Last night Jackie was asked to babysit and slept over our neighbor’s house, the Burns. She went to school from their house this morning. And after school she had dinner with them and waited for Dad and I to get back from our long day of cowboying.
***
After cowboying all day, I come running in the door trying to contain myself. It’s around nine at night and I try to act casual, but I am bursting with excitement from my unusual day.
Trying to contain myself I say to Jackie, “How did baby sitting go last night? Did Hank and Jane get home late?”
“It went good. No, not too late. Brice and I designed clothes. Then we had a fashion show and put on matching tops with boas and stuff. It was a lot of fun.
“I got to sleep in Brice’s room. She has two twin beds, really awesome. It was more like a sleepover But I made some really big bucks babysitting, twenty dollars,” Jackie says with a sassy tone.
“Very cool, that’s a lot of money. You want to hear my amazing cowboying story?” I screech.
***
Jackie knew we had gone cowboying. It was all prearranged, her staying with the Burns’s overnight. They live right across the street. Jackie did not want to go cowboying. She thinks it is barbaric to eat meat. She’s a vegan.
We had left really early in the morning and we knew we wouldn’t be getting home till late. Besides, Jackie couldn’t go cause she had talent show practice after school and she didn’t want to miss that.
***
This whole adventure began a few weeks ago when Chester called and asked us all to go cowboying with him on his cousin’s ranch.
Dad asked, “What is cowboying?”
Chester explained, “Cowboying is when you round up cattle and drive them to wherever you want them to go.”
Dad repeated to us, “Christina, Jackie, you guys want to go cowboying on horses on a ranch?”
I took the phone right out of Dad’s hand and shouted, “Can Neewa come?”
“Yes Neewa can come, if she can ride a horse?” Chester laughed.
“When? When?” I asked him.
Chester replied, “It depends on the weather. I’ll call you the night before. We won’t go in the rain or bad weather.”
Chester finally called yesterday afternoon, “Do you still want to go cowboying?”
“Yeah,” I told him.
Chester said, “Okay, pick me up at four in the morning.”
I cried out, “Four in the morning! Wow, okay we’ll see you at four.”
I shouted to Dad, “We are going cowboying tomorrow, the weather is supposed to be good.”
Dad replied, “Yeah, tomorrow is good. I’ll call the Burns’s and ask if Jackie can stay over their house tonight.”
“Jackie, you okay with this?” Dad asked, not completely convinced Jackie did not want to go cowboying.
“Yeah, Dad, I’m not going cowboying, it’s barbaric,” she said again.
***
“So anyway, Jackie, listen. We picked up Chester at four, and we all arrived at the ranch before the sun came up. We met Chester’s cousin, Dave at his house and he drove us in his pickup truck to the barn. Dave was surprised when Neewa jumped up into in the back of his pickup.
“’Cute dog you got there, can she stare down a steer?’ Dave looked at her smiling.
“I answered proudly, ’Neewa can do anything, just tell her once and she is good to go.’
“Neewa was an instant hit with everyone.
“’She loves to be petted and play fetch,’ I told him as we drove down the dirt road. ’She can do anything. It’s as if she is human.’
“Right from the start Dad and Dave had an issue.”
Jackie sighs, “Oh boy it figures. Dad, what did you do?”
He doesn’t answer, just continues tinkering around the kitchen.
I continue my story, “We’re getting in the truck. Dad just walked away from our van and Dave asks, ‘Why did you lock your van?’
“’Oh, did I?’ Dad answered surprised.
“’I didn’t even realize I did? Where we come from you have to lock your car. I guess it’s a habit,’ Dad shrugged.
“Dad and I could tell Dave was insulted. He thought we didn’t trust him and that we were afraid someone from his ranch would take something from our van.
“Dad confided in me, ’I know there is nothing I can do to take back what I did. I feel terrible that Dave thinks I don’t trust him. Guess we started off on the wrong foot.’
“Dad tried to explain to Dave again by saying, ’Dave we just moved out of the city. I picked up the habit of locking the van. You have to lock it or someone will take it.’
“Dave shrugged his shoulders, ’Oh, is that right?’
“Dad sipped on his bottle of water as we arrived at the barn. Two of Dave’s ranch hands have already saddled the horses and getting everything ready. They nodded to us.
“We each had to check our own bridle, cinch, and reins ourselves to be sure they were tight, so we didn’t fall off the horses, Dave insisted.
“He told us, ’My herd of cattle roams government land all year long. They eat whatever they can find, mostly sagebrush, but some grasses and new plant shoots if it rains. But it’s not enough, so we bring them hay to add to their diet. Mostly, the cattle live off whatever they can find. If it were not for the stream running through our land, there would be nothing for them to eat, just more desert.’
“’We have about a dozen fields of grass and hay that belong to the reserve. Those crops are sold for cash and the money goes to the old ones who can’t work.’
“I got the gentlest horse Dave had, her name is Stork. Dad got a horse that likes to throw you off onto the ground. Its name is Mac.
“Dave said laughing under his breath, ’Be ready to land on your feet when that one throws you off.’
“Dad replied, ’Yeah? Ok? I’ll be ready, I hope.’
“Next we rode out onto the desert. It was so quiet and the sun was just coming up. You should have seen it when the early morning light hit the mountains. They turned a brilliant ruby red color.
“Chester gave us our coyboying instructions as we rode. ’I will tell you guys where to stand. We will drive the cattle toward you. You guys will be like bumpers in bumper pool, guiding the cattle. Don’t get off your horses or you will get trampled for sure.’
“He asks, ’Did you ever play bumper pool?’
“’Yes,’ we both say.
“’I play all the time,’ he says, ’at my friend’s house.’
“Chester continues, ’the cattle will turn away from you when they see you. Make sure they turn the right way. Just raise up your arm opposite the direction you want them to go. Don’t worry, they spook easy.’”
I looked at Jackie who is hanging on my every word, “That was the extent of my cowboying instructions.”