As Seth McPherson rode up to the ranch gate, he noted a woman hanging out laundry. The woman wasn't the right age, size or shape to be his mother, but it wouldn't have been her, anyway. She, and his father, had both left here - and everywhere else - during the most recent influenza outbreak. This wasn't anybody he knew.
He called out a greeting to the woman. "Is this your place? Do you live here?"
The woman looked him over. He seemed respectable enough, and they'd never had any problems, but a woman alone out here was always a woman alone. "Yes, and no," she replied.
"Well, that's clear enough," said Seth.
Now, the woman smiled. "That wasn't very helpful, was it? And actually, it wasn't true, the way I said it. I should have said 'no' first, then 'yes.' No, it isn't our place, but yes, we live here. We worked for the owners, who recently died, and the sheriff let us stay on as caretakers until he can figure out what to do with it, now. Presumably there's a son somewhere, but nobody's seen him for some time, and he might have died in the War."
"Now, that's good, straightforward information. Thanks. As to the son, I can definitely attest to him being alive, as even now you are beholding his smiling face."
The woman had continued to hang the washing. Now, she stopped, and came over to the gate. "You're Seth?"
Seth got off his horse, and met her at the gate with extended hand. "I see that my fame has preceded me. Yes, I'm Seth. My mother gave me that name, which she said means 'appointed.' She always implied that she and God had some special appointment for me, but I've never found out what it was.
"So, anyway, if I am Seth, you must be...?"
She gave him an amused look. "On the basis of you being Seth, I don't see how it follows that I have to be anybody in particular. Nevertheless, I will tell you that I'm Mel - Mrs. Mel Davidson, the 'Mel' being short for 'Melody'."
Seth gave her a quick, but obviously not very serious, once-over. "Well, 'Mel' is an excellent name for a beautiful woman of a certain age. However, when you were only slightly younger, and had just a tiny bit more little girl prettiness, I imagine the boys couldn't stop singing the praises of 'Melody'."
She laughed. "Even at my advanced age, your silliness can make me blush. But you're not far wrong. Jack - that's my husband, now - never seemed to tire of making up poems and songs about 'his Melody'."
"And I bet he still does it."
She laughed, again. "Yes, he does. Now, are you going to stand outside your own gate indefinitely, or will you come in, and make yourself at home?"
"I'll come in," he said, as he opened the gate, and led his horse through. "I'd like to make one more comment regarding our conversation, to date, and that is referring to yourself as 'of advanced age.' Either you are remarkably preserved, or 'advanced' doesn't mean what it used to mean. I would say that you aren't much older than me."
That got another laugh. "That's very chivalrous of you. But, although you look healthy enough, clearly your eyesight is failing. Add ten years to your age, and you might come close to mine."
"I don't believe it. I guess when I meet Jack, I'll just have to ask him if he thinks you're looking older."
"You will not! Now, go inside and leave me here with your lovely fantasies. I'll take care of your horse. I don't think you'll find much changed in the house from when you left. Your folks liked things just the way they were. So do we."
Seth entered the familiar door, viewed the familiar room he'd last seen more than ten years past, and found his own room much as he remembered it. He sat on the edge of the bed .
***
"Seth." Someone seemed to be gently tugging his shoulder. "Seth, Jack's home now. Wake up."
He opened his eyes, and saw Mel standing by his bed. "Sorry, I must have dozed off for a minute."
"You certainly 'dozed off,' but it was two hours ago."
Seth sat up enough to swing his legs around to the edge of the bed. "Really? I guess I was more tired than I thought."
"Obviously. Did you hear me say that Jack is home? Come out and meet him. No, wait. You're pretty shaky. Jack, come on in here and meet the master of the domain."
A tall man, maybe in his 'forties, entered the bedroom, and offered his hand to Seth. Mel did the introductions. "Seth, meet Jack. Jack, meet Seth. He's a little shy and hard to talk to, but otherwise seems okay."
Jack grinned at him. "Nice to meet you. I understand you took a little nap."
Mel gave a little snort. "Well, if you call a bear hibernating 'a little nap'..."
Seth chose to ignore her. "I certainly did doze off, but it may be the most I've slept at one time since I left the Army. I guess I needed it. Still, I've been thinking about some things."
"If a hibernating bear can be thinking..." Mel started.
Seth stopped her this time. "Jack, have you noticed any changes in your wife's behavior lately - like she was getting kind of crabby, and not letting people finish what they were trying to say?"
"No, I don't believe I've noticed anything like that."
"Well, I think it happens to some women as they get older. You should watch her closely."
"That's not a hard assignment. There's nothing I like more than watching her."
"Thank you, Jack," said Mel. "That's a lovely thing to say."
"Now wait a minute, you two. I didn't mean the statement to start your courtship all over again. If you can save that for a minute or two, I'd like to say what I've been thinking. Any objections?"
None were expressed.
"Okay. You've fulfilled your obligations to my parents, and you've done the same for the sheriff and the town. You've just met me, and don't owe me anything. As far as I'm concerned, you can go and do whatever you like, taking with you my thanks for past labors. However, I'm thinking that I'd really like you to stay on. I'd like to get this place back to a working ranch or farm, but it's just me, by myself. I could use the help of folks who know and love the place, probably as much as I do. My first impression is that we can work well together.
"Now, let me finish the rest of my thought before you say anything. If you were to stay, you could move up here in the bigger house with me. There's plenty of room for us all. Or, if you wanted, I'd give you this place, and I'd move down to the little house. I don't need much room, just a chair to relax in and a bed to sleep in.
"There, I guess that's all my initial thoughts. You don't need to respond to anything until you have a chance to talk it over, and think about it."
Jack only waited a moment after Seth finished. "Well, the first part is something we've talked about a lot. We love this place. We've been here most of our married life, so it definitely feels like home. We don't have any other obligations, or anywhere we'd rather be. We say 'yes' to staying here, and working with you however you want and need us to.
"Now, about the living situation. Mel and I haven't talked specifically about moving up here. I certainly thank you for the offer, and we'll talk it through. But I'm pretty sure we'll agree that the little house is 'home' for us, and has everything we need, including a lot of memories."
Seth got up off the bed. "Then, it looks like we're on our way. The next thing on my mind is that I hope while I was 'hibernating,' Mel had something cooking for dinner. Suddenly, I am real hungry."
"Almost ready," Mel replied.
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