“We must do somethin’ about your stamina. Ya won’t be able to dance well if your huffin’ and puffin’ the ’ole time. Much less ’avin’ your partner ’avin’ to ’old ya up.” She worked the lads hard and by the end of the night, they were exhausted. Eva gave a couple of last comments as they departed. “Ya may want ta practice a bit with each other sometime. Be sure ta bring your right feet next time.”
The next night Katie and Clara were going out to Rush Park together. Katie lifted the brass knocker and as she did the door swung open pulling the knocker out of her hand. Clara was backing out the front door yelling inside the house. “I’ll be out walking with Katie for a few hours.”
A female voice from inside the house called out, “All right, dear.”
As she closed the door Katie backed away so she would not get trampled by Clara’s hasty exit. The girls turned around and started down the steps when they saw Mr. Purdy driving his wagon past the house. He had just come from the railroad station with merchandise that just arrived by train. Katie called out to him as she skipped away from the house, “Mr. Purdy, may we have a carry on your wagon?”
“Sure,” he smiled, “All aboard!” He stopped the wagon, the girls hopped onto the back board with their feet dangling off the back. Mr. Purdy flipped the reins and the wagon started rolling again.
“Beats walking all the way,” Katie said.
“Yes, it was a great idea,” Clara smiled just as they hit a bump in the road. “Woo,” Clara grasped the side board quickly to steady herself.
Mr. Purdy hollered back to them. “I’m turning left here! Stay on if you like!” The girls wanted to go right so they slipped off the back of the wagon and began to walk west toward Rush Park
“Thank you!” Both girls yelled to Mr. Purdy. He waved to them. The ride was short, but helped since they still had a half mile walk to Rush Park.
Katie started the intense conversation. “Are you going to the dance?”
“Yes,” Clara said. “My parents are coming to town and wanted to go. So I will go with them.”
“You aren’t going to be able to dance with Gilbert then, are you?”
“I don’t even know if he is going.” Clara said mournfully, “If he does it would be a mess to dance with him. I told you about the Williams’s dinner party, didn’t I?”
“Yes, how embarrassing,” Katie said, “So, you are going without an escort?”
“Yes,” Clara spoke without regret. “Have you been asked yet?”
“I think Ebb Longfellow will ask me.” Katie said with great enthusiasm. “He has been coming in the café lately. He always leaves a ten cent piece.”
Clara looked at her as if stunned by the statement, “Where did he get ten cents?”
Katie said with some depression, “Probably from his father.”
“I thought he was courting Beverly Stimp?”
“Not anymore,” Katie said with great delight.
They walked for a few minutes without saying much. The girls greeted many families as they sat out on their porches enjoying a nice summer evening. A gust of wind shifted Clara’s hat and she quickly reached up to adjust it back into place. She had to fuss a bit to get the ribbon to keep form dangling in her face. “Ebb is a good looking fellow, but what is it you really want in a man?”
Katie laughed, “I picture the perfect man, tall and beautiful.”
“Handsome.”
“Beautiful and handsome, tall, strong, a man that can hold me firmly and I can look up at him. A man that can defend my honor with just his appearance.” Katie stepped away from Clara and began to twirl around as if dancing. “A man that can dance the best waltz in the world, so all the other girls will be jealous.” Katie stopped twirling and dreamily smiling and looking into the puffy clouds above.
Clara rolled her eyes, “That’s it?” Katie looked at her blankly. “What about his soul.”
“Well, of course he has to be descent in behavior.”
“You surprise me, Katie,” Clara said shaking her head, “I thought of all people you would want someone with the same wonderful personality as yours, not someone with a mere impressive physical appearance.”
“Well, what would be your perfect man?”
Clara thought carefully for a moment. “I want a man I can trust without hesitation. A man that will defend me with his life and not just to save his own ego. A man that treats everyone with respect. If they deserve it, of course. A man devoted to all his commitments.”
“Nothing about his appearance?” Katie asked with great interest. “Because, Gilbert is short, stocky and a bit beautiful.” She had said beautiful just to irritate Clara. Then corrected herself, “Handsome.”
“I wouldn’t want him any other way,” Clara said confidently.
“You’re just saying that, because you’re in love with him.” Katie smiled and jokingly added, “If he were to try to defend you, they would pick him up and stick him head first in a pickle barrel.”
“That’s not funny,” Clara faked being emotionally hurt by the analogy. Then sadly added, “You’re right, they would. And when they did, I would go over and pick him out of the pickle barrel.” The two girls laughed.
They went directly to the main barn and walked through the large open doors. Clara and Katie stopped in their tracks, stunned at the sight of Gilbert and Barney embracing. They heard Gilbert begin to count out loud, “One, two, three, one, two, three.” The two girls were shocked at the sight. The two men were entangled together kicking at the barns dirt floor. Katie grabbed Clara by the arm and pulled her to hide in a stall occupied by a chestnut filly.
Katie whispered as they starred through the rails of the stall. “You don’t think?”
Clara’s eyes were wide open as she watched the two young men. “No.” She starred at them without blinking. She had to observe the two of them for a moment before she suggested a possible explanation. “I’m not absolutely sure, but I believe it’s a waltz.”
Katie looked at them with new hope. “Who waltzes like that?”
Clara shook her head slightly as she spoke, “Two boys that can’t waltz.” The two girls continued to peer between rails.
“This is sad,” Clara said.
“Really sad,” agreed Katie. “The saddest thing I have ever seen.”
“Yeah.”
“Scary,” Katie said, “Maybe we should leave.”
Gilbert continued to count, but lost count when they got out of step. Although it was hard to tell if they were ever in step. Clara then said, “This is awful. I hope Gilbert doesn’t go to the dance.” She shook her head. “He will end up in a pickle barrel for sure.”
“One, two, three,” Gilbert counted off once again as the two men started dancing again. They didn’t appear to be getting any better with their attempt to dance.
The two girls shook their heads as Katie said, “Maybe if they had real music.” Katie started bobbing her head as if to be bobbing to music. “It might get them to loosen up, so they won’t be so stiff.”
“I don’t think so,” Clara said, “I think the music would just confuse them more.”
Gilbert and Barney spun around a few times then Gilbert tripped on a pile of horse droppings, fell backwards into the hay pulling Barney down on top of him.
“Now’s our chance,” said Katie as she tugged at Clara’s arm.
“Please, don’t make fun of them,” Clara pleaded with Katie.
The girls popped out of hiding and walked toward the two dancers that lay on the hay laughing. They were not aware of the girls as they approached.
Clara bellowed out, “What is going on here?” The two men were startled as they quickly turned to see who had yelled at them. Both of them became very red in the face.
“We just fell in the hay.” Gilbert tried to make it sound like it happens every day.
&
nbsp; “You fell in the hay, together?” Clara asked with a tone of disbelief.
“Yes, well,” Gilbert said, “I was talking to Barney, and I stepped back and tripped backwards this pile of hay. Barney tried to grab me to pull me back, but it was too late. He lost his balance as well and fell on top of me.”
“And the conversation you were having just prior to your trip, was obviously in code?” Clara asked inquisitively.
Gilbert, Barney, and even Katie, were confused by this question. “What do you mean code?” Gilbert asked.
“What does; one, two, three, one, two, three, mean in real English?” Clara raised her eyebrows.
Gilbert realized the girls had heard him, so he decided to be completely honest with them. “I was teaching Barney how to count.”
Katie whispered to Clara, “I thought we weren’t going to make fun of them?”
“I have no control over myself, sorry. You might as well join in.” Clara said.
Katie didn’t hesitate, “What was the purpose of spinning around like that, while you cited the numerical system?” She twirled her hand to imitate their spinning.
Gilbert was caught without any logical explanation so he decided to humble himself and really tell them the truth. “We were practicing a waltz.”
Clara turned toward Katie with a smile, “I told you it was a waltz.”
Katie shook her head, “You may have been right, if they are telling the truth. Their story seems to keep changing. I really couldn’t see a waltz out of that mess. There was no step in time, rhythm or coordinated bounce to their feeble attempt to successfully execute a waltz step.” Katie looked sternly at Barney, “I think he’s lying. Nobody could be that bad at dancing.” The two girls couldn’t control themselves any longer and burst out laughing. Gilbert and Barney were offended by the girls lack of compassion. Since the reason they were struggling with the dance, was to please them.
Gilbert was no longer embarrassed, by this intrusion into their private business, he was becoming angry. “Let’s go Barney,” Gilbert said. “We don’t need to take this abuse.” Gilbert turned around and began to walk away.
Barney did not move. He started to laugh instead. Then he said in a sheepish manner, “We we- we- were ba- ba- bad weren’t we?”
Katie looked at him with great compassion, “Yes, you were very bad.” The two of them approached each other with joyous smiles on their faces. Katie took his hands, “Instead of reading tonight, do you want to work on dancing?” Barney nodded with a great smile on his face. Katie quietly guided Barney to a good starting position, before she started counting, “One, two, three,” and off they went. Barney was able to dance very well with Katie guiding him along.
Gilbert had turned around, “Good god, she knows the secret code.” Clara moved next to him and held his arm as Katie and Barney danced smoothly away from them.
Clara kindly said as she lowered her head onto his shoulder, “I guess you’re the rotten dancer here. Barney seems to be getting along very well.”
“I guess so,” Gilbert said in quiet frustration.
“Let’s work on your dancing in another barn.”
“All right,” Gilbert agreed and escorted her out “It really isn’t that easy, you know.”
The dance lessens went well for everyone. Gilbert enjoyed his time with Clara. He got much better at dancing as the night went on. Clara said, “I wouldn’t be too embarrassed to dance with you.”
Barney was so delighted with his time with Katie, his mind was in the clouds when he smiled at her and without a stutter blurted out, “Would you go to the dance with me, Katie?” Katie was caught in complete surprise at the question.
Barney could see the struggle she was having to come up with the words to say no. “I, I, I can’t go with you. I’m sorry,” she said softly, regretting the words she spoke the instant she had spoken them.
Barney’s stomach suddenly dropped and he felt sick. He smiled politely, “All right, I understand.” He then politely turned away from her, “I have ta-ta-ta- go and close wi-windows in the nnn-orth barn.” He walked quickly, out of the barn.
Katie thought if only she would have taken more time to explain why she said no. Yet she wasn’t sure why she said no. She came to the conclusion there was nothing she could have said that would have explained to Barney why she said no. Even if she had all the time in the world to think about it.
Katie solemnly strolled around Rush Park in a daze until she found Clara and Gilbert in a loving embrace. They were kissing passionately before Clara turned to Katie and the two girls began to walk silently toward town. Clara was in the highest of spirits, which irritated Katie greatly.
Clara quickly recognized something was troubling her friend. “What happened?”
“He asked me to the dance.” She said as tears burst from her eyes.
“What did you say?”
“I said no,” she ashamedly admitted.
Clara was a bit upset with her, and she sarcastically, without mercy, said. “Why would you say no? He is tall, beautifully handsome, muscular so he could defend you well. Oh, but he couldn’t protect you by just his presence in front of anyone who knows him. You’re afraid people will laugh at you.” It was a subject that irritated Clara a great deal. She remembered when she had many friends and was very popular in school. Until she befriended the best friend she could have ever possibly hoped for, Gilbert. She knew one great friend was worth more then all the phony ones she ever had before. Yet she knew Katie, and Katie was the sweetest most considerate person she had ever known. It was out of character for her to have treated Barney so badly.
Katie screamed in emotional torment, “I know! I am so terrible!” Katie stopped and leaned against the fence next to the Rush Park entrance. Her body shook with an agonizing fit of crying. She opened her mouth, but was unable to speak. Tears saturated her face and dripped into the grass.
Clara realized that Katie was having the same feelings, when she had treated Gilbert so badly in front of her friends, when they were children. She put her arms around Katie, “Katie, you are not a bad person. You have said no to many boys before. It is just something Barney will have to live with.”
“You didn’t see the hurt on his face,” she said. “He tried to hide his pain, but I could see it anyway. I was cold and blunt.” She took a deep breath, “He doesn’t deserve to be treated that way.”
“You treated him like you would anyone else you don’t want to go the dance with.” Clara tried to help Katie feel better. She began to wonder why this hurt Katie in such a high degree. She developed a theory, “Unless you would want to go to the dance with him, if it wasn’t him.” Katie looked at Clara through the tear filled eyes, as if she saw herself and didn’t like it. “If everyone respected Barney, would you go to the dance with him?”
Katie shook her head and calmly said, “I don’t believe it.”
“Don’t believe what?” Clara asked Katie as she slowly got up and started to walk back to Barney’s barn. Clara followed her closely, “You either like him or you feel sorry for him. Why don’t you wait until tomorrow. You can get your composure back.”
Katie shook her head, “I can’t let him suffer all night just to save my dignity. I know I don’t want to suffer all night with this guilt.” She knew where Barney’s room was. The walk their seemed to Clara to be similar to a death march. Katie walked as if her legs would give out under her at any moment. Clara walked close by in case she needed to catch her. Neither one of them spoke as they walked solemnly to his room. As Katie stood outside his closed door, she cleared away the tears with her sleeve and took a deep breath.
When she had regained some of her composure, she knocked on the door. Gilbert opened the door and stood there looking at her. Gilbert did not say anything he waited for Katie to speak.
“Is Barney here?” She asked. Gilbert saw immediately Katie was
shaky and had been crying. He just nodded and gestured her in. She entered the room as Gilbert stepped out closing the door behind him, leaving her and Barney alone.
Barney was standing upright, looking at her, waiting for her to speak. He looked sad, but was trying not to show any emotion at all. Katie stood for a moment before tears began gushing from her eyes. She stood upright as best as she could, trying to speak. Barney, without hesitation went to her and put his arms around her. She buried her head in his shoulder.
“It’s all right, Katie,” he said with a slightest quiver in his voice and not a hint of a stutter. “I know you can get a better man than me. I know that you would be humiliated to be seen with me and I don’t want you to go through that.”
“Stop,” she begged him, “you’re making this harder,” she was able to blurt out the words between short gasping breaths. Her body shook uncontrollably for a time as they stood in silence together. Barney tried to pull her away once to offer her a seat, but she tightened her grip on him. So they stood there for a moment. One time she seemed to subside with the convulsive sobbing enough to say something. Barney thought she was about to say something, but suddenly she started another series of tears and shaking.
“I’ll stand here all night if you want to,” he said softly in her ear. They stayed that way for what seemed like a long period of time.
Katie started to speak laboriously, “I-I-I da-da-don’t want to -– go to -– the da-da-dance with anyone else -— but you.” She pulled her head away to look at him. “I mean that wi-with all my heart.” She buried her head into his shoulder once again and more tears poured out. After a few minutes Katie was able to pull away from him. She strained to keep her composure and squeaked out in a high pitched voice. “So, I will see you on Monday for your lessons. We can talk better then.”
Barney had never kissed a girl and felt the urge to do so, but couldn’t bring himself to do it. Katie kissed him on the cheek and quickly exited. Clara and Gilbert had gathered outside the barn waiting to pick up any pieces. Katie saw them and walked past them without a word. Clara nipped Gilbert on the cheek and caught up to her. They walked back to town briskly without a word. They separated a few blocks from Clara’s house.
Allerton and Axtell Page 31