Like Father, Like Son

 By Emma S. and Emmy J. (ages 14-17)

The midmorning sun beat down on seven-year old Susie Carter as she scooped up the last of the marbles.  “No fair!!” George Wilson cried.

Susie rolled her eyes.  Aunt Andi and Pa had told her several stories about George Wilson’s father, Johnny Wilson.  So far, everything was true in his son’s behavior. 

“She won them fair and square,” Jared, Susie’s cousin, replied, “Stop being a sore loser!”  He stood between the two.

“I ain’t a sore loser!  You Carters and Prescotts!  Always thinking you’re the boss!!” George shot back as he rolled his eyes.  “Well I’m gonna learn you some manners!” George said as he raised a fist.

   By now most of the schoolchildren were anticipating the fight.  When George’s fist flew, Jared ducked, forgetting poor Susie behind him.  George’s fist met Susie’s nose, and Susie fell to the ground sobbing. 

Jared flew at George, fists flailing.  His fist met George’s eye.

“Hey!! Knock it off!” A familiar voice hollered. Just when Jared turned to see who belonged to the voice, George’s fist found Jared’s eye. 

 

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Mitch Carter strided towards the school fight that involved his nephew and niece.

“YOWIE!!”  Jared yelled as he fell to the ground.  He quickly recovered and flew at George. 

Mitch reached them and tore them apart.  “Now, you settle down!  Both of you!” Mitch held the boys apart.  “I think we’re going to have to visit the teacher, don’t you think?”  Mitch sarcastically said. 

Mitch gazed over at Susie.  Recent tears stained her face.  “Susie, honey.  Can you go fetch the teacher?”

Susie sniffed, “Sure, Uncle Mitch,”  She took off towards the school. 

A few minutes later Susie and the teacher, Ms. Foster, walked quickly towards the boys. 

“What is the meaning of this?” Ms. Foster asked angrily.

 Jared quickly explained what happened. 

“I will have you two boys come with me.  Mr. Carter, please wait here with Susie.  Could you also take Jared and her home with you?”

“Of course, ma’am,” Mitch said.  With that, the teacher dragged the boys into the school. 

All the school children knew what was happening.  Those two boys were in for a whipping. 

Mitch stood there with Susie, “Looks like I’m gonna have to take you to the doctor.”

 

“My nose doesn’t feel very good, Uncle Mitch.”

“I know, honey.  I’m sure Jared will be out in a while,” Mitch assured.

 

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   Jared walked out of the school and walked towards where Uncle Mitch and Susie were standing. Sure that teacher might be small but she can pack in a hard whippin!  Jared thought as he rubbed his sore backside.  He reached Uncle Mitch and said, “I’m ready if you are.”

   “Look, I’m gonna have to take Susie to Doc Weaver.  Why don’t you go get yourself a horse from Blake's Livery.” He reached into his back pocket and took out his billfold.  “Here this should be enough.”

Jared took the money, “Thanks, Uncle Mitch.  Well, I wouldn’t mind staying in town.” Jared said innocently.

   “No, no.  I know what you’re thinking.  You’re putting off telling your Pa.”  Mitch said with a chuckle.

   “You know me too well, Uncle Mitch,”  Jared said with a sigh.  See you later.”

   Mitch and Susie waved.

 Jared strolled over to the livery. Blake’s Livery. He walked in and met Mr. Blake. “Jared!  How nice to see ya!  Why are you out of school young man?”

   “Got sent home with a sore backside,” Jared winced.

   Mr. Blake nodded, “Ahh.  My son Cory got plenty of those,” he chuckled.

   “I need a horse.  My uncle Mitch sent me,” Jared said and handed him the change.

   “Alrighty, come with me,” Mr. Blake said as he waved Jared over to a buckskin gelding.  “He should do the job.  Just bring him back on your next stop in town.  I’ll saddle him for you.”

“Yes sir,” Jared replied.  In a few minutes Jared was on the road home. I’m glad it takes a while to get home, Jared thought.

 

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   “Well, it looks to me like it's broken,” Dr. Weaver informed them. He felt around Susie’s nose, “I’m going to put a bandage on it.  It should heal relatively quickly.” Mitch lifted his niece off of the exam table and set her on the floor.

   “Thanks, Doc.  Well Susie, we better head home,” Mitch said to his niece.  How am I going to explain this to Chad?  He’s gonna explode. Mitch thought as he walked out of the office, with Susie clutching his hand.

 

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Jared turned into the dirt lane that led to his house.  When he reached the house, his stomach was getting queasy.  What will Pa say when he hears that I got into a fight? Jared shivered at the thought.  He took the horse into the barn and started untacking him.  Just as he undid the girth, he heard footsteps behind him.

“Jared!  Why are you home so early?  And why on earth do you have one of Blake’s horses?” Riley Prescott asked.

“Well,” began Jared, staring at the horse, trying to hide his face from his father, “It’s kinda a long story.  I’m sure you don’t have time for it.”

“I’m sure I do have time for this long story,” Riley said as he spun Jared around to face him.  Jared didn’t meet Riley’s eyes, “Jared Riley Prescott!  Who on earth gave you that shiner?”

“Uh, George Wilson,” Jared replied.

“Hmm, we’re gonna have to talk about this thing, young man.  Put that horse away and come inside,” Riley said as he turned on his heel and walked out of the barn.

 

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Andi kneaded the piece of dough. She was making bread for supper.  The front door opened and Riley walked in, “Riley, do you need a drink?  I made lemonade fresh this morning.”

“No thanks.  Our son is in a heap of trouble!  He got sent home from school with a sore backside.”

“NO!  Our Jared?”

“Yep, our Jared,”

 Just then the front door slammed. Jared walked in, “I put the horse away, Pa.”

“You have a lot of explaining to do, young man,” Riley said.

“George started it!!” Jared exclaimed.

“That gives you no excuse!  Prescotts do not get in scuffles!”

“But he hit Susie!”

“I don't want to hear it!  Now march yourself right out to the barn.  I’ll be out there in a minute.”

Andi chimed in, ”Wait a minute!  George Wilson hit Susie??” 

Jared sighed. “George was aiming for me and he hit Susie instead. But I was just defending Susie, so why do I have to be punished?”

“Because you fought back, instead of turning the other cheek!” Riley reasoned.

 

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Susie clutched her uncle’s waist as they rode home, “I hope Jared doesn’t get into too much trouble with Uncle Riley.”

“I’m sure he’ll have a double sore backside,” Mitch said with a chuckle.

“But Jared was defending me.  That George Wilson!  He’s a dirty, smelly, Skunk!!” Susie said with triumph.

Susie felt Chase stop and Mitch turned around in the saddle, “Susie Carter!  Do you think your mother would like to hear you talking like that?”

“No sir,” Susie said bashfully.  When they reached the Circle C, Mitch dismounted and reached for Susie.  He lifted her down. 

“I’ll put up Chase.  You go find your Pa,” Uncle Mitch said.

“OK,” Susie replied and hurried over to the barn and just as she turned the corner. . .

“OOF!” Susie ran right into her father causing her to fall on her backside.

“Whoa, girl!!  Slow down!” Chad told Susie as he lifted her from the ground, “Hey, why are you home so early from school?  It’s barely noon time.  I hope there was no trouble at school, young lady.  Hey, what happened to your nose?” Chad asked as he touched her bandaged nose with his calloused fingers.

Susie winced, “Well, maybe . . . . Uncle Mitch should explain it to you.”

“If you say so,” Chad told Susie.  Just then Mitch was leading Chase into the barn.

“Hey Chad, I have some explaining to do.  I’ll put Chase away and then I’ll tell you all about it.  Take Susie in the house.  I can explain it to you at the dining room table.  You might want to be seated rather than standing up.  You also might want Ellie and Mother in the conversation.”

“Whatever.  Come along, Susie,” Chad told Susie as he led her towards the house.

 

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“He did WHAT??” Chad flew out of his chair.  Chad fumed with anger. “How dare he lay a hand on Susie!!” 

Ellie laid a hand on Chad’s arm. “Calm down,” Ellie whispered. 

“I will not calm down!!  That little squirt punched my daughter!” Chad hollered.

“Oh Daddy, George accidentally punched me.  Not on purpose!” Susie said, always trying to be the peacemaker.

   “He made you get a broken nose and gave Jared a nice shiner.  I’m not letting this one go,” Chad said as he snatched up his Stetson, “Mitch take care of things while I’m in town.  It could be awhile.”

   “Chad, I’ll come with you.  I don’t want you to get yourself hauled to jail,” Mitch said.

   “NO!  I’ll do this by myself,” Chad exclaimed.

Ellie stood up from her chair, “Please Chad, don’t act in haste.”

   Chad clamped his Stetson on his head and walked out of the house.

 

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Chad mounted Sky, Ellie’s words and Mother’s warning look hung in his mind. “Don’t act in haste.” He brushed her words away into the back of his mind as he trotted down the lane that led to the main road. When he got there, a near-coming figure on a horse trotted down the road towards town. The figure waved.

“Hey, Andi!” Chad hollered.

“Hey, Chad!” Andi said, a look of determination on her face.

               “What are you doing here?” Chad questioned.

                “Going to talk to Johnny Wilson!”

   “Why didn’t Riley come with you?”

   Andi rolled her eyes, “Chad, I’m grown up now.  Besides, Riley had to deal with Jared.  He didn’t want me to go to town anyway,” Andi smiled sheepishly.

“Aww, Andi.  Don’t punish the boy.  He was just defending Susie.”

“It was Riley’s decision not mine,”

“Well, I guess we can go to town together.”

“Sure, let’s get going,” Andi said as she urged Shasta forward.

 

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   The brother and sister pair trotted into town.  They passed a few buildings and then saw Johnny Wilson heading out of the bank. “Let’s get this thing over with and quickly. OK, Chad?” Andi said.

I just want to let him know that I don’t take too kindly to his son punching my daughter,” Chad’s face flashed with anger.

“Well, no time like the present, right?”

“Guess so,” Chad said.  He and Andi rode up to the hitching post. Where they both dismounted.  “Hey, Johnny!

Johnny turned around at his name.

“What do you want, Chad?” he asked as he strode towards Andi and Chad.

“I’m wondering why my little girl came home with a broken nose and implying your son,” Chad clenched his teeth, “punched her!”

Johnny smirked, “Oh, Chad!  Let it go!  I heard it was an accident.  Your little girl is just a plain old fibber!”

Apparently, that was the wrong thing to say, because  Chad launched his fist at Johnny.  Chad’s punch sent Johnny sprawling onto the wooden sidewalk. 

Andi gasped. “Oh, Chad!  I don’t like this,”  Andi whispered. 

Chad held up his hand to silence her.  Johnny quickly recovered and flew at Chad.  Out of the corner of Andi’s eye, she saw someone angrily striding towards them.  Sheriff Tate.

“Uh-oh!” Andi muttered.

When Sheriff Tate reached them, he tore them apart and growled, “What in blue blazes is going on here?”

Johnny quickly answered out of breath, “This man assaulted me.”

Chad’s face flashed with anger, “His son punched my daughter.  He brushed it off and called Susie a liar.  I wasn’t even going to think about fighting but that comment sent me off!”

“Sounds like a day or two in jail would do you two good,” Russ replied.

Chad groaned, What have I gotten myself into now?

“Sheriff, are you sure they need to spend time in jail?” Andi inquired.

“Yes, ma’am.  Now Andi, how about you go back to the ranch and tell Ellie. . . about…her husband’s behavior,” Russ said.

Andi nodded and turned to mount Shasta.  How am I gonna explain this to Ellie?  

 

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“He WHAT?!?” began Ellie, “He got himself thrown in jail?!”

“Yep.  I saw the whole thing.  Johnny got Chad going when he told him Susie was a liar,” Andi said.

Ellie groaned, “Well, I guess I’ll go get Susie and go visit him. He doesn’t deserve to be visited though.”

“Oh Ellie.  I’m sure he could have done things differently but he did it out of his love for Susie.”

“Yeah, I guess you're right.  Well, it’s almost four o’clock, we best hit the road.”

“Ellie, dear,” Elizabeth began as she walked into the dining room, “Why don’t I have Luisa and Nila pack you a supper?  Maybe sandwiches?”

“Oh that would be great, Mother,” Ellie replied.  She also called Elizabeth Carter, “Mother”  because Elizabeth was like a mother to Ellie. 

              

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What is El gonna think? Who knows?  Chad thought as he lay on the hard cot, staring at the ceiling.  These sure aren’t comfy.  Well why would they be?  There for prisoners!  HA!  I guess I’m a prisoner for a day or two.

 

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Ellie dismounted and lifted her daughter off the horse and tied Pal to the hitching post, before digging in the saddlebag for their supper.

“Mama?” Susie asked.

“Yes?”

“I thought the jail was for bad guys but Papa is in there. I just don’t get it!”

Ellie chuckled, “Well your father will be a bad guy for a couple of days.”

“Oh.  Poor Papa,” Susie said sympathetically.

“Well let’s get in there and give him some company,” Ellie said as she reached for Susie’s hand, and they walked into the sheriff’s office.

“Good evening, Sheriff.  We’re here to see Chad,” Ellie said with a smile.

“Sure, go right in there.  Take as long as you want,” Sheriff said with a wink as he unlocked Chad’s cell.

Ellie and Susie entered the cell.

“Hey, Papa!” Susie said as she ran into Chad’s open arms.

Chad gave Ellie a hug.

“Hey, Suse, Ellie.  I’m surprised you actually came,” He chuckled. 

“Well, you’re lucky your sister loves you cause I wasn’t even gonna visit you,” Ellie said with a smile.

“Wow, what a wife you are,” Chad joked.

“What a husband you are!  Being put in jail,” Ellie joked too, “Well, we brought dinner here so we could eat together.”

“Thanks El.”

Ellie smiled, and handed Chad a sandwich and an apple.

“Suse, why don’t you go get yourself a candy,” Ellie said to their daughter as she handed her the change.

“Thanks, Mama!”  Susie said as she ran out of the office.

“That girl,” Chad said as he shook his head, “She sure is full of energy.  I’m sorry I got you into this mess.”

“Well I think there is someone else you need to apologize to,” Ellie glanced over at Johnny in the other cell.

Chad changed his voice to a hoarse whisper, “No, Ellie.  I can apologize to you but not to that man!”

   “Chad, you were the one who started this whole situation.”

   Just then Susie ran into the office with a candy stick in her mouth, gasping for breath, “Ma-ma, what’s for supper?”

   “Sandwiches.”

   “Susie, how’s your nose doing?” Chad asked.

   “It feels the same.  Oh Papa!  I’m sorry I got you roped into all of this.”

   “Oh Suse.  It’s not your fault,” Chad sympathized.

After they finished their supper, the door opened and Justin walked into the jail. “Chad, what have you gotten yourself into now?” Justin exclaimed, “I can’t bail you out, you know. Am I going to be bailing you out of trouble now that Andi’s gone?”

“How did you know that I was in jail?” Chad questioned.

Justin laughed, “Well, believe it or not, Tim saw Russ hauling you and Johnny into the jail.”

Chad groaned, “Great! You don’t need to bail me out.”

“I wasn’t even thinking about that! You need to learn a lesson to think before you act. Besides, I can see the headline now… CHAD CARTER CRIES FOR HIS BROTHER’S HELP!” Justin chuckled.

“Knock it off,” Chad complained, and turned to Ellie, “you best head home before it gets dark.”

“You’re probably right,” Ellie replied, glancing down at Susie who had laid down her head on Chad’s lap.

Chad gently roused Susie, “It’s time for you to go home with Mama.”

Susie yawned, “I want to stay here with you, Papa!”

Chad smiled, “Mama will need your help over the weekend though.”

“Well, I’d better get home to Lucy before she starts to worry,” Justin said as he headed out the door.

“Good night,” Chad said as he gave Ellie and Susie a hug.

Ellie gave him a teasing smile as she stood in the doorway, “Don’t get into any more trouble, dear husband.”

 

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A loud bang jerked Chad awake on a fine Sunday morning.

“Time to get up, boys!” Sheriff Tate called.  Chad got up out of his cot and walked to the door of his cell.

“I assume you two boys learned your lesson?” Russ asked as Chad and Johnny glared at one another.

“Yes sir,” they both muttered.

Russ walked them out to the boardwalk, just as the church bells began to ring, “Well boys, I will hope to see you in church.”

Mitch rounded the corner as the sheriff walked away, “So big brother,” Mitch greeted, “how was your stay in the Fresno jail?”

“The longest two days of my life.  All I could think about was Ellie, Susie, and you running the ranch,” Chad’s voice came to a hoarse whisper, “Did you know that no one came to visit me yesterday and Racheal and George came to see Johnny!”

Mitch tried to conceal his amused smile, “Well we were busy getting Reverend Cain settled.”

Chad raised an eyebrow, “Reverend Cain?”

“Yes.  The visiting reverend from back east.  Reverend Harris is visiting family back in Seattle so Reverend Cain is filling in for him.”

“Do I have time to change?” Chad questioned, “If I go to church like this, I’ll never hear the end of it from Mrs. Evans!”

Mitch held out Chad’s Sunday best, “You better hurry.  You can change at Justin’s.”  And with that, Chad was off.

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“Good morning congregation!” Reverend Cain loudly boomed as he stood at the pulpit.  A murmur of good morning’s echoed through the building. “My name is Reverend Cain, and you can call me. . . Reverend Cain.  I am a preacher from back east.  Reverend Harris is a dear friend of mine.  We went to seminary together.  I was traveling to your lovely town of Fresno when I thought to myself, “Boy, it is HOT this time of year!! Even in the late spring!”

The congregation nodded in agreement.

“Anyway, I thought of this joke.  The blind man said to the deaf dog “I see, I see!”

The crowd was silent, except Chad.  He, however, howled with laughter!

Reverend Cain chuckled and pointed at Chad, “It does the soul good to see a man with a sense of humor in my congregation!” He cleared his throat and said, “Now folks, turn in the good book to Matthew 18.  Beginning at verse 21.” He went on about the parable of the unforgiving servant.

He read through the passage, ”Now, one of God’s greatest gifts is the gift of forgiveness.  Jesus says in the book of Luke, “Forgive and you will be forgiven”.

These words hit Chad hard.  Come invitation time, Chad was contrite.  He made his way up to the altar to ask God for forgiveness.  Johnny snickered at the sight.  Rachel elbowed him. . hard, which made him fall to the floor with a grunt.  He scrambled back to his seat, glaring at his wife.

After the service ended, Chad made his way over to Johnny.  “I’m. . . I’m sorry, Johnny.  I shouldn’t have lit into you like I did.  I know better and. . . and will you please forgive me?”

Johnny contemplated  for a few moments. “I suppose I can if you can.  And I apologize for my son’s behavior.  He will be facing the consequences of his actions when we arrive home!”

Chad and Johnny shook hands, as their wives and children looked on.  Andi smiled, Finally!

This was the beginning of a very bumpy friendship.  Johnny changed for the better, but his son, George, never did.  As the saying goes, Like Father, Like Son, Andi hoped George would soon change his character for the better!