by John of Colorado clrdjhn@yahoo.com Farmer turned rancher
If you are not of age or man/man sex bothers you, or this illegal in your area, then I suggest you leave NOW! Why are you still here, I told you to leave! The names have been changed but the story itself is basically based upon facts. However, it is fiction.
Chapter 4
Just before harvest time, I fell and broke my leg. Jack Carlos did not know what to do and didn't want to try to set it. He rode over to his parent's place and brought them back. Mrs. Chavez went right to work..
She had her husband and Jack Carlos tied me down so that I could not move. She then took hold of my leg and pulled. I have never had such pain in all my life. I yelled so loud that I am sure all the neighbors for miles around could here me. She stopped and rolled up a piece of leather and told me to bite down on it. She just did not have the strength to get the bone back in place. Mr. Chavez tried and he couldn't do either. They decided to wait until morning and go for a doctor.
Much to my surprise , Jack Carlos had gone to the Indian camp and brought my friend, Big Man, my name for him, back with him. He told Mrs. Chavez that he could pull it into place and she could tie splints on it to keep it from moving. He notched the splints and put the leather strips into the notches so that my ankle could be bound to prevent the leg from slipping up, thus holding the leg in place.
I don't know what they did, for I had passed out which was the best thing for me. When I woke up, Sarah and Mark were sitting by my bed hold my hands. Mark was saying, "Daddy Paul, don't die. I love you. Please Daddy Paul, Please."
I took him in my arms and told him "Mark, I love you to son. I am not going to die. If I did who would take care of you?"
Sarah took off on the run, screaming, "Daddy Jack, Come quick! Daddy Paul is awake"
"Jack Carlos, did you hear what the children called us. How does that make you feel?"
" Mrs. Chavez, I guess that makes you Grandma. And that is what we are going to call you from now on. Thanks for all you did for me. Big Man, You know that you are Uncle Big Man now."
"I don't know what `Uncle' means. It must be a good name or you wouldn't call me that"
"After all the pain you put me through, that is a terrible name and the worse one I could think of." Laughed Paul. "No, I was just kidding. It is a name that your brother's kids call you. You are my brother aren't you?"
"Yes, I am and I like being called Uncle Big Man. What are the kids to me, if I am their uncle?"
"They would be your niece and nephew." Replied Paul.
"I think I like Sarah and Mark better. That is what I will call them." Responded Uncle Big Man. "Now, you listen to me. I am the son of a medicine man.. I know what I am talking about. You have to stay off you leg for several weeks and give it a chance to heal. If not you will end up a cripple. I will stay here and help Jack Carlos and the kids take care of you. You will do as we say, Yes!" Said Uncle Big man very sternly.
Before he could reply, Mrs. Chavez said, "You listen to Uncle Big Man. He know what he is talking about. We can take the children home with us until you are well."
"Grandma, we want to stay here with Daddy Paul and help Uncle Big Man and Daddy Jack Carlos. We promise not to be any trouble." Said Mark, who trying to hold back the tears.
"Grandma Chavez, the children have been through so much lately. I think it best for them to stay here. If need be we can bring them over later. Thank you for offering. I hope that I haven't offended you. I appreciate your kindness and offer to help." Responded Paul.
"No offense taken. It is easy to see the love that all of you have for each other. I know the children will be well taken care of. Children if those three big lugs give you any problems just let me know and I will come over here and take a switch to all of their butts." laughed Grandma Chavez.
"And I will help her!" expounded Grandpa Chavez who had come into the room. He was carrying a pair of crutches made from two tree branches. Jack Carlos had cut a rawhide into a long strip and wound it over the curved ends to make a protective covering to protect Paul's underarms from becoming sore.
" You have to wait one week before trying them out and then only when Jack Carlos and I are there to help steady you. We don't want you falling and doing more damage than is already done." declared Uncle Big Man. "One more thing, you are to sleep in a bed by yourself. Jack Carlos and I can sleep in the hay loft."
"My leg is the only thing that is broken. The rest of me is just fine." Protested Paul. Now, the adults in the room were roaring with laughter.
"Daddy Paul, I will sleep on the floor by your bed in case you need anything during the night." Said little Mark. This cause another burst of laughter..
"Come here Mark, I think I need a hug and a kiss. Sarah you can have one, too. Those two ugly
donkeys don't get any loving and they can just sleep in the barn with all the other animals." roared Paul with laughter. "I got you didn't I?" Paul knew that sleeping in the barn was no punishment for those two. In fact he knew there would be very little sleeping.
"Just you wait, we'll get even" said Jack Carlos.
Mr. and Mrs. Chavez had to leave before it go dark. They had two hours of travel and could not do it in the dark. They knew that they were leaving Paul in good hands and would check on him in a few days.
Paul thanked them again for coming and the kids hugged and kissed them good-bye.
In two weeks, Paul was getting around on his crutches very well. Now harvest was in full swing. Paul couldn't help in the fields but he did a wonderful job supervising the kids not old enough to help in the fields. The older women stayed at the house with Paul. The women and kids were glad to be included in all the work that he had for them. There were fruits and vegetables to be washed and peeled for jams and canning. There was something for everyone to do. Paul and his crew became very efficient and soon they had every mason jar filled.
Paul took a couple of the men and went to the clay field to get clay to make more jars. Of course they wouldn't have lids but the could use bees wax to preserve the produce. Two of men found some wild bees and were able to get enough wax to complete the job. Paul had several hives that his dad had started so there was lots of honey to be used as sweetener.
Paul had planted a large field cane and with a juice press, there was enough sugar to go around. Sugar involved a lot of work. After the cane was pressed, the juice had to be boiled until all the liquid was removed . This was set in the sun to completely dry and what was left was sugar and was brown in color.
In the evening, Paul had everyone from the smallest child to the oldest person making jars for the food. This became a social time with lots of singing and story telling. Jars of every shape and description were made. There were large crocks to be used for making wine, pickles and sauerkraut. There were little pots and all sizes in between. No one got their pot thrown out. Paul would supervise loading his kiln and fire it later that night when everyone had gone to bed. Some of the men took turns with him keep the fires going.
The settlers were amazed as to the quality and quantity of food that Paul and his crew produced. Everyone knew that come winters, they would enjoy the work and toil of all. The root cellars were filled and a lot of the fruit had been dried. They children loved the dried fruit, so a lot of extra was made just for them.
The corn and maize had been gathered and now the animals would have extra fodder and would help them survive the winter. Some of the corn had been canned and would be used with all the other vegetables.
One of the farmers had a small gist mill powered by running water. So therefore, we were able to grind our grain into flour. This was a lot easier and faster than each of us doing it by hand.
Now that the harvest was over, the weather had started changing. So the hogs and steers were butchered. The smoke houses were all full and that delightful aroma filled the air. The ice cave had been filled with wild game and meat from the farms. This ice cave was a life saver in the summer time. Of course , it provide ice to make ice cream which was love by all young and old alike. We all had ice for our coolers and therefore, we had less food spoiling and going to waste.
Lard was rendered. Soap made. Preparations for winters were now complete. Mr. and Mrs. Chavez had invited everyone to their house for Thanksgiving diner in three weeks. Everyone agreed to be there knowing that this would a fun time for all.
After my accident, Jack Carlos and I began to grow apart. Neither one of us could figure out what was happening, but we knew something was coming between us. One day when were over to his parents house his mother took us out onto the porch and sat us down. "OK, guys, I want to know what is going on!"
"What do you mean?" asked Jack Carlos.
"I know that something is bothering both of you. You just don't seem to have spark that you once had. It looks like you two are falling out of love!" She replied.
"We have been asking ourselves that very same thing. So far we have not been able to figure anything out." Paul disclosed. "We thought that with me breaking my leg, and with the harvest that we were just to busy for each other."
"It seems to be more than that. We are still friends and think a lot of the other one. Just something is not right." declared Jack Carlos "What we had, no one will ever be able to take that from us. We will always love and respect the other person. We just may not be able to be full time partners."
"Have you thought about separation for awhile? You might want to give that a try. You two were so good for each other and I don't want to see you lose what you once had." remarked Mrs. Chavez.
"We have talked about that also and we have decided to stay together until spring. We will make a decision then. We will have lots of time to talk and think during the long winter months." Said Jack Carlos.
"That will be just fine. Don't shut the doors of communication between you. I would like to see you stay together but if you do separate do it in a friendly way. Be friends, even if you can't be lovers." Commented Mrs. Chavez "Just remember you have those two little kids who have gone through a whole lot. Don't fight in front of them. Give them all your love, they need it."
"Mrs. Chavez, we have already decided that if we split, it will be on good terms. There will be no fighting. Neither one of us want to hurt those kids or each other. They come first in both of our lives." Said Paul as he was hugging Mrs. Chavez. "Thank you for your concerns. We may be coming to you often with our problems."
"Yes, Mom, Thank you. We love you!" Said Jack Carlos giving both of them a big hug.
Two days before the Thanksgiving dinner, a small wagon train with just 5 wagons headed for California, stopped by Paul's place. Paul convinced them to stay for dinner and maybe longer. Winter time is not the time to be traveling in a wagon. He could tell that there wasn't a whole lot on money with them and they probably wouldn't survive the winter if they went on down the trail.
It was during dinner, that Paul and Jack Carlos discovered what was causing the trouble between them. There was a cute young girl about Jack Carlos' age that kept flirting with him and he flirting back.
Mrs. Chavez picked up on this and finally got the boys alone. "Jack Carlos, I know what your problem is. You like girls and not men. Now you have to decide which one you want."
"I think you are right, Mom. How do I know and how do I decide." questioned Jack Carlos.
" I am not going to decide for you. This is something that you will have to do on your own. I want you and Paul to discuss it completely. This is between the two of you." Mrs. Chavez asserted very firmly. "I will abide by and support your decision.