by Lilybit
Disclaimer: The characters and situations of the TV program
"Big Valley" are the creations of Four Star/Republic Pictures and
have been used without permission. No
copyright infringement is intended by the author. The ideas expressed in this story are copyrighted to the author.
A letter back East in response to "A Day In the
Life" Writing Challenge.
May 1, 1878
My dearest Louisa:
Thank you for your sweet letter. Audra and I so enjoyed spending our holiday in
Boston with you. I do hope that someday soon you will come to visit us at our
ranch. California is a glorious place with every type of landscape and climate
that you could possibly imagine. It is so vast that I can hardly do it justice
in a mere letter.
You asked me to tell you all about life out west; well that certainly is a tall
order to fill. However, let me tell you about our day today and perhaps it can
give you an idea of our home and my family.
We are most always up before the sun is even fully in the sky. I must admit
that it is one of my favorite parts of the day. I often enjoy standing on the
verandah and watch the sunlight appear on the horizon then slowly steal across
the sky, illuminating this extraordinary place that I call home. It is also my
son Heath's favorite time of day and this morning; he brought me coffee and the
two of us watched the sunrise together. Neither of us said a word; we were far
too taken in by the majesty of it all. He smiled his sweet half grin at me and
put his arm around me and we just enjoyed each other's company.
That was until; Nick decided to make his presence known to everyone on the
ranch. I tell you Louisa, that son of mine has the strongest voice in all of
California. Why it's a wonder that you didn't hear him howl mother all the way
in Boston! But despite Nick's volume and his obvious strength, he has the most
gentle of hearts, so his occasional bellowing is actually quite easy to take at
least to his mother, it is. So ended the early morning reverence.
The three of us dined together until we were joined by Jarrod, who was dressed
in one of his fine suits and carry a satchel full of paperwork for a pending
case. Jarrod, of late, is spending far more time in San Francisco these days. I
do miss him a great deal when he is away; but he has been home for the past
three weeks and for that I am grateful. On most occasions, he is my calm in the
storm, my rock. I don't know what I would have done had he not been there when
Tom was killed. He was so steadfast that soon my other children were referring
to him as Pappy.
By the time that breakfast was nearly finished and Nick had finished another
rant about it being a working ranch, my daughter joined us at the table. I do
so worry about that child. She is as flighty as a bird at times, never knowing
which way she is going. Most of the young men in the area seem to be wrapped
around her little finger. She is, after all, twenty years of age now and needs
to begin thinking about her future. But my darling Audra seems to content to
worry about little else than the next dance or her newest beau.
The house soon emptied after breakfast. Nick and Heath were off to break in
some new horses they recently purchased and I have no doubt that they will
return late in the evening after a few beers at the saloon.
Jarrod left to head to the courthouse, he is in the middle of a murder trial
and is the accused man's lawyer. He feels fairly confident that he will win the
case, he most always does.
And my dear Audra was off to the orphanage to spend the day with the children
there as she does every Wednesday.
As for myself, the quiet at times can be both joyful and horrible. There are
times, when I sit and reminisce about the days when my children were young and
surrounded me all the day long. Times when I miss using the words, Nicholas
Jonathan Barkley, in a voice louder than you would ever suppose could come from
my mouth! Times when I miss the children surrounding me as I read a story to
them and look at their sweet cherubic faces eagerly taking in every word.
Then, there are times like these, that I relish the quiet. Time to write
letters to dear friends like yourself, to catch up on my needlework or do some
baking. Right now, this is a day that I thoroughly enjoy. I'm going to close
now and collect some roses from my garden to put in the house. I love the scent
of flowers around the home.
Dear Louisa, I hope that you can soon come to California and see what life is
like on a real working ranch.
Most sincerely,
Victoria