'"Anything Goes"'
It was early Sunday a.m. or late Saturday night, however you want to see it, as a Party of Four in a Coach-and-Two, passed 'neath redwood and pine and a nightsky brilliant with iceripe stars and moonstripe shadows down the road en route to the dark bowl of a valley below.
Emmeline listened with half an ear to Jack's explanations of
peer pressure, wanting to be accepted by Em's friends and oh what the heck... he soon gave up:
'Em...it was all an act.' Jack appeared as though he'd been caught holding a sacred relic of Solomon's temple. Still stoically staring downwards, he admitted,'We thought it best to be seen celebrating Dionysian delights than... something altogether other .'
The cart rattled down the hill aways, whilst Emmeline stared hard at Jack.
'...Oh no. He didn't...' Em frowned his way.
'What?'
'Jethro.' Em sighed, sat back and frowned at the night.
Jack figured Emmeline, being local, probably knew what was up in them thar hills...
Em sighed.Again. Hard.
'What!!??' Jack insisted.
'You KNOW what, Jack Van Horn!' Em sat up, grasping onto the cart which clattered down the mountainside, Leon and Ernestine silent and curious up front...'Just tell me that you won't go bat-bombing with Jethro and Homer!'
'...Homer and Jethro,'Jack insisted. Again.
Em raised brows rather librarianish in a 'I Do Not Believe This' sort of way.
'Ok, ok,' Jack took her hand. 'It's cold!' He rubbed it with his big gloved one. 'Better...?'
Em nodded. Not smiling.
'Emmeline! You don't seriously think there's any danger in
their backyard experiments!'
Em' s face went completely blank and she turned to face the road ahead.Alone. Yet another mad fool...
'Em...'Jack draped his cape about her back and enclosed them in his tweedy cocoon.'I'll keep an eye on THEM, ok? I'll be the voice of reason...'
Emmeline gazed at Jack as though he had suddenly appeared leprechanlike before her, perhaps foaming at the mouth and
scratching himself to boot.
Leon and Ernestine smiled 1/4 moons at one another, listening to the banter behind them as the cart moved on down the hillside...They were coming down into the valley now and the odd palm made it's reappearance, a sentinel sillouetted against cobalt infinity.
'We'll all be home soon...' Jack craned a glance around at Emmeline. 'It was great fun, Em. Thank you.'
Emmeline sighed.
'Oh, Em, come on!' Jack was exasperated. He'd only tried his darndest to fit in, do his part in the evenings' festivities....
'Jack.'Em looked ahead again, at that all familiar lonesome road. 'I forbid you to take part in Jethro and Homers' experiments! That's all there is to it!'
Jack opened his mouth wide, incredulousness flowing from every pore then.
'Ha!' he couldn't believe it. 'Em! You! You are ordering me, then, eh?'
Em just felt weary . 'Jack. Why would I wish to save you from bodily harm at the least and a nasty demise at worst?
Hmmm...let me think...' she pondered but briefly. 'At the moment, I can't really see clearly why I should bother.'
As they continued on down, the lights of town glowed in the distance ahead.
'It IS a small town, Jack.' Em just looked tired, and rather wistful. 'Did you truly think I didn't know Jethro and Homer, or their...various enterprises?' She shook her head slowly.'I went to school with Jethro.'
'Indeed?' Jack hadn't thought about it, but he now realized he should not be surprised.
'He was a year ahead of me. But...' Em looked down at the floorboards, then laughed quietly. 'As much as I cultivated an outlaw, loner image,,,the lads who held my eye had brains above all...and Jethro always engineered the most intriguing and innovative science projects;not to mention,the most explosive...'
'Batbombing one's way into a young girls' fancy...'This truth, Jack certainly understood. Although he realized as the cart rounded the many bends in the road, that it hadn't perhaps all been an act so far as inhabiting a rather applejack enhanced reality at present...'Understood.' Jack nodded, weaving abit.
Emmeline took his arm then. Oh, that Jethro! And Homer, who was like an uncle to him, should know better! Obviously, they've only expanded operations...Em would be having a little talk with her old pal Jethro. Soon.
'Em...'Jack ventured, quietly,'did you ever think that maybe, you liked men like your father? Inventors and such?'
'No!' Em was insistent. 'Just the opposite! My father was cold and aloof. He certainly never encouraged either of his daughters to cultivate her brain! Amelie and myself were raised as pets, rather. He simply felt that we would no doubt 'make a good match' somehow, and settle into the usual familial situation...'Em now looked more than weary. 'Jethro has a sense of humor at least!' she smiled and shut her eyes as the cart swayed homeward.
'I don't know Em...perhaps you are more like the professor than you'd admit.'
Em merely yawned behind her glove, as they slowed to a walk now nearing city streets and cultivated tree-lined avenues....here they were, home again, nearly.
Ernestina turned around, looking meaningfully at Emmeline, then nodded to Jack. 'Thank you for coming Jack. And it was such fun for Marta, Emmeline!' Her smile was returned by Em.
'Now! We will see much of you both, soon, no?'
'Yes, indeed!' and 'We'll see,' replied Jack and Em respectively as the carriage turned down Crowley Lane at last.
As they pulled up before the old house, Jack turned to Emmeline. 'It's been a wonderful evening Em.' He reached behind him and grabbed his guitar case, then took Emmeline's
chin in hand and turning her toward him, gave her a friendly kiss on the old smackeroo, just as playful as you please.
And it came to pass quickly and smoothly so it did and took Em quite by surprise,
'Gracias Leon, Miss Ernestine!' Jack took guitar case in hand, swung down from the cart and made a bow.'May we soon meet again! Oh, and Em,'Jack leaned toward her, keeping his voice low,'whenever you feel ill-disposed toward my untoward maneuverings at times, think of how I might be feeling now, regarding your concern over my safety and...'He paused, rubbing his chin in thought,'Forbidding, was it? Yes, "forbidding!",I believe,my further involvement with the bat-bomb business, am I right, Em?' He grinned up at her in the pale moonlight.'Forbidding, no less! I love it when you are masterful, darling!' Jack winked at an astonished Emmeline and took his leave up onto the veranda of the old haunted manse he called home.
'Well!'Em exclaimed.
. . . . .
Sunday afternoon found Emmeline slowly strolling home from her matinee gig at Pankhurst Inn playing for the luncheon
crowd and carrying cash-in-hand in her reticule, along with a doggy-bag in payment--'singing for my supper now!' she
mused, as she opened the sack and sniffed appreciatively, smiling to find several poppyseed rolls and a hunk of jack cheese which would go together nicely for her own repast.
She yawned then as she approached Alice's, although she had risen rather late (and just in time to make her gig!),having barely beaten the dawn coming home last night...she could still use a nap, she decided.
Mac and Frida had rushed to the gate wuffing and wagging their welcome as she neared.'Inside you two! Let us all have a nice quiet Sunday afternoon, yes?'She couldn't hope for anything more.
Inside, and having paused for a bite of cheese and roll, Em chewed thoughtfully as she looked down at Alices' bed which was positioned just right for catching afternoon sun in winter.
Spreading the tartan plaid at the foot of the bed, she patted it and Mac and Frida sprang up and settled down against each other, a perfect yin/yang match together, of dark and light.
Em tossed her slippers off and took a book to lie down and read herself to sleep with, but lying there, her thoughts would drift from the page and she found herself gazing outside at the bare winter limbs of the backyard trees, now sporting the suggestion of buds, and thinking of last evening and the varied flashes of memories of the night before; some strange, some happy, some funny, and she had to admit, most were of Jack in one scene or another...she smiled and shook her head slowly, watching Mac watch her with his one eye lazily open still, shaded by his black brush of eyebrows...yes, she had to admit, that Jack had certainly made an impression upon folks. She recalled his climbing from the stage and dancing with young Marquita in her braids with red bows and how the little girl had blushed happily, and when he moved on to take a spin with old Ma Clampett, well that won everyone over right there.
...Almost everyone, Em reminded herself...ole J.George Bush Jr. wasn't having any Jack for any money, obviously. What was it about Jack that had irritated the lil' goofball so?, she wondered...and what was all that crazy business of calling Jack a gypsy?
Mac snuffled and hid his nose against Frida, inhaling and sighing then and snuggling into a contented furball, revelling in her scent. Emmeline recalled then how the evening had ended, and humphed to herself...say what he would, Mr. Van Horn was certainly not entirely sober then!, she soliloquized. Surely that jack was to blame for his rather impertinent actions, she decided, too tired to note the play on words. She lay her head down on the pillow then and wondered about all that...what sort of kiss was that, anyway? Like the kind young Jethro had stolen from her when they were kids maybe Marquita's age, back then.I'm hardly 7 years old now, Jack...wuf! Men!...she thought, and then at last, thoughts came and went like dandelion fluff in the wind and she joined her canine companeros in a dream-laden journey into the realm of Morpheus...
. . . . .
It was just sunset as Emmeline awoke, cold, to the sound of knocking and realized Mac and Frida had exited the bedroom and were wuffing fixedly at the front door. What, now? She
was slowly waking from a deep and dazed dream, feet seeking slippers as she ran a hand through her hair and drinking from her water glass hard by, tried to awaken into some semblance of consciousness...
This, she had more or less succeeded in, yet upon reaching the door, she seemed rather amazed still to behold Mr. Yeats standing there, bearing a sack before him. 'Miss Page! You didn't know I was coming, so I baked a cake!' His lips formed an almost-smile. 'Good evening. Have I come at an inconvenient Time?'
She recovered herself then, and smiled. 'Not at all, sir!' She stood aside and swept an arm before her. 'Do come in!--and Macky--take Frida outside with you both!'
Taking Mr. Yeats's hat and coat, and cake!, she invited him into the kitchen, as it seemed all of her memories of being with this worthy gent always took place in that homey setting and was the proper place for them. 'I'll just start some tea.And what have we here then?'
'Oh, just a little spice cake I whipped up. With a wee dash of rum, I admit,'
'Lovely! Thank you!'Em gestured to the breakfast nook, 'Do have a seat, Mr. Yeats, please...'And stoking the fire, Em got the tea things ready thinking what a weekend of surprises this had turned out to be!
. . . .
Seated together at the little wooden blue table, Em handed the knife to Yeats. 'Would you do the honors, while I pour?'
Inhaling the hot Earl Grey, Em felt her spirits reviving abit and had to admit to feeling rather peckish as she eyed her slice of spice cake, dark with molasses and redolent of ginger and nutmeg.
The two companions sipped their tea contentedly as they watched the sunset from the kitchen window. 'You make the best spice cake!' Emmeline granted him. 'Just don't tell Alice I said so!'
Yeats set his teacup down in the saucer. 'Indeed. It is with news of that good lady that I have come to you tonight and beat so brazenly upon your door, my dear.' He looked up at her over the table, his tufted eyebrows reminding her of MacGregor then. 'I can assume that it is safe to talk here?'
My goodness! Curiouser and curiouser! thought Em. 'Oh, yes, safe as anywhere! Oh, Mr. Yeats--have you news of Alice, and Frank?' Despite her eagerness, she still kept her voice barely above a whisper.
'I do.' Yeats sat back against the bench seat. 'Alice wishes to see you, Emmeline.'He gazed at her with serious mien. 'And soon!'
. . . .
'May I just say before this record spins to a close...I just want you to know...Anything Goes...!'
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