My RA Ch. 04

"It may not even be a terrible thing for everyone in town to sell their homes and the baggage that goes with it. Have new people decide how they want to run their new town."

Mr. Mayor called Miss Sarah the next day, "Sarah, could you please let Daisy have the rest of the day off? She must get here as fast as 'Spirit' can take her. It would be nice if she could invite Molly to the event. I will take the heat if mom objects."

Sarah got on the general channel so all her hands could hear her announcement, "There is going to be a special children's event in town. Everyone has the afternoon off, everyone mount up. I don't think any of us wants to miss this."

Daisy walked up Molly's front walkway with uncertainty. She did not know how Molly's mom would react. Molly's mom was about to reprimand Daisy when Molly rushed across the room spinning her mom like a top. Molly got to the screen door so fast she almost went through it. She hugged her little friend and said, "I have missed you so much!" They both clasped hands as they walked to the event.

Mr. Mayor came out and grabbed Daisy then an eleven-year-old boy.

Mr. Mayor said, "I normally would be doing the ribbon cutting, but today is special. So, we have the youngest child and the oldest child to cut the ribbon for us." The crowd erupted in cheers.

Mr. Mayor continued, "The club needs a good cleaning before you can play in it, we have some brooms, mops and buckets for you."

"To every single adult in town, our behavior has been abhorrent, we chased Miss Joy and Mr. David out of our town. What kind of example do you want to show our kids?"

After Mr. Mayor opened the doors, the kids rushed in and were overjoyed to be together again. Outside many of the parents were shamefaced.

After the cleaning was done, two panel vans pulled up outside the club. The Mayor ushered the kids outside and said, "Who wants a book of their own to keep?"

There was a mad scramble of all the kids, except Daisy, she stood about twenty feet away from the trucks. Molly walked back to Daisy and asked, "Why aren't you getting a book?"

"Molly, all those books are really hard for me to read. Could you please get me the first book you ever got?"

Molly walked over and talked to a worker and pointed at Daisy standing alone. The worker quickly found the book for Daisy and the book Molly wanted. Molly gave Daisy the book.

Daisy hugged Molly, "This will be my favorite book ever because you gave it to me."

"Molly, I think 'Spirit' would love it if you came over and said hello and maybe give her some food. I think she misses you."

They both walked back to visit 'Spirit'. Before Daisy put her book in her saddle bag, Molly showed her where to write her name. They both talked to 'Spirit' for some time.

Miss Sarah rode back to the ranch; Molly was misty-eyed, but she knew God wanted her home, not the ranch.

Molly ran up to her room and grabbed her yellow marker, and drew a yellow line over a deep red 'MY FRIENDSHIP WITH DAISY!!!' then she opened her friends and family book and smiled when she saw 'My friendship with Daisy . . . ongoing'. She put a checkmark beside it to denote she had a friendship with Daisy again.

When they sat down to dinner, the first thing Daisy said was, "MOLLY AND I ARE FRIENDS AGAIN!", and "She got me her first ever book."

After supper, Miss Sarah had Daisy spell her name in her book. Miss Sarah used a ruler to keep her name in a straight line.

Miss Sarah took Daisy into her office, "Now Daisy, your Daddy has shown you how to use Facebook a little bit," Daisy nodded, "Well you just have a few friends on that, I have the entire world on mine. Would you like me to type something about today? Maybe Molly or your book?"

"Yes, I would Miss Sarah. I want everyone to know that Molly and I are glad we are friends again!"

Miss Sarah took a few pictures of Daisy and her book. Miss Sarah positioned the cursor over the post button. "Ok Daisy, press that button."

"I need to ask your Daddy if I can put more things on your computer. I love how you keep all the flowers blooming for me, they would die if I did it."

That night,+ Sarah heard Daisy chattering away in her room very late at night. Sarah put her ear against the door, smiled and walked away. She was on Skype talking to Molly; they had a lot to catch up on.

Molly was impressed at all the jobs Daisy was doing. "Daisy, do you think you could pour everyone a glass of milk for dinner time? Milk is the best, don't you think?"

Daisy thought about it, "I think I can if it is just one glass at a time. Yes, milk is the best, hot cocoa is good too.

"Molly, do you think some Saturday I can watch you practice your guitar on my computer? I don't care if you mess up, I just miss listening to you play."

With that, each one said all their prayers to each other and they went to bed.

Daisy looked over at her desk before she turned out the light with a sigh of relief. She had two pictures on the top of her desk, one of Molly riding 'Spirit' under the Orlando sun and the other, a good picture of her walking 'Angel'.

The next day at dinner time, amidst the chaos of getting the meal ready, Daisy set the table as she always did. She took the liberty to add a glass of good wholesome milk to every place setting. Some were caught off guard, especially Miss Sarah.

Daisy simply said, "Milk is the best!", no one was saying anything, Daisy thought she did something wrong.

April broke the silence by raising her glass, "Here, here, thank you Daisy for getting our milk for us.", April winked at Daisy and smiled, "Let's see who can make the best milk mustache, down the hatch everyone!"

Daisy was relieved, it was fun having the contest at the same time. Everyone made funny faces to try to win. Several were ruled out immediately including Miss Sarah. It was down to Miss April, Miss Zoe and Daisy. Everyone had to take another swallow to get a fresh mustache.

Daisy's tight, flawless skin made the milk show up the best. Daisy won by a landslide, pictures were taken and would be posted on Facebook when Daisy and Miss Sarah look for the replies from yesterday.

Miss Sarah said, "Daisy, I bet not many people have milk mustache contests. Everyone on Facebook will be so jealous of you winning the contest."

Anna and Elsa sent back a post of both holding a big glass of milk, they photo shopped 'Orlando' in with a huge milk mustache. "Congratulations from all of us in Orlando, glad to know you and Molly are friends again. I don't know what I would do without Elsa."

Everyone was joining in on the fun, even Mari, Loui, Francis and Celeste.

Mari went to Notre Dame and got a large candle with its image embedded in it, then to the shops to get a small wood and glass case. She inserted a yellow rose in the case. She left a note:

"Dear Daisy

"The candle is for bringing your prayers to God; it is the image of a world-famous church where we live. The yellow rose is for making new friends.

"Love from all of us in Paris, France."

Daisy was not used to getting packages. The last one she got had 'Angel'. She knew talking to God is important, and making friends helps a lot when you need them. Miss Anna said so.

Sarah went to the bookstore Molly went to and got a candle like what she got for Miss Joy, but the same size as Daisy's. She also got the votive candles and fireplace matches. The cowboys made a container for both so it would not tip.

Miss Sarah had a safety talk with the kids. She told them all about the candles and how to use them safe. Miss Sarah said both girls could use them for their prayers until there were safety issues.

"Miss Sarah, is there a way for me to talk on Facebook so I can thank my friends in France without writing a lot?"

"I think we could do that. Did you know Miss Mari and Mr. Loui along with their parents, all use candles to pray to God? They picked out a special time, so even if they can't see each other, God can. All three families pray together."

Daisy said, "I just like praying with Molly."

Sarah said, "You and Molly have a good bond together. I hope you become life-long friends, no matter where you are you will be there for each other. Friends like that are hard to find, and even harder to keep."

"Miss Joy and Miss Noel are like that. I can call them any time, day or night and they will help me out. They may even take vacation days if it is bad."

"Please Daisy, grab a hold of Molly and hold on tight, the world will throw a lot of stuff at you to break you up, but don't allow it."

"Keep praying together, I know both of you prayed for each other to get your friendship back."

Mr. Mayor was smiling ear to ear again, he always swore people to secrecy. He liked keeping secrets from the town and then rolling them out in grand fashion. He did not like keeping secrets from people.

After a good walk, around of all the areas the best places were decide upon and the heavy equipment was moved in. The heavy equipment was making huge holes in several places.

Everyone had all given up guessing at what Mr. Mayor had planned for them a long time ago; they were always not even close to what he planned. That was why he was Mayor. He became Mayor slightly after the flood, and it took people less than a day to pick out a new Mayor.

Now people were really confused, all the heavy equipment left and they were going to get rain tonight. On the morrow, long platform trucks came in, as well as other equipment. Some people had shovels, were they going to make the big holes bigger?

Now came the big unveiling, everyone was astounded and the sound of applause echoed in the tiny area. "Thank you, Mr. Mayor, for putting hope back in our town. "Hip, Hip, Hooray! Hip, Hip, Hooray! "they all cheered.

Three ten to fifteen-year-old spruces were being planted, but scattered if the town broke up into three towns. It was the kind that was to go into the grand plan. Each area now had a Christmas tree; it could never replace their beloved one in everyone's hearts, but it would be a blessing at Christmas time.

The kids all collected their allowances and other money, and gave it to Miss Sarah to buy various kinds of bird seed, as she could get it cheaper with a big order. For her part, Miss Sarah bought bird feeders and the cowhands brought wood into town to have the kids help them make several kinds of bird houses.

Some homeowners bought saplings for the tall trees were being put in place but could only be planted every fifty to sixty feet as the canopy for the tall trees was forty-five feet. On some blocks, the owners decided to use the back line of the whole block to put more tall trees in. The grand plan was coming together in bits and pieces, not how the experts would like it, but how the town wanted it.

Before the heavy equipment left, one of the machines went down near the club to a fifty foot by fifty-foot parcel of land and scraped off the top part of the perimeter of the area, each scraping was about eight feet wide.

The man got out of his big machine, and was enveloped by the kids watching him. "Does everyone see what I just did?", all the children nodded, "Now to me, that looks like a beautiful place to put all sorts of plants and make a children's park, just figure out where people come in and get out, then where the park benches are going to go, so the people can see your demanding work."

Mr. Mayor called for a town meeting in the SHU concert hall. When everyone was assembled, he presented Miss Sarah's idea, but with modifications. He said, "Miss Sarah, thank you for your amazing idea for our towns. I say towns because at that point our town was almost dead and the schools were going to close.

"She suggested using the green space to plant things. She knew there was so much division that she thought you could make two or three towns, modify some of the dorms into nice apartments, and implode some areas for typical housing. Her reasoning was we had to make areas where everyone could get along separating the families just like little children. At that time, I had to agree with her.

"I put three Christmas trees up, one in each zone. In case we still went that direction. I have learned over the years sometimes it is best to make compromises. Miss Sarah's plan was a global plan. What would happen if you made a compromise?"

"I am willing to hear all points of view, and we can have several more public meetings. My idea is this, we have two schools, NFU has generalized studies, and SHU that is for higher more detailed studies.

"SHU by far, has the most scenic areas. What if we made NFU a four-year liberal arts school with dorms and SHU we can make into a two-year school of some kind, with no dorms?"

We can convert some of the dorms to apartments and some to houses. Apartments would allow people to stay in town after they finished school, if they so wished. Some of the buildings at both locations we should implode anyway, due to the state they are in.

"We can have shuttle services that makes a loop to your class or to your favorite restaurant or shopping area. We have three blank slates. We can design them in a certain way to contain where you need to go; the shuttle service can cut down on traffic."

"Nothing is written in stone yet, this is just one idea. I would like to keep a four-year school here so it brings in new people every year."

"After the flood, we just remade what we had, we didn't even think about incorporating all three areas. We could have made such a better town then if we had."

"I am sure Miss Sarah would not mind us having a few stables in town."

A few days later at the ranch at supper time Daisy asked, "Miss Sarah, do you still have Molly's saddle? I was thinking, church is not the ranch. I think if I rode 'Spirit' and another horse on Friday or Saturday afternoon, then she can ride 'Spirit' to and from church. I think she misses 'Spirit' and 'Spirit' misses her. This way she can get a few rides with 'Spirit' in every week, maybe more depending how they make the town.

"I think Molly has a better bond with 'Spirit' than I do. I would gladly trade with Molly and make my own bond with a new horse."

April spoke up, "Miss Sarah, can you find out how long it takes for 'Angel's' breed to mature? 'Angel' loves Daisy, they go on walks. She takes loving care of her, and even talks to her sometimes. I know 'Angel' was to be my horse, but things change over time. Daisy is so light weight, maybe it would be OK if she rode her when 'Angel' is eighty percent mature and grow into it. At horse races, they race two and three-year old's."

"How old is 'Angel' now April?"

"Well Miss Sarah, Molly is over ten now so she must be three and a half now."

Miss Sarah said, "Well Daisy, do you want to get weighed and measured and have some pictures of you taken with 'Angel' and we can go onto the horse sites on the computer and see what they think?"

"I know really good friends need to be there for each other, and Skype just isn't the same."

Sarah went onto three horse community forum sites. She posted three pictures of Daisy with 'Angel', told them what breed she was, age, how many hands she was and how many they expected her to be. Then she gave Daisy's age, weight and height. She explained 'Angel' has never been ridden, but has a close bond with Daisy. "How old does 'Angel' have to be to ride her safely? We do not want to injure her spine after one ride."

The next day, Miss Sarah checked the sites to see if there was any activity. She was astounded by the number of posts on all three forums. They all saw the love between 'Angel' and Daisy. "Try to saddle 'Angel' and just go for rides no faster than a walk, do that for a week and see how 'Angel' behaves from there."

It was Friday afternoon and Sarah called Daisy in from work. Sarah took the blanket and saddle off 'Spirit', sorry girl, Molly needs you." Just the name Molly got a reaction from 'Spirit'.

"OK Daisy, remember 'Angel' has never been saddled or ridden before. I want you to saddle her and ride her no faster than one of your walks, maybe not even that fast. We will do it for a week and see what 'Angel' thinks about you being on her back."

Daisy went and got her stool and gave 'Angel' a brush down first. Daisy looked right into "Angel's eyes and said, "OK 'Angel' here goes; first I promise I will never, ever whip you. I am going to put this saddle on you and we will go for a walk just like we always do. I will just be on your back."

At first, 'Angel' was scared and bucked a little. Daisy took control which surprised Sarah. She pulled up on the reigns a little bit and said, "Easy girl, it is OK. I am right here," Daisy started to pet 'Angel' as she calmly talked to her.

Daisy walked her through the meadow, then back to the creek where 'Angel' could get something to drink and back again, about thirty minutes in total.

Daisy took off the saddle and hugged 'Angel' "Good girl 'Angel'."

Daisy said, "Miss Sarah, I did not want to take her out for longer than that. I let her get a drink at the creek so she could relax."

Miss Dawn said to Miss Sarah out as they watched Daisy ride 'Angel' for a walk.

"Sarah, do you see how relaxed 'Angel' is? How straight each one is riding? Daisy and 'Angel' will ride like my mom did, 'Angel' will know what Daisy will do before Daisy knows." Dawn went on to point out some other things about how the pair rode together.

"I am so jealous, 'Apache and I could never ride like Daisy will, we have a different kind of bond. 'Angel' will teach Daisy so much and so fast. Ask Mr. Mayor if we can put a ten to twelve horse stable in town; we will need a well near the stable. We can get some designs from the hands."

Sarah went to NFU to get some easel size graph paper from Miss Michelle. She went into the bunkhouse, "OK everyone, get your thinking caps on. I need at least three designs for a ten to twelve horse stable with loft I would assume. Most likely we will need a well and the young ones will be putting the feed and hay away."

One hand said, "By my count, we have 'Beauty', 'Angel', 'Apache', 'Friend', 'Companion', 'Peaceful'. 'Courage' and April's horse. That is an eight-horse minimum." Quickly five designs were created and slightly designed different in case the planning commission had a problem with some of them.

At the planning commission hearing three of the five had some problems. One hand said, "Miss which of the remaining two plans would the board approve? If you approve of both, then which one will the commissioners like better?"

The planning commission highly approved of both and that you could build either. Every board called for an emergency session to ram the stables through the red tape.

Michelle, now a grad student in fashion, and had a prestigious job ready as soon as she graduated, loved to work on a stable. It presented different challenges. It had to be practical yet, aesthetic.

On Saturday morning, all twelve of the workers' trucks plus a few others came parading into town. The parade picked up Mr. Jacob and Miss Noel on the way down. When they got to town, horns were blaring every which way.

Daisy riding 'Angel' with 'Spirit' in tow, walked over to Molly, "Molly, 'Spirit' has your blanket, your saddle, your saddle bags, your bridle, she must be your pony." Daisy handed the reigns to a dumbstruck Molly. 'Spirit' agreed, and let Molly know that in no uncertain terms.

At Dinnertime, the women brought out all kinds of sandwiches (cut in halves), and the daughters brought pitcher after pitcher of cold lemonade.

"Now when we are all done here, there will be a lot of horses here; we counted eight horses. Then if Miss Anna comes up from Florida with 'Orlando' there is another and you have visitors after that, maybe even sick animals.

"We have lots of jobs people can do to help us all out. How many want to help us out keeping the horses safe and well?"