Page 2 of Tommy

“Fifty-one? I would never have guessed.”

“You’re sweet,” she said. “A good gal pal of mine said a divorce will either make you ten years younger, or twenty years older from the stress, and I guess ridding myself of the dead weight in the relationship actually worked wonders.” For someone divorced, she had such a positive tone to her voice on the topic. I was desperate to find a slither of that.

“My last serious relationship was a couple years ago, and it didn’t end well,” I mumbled.

“Oh, well, they missed out because you’re a looker,” she said. “If you don’t mind me asking, were they male or—”

“I’m gay,” I said, not wanting to out myself somewhere I didn’t know the consensus of LGBTQ folks in. “It was guy.”

“My daughter’s a lesbian,” she said. “She’s the one who did my hair for me. She works at the salon in town. If you’re looking for someone who does a good mani pedi, I must recommend her. She could also probably put some highlights in there for you. I bet you’d rock a great head of highlights.”

Once we were out of the traffic from the airport, we hit a straight of road that was surrounded by snow covered trees on either side. As far as the eye could see, there was road. The white sky, almost as if snow was falling, was mesmerizing.

“Not the first time you’ve seen snow, is it?” she asked.

“It’s the first time I’m seeing it so pure,” I mumbled. It was untouched. “But this might be the first time I’m going to be alone.”

“You’re not going to be alone, Hardin will be there, just not actively engaging in any type of conversation.” June had a way of speaking and then her voice pitching with a laugh toward the end of her words. “I really hope he’s stopped skulking around. If you’ve never met a cowboy before, they do skulk a lot. For whatever reason they might have, they always look like they’ve just kicked something hard and have to bite their tongue. Or like they’ve stuck a lemon wedge in their mouth.”

I didn’t know what to expect. They’d painted this man as someone who lived in the mountains, undisturbed by human contact and actually feared it. “I was told that my cabin had everything I needed,” I said. “So, I don’t expect to see much of him anyway.”

“It sure does,” she said. “But not many appliances mind you. The cabins don’t have outlets, so I hope you can work just ok without power.”

Coming to terms with this low-tech cabin hadn’t even hit. I hand drew everything and then I went over it digitally, but I had no use for my drawing tablet without first getting the bones down on paper. It was a future me problem, and current me had enough problems to deal with. “I’ll figure it out,” I said, placing my head against the window and staring straight ahead. There didn’t appear to be any end in sight for the road, or the trees.

June continued to talk until we reached a turn in the road for a small town. ‘Chamber Mill’, the large decorated woodensignpost read, tagline for it was, ‘nestle yourself in Paradise Valley’s bosom’.“That’s a bit forward,” I mumbled to myself.

“What’s that doll?”

“Oh, the sign.”

“Gosh, that old thing, you know why they called it a bosom. Fun fact, the town used to have these two large mills way back, and they looked like two large lady lumps.”

One more fun fact to add to the collection. “What happened to them?”

“The town grew and the industry wasn’t what it was so they closed, and other places open up to take its place,” she said.

The town, much like most small towns was made up of a main road where they had a handful of stores, and from there, an offshoot of roads leading to the homes of the locals. At either side of the town, large mountainous ranges encompassed them, possibly another reason they were within thebosom. It was such a fun word to think about.

“We should grab you some groceries fromDixon’s, the local store before we continue through the ranch,” June said. “Only because I doubt Hardin’s thought about accommodating a guest.”

At this point, I was just going along for the ride. “Sure. But the no electrical outlets might be a problem for milk and stuff,” I said.

“The main house has power,” she said. “And you won’t need eggs. They have chickens there. And depending on how fussy you are, they get most of their milk from goats.”

“Goat milk?”

“Oh boy, you’re going to learn a lot,” she said, pulling up into a small parking bay beside the flashing sign for the grocery store. “And you’re gonna need to put that coat on, unless you want to catch some funny looks as well as a cold.”

From the seat, I was handed a large yellow and blue winter coat, lined with fur. It was far too warm, but I knew it was cold outside. The clear blue sky above the town had a crispness to it. And the moment we were outside, I stuffed my hands into the pockets from the immediate cold. There were a couple of candy wrappers in the pocket.

As we entered the store, June introduced me to everyone along the way. “This is Tommy, he’s an artist, he’s going up to Lone Pine Ranch for a couple weeks to finish his book,” she said.

And they would all say the same thing. “What’s Hardin’s thoughts on that?” Smirks filling their faces at the same time as they told me to enjoy my stay.

The nerves had been growing steadily. I didn’t know much about the ranch, or the caretaker cowboy occupying it, but everything I had learned made me wonder if I should be worried. I’d also never met a cowboy before, unless counting Shania Twain and Dolly Parton, my knowledge of country music was sorely lacking too.

June had a very motherly spirit, going around the grocery store, telling me what I might want or need. She filled a small basket with chocolate and other sweet treats. It was almost like she saw me for what I was, someone who lacked any motivation and desire to cook.

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