We'll Leave The Light On For You

The crowd calmed down.  Elmer gave Blossom some treats, then continued.

“Ladies and gentlemen, we are nearing the end of the show.  We will close with a round of questions.  You may ask Blossom any question that has a yes or no answer.  You see the signs for those responses.  If you ask her something she doesn’t know, she’ll nose the maybe sign.”

Before anyone else could speak, Jessie shouted “I want to know, is my brother Leonard is ever going to kiss a girl?”

Blossom nudged the Yes sign.  The audience cheered and Jessie shook Leonard’s hand.  Leonard turned red again.

Blossom answered a slew of similar questions.  Stonewallians are some nosy people.

Then the show was over.  Most folks left, a few stayed and milled around Elmer and Blossom.  Some of the kids wanted Elmer’s autograph.  I hung out with Blossom.  She was friendly and let me pet her nose.  Jessie waited for the rest of the kids to leave then spoke.

“So, Mr. Pickett, are you heading out of town or are you going to spend the night?  Reason I ask, we’ve got room in our stable for Blossom, and the tack room has a mattress, it’s good for sleeping when the weather is nice.  My daddy will charge you less than half what you’d pay in town, and…”  Jessie pointed at me. “My sister Madeline is already in love with Blossom.  She is an expert at tending animals.”

That is how we ended up with Mr. Pickett sleeping in our barn that night.  Blossom stayed in the stable with our animals.

When we got in the truck, Leonard immediately started in on Blossom.  “Jessie I told you that mule couldn’t talk.”

Jessie emitted a belly laugh.  “Of course, fartknocker.  Everyone knows mules can’t talk.  It was just a show.  You ever going to figure out everything in the world is not real?  I keep trying to get you to loosen up and have some fun with it but I must be doing something wrong.”

Leonard didn’t say anything.  I could feel him pouting next to me in the truck, I didn’t need to look.  And as usual, Jessie was Jessie.

“I’m pretty sure when Elmer and Blossom come back next year, she’ll be over her shyness and she’ll be ready to sing the National Anthem.”

Jessie’s tone of voice changed from push Leonard’s buttons to serious.  “Actually, while you were busy making sure you didn’t have any fun, I was watching, and I figured out how Elmer did it.  Next time they come back, we’ll hide in the trees behind the park and you can see for yourself.  We’ll borrow daddy’s binoculars to get a close up view.  Also, I know Blossom didn’t actually jump 6 feet.  It was less than that.  I’ll show you later tonight, if you want me to.”

That got Leonard’s attention.  “What do you mean by that?  Explain.”

“I’m not going to tell you how Elmer gave the signals to Blossom.  That will be my secret until next year.  As far as how I know Blossom didn’t jump six feet?”

“When Elmer stood under the bar and Blossom jumped over him, the top of his hat almost touched the bottom of the bar.  I stood next to Elmer.  He is not a tall man.  I am 5’ 9” and the top of his hat was at my eye level.  That doesn’t add up.”

“After Elmer is asleep, we’ll sneak into the barn.  Remember, he asked if we had enough room to store all of his equipment.  We’ll measure his posts with a yardstick.  What Elmer says is 6 feet is something less, I guarantee it.”

“So, what do y’all say?  You want me to wake you up at 1 am and take you on an adventure?”

I said yes right away.  I’d gotten in trouble before, going along with Jessie.  But I always had fun.

Leonard didn’t say anything.  Jessie said, “Hey Madeline, you need to work on your brother.  I know he really wants to come along but he’s too coy to admit it.”

It wasn’t the first time I’d been recruited by a brother to be a tie breaker.  I didn’t know it at the time but men are lousy at saying no to a woman who’s pouring on the charm.  Even if it’s just a boy and a girl, and the girl is his little sister.

“Come on Leonard.  You really should go with us.  What if something happens to Jessie?  I’ll need you there to protect me.”  One time Jessie told me, “If you make him feel important, he can’t say no.”  It worked every time.

By truck, it only took a few minutes to get back to the farm.  When Mr. Pickett showed up with Blossom, I’d already cleaned out a stall, and lined it with fresh wood shavings.  

Jessie and Leonard helped him navigate his cart into the barn.  I led Blossom to the stable.  She  had quite a workout during the show.  And had just pulled Elmer and the cart two miles to the farm.  I knew she’d be thirsty and hungry.  I let her drink water and lick salt, then filled the trough with oats.  She ate while I combed her down.

I got Blossom cleaned up and led her to the stall.  I was straightening up the stable when I heard the supper bell ring.

Mr. Pickett ate with us.  He was complimentary of Momma’s cooking.  We all pitched in to clean up then Daddy turned on the radio.  We listened to the Kraft Music Hall.  A variety show that was very popular back then.  

That night, the guest star was Victor Borge.  He combined brilliant piano playing with a crazy sense of humor.  It was dark when the show ended and Elmer retired to the tack room.  We went to bed.