Drina’s Choice

by Agnes Alexander

  “I’ll get that.” In the kitchen, Drina grabbed the sharp knife Beulah used to peel her vegetables. She followed Aaron out the door. Back on the porch she handed the knife to Salty. “Will this do?”

  Salty took the knife. “It’s perfect.” He turned to Aaron. “Get some whiskey. He needs it.”

  When Aaron returned with a bottle, Salty took it and poured a big splash on the knife and the snake bite. He handed the bottle to Beulah.

  She held it to Cabe’s mouth. “Here, Cabe. Take a big swallow. You’re going to need it.”

  Drina watched in horrified fascination as they worked on the man’s leg. He screamed a couple of times, then passed out. She figured it was for the best. At least while he was unconscious he wouldn’t feel the pain.

  Though they worked as swiftly as they could, she knew they’d lost the battle when Salty looked at Aaron and shook his head.

  Aaron frowned, then nodded and walked off the porch.

  Drina watched him go to the men gathered in the yard waiting for word on their friend. They stood still and listened to what Aaron had to say. When he finished, they began to mutter among themselves. A couple of them walked away shaking their heads and still muttering. One came toward the porch. Another hung his head and began moving a stone around on the ground with the toe of this boot. Still others acted as they didn’t know what to do or say.

  “Miz Drina,” Beulah’s voice brought her attention around to the injured man.

  “Yes, Beulah.”

  “Would it be all right to lay Cabe out in kitchen and get him ready for burial?”

  Drina stared at her. Why was she asking this of her? Didn’t Beulah know what would be proper in this case? After all, she knew this area and its customs. Nodding, Drina said. “Of course it’ll be fine. Is there something I can do to help?”

  “Aaron will take care of informing his family.”

  “Did he have a wife and children?”

  “No, but there’s a sister. I think she lives in the area.”

  “Pardon me,” Salty broke into the conversation. “I appreciate you offering to let us attend Cabe in your house, Miz Drina, but I don’t think that’s what the man would want.”

  When she said nothing, he went on. “He liked the bunkhouse and the men there. I think it would be better if we took care of things out there.”

  “Whatever you think best, Salty.”

  “Then keep the men out of the bunkhouse for a while and I’ll help you prepare the body, Salty.”

  “Thank you, Beulah.”

  Beulah stood and looked at Drina. “If you’ll come with me in the house I’ll get some things I’ll need. With your permission, of course.”

  “You don’t need my permission, Beulah. Take anything you need.” Drina followed the housekeeper inside.

  * * * *

  The next day, Cabe was laid to rest in the graveyard on the hill about a quarter of a mile away from the main house. It turned out that his sister had married a man from Colorado and moved there. But it was not as if nobody came to the burial. Besides the preacher, Aaron gave permission for all the hands to come in off the range. There were some strangers from town who had made friends with Cabe in the saloon and other places in town. Of course, Beulah attended and stood beside Drina. When the pine box was lowered in the ground, Aaron moved to stand with the women at the gravesite.

  After the internment, Beulah and Felix served the men a meal. By the time it was consumed and the town’s people left, Drina noticed things went back to normal on the ranch.

  The hands headed out to do their jobs. Aaron went into the barn, but Drina didn’t know what he was doing. Felix retreated to his cookhouse and Beulah said it was time to do the weekly wash. Drina offered to help, but Beulah said it was a one-woman job.

  A little confused that things returned to normal so quickly, Drina walked out to the vegetable garden. She spotted Salty near the barn. He was leading a gray horse and she wondered why he hadn’t gone out on the range with the rest of the men.

  Salty came toward her. “Thank you for helping with the funeral, Miz Drina. All the men thought it was kind of you.”

  “Beulah did most everything. I was a little lost.”

  “I could tell you weren’t used to the way things are done out here.”

  “It did seem awfully fast to me. In Savannah we usually have a period of mourning before the deceased is laid to rest.”

  He nodded. “I guess it did seem a little harsh, but things are different here.”

  “I’m beginning to see that.”

  “It ain’t that we don’t care, Miz Drina. It’s just that out here, life’s hard. We face death more often and we can’t take the time to be polite like people in the city can. When a man like Cabe dies, we do what we think he’d want and what we feel is the proper thing for him. But we can’t spend a lot of time mourning ’cause we have to get back to work as soon as we can. Work never stops on a ranch. Cabe knew that, and so do the rest of us. I think he would’ve been proud of how we put him away.”

  “I didn’t mean to criticize. As I said, I was a little confused when I saw how quickly life got back to normal on the ranch.”

  “I understand, ma’am.”

  “And now, I understand how it is here in Arizona. Thank you for telling me, Salty.”

  He grinned at her. “I’m glad I could help you see how things work.”

  Aaron came from the barn leading his horse. He walked up to them. “I’m going out on the range with the men for a while, but I have some business I have to take care of in town. Tell Beulah I won’t be here for supper.”

  Drina nodded and almost asked if she could accompany him to town, but changed her mind when Salty said, “Need help with that business, Boss?”

  “I might. We’ll talk about it out on the range.”

  “I’ll be right behind you.” He mounted and followed Aaron. Neither of them said anything else to Drina as they rode away.

  Drina didn’t see either of them for the rest of the evening. She thought she’d wait up and maybe have coffee or something with Aaron, but when he didn’t come home before the hour in the old grandfather clock in the parlor struck ten, she went to bed. It was the third night after her marriage, and she found herself still sleeping alone in the guest bedroom. She was beginning to wonder if this was the way it was going to always be in this marriage.

  Chapter 6

  Drina didn’t see Aaron the next morning when she came in for breakfast.

  “He’s done gone out on the range,” Beulah explained. “He did tell me he was sending Salty into town since something happened on the range and they didn’t get to go last night. He said he thought you might want to go along and buy the material you was wanting.”

  “Oh, that would be wonderful. Do you think Salty will mind?”

  “I don’t think he’ll mind at all, Miz Drina.”

  “Should I go ask him?”

  “No. Why don’t you just get ready to go? When I see him in the yard I’ll tell him you’re going.”

  “What time will he leave?”

  “Probably purty soon. He usually goes in the morning so he can get done with his business and get home before it gets late.”

  “Then maybe I should hurry.”

  “Sit down and eat your breakfast first. It’s a long ride into town and you don’t want to tackle it on an empty stomach. There’s too many bumps and you could get sick.”

  Drina wanted to tell her she’d be more than likely to get sick with a full stomach, but she didn’t. She’d already learned that few people argued with Beulah. Without further comment, she took a seat in the dining room and let Beulah serve her a breakfast of bacon, eggs, potatoes, biscuits and coffee.

  * * * *

  After Drina and Salty left, and Beulah had finished her morning chores then put a stew on the stove to simmer for the day, she went out to the barn and saddled Nellie, her mule. She slung the sack with the supplies she’d taken from the pantry and the smoke hous
e across the animal’s rump and climbed into the saddle. Through the years Beulah had often said she didn’t much like horses and they liked her even less. She certainly didn’t like riding them and decided after she met Nellie that she’d always ride her when she had to leave the ranch. Nellie must have felt the same way because when Beulah took the mule out to saddle, Nellie was always ready and willing to do whatever her mistress wanted her to do. When Aaron saw the rapport between his cranky mule and his housekeeper he felt he had no choice, he made her a present of the animal, since nobody else on the ranch could do anything with the stubborn beast. It still amazed him how well the two of them got along.

  “You just don’t understand animals, Mr. Aaron,” she’d explained, then accepted the gift with grace. She didn’t let him see how touched she was by his act. It was only when she escaped to the privacy of the barn did she let the grateful tears fill her eyes. There was no way she could let him know this small kindness had earned him her devotion for as long as she remained on the Rocking Chair Ranch.

  It took Beulah almost two hours to reach the cabin in the mountains where the old prospector lived. She and the man she called Papa Win had been friends ever since he found the young girl lying in the edge of the creek naked and suffering from apparent sexual abuse followed by a severe beating. There was no question she’d been left for dead. Though it took several weeks for her to even talk to him in her broken English, he nursed her back to health and dubbed her name as Beulah when she refused to tell him who she was. After she grew strong and he knew she couldn’t live with him forever, he took her back to her tribe, where she was almost shunned not only because of the attack, but because she’d spent all that time living with the old mountain man without marrying him. Then she came to work for the Wilcox family, where she’d decided to stay as long as they needed her.

  Today she was not only concerned about Win because it was almost winter and the weather could change for the worst any moment, but the last time she was here she thought he looked a little sickly. But at his age, she wasn’t sure but what it was natural to look unwell. She wasn’t sure how old he was, but the one time she and Aaron had talked about him, Aaron said he had to be pushing eighty or better.

  Today, she found the old man sitting on the corner of the porch of his rundown shack. He was chewing a homemade cigar. “Hello, Papa Win.”

  “Why, little Beulah, what brings a purty young thing like you out on a cold day like this?”

  She chuckled. Knowing this man the way she did, she was well aware she couldn’t tell him she was concerned that he wasn’t taking care of himself, especially with his eating. Somehow she had to give him the supplies without insulting him, but she’d take care of that later. “Papa Win, you know I’m not little, young or pretty and I’m out on this day because it’s been a while since I seen you. Can’t a girl just come for a visit?”

  “You can come visit me anytime you want to.” He gave her a toothless grin and waved toward the stream. “And just to let you in on a secret, you’ll always be that purty little Indian maiden I pulled out of that creek, yonder.”

  She shook her head. “If you say so, Papa Win.”

  “I say so. Now, tie that mule of yours around a bush or tree or somethin’ and then come drag up a chair. I’m waiting to hear all the news of what’s going on in the civilized world.”

  She smiled at his withered face. “I do have some news about Mr. Aaron.”

  “Now, my little dove, you ain’t gonna start talking bad things about your boss, are you?”

  “Of course not. You know I wouldn’t do that. This is good news, I think.”

  “You think?”

  “He got married.”

  “Well, lordy me, that is good news. That young man needed a wife if anybody did. I hope she’s a good woman.”

  “She is.” Beulah frowned.

  “Then what’s the problem? Didn’t you want him to marry her?”

  “It’s not that simple, Papa Win. Mr. Aaron married her because his uncle forced him to.”

  “Oh, she must be with child.”

  Beulah shook her head. “No. He sent for her from somewhere back east. A place called Georgia.”

  “I know Georgia.”

  “Have you ever been there?”

  “No, but I’ve been to Alabammy. It’s close by. There’s some purty women in both places, so I can shore understand why Mr. Aaron sent for her.”

  “He didn’t send for her. His uncle arranged everything.”

  “His uncle? Why in the world would he do that? Can’t Mr. Aaron git a woman on his own?”

  “You know good and well Mr. Aaron has no trouble gettin’ a woman. It’s the kind of woman he usually gets that got his uncle all upset.”

  Win chuckled. “I understand that.”

  “In the end, his uncle sent for this woman and told Mr. Aaron if he didn’t marry her when she got to Hatchet Springs that he weren’t going to get the mortgage papers back on his ranch. And you know Mr. Aaron; he’ll do anything to get his ranch free and clear.”

  “You’re right. He come by here about a month ago and said he was working on a deal to finally pay off his pa’s debts.”

  “Is that all he said?”

  “Yep. I probably wouldn’t have got that much out of him if I hadn’t pressured him to tell me why he was so out of sorts.”

  “You’re right. He don’t give out information easy.” She cocked her head and looked at him. “Did he just drop in for a visit?”

  “Naw. You know he don’t do that. He brought me some of a deer he’d killed. Said there was no way you could use it all ’cause he’d killed one not long ago, and you had it in the smoke house all dressed out.”

  Beulah didn’t tell him the part of deer Aaron had brought home was all the venison she had in the smokehouse. Instead she said, “He’s about to make me run out of room in our little smoke house. I hope you don’t mind I brought you some ham and a little beef. Also some ’taters and carrots. I’m afraid they’re going to rot if they’re not used.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Would I lie to you Papa Win?”

  He chuckled. “Yes, you would, little girl, but I’m gonna pretend you wouldn’t.”

  They talked a little longer, then Beulah went to Nellie and took the sack of food from her back. She led her mule back to the porch and handed Win the bag. “Now, don’t look at it until I’m gone. There’s something in there that might bite you.”

  He reached for the sack. “I ain’t promising no such thing.”

  She snatched the snack back. “Then you ain’t gonna get it.”

  “Now girl, don’t tease me like that.”

  “Then promise me.”

  “Oh, all right. I promise.”

  She handed him the sack.

  “Now, what you got in there. Last time you had extra meat in your smokehouse I found some lemon drops. I liked them, by the way.”

  “You can look when I’m gone.” She mounted Nellie. “I’ll be back. Now you take care of yourself, Papa Win.”

  “I’ll do that, Beulah. You do the same.”

  She rode off and didn’t look back. She didn’t want to see the tears in his eyes when he not only found the lemon drops and the peppermint sticks, but the bottle of whiskey she’d asked Salty to get her on one of his trips to town. Of course, she didn’t tell him about Papa Win. She simply said she needed it for medicine.

  She hadn’t got out of earshot when she heard Win’s loud, “Yahoo.”

  * * * *

  It was late morning when Salty pulled the ranch wagon up in front of Ragsdale’s Emporium. Drina couldn’t help being excited. It was the first time she’d ever been given permission to shop for anything she wanted. It seemed to be a busy day in town because several people strolled up and down the street. Most were women with children in tow. She glanced at them and smiled. It surprised her when they smiled back then hurried on their way as if they didn’t want to speak to her. She had hoped to meet some peop
le she could become friends with, but if they weren’t interested she guessed she’d not try to make their acquaintance. She hadn’t had much experience with friendships since she was mostly confined to her father’s rundown farm.

  Salty’s voice broke into her thoughts. “When Geneva and Stacy Ragsdale moved here from Virginia they thought the general store would have a better air about it if they called it Ragsdale’s Emporium instead of general store or mercantile.”

  “There was an emporium in Savannah. I never went there, though. We didn’t do much shopping in town.”

  “Well, Miz Drina, you’re going to get to shop in this one any time you want to.” Salty wrapped the reins abound the brake stick and jumped out of the wagon. He appeared on the other side and held his hand up to her.

  She took it. “Thank you, Salty.”

  They walked to the door and he opened it for her. “Why don’t you go in and do your shopping and I’ll be back in about half-a-hour?”

  For a minute she felt panicky, but she took a deep breath. “I should be ready by then.”

  “Don’t rush. I don’t mind looking around in here ever now and then. I might pick up some ’bacca or somethin’ else I might need.”

  “All right, Salty. I’ll see you in thirty minutes.”

  He nodded and closed the door as she stepped inside.

  Drina was so overwhelmed with the variety of items directly in front of her that at first she didn’t notice the sudden quietness descending on the store with her entry. It then dawned on her that all eyes had turned in her direction and nobody was talking. For a moment she didn’t know what to do, then the man near the display of dresses cleared his throat and everyone seemed to move at the same time.

  A tall woman with a severe bun of red hair on top of her head came toward her. “Come in, Mrs. Wilcox. I’m Geneva Ragsdale. My husband and I own this emporium, and I’m glad you came in to shop. How can I help you?”

  “I wanted to look at your fabrics.”

  “Well, come right this way. They’re over here on the left. We have several new prints in and I’m sure you’ll find something you like.”

  “Thank you very much.” Drina followed the woman around a table. As she passed two older women she heard one of them whisper to the other, “Is she the one he married?”