cucumbers. Not everything had to be cooked, after all. She even made some apple tarts, though these were only for the picnic. After she had finished setting the table, she grabbed the basket and slipped out of the house, calling to her mother to tell her lunch was ready and waiting as she headed toward the barn.

She rode toward town with the picnic basket sitting on the saddle in front of her and happy as a clam, though she felt a little guilty. She’d have to tell her folks about Bobby at some point. She was no good at keeping secrets. Perhaps she could convince the boy to come meet her family at some point. She was sure that they’d like him just as much as she did after they met him. Her mother would see that there was nothing to worry about and Mattie wouldn’t have to sneak around. This issue would have to be saved for another day, however. For the moment, she had to worry about keeping the food hot until they got to the lake. As she got closer to town, she saw Bobby waiting for her and waved to let him know she saw him. ”Hi,” she greeted happily, drawing Apple to a stop. ”I didn’t make you wait too long, did I?”

[Robert Munroe]

Well, she made it. She either had managed to get her folks permission, which he somehow doubted, or she fooled 'em, either way he didn't care as long as she showed up.

"Nah, I just got here myself," Bobby lied with a big smile as he unwrapped the reins from the hitching post and mounted his horse.

"See you brung a picnic basket. I'm guessin' there ain't bricks in there," he joked once he was firmly in the saddle.

There was no reason to dawdle in town, nothing they needed there. He waited just until she urged her horse forward then fell in with her as the young couple left the town street behind and headed down the long dirt road which would eventually lead them to this lake he'd heard about.

"Sure is a nice day for a picnic,"Robert observed then added, "I'm gonna be honest and tell ya I never been on a picnic before.But I'm pretty sure I'm gonna be real good at it, as I do like to eat."

[Matilda Watson]

”Oh, good,” she remarked happily. Mattie could be impatient sometimes and hated waiting on people, especially if she was waiting to eat, so she tried not to do that to other people. She hated making people upset or irritable for any reason. It made her feel bad when she upset people. She laughed when he joked about the bricks. ”Chicken can turn into something of a brick if you fry it too long,” she chuckled. ”I learned that the hard way and almost burnt down the house along the way. But I think I did alright this time around.”

When Bobby had mounted his own horse, Mattie urged Apple into a trot and led the way, keeping a hand on the basket to keep it from falling. It would be nothing short of a tragedy if she lost their lunch. She nodded enthusiastically when he mentioned the weather. ”It’s beautiful out today,” she commented, looking up at the sky as she spoke. ”It’s a good sign.”

”That’s alright,” she reassured him when he confessed to never have gone on a picnic before. ”With this being your first time and all, you know you’ll be on a proper picnic. With good food, too, if I do say so myself.” The ride from town to the lake was a rather short one and soon, the pair came upon Buffalo Creek. ”Here’s our namesake,” Mattie said when the creek came into view. ”Buffalo Creek. We’ll have to cross to get to the lake.” She urged Apple on across the creek, not minding the water that splashed up onto the hem of her dress.

She led the way to the bank that was farthest from the Indian village she knew was just on the other side of the trees on the opposite side of the lake. She had never met any of the Indians, but she had heard rather frightening stories of scalpings and raids that had befallen other towns and she preferred to keep her hair. When they came upon a relatively level and rather shady spot near the bank, Mattie decided that it was as good a place as any to have lunch. ”Is this alright?” she asked as she swung her right leg over the saddle, being careful not to knock their lunch off.

[Robert Munroe]

"Wouldn't want you to burn any homes down for me," Bobby had to chuckle at her admission as she discussed her cooking prowess or lack of.

She was a good rider, he could tell how comfortably she sat upon the horse and how easily she controlled it. But then was that any surprise being she was a ranch girl? Robert smiled as he rode just a bit behind her for awhile, he liked watching her every move.

"A proper picnic, alright, sounds just dandy," he believed her too when she declared she had prepared good food.

Upon reaching the creek, she informed him of it's name. He'd already been at this creek before, but decided not to say anything. He'd met the outlaw Charlie Prince there and proceeded to get shot at by some bountyhunter. On the bright side though, he had gotten a small wad of cash from the outlaw.

The girl didn't hesitate a bit but urged her horse right into the water, Bobby followed, luckily Mazie had never minded getting wet. Once they were on the other bank, it didn't take much longer before Mattie seemed to decide they had arrived. It was a good choice, the ground was level and they'd be in the shade.

"Yep, this is good, works for me,"he agreed with a quick nod and a smile then dismounted.

"Lemme take your reins and I'll tie 'em both up by that tree over there,he offered while she spread out a blanket and took out the food.

Soon everything was set out and it looked just perfect to his eyes, well, that is when he could take them off the girl, speaking of perfect she was as near perfect as he could imagine. He rolled up the sleeves of his shirt once he sat down, "Before we start, I just wanna say thanks again for doin' this. I do hope you don't get inta trouble with your folks for this."

[Matilda Watson]

”That happened long ago,” Mattie said, recalling the event rather fondly, despite the fact that she had very nearly brought down the entire house. The house remained, though, and no one had gotten hurt. Since it hadn’t been a tragedy, Mattie had decided to remember it as a comedy, even though the whole affair had been terrifying at the time. The look on her mother’s face had been unforgettable. The girl had never seen her mother so panicked before. Or after, for that matter. With any luck, she’d never see that face again. She was more than content with simply remembering it.

She dismounted and had her feet firmly on the ground before she removed the basket from where it sat on her saddle. If she lost it now, they’d be eating fish for lunch, which would take ages. Well, it’d take longer than she was willing to wait. She handed her reins over to Bobby with a smile and set about laying things out. Luckily, the chicken and green tomatoes were still warm. ”I hope this is enough,” she said as she laid out the carrots and cucumber slices. It really wasn't a lot when she looked over everything. ”I made some apple tarts, too, for afterwards.”

She sat down as Bobby tethered the horses, tucking her legs under her and fixing the skirt of her dress so as not to be indecent. She simply smiled when he thanked her and shook her head slightly. ”Oh, I don’t worry too much. I’m sure they won’t mind a bit. Mama just gets a tad… overprotective at times.” She knew her mother meant well, but it just drove the girl mad sometimes when her mother was constantly looking over her shoulder. ”So, Bobby,” she said in an attempt to change the subject as she popped a slice of cucumber into her mouth. ”What is the most exciting place you’ve been to?” She was promised a story, after all.

[Robert Munroe]

Robert sat opposite the girl, figuring plopping down next to her might be a mite bold then looked over the spread as she laid out the various food items. She was worried it might not be enough.

"Don't worry, I'm sure it's plenty,"he assured her, "and I love apples and apple pie so I'm sure the tarts will be delicious."

The girl seemed less worried though about her folks even though she admitted her mother was a bit protective. He couldn't blame the woman, given what a pretty young daughter she had.

"You don't know how good you have it, Mattie, I'd love to have a mother who was overprotective of me,"he pointed out with a smile. It wasn't easy going thru life all alone.

She was ready to change the subject though and asked the sort of question which made him think a moment before answering.

"Hmmm, well, Chicago can be excitin', you know they say it's got more'n two hundred thousand folks there. Course I was pretty young when I lived there and didn't get much of a chance to explore it. I remember the train station though...it had like a dozen trains there all at once. The noise and the crowds...."

"But if I ain't sure you'd wanna hear about my most excitin' time. When I worked for this one rancher, we had a lot happen. I was in a stampede once and now that raises your hair on end. You just hang on for dear life and hope your horse don't stumble and go down cuz yer dead then."

"Then there was the time we found out a few rustlers had grabbed some of our cows. Well, a few of us thought we should go for the local sheriff but my boss...he said they'd get away and he wasn't gonna allow that. So off we went to get our cows back...."

He seemed a bit sheepish suddenly and reached for a drumstick, "Is it alright if I eat for a minute. This story tellin' is hungry work."

After some chewing he shrugged then said, "Anyhow ended up in a gunfight. Few folks got killed. Not the sort of story I should be tellin'....so sorry."

It sure had been exciting though. And damned scary too!

[Matilda Watson]

”I hope so,” she said when he commented on the tarts. Baking didn’t come as naturally to her as it seemed to come to her mother. Mattie was decent with it, but she sometimes forgot to add in seemingly minor things like butter or salt. It wasn’t until after she had baked them that she would find that the treats didn’t taste anywhere near as good as she was expecting. With any luck, this time would be different. She had made sure to pay very close attention to the tarts as she put them together, so if they ended up less-than-satisfactory, Mattie would be very disappointed in herself.

She gave Bobby a sad smile when he revealed a wish for a mother. The girl did have a tendency to take her mother for granted, she realized unhappily. She was always expecting her mother to be there to care for her and help her out when she needed it. Mattie couldn’t imagine her mother not being there, working in the kitchen when she came downstairs in the mornings. ”I’ll share mine with you,” she joked, chasing away the unhappy thoughts. ”She’s overprotective of everything, seems like.”

She sat quietly as Bobby talked, hanging on his every word. She had been right. Bobby’s stories were a lot more interesting than her father’s, even if it was only because she’d never heard them before. She particularly liked his description of Chicago. Two hundred thousand was a number she could barely comprehend. All the cattle in Buffalo Creek combined couldn’t equal that many, she thought. And there were a lot of cattle in Buffalo Creek. ”It must be huge,” she remarked. ”I bet it goes on for miles.” Of course, the fact that a city went up as well as out escaped her. She had never been to a big city and hadn’t seen a building that went more than two or three stories high, so she figured that they’d just keep on building outwards to accommodate the immense number of people.

The girl had been so caught up in her friend’s story that she had quiet forgotten about the food in front of her. ”Oh, of course,” she exclaimed when he began to eat. ”That’s what it’s here for, right? Don’t want it to get cold.” She followed his lead and picked at her own piece of chicken. She shook her head when he apologized. ”No, it’s alright. I’ve heard stories like that before. It’s hard not to when you live out here,” she laughed. Not even her tiny town was exempt from violence, but it was hard for her to imagine what it would be like to be in the middle of a gunfight. ”You must have met some interesting people along the way,” she pressed. ”Wild rouges and outlaws and such.” She hoped her questions wouldn’t get too bothersome for him. She had been told that she could be annoyingly curious sometimes, but she couldn't always help it.

[Robert Munroe]

Her guess on Chicago was right on the mark.

"Yep, you can walk a long time and plenty of folks get lost there are so many streets. If you got the money you can buy almost anything that exists, there's probably a place sellin' it, Bobby added.

After a few bites from the drumstick, he smiled and complimented her cooking skills, "This really tastes good. And it ain't cold but even if it was, I don't mind none, meat is meat." A young man like him was not a fussy eater.

Despite his momentary worry she would not like his subject matter, the girl professed to be quite comfortable hearing what he had to say. That made him feel good and indeed encouraged him to keep going with his experiences.

"Outlaws? Well.....just before I showed up here I met an outlaw...called himself Charlie Prince. He wasn't as bad as I first thought though as he ended up givin' me some money. Course I imagine it wasn't his to begin with but I took it and I spent it. Not like whoever lost it was ever gonna get it back,"he sighed.

"I hope you don't hold that against me, Mattie. I give you my word I'd never rob anyone,"Bobby declared then regretted saying it. No matter that he had neither planned it nor aided in it in any way, truth was he'd been right there when a couple of innocent folks were killed by two other drifters he'd been riding with. And that would haunt him forever, he was certain. But he could never share such an awful secret with her, it might ruin everything. She might even decide to turn him into the local law.

[Matilda Watson]

The girl was completely taken with Bobby’s further description of his native city. ”Me and you should go there one day,” she stated ardently. ”It’d be such an adventure! A little change in scenery would be exciting.” After spending sixteen years in the same little town, Mattie was certain that a trip to a big city would do her good. The trip would have been very long, but she figured it would probably be worth it. She wondered how people lived there. Surely they didn’t have room for many livestock what with all the people around. Quarters were probably close enough without adding large animals into the mix.

She grinned when he commented on her cooking, pleased that he was enjoying it. ”Oh, good,” she said, relieved. ”I was worried about it getting cold.” She nodded when he explained his run-in with the outlaw. She hadn’t heard of the man before, so she assumed that Bobby had met him a bit away from town. Perhaps in another town entirely. She believed him when he said this Charlie person wasn’t that bad. Any ‘outlaw’ who gave away money really couldn’t be bad. Right?

Mattie was a bit surprised by the boy’s plea. ”No,” she said matter-of-factly. ”No, no, no.” She gave her head a shake with each ‘no’ for emphasis. ”I wouldn’t hold it against you. I don’t hold it against you. There’s no way of knowing if the money was stolen or earned. I believe you.” She gave him a reassuring smile, hoping to comfort him a bit. She knew what it was like to have people not believe her, albeit on much less serious matters. ”Besides, I don’t think you’ve got an unkind bone in you.” She’d known him for barely a day, but she had a good feeling about him. Actually, she got good feelings about everyone, but she had an extra good feeling about Bobby. ”Do you know how to skip rocks?” she asked, hoping to cheer him up a bit.

[Robert Munroe]

Bobby had to chuckle, "Go to Chicago? You do know that is a real long ways away from this place? Not sure I'd wanna go back."

"I mean I'm just getting settled here and I've been looking for a place like this where I might just put down roots and stay. I get that you wanna travel but me, I have done so much movin' about, I'm tired of it," he shrugged.

Again she worried too much in his opinion, "Even cold the chicken would still be real tasty. Hot, cold, long as it ain't raw, I'm fine with it."

It was a big relief to him when she understood his acceptance of the money and then made him feel even better when she complimented him on top of it. He wondered if he was blushing?

"Well, I'm bony enough but not really sure if they're kind or unkind,"was the best quip he could come up.

Suddenly her next question came out of nowhere.

"Skip stones? You mean like when you throw them in the water...well, not in but try to keep them on top? I never tried it but I know what you mean. I've heard folk mention it before. Don't tell me, Mattie, but yer an expert on something like that?" he grinned.

"Well...she cooks and skips stones...quite the talented, young lady!"

[Matilda Watson]

She nodded in understanding as Bobby spoke about traveling. A lot of preparation would need to be made for a trip to Chicago and she could understand why he didn’t want to travel anymore. From the way he had talked, he had been travelling around since a young age. Not to mention it sounded like he had been on his own for much of his travels. Mattie would have probably gone mad if she had to go any amount of time without being able to depend on someone. ”What kept you going?” she asked. ”Why didn’t you settle down before you got here?” She was actually quite glad that he had made it to her little town.

She smiled when he seemed to cheer up. It always made her happy when she could take people’s minds off unpleasant topics. No one liked being sad, so it only made sense for her to cheer people up. She laughed at his comments on his bones. ”They’re kind,” she assured him, ”as well as the rest of you. No need to worry about that!” He gave off good vibes. Mattie couldn’t imagine him being mean to anyone.

”I wouldn’t say expert,” she laughed. ”Pap’s a lot better at it then I am. I can only get one or two skips out of a rock. Three if I’m lucky.” She had been very young when her Pap had taught her how to skip stones. She’d been so young she couldn’t even clearly remember learning it. It almost seemed as if she had known how to do it since she was born. She chuckled when he called her talented. ”Oh, lots of women can cook,” she said, ”Ma’s food tastes a lot better than mine. And it doesn’t exactly take a lot of talent to skip stones. You just got to know how to move your wrist. I’ll teach you when we finish eating!”

[Robert Munroe]

Bobby could understand why she asked the question, it was a reasonable enough one. He'd certainly moved around a lot these past few years but never really put down roots. It certainly wasn't because he hadn't wanted to, well more than once. Things never seemed to work out for him though. He remembered a cowboy once saying, "Some people is just snakebit is all." There were times he believed that.

"Something always came up when I would try and stay in a place, most of it not my fault. Indians, rustlers, hangin about with the wrong sorts and then realizing it, he shrugged narrow shoulders.

It made him feel good she had such faith in him, but he wondered if she knew the whole truth about him whether she'd still be so accepting? He wasn't about to test that on this occasion. Conversation moved on to stone skipping and cooking, easier topics - at least to discuss if not actually physically do.

"Judging by this picnic, I'd say yer ma taught you good as far as yer cookin',he stated in all sincerity.

Finishing off a second piece of chicken, he licked his fingers even if that wasn't exactly proper manners then stood up. Enough talk, he was in the mood to do something. Stone skipping seemed worth a try.

"Alright then, I'd like to see just how good you are at this stone throwin' business. Bet you'd be real surprised if I went and beat you at it,even though he grinned, his words had a challenge to them. Nothing wrong with a little friendly competition.

[Matilda Watson]

”Oh. How awful.” She couldn’t imagine being forced to move around like that. It must have been heartbreaking for him to be forced out when he thought he’d finally be able to settle down. If she had been him, she probably would have given up and gone back to Chicago. No one should have to endure such sadness, especially someone as niche as Bobby. Now, of course, she’d have to make sure that nothing forced him from Buffalo Creek. ”We’ll work extra hard to keep you here,” she said optimistically. ”If you want to stay here, that is.” She’d feel awful if this town didn’t work out for him.

She just grinned when he complemented her cooking again. She had never really considered herself to be an outstanding cook, though she did enjoy it. She could make the house smell good, if nothing else. She had picked up a couple slices of cucumber when Bobby stood up. Her grin broadened at his enthusiasm. She was happy that he seemed so excited to learn something so simple. ”We’ll see about that,” she joked, standing up as well. ”It all depends on if I tell you my secret or not.” She didn’t really have a secret. Either a person was good at skipping rocks or they weren’t.

”First thing you've got to do is find a good rock,” she said, leading the way over to the bank. ”It has to be round and flat.” Pushing her sleeves up, she knelt down next to the water and thrust her hand into the water until she felt the bottom, carefully propping herself up with her other hand. She pulled up a handful of rocks and looked at each carefully. ”Sometimes it’s hard to find good ones,” she said as she tossed a few rocks back into the lake. ”You can find really good ones in the creek.” When she found one that suited her, she turned so that she was facing the lake at an angle instead of head-on. ”You have to throw from the side,” she explained, ”and really flick your wrist.” She gave the stone a toss and watched as it skipped across the water twice before sinking. She turned to Bobby with a grin. ”See? Not too hard!”

[Robert Munroe]

Robert smiled at her enthusiasm, it was just one of the many things he decided he liked about the girl.

"Oh, I do want to stay here. I like this place a lot. People are friendly and I think I can make a go of it here,"Bobby was indeed optimistic.

They moved on now to stone skipping.

"Oh, so there are secrets to this? I shoulda known," he chuckled then watched her bend down to find herself just the right stone, study them, then select a nice round flat one.

"So that one looks just right then?"he surmised just as she settled on it.

"Oh, I been to the creek, I took my bath there before comin' inta town,"he admitted with a sheepish grin.

She positioned herself just so, concentrated then threw. He watched the stone plink on the water surface a couple of times before sinking with a splash. Pretty nice trick.

"Well.....you make it look easy enough. Alright, lemme try," he took a moment to roll up the sleeve of his shirt before reaching on down into the fresh water and feel for some of the rocks. He picked up a few but discarded them until he found one similar to what she had used.

"This one looks good,"he asserted then tried to mimic her throwing position and gave it a fling.

Sploosh! It was gone in one plop. Probably threw it too hard.

"Oh well, maybe it ain't so easy for me,"he gave a shrug then a smile. Somehow it didn't even bother him to lose to this girl.