*Why me?* I glared at Teaspoon over Sampson’s back. “Because, Ike, I told you, Jimmy and Buck have the next two runs. You’d think watching a couple of pretty ladies was worse than spreading manure by the way the lot of you are acting!” Teaspoon shook his head. It wasn’t a couple pretty ladies, more like ten of them. Ten ladies looking at me like I had a third eye on my face and not one of them knowing what I said. I sighed. “Kid looked ready to volunteer until Lou said he didn’t want to do it. If you can get either of them to switch places with you…” I shook my head and bit back a grin. I imagined Kid heard all about it as soon as Teaspoon left the bunkhouse. “Cody’s the only one of you with any sense!” Teaspoon chuckled. “Couldn’t keep that boy away from a beauty pageant if I wanted to. He’ll be able to translate for you.” Right. He’d have to look away from the girls to see my hands. “You better go find Cody and get into town. I told Mrs. Spangler she could have the two of you all day today and tomorrow. The pageant committee needs you boys to build a stage for the ladies so they can have a pageant proper like.” *Stage?* A wall or a roof was one thing but I didn’t know the first thing about building a stage. Teaspoon let out an exasperated sigh. “It’s just a big upside down box, Ike. I think you boys can handle it. Now, get moving.” I fed Sampson the last carrot from my pocket and went to find Cody. **~** Mrs. Spangler, newly moved to Sweetwater from Chicago, meant to bring us some big city culture even if some of us didn’t want it. Sure, I heard the girls on the boardwalks whispering to each other about entering the pageant with bright eyes and big smiles but I also heard some of the older folks complaining about the town budget. A grey haired woman left the company of three others and hurried towards us as we entered the room. “You must be the boys from the Pony Express?” “Yes ma’am.” Cody swept the hat from his head and flashed a bright smile. “William F. Cody at your service and this here is Ike McSwain.” “Anabella Spangler.” She nodded with approval. “The lumber should be delivered directly. Until then, you best get those things moved out of the way.” She pointed to a desk and several chairs. Cody looked around the town hall. “Excuse me, ma’am but you aren’t planning on leaving the stage here when the pageant is over are you?” “Of course not.” She patted Cody’s arm. “You’ll need to build it in three sections, so we can fit it through the door to store it. I’m planning a play for the school children in two months, and then there will be a young ladies talent show.” Her gaze darted to the impatient looking women milling on the other side of the room. “You’ll have to excuse me; we have a few things to ready before the girls arrive.” I followed Cody to the desk. We’d just settled it against the side wall when a knock at the back door signaled the arrival of the lumber. After unloading the wagon, I stood in the shade to catch my breath. The man from the lumber mill called down to Cody, “You boys know what to do with all this?” “Yes sir, no problem. We have it under control. Don’t we Ike?” I nodded. We didn’t have plans or even a simple drawing to go by but Cody looked confident so I figured he must know what to do. I watched the wagon roll away. “Think the girls are here yet, Ike?” I shrugged. “Let’s get some of this inside and find out.” We each grabbed two of the heavy boards and went in. Two girls chattered just inside the front door. Another arrived as I set my boards down. “Ain’t that the prettiest thing you ever did see?” I turned to see Cody gazing raptly toward the door. I knew right then, I’d be building this stupid thing all by myself. He never even looked to see if I agreed. I went outside to look through the crate that contained the tools and nails. An upside down box, Teaspoon said. That didn’t sound so hard. I got a measurement of the door and started in on sawing the lumber down to size. Cody popped his head out the door half an hour later. “What are you doing?” I wiped the sweat off my face with my sawdust covered sleeve and glared at him. *Building a stage.* “But I thought we were going that inside?” He nodded towards the door. *Messy.* I waved to the sawdust and the scattering of boards I’d already cut. “Well I know that Ike, but we can’t see the girls from out here.” I rolled my eyes and started sawing on the next board. “What’s it supposed to look like?” I grit my teeth and picked up a few boards to give him the idea. “Looks easy enough.’ It would be if I had help. “Cody frowned. “It’s hot out here.” I nodded and kept sawing. “It’s cooler inside out of the sun.” So what? What difference did it make whether he didn’t help me inside or didn’t help me outside? I set the cut board aside and picked up another one. Cody still stood there doing nothing. I waved him toward the door. “Oh! Great idea, Ike! You cut the wood outside to the mess stays out here and I’ll nail them together inside.” He picked up an armload of the cut boards and pried the door open with two fingers. A minute later he returned for a hammer and the box of nails. I shook my head and watched him scurry back inside. The sound of pounding soon echoed through the sticky, still air. Half an hour later, Cody emerged to get another armload of boards. And so we continued for the next two hours. The door opened to reveal Mrs. Spangler, looking unaffected by the summer heat. She glanced around me at the boards on the ground. “How is the stage coming along, Ike?” Couldn’t she tell? She came from inside for goodness sake. I shrugged. A faint frown marred the edges of her thin lips. “There are sandwiches inside if you are hungry.” I nodded and followed her in. There stood Cody, surrounded by five smiling girls. From the sounds of it, he was near the end of one of his highly exaggerated stories. I ignored him and went to the table that Mrs. Spangler pointed to. With a thick sandwich in one hand and a cold glass of lemonade in the other, I sat down in one of the chairs we’d moved earlier. I almost bit my lip when I saw how much Cody had accomplished. One rectangle of wood stood on its side. He didn’t even have a top on it yet! I managed to saw almost all the lumber down to size and this was all he’d done? The sandwich went down with little thought as I stared at Cody across the room. The girls giggled and batted their lashes. Three more finished their lunch and joined the others around him. “Excuse me. Are you a friend of his?” Amy Lambert stood by my side with her gaze locked on Cody. I nodded. “Did he really do all those things?” No, but she wouldn’t understand me if I tried to straighten his story out anyway. I shrugged. “How long have you known him?” I held up one finger. “A day?” Her forehead furrowed. I shook my head. “A year?” Halfway in between really, but it was easier to just nod. “Beth Miller says you can’t talk at all. Is that true?” Cody finally noticed me. “Hey Ike, come over here. I’ll introduce you to these fine, young ladies.” Mrs. Spangler took Cody’s arm and led him away from the girls. “How about you boys have a seat and we’ll have the girls introduce themselves. Heaven knows, they could use the practice.” I eyed the back door, thinking of how I could be getting done so I could get back to the peaceful quiet of the barn or take a nap or do pretty much anything else. A stern look from Mrs. Spangler squashed all hope of walking out. I took a deep breath and watched as the first girl walked primly to the front of the room to where the stage would be. She flashed a nervous smile and began. “Hello everyone my name is Beth Miller. I’m fifteen years old. I like to sew and help take care of my two little sisters. My mom says I make a great apple pie.” She curtsied and went to stand to the side. Amy went next, followed by eight other girls. I’d seen them around town and I knew most of their names before they said them. They all looked pretty enough, I mean, any of them could win the pageant. Not that it really mattered to anyone what I thought. Amy talked to me, once and only today. The rest of them were the sort to point and giggle and not in the way that made my face heat up. Beth Miller, most of all. I hoped she didn’t win. As a matter of fact, I secretly hoped she fell off the stage and made a fool of herself after all the times she’d whispered things, just loud enough for us to hear, when Buck and I walked by. “Thank you boys.” Mrs. Spangler dismissed us and turned toward the waiting girls and the three women who helped her. I returned to the last of the sawing work while Cody did who knows what inside. From what little pounding I did hear, didn’t sound like any great progress. I’d nearly completed the base of the second section when Mrs. Spangler’s head popped out the door. “Oh, you’re still here? Mr. Cody left an hour ago.” I restrained myself from throwing the hammer into the dirt. “The girls are finished up for the afternoon. Why don’t you head on home? I expect you boys to be finished up by noon tomorrow though, so get here as early as you need to. The pageant is at four o’clock sharp and we need to have everything in order well before that.” I nodded and went to get my horse. **~** Cody slid another pancake onto his plate. “What’s the big rush, Ike?” *Need to finish.* I pushed my empty plate aside, hoping he’d get the hint. “You’re just in a hurry to get back to all those pretty girls, aren’t ya?” I shook my head and got up from the table. “Go on ahead, Ike. I’ll catch up to you.” Cody waved his fork at me. Oh, no. If I left, I’d be working for hours before he showed up. I stood there with my arms crossed and stared at him until he finished eating. “Alright, fine, I’m done.” He slowly got to his feet and made his way out to the barn. Thanks to Cody, we arrived in town with only four hours to finish the stage. Mrs. Spangler let her displeasure be known with a deep scowl when we walked through the front door. “What’s her problem?” Cody whispered when we got to the back door. *Late.* “We got plenty of time.” Not at the speed he worked. I spotted the four boards we brought in the day before and realized they needed to be sawed down yet. I turned to get Cody to help but he was deep in conversation with Beth Miller. With a sigh, I propped the back door open and carried them outside myself. I set the saw down after finishing the last of the boards and realized I didn’t hear any pounding. I peeked inside. Cody stood with the hammer in his hands but only his mouth was moving. I went over to him with what I think was a pretty good imitation of Mrs. Spangler’s earlier scowl. “I’m working on it, Ike. Just give me a few minutes and it will be done.” *Done?* I pointed to the rectangle with half the top boards missing. Cody excused himself and wandered back to the unfinished section. “Don’t worry. It will be fine. I don’t know what you’re all upset about.” At least when I left, I heard pounding. I went outside to finish the section I started the night before. I pounded the last nail in and checked the sun. Only one hour left. I’d yet to see Cody and one entire section wasn’t even started. I stormed inside to find him. “Hey, Ike, I got my section done.” Cody smiled as though all were right with the world. *Three.* His eyes darted to the section on the floor. “I thought you built the other two.” I shook my head. *One* “Oh.” He stretched the word out as realization seemed to hit. *Help carry* “Sure. We better get moving, huh?” I nodded. He helped me carry my section inside. We moved his to the right side of the stage area and went outside to build the middle together. The base went together easily enough but by the time we started on the top boards, Mrs. Spangler joined us outside. “I hope you boys are nearly done. The committee is ready to decorate the stage. We have a schedule, you know.” “Yes ma’am, we’re almost done.” Cody flashed a confident smile. We both breathed a sigh of relief when she went back inside. “We’re never gonna get this finished on time.” I checked the sun and shook my head. *Boards,* I pointed to my chest. *Hammer,* I pointed to him. “Sure, alright, that should speed things along.” I slid the boards into place and Cody nailed them down. “Boys!” We both jumped. Mrs. Spangler held the door open and scowled even deeper than before. “I need that stage in here now. Finish it in here if you have to but get it into place so we can get set up.” “Yes, ma’am.” Cody and I carried the last section inside and set it down. We slid my section into place next to it and went out to get the last of the boards. When I returned, the stage turned into a flurry of activity. One woman set buckets filled with flowers along the front while another hung steamers from the ceiling above us. We worked around them the best we could. Mrs. Spangler sent the girls home to get ready for the pageant. She stood back to admire the stage. “I expect you boys to be here later to take credit for your fine work.” “Of course, we wouldn’t miss it. Right, Ike?” Cody elbowed me in the side. I nodded. “Good. I’ll save some seats right up front for you. See you in a few hours.” She shooed us out the door. **~** Mrs. Spangler, in a dress likely far more at home in Chicago than here, smiled radiantly at the assembled crowd. “I’d like to welcome you to the first annual Sweetwater Beauty Pageant. Our judges this evening will be,” she pointed the seats in front of the stage. Mr. Tompkins, Sam and two older women I didn’t remember the names of stood up. “And now the first of our contestants.” Mrs. Spangler sat down at the back of the stage. We watched from our seats in the front row to the right of the stage as Beth Miller, in her Sunday best, walked in front of the judges and began her introduction. When she finished, we joined the crowd in clapping. Beth blushed and walked over to stand in front of us. She smiled at Cody. Amy stepped onto the stage next. After her introduction, she joined Beth. Three more girls followed. As the fifth walked across the center to join them, wood creaked. I froze. Cody’s eyes were still locked with Beth’s. I tried to get his attention when the sixth one stepped up but he didn’t notice me. I didn’t want to cause a commotion so I sat back. The wood creaked again. Only four more, I prayed it would hold and cursed Cody for his half hearted work. The eighth girl nearly slipped as she crossed the center of the stage. I saw the board beneath her feet shift. In our hurry to finish the stage, we’d missed nailing all the boards down! Sweat broke out on my forehead. How many did more did Cody miss before I started to help him? I wanted nothing more than to turn invisible. Mrs. Spangler stood up as the last girl crossed to the right. “There are many kinds of beauty, not only of appearance, but also of voice. The girls will now sing a song for you.” The ten girls hurried to their places in the center of the stage. Mrs. Spangler walked behind them. She stepped around the girls to take her seat. The girls began to sing. A loud scream cut through their song, followed by the sound of Mrs. Spangler hitting the back wall. The board she slipped over the edge of tilted upward, sending the bucket of flowers into the face of Beth Miller. “My hair!” Beth wiped at the water running down her face. Flowers stuck in her dripping curls. Stomping toward the right of the stage, she made a beeline for Cody. As her foot came down another board sprang upward. Beth tripped. She fought to keep her balance but stumbled backward into the crowd of girls picking wet flowers out of their hair. Beth fell to the boards with three girls under her. The sudden weight of the girls crashing onto the stage sent the two boards directly under them flying. Two of the girls disappeared into the hole. Amy and two others fell over the flying wood and toppled over the front of the stage in a flurry of skirts. The end of yet another board flew upward and caught on the streamers. A spider web of white cloth floated down to further ensnare the tangle of limbs on the stage. The remaining three girls leapt off the front, shifting the rest of the lose boards. Two more buckets of flowers took to the air. One landed in Tompkins’ lap. The other flew two rows back and dispersed its wet contents over the laps of several people. Beth, with both tears and rage in her eyes, stood before us. A dark red line stood out across her nose where the bucket had hit. Her hands forms fists on her hips and her lower lip trembled. “You’ve ruined my life!” She turned and ran out the back door. The other girls slowly got to their feet and glared in our direction. I squirmed in my seat. Mrs. Spangler stormed toward us. “You boys should be ashamed of yourselves! You’ve turned my pageant into a disaster!” “Don’t worry ma’am. I’ll take care of this.” A calm voice behind us said. I turned to see Teaspoon. He looked even more displeased than Mrs. Spangler. Now I really wanted to disappear. “I expect you boys have something you’d like to say to these girls and to Mrs. Spangler?” It was Cody’s fault but I could very well explain that right then. I hung my head and stared at the floor. “I’m real sorry, Mrs. Spangler.” Cody said quietly. “Ike is too. Aren’t you, Ike?” He nudged me. I looked up and nodded. “Alright then, it looks like you boy’s have some cleaning up to do. I expect you’ll put the stage back together while you’re at it?” “Yes, Teaspoon.” I followed Cody to the wooden nightmare. The crowd began to leave as we pulled the streamers from the boards. Lost in my own thoughts, I jumped when someone tapped my shoulder. “Hello.” Amy Lambert stood before me with a streak of dirt across the front of her skirt. I glanced around, Amy’s father stood by the door, Cody headed for the crate with the hammers and nails and Teaspoon was over apologizing to Mrs. Spangler. I heard our names mentioned several times and cringed. “It’s not your fault.” Amy smiled. “We all saw how hard you worked on this.” A heavy weight lifted from me. I returned her smile and nodded. “Too bad, we’ll never know the winner.” I pointed to her. Amy blushed. “Thank you, Ike.” Her eyes took on a merry twinkle. “I’ll see you around?” I nodded and began picking up the pieces of the pageant that didn’t quite happen. I took the hammer Cody offered and started on the hours of work ahead of us with a grin I couldn’t seem to wipe off my face. Many kinds of beauty indeed. (Title by Beth G for the WIAN challenge.) Email Gypsywitch HOME