Save the Next Dance

Lou awoke with a start as the cold air brushed her face, still groggy with sleep she had a faint recollection of hearing the door of the bunk house shut. She strained her eyes in the dark to see whose bed was empty. Cody's covers were pulled back as she had half expected. Quietly she jumped down from her bunk and made her way onto the verandah. The moon was high and she was clearly able to see Cody's stooped figure sitting on the top step.

"Cody, you ok?" she asked shaking from the coolness.

"I'm fine Lou. Go back to bed."

"Thinkin about Eleanor?"

"What'd she tell you?" he asked defensively.

"Nuthin but its pretty obvious there's something goin on with you two."

"There aint nuthin goin on."

"Did there use to be?"

Cody looked at her for a long time as if pondering whether to tell her or not then said "Go to bed."

"Sometimes it helps to talk about it."

"There ain't nuthin to talk about."

"You and her were close once." she stated matter-of-factly.

"Lou!" he relied sternly.

"I just wanna help!"

"Then go to bed!" he said standing up and heading towards his own bed. Lou reluctantly followed. Cody knew that he hadn't heard the last of this.

Eleanor turned from hanging the laundry to see who the approaching rider was.

"Lou, hi!"

"Hi Eleanor. I was just wondering if you would do me a favor?" Lou jumped down from her horse.

Eleanor shrugged "I guess so. What is it?" she asked skeptically.

"Don't worry, its nothing to do with Cody!" Eleanor gave her a withering look. "The boys were talking about a coming dance at the Hall and I kinda thought...I wanted to get a new dress and I thought maybe you could help me choose the material." Lou finished with less confidence.

"Of course I will!"

"Great. Got time to talk?"

"That depends on the topic!" warned Eleanor.

"Come on Ellie, he was sitting outside in the cold broodin' last night. What'd he do wrong?"

Eleanor closed her eyes and shook her head "He didn't do anything wrong."

"I'm sorry if it seems like prying but I don't like seeing folk that obviously have feeling for each other beating themselves up like you two are."

"There may have been feelings once but that was a long time ago." Eleanor picked up the empty basket and headed for the house.

"Maybe it was but some of those feelings are still there!"

"When is the dance?"

"I thought you'd have heard about it - and you're changing the subject!"

"I don't care too much for dances - and yes I am!"

"Ok you win - for now anyway," laughed Lou, "its in 3 weeks to celebrate the start of Spring."

"Spring?! Looks to me like spring is more than 3 weeks away!" Eleanor pointed to the muddy boots that both her and Lou were removing.

After the girls had finished their lunch Lou suggested that they head into town to choose a pattern and material for the dress.

"How about this?" Eleanor held up a yellow floral next to Lou "Aaargh, forget that, it looked better rolled up!"

"I like this" Lou held up a roll with blue stripes and white and red pinstripes.

"So do I and blue suits you. The Kid should be impressed!" teased Eleanor.

"How did you know 'bout that?"

"Same way you knew about me and Billy I guess. He's nice Lou, you're lucky."

"Where can I find Edward Cicely?" a loud voice boomed. Lou and Eleanor turned to see a tall, unshaven man who looked to be a gunfighter or similar.

"Edward?" whispered Lou.

"My brother!" Eleanor replied visibly shaken. "Come on" she pulled Lou towards the door as the Shopkeeper replied that he didn't know of anyone by that name.

They sped the cart towards the Cicely homestead.

"Pa there was a gunfighter in the store asking about Teddy!" she spluttered running into the new barn."

"Whoa up girl! What was all that?"

Eleanor retold the story to her father and saw a worried look come over his face

"Lucky Tompkins didn't mention us or we'd be in more trouble than what that storm gave us! Lou can you get Teaspoon to come out here when he can. Better make it today though!"

"Sure" she replied and turned to give Eleanor a friendly hug as she left.

"What'd they want with Teddy, Pa?"

"I don't know but that boy rode out of Irwin looking for trouble and it looks like he's found it!"

"Why don't you and Eleanor come to stay at the Way Station tonight, just till we can be sure that this fellow has left the town. I told the boys to keep a lookout on their run for anything suspicious but chances are that this is just some guy who thinks Edward owes him and he will probably move on to look somewhere else."

Jack Cicely looked at his daughter, he knew she didn't like Teaspoon's offer but he'd already lost his wife and as good as lost his son so he was damned if he was going to risk the life of his daughter.

"That'd be great Teaspoon. Thanks." He turned to Eleanor "Grab what you need and we'll head into town straight away."

"Yes Pa," she answered obediently. Oh, this was going to be awful but there was nothing for it except to go.

"Here you are Eleanor. Let me know if you need anything else" Rachel put down her guest's bag at the foot of the bed and turned to leave.

"Can I come in?" Lou's head poked around the side of the door.

"Sure. This is a lovely room."

"Yeah, it is. You'll be fine here with Rachel. She'll take good care of you."

"Pa almost seems excited about staying with Teaspoon. The two of them will probably talk the night away!"

"Lou! Eleanor! Could I get you to go by Tompkins store to pick up a few things?"

"Sure Rachel. What do you need?" asked Lou.

The two girls equipped with list hurried down the road.

"You never got the material earlier." Eleanor reminded Lou.

"I'll get it now and see if Rachel can help to sew it."

"Rachel, we got the stuff" called Lou, "doesn't look like she's here! Try the bunkhouse." Eleanor followed her out the door towards the riders sleeping quarters.

"Is Rachel here?" Lou asked pushing the door open.

Cody glanced at Eleanor hesitating in the doorway "Does it look like it?" he picked up a book "Mind either comin' in or goin' out. It ain't warm enough to leave the door open yet!"

"I'd have said the temperature was colder in here than outside" Lou replied sternly.

"Then you might as well go back out!"

"What is it with you Cody? You're just downright rude lately! Stop treating our guest like dirt!"

"Leave it Lou," Eleanor tugged Lou's arm.

"You think I'm rude? Why don't you ask your new friend here about how to treat people like dirt - she could give you some real good tips!"

Tears welled up in the back of Eleanor's eyes.

"You got no right to talk about Eleanor like that!"

"Yes he has" Eleanor whispered and ran back towards the house.

"Eleanor, what's wrong?" called Rachel as her guest flew up the steps sobbing. "Lou?"

"Don't ask me Rachel. I don't understand those two!"

"Which two?"

"Eleanor and Cody. Seems there's something from the past that's eatin' away at the two of them."

"Best leave her for now, she'll come down when she's ready"

"I wish she'd talk about it Rachel."

"She will - just give her time!" Rachel patted Lou on the shoulder "You're a good friend Lou, and when she's ready to talk she's gonna need you."

Dinner was a somber affair, Teaspoon was out patrolling the town with Jimmy and Jack Cicely, Noah was on a ride and for once Cody's appetite was less than a half starved mountain lion's. Eleanor refused to come down saying she wasn't hungry but received the meal Rachel took up to her with a sheepish if watery smile and quietly returned the empty plate after the boys had left.

"Would you like some coffee?" asked Rachel.

"Thanks, I'll get it myself"

"Come and join us" Rachel patted the nearby chair and Eleanor sat hesitantly in it. "It's been a long day hasn't it! Lou showed me the material the two of you chose, its real pretty."

Eleanor smiled at Lou "She will look fabulous in it"

"And what about you? what are you going to wear?" asked Rachel.

"I'm not going"

"What do you mean you're not going?"

"I don't much like dances .... anymore"

"Did you use to?" Lou asked.

"I guess."

Rachel sensed Eleanor's discomfort with the conversation "When did you last see your brother" she asked cheerfully.

Eleanor smiled wryly noticing the change in topics "About five days before the last dance I went to!"

Rachel and Lou laughed, "Sorry."

"He was real headstrong and was always arguing with Pa. One day they had a really big fight and he took my fathers best horse and rode out of town. Pa went to follow him but didn't have any luck, he was gone about two weeks and in the mean time things sort of blew up between Billy and I and by the time he got back Billy had left town too. That's why he can't understand why things are like they are between Billy and me. He puts it down to shyness since we haven't seen each other in three years."

Eleanor paused, looking at the faces of the two women at the table with her and began to tell the story that no one else knew.

"Billy and I were close, childhood sweethearts I guess. We had been friends from early on and after his pa died he went to live with his Aunt and Uncle who also lived in Irwin but he spent a lot of time at our place. He admired Teddy and tried to be like him - so did I, we use to practice shooting and riding like Teddy, we even tried to walk like him!" Eleanor laughed at the memory.

"When we got older we always went to the dances together, he never needed to ask me, we both knew we would go together. After Pa left Billy told me he was going west for a while but he wouldn't say why. I was kind of selfish and spoiled back then and I thought that I could change his mind. As the time grew nearer I realised that I wasn't going to be able to. His closest friend, Andy didn't know when he was leaving, I told him Friday and I would have no one to go to the dance with that night . Billy was actually going on the Saturday morning but I wanted Andy to take me to the dance so I could make Billy jealous. I thought he would come running to me if he thought he was going to lose me and he would decide never to leave me."

Eleanor stopped to rub the tears away "I was so young and stupid!" she said angrily "I couldn't see that I was hurting the person I cared about and using a good friend. I guess I was hurting at the thought of being left behind, I wanted Billy to hurt too." her head dropped in her arms.

"What happened?" asked Lou.

"I lied to Ma and told her that Billy had asked Andy to take me to the dance since he had to get an early start the next day. Andy came to get me and as we were walking to the dance I turned back towards the house and saw Billy standing on the steps watching us. Even from the distance I could see how hurt he was, I wanted to run and hug him and tell him it had been a mistake but I told myself that now he would come to the dance and tell me that he could never be parted from me, foolish romantic that I was! He didn't, that was the last I saw of him until two weeks ago." She exhaled deeply "now you can see why he hates me so much and really I can't blame him for feeling that way!"

Three days passed without incident. The gunfighter, obviously satisfied with Tompkins answer, left town heading off to look for Edward Cicely in another town. Louise and Rachel helped Eleanor to avoid Cody once it became obvious that no amount of reasoning would convince her to approach him to talk.

Jack Cicely's announcement that it was probably safe enough to return to their house was mingled with relief and regret from his daughter. Cody had done his best to keep out of her way for the first day and then he'd gone on a run and only returned a few hours earlier. Eleanor had enjoyed the company of the women and it reminded her of how much she missed her mother. She had chatted and helped with Lou's dress although Lou was getting nervous about wearing it in public in case she was recognized.

The women said their good-byes and Eleanor promised to come by soon. She climbed up onto the cart and placed her bag on her knees. A flicker of movement from the bunkhouse window caught her eye, since all the other riders were already there to say good-bye to their guest there was no need to look more closely to determine who was watching from the window. With a sudden boldness Eleanor turned to the window and waved to the unseen figure. She couldn't explain the impulsive action but she felt better having done it.

Eleanor tried to lift the sack onto the wagon for a third time regretting wearing a skirt and wishing for a few extra muscles. Tompkins had offered to help her but she had stubbornly declined his offer. She edged the top of the sack onto the wooden boards and was preparing to transfer her grip to the lower end of the sack to give it a shove when suddenly the sack shot through her hands landing squarely in the middle of the wagon. Dazed Ellie turned to see Jimmy standing complacently with his arms folded grinning broadly.

"Thanks," she replied, somewhat miffed, "I could manage by myself though"

Jimmy laughed and shook his head "Yeah I know, I was watching. Just figured it would be better if you managed before it got so old that there were more weevils than flour in the sack."

Eleanor glared at him playfully then laughed "I s'pose it was taking a while but I figured I'd cope."

"You always this independent?"

"Pretty much," Ellie said apologetically.

"You must have been a difficult kid!" he laughed. The sound of hammering drew their attention to the Rock Creek Hall where a banner was being nailed announcing the Spring Dance that weekend. "You planning on going?" asked Jimmy.

"Nope" Eleanor watched the man precariously climb down an old ladder having finished the banner placement.

"Aw, come on. It will be fun. Everyone is going, even Lou and Rachel," he said in an attempt to get her interest. "I was kind of hoping you'd be going....I.."

"Oh no!" thought Eleanor with a sudden recognition of what was coming next.

"Would you go as my partner, I'm too shy to go alone?" he said attempting sincerity.

"Shy? You?" Eleanor collapsed in a fit of giggles.

Jimmy grinned, "Ok, maybe I'm not shy but I would like to go to the dance with you. That's if you're not going with anyone else of course."

"I'm not going at all remember!" Eleanor sighed, she liked Jimmy, and Billy had obviously made it clear that he wasn't going to ask her, so why not? "Ok" she said with mock resignation "How could I possibly turn down a shy man once he's plucked up the courage to ask!"

"Jimmy! Oh you'll have fun with him he's a lovely man!" Lou exclaimed in response to Ellie's announcement as to her dance partner.

"How lovely?" teased Eleanor, sensing a weakness in her friend.

"He's just...well...you know...he's a nice person," Lou said dropping her head in an attempt to conceal her blush.

"You sure you don't mind if I go with Jimmy?" Eleanor teased.

"Of course not!" she replied indignantly "Although sometimes he makes more sense than the Kid!"

"Has Kid asked you yet?"

Lou rolled her eyes dramatically and lay back under the shade of the tree that she was sharing with Eleanor, "Kid hasn't even mentioned the dance yet! What are you wearing?"

"I have a dress that I can add some trim to and it will be fine."

"Do you want to borrow my new dress? I'm not going to wear it."

Eleanor sat up and looked at her friend "Louise Mcloud, are you chickening out!"

"Yes" Lou replied weakly and hid her head under her arms waiting for the barrage that was coming.

"I guarantee that I can do your hair so no one can recognize you, not even Kid! Besides no one around here has seen you in a dress so they are hardly likely to know that it's you since they all think you're a boy."

Louise sat up and screwed up her nose "I guess."

"Besides if anyone asks we'll just say that you are Lou's sister..um...Lilian, and you've come to visit for a bit," Eleanor proposed.

"And Lou is where at this time?" queried Lou.

"On a run of course."

"Of course!" replied Lou, "With Cody no doubt," she added mischievously.

"Mmm. I guess he's not coming then?" Eleanor had hoped he wouldn't go, especially now she was going with one of his best friends. It sort of had shades of the past.

"I don't know, he doesn't say much these days. When he's not on a run he's reading in the Bunkhouse or going for a ride into Cutter's Canyon," sighed Lou.

Eleanor leaned back against the tree and wondered what Cody was thinking about this whole crazy situation. Would she have acted differently if the tables had been turned? She doubted it, in fact he was probably a lot more calm about the situation than she would have been. Riding out of Irwin that night must have been the hardest thing he had ever had to do, leaving his family and friends and going into the unknown, and even harder having seen the treachery of his two best friends. He'd only been fifteen, little more than a child but with the expectations and ambitions of a man. What had he done before the Pony Express? Three years was a long time.

"Lou, has Cody ever mentioned why he came out west?" Eleanor realised that he'd never actually admitted to her why he was coming out here.

Lou shook her head "No, I don't think so. Other than saying that the books by Hezekiah Horne made him want to experience the west".

Eleanor smiled, her memory drifting back to the two of them sitting under the trees by the stream with Billy reading aloud from a book about the west. She remembered the day when they were about ten when he had promised to go west with her and they would build a log cottage and be cowboys until they died. The idea of the cowboys she had since met living in something as quaint as log cottages almost made her laugh but at the time it had made sense in a childish way.

Lou studied her companion. She was dressed femininely but there was something about her mannerisms, and the escaped hair, that betrayed her. At first glance she appeared fragile and delicate with her pale skin and vibrant blue eyes but closer inspection revealed a toughness and inner-strength that helped keep her together even when she encountered difficulties and Lou gathered that there had been a lot of those in the last few years. She'd probably have made a good express rider Lou reflected to herself. She doubted that many other girls her age would have been as philosophical about her situation with Cody, although Lou knew that it was constantly gnawing away at Eleanor from the inside and the chances were that sooner or later she'd crack under the strain of it all. Lou knew how she had felt when her and Kid had parted a while back and how she had put on a brave face for those around her while inside she was a mess. Things were still a little strained between her and Kid but that was nothing compared to what Eleanor and Cody were putting each other through.

Lou jumped up with a start that caused Eleanor to copy her.

"What's wrong?" Eleanor asked, concerned with the abruptness of the movement.

"I've got a ride this afternoon. Teaspoon will kill me if I'm not back in time, so will Buck!"

The two young women mounted their horses and began to head back to the way station. Eleanor pulled up shortly before reaching town.

"Lou," the other girl stopped to face her, "Thanks for being there."

"That's ok."

"I mean it Louise. I've never had a really close friend before, other than Billy, never another woman and I don't know how I'd cope without you. I really appreciate it."

Louise leaned over and squeezed her friend's hand "I am honored to have you as my friend, Eleanor Cicely.

Eleanor smiled then sighed "Come on, the rest of the world awaits us".

"With the two of us together, the rest of the world don't stand a chance!" Lou spurred her horse towards Rock Creek.

To Be Continued...Chapter IV

Copyright 1998-This work is not to be reproduced without the permission of the author

The Way Station
Campfire Tales

Email: gliterin@bellsouth.net