A Most Unusual Passage
Copyright© 2026 by J&J
Chapter 28
The first light of dawn was peaking through the window as I woke up. As usual, Martha was already up and about. I managed get myself out of bed, despite the pain in my knees.
After getting dressed for the day, I found Martha in the kitchen, making biscuits.
“Morning, pretty lady,” I said, placing a kiss on her neck.
She turned, giving me a big smile, “Marcus, you better get your eyes checked. Then she laughed.
“Nope,” I answered. “These old eyes can still recognize a beautiful woman whey they see one!”
After another giggle, she poured me a cup of coffee. “Here, take this, and make yourself scarce. I need to start on breakfast.”
I took the cup and had a sip. Nice and hot, just the way I liked it. After another sip, I walked outdoors to take in the morning sunrise. Sitting on the bench beside the old barn, I waited for the sun to peek over the horizon. There were a few high, thin clouds to the east, so the colors should be spectacular.
I was not disappointed. I had often thought there were few places I’d ever seen that could match the majesty of a sunrise on the plains. As the eastern sky turned a vibrant red, I sat there soaking in the beauty. As I watched the sunrise, I also noticed the rest of the world waking up. The old vixen left her den, heading out in search of a morning meal for her kits; the rooster announced that he was awake and on duty, and a coyote to the west of where I was sitting called out to greet the day.
All too soon, the sun rose, and the red hues evaporated into the clear blue of a prairie morning. Somehow, my cup was empty. I don’t remember drinking any of the coffee, but then, I was so wrapped up in the sunrise that I hadn’t realized I was also sipping from the cup.
I decided to head back to the house and see how Martha was coming along with breakfast, when I saw my son George’s pickup come over the hill. I also noticed that he was pulling a horse trailer. Since George didn’t own horses, this caught my interest. I sat back down on the bench and waited to see what he was up to.
“Hi, Dad,” George announced, as he opened the truck door.
I nodded in reply and also noticed there was someone else in the passenger seat. George got out of the truck, and when the other person opened the door and came around the front of the truck, I recognized him right off.
“Well, Roger Ramie, I haven’t seen you in a couple of years. You been keeping yourself so busy you can’t come visit?”
Roger laughed, “Yes, I’ve been busy all right. You might have warned me just how much work being a teacher is.”
I had to laugh. Roger had been a student of mine. He also had been one hell of an athlete. He’d received a full athletic scholarship to Syracuse University. He had done well in college, both as an athlete and a student. I’d even heard that there had been some interest in him from several of the NBA teams. That’s why I was surprised when he had returned home, went off to Denver University to get his masters in math and applied for a teaching position. I would have loved to have him at Otis, but at the time, there were no opening for a math teacher. The local school board was not about to turn down one of their own, and he was hired and assigned to the Arickaree Combined School.
I answered, “Well, maybe you should have looked more closely at one of the NBA offers I heard you turned down!”
He chuckled, “Nope, don’t think so. Besides, I really wasn’t good enough to play in the NBA. I would have been a borderline player at best.”
I nodded my head, and then asked my son, “So, George, what’s the occasion of you being here so early in the morning?”
“Well, I thought you might be able to help Roger out.”
I nodded my head.
Roger picked up the thread, “I’ve got a real problem. I’ve been raising a few horses, and the stallion I’ve got at the house isn’t all that fond of the mare and foal sharing his space. I really don’t have room to build another pen, so I was wondering if I could keep them here. I’d be more than happy to pay you for your trouble.
I thought for a moment. Horses aren’t all that much trouble to take care of, provided you don’t have to pay the vet bills. “I don’t see why not. How about the two of you joining us for breakfast, and we can work out the particulars?”
They quickly agreed. I knew for sure George was not about to turn down one of his mother’s breakfasts.
As we headed to the house, I announced we had two more for breakfast.
To read the complete story you need to be logged in:
Log In or
Register for a Free account
(Why register?)
* Allows you 3 stories to read in 24 hours.