Assigned Song - "Gambler" sung by: Kenny Rogers
The click clack of the train wheels was
hypnotic as Buck
stared silently out the window at the blackness. Teaspoon sat in the
seat
beside him dozing off and on. Buck wondered why Teaspoon had decided to
make
this trip, his health was failing rapidly and the long trip down to
Texas had
been hard on him. They’d already seen Polly and were now headed to the
little
town where Teaspoon had been born.
When Buck had asked why they were going there, all Teaspoon
would say was that all of his blood family was gone now, he was the
last one.
He’d told Buck that his mother’s grave was in the church cemetery, her
favorite
flowers were daisies and he wanted to be there to put one last daisy
down for
her. Buck had thought it strange that they would travel all this way to
visit a
grave but he couldn’t let Teaspoon make the trip alone. It wasn’t like
he had
anything really pressing that he needed to stay in Rock Creek to take
care of
anyway. Jimmy was the sheriff now and he and his wife, Mimsy, and their
two
daughters lived in town. Kid and Lou owned a small farm just outside of
town and
were busy raising horses and children. Cody had his Wild West Show and
was also
married. Rachel had married the blacksmith and was raising a family of
her own.
Buck still lived in the old bunkhouse and worked part time for Kid and
part
time as a deputy but full time taking care of Teaspoon.
Teaspoon’s snoring was getting louder and a couple of other
travelers got up and moved to other cars. Buck just kept staring out
the
window. After one particularly loud snore the snoring stopped and Buck
turned
his head to check on the old marshal. Teaspoon looked at him with eyes
that
were clearer than he’d ever seen them. “Were you snoring son or did I
just wake
myself up?”
“I’ve been awake the whole time Teaspoon, sorry!” Buck
laughed.
“Son, why are you here?” Teaspoon looked directly into
Buck’s eyes.
Teaspoon’s directness was a bit unnerving. “I’m going to
your home town with you, don’t you remember?” Buck studied his mentor
carefully.
“Yes, yes I know that, I mean why are you still single?
You’re a good, hardworking, kind man and, according to Louise, Mimsy
and
Rachel, you’re well built and good looking too. You should be home
somewhere
taking care of your wife and raising a bunch of little Bucks.” Teaspoon
smiled
at Buck who was blushing. “Hmm you are kinda cute when you blush like
that!”
Teaspoon teased.
“Yeah right…..I guess
I’m just not ready….besides women don’t like me ‘cos I’m not white or
something. You remember what happened with Kathleen? I’d rather not go
through
that again thank you.” Buck shook his head as the bad memories
threatened to
resurface.
“Buck, I know that was a bad time for you but it was also a
long time ago. I know you like women, I’ve caught you looking over a
few rather
appealing young ladies on this trip. You gotta take a chance on love,
Buck, or
you’re going to be alone for the rest of your life. Look at me, I kept
looking
and I had six really wonderful wives.” Teaspoon smiled at some private
memory.
“Yeah that’s kinda the problem Teaspoon, I don’t want to
have six wives, I’m sure one will be more than enough. Only problem is,
I ain’t
found the one yet. It just seems like the second I even start thinking
about
courting someone they leave and I’m left more alone than I was before I
met
them.” Buck shrugged.
“That just tells me you ain’t met the right one yet….Who
besides Kathleen was you interested in?” Teaspoon turned to look at
Buck. “You
really look like a man who’s seen the last ace played and needed it for
a full
house.”
“Um, we’re not playing poker, Teaspoon; can we talk about
something else?”
“In a way we are, life is like a poker game son. You gotta
know when to hold ‘em, know when to fold ‘em, know when to walk away
and know
when to run*. You gotta take that gamble son, I might be alone right
now but
that’s because I folded when I should have held. Let me guess there was
Tompkins’ daughter, what was her name….Judy, Melinda, Sally… no, wait,
that was
her mother….” Teaspoon scratched his head.
“Jennifer, Eagle Feather, whichever…” Buck spoke barely
above a whisper it was clear Teaspoon wasn’t going to let this drop.
“What happened there? You two seem to be gettin’ kinda close
then all of a sudden she up and leaves…I was hopin’ that you to would
get
together and stick it to Old Tompkins….” Teaspoon laughed and shook his
head.
“I can just see it, you married to his daughter and her havin’ your
baby… The
poor man would have blown his top! Heh, heh, heh!”
“Yeah well Tompkins didn’t exactly see it as funny and he
made it really hard for her. She left because of him, she wanted a life
of her
own and I wasn’t part of that life. Are you hungry?” Buck attempted to
change
the subject.
“What happened when you two were alone those couple of
days?” Teaspoon winked at his former rider.
“Nothing happened, not that that is any of your business. On
the way to the Lakota camp she was going to meet her fiancé,
Black Wolf, and then
we found her friends murdered by him, that got her all mad at him and
she broke
it off, the engagement I guess you’d call it. I had to listen to her
rant on
about what a fool he was and what a fool she was for ever caring about
him, all
the way to the camp. She was ready to kill anything male, my horse and
I stayed
out of her way. She had a good head of steam going when we rode into
the camp.
Black Wolf hit her and I stepped in, we fought, I won, she decided to
come home
with me….The chief stopped me from killing Black Wolf and I really wish
I had,
he tried to kill Eagle Feather and instead shot her mother. Let me tell
you
that walking back to Sweetwater with your dead mother on a travois
beside you
really kills any thoughts of romance. Yeah a lot happened.” Buck was
getting a
tad frustrated and he knew Teaspoon would pester him until Buck told
him what
really happened.
“I supposed that would tend to kill the mood….What about
that other little filly? The pretty little one with the long brown pony
tail…
dressed like a boy to try to kill Emory Pike…..You two spent a lot of
time
together, alone….”
“Awe, come on Teaspoon! That was Jane and if you recall
Emory Pike had just killed her father too. Yeah I’d say she was looking
for
romance. Why all the sudden interest in my life? Just drop it, please…”
Buck
was loosing his patience.
“Hmmm, my guess would be that something happened….Come on
boy fess up…” Teaspoon’s eyes twinkled as he teased Buck.
“Nothing happened, not a single thing, well OK, I hugged her,
but that’s it. I hugged Jennifer too but it didn’t mean anything. Other
than
Kathleen I’ve never hugged a woman as anything more than just a friend.
Hell,
that’s the most I’ve ever done with a woman or plan to….are you happy
now or do
you want to know I’ve hugged Lou lots of times, do you want to know all
about
that too? We spent a lot of time alone too, you know….” Buck had had it
with
Teaspoon’s questions; he was angry and a bit ashamed of his loveless
life.
“Hmm…you and Louise now there’s a match up I didn’t see
coming….” Teaspoon pondered this thought and smiled. “Just what did the
two of
you do on those long rides alone together?”
“ARRGH! NOTHING! Not a damn thing, she’s like a sister to
me, I think I need some fresh air.” Buck tried to get up but Teaspoon
held him
back.
“Calm down son, I can see a lot of me in you; the difference
between you and me is I would have married each one of those girls if
I’d been
you. You give up too easily, you’ve got to put yourself out there and
fight for
what you want. I’ve seen it in your eyes son, you liked Jennifer, Jane
and even
Kathleen. All of you were a little in love with Louise, admit it…”
Teaspoon
took Buck’s hand in his.
“I guess you’re right you almost always are….” Buck looked
at his hand captured between both of Teaspoon’s cold ones.
“Almost?” Teaspoon put on an exaggerated hurt look; Buck
shrugged. Teaspoon smiled and squeezed his hand.
“Son, I’ve been around a long time, been a lot of places and
done a lot of things on both sides of the law and I’ll be honest, I
really do
think of you as a son. I was never blessed with children of my own,
well any I
got to know anyways, but I want you to promise me you’ll allow yourself
to love
someone someday. You’ll be a great father and a wonderful husband to
some lucky
lady but you gotta take that gamble with your heart.” Teaspoon began to
cough
and Buck quickly reached for his handkerchief and the bottle of whisky
that
Teaspoon used for “medicinal purposes”. Buck had to admit it did quiet
the old
man’s coughing pretty well.
Once the coughing subsided and Teaspoon had settled back
Buck spoke. “I’m not much of a gambler Teaspoon, I don’t like to take
risks
when I don’t know or at least have some idea of the outcome.”
“Buck, son, don’t you see? You been gambling all your life.
You took a huge gamble when you left the Kiowa and ventured into the
white
world. I know your life ain’t always been easy here but I’m damn sure
it was
worse growin’ up in the village. You left everything you knew and
walked into a
world as different as the moon. That took courage. You befriended Ike,
a kid no
one else would go near and gave him a voice; you took a gamble with him
and
found a brother. You stuck it out with the Express when several times
you could
have left with no shame. You gambled that we’d support and love you and
it paid
off. You are part of this rag tag family and we care about you. I’ve
watched
the other’s take that gamble with their hearts and win. I never thought
I’d
live to see the woman that could handle Jimmy but Mimsy does it with
ease and a
smile. Their two little girls have him wrapped around their cute little
fingers,
I want you to feel that kind of happiness and love but you gotta get
over what
happened in the past.” Teaspoon paused to take a breath.
“Yeah well getting tarred and feathered will sort of take
all the love making out of a body.” Buck grumbled.
“That’s not really true now is it? When she said she needed
you, you ran to her. If I recall that was after that little incident….”
Teaspoon was on a roll.
“OK, fine, whatever, but why are we talking about this?”
Buck was totally confused.
“Buck, I love you like a son and I don’t want to see you
make the same mistakes I did. You gotta know when to hold ‘em, and when
to walk
away and say good-bye but most of all you gotta be in the game. Promise
me
you’ll try or at least the next time a pretty face smiles at you you’ll
smile
back, not turn away….” Teaspoon was squeezing Buck’s hand again.
“Ok, I promise. I think you just want more grandchildren….”
Buck didn’t like the way Teaspoon’s eyes looked dull now.
“I’m getting tired of flappin’ my jaws so I think I’ll rest
my eyes for a bit while you get that fresh air you been yappin’ ‘bout.”
Teaspoon closed his eyes as Buck rose and walked to the car door.
Buck stood outside on the platform at the end of the car in
the darkness for a few minutes looking up at the stars and thinking
about what
Teaspoon had said. The Texas landscape was almost invisible as the
train
carried them across the flat land. The song the wheels sang as they
sped over
the rails was soothing almost hypnotic he had no idea how long he
stayed out
there. Finally when he felt a chill he went back inside. Teaspoon was
sound
asleep and snoring again so Buck covered him with a blanket they’d
brought and
sat down to get some sleep himself.
He awoke to the sun just peaking over the horizon and an
overwhelming feeling of loss he just couldn’t explain. All Buck could
hear was
the rhythmic sound of the train; he looked over at a too quiet
Teaspoon.
Sometime overnight Teaspoon had slipped away in his sleep. Buck said a
silent
prayer for his friend, put his face in his hands and cried for the loss
of the man
he thought of as a father; the only one he’d ever known.
Buck brought Teaspoon’s body to the cemetery where his
mother was buried and asked to have him buried beside her. The
headstone read
Aloysius “Teaspoon” Hunter, Loving Friend, Husband and Father. Died
1870. At
the grave Buck spoke to Teaspoon for the last time. “You knew you would
never
leave here, you knew it. I don’t know why you chose me but…. I know I
never
said it but I loved you. You were my father in so many ways and I
promise I
will try, I’ll smile back…You’re right I need an ace for my full house,
I’ll
try to play it your way. You always were right, good bye Teaspoon….”
Silent
tears coursed down his handsome face as he walked away from the
graveyard
alone. A bouquet of daises graced each grave.
Buck took the next train back to Rock Creek with a heavy
heart and the determination to keep his promise. As fate would have it,
at the
station as he was stepping off the train, there was a young lady
disembarking
also and she dropped her book and gloves as she slipped on the last
step. Buck
caught her and helped her down the last step to the safety of the
station platform.
He bent to pick up her belongings and when he stood to hand them back
to her he
gazed in to the most beautiful pair of green eyes he could ever
imagine.
She smiled sweetly at him. “Thank-you so much, I’m sure I
would have fallen and been hurt if you hadn’t been there. …I’m new in
town….Can
you direct me to the hotel Mr…?”
“I’m Buck Cross, ma’am and I’d be happy to carry your bags
over to the hotel for you.” He smiled back and offered his arm.
Finis
INSPIRATION:
My story was the Gambler
sung by Kenny Rogers. I've loved this song
since it first came out and was thrilled with my assingment. The song
tells the story of two people talking on train, one giving advice to
the other. When I think of the Young Riders and advice, I think of
Teaspoon and his endless willingness to impart bits of wisdom to
the
riders, welcomed or not! I chose Buck because well, he's not only my
favorite, but the least directed of the riders as far as his
future is
concerned. Jimmy was a close second. There is a line in the song which
says "I can see you're out of aces" I chose that as the focal point and
worked the story from there. (country music fan my also notice hints
from the songs "Daisy a Day" and "Queen of Hearts") The Gambler could
have been interperated in any number of ways but Buck needs a verbal
boost, welcomed or not, and who better to give that then Teaspoon.