IT DON’T MATTER Chapter 7 Call her Mrs. Lester

Maxie was a Beautiful Bride

 

I heard the beginning of what the teacher wanted to talk about and then I went out to the barn to see if we had enough feed to last out the month.

Basically I just wanted to not to hear things that was none of my business until the whole family were let in on it.  The last thing I heard was he wanted to marry Maxi.  

Pa listened to his whole story and he thought, “I hope Ma has some wisdom concerning this matter.”  

After seeing that Pa wasn’t going to say anything Ma said, “This is simpler than it might seem to be.  First have the two talked this over?”

He said, “Yes.”

“And what did you decide.”

“We decided to ask you what to do.”

Ma said, “What do you want to do?”

Maxi said I want to do what he wants to do.

Ma said to the teacher, “Do you want to stay here and teach in this country school or be a doctor teaching in the University?”

He hesitated for a moment not wanting to Look Ma in the eye.  He looked all around and then raised his head and said, “It’s the university.”

Finally Pa got his voice back and said, “When do you want to get married.”

Maxi said, “Right away and we want to live here.  He will move into my room until he is finished tutoring me then we go up north.”

Pa said I’m glad we got that settled.

Ma said, “Yes me too, thanks for your help Pa.”

As it turned out there was three more months of school left so they decided to marry at the end of school.  

Meanwhile he would spend the evenings teaching Maxi.  I decided to study along with her since I was there and not doing anything.

Having a private tutor was a new experience for me but I along with Maxi was learning at a fast rate and catching up to where I ought to have been.

When the school year was over Dr. Lester and Maxi were married and he moved in with the family.

Once they were hitched up Ma insisted we call the teacher Dr. Lester for that was the title he had earned.  She reckoned that’s what we called our regular Doctor, so we should call Lester Dr. also.

Anyhow it didn’t bother me for I was as far along with my studies as a high school graduate.  By the time the year was out I had studied some college subjects and could have passed them if I had been in college.  

I was sorry to see Dr. Lester and Maxi leave and head north but glad for them at the same time.

Maxi became very dignified and was using proper etiquette.  Dr. insisted we call Maxi, Mrs. Lester.  It seemed strange to me but he wanted her to get used to hearing people address her that way.

Just before they left Dr. gave me some books to read and study along with a list of others when I finished with those.  The house seemed a little empty with the ones who got married and moved out.  Still they come over for dinner on Sunday part of the time.

I, now being fifteen was taking on more responsibility because we were buying some more property and the last two sisters needed husbands.  My last brother Clayton had moved to town and was running a feed store business we had bought.

From what I hear ole Clayton was courting one of them town gals and from what Elle says it could get serious.  I don’t know how it comes to be but Elle knows everything about everybody.

It makes me feel I should ask her about how I’m doing.

It was good news when Alice told ma she was going to give her a grand child soon. Ma said, “The more the better.” 

Additions to the family usually made Ma happy the exception being that boys were coming around to see Elle for she was going on fourteen.  I had to whup a couple of them for good reason.  She had gotten shapely and attracted a lot of interest.  

I guess I could say something like that about myself but I didn’t want to get personal with any of the want-a-bees as of yet.

There was a new gal that moved into town with her folks.  They were well off so to speak and she was very comely.  I met her at the dance and we hit it off right away.

It wasn’t long before there were a lot of guys interested in her but I beat them off.  We went together for a year and I thought that in two or three years we might consider seeking out the preacher.

As it turned out she didn’t want to wait that long and started seeing a boy named Walter on the sly who was older but had a job at the bank.  The time came when she laid it on the line and said I had to either marry her or she would choose someone else.  

I didn’t believe her but one day I heard that she married Walter over the weekend and was now on a honeymoon.

For a few days I felt bad about that but I wasn’t getting married at sixteen.

She and Walter were at the next dance and she was showing all the girls her ring.  That kinda stirred up all the unmarried women including some widows and divorcees.  I left the dance early because too many women were staring at me.

When Ma and Pa arrived home and Ma had a minute I asked her to explain why all the interest in a boy who wasn’t ready to wed someone?  She said, “Son I thought you had figured that for yourself already.”

I said, “Not really, I have this thought and that about it but it is beyond me.”

She said, “Right off, all these women want a man.  One who is young enough to take care of them, really take care of them.  What they look like isn’t as important as if they have money for they want security.  It helps if they can find one they can dominate and control their wealth.  

When these females look at you they see all these qualities in one package and it drives them wild thinking someone else will get you.  

Often they are willing to settle for a lot less not because they want to but they don’t have any other choice.  

Just think about it now, you have money, you are young, you are pretty, and since you are young they feel they can dominate you.  

 

All this in one package and they are telling themselves, “He is mine.”

After listening to Ma I felt sick to my stomach all the while realizing she was right.

RedBone Puppy
courtesy free clipart

Jake’s Redbone bitch had a litter of pups six weeks ago and he said I could have one if I wanted.  

I needed something to take my mind off of all this woman foolishness so I went over and picked the one I wanted.  

If I’m any judge of pups he is going to be a fine hunting dog.

I decided to call him Bony since he was a Redbone hound.  I put him in the barn the first night and let him get his crying for his mama out of his system.

I put one of Pa’s dogs in there with him so he would have a little company. The next morning he had got all that out of his system and was wanting to play with the older dogs.  They didn’t appreciate him biting their ears and told him so by giving him a little nip now and then.

 
I let him go with me most all of the time so much so he thought he should be with me always.  By six months he obeyed everything I commanded him to do.  He thought he should sleep in the house with me but there Ma drew the line so he had to sleep under the porch with the rest of the dogs.

One of the farmers Jake hired was a hard worker and he had some sons and one of which took a liking to Elle.  She enjoyed the attention and was getting beyond common sense.

I mentioned this to Pa and Ma and they should slow Elle down a bit.

Pa said, you are looked to as the head of the family now (I tried to object to that characterization) and it’s up to you to straiten this problem out.

It took me three sit downs with her to get her mind back to what you might call “Rational.”  By rational I mean not to act without thinking about the consequences.

I didn’t have anything against the boy but he needed a little smoothing out.

Humm, come to think about it Elle is working on that.  

Pa had three daughters that were a bit countrified and they worked the fields along with the boys when it was necessary such as planting time.  

It would have been good if they had more schooling but I guess - -

“It don’t matter” on the other hand maybe it do.