Close to You

Dedicated to

Gram Reilly

With all respect, love and gratitude!

And

The real Lucky Acres Ranch

Family and ranch hands.

Chapter 1. Sunday morning, June 14,1970

We left the outskirts of Chicago early Sunday morning on our annual trek north to the ranch at Mauston Wisconsin. My sister and I had been going to the ranch every year since I was six. It used to be a whole family thing, but then Grandpa died, Aunt Maureen married a man not interested in a ranch vacation, and Dad's business took off, making it hard for my parents to get away for the whole summer. This year it was just Gram, her companion, Gina, and I.

The morning sun poured through the right side of the car.  I stared out the rear passenger window of the Impala cruising along the interstate highway with the sun beating on my face. Gina, sat beside me. Do you intend to wear sack cloth and ashes the entire time we’re up at the ranch? She asked with measured sarcasm. Turning to look at her, I had no response.

Gina is right, our grandmother said. It’s not doing you any good to mope. Turning, she gave me 'the look', commanding me to snap out of it and to shape up or else.

No one in the family had ever dared to find out what the ‘or else’ entailed, I didn't intend to be the first to try. I could withstand almost anything, except that look.

You’ve been looking and acting like a month of rain for over a week now; it’s time to move on. Gram said. What happened, happened. It’s over and done with. Pull yourself together and stop acting like it’s the end of the world. I won’t have this vacation ruined by what that young hooligan did at your graduation party!

I knew better than to argue. Yes, Gram. I answered. I’ll try.

You’ll do. Gram said. We don’t try in this family, we do.

Gina wore that ‘told you so’ expression I hated so much, as she said. We’ve been planning this trip since last year. There are horses, and water-skiing, and swimming, and the great outdoors. Don’t let that jerk ruin it all for you. She added, Peggy and Jenny have been looking forward to our coming up here for months now. We haven't seen them since the funeral in February. You read their last letter; you know what this trip means to them.

I know, trying to sound convincing; I succeeded only in sounding agreeable. This is supposed to be a great time. Two weeks up at the ranch every summer is always like a dream come true. Or it was until two weeks ago. Remembering my utter humiliation in front of the entire family, I groaned. How could he do that to me, in front of everyone! Just thinking about it made me sick to my stomach.

Because Jerry Stevens is a jerk, he always was and he always will be a jerk, Gina said. And if you continue to sit about moping, he’s got just what he wants.

Considering my younger sister’s observation, I nodded. I know, it’s just. Damn it all; it was my graduation party! My voice rose in anger; it was the first time since the party that I’d voiced my feelings, and it felt good to release some of the pent up fury. Did you see the face on Aunt Rose? I thought she was going to lose her teeth. Images of the family's reaction were etched in my head. Aunts and Uncles, cousins, all witness to my humiliation, I wasn't sure how I would ever be able to face any of them again.

It was a rotten stunt, Gina agreed. Breaking up with you in front of the entire family at your graduation party.

Embarrassed, I cringed. I thought he was... I didn’t finish the confession. My family was aware that I’d been expecting a proposal, and an engagement ring from my long time beau before he left for the Air Force basic training camp. It was all I'd talked about since Easter, especially after Jerry had taken me to look at rings in a jewelry store. The humiliation of a public breakup had been the last thing anticipated.  Every moment since then, I had been going over the relationship looking for a warning sign. I feel like such a blind fool.

In my day, Gram said, her tone conveyed the depths of her anger, My father would have taken that young man out, and horse whipped him. The image of my father, Wild Bill Ryerson, hauling Jerry Stevens out for a well deserved beating, made me smile, and did wonders to lighten the mood in the vehicle. Even Kate chuckled as she drove.  

Okay, I said in surrender, falling into an agreement with the members of the family present.  Having released some of the pent up emotions had been cathartic, The world didn’t end just because Jerry broke up with me. I didn’t die, life goes on, I said. I don't know if I was trying to sound brave, but some things were making more sense since we'd hit the border. We had this trip all planned for ages. So, from here on out, I promise not to be a wet blanket; I’ll leave the sackcloth and ashes here. I mimicked removing some invisible garment and dropping it, and washing my hands of it. Astonishingly, I felt better having performed the pantomime.

Good, Gina nudged playfully.

Gram said, turning back to face forward. In half an hour we’ll be pulling in at the ranch, and I want you girls to have fun, just like we planned. Nothing is going to stand in the way of this vacation being perfect, and that includes Mr. Jerry Stevens' antics.

Gina leaned closer. Think Ricky will accept my challenge to race? Her eyes were full of mischief, and she grinned at me.

No, I told her. Ricky Weldon, son of one of the owners, and Gina had a long time rivalry going. I half suspected that Ricky was actually a little afraid of Gina, and with good reason. It had started with horseshoes when Gina had turned ten and had a sudden growth spurt. The rivalry had worked its way up to riding horses, now that Gina stood five foot nine, she was as tall as Ricky. His pride won’t let him. I explained. To lose to a girl is bad enough, but to lose to Gina Ryerson would devastate him. Ricky was closer to my age, but because my kid sister was so tall, he overlooked the age difference.

That’s too bad, Gina’s expression was gloating. I’d love to make him eat some dust. I was well aware that Gina could and would do just that. When it came to riding there were few on the ranch that could hold a candle to her. It was as if Gina had been born to the saddle, even Ricky who had been around horses all his life wasn’t as fine a rider as Gina. Most of the long time wranglers on the ranch knew better than to challenge her. As far as I knew, there had been only one other person on the ranch with skills that were greater than Gina’s. That was Clint Webber, but he was still away, serving in the Navy.

You’re just wicked. I accused, having watched their rivalry for years, I had refused to take sides. Staying neutral was the only safe posture to take. While I may have been older than Gina by a year, I was also shorter by eight inches and far less athletic.  Honestly, I feared being an easy target for both Ricky and Gina, and so it was best to keep neutral.

Kate turned the Chevy off the main highway onto the county road that passed the ranch. Take a good look around girls, she said, putting on a twang, You’re in the country now.

Kate Donnley had been Gram’s companion since our grandfather had passed away. For the last three years, Kate had said exactly the same thing at this turnoff. She turned off the radio station as it wasn’t coming in clearly now, the Carpenters' song 'Close to You' was choppy. Not that I wanted to hear it at all, my feelings were still too raw. The song reminded me too much of Jerry, as if it had been written about him. I had promised to stop moping, and listening to a sad love song wouldn't have helped. Kate grumbled as she'd switched the radio off, she always complained about the bad reception up here. If it wasn't that, it was the country and western songs on the local station that would come in clear. Then again, Kate complained about too much rock and roll on the city stations. Sometimes, I thought Kate just liked to complain.

Hey, Zimmer had his barn painted! Gina exclaimed when the car pulled past the brightly painted hay barn. It had been a dull, washed out red the last time we came up, now it was bright crimson.

About time, Gram muttered. Old fool.

Gina and I giggled, knowing that old Mr. Zimmer had been rather sweet on our grandmother for quite some time now. The old man had even suggested considering him as a replacement for our late grandfather. Gram had told the old gent to go paint a barn and stop pestering her. But his attentions had continued, and the painted barn; just one more sign that he had not given up. Not yet.

Just past the Zimmer place the property belonging to Lucky Acres Ranch began. On both sides of the county road. The Webber place was well named, as everything the family touched seemed to turn a profit. Starting with the original farm that German immigrant Carl Webber had established. His son Gus had taken the place on in the thirties, and his children ran the place now. It was very much a family run business, and nobody in the family started at the top. Everyone was expected to work their way up the ladder, working in the barn or working in the guest house.

Fields of ripening hay, and tall golden corn, and even fields of barley, were being worked on the right side of the road. Sheds and barns and silos dotted the fields. Just past the fields was a meadow of tall grassland where a herd of bison was being tended by wranglers on horseback. While on the left hand of the road tall pines stood guard. Further down the road on the right, the enormous green and the goldenrod yellow double barn rise out of the horizon, proclaiming in bold russet lettering Lucky Acres Ranch.

I felt a surge of exhilaration when I saw the barn. Forgetting the blues, I smiled at Gina and clutched her hand. We’re here. I remembered only that I’d looked forward to this vacation, planned long for before my graduation. It was more than the expectations of a pleasant vacation; this was almost like a homecoming. Gina and I thought of the dude ranch as a second home, and the owners as extended family.

On the left hand side of the road the slim edging of a trail next to the stand of trees. Then the rustic wooden rail where riders and mounts would line up for trail rides. The yellow clapboard guest house, its rustic wide, stone stairs off the back room began to peep through the vegetation. The red and white gingham curtains in the windows, Jerry had mocked when I'd  told him about how comforting in its familiarity it was.  

At the gate, a large business marquee proclaiming ‘Lucky Acres Ranch, where the west and the Midwest meet’ stood greeting everyone who pulled into the long driveway, giving directions to the office within and the cabins beyond.

Kate pulled in and parked the car in one of the spaces reserved for guests who were checking in. Look, there’s Peggy and Jenny, waiting for us! The Weldon sisters waved at us and we were waving back. I told you they’d be waiting! Gina shouted.

Gina bolted from the car before the engine was even off. She rushed over to Jenny and they embraced as if they'd not seen each other in years. From a distance they could have been mistaken for cousins, they were so similar. Peggy Weldon walked past her younger sister, then leaned into the car to greet me. Like us Ryerson girls, the Weldon sisters were as different as night and day. Jenny was tall and lean and kissed by sunshine, with long blond hair and big blue eyes. She had the coloring of the Weldon side of the family.

Peggy took after her mother and the Webber side in her coloring, with brown hair and eyes.  Hey girlfriend, she said, before she turned to my grandmother, Mom and Aunt Vee are waiting for you in the office, Aunt Marie.

I slid across the leather bench seat, and out of the car to the reassuring hug of my longtime friend. I’m so glad to see you. I whispered into her  ear. I have so much to tell you! For as long as I could remember, Peggy had been my sounding board and constant confidant. It had been Peggy I’d called two weeks ago after the party fiasco. It had been Peggy, who listened and wept with me. Peggy held my deepest, darkest secrets, just as I held hers.

Same here, Peggy hugged me back. It's been too long between visits. I appreciated that Peg had made no mention of what had happened.

It’s going to be longer with you and me both going off to college. I said. But, I do plan to get up here for skiing this winter. We should make a ski date for winter break!

Ski date?  Mom is expecting you to work your winter break up here. She’s already got you penned in as winter break help. Peggy linked arms with me, It wouldn’t be so long if you’d go to school up here. For some time Peggy had been making less than subtle hints that I should forget about going to school down in Chicago, and take classes at the same college she was going to attend in Madison.

Kate and Gram strolled across the drive to the registration offices of the guest Ranch. Signing in was almost a ritual here. Gina and I, along with the Weldon sisters followed at a leisurely pace. Like most of the girls who worked in the guest house, the Weldon girls were dressed in jeans and long sleeved red and white western styled blouses with wooden name tags.

The office of the guest house had changed very little since the thirties. Parts of the original house were still visible, if you knew where to look. The office was finished in a knotty pine paneling that had been lovingly polished over the years. It smelled of flax soap and lemon polish as did the wooden plank floors. There were two desks in the large office. A few wooden chairs for guests to sit in, when signing in or making arrangements. The windows were covered with the same red and white gingham checked curtains as the dining hall. And the walls held pictures of events at the Ranch and family over the years.

Lucille Webber Weldon and Vivian Webber Massey awaited our arrival. When Gram entered the office Lucille came around her desk to greet her. Both of them were now widows, and they had shared a good many life events over the years. From marriage, to having children, to widowhood, they had gone through their lives in tandem. While they were separated by the miles from Chicago to the ranch, their hearts were never too far apart. They had become friends when my grandparent's spent the first of many visits up here at the Dude Ranch.

You’re late, Lucille teased as she ended the hug. I expected you an hour ago.

Road work, Kate said with a groan as she sat down. The highway is torn up just before the border, and about thirty miles beyond.

Lucille looked at us girls, My goodness, look at you two, she held her arms open for a long hug. Gina, you’re so tall and mature, no one would ever know you’re the younger sister, she commented before giving me a sympathetic smile, How are you holding up, Alex honey?

I’ll live, I answered. Having made a promise in the car I intended to keep; no more moping. So I got dumped, not the end of the world. There’s too much to do up here to waste time on moping.

That’s telling em, Vee said through closed lips holding her cigarette from falling out of her mouth. No man is worth moping over. Plenty of fish left in the sea, my old man would say.

I moved to the stocky woman with bold strawberry blond dyed hair, and hugged her. Hello Auntie Vee. For years we had been given the privileged status of extended family. We referred to the owners of the ranch as Auntie and Uncle and the Widow Webber was lovingly called Granny Fern. Just as the Weldon kids referred to my grandmother as 'Aunt Marie'. Both Gina and I understood the magnitude of the privilege given, and we returned in kind the affection. 

I was very partial to Vee, whose children lived several states away and who lived pretty much on her own here at the family ranch. She always wore lilac water, and her robust hugs lasted more than just a few seconds. She was louder than her sister, and had a tendency to be a bit over the top and brassy. But she was my favorite, and I was sure she knew it.

Auntie Lucille returned to her desk and looked down at the papers scattered across the top, We’re having large crowds right now. More bookings than we’d expected, it being so soon in the season. She said in explanation to my Gram, I’m afraid that I didn’t have room for you in the guest house, but I’ve upgraded your reservation to Skylark for the same price as the guest house. She wiggled the key to one of the larger cabins in front of  our grandmother. And it’s got its own garage. She informed Kate enticingly.

Skylark, that's at the start of the ridge, Gina said making mental notes of the placement of the twelve family cabins that went up the hillside. Gina and I knew the layout here almost as well as the family who owned it did.  It’s across from the trading post and has the best view!

Nothing but the best for you, Vee teased. You’re not blood, but you may as well be. Hells bells, we’ve given you the family rate for the last ten years. She opened the guest book for Gram to register, and accepted the envelope that contained payment for the two weeks stay. She gave us four girls a long hard look, I hope I don’t have to remind you young ladies about the rules and regulations this year.

No, ma’am, we echoed.

Lucille gave her daughters a wave, You two have work to do; get to it. The Ryerson girls will still be here when your work is done. Off with you, before Rita has a fit and Stella sends out the Marines looking for you. She smiled as the girls headed to the dining room. We’re still short staffed this season, some of our girls haven’t returned home from college yet. I had hoped that some of our last season’s help would sign on, but until they do...

Could we help? I asked, I know we’re not staff, but we do know the place as well if not better than most of the hired girls.

Lucille turned to Gram, who nodded with approval. Pitching in would be appreciated girls. They’re going to be setting up the dining hall for lunch soon, why don’t you go lend a hand after you get settled in? She handed the keys of the cabin to Gram. You know the Sunday schedule almost better than I do. Both Gina and I gave her a hug before heading to the car.

Kate took the shortcut and drove behind the guest house to the first large cabin that stood overlooking the trail and the common grounds used by the ranch guests. Each cabin nestled in the natural rise and fall of the hillside.

Kate parked in front of the log cabin and began to unpack the car, while Gram unlocked the door to find that the staff had come in and turned on the air for her. There was also a gift basket on the coffee table for Gram from the owners.

Gram had a few health issues, and she didn’t like to make a fuss. Lucille had always seen to her needs quietly. The roomy cabin consisted of two bedrooms, a sitting room with a fireplace for cool fall or winter evenings, and a large shared bath with a tub not just a shower. Tucked against the wall and behind the door was a fold up shower seat for Gram if she needed it. The picture window of the sitting room looked out on the barns across the way, and the sweep of the lawns going down to the riding trail, and the underpass to the stables. Gina was right, it was the best view.

There was no radio or television in the cabin, guests were expected to participate in Ranch activities for entertainment. The steps of the cabin were low and easy to navigate and there were a pair of green painted wooden Adirondack chairs under the shade of one of the old cottonwoods. Not that my grandmother would ever sit in them; her idea of outdoorsy was the trading post's screened porch. But the pair of chairs would be used by Gina and I during our stay. My sister and I had even been known to sit on the lawn during a light drizzle.

It was an easy walk down the hillside to either the volleyball court, or the guest house. Across a slightly shorter path, was the trading post; where families would sign up for trips to the Dells or to Castle Rock Lake. The trading post also had a pleasant room set aside for seniors to play cards. Off the trading post and behind a gated fence was the swimming pool, the wading pool and Ping-Pong tables. On the grassy lawn there were more lawn chairs and a quaint old white wooden lawn glider. I had spent many a happy hour on that glider.

I finished unpacking, grabbed my sketch pad, and headed down to the guest house to help with the lunch set up. There was no one in the Buffalo Game Room, and I moved to the connecting passage. I entered the dining room, and called out to Stella Davis, the head of housekeeping. Auntie Stella, it's Alex, Auntie Lucy and Auntie Vee said you might need some help with set up. I reached for one of the folded aprons that were on a shelf, and set the sketch pad aside were it wouldn’t be in anyone’s way. Tied the apron on over my skirt and blouse, I waved at Peggy and Jen. They were bringing out glasses and freshly washed cutlery, while I waited for Stella to give me an assignment.

Stella, a distant cousin in the Webber family, popped her head out of the linen area, Oh, bless you child, she pointed to the tables with linens ready to go, If you can get started setting  this up... She went back into the linen closet and called out, I’ll be out in a moment.

Rita Brown, the cook who’d been with the Ranch for years, shouted out from the kitchen, When’d you get in?

About half an hour ago, I called back, placing the red gingham table cloth on the table to be set. I smoothed the cloth with ease and moved to the next table and repeated until all the tables were covered.

How was traffic? Rita shouted.

Fine, until we hit the border. I answered. They’re doing road work for about thirty miles. I’d rather smell manure than fresh tar any day!

Stella brought out fresh napkins for each place setting. Easy for you to say, you don't live with it all year round, Stella teased, Well, it’s good to have you back, she said with a warm smile. Where’s that sister of yours?

Right here, Auntie Stella, Gina said, she entered from the same door that I had used. She pulled on an apron over her jeans and top, and began to help out. Gram and Kate are taking their own sweet time; I left them at the glider.

Stella looked at the clock that hung on the wall, Carol and Marcy are late, she commented. I wonder what's keeping them.

I saw the ten o’clock ride coming in when I came down the hill,