by Ken Renshaw
The next morning, it seemed as though everyone was sleeping in. I woke Tina and told her that we needed to go into town for our last breakfast in Rocky Butte. There was one more thing I had to do.
At Bob's Cafe we sat on stools at the counter, somewhat to Tina's surprise. Four rough looking cowboys, wearing their cowboy hats, sitting in a booth, told Agnes something while she was taking their orders. She shrugged her shoulders, came over to us, carefully looking Tina over, and said, "What’ll-y-have?"
"Two scrambled eggs," I responded. Tina added, "The Denver Omelet."
Agnes looked me straight in the eye and said, "Congratulations on creating Rocky Butte's first millionaires and putting the Sheriff in his place."
"Thanks, but that is not exactly true. Their suit will be locked in appeals courts for years to come. The insurance companies will try to drag it out forever. The Sodastroms will not get a penny for years. People shouldn't try to hit them up for donations or grub stakes on mining ventures. They don't have any new money. Tell all the potential kidnappers of Ann and Ed that unless they want to hold captives for years, there will be no money for ransom."
"Is that really true?" She sounded surprised.
"And, our law firm doesn't get paid from the settlement until the Sodastroms do. I am not leaving here with a fat paycheck from the settlement. I did not come here and get rich off the Sodastroms' hard luck."
"Is that really true? That's disappointing, for the Sodastroms, I mean."
Agnes leaned down as if she were going to share a confidence with Tina and said. "The boys over there think you were the girl who beat up Chester Dawson at The Claim Jumper yesterday. Is that true?"
Tina bent her head down in mock embarrassment and replied in her fake southern accent, "I was at The Claim Jumper yesterday with one of my lady friends and I saw those big cowboys scrabbling about something. How could somebody like little old me beat up a cowboy who weighs twice as much as I? Well, I'll say."
"I'll tell them," replied Agnes.
As we got back in the car, I said to Tina, "You have created another legend for Rocky Butte. You're probably the biggest thing since Sasquatch was sighted. I don't think any locals heard about Mr. S's little surprise. Buster had requested the FBI keep the affair secret for a while. He didn't want to risk having the car bombing interfere with the trial."
"We visited the Sodastroms briefly, and returned to the Ranch to pack up. We said our goodbyes to Buster and Sofia, with Sofia, and Tina acting as if they were long lost sisters."
Elizabeth would stay a few days to clean up some paperwork, and take Ben up on his offer to give her riding lessons.
She blushed slightly and added, "Ben also said something about learning something called 'wrangling.' Do you know what that means?"
"I'll expect a full report when you get back to LA," I joked.
Elizabeth smiled, "I need to take something back: Catered dinners, fine champagne, clients who fly in Lear Jets, twenty–million dollars, Tina, that's big time. I am delighted I got to assist." She offered her hand.
"Thank you," I replied, and shook her hand.
As we drove away Tina said, "Well, that's one more chapter in our lives."
That is more true than you think, I thought. I didn't want to discuss Colson's letter until I had sorted out a whole bunch of things.
9
The Quiet Time
We had a leisurely trip through the Gold Country in the foothills of the Sierras where the California Gold Rush happened, through the sleepy towns, so isolated from cities that they did not become bedroom communities. They've maintained the character of an early California small boomtown, isolated from the changes in industry and immigration.
We had fun panning gold, riding logging trains, swimming in ice-cold rivers through tame rapids; being tourists.
At one point Tina observed, "I was expecting we would rush back to CrystalSky and your sailplane. Here, we are playing tourist."
I replied, "That's where we are headed. Somehow it doesn't seem so urgent now."
I wanted to talk to Tina about my letter from Colson. I though it was such a huge subject that it required a spectacular setting to discuss. I suggested to Tina that we go to Yosemite, it was not too far off our route, and neither of us had been there for many years.
We spent a day and a half in Yosemite Valley, mostly hiking. Since we were both consumed by the excitement of exploring the beautiful place, for the first time since we were kids, I didn't find a suitable, quiet time to discuss grown-up plans with Tina. Reluctantly, we started the drive to Southern California.
After we drove out of the Valley, we came to a sign for the turn to Glacier Point. I said, "Let's go there. There is a place there that is one of my favorites."
We drove for about a half hour over an area that was mostly grey granite outcroppings with scattered clumps of trees. We came to the Washburn Point turnout and parked. We walked over and sat on a low granite block wall.
Tina exclaimed. "This is really spectacular! Look how dark it looks down in the valley below us and how the shadow is creeping up the other side of the valley. Are those the falls we hiked up where there was all the mist? Look at how golden Half Dome looks in the late sun."
I recalled to Tina, "The last time I was here, a geology teacher, standing on that boulder over there, lectured his class. He was really in his element, talking about eons of time, the glaciers grinding their way through the valleys, He was silhouetted in front of hundreds of miles of Granite Mountains. I had never really thought about it, but geology has a lot to do with space-time, the four-dimensional kind. Speaking of space-time....."
I reached in my pocket, produced Colson's offer letter.
Tina read it with astonishment and said, "What does this mean?"
"This will be essentially a new career for me. It will change my life plan. Stand up a second." I stepped to the ground and held her hand as I directed her to stand on the wall.
She looked surprised, slightly alarmed, as though she thought I might push her off the wall. The golden light of the late afternoon sun made her face and hair glow.
"I am making big decisions and changes in my life, and I would like you to be part of them. Will you marry me?"
"Yes! Yes! Yes! Or more succinctly, Yes." She jumped down, threw her hands around my neck, kissed me for a long time and then pulled her head back, looked me in the eyes and said, "That means yes...maybe I should clarify that, Yes, Yes."
After a lovely and emotional few minutes, and some disapproving looks from a couple of elderly grey-haired ladies who drove up, Tina asked for the keys to the car, dug in the picnic basket, and produced a wine bottle and two glasses.
"Easy for me," I said, "I'm the designated driver and we have a bit of mountain road to go on before we get to our hotel."
We held hands, looked at each, conversed with tears in our eyes, as the remnants of the late afternoon cumulus clouds turned gold and faded to night.
Back to the main highway, I noticed Hesperus leading his invasion of the night sky. It seemed as if he wasn't as alone as before.