By: Heidi L. Lane
“Papa… Papa?” Vin heard as he slowly came awake. Opening one eye he discovered it was still nighttime, though there seemed to be a light coming from somewhere above his head.
“What is it, Winnie?” he asked softly.
“Papa, is it morning yet? You’d said we’d go riding in the morning,” the little girl replied in a stage whisper.
Vin grinned as he remembered how excited his daughter had been when he’d said that they’d go riding in the morning after breakfast. “The sun isn’t up yet, Winnie. It isn’t mornin’ ‘til the sun is up.”
“When the sun gets up, we will, Papa?” Winnie asked.
“Yup. We’ll get up with the sun,” Vin replied. He heard the little girl pad back over to her cot. The light that had been brightening the wagon went away.
Once she got there, she sat under her blankets and asked, “How will we know the sun is up if we’re asleep, Papa? Won’t our eyes be closed?”
“We’ll wake up, darlin’.”
“We will?”
“Yup.”
“Promise?”
“Yes, Winnie.”
**
Several hours later, Vin woke up and stretched. He glanced over at his daughter and noticed she was still asleep. She lay curled up on her side hugging a stuffed rabbit made out of old napkins and scraps of cloth that Ms. Nettie had given her. Vin smiled and shook his head. Creeping quietly behind a curtain he’d connected to a bow that was part of the wagon’s roof for the sake of privacy, he dressed. When he was dressed he walked over to his daughter’s cot and gently laid a hand on her shoulder, “Winnie,” he said, “It’s mornin’.”
The child woke and, knuckling her eyes, sat up. Looking up at Vin she said, “Now can we go riding?”
“First ya have ta get dressed, then we’ll have breakfast, and then we’ll go riding,” Vin explained.
“Yay!” the little girl cheered jumping out of bed. She bounded over to the trunk that her clothes were kept in and pulled out several items; discarding some as fast as she picked them up. She ended up with a pair of white stockings, a cream colored pinafore, a light blue blouse, and a darker blue skirt; both of linsey-woolsey, though the skirt was slightly heavier.
Vin surveyed her choices and asked, “What else do ya need if we’re gonna go ridin’?”
“My coat an’ hat…” Winnie offered.
“Yup, an’ what else?”
“My boots and…” Winnie looked at her father as if trying to figure out what he thought.
“What’s your Bunny wearin’?” Vin prompted.
“A dress, a pinafore and pantalets. You think I should wear pantalets for our ride, Papa?”
Vin crouched down and, looking her in the eye, said, “It wouldn’ be a bad idea, Winifred. And you’ll need to wear a petticoat too.”
“Yes, Papa,” Winnie said as she pulled the remaining items she needed out of her trunk. Gathering up her clothes she went behind the curtain to dress, while Vin picked up the clothes she’d pulled out and, after re-folding them, laid them back in the trunk.
“You need help with anything?” he called when he was done and she still hadn’t emerged.
“I can’t get the buttons done, Papa,” she called back. Vin walked over and peered behind the curtain. He had to smile when he saw her. She was mostly dressed but was having great difficulty with her blouse. “There’s an extra button on the bottom,” she explained, “an’ it’s all crooked.”
“That’s ‘cause you missed the top button hole by one, Winnie,” Vin told her as he re-buttoned her blouse and tucked it in to her skirt.
“Can you tie my pinafore on, Papa? Please,” she asked. He nodded and helped her put on the garment that was essential in every little girl’s wardrobe. After helping her tie her boots and put her coat on; he placed her hat on her head they were ready to go to breakfast.
Vin climbed down out of the wagon and then helped his daughter down and holding hands the proceeded to the hotel for breakfast. “Mornin’,” Vin called to Mary and Billy as he and Winnie entered the dining room.
“Good morning, Vin. Hello, Winifred,” Mary called back.
“Howdy,” Winnie said, bouncing a couple of times, “We’re goin’ ridin’ taday,” she added conspiratorially.
“Really,” Mary said, “Is that why you have your hair in such pretty braids?”
“Knew we forgot somethin’,” Vin said softly to his daughter.
“We forgot to comb our hair, Papa?”
“Yup. We’ll have ta do it after breakfast.”
“We have to?” Winnie asked scowling. Vin still hadn’t gotten the hang of combing out her curls without pulling. He winced at the thought of the tangles that would result if he skipped one day of the maintenance that Winnie’s hair required. Sighing, he ordered breakfast.
**
A couple of hours later they were ready to go riding. Vin saddled his horse while Winnie waited, bouncing with impatience, near the door of the livery. “Almost set, darlin’,” he called as he tightened up the girth.
“Am I gonna sit on your lap for our ride, Papa?” Winnie asked in wonder.
“Yup. We’re ridin’ double. You’re too little to be on a horse by yourself and there ai- aren’t any ponies in the livery right now. Come here now an’ I’ll put ya on up there. You can ride out.” The little girl scampered over and jumped up into Vin’s arms so he could set her on Peso’s back. In a very short time they were on their way.
“Bye, Mister J’siah,” Winnie called as they passed the church.
“Good bye? Where’re you goin’?” Josiah called back.
“We’re goin’ on a ride an’ a picnic,” she replied.
“Well, have fun.”
“We will!” Winnie leaned back against her father as they left town. “What are we gonna see on our ride, Papa?” she asked.
“Lots a’ things, animals, plants…ranches.”
“Indians?”
“Maybe… maybe not. We’re not goin’ too far from town, this bein’ only your first ride. Would you like to see how I do trackin’?”
“Yeah, how do you track things?”
“Well, it’s easier ta show ya than ta tell ya. So when we get to where some animals might have been I’ll show ya.” They rode for a while in silence. Vin could tell Winnie was enjoying the ride, taking in the scenery. She was a great deal like her Mama. Mira loved the outdoors, though she was more interested in plants and Vin was more interested in animals. Vin wondered how Mira was doing; he hoped she was alright. He glanced down at the little girl seated almost in his lap. A lot of men would have been upset about how she’d left Winnie with him. He wasn’t really sure why he wasn’t. He figured Mira wouldn’t have asked him to watch Winnie if she’d had any choice in the matter. Whoever the men who were pursuing her were they were bad news and he was just as glad that Winnie wasn’t mixed up in it.
I miss Mama, though. Vin felt more than heard. He glanced sharply at Winnie, who was looking up at him. He wondered if his mind had played a trick on him. Maybe the child had said it and it had only seemed to him that it hadn’t been verbal. Mama could always hear me. Why’s it surprise you that you can, Papa? That time he knew she hadn’t spoken out loud; he’d been looking right at her. She was actually thinking at him. Vin decided it was one of the gifts that Mira had mentioned and shrugged. If she could think at him, could she hear him thinking at her? Try it. Came a suggestion from the little girl. It’s hard to read grown-ups. They think different. It intrigued Vin that Winnie would have trouble picking up thoughts from adults; children probably came easier.
He shrugged and decided to give it a try. Concentrating as hard as he could to form words, he thought, Like this?
Too loud, came the reply.
Deciding he probably shouldn’t
think so hard, Vin thought “quieter”, This better?
Yay! He heard his daughter think. Vin grinned. He’d skimmed over the Book while Winnie had been napping one afternoon. Practice seemed to be something that was encouraged in the case of newly discovered gifts. So he decided to practice. This way they could carry on a conversation and not scare any animals away.
If we don’t scare the animals, will we be able to get close to them? Winnie asked him.
Maybe, if we’re careful. This is a good place to try. Vin reigned in and dismounted, then reached up and took Winnie out of the saddle, placing her on the ground. Soon he found a trail. He showed it to Winnie and silently told her how he knew what kind of animal it was and where it was going. They spent much of the morning this way. Vin found the more he practiced thinking at his daughter, the easier it became.
Soon it was time to have their picnic. Vin pulled out some bread, cheese and a few apples and set them on a blanket on the grass. Winnie poured water from the canteen into two small cups. She spilled a little and smiled at Vin sheepishly.
“That’s alright,” he reassured her. “Did you enjoy our ride and learnin’ about trackin’?”
“Oh, yes. I liked seein’ all the animals, Papa. An’ I liked seein’ how you find ‘em. Mama said you hunted for people sometimes. Is that how you found them?”
“Yup. I used the same trackin’ skills to find people. I don’t do that quite so much anymore,” Vin said, taking a bite of apple. After chewing for a while he asked, “What would you like to do this afternoon? We could head back to town and read a little.”
“Does that mean I have ta nap?” Winnie asked in reply.
“You usually nap in the afternoon. You get cranky if you don’t.” Winnie giggled at this and Vin shrugged. “Well, you do. And you’re already startin’ ta look tired...”
“Only a little. Why do I always have ta nap?”
“I already said, you get cranky at bedtime if you don’t nap in the afternoon. An’ you ain’t-aren’t always nappin’, else you’d never eat anythin’ or read or play games…”
“Silly!” Vin chuckled as his daughter giggled. She may protest the need of an afternoon nap but the fact that she was having these mercurial mood changes showed Vin that she was sleepy. She hadn’t slept well the previous night because she’d been so excited about their ride and then the morning had been very exciting between the ride itself and the tracking excursion.
Now he glanced up and Winnie was running around the clearing, chasing a butterfly that’d had the misfortune to wander within range of her keen eyesight. He sat in the shade relaxing and watching her play for a while. She was such a cheerful girl. He thought back to when Olivia and her Mama, Terry Greer, had visited town. Olivia had been such a serious child. Vin remembered his own childhood as a serious one as well. It had never occurred to him that childhood was supposed to be a carefree time of learning and wonder. Now that he knew this he knew he wanted his daughter’s to remain that way for a long time to come. He silently promised to do all in his power to see that it did.