Owen
It’s been a couple of weeks since Kelly’s acceptance of mine and Trent’s proposal. Tonight is going to be a big shindig with a pig roast and square dancing, The whole shebang! I’m so excited to get on with our life now that the saboteur has been locked away.
Hopefully for the remainder of her life.
With a foot on the bottom rail and my elbows resting on the top rail of the wooden fencing, I watch as the builders finish the last touches on the temporary stable. It’s no longer a stable either. After some consideration and with the last of the insurance money, Trent and I decide to turn this place into a venue that others can rent out.
It makes money, especially in the winter when we have no crops. The ranch hands and their wives, along with their children decorate the space for our engagement party tonight. It’s certainly shaping up.
The bartender is here, setting up along the wall as the fiddler and his band set up on the small stage. Tables and chairs outline the perimeter of what can be a dance floor. I think between ours and Kelly’s acquaintances, this barn will be filled to the brim with onlookers wishing us well.
Not certain of my attire for the evening, I chuckle to myself as I look down at the ground. Trent chooses to be a rowdy farm boy, dressing in denim overalls, a red and white checkered shirt, a blue bandana around his neck, and a straw hat to top it all off.
Always the life of the party.
I snicker and let my foot down, turning from the rail. I guess I’d better figure out something to wear. As I walk into the kitchen, the smell of beans and cornbread fill my nostrils, making my tummy growl and my mouth water.
Trent appears in his full garb and puts his hands to the side, going up and down and turning around, “What do ya think?” he asks as I see that he even painted fake freckles on his face, for crying out loud.
“I think you’re a crazy ‘ole coot!” I tell him and he pretends to slap me in the face. “Hey now, I don’t deserve that!” I laugh at him and move past to get to the bedroom.
“You deserve a helluva lot more, calling me a crazy coot!”
“Well, if the boot fits!” I bend down around the corner of the wall and stick my tongue out at him then disappear quickly.
In about half an hour guests will be showing up and I better be ready or Trent will have my head. Scratching my head, I try to come up with something to contrast with Trent’s outfit. I move clothes down the bars in the closet, looking for just the right stuff.
I hear Kelly leaving the room next door and I peek out to see her. Wow! She’s a beauty in a denim ruffle skirt with white lace trim, and blue and checkered shirt tied under her tits, leaving her midriff showing her flat tummy. On her head sits a white hat with sunflowers and blue ribbons. On her feet, she sports a pair of Nocino’s in white and silver.
I push my hat back on my head and lean in the doorway. “Well, hot damn if you aren’t the purdiest thing here!”
She giggles like a school girl showing off her best clothes. “Thanks! I guess I’ll be seein’ ya on the dance floor a little later?”
“You better believe it!” I tell her, watching as she walks down the hall, moving that skirt with her hips. Boy, oh boy! It’s gonna be a fun night.
Rummaging back through my clothes, I finally find a red and blue checked shirt with a thin black line running through the middle. I pull my black denim overalls out and my black boots and smile at what I've picked out.
Looking in the mirror a final time, I place my black hat on my head and walk out.
“Owen! Get out here!” I hear Trent calling for me. “Everyone’s here and waiting to eat. They’re fit to be tied.”
“Are they now?” I ask, coming around the corner from the hall.
“Woohee!” he whistles and grins at me. “Well, don’t you clean up nice! I’d say you’re a good mix between what I’m wearin’ and what Kelly’s wearin’,” his smile beams across his handsome face and I could kiss him right now.
“Speaking of Kelly, doesn’t she look fine as a filly tonight?” I walk out the door with Trent toward the new venue. Kelly stands at the entrance waving for us to hurry up.
“Amazingly so!” he nods his head and we walk into the barn which erupts with clapping and whooping and hollerin’.
All three of us walk through the crowd, arm in arm, with friends and family congratulating us and wishing us a happy life together. The fiddle plays as people line up to get their piece of the pig and a drink. Maybe two.
I know after this, I’m gonna need a few in order to relax. No way anyone is getting me on that dance floor unless I’ve got a couple of shots in me. Trent gets us some drinks and Ma and Kelly are sent to the front to get the food.
After eating and imbibing on some good bourbon, Trent gets up to give a toast, thanking everyone for coming out and celebrating our engagement with us. Shouts of ‘Here, here’ and shouting along with plastic cups being hit together, sound off the happy hoedown.
The fiddle starts playing as the harmonica guy starts shouting out the beginning of the square dance. “Grab your pardner, do-si-do,” he sings and then plays a jig on the harmonica until his next line.
After that dance, Trent makes Kelly sit in a seat in front of everyone. She has a crazy question mark across her face as I talk to the fiddle player. He starts playing as Trent and I get ready to present a surprise unbeknownst to everyone around us.