Everything that Glitters

Rodeo terms: Performing in the Show = performing during the rodeo. Performing (or a run) in the Slack = roping or riding outside the rodeo performance (slack is usually run after the show or in the morning before the next show). A run is an attempt to rope/wrestle the steer/calf or to ride the horse/bull. Average = aggregate (the aggregated points from the runs: for timed events, less is better; for judged events, more is better). Go-round = when all contestants in an event have completed their run; there may be two or more go-rounds, with or without a finals decided by high points or low times in each event. The short go is the common name for the finals.

No sex occurs between persons under 18 in this story.

"Daddy, I'm so hungry! Can we stop soon? I'm REALLY hungry!"

"Yes, Baby, I'm getting off at the next exit that shows food and fuel. We're coming up on Phoenix, so it should be real soon. Do you need to go potty before we get there?"

"Daddy, I'm not a baby! I don't go potty; I go to the restroom, and no, I don't need to...right now. But I'm so hungry!"

"Here we go, Sweetheart: see the sign? We'll take the next exit and get you some food before your belly button eats your backbone!"

"You are so silly, Daddy!"

Zane put on his right turn indicators to let Brad know they were getting off, and Brad flashed his lights in return. The first few offerings were fast food and none had a parking lot big enough for their rigs, so he continued toward town to a café he had been to before that had good food and plenty of parking. He found room for his truck and horse trailer on the deserted north side of the lot, with room for Brad to park his rig beside him.

Zane climbed down out of the cab of the Customized Mack Anthem and waited for his long-legged six and a half year old daughter to scramble out of the sleeper, across his seat, and hop down into his arms. He caught her, twirled her around, kissed his on the cheek, and set her on the ground, loving her inevitable giggle when they twirled.

She darted around the front of the truck to find her 'best friends in the world', Brad and Carole Simpson's daughters Stacy and Sammy. They greeted each other with hugs and complained in unison about never getting to eat until they are starving! Carole interjected, "It's only been a few hours since you gorged on junk food at the carnival, girls. I'm pretty sure none of you are starving. Stay put -- we're going to wait right here until your daddies check the horses and we'll all go in together."

The complained, but waited impatiently for all of three minutes before their dads appeared, took their hands, and led them across the parking lot to the brightly lit café. As they neared the door, Casey suddenly froze. She was looking at a poster in the window beside the door.

"That's her, isn't it?" she asked her dad, who, along with everyone else, stopped and looked more closely at the poster. It was quiet for a moment as they stared at the beautiful young woman on a golden horse racing through a rodeo arena. She was wearing a shirt trimmed with rhinestones and sequins, boots the color of her horse, and a golden hat with a bejeweled band; her long, wavy blonde hair flew behind her.

The lights glittered off the jewels on her shirt and cast a golden glow around her hair and face. The poster read "Prescott Frontier Days Queen -- Champion Barrel Racer Cassie Collins riding Goldie."

Zane's heart skipped a beat, and then raced as he looked at the "Sweetheart of the Rodeo" in her chosen element. Even though his emotions were raging, he calmly replied, "Yes, Honey, that's your mommy. She's almost as beautiful as you, isn't she?"

Still staring at the poster, Casey asked in a tiny voice, "Daddy, why doesn't she love us?"

Hearing the pain in her voice and seeing the stricken look on Zane's face, Carole picked Casey up and held her. "Honey, your Mommy loves you. She really does; famous people like your mom have so many commitments it's hard for them. And she lives in California; you and Daddy live in Texas, and..." She stopped speaking, knowing there was no explanation. She hugged the little girl tightly, and let the tears in flow silently down her cheeks.

Stacy and Sammy recognized the anguish of their friend and mom, and hugged their mom's legs tightly while reassuring Casey that THEY loved her!

Zane turned his head away and wiped the tears from his eyes. He felt Brad's arm encircle his shoulders, and pat him on the back. Casey saw the torment on her daddy's face; she wiggled free of Carole to go to him, climbed into his arms, and hugged him with all her might. Carole picked up Stacy, Brad picked Sammy up, and they held each other in group hug that lasted for several minutes.

"I'm sorry, Daddy; please don't cry. I shouldn't have asked about her; I know it always makes you sad! I just saw her and thought that girl looked like the picture you keep in my room, so wanted to know if it really is her. I don't care if she doesn't love us! I have the bestest daddy in the world, I love you, and you love me! We don't need her!"

Carole choked back her tears; "You do have the bestest daddy in the world, Casey, and he loves you enough for two people!" Pausing for a second, she added, "And Stacy and Sammy have the bestest daddy in the world too!"

Casey clung to her daddy, and sat in his lap when they found a table. Stacy sat on her daddy's lap, Sammi on her mom's.

Stacy looked up at her dad and asked, "Daddy, I don't want to make everyone sadder, but I have one more question. Why does the rodeo poster have a big picture of Casey's mommy in the middle and little pictures of all the cowboys around her? And why is she all glittery?"

Carole saw the look on her husband's face, and interjected, "Stacy, Sammi, Casey, do you remember when we were at the ghost town near Reno and we panned for gold?" The girls all nodded. "Remember that we found some shiny flakes that we thought were gold in the sands, and we were all excited? What did the man tell us when we showed it to him?"

Casey answered, "He said ever'thing that glitters is not gold. He said the flakes were Fool's Gold, and then he showed us real gold and told us that it didn't shine until it was cleaned up and polished!"

"That's right, Casey. Now I am not saying your mommy is Fools Gold, or anything bad about her. She was my best friend before she left and went on the tour full time, and she was a good mommy to you. What I'm saying is, just because you see a picture of her that is all pretty and glittery, it doesn't mean she doesn't make mistakes, and she made a big one leaving you and your daddy, sweetheart!"

Zane was afraid that would only stir the pot, but by the time the waitress left with their orders, the girls had moved on. They asked if they could have their own table and moved to a table next to the adults, who had not moved on.

"Damn her!" Carole hissed to Zane and Brad. "How could any decent human being abandon that precious little girl? Don't get me wrong, Zane, you've done the best job anyone could possibly do! She's an absolute angel, smart as a whip, and sweeter than sugar! I just don't understand how Cassie can just completely ignore the two of you like she does! The Bitch doesn't call, she didn't even send her a birthday or Christmas present last year!"

Zane had no answer; he shrugged, looked at his daughter and her friends chatting happily at the table closest to their booth, and changed the subject. "We should be at Cal's ranch in another hour. If he's awake he'll make us come stay in the house; if not, let's bunk in the trailers tonight. We can drink coffee with him in the morning and catch up."

Carole gave him a disbelieving look, shook her head to clear her mind, and joined the planning session. Oh, she was still steaming inside, but if everyone else could move on so could she! However, this was the first rodeo where their paths collided since she abandoned her family and friends, and if she got her hands on her "best friend", she planned to yank all that golden hair out by the roots, cussing her the whole time!

The girls were holding hands as they walked back to the rigs when Stacy turned around and declared, "We are so happy your new sponsor got us these rigs with the pretty pictures of the coast and seagulls on them!" Carole told the girls she agreed, and the men beamed.

The wrap was a coastal scene complete with breaking waves, sand dunes, and their sponsor's trademark seagull featured on both the living quarters and the cab of the Mack diesel. "Gotta thank you again for that one, buddy," Brad told Zane. "Your new connections in the oil business are really paying off! We may not win the rodeo, but we always win the drive up!"

***

Casey fell asleep within minutes after the diesel engine began to hum, and Zane's mind wandered back to the poster, and then to the woman on the horse that had been his love since high school.

They were sixteen again and getting ready for prom. Cassandra Collins had moved to their little town in west central Texas from Tennessee mid-way through their sophomore year, causing quite a stir. Her beauty caught everyone's eyes; the boys swarmed her like bees to a sweet flower, which meant she bore the ire of the jealous girls. It was her personality, however, that ultimately won over the girls and kept the boys interested, but at arm's length.

Adhering to the pecking order, the top senior boys all took their best shot, and then the junior boys took theirs. Zane sat back and watched them swing and miss, but he was more smitten than anyone, so he learned from their strikeouts. His break came because, as smart as she was, the curriculum in Tennessee was not equivalent to Texas', so she needed help in her classes. He knew it was dangerous to be parked in the friend zone, but he was the top student in the class, so he volunteered to help her.

Zane played football, basketball, and ran track, but his love was rodeo. He practiced the sport in season after school for an hour, and then he practiced roping in his arena. With the chance to help the lovely Cassandra, however, as soon as he finished practice he returned to the school library where she was studying.

Study sessions in the library ended at Dairy Queen with a soda, a blizzard, or a sundae, and then a ride home in his pickup. Her mother liked him, appreciated him helping her daughter catch up, and appreciated not having to drive six miles back to town to pick her up. The first time she asked him to stay for supper he begged off because his parents were expecting him to eat with them, so Mrs. Collins called his mom and asked when it would be okay for her to provide Zane with a meal next Wednesday, as a reward for all the help he was giving her daughter.

His mom laughed, knowing Zane felt helping Cassandra far from a burden, but agreed that Wednesday would be good; no sporting events were on Wednesday, and his chores were light.

Zane noted that Mr. Collins was never there on Wednesdays, and wondered if that was the reason he was invited. Perhaps Mr. Collins didn't like him, or perhaps he had business every Wednesday; it was hard to tell, but Zane never got a good feeling when he was around Cassie's dad.

In a way, he was curious about her dad's feelings toward him, but being with Cassandra and her pretty and gracious mother for four hours on Wednesday was indeed a reward, so he didn't pursue his curiosity.

After the fourth meal, Cassandra walked him out to his truck, and, for the first time, walked around to the driver's side with him. She was holding his hand, and she had begun to do when they were alone. When he started to open the door she pulled him back to her, put her arms around him, and presented her pretty face and plump lips for a kiss; Zane promptly complied.

Every girl who had first hand knowledge had told Cassandra that Zane was a good kisser, but when their lips met something passed between them that shocked her and him. The 'goodbye kiss' went on and on, and ended with both of them quivering and panting.

He was head over heels, and was certain she was too....until she accepted a date to the prom with a senior.

She assured him it meant nothing, but she wanted to go to the junior-senior prom and, Zane being a sophomore meant he wasn't eligible, so she accepted Jimmy's offer. Zane was crushed at first, but then he got angry. By Friday he had charmed, Suzanne, the senior girl who Jimmy had dumped in order to take Cassandra, into taking him. They agreed to keep their date a secret so they could blindside their exes.

The prom was two weeks away. For several days, Zane kept his distance from Cassandra, who acted surprised and hurt by his neglect. After not seeing him for ten days, her mom knew something was up and confronted Cassandra, who simply explained it to her as she had to Zane. It went over about as well with mom as it had with Zane, and mom spent an hour explaining why Zane was mad.

In her heart, Cassie already knew what she did was wrong, but she wanted to go to the prom, so Zane should have accepted it without being so childish; he didn't own her! They weren't even officially going steady!

Saturday arrived without further contact with Zane, but she had the prom dress of her dreams and a handsome senior football player as a date! She was excited all day!

Yes, she knew about the expectation that she would have sex with her date after the prom, but she had no intention of letting things go that far. She might allow him a few liberties -- in fact, she was anticipating trying new things with someone she'd never be with again -- but he would not have her precious cherry: she was saving that for Zane!

Cassandra and Jimmy made quite the splash when they entered fashionably late. The skillfully decorated ballroom at the Country Club looked perfect and a band was playing. There were dancers, but even they paused to gawk at and talk about the newest couple.

He escorted her to her seat at a 'senior table' to the left of the stage, near the band. Jimmy was elated to have the lovely Cassandra as his arm candy, and she was delighted by all the attention.

They basked in the limelight for more about ten minutes, with seniors dropping by to say hi and pay their respects. The women complemented Cassandra on her off-the-shoulders dress; the men ogled her lovely shoulders and the enticing swell of what was otherwise well hidden.

Suddenly, the spotlight drifted away, back to the entry hall and red carpet. Suzanne, with her auburn hair falling in long curls around her face and onto her bare shoulders, strolled in like a queen. Her bright green dress drew everyone's attention to her lovely limbs, shoulders, neck, and curvaceous body. She was smiling at her date, who wore a well-fitted black tuxedo with a cummerbund the exact color of her dress.

She had her arm through his, pressing against his big bicep, and he was adoringly eyeing his striking date. They ignored the attention, including the fact that everyone dancing stopped and stared, and made their way to the 'senior table'. Two seats were reserved on the opposite side from Jimmy and Cassandra; Zane pulled out her chair, seated her, and then took his seat beside her.

Most eyes turned to Jimmy, who suddenly looked like he had developed heartburn, and to his date, whose heartburn must have been worse.

Both couples danced, worked the hall, and did what they could to charm the voters for Prom Queen and King. Only seniors were eligible to run, but everyone could vote, and both sophomores wanted their dates to become royalty. Suzanne played the role of Zane's new girlfriend perfectly, molding herself to him when they slow danced, and gazing adoringly at him when they were apart.

Cassandra intended to do the same, but she quickly learned that Jimmy was not a gentleman when slow dancing, so she found ways to keep herself separated from his tentacles while pretending to enjoy herself immensely. Suzanna had no such problem with Zane; instead, it was he who was resisting her advances.

When the votes were counted, it was no surprise that Suzanna was elected Prom Queen and Jimmy Prom King. That necessitated a King-Queen dance that was rather cool on Suzanna's side, but gave Jimmy a chance to start his apology and begging for forgiveness.

As soon as everyone was invited to join the royalty, Cassandra grabbed Zane, pulled him to the floor, pressed herself to him, and began her apology and begging.

Sitting in the truck ten year later, heading from Phoenix to Prescott, Zane couldn't decide if that was the start of something great, as they had always told one another, or just an example of him ignoring an early warning sign.

***

Cal was beating on the door of the living quarters soon after the sun came up, offering coffee and breakfast. He let them know he had already fed the horses and turned them out into the trap, so all they had to do was come up to the house and eat. They all slipped on sweats and flip flops, hugged Cal, and made their way to the big, ramshackle house he called home.

Rosa was waiting for them in the kitchen with a big grin and a hug. She announced she had made fresh flour tortillas and salsa, and had eggs, bacon, and pan sausage ready so they could make their tacos. As always, the food was amazing; how Rosa could turn simple breakfast tacos into a flavor buffet was beyond their understanding, but they appreciated her almost as much as Cal.

He had hired Rosa to be his housekeeper and cook only a few months after his wife died of ovarian cancer at age 42. She had appeared at his door, telling him in Spanish that she heard he needed help with the house. He had invited her in, discussed the job with her, and hired her on the spot.

She was a lovely woman of 35, with thick brown hair and light brown eyes flecked with yellow. Her husband and son had been killed when the drug cartel came to their village to conscript teenagers --boys, to fight, and girls, to entertain the fighters. Jose had refused to let them take their son, so they gunned him down. Julio had grabbed his father's gun and killed two of them before he was killed, but their courageous actions gave the villagers the courage to drive the gangsters out.

With her family dead, Rosa left the village on their donkey, carrying the little money they had saved and enough clothes for a few days. A month later she arrived at Aqua Prieta near the Arizona-New Mexico border. Lacking the money to pay a Coyote to guide her across, she sold the donkey and wandered afoot until she found a fresh wash under the border fence and crossed. After walking across the rough country for two days, she caught a ride with a crew of agricultural laborers, and worked with them until she heard a couple of women saying the owner of the orange orchard had lost his wife.

She took the initiative and Cal hired her, papers be damned. Two years later her immigration status was of little consequence, because she was sporting his ring, bearing his son in her belly, and returning his love in spades.

After they ate, Cal announced that he was taking the girls -- all the girls -- shopping today, and he would deliver them safely, dressed in the finest finery, to the rodeo before the afternoon performance began at 3 pm. The girls may have been young, but they already loved to shop, and Carole... Well, although she always felt guilty after Call spent a fortune on them, she did love to go shopping with him. He not only gave her an unlimited account to draw on, the sales girls treated her like royalty in his presence!

Rosa said she was going too, because she wanted to buy some new clothes for after the baby was born so she could regain Cal's attention. Everyone laughed at that, knowing that her husband practically worshipped the ground she walked on.

After Carole and the girls got dressed, the men brought the slideouts on the living quarters in, loaded the horses, and headed north to Prescott, home of the Frontier Days, which claimed to be The World's Oldest Rodeo. In a few weeks they would be in the West of the Pecos, Texas rodeo, which would make the same claim, and, over the course of the rodeo tour, they would be at Greeley, Colorado; Payson, Arizona; Pendleton, Oregon; Calgary, British Columbia, for the Stampede; and Cheyenne, Wyoming, all of which claimed the "oldest rodeo" tittle.