Driving toward the top of the canyon, you could smell the pine trees, cedar, and aspen as the wind blew through their hair. "Look, boys, snow over there," Aunty M. said as she pointed to the west on the mountains and took a whiff of the air. The boys were almost crestfallen yet excited, knowing that winter was on the horizon. The only one who wasn't all that excited was EJ; he hated winter.
The cold, the snow, he could do without it, makes walking hard when trying to get away. Words always come to mind, remembering the past. "I'll toss you in a snowbank, you little brat." Bad memories of being left outside alone in the freezing cold for hours at a time and feelings he assumed he would rather forget. No, he hated winter and the snow. The pine smelled good coming down from the mountains as the boys leaned over to take a whiff and take in the fresh air. They turned left off a dirt road and headed east, they thought. A person could get lost up here looking at all these trees, surprising the birds knew where to go.
The pick-up dove deeper and deeper into the forest; it was as if it swallowed them whole. Finally, after a while, there was clearing up ahead and a large gate with a sign overhead. "Mike's Cotwellar Lumber Mill." Cut sign carved from an old tree, rustic but homely as Aunty M. wipes and dots her eye as a man greets them at the gate. "We didn't have the heart to take it down after―" he said, swallowing, "after he left us," the man replies.
Aunty M. understood and nodded. "That's fine, boys. Is everything ready?" She asked.
"Yes, ma'am," the man at the gate replies.
"Then let's get crackin'," Aunty M. replies. They pulled up to the main office, parked the pick-up, and then met everyone standing to wait as the whistle blew. Everyone came running to the meeting at once. Twenty-five men loggers-built husky-like Pa, with long arms and strong hands, tall, strong as tree trunks. Some EJ wondered if they were trees themselves. "Boys," said Aunty M., standing at the head. "This is Wayne Downing and his boys Robert, Will, EJ, and Richard. As of today, Wayne Downing and his boys are the sole owners of this lumber mill," Aunty M. said, taking the letter out of her purse with all their names on it. "You now work for them as you did for my husband, Mike. So let's get crackin;' we have lots of work to do, boys," she said as they slapped all the boys hard on the back, knocking the wind right out of them.
Except Aunty M. wouldn't' let them touch EJ instead; she just kissed him until he couldn't breathe. They squeezed his hand and pumped his arm until it was going to come right out of his socket. The shocked Wayne and the boys look at the letter where it said, owner. "I thought you said 15 percent, Aunty M.?" Wayne said, reading the note again.
"I did, dear, this is 15 percent," she laughed, taking his arm. "Boys, now then, we need to find you some clothes so you can get to work," she said, snapping Robert's overalls. "These won't do out here, boys, no, sir, and neither will these," pointing to EJ's shoes. "Now the boys have your rooms set up over there, and you'll find what you need on your beds," giving them each a swift kick and a little nudge for one. "Now git."
"Yes, ma'am."
Wayne turns. "But what about Martha?" He asked.
"Oh, she'll be fine; everything's been arranged days ago," laughed with another swift kick.
"Alright, alright, we're moving," he said. Pa and the boys enter the log cabin, seeing beds where all the men slept. It resembles something like it was down in Cracken Villa, except families are grouped together. Log cabins are nice and sturdy, with a couple of potbelly stoves in the middle for warmth and heating pots of old Joe; heck, there was a place in the middle with rope to hang up long underwear and socks. There were foot lockers at the end of the beds to store personal keepsakes and little night cubby holes to place a picture on by the bed.
On the beds, Pa and the boys found a name pinned on the pile of each bed: four pairs of long underwear, five logger shirts, five pairs of jeans, seven pairs of thick logger socks, and two pairs of logger steel-toed boots, which, when picked up, felt like lifting a sack of flour. "Pa, why do you think we need so many clothes?" The boys asked, looking at the pile.
Pa shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know, boys," he replied.
Marty walked into the room to check on them. "What's taking you guys so long?" Looking at our pile laughing while sitting on his bed, opening his footlocker pulling out his gear, and changing his boots. "Trust me, boys, these will come in handy," as he drops them with a hard thud onto the floor. "So hurry now, times wasten,' we have trees that need you, well, I'd spoil all the fun. Let's get crackin."
The boys hurried, changed their clothes, put their spare clothes in the footlocker, and headed out to join Marty, Aunty M., and the boys. Aunty M. was dressed just like a logger like the rest, except for her brown cowgirl hat. "Well, it's about time you joined us. Are you ready for some real work?" Aunty M. said, looking at Robert and Will. Aunty M. glances over at EJ and his crutches. "Looks like we're going to need a special job for you," Aunty M. said, looking around the area; then, with a loud whistle from her, a small wagon with a horse came out. "Yep, that should do it," she said, winking at Wayne. "Just the right size for hauling timber, pullen,' deliver new sprigs, I would say."
The little wagon with the driver comes up to where the boys are. Aunty M. introduced him, "Bill, this is EJ. I want you to teach him how to drive this here wagon and have him help you with your job," she said as Aunty M. set him on the seat right next to Bill, throwing the crutches in the back of the wagon, pats him on the back and smiles.
Bill was an older gentleman and smaller than the rest of the lumberjacks. His face was covered mostly with a white beard, and you barely saw his nose. His long, white, bushy eyebrows and bright blue eyes twinkled as he smiled at you. His hand and face were rough with age and warm with admiration.
Pa leans close to EJ's ear. "Have fun and be careful, and we promise not to tell Ma." As Bill hands EJ the reins, EJ flicks his wrist. The horse jumps hard, jumping into the air, galloping hard towards trees, then around a circle, the wheels weaving side to side. Bill and EJ's faces turned white as they made the turn again, weaving into the trees, the horse galloping out of control as they flew over a bump. So do they, leaving their seats in the air, swerving to the side and down again, they start to even out to more clipped clop back down the road towards Pa, Aunty M., and the boys.
Pa wipes the sweat from his face, seeing EJ safe and sound, laughing. Bill was just a little shaken up as they pulled up to them. Will, Robert, and Richard laugh as they pat EJ on the back for a well-done job. Will and Robert hop in the back of the wagon. Aunty M. gives Wayne a nudge, "I told you he'd be able to do it. Heck, I was younger than him when I drove my first one, and look how I turned out," she said.
Wayne laughed, slapping her on the back. "That's what we are afraid of, but we like it all the same." Pa glanced over at EJ and the boys. "Alright, boys, go on, have fun; there is work to be done and daylights a burnen," he said. EJ flicked his wrist, and the horse jumped with a hard start, jumping in the air and galloping towards the trees around and the bend. This time, they all hung on tight. Bill was laughing as EJ learned that if he pulled back here just like this. "Ah, that's better," clip clop, clip clop. They go down the road, following the trees down the dirt road.
With Bill and EJ driving the wagon, the boys planted little trees and pulled logs onto the road for the older men to pick up with their trucks and go to the mill to be processed. Pa and Richard were doing something completely different. "Marty, what are you doing clear up there?" Wayne said as he looked up at this huge tree, blocking the sun from his eyes. Someone yells. "TIMBER!" Then a loud cracking noise is heard around them, and a loud CRASH! as Marty slides and jumps down the tree laughing.
"Wayne, I hope you are not afraid of heights," handing him the belt, "because the next tree is all yours."
"You're joking?" Wayne said, looking up at the tree and swallowing hard.
"Nope," Marty said, slapping him hard on the back with a slight push, "get crackin."
"You can do it with those big arms of yours," Aunty M. said, rubbing his arms and hands, laughing.
Wayne takes another look and swallows hard, swinging the belt around the tree. After a couple of tries, he was on his way up to the spot where the mark was, planting his feet in the holes against the tree. He starts chopping away, then hears it crack and pop, and he yells. "TIMBER!" He skips down that tree as fast as he can before it falls. Everyone laughs, pats him on the back, and watches the tree crash to the ground below.
Wayne hands the belt over to Richard as Marty points and marks his tree. Richard watches and swallows hard, noting how high it is. Wayne whispers. "Just don't look down," in his ear, "you'll be fine."
"Right now, it's looking up is the problem," he said, feeling his knees shake and wondering if this was such a good idea.
Marty could tell he would need a little extra help, so he created a distraction by tying the belt on for him, and they would climb the tree together. "The first one at the top gets to choose the next tree. One, two, three. GO." They start flying up the tree as fast as possible to the spot. Of course, Marty lost by a hair or one loop as he smiles down and says. "He must be getting old," giving Wayne and Aunty M. a wink. They chop the tree until it starts to crack. Richard yells. "TIMBER!" He shimmies down the tree, leaving Marty up there, shaking his head at the fools on the ground. Marty shimmies down, slaps them both on the back,
"Now you are almost a logger," he laughed.
Wayne and Richard turn. "Almost?" Shocked as they looked around.
"There's more?" Wayne asked.
Aunty M. slaps them hard. "Tons more."
They cut trees all day until the whistle blew, telling them it was time for lunch. Everyone hopped back on the wagons and trucks, heading back to camp. They signed in at the gate to be counted to make sure nobody got lost along the way. It has happened a time or two; that's why they do it; it helps newcomers know their names.
Now, things here are not the same as they are back home, where the women folk do all the cookin' and the chores. There were very few women here, all loggers, who shared all the chores. Bart was the chef today, a very large man like Pa, and every inch of him was pure muscle. His arms and legs looked to be the size of tree trunks. He was tall as a tree at seven feet, five inches, and we were to guess. Raven black hair cut crew cut short and green eyes with a nose the size of a baby carrot you could easily use on a snowman. His face was hard as stone and chiseled hard, and when he growled, it sounded like an angry bear. Yet when he smiled, it made you all warm and fuzzy inside and out.
He was serving meatloaf, mashed potatoes and gravy, corn hot biscuit, and apple cobbler for dessert. It wasn't much, but the portions would kill you. If you put it on the plate, make sure you have both hands to carry it. The meatloaf was the size of a large fist you could find in the room and mashed piled high as the corn biscuit, wholly cow the size. You'd think it was a birthday cake, but it was soft and tender.
Ma would die to think she went to heaven after eating this meatloaf. It was amazing how everyone cleaned their plates, had room for seconds and thirds, talk about howler legs. Man, could these guys put it away and look good doing it? Pa and the boys had a hard enough time just with the one plate. Apparently, they don't take too kindly not to finish it all around here because a new guy tried to empty his plate before leaving. Instead, they gave him some more and watched him eat every last bite before letting him leave the table.
Bart nods his head in their direction before going back into the kitchen. Three men come out with aprons and set them on our table. "It says here," Bart said, pointing to the roster, "you three have KP duty, Will, Robert, and EJ."
"You're joking?" The boys asked.
"Nope, somebody has to wash all these dishes, pots, and pans. You'd better get crackin,' boys." Crestfallen, the boys put on the aprons and head into the kitchen. They find EJ a stool to sit him on, and the boys wash, and he dries the dishes. While they're doing that, Aunty M. has Wayne, and they help load wood onto the trucks and the wagons while the horses drag the timber from where they had cut them all that afternoon.
* * * *
Back down in New Downing, Martha kept busy with the ladies. They were down picking out colors and things for the new house, sewing curtains for the windows. "Ma, I'm glad that Aunty M. decided to take the boys for the week, but I miss having my brothers," Julie replies.
Ma said. "Julie, me, too. I do hope EJ's okay. He should have stayed here with us, but that would have broken his heart. I just hope they are okay."
"Ma, I'm sure they're fine. Pa will take care of him, and so will his brothers. So which color, blue or green?" Anna said. Hmm, green, yes, light blue for the nursery," she said as they giggled. Oh, look, Ma, Danny, and Grandma are coming; EJ will be so disappointed he didn't get to see him."
Watching the car pull up with two women, one of them was EJ's mother and Grandma and Danny. Danny leaped out of the car, ran over to Martha, hugged them each, and then ran to Sam and Ted. Grandma pulled out his little suitcase, handed it to her, came over, and hugged her. "Sorry about your house, dear. I just heard the terrible news. Where are the boys?" Grandma asked, looking around.
"Gone for the week," Martha whispers, handing back her note as she puts it in Grandma's pocket.
"OH! I see well then," Grandma said, looking at Linda by the car. "Yes, Linda, dear, why don't you come in so we all can get acquainted?" Linda and Martha looked at her like she had fallen out of a tree. Grandma whispered. "Give a little, dear," and gave her a nudge.
"Yes, Linda," Martha said, walking over to the car. "What a wonderful idea! Come on in, have some tea with me. I won't bite," she said. Grandma took her arm, leading her into the cottage.
Linda looks around the room for her other son, then asks in a heated voice. "Where is he? Is he all right?" with tears in her eyes as she panics. She looks around the room and back at Martha.
Grandma hands her a tissue. "He's just fine; he's with the boys and having a good time," Grandma replies.
Martha updates Grandma on the events, being very careful what she says. To divulge too much would harm them all, so she gives the highlights instead, such as how he's improved, where he's at the moment, and when they plan on coming back, which makes their eyes pop. "A lumber camp and sheep ranch, you're joking, right?" Grandma replies.
"Nope, Doc said he could go as long he took it slow. His brothers, Linda, and his Pa, Wayne, will watch him; they promise that not a hair on his head will be harmed. I trust them, and so should you; now, drink your tea, and let's put this silliness behind us. After all, we'll see each other for a long time. Don't you think?" She said, gazing about the room, watching Sam and Danny playing with Ted.
Anna waves at Ned as he heads towards the farm with Bill to do the chores for the Downings while they're gone. "He's so cute, don't you think?" Anna said.
Julie watched Bill as she sighed, "Ah-ha, yes, Anna, he is."
Betty looked over to the girls and smiled, shaking her head, then returned to listening to the conversation. "Did you say that Lizzy and Mary are competing for the same guy? When did this happen?" Grandma asked.
"Oh, just a few days ago, there have been many weddings, six or seven a night. Richard has had an eye on a couple himself. One he lost, got married the next night," Martha said.
Betty thinks there is hope yet. "Hmmm, Linda, I think I'll stay here a bit if you don't mind. Give you and Jim a chance to be alone with the girls for a few weeks, and we will see how you do. Then maybe you folks can live without me. Of course, I'd be checking in from time to time, but we'll see how it goes," she said.
Linda quickly leaves ecstatic, knowing she's not coming back with her, but she is sad she didn't get to see what she was hoping for and leaves Danny behind again. She left uneasy, hugging Danny before leaving, waved goodbye, drives down the road towards home to call Jim and tell him to start packing. "We are coming home, and Grandma is not with them," Linda said over the phone. She opened the house and made a shopping list of needed things before returning home with her family.
With a click of her heels, she said. "The spider is gone; she can keep the fly and the meal. Soon, it will be her turn to dance and spin the web," thinking of all the trouble and heartache she has caused; "it's payback time for this spider, and I am the queen of the web."
Martha and Grandma watched her go, nearly as excited as they were to watch her leave. "Now then," Grandma said, pulling out the note from her pocket to read. "I want the details, dear," she said, sitting back down around the little table in the barracks and passing the note back. "Start from the top, dear, if you wouldn't mind making that tea stronger," she said.
"Actually, Grandma," she said, putting on another pot. "I've got just the thing," pouring a cup of Joe.
"OH MY! Dear, I don't drink that stuff," she said, setting it aside.
Martha laughed. "Neither did we until―." Martha started to tell some of what's been going on down here. Then, after Martha gave a full account of the details, they went for the first cup. They nearly drank that entire pot, with a little milk, of course, and extra water to make it not as strong for Martha. They made sure Grandma took her pills before too many cups.