“One, two, three, heave!”
The last wall of the new schoolhouse was hoisted into place. Sandia was in disbelief at how quickly Caleb and the others were able to construct a building. It wasn’t even 8 am yet, and the structure was practically complete. She’d heard of ‘barn raising’ in certain Amish cultures but never witnessed it. She was amazed.
“One, two, three, heave!”
One by one, the rafters and ceiling joists went into place. Then planks for all the walls and the roof. Then floorboards. And finally, cedar shakes for roof shingles.
The entire building was done by lunchtime.
Caleb brought out a hand-painted sign that read ‘La Sandia Schoolhouse’ and tacked it above the door. It actually brought tears to her eyes.
The entire compound was excited by the new addition to Placerita Ranch, and a huge picnic celebration ensued, complete with music and more dancing.
Many people, including lots of mothers with small children, came up to Sandia and hugged her, thanking her profusely.
“It’s so good to see you out and about, Miss Mary,” Sandia said, greeting the young lady, who Ensey had dressed in a blue gingham dress that looked much like some of the designs Sandia had incorporated into her line of dresses back in the future.
Mary nodded her head by way of greeting.
“Do you sew at all?” Sandia asked.
“I do, a little, for mending and such.”
“Would you like me to teach you a few tricks? Show you how to make your clothes?”
“Yes, mum, I’d like that very much.”
“Good, and you can help me teach the kids in the school how to mend, sound good?”
“Yes, mum.”
Ensey came over and joined them just then. She was munching on a bowl of blueberries.
“These are so delicious! You’ve got to try them,” she said, handing the bowl out for them to scoop up a handful.
Ensey looped her arm around Mary’s as if they were old friends. With a small smile curving her lips, Mary reached into the bowl of berries bashfully.
“How are you liking the barn, Mary? Have you gotten to spend much time with the animals yet?”
“Oh, yes, some...I like it very much...although, Mr. Napoleon frightens me a bit.”
“Mary has never seen anyone with dark skin before,” Ensey said, giggling, “but you’ll see, he’s the nicest man you’ll ever meet. Much nicer than my brother.”
Sandia laughed. “Well, those animals are lucky to have you...and so is Mr. Napoleon. You’ll settle in. Just give it time.”
“Yes, mum,” Mary said.
The girl did look better. She had some color to her cheeks, and it seemed the malnutrition was subsiding.
“You know what, I’m going to have Caleb bring some books on being a veterinarian back for you.”
“A what?”
“A vet...an animal doctor. I bet you’d be an amazing vet.”
“I...I don’t read.”
Sandia mentally kicked herself. Of course she couldn’t read considering where, and when, she came from.
“Yes, it’s all right...that’s why we’re building this school. You’ll learn to read, and anything else you want to learn. I promise. And one day, if you want to, you’ll be an animal doctor too.”
Mary gave her a faint smile as her eyes dropped to the ground. She would be okay. It would take time and care, but Mary would be okay eventually. Sandia would make sure of it.
“Speaking of animals,” Ensey said, “have you gotten back on Daisy yet?”
Caleb had been bugging Sandia to get back on the horse ever since the accident. ‘It’s the biggest step toward healing,’ he’d said time and again. ‘Ya gotta get back in the saddle.’ But Sandia had a very healthy sense of self-preservation and every inch of her body told her not to ride, ever again.
“No,” Sanida said.
“Well, come on, Mary and I were headed over to the barn anyway. We’ll ride with you.”
“I don’t know,” Sandia murmured.
“Come on!” Ensey said, dragging her and Mary along with her.
Once they got to the barn, Sandia saw that it was very much empty. Everyone was at the picnic. Ensey made quick work of throwing a saddle on Daisy.
“Ensey, I didn’t say I would--”
“You’ve got to...you’ve got to conquer your fear. Be an example to Caleb, would ya? He needs a good role model, and he respects you.”
“I don’t know about that,” Sandia said, flustered.
“It’s true.”
Sandia considered Ensey’s face. Beautiful and set on not letting her off the hook.
“Okay,” Sandia finally said.
“Good!” Ensey said, “This will be Mary’s first time on a horse, so we’ll show her how it’s done.”
Sandia looked over at Mary who had lost the previous color in her face.
“Mary, are you sure you want to do this? Don’t let Ensey pressure you like she did me.”
“Stop it,” Ensey said, slapping Sandia on the arm, playfully, “she’s been wanting to...she’s been working up the courage, haven’t you Mary?”
Mary was staring deep into the eyes of a dark brown horse to their left. His fur was so dark it was almost black, just like his eyes. She stroked his muzzle and ran her fingers through his black mane.
The horse looked right back at her.
It almost seemed as if they were speaking to each other without words.
Finally, Mary said, “I’m ready...and so is Jasper.”
“Who’s Jasper?” Sandia asked.
“The horse,” Mary answered.
Duh, Sandia thought.
“Wonderful!” said Ensey. “Here, I’ll help you up.”
Ensey showed Mary how to scoop up her skirts and straddle the horse.
Sandia hoisted herself up into the saddle as well.
Ensey mounted a brown and white speckled pony that looked as frisky as its rider.
“Now, we’ll start real slow,” Ensey said after explaining the basics of steering and stopping to Mary.
The three of them shuffled out of the barn in single file. Ensey in front, Mary in the middle, and Sandia last.
Her heart was beating so fast she thought she might faint. Her mouth went dry and sticky. This was a bad idea, she said to herself. Every step the horse took she was expecting to be thrown off. Conquer her fear? Be an example to Caleb? Yeah, right.
“Loosen up, Sandia,” Ensey called to her as they circled the corral. They were just going round and round for the moment, letting Mary get a feel for it. Really, she was doing just fine. It was Sandia that was a mess.
“Easy for you to say!” Sandia gritted out.
“Lay your chest down on Daisy’s neck. Let go of the reins and just let her carry you for a bit. Breath with her.”
Ensey showed her. She let go of the reins, wrapped her arms around her pony’s neck and just lay there, loping along. It looked rather relaxing and kinda funny.
Mary followed suit. She let go of the reins and hugged her dark horse.
Sandia reluctantly leaned forward and immediately felt like she was going to fall. She grabbed onto Daisy’s mane, expecting the horse to yelp or buck, like a dog when you step on its tail. But she didn’t. Daisy didn’t seem to mind at all.
Slowly, Sandia let go of her mane and wrapped her arms around Daisy’s strong neck. She laid her head along the side of Daisy’s neck and rested her full weight down.
Again, Daisy didn’t seem to mind and let out a soft whinny.
Sandia stroked Daisy’s neck and closed her eyes. The sensation was actually very relaxing.
“I forgive you, sweet girl.”
Daisy whinnied again.
“Okay, fine, it was probably partially my fault as well,” Sandia admitted. “Just go easy on me.”
For the first time, Sandia was able to remember something other than falling off the horse...she remembered flying on the horse.
“I suppose the price for flying is falling every once in awhile, eh girl?”
Giving Daisy another pat on the neck, Sandia sat up in the saddle, took a deep breath and yelled, “Yah!”
Once they returned, Sandia wracked her brain for a way to thank Ensey for her kindness. When it came to horseback riding, she was a better tutor than Caleb had been. Sandia attributed this to the fact that females tended to understand each other and therefore, knew how to explain things in a way that was relatable.
Ensey had helped Sandia overcome her fear in one afternoon, and she needed to acknowledge that with more than just words of gratitude. Rushing to her room, she dug around in her handbag for a gift or something she could give Ensey.
She usually kept the bag over her shoulder. In the city, she had to keep money and ID handy. She hadn’t needed those things here, and so the bag had almost been forgotten.
Nothing seemed appropriate or fitting until she pulled out the bottle of bright red nail polish she kept for touch-ups.
Sandia stared at the bottle as an idea came to life. It was time for the ladies to have a spa day.
Emotion suddenly made the backs of her eyes sting. It was so simple and so perfect. And she would bet Ensey had never had the luxury of such pampering.
Digging around in her bag once more, Sandia also retrieved the manicure kit, the scented hand lotion, and her phone.
As she powered up the device, she smiled knowing she’d taken screenshots of recipes for making natural face masks from Pinterest. Taking shots of the simple recipes was easier than making a shopping list, which was what she’d planned to do at the time. Of course, she had no Internet here, but the pictures were still on her phone and Sandia found herself getting more excited when she remembered how commonplace the ingredients were. They’d definitely be able to scrounge them up here at Placerita.
Flipping back to the screenshots she needed, she couldn’t help but pause on the pictures of Pipo and Lala. Seeing their smiling faces made the tears return and start rolling down her cheeks. She would see them again, she told herself, shoving the moisture from her cheeks. She had to focus on the here and now...even it was in the past.
After deciding on three different masks, she wrote down the list of items, so as not to use up all of the power left in her phone, and went to the kitchen in the hopes of finding avocados, bananas, olive oil, baking soda, honey, oats, coffee, and eggs.
As expected, everything was there. Sandia found three bowls and spoons. In one bowl she mashed up the avocado and bananas with the olive oil. In the next bowl, she mixed some baking soda, oats, and honey. And in the third bowl, she blended fresh coffee grounds with the egg yolks.
Next, Sandia found a big silver platter to put the bowls on so she could carry them all at once, and went looking for Ensey and Mary.
They followed her to her room with curiosity in their eyes and several giggles of amusement.
She’d been right about Ensey never having had the luxury of wearing pretty red fingernails and toenails. Of course, Mary hadn’t either, but they both reacted as any lady would at such pampering. The special treatment made a girl feel pretty.
Sandia spent the remainder of the day spoiling them, massaging their feet, and painting their faces in one of the three masks.
They were lounging on Sandia’s bed, letting the masks do their work when Caleb walked in and blanched at the sight of them. “Whoa! I think my heart just stopped and restarted. You ladies look terrifying.”
“Just wait until you see how pretty we are when we’re done,” said Ensey. Then she frowned and carefully touched the drying mask on her face. Sandia had put the avocado one on her, so it was a pale shade of green. “This feels so weird when I talk. It’s like my face is cracking apart.”
Sandia laughed. “It’s supposed to do that, silly.”
“I’m afraid to move,” said Mary, only moving her lips as she spoke. Her eyes remained wide and blinking as she lay motionless against the pillows as though she couldn’t move an inch or risk breaking in half.