The big Greyhound Silverside bus idled at the curb, but the driver must have been in the depot. Will took in every detail, from the blue and silver corrugated metal with a running greyhound dog painted over and behind the front wheel-well to the words “Greyhound Lines” springing from the back wheels and racing after the dog. To hold back tears he focused on what he could see, a cream colored top and the row of windows masked by a dark horizontal strip running along each side that reminded him of his cows moving single file toward their stanchions. Two luggage doors protruded from each side. A destination sign, “Milwaukee,” assured him this was the right bus, and he felt reassured when he looked inside the open door and saw a restroom at the rear.
Will knew that Catherine was as excited as Teddy with a new ham bone, except she was a bit more restrained. And he knew she was nervous, too. He’d brought her to the depot at Spring Green, but she would leave alone. And it would be her first bus trip.
“Don’t worry, my dear. You’ll get on the bus here and you won’t have to get off until Ruby meets you in Milwaukee.”
“What if she’s not there?”
“Has Ruby ever shirked a responsibility? She’ll be there if she has to commandeer the taxi and drive it herself.”
“Commandeer it? Ruby doesn’t even drive.” Catherine smiled. “I so look forward to being with her again.”
“She’ll be there.”
“You’re right, she’ll be there.” Catherine stomped her foot, picked up her suitcase, and grimaced. “Ruby’ll be there.” She kissed Will on the cheek, hesitated a moment, stood tall, took a deep breath, and stepped through the open door. Before she took another step, she looked back and smiled faintly. She waved once and disappeared down the isle.
His last child had flown the nest. Will wiped a tear. He was glad that Mary had said her goodbyes before they left home. He watched the bus drive away. Feeling empty, he turned and wandered in the direction of his buggy. He knew that Catherine could count on Ruby.
* * *
Mary had asked him to help her pick blackberries up on the bluff, but he’d been too busy getting in his second crop hay. As he slowly drove home he thought about being alone with Mary for the first time after all these years. He decided that a good way to start this new life together would be to go pick those berries, and to bring a picnic lunch along, too. By the time he arrived home he was so excited about this renewal with Mary that after he unharnessed Fanny Too and put her in her stall, he walked off without feeding her oats. She wasn’t going to let him get away so easy. Her loud complaints broke into his reverie.
Will rushed into the kitchen. “Mary, let’s do it. Let’s go pick those blackberries. I’ll find the pails while you pack a lunch. We’ll have a picnic up on the bluff.”
“I was beginning to think there’d be no blackberry cobbler or pies this winter.”
Will frowned at the thought of no sweets to look forward to at the end of a winter milking. Sometimes the thought of that pie was what fueled him through those last few cows.
“I hope the birds haven’t eaten them all,” Mary said.
They had walked across the tracks, crossed the road, and had started on the path that led to the top of the bluff when Will noticed that Teddy wasn’t with them. “Where’s Teddy?”
“I think he went to the field with Petr.”
Will stopped walking. “Maybe I should go back and get him. There could still be rattlesnakes out on a sunny day like this.”
“I haven’t seen any for a while. I think we’ll be okay.”
Will took Mary’s hand and started back up the path. He hadn’t gone another hundred yards before he stopped again. “Mary, I’m going to get Teddy. Remember what happened to Junkie and Jinks up here. It’s a good thing they had Teddy that day.”
Will still shuddered at the thought of seeing Jinks stretched out, white as Will’s newly painted tool shed, with Ruby working feverishly over him. “You wait here. I’m going to go get him.”
“If you think it best. I’ll go ahead and get the lunch out.” She dropped the pails and took the picnic basket from Will. “Bring those pails when you come back up.”
Will wanted to urge her to wait here until he got back, but decided that she’d be safe enough out in the open, preparing their lunch. He turned and trotted down the path.
Will hadn’t gotten far into his bean field when he spotted Petr who was repairing a broken wire on the far fence. “Petr, is Teddy with you?” he called.
“He ran up the fence line after a rabbit. Do you want him?”
“Mary and I are going up the bluff to pick berries. I thought we should have him along. Rattlesnakes might be out.”
“I’ll get him.” Petr hooked the hammer over the top barbwire strand and walked up the fence line, calling for Teddy.
Soon, his tail wagging, Teddy ran up to Will, plopped his backside on the ground, and extended a paw.
Will patted him on the head. “You’re always the gentleman, now aren’t you? Better come along. We may need you.”
Will walked up the path to the pails, snatched them off the ground, and followed Teddy upward toward the top. As he got close, he called, “Mary.”
He heard no answer at first. He stopped walking, listened for a moment, and thought he heard a muted, “I’m over here.” It came from near the big rock at the bluff’s edge. He started in that direction. When he paused again, he heard the voice speak in a loud whisper, “Don’t come closer. There’s a big snake coiled near me.”
Will’s panic took him a few quick steps in that direction. Then he stopped. He knew that he couldn’t move fast or react rashly with a rattlesnake near. He crept forward to assess the situation. When he got close, he froze with fright. Mary kneeled on a half spread out blanket, and a big rattlesnake was within striking distance, singing his death song, a rattle that sounded like a million dry leaves protesting his footsteps.
Will’s first impulse was to look for a rock to throw, but he knew he couldn’t do that. What if he missed?
“Don’t come closer, Will. I’m afraid it might strike.”
Mary had kept her wits about her when she had frozen at the snake’s warning. But he knew that she couldn’t stay in that half kneeling position for long, that her muscles would cramp and she’d have to move.
The snake continued to rattle its death chant.
Before Will could think what to do next, Teddy took action. Slinking low to the ground, he edged toward the coiled snake, and then he circled and approached from the snake’s rear, away from Mary. Staying within the snake’s field of vision, he stopped beyond striking distance and began to claw the ground with his hind paws and growl at the snake’s backside. The snake turned its head away from Mary, twisting toward the menacing dog.
Now that he had the snake’s attention, Teddy slowly moved sideways, forcing the snake to twist around to watch him. Then Teddy lunged, but he stopped short of making contact. The snake struck, but twisted as it was, it was off target. Teddy retreated and continued to hold the snake’s attention, enticing it into repeated ineffective strikes. Finally, totally frustrated, the snake uncoiled and slithered around toward Teddy. And then Will’s brave dog charged forward, grabbed the snake in the middle, and shook it violently, like a gust of wind whipping a sheet on the clothesline. In a moment Teddy laid the dead rattlesnake at Will’s feet.
Will hugged Teddy and then ran to Mary. “Are you okay?”
By now, Mary had rearranged the blanket and had started to lay out the lunch. “As long as we’re up here we might as well eat our lunch,” she said. “Then we’ll go home. I don’t think I’m in the mood for any berry picking today.” She handed Will a sandwich.
Will had always known where Ruby’s bravery came from, and it wasn’t from his side of the family.
“I’ve wondered how Teddy did it that day with Junkie,” Will said. “He’s not only a brave dog, but a smart one, too. But I always knew that.” He put his arm around Mary, pulled her close, and whispered, “I was scared. I don’t know what I’d do if I lost you. Thank the lord that Barnes left Teddy with us when he sold us the farm. He’s the best part of that purchase.”