Little Miss Peacock
It was one of those days where everything seemed to be going wrong for Buck Wilmington. Sitting in the far corner of the saloon, he watched as patrons drank whiskey and played poker while generally causing a ruckus with their hootin' and howlin'. At the bar, a lone woman with russet curls and feathers in her bonnet cradled a drink in her gloved hands, while paying no attention to the carryings-on around her. Her back was hunched over and her shoulders were shaking. Deciding the lady needed someone to talk to, Buck rose to his feet and sauntered over toward her.
Leaning against the bar, Buck said, "Excuse Miss, I couldn't help but notice you look unsettled." The lady's shoulders shook harder, causing those white and black feathers to bob back and forth. "Now what would cause a lady such as yerself to be so upset that she'd come to the saloon and drink?"
Burying her face in her palms, the lady said between sobs, "I-I don't wanna talk about it. Please just go away."
Not one to leave a crying lady alone, Buck sat down beside her and gently placed an arm about her shoulder. "What's troublin' ya, ma'am?"
"Nothing. Really," came the low, dainty voice.
"Wanna talk about it? I'm a good listener."
Slowly, the lady turned to face him. Her response was slow and with much dignity. "I wouldn't want to burden you with my quandary."
Buck stared into the most dazzling blue eyes he'd ever seen. "Give it a shot, darlin'." He grinned charmingly. "I'm all ears."
That got her to lift the corners of her mouth from a frown to a slight smile. "Well, you see, I was on my way to California with my dear friend Carrie when the stage we were on was held up by bandits. They took my life savings." She paused, lowering her full lashes. "And now, I don't have the funds to get home to my dear, ill mother."
"How awful," Buck remarked, resting his chin on his palm.
"I really must get back to my mother."
"Well, maybe I can be of some help." He held out his hand. "By the way, I'm Buck Wilmington."
"Miss Josie Callaway," she said, shaking his hand. "Nice to meet you, Mr. Wilmington. You seem like a nice gentleman."
"That's what I've been told," Buck teased, watching as Josie readjusted
her bonnet atop her head.
When she caught him looking at it, she smiled. "I decorated it myself from feathers I've found. I had peacock feathers it in, but I removed them after I heard their bad luck."
Buck chuckled. "Never heard that before."
"I had peacock feathers in my bonnet when the stage was held up."
"Yeah, that was bad luck!" Buck rubbed his jaw. Seemingly, this lady was having the same kind of day he was. Course, he hadn't been robbed, well, unless one counted the poker game he'd lost an hour ago to the gambler Ezra Standish. For the most part, he was just having a rotten day to boot. First thing this morning he'd ripped his trousers. Then later, he'd smartly hammered his finger while helping Miss Mary Travis repair a loose board in front of the newspaper shop. But now, it appeared his luck was changing with this pretty lady.
"I tossed the peacock feathers out the window from the stage. Hopefully they found their way into a river or something." Josie rose to her feet. "It was nice to make your acquaintance, Mr. Wilmington. I'd best be heading back to the hotel. Carrie is resting and I don't want her to awaken and worry."
"It would be my pleasure to escort you."
"Oh, I don't want to put you out." Josie waved a hand in the air. "You've been so kind listening to my sad little story."
"You ain't puttin' me out none." Buck shook his head. "Now don't you worry, I'm sure the two of us can come up with a way to get you to see your dear mother."
Josie started for the swinging barroom doors and Buck followed behind. When they'd reached the street, a young boy jogged up to Buck.
"Hey Buck, look what I found." The boy proudly held up a brightly colored feather.
Josie let out a dainty screech. "Where in the world did you find that?"
The boy's eyes widened. "Over yonder," he said pointing down the dusty street. "I chased it in the breeze."
"Get rid of it!" Josie urged. "It's bad luck to have a peacock feather!"
The boy tilted his head back, looking up at Buck. "Is that true, Buck?"
Buck knelt down before the boy, and said gently, "Billy, why don't ya head on home now?"
"Don't ya like my feather, Buck?"
"It's real nice," Buck said, not taking his eyes off Josie, who was clearly fixing to make a mad dash to the hotel. "But ya see, Billy, Miss Callaway has had some bad luck today and...well, that feather kinda reminds her of it."
"Are ya sure it's bad luck to have it?" Billy asked, looking at his newly acquired feather from all angles. "Cuz, I was gonna give it to my ma. What do I do with this feather?"
"Destroy it, please," Josie urged young Billy. " Toss it in the river. Anything. Just get rid of it."
"All right," Billy replied with a moan. He shuffled his booted feet several times before releasing the brightly colored feather from his hand, where it then lifted in the breeze, sailing across the street, then landing on the boardwalk.
"Shall we?" Buck said, gallantly offering his arm to Josie. He escorted her across the street to the hotel.
The next day, as Buck was entering the saloon he bumped into Chris Larabee. The gunslinger was grinning from ear to ear.
"Why are you smiling all over your face?" Buck asked. On any normal day, his friend wasn't in the brightest of moods. In fact, in the past couple years he'd never seen Chris all...well, lit up in the face. It suited his friend fine, Buck thought.
"Oh, I don't know, I'm just in a particularly good mood today."
Buck lifted a brow. "Any reason why?"
"Well, let's just say I met the most prettiest lady and we're having dinner together," Chris replied sheepishly.
"Ya don't say? Well, I met the most charming lady and we're having supper together. My lady had a misfortune with a stage and she's--"
"Trying to get back to her dear mother?" Chris interrupted.
Buck's gaze trailed to the window, then he couldn't believe his eyes. Miss Josie was boarding a stage with the kindly assistance of Josiah Sanchez. Her russet curls were swishing about her shoulders and feathers bobbed from her bonnet. Buck frowned. "Chris, how'd you know that? I mean, Josie trying to get back to her mother..."
"Ah, man." Chris tilted his head back and laughed. "How much did you give her?"
"Three dollars." Buck removed his hat and raked a hand through his hair. "And you?"
"Two dollars," Chris said settling into a chair at a table.
Buck followed, sitting across from his friend. Silence hung in the air for a long minute. "Looks like we've been taken for fools, Chris."
"Looks that way."
"Damn. She was pretty and real convincing like, too. She could charm the rattler off a snake."
Chris nodded in agreement.
A moment later, Josiah entered the saloon wearing the same silly smile Chris had been only minutes before. "Boys," he greeted. He pulled out a chair and took a seat, while holding something in his left hand.
"Josiah," Buck piped up, "we couldn't help but notice your lady friend out there."
Josiah leaned back in his chair. "You mean Josie?"
"Yep."
"Well, she is a poor soul looking to get back to her mother. She needed a little guiding so I talked to her and hopefully she'll be making the right choice along her journey."
"How much money did you give her?" Buck asked, rubbing his jaw.
"Oh, I didn't give her anything." Josiah paused. "During our conversation, I told her a story about a bird and his feathers and how each time he tried to take a drink of water from a fountain that was only intended for mother birds, he lost a feather. Though the bird was persistent and kept going to the water, it didn't take long before his feathers worked themselves loose and he soon had none."
"Josiah, do you really think that spiritual talk is gonna work on a con artist like Josie Callaway?" Chris inquired.
Josiah grinned. "Why, yes I do." He set something on the table, then moved his hand away from it, giving his companions full view.
Immediately, Buck jerked back in his chair when he saw the brightly colored peacock feather. "The feather!"
"That is the feather Billy let go yesterday," Josiah commented. "After I spoke with Miss Josie, I mentioned that the Lord works in mysterious ways and to each wrong doing we do in life, it's karma. We'll pay for it by one way or the other. It might be tomorrow, a month down the road, or even five years. But by hook or by crook, karma comes back." Josiah picked up the peacock feather to admire it. "After seeing Miss Josie on the stage, she handed me some coins--five dollars to be exact--and asked that it be donated to a good cause. I'm thinkin' I'll put this feather on the center of table and we can play ourselves a friendly game of poker."
"Uh, uh! Not me!" Buck shook his head. "Don't you know peacock feathers are bad luck? I ain't in the mood to lose more money."
"Well, let's just test out that theory, boys," Josiah laughed, good-naturedly. "Ante up."
~*~ The End ~*~
Copyright © 2004 - 2007
This story is intended strictly for entertainment only.
