Bent Tree

by Waggoner, Robert C.

  Bent Tree

  by Robert C. Waggoner

  Copyright 2010 Robert C. Waggoner

  Smashwords Edition

  Short Story

  “The Bent Tree”

  Robert Waggoner

  2010

  Two tall pine trees stood like naked statues in her side yard. Both were of the same vintage but one was straight and tall while the other was a bit shorter and bent. On a sunny, but chilly morning, Annie Wakefield leaned out her living room window and wondered why one was bent and the other wasn’t. Annie asked her Mom one day and all her mom said was: “I don’t know. Why do you care if one is bent and the other isn’t?” Annie let it go for the time being but vowed to discover the answer someday.

  Annie was on summer vacation from high school. She’d lived her entire life in a small town in Montana not so far from Bozeman. This was home and she couldn’t imagine living anywhere else but right here on their ranch with her family. Her father was an airline pilot and was only home when he wasn’t flying. Mom ran the ranch along with Stan Lovell their ranch hand. Stan was the epitome of a cowboy who did most of the managing of the stock while her Mom did the books. Annie’s younger brother Todd was on the worthless side and longed to live in the big city. Annie thought he was foolish but many of her high school friends wanted to live where the lights were bright and things were happening. Annie believed the happenings were between the ears and not in artificial city lights.

  Annie turned away from the window and walked to the kitchen where the cook, Rosita, was cooking breakfast. Annie’s Mom had found Rosita picking fruit. Her mom had stopped one day where dozens of fruit pickers were laboring along the highway, hollered out to the field to ask if anyone could cook. A short, plump, dark skinned Mexican woman stood up and raised her hand. That was five years ago and once the language barrier was broken, mighty fine food was soon coming from the kitchen. Annie towered over Rosita and when Annie passed Rosita, while Rosita was frying some bacon, pulled on her apron tie and laughed while Rosita scolded her in Spanish. Annie loved Rosita like an aunt and when Rosita came five years ago, Annie, who was just about to become a teenager, followed her around like a long lost puppy dog.

  Rosita taught Annie many things about raising chickens, gardening and cooking. All of the family knew that Annie sucked up knowledge like other kids ate ice cream: she couldn’t get enough of it. She drove her teachers at school crazy always asking “Why this?” and, “Why that?” It finally dawned on Annie that many of her questions went unanswered because the teachers and others didn’t know the answer. Why, she thought, didn’t they just say: “I don’t know.” However, now that Annie had her computer hooked up to satellite which though wasn’t always reliable, was better than nothing, she could look up the answers herself, but one had to be careful on the “facts” on the internet.

  Annie poured some orange juice into a class and sat down at the table watching Rosita cook breakfast. She asked Rosita, “What’s for lunch today? I invited two of my friends to come out and promised them your famous burritos. Is that okay Rosy?” Annie always called her Rosy due to her cheerful demeanor and smile. Not to mention her red lips that were a result of copious amounts of lipstick that Rosy thought made her look attractive.

  “Buena – for you and your amigos - Buenos,” Rosita replied. “I’ll see if it’s okay with your mama I took her a cup of tea at eleven last night and she was working hard. I don’t know how she does it,” Rosy said as she scrambled some eggs on the grille, “your mama can do two peoples work and never complain.”

  Annie was only half listening as her thoughts drifted back to the bent tree. Stan had told her years ago that a heavy snow load probably bent the tree when it was young. Well, if that was true then why wasn’t the other one just like it? Her thoughts broke apart as her Mom, Lucy Wakefield, came in looking like she hadn’t slept all night. Lucy’s yellow bathrobe hung on her slight tall frame as she sat down at the table at the opposite from Annie. Rosita poured Lucy a fresh cup of coffee into Lucy’s favorite mug with a picture of a grizzly bear snarling back at anyone who was looking while she sipped her coffee. Annie said, “Mom at least you could have combed your hair before you came down – you look like a wild woman.”

  Lucy Wakefield was in no mood to respond to her daughter’s comment. Right now she had more important things on her mind than her stringy blonde hair. After pouring over the ranch books the previous night it was confirmed that they were in a world of hurt financially. Lucy thought drastic measures were needed and the first thing to go was her husband’s airplane. Usually he flew from Bozeman to the ranch but he could just drive. Also, the cost of keeping a bunch of worthless horses around was just foolishness. Annie was the only one who ever rode around here and soon she will be off to college. It was time to either auction them off or advertise by word of mouth, or in an ad. Either way they must go to pay the taxes and the past years feed bill for the Angus herd last winter.

  While Lucy drank her coffee she looked at the calendar and saw that her husband Brandon would be home this coming weekend. She needed to speak frankly to her husband laying out illustrating to him just how serious this crisis really was. She knew he would shrug it off and pour another double shot of scotch and try to pacify her.

  Lucy felt eyes staring at her and saw her daughter looking at her with a smile on her face. Lucy asked, “What are you doing today my darling daughter?”

  “Some friends coming and I asked Rosy if she could make us some burritos, but she said to ask you first.”

  “That’s fine with me Annie. Later I need to talk to you after your friends go home.” Annie’s felt a red flag go up when her Mom said they needed to talk. However, she knew to keep her mouth shut until that time and then speaks frankly as her Mom expected her to. “It’s nothing earth shattering Annie.” Annie watched her Mom finish off her coffee and walk up to take a shower as was her ritual.

  Rosita sat a plate of scrambled eggs and bacon in front of Annie. Rosita was always happiest when they gobbled up her cooking. Rosita always loved it when Annie ate like a horse but never gained any excess weight. Annie was tall for her age and she took after her Mom for her size and fine looks. Once she finished eating Annie began texting her friends to come for lunch and a horse ride. After that Annie went outside to look around and the walk around led directly to the two pine trees where she stared up at them still wondering why one was bent and the other was straight as a string.

  Lucy had finished her bath and came down stairs to her office refreshed and ready to tackle the deficit spending. She had no more than sat down when the phone rang. It was her husband Brandon saying he was coming in this evening around seven pm. He sounded rather down and not his usual jovial self, Lucy noted. She cast it off and went back crunching numbers while thinking how to rob Paul and pay Peter.

  Annie walked into the horse barn, ah, she loved the smell of the place. The smell of horses was hard for her to describe, but it was neither offensive nor enticing. However, with a mix of alfalfa, leather, horse scat and smells from outside, it simply made her feel good. She entered the tack room sucking in the smell of leather, grabbed a brush and went to find her horse Nasty. Stan was busy cleaning out some stalls and gave her a hello good morning holler and went back to what he was doing. Annie went to Nasty’s stall where he was already leaning out the stall door looking at her with his full grey head and ears at high mast as she approached him.

  A half hour later Nasty was all shined up ready to go. Lucy had told Stan that two friends were coming and they would go riding after lunch. Stan told her he would saddle the two gentle mares at one o’clock. Then he asked her, “Annie is everything alright with the ranch?”

  Annie was a bit shocked and then she answered, “As far as I know
Stan. I know Mom has been working late on the books, but that’s not unusual for her. Why do you ask?”

  “Well usually by this time your Mom makes her rounds and always has a nice smile on her face like you do. Last night she asked me what some of the horses were worth and I gave her my best guess. Do you think she is intending to sell some horses?”

  Annie had put Nasty back in his stall and walked over to where Stan was leaning on a pitch fork. “Mom’s always complaining that the horses are a waste of money and maybe she’s right there. Dad is the one who wants a stable full of horses around to impress his buddies. I would have a fit if she tried to sell Nasty,” she said emphatically in her teenage voice. Stan nodded his head, wiped his brow with his button down shirt sleeve, and went back to work.

  Annie walked out into the bright sun light and had to shade her eyes as once again she glanced over at the two pine trees and then shook her head as if to rid herself of the constant thought of the bent tree. She flashed back at the time she went out and measured the two trees. They were exactly the same distance around and if one hadn’t been bent, they would be identical in height. Annie kept walking and found herself in the kitchen talking to Rosy as she was texting her two friends that were coming. Rosy asked, “What time are they coming and how many burritos do you think all three of you can eat?”

  Annie flipped her cell shut and said, “I think about one each, but if there’re any extras we could take some with us riding. We’re going up to that old line shack and hang out for awhile.”

  “I’ll have some in foil for you, so don’t forget them.”

  Annie’s Mom came in and said, “Ah I was about to go looking for you and glad I found you. Come take a walk with me Annie. I need to clear my head with some fresh Montana air.” Annie followed her Mom out the kitchen door and then walked past the bent tree down to the creek which flowed past the barn and on down to the river. It was really more like a stream than a creek as each year it seemed to grow smaller and smaller – at least until the snows melted. Stopping on the bank, crossing her arms across her chest she turned and said, while looking her daughter in the eye, “Annie, you are almost a grown up now. There is not a lot I can tell you about life that doesn’t need actual experience. Life seems to pass by faster than we expect and we all have to grow up sooner that most would like to see their kids thrust into a situation that needs the whole family’s attention. This is the case in our situation. We are in a financial crisis and need to come together and survive the next year or so. Your father is coming home tonight and we all need to sit down and have a family meeting. I know you have many question, but I don’t have all the answers to your questions. We need to cut our costs drastically and if we don’t we could lose the ranch.”

  Annie was less than shocked as she had felt earlier something was happening beyond her control. She chewed on her lower lip and kicked the grass around her feet. Then she said, “Mom, just tell me what we need to do and I’ll do it. I hope we don’t have to sell Nasty but if we do need to sell him to save the ranch, then so be it.” Annie could see tears starting to run down her Mom’s cheeks and she reached out and hugged her. They stayed locked together for a few minutes until a shout was heard from up near the barn calling Mom to the phone.

  Annie slowly walked back to the house and when she entered the kitchen her Mom was sitting there drinking a cup of coffee. She said, “Your father is on his way home and would you take the truck and pick him up around eleven thirty?”

  “Sure Mom. Why is he coming in today? This isn’t his usual schedule. Oh well, it will be nice to have him around for a few days. Hey, let’s BBQ tonight and I will ask my friends to stay overnight?”

  “Well let’s see what dad says and take it from there.”

  “Okay mom, now I am going to get ready for the girls to come. We are going up to the old line shack and hang out.”

  Annie met her father as his single engine Cessna plane landed on their grass strip airport just after eleven thirty. After tying down his plane in the hanger and making sure all was well, Brandon gave his daughter a big hug and told her how grown up she looked. Annie blushed and then told him what her plan was for the day and hoped he would like the idea of a BBQ later that night. He told her that he would talk it over with mom and let her know when she came back from riding.

  Annie’s two friends, Sue Timms and Julie Plains arrived near one and promptly chowed down the burritos. After that they went trail riding chattering a mile a minute as Stan stood watching and shaking his head thinking how nice it was to be young without a care in the world.

  Brandon went to the shower and then he and Lucy had some burritos also. Then they went to the living room where they would talk over coffee. Lucy felt the tension and so did her husband, but he tried to make light of the situation. What neither of them realized that both had information that would essentially change their lives forever. Brandon, a tall man with a slightly red face brought on by too many years of drinking asked if he could be first to share his news with her. Lucy nodded and he said, “I am being sent to rehab to dry out. They told me to either stop drinking or lose my job. The union has their hands tied with it being a standard in the industry now. My insurance pays for it, but my salary has been cut in half. As I understand it, it is a ninety day program with follow up AA meetings.”

  He let her digest that information while he stood up and leaned against the fireplace hearth. He looked at the many pictures of the family lining the hearth as Lucy thought about what he just told her. It wasn’t a big surprise to her as his drinking was getting out of hand. However, with this financially crisis upon them, a cut in his regular salary would put a big dent in their income. She stared at her handsome husband. Regardless of his drinking he was a fine man and a good father to the kids. He had a full head of dark brown hair combed straight back from his prominent brow. Very bushy eyebrows that almost hid his shinny light brown eyes. A not unusual nose and a fine set of lips just begging to be kissed. He still made her heart pound, but at the moment, he didn’t appear in the mood for bed talk.

  Lucy said, “Well it seems like a day for bad news. I have a bit of bad news of my own. We’re going to have to radically change our lifestyle if we want to save the ranch from default.”

  Brandon’s face dropped and his knees got a bit weak so he sat back down across from her and listened. Lucy continued, “Yes, dear, we are in a world of shit and we need to totally change the way we live. First thing to go is your airplane and then the horses. After that we need to pare down our herd for the coming winter time so as the feed will not kill us. We need to find out what the horses are worth and get the best deal we can. I used Stan to get a ball park figure and we can make it if you quit drinking and return to work. I talked to the banker and suggested we refinance the ranch, but he said there is not enough equity in it and very little appreciation has been noted in the last few years. Of course we could put the ranch up for sale, but from talking around the realty world and the banker, there is not a lot of demand for a five thousand acre ranch. Let’s be realistic, Brandon, the ball’s in your court and our lives hang in the balance. Your happy go lucky, carefree attitude has got to change. This is how I feel about it Brandon, it’s about time we got off the “spend – spend” ways and go back to the basics.”

  Brandon’s eyes had never left her and when she finished, he took a deep breath and said, “I know you’re right Lucy. My boss gave it to me straight and to the point. Then, I saw our daughter almost grown up and soon off to university and, our son who needs our -or my- help as he is in a difficult time of life. While I was flying home I thought about when I was his age and longed for the action of a big city. I know he is restless and I will have a heart to heart with him later. Now Lucy, I’m going for a walk, or a ride, and try to look at my life realistically. When I come back, I’ll tell you honestly and truthfully what I can and can’t do.”

  “Fair enough Brandon. Annie would like a BBQ tonight with her friends, I think that it’s no
t a good idea at this time. What do you think?”

  “I agree with you. You can tell her to rain check the BBQ.”

  Brandon saddled his horse and gracefully swung up into the saddle while Stan held the mare by its halter. Stan noticed that Brandon didn’t smile his usual smile and thought that some serious things were on Brandon’s mind as Stan watched him leave the barn and turn north to the hills.

  Making it slowly up the mountain trail that led to the line shack, the girls chatted about the usual things: Boys and how stupid most of them were. Well, maybe not so stupid, one the girls commented, but immature were a better way to describe them.

  Sue added, “My boyfriend Junior gets so mad when I won’t let him go all the way with me. He tells me how much he loves me and wants to marry me after we graduate, but I asked him how he was going support a family. He told me that he would work his father’s ranch and we could live in the upstairs with them. I asked if he was crazy. I’m not living with your parents.”

  Julie laughed and then said, “My boyfriend thinks I’m going to follow him to his university - he’s hoping for a scholarship playing basketball. I’m applying to a college back east. If I can keep my grades up, then Ivy League, here I come.”

  Both girls noticed that Annie was awfully quiet and wondered if she had a problem of some sort so Julie asked, “Annie is something wrong? You’re not your usual cheerful self. Did you have a fight with Jimmy or what?”

  “No, we didn’t have a fight, but we might have one soon. When we get to the line shack I’ll tell you what’s going on.” Silence ensued as they approached the old line shack with its door missing.

  Sue said, “Okay we’re here now Annie. Tell us what’s going on. Remember we’re your best friends and want to help if we can.”