Hummingbird
Copyright© 2026 by Krista*
Chapter 6
It was good to be home. Yzzy felt like her last week in Choteau had her tap dancing in a minefield. Mostly good, some great, and in a few instances, slightly awkward. But she could look back on the experience as a whole and smile.
Sunday morning, Yzzy awoke feeling pretty good. No hangover, or even a slight headache troubled her. A quick shower and she strolled to the main house for breakfast and to see how everyone else was.
Francine smiled from the kitchen as she saw her guest come in. “Breakfast in five minutes and then if you are up for it, some of us are going to the 11:00 service. Reverend Smith has one at 8:30 for the early birds and the second one for those of us who stay out late on Saturday.” Looking over at Leona who was nursing a cup of coffee at the table, she raised an eyebrow. “And sometimes, people just go back to bed without the Lord in their heart.”
“I would prefer the Lord do something about the drum that’s thumping between my ears right now.” A slow sip of coffee was savored and Leona looked at Yzzy. “I’m glad we were all able to go out last night. Cameron and Nichole don’t get the chance too often because of Logan...”
“I’m always thrilled to watch my grandson,” Francine chuckled. “And I’m looking forward to when I get a few more! Hint-hint,” she continued with a smirk as everyone else came into the kitchen.
“I’m feeling pretty good and I do think that I would enjoy going to church today. But thank you for bringing me out last night. I had a really great time!”
Later, Leona pulled Yzzy aside for a quiet word. “If I said or did anything last night that was dumb, I’m sorry.” She looked down and blushed. “I get a few drinks in me and I say or do stupid stuff.”
“You were fine,” Yzzy giggled. “But please, next time tell me before you sign me up to sing Karaoke! And you and Nichole need my phone number to send me all the pictures you took!” She wasn’t sure if Leona remembered her drunken comments in the bathroom and wasn’t going to say anything.
“Miss Yzzy, it’s good to see you again!” Mickey smiled at the end of the service when they ran into each other out in the parking lot. “How are you feeling today?”
“Wonderful! But,” she leaned forward and in a stage whisper continued, “I’m concerned for your feet. Dancing with you last night was so much fun, but I’m certain I accidentally crushed a few of your toes!” Looking around at several surprised faces, she continued. “Mickey’s a great dancer! Light on his feet and an expert at leading a woman across the dance floor! I figure any woman would enjoy spending time that way with him.”
Mickey tried not to blush. He failed. “The pleasure was all mine, Miss Yzzy and if you’re willing, maybe we can spend more time in that manner before you return to California.”
“On two conditions,” Yzzy smiled. “One, you drop the ‘Miss Yzzy’ thing and just call me ‘Yzzy. The second? You let me take you out for coffee and pie as a thank you.” She looked over at Francine. “Mom? Is it okay if I catch a ride home with Mickey and not you?”
“You kids go have fun! And I think you’re old enough that you don’t need a curfew.”
The coffee was hot, and instead of pie, Yzzy had a large slice of carrot cake. “This whole trip has been full of new experiences for me,” she savored another taste off the fork. “And here is another.”
“How so?”
“Okay, so, city girl,” she pointed to herself. “Easy to understand that I never rode a mechanical bull before. But this?” she indicated the plate in front of her on the table, “I have never before had carrot cake. I decided to see what it tasted like.”
“And the verdict?” he knew she was a lawyer.
“Guilty. Guilty of tasting really good!”
Mickey gave her a half smile. “It’s a damned shame you’re returning to California in a few days.”
“Choteau is delightful, but my home is in the Golden State. And I need to tell you that I’m seeing someone there that I met in college.” Yzzy covered his hand with one of her own. “I don’t want to give you false hopes, cowboy. I’m trying to be upfront here. I also think that the women here are stupid for not giving you a chance. How old are you, by the way?”
“I turned 21 about a month ago. And I’m not stupid enough to ask a woman her age, either,” he chuckled. “But thank you for being honest with me, before I developed a serious crush on you.”
“Smart man. But I’m 27 and it’s okay for people to have the occasional, random crush. Good for perspective for when the real deal comes along.” Looking towards the ceiling, she laughed. “When I was a student at the girls school I attended, there was a teacher there that I was sure that I was falling in love with. I won’t bore you with the details except to say that I grew out of it fairly quickly when said teacher got married!”
“Ouch,” he laughed. “I think most kids have had that happen.”
“Tell me a secret about yourself. Something most folks have no clue about,” Yzzy suddenly asked.
Mickey blushed a little. “It’s sort of embarrassing,” he said sftly as he looked at his plate. “I’ve never been kissed.”
“Never?”
Outside of a quick peck or a female family member, like a grandmother popping one on my cheek? Never.” He shrugged his shoulders. “And you?”
“I have a tattoo.”
“Really? I never would have guessed. What is it?”
“It’s on my left shoulder blade. A hummingbird,” she stated softly. “It’s significant for me. Personal. If you’re a good boy I will show it to you before I leave.”
“I don’t want you to feel obligated.”
Yzzy looked at the man in front of her. “So what are the plans for the rest of the week?”
“Tomorrow morning at work, I have to take care of a few things, then go out to a remote survival cabin to check on it and the contents.” At her confused look, he continued. “So I work for the county. You might have noticed there’s a lot of open spaces out here and in some areas that are so remote, a person can get lost or in bad weather find themselves cut off with no options. The county and state provide shelters for survival in case you are lost or trapped during a bad storm. The snow can be blinding with whiteout conditions and if the windchill drops below a certain point in the negative numbers, chances are pretty good you will freeze to death quickly.”
“Oh my goodness!” Yzzy shuddered.
“So we are getting close to that time of year that someone needs to go out to check these shelters and make sure there is enough there in the way of supplies, food, water and firewood. It can really mean the difference between life and death for someone.”
“Wow, I never thought about anything like that,” Yzzy mused. “I mean, in Sacramento if it gets cold, I just turn the thermostat up and add another sweater. Actually being lost outside and freezing to death? Never crossed my mind!”
“Want to take a ride and go see? I mean I know it’s probably not exciting but we’re pretty relaxed about having someone ride along. We can call it a ‘cultural exchange of knowledge’ if anyone asks. I can pick you up around ten and we can head out,” Mickey paused, “but it’s a long drive and I can’t promise us getting back early.”
“I can ask Francine to pack a picnic.”
The drive, in the county SUV lasted close to an hour. During that time, the two laughed and shared thoughts about life. Be it in the urban areas of California, or rural Montana. Yzzy had to admit that the landscapes they passed were beautiful in a rugged manner that told of how harsh life could be there, but also how delicate it was when nature bloomed. She shared with Mickey her observations on living in Sacramento, and as it was the state capitol, how certain people in the government acted. Some trying to be counted as an ‘everyman’ with constituents, and others acting like (in her words) their shit smelled like roses.
“We have some folks like that out here too,” Mickey reflected. “But most of us know that at the start of the day, you put your pants on, one leg at a time. How you remove them,” he grinned, “is your business, not mine. Seriously, Yzzy, most of us here are just trying to get by and make ends meet. Ranching is, for most, a financial crap-shoot. We want the basics. We want a place to live, food on the table, friends and family to share life with and a job we don’t hate so we can pay for it all.” He looked out at the highway as it stretched ahead of them. “And we want to be able to treat ourself to the occasional goodie.”
“Occasional goodie?”
“Buy something nice, or go on a vacation. Nothing too crazy. Like my parents,” he grinned, “they always joked about going someplace warm at Christmas time. Not be here with snow piled up to the roof when it drifted. Last November, at Thanksgiving, my siblings and I gave them their Christmas gift early. A two week, all expenses paid vacation to Key West! You should have seen their reaction,” he laughed. “It was like we had handed them the moon!”
“Did they go? Did they have fun?”
“Dad got to go deep sea fishing, and he had a blast! Mom? She was busy at the beach, digging her toes in the sand, reading and watching kids playing in the waves. We got a call from them on Christmas morning and they were having a wonderful time, even joking that the weather was clear and in the 80’s. I think they are planning to get a winter home there when they retire. They got home relaxed and tanned while the rest of us had pasty white winter skin!” He shook his head laughing. “I really hope they do it. They deserve it.”
“I guess living here all your life and hearing Bing Crosby singing about a white Christmas is a non issue! For them. Maybe a ‘white-out Christmas’?”
They shared a laugh as Mickey pulled the SUV down a driveway towards a building. Parking, Yzzy saw a sign on the front that stated this was a state provided emergency shelter, and that if it was used, to please call the listed number when done so supplies could be restocked at no cost.
The building was rather spartan. Maybe 20 x 20 and open inside. There was a full sized bed, a kitchenette and a storage closet. There was a small wood burning Franklin stove in a corner. Power was provided by solar. Food was military issued MRE’s and there were flats of water on shelves that Mickey rotated out with fresh. Outside towards the back was a latrine that was insulated and there was a cable running from the cabin to the latrine to hold as you walked to and from it, in bad weather. “We don’t want to get lost trying to go potty!” An overhanging porch roof sheltered a large pile of firewood. “We try to keep about half a cord out here.” A small front porch, about four feet deep and a railing, went across the entire front of the building, with extended eves covering a portion.
Mickey was done rotating food and water, bringing things back to the SUV when he heard Yzzy call out. “Hey cowboy! Wanna see my tattoo?”
Returning to stand in the doorway, he saw Yzzy kneeling on the bed, facing away. She was also very naked. “Yzzy? What...?” There was no question in his mind that she was beautiful. On her left shoulder was a colorful tattoo of a hummingbird, wings open and fluttering, as if in flight.
Looking over her shoulder, she gave him a coy smile. “It’s okay if you come closer and get a better look, if you want.”
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