I listened to Charlie drone on. Maybe I did need some rest. Maybe I hadn’t grown up like I should have. Maybe this whole thing had been some kind of retro attempt to recapture my childhood. Maybe I wanted one last time at playing cowboy. Maybe I was nuts.
" Charlie, I interrupted, I’m real sorry if I scared you today. I just wanted to teach you a lesson about playing tricks on people. You see I thought you took the horses."
"Me?!" He jumped up from his step and bounded down to the ground. " You thought I was a rustler? Heck no mister. I’m one of the good guys. Can’t you tell by the color of my hat? Bad guys wear black hats. Everyone knows that. You ain’t much of a sheriff if you don’t know that."
" You know what, you’re right. I’m not a very good sheriff. How about you take the job?"
His eyes lit up and he started to pull off his vest and hat and even his gun belt. I struggled out of the vest and dropped the holster that didn’t fit to the ground. I even threw in the hat that was too big for me. I’d have given him the boots too but I couldn’t get them off. Charlie made a quick change and he stood at the bottom of the steps with his new sheriff’s outfit looking proud though somewhat ill fitted. He drew himself up to stand a little taller.
"We’re friends aren’t we mister?"
"Yeah, I’d like to think we are Charlie." I said.
" Good. I’d better be getting on home now. I don’t want my Pa to worry. Can I come see you tomorrow?" He asked. I just nodded my head yes and watched as he turned to leave. When he got to the path that led from our property he turned and said, "You know even though we’re friends if you stepped outside the law I’d have to come gunning for you, don’t you?"
" I know Charlie. I’d expect you to do just that."
He turned and disappeared along the path. Charlie would grow into the clothes and they would briefly fit him, as they should. Unfortunately he would also one day outgrow them. But not too soon I hoped. You only have so long to be a kid. Eventually you get too big for other folks to let you be one anymore. But who among us wouldn’t trade a few days of adulthood to be a kid just one more day?
Cowboy Charlie Page 2