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The date on the calendar had jumped out at him this morning. ‘Time is getting short!’ It seemed to say. He knew he’d been putting it off. He’d hemmed and hawed for far to long already. Every time he thought about it he was struck by the same thought – this room, heck the whole house would be missing a tall, lanky rancher. His best friend. The man that had saved him from the enticing Big Open. Oh, he knew it was irrational to think such a thing. Slim would be only up the road a piece but still, Daisy would be cooking for three now. The shared bedroom would be his alone and the porch would be strangely empty.
He was happy for Slim. Really he was. Marcie Benson was a sweet, quiet but strong woman who had captured his Pard’s heart so much that he had courted her and was about to marry her. She had told him that she never wanted to get between him and Slim. That she knew her fiancée held him in his heart. They were closer than brothers and she didn’t want that bond to change because of their marriage. It was one of the reasons she loved Slim.
He went back into the bedroom and snagged the book off the shelf. Long ago, Jonesy had poured over similar pages looking for a piano but now, the glossy new pages beckoned him. ‘Buy this! Buy this!’ So many things to buy but none of them appropriate for a wedding gift for a best friend.
He made himself a cup of coffee and sank down onto his rocker. The house was quiet for a Saturday afternoon. Andy, Slim’s brother, was in town accompanying Doc Sam on his rounds. Andy had arrived home two weeks ago much to Slim’s delight and seemed content with Andy's explanation that he was on a holiday. As far as he knew, he was the only one in the family to know that Andy's present to his big brother was his signature on a contract between himself and Doc Sam to take over the practice. While they wouldn’t see each other all the time, like the old days, there’d be dinners or lazy Sunday afternoons. Slim would be over the moon. He'd been sworn to secrecy and only knowledge of his Pard’s delight was what kept him from spilling the beans.
Mike would be home at the end of the month when school let out. He had agreed to one year of study but his heart was the ranch and he would be coming home to stay. Jess couldn’t wait to see him.
Daisy had driven to town to buy fabric to finish off the quilt she had made for her wedding gift. It was blue and red and yellow and the white fabric that Marcie had set aside not knowing why Daisy was heart set on that particular shade, was the piece that wove it all together. Once again, he wondered why he was the keeper of all the family dreams. He casually thumbed the pages, until he came to the section marked ‘Men's Accessories ‘ ‘Now, we're getting somewhere,’ he thought.
The crackling of the wood and the gentle rocking was making him sleepy. Memories of olden days swirled around him. Mike playing on the rug with the toy soldiers he had carved; the scratch of Slim’s pen on a page in the log book and the rustle of Daisy’s dress as she moved around the kitchen. He loved this family. They all supported each other and fought for the ranch. Sometimes he was still amazed at the length they would go for him. He smiled as he remembered Andy's letter written about three months ago.
Dear Slim,
I've been thinking a lot about your problem. Which one of us to choose – Jess or me. On one hand, it would look odd if you didn’t choose me, your brother, as your best man.And if you chose Jess instead of me, what did that say about me? Even though I’m a respected doctor in Boston, Massachusetts. Having both of us on the altar would look odd but then, you've never put to much into what others say or think. You’re your own man.
Jess is a good man. I know he means a lot to you. You’ve written me about all the adventures you two share. He should be your best man. And don’t forget, if I step aside I still can help plan your Chivaree! So, Big Brother, choose Jess.
Andy
Slim had given him the letter to read the next morning and now he was deep in planning all the details. Slim had secured the date with the preacher. Jess had received the list of invited guests, all of whom wanted to participate. Daisy took charge of the Family Dinner and the wedding meal. Andy was in charge of the Chivaree. Mike was in charge of the gifts. I had to make sure that everyone who had been invited showed up and that Andy and Mike had matching ties. Andy and I knew that Slim had reserved the hotel for their first night and they were going to Cheyenne for a few days. Afterwards he had hinted that they were going off to parts unknown, whatever that meant. I had a sneaking suspicion that they were going to the line cabin near Paradise, the part of the ranch that has the most deer and elk and fish. Slim and Marcie could even be going to Aunt Ella's for all I knew!
My problem was the wedding gift and so here I was, sitting with the book, going over it page by page. It seemed to me that the gift pages for the bride were more numerous. But as I looked closely, they were mostly for the house. So I flipped the pages again. Picture frames, wall brackets, shelves, lamps, furniture, none of those stood out for me. I wanted to make my gift more special. So I looked at the section on men's attire. Hmm, neckties, shirts, hats and hat bands, jackets – wait! I ran my finger down the page with the shirts. What about cuff links? Slim would need cuff links wouldn’t he? He was already going to more meetings for the stage line, maybe by being married the meetings would increase.
There was only one problem. I had never made cuff links before. How hard could it be? I put the book back on the shelf and wandered out to the forge. They didn’t have to be very big. Hmm, we had some leftover gold pieces. I fingered them. I'd have to polish them up some, no problem. But they’d get dirty a lot. Slim was gonna be busy with two ranches now. Add a general store and babies! Nope, it would have to be wood. We were surrounded by trees. What type? We had Pine, Cottonwood, Oak , Sycamore and Douglas Fir. Which one would cut better?
I decided to get some help. Laramie was now home to a wheelwright and a cooper. Both of them had shops side by side at the end of town. After I introduced myself to Henry, the wheelwright, he suggested I use Douglas Fir. He told me to look for an older tree ‘cause the bark on a young tree would be grey and the older one would tend to be brown with layers inside it. He happened to have some samples which was lucky for me. I then went to see his friend Joe, the cooper. Joe was really helpful. He suggested that I make the cuff links in a square shape and then use a square button. He even showed me a picture of what I might make. Since neither of them had met Slim, it was easy for them to keep my secret.
It was fairly easy to make the cuff links! Slim was so busy that I hardly saw him so I could sneak away into the barn for periods at a time. I ended up following both Joe and Henry's advice. The cuff links were square and I spent a great deal of time polishing them. My new friends took two thin pieces of wood and made pegs to fit the holes that I made in the back of the cuff links. I raided Mary Sherman’s button box and found two fairly small buttons which Joe fixed onto the end of the peg. We used Joe's arm with his shirt on as a test one afternoon. They fit perfectly! (See Pinterest for images of square wooden cuff links circa 1870).
My next problem was a box to put them in. I didn’t just want to hand them over! So, I made a box somewhat similar to the one I had made for Mike to put his carved wooden soldiers in. Daisy gave me a piece of soft fabric for the bottom. Waiting had just become harder!
The last time we were gonna sit on the porch together had come. The family dinner that Daisy made was all our favorites. Slim had his chicken, I had the biscuits, Mike had stuffing and Andy had potatoes. Daisy even made an apple pie just for us. We gathered in the living room and shared stories about our favorite times at the ranch. It was what Andy said that it was a bittersweet moment. We were all glad that Slim was getting married but we were gonna miss him. Me especially, but I didn’t mention it. I think maybe they all knew anyhow. After they all went to bed, Slim and I wandered outside to the porch. I brought the box with me. We talked for awhile about this and that. It felt strange out there. I figured it had something to do with all the chairs set up in the yard. Mike and Andy had strung white and yellow fabric strips around the railings and there were saw horse tables set up for the food. Off to the left, they had put up the dance floor.
“Jess,” Slim spoke softly, “I just want to say thanks for everything. You and the boys did a lot of work to get everything ready for tomorrow and it looks beautiful. “
I bit my lip. “I hope everything goes well,” I managed to say. The were so many things I wanted to say, but the words got stuck in my throat. “ I got something for you,” I thrust the box into his hands.
Slim took the box from me and ran his finger over the decoration I had carved on the top. “It’s beautiful, “ he whispered. “Jess, I, I.” He stuttered and then stopped.
“Open it,” I gestured. I trembled with excitement.
I heard him catch his breath and saw his glistening eyes when the moonlight hit them. “I don’t know how to say what’s in my heart, Jess.” He reached in and gently ran a finger over the polished wood. “These must have taken a lot of time to make. I think it’s your best work!”
I reached over and took one of the cuff links out of the box. “ The wood is Douglas Fir. The Cooper in town helped me make the backs. I chose the buttons from your Ma's button box. I thought maybe you could remember her when you wore them. We can always make them bigger if your wrist changes."
I could feel the air around us shift again. It was like we were the only two people in this bubble of air. I could tell that Slim was struggling with what to say. He never did hide his emotions well. So I decided to talk first.
“I debated a lot about what to get you, Slim. Nothing in that big book jumped out at me until I saw the dress shirts. Call it a ‘Congratulations' gift' or something.” I tried to stop my trembling.
“I think I'll call it the best present I ever got from the best friend I’ve ever had,” Slim’s hands were on my shoulders now.
I turned towards him, seeing the depth of emotion in that simple sentence written on his face. “You’ve been more than just a good friend, you know. You’ve become part of me,” he continued. “ Even now, after all these years, I still can’t tell you why I offered you a job here. I've thought about it often and the only conclusion I can reach is that I needed to. While we didn’t often see eye to eye in the beginning, you always had my back and then Andy's and Jonesy, Mike and Daisy. You once asked me why I kept following after you, doing everything from patching you up, to staying by your side when you were sick or hurt or trying to understand something. I always told you it was because you needed me to but the truth of it is, is that I needed to be there for you for me too. I never would have lived with myself if I had abandoned you when you needed me. We often talk about that invisible thread that joins us, well, I for one, never take it for granted. It allows me to see the path you’re on to find you and bring you home. And lest you think that this porch is gonna be lonely I want you to remember something. “ His hand tightened on the back of my neck. His eyes bored into mine. “ Home is right here,” he gestured to his heart.
I couldn’t speak then. His heartfelt words had been my undoing. Nothing that would happen the next day or any of the days ahead, could compare to our conversation that night. We would always have each other's back. The cuff links took up a place of honor in his ranch house and he put them in his will for his son to claim them upon his death. Our bond held together just like the cuff links did and we were grateful.
Notes: I cross posted this story to FanFiction. Net. The idea for the cuff links came from The Tricky Triangle, the peg game from Cracker Barrel. Enjoy and I welcome all reviews!