Amanda in Alberta: The Writing on the Stone

Central Avenue Publishing Edition

Copyright © 2014 Darlene Foster

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any
manner whatsoever without written permission from the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This edition is published by arrangement with Darlene Foster.

centralavenuepublishing.com

First digital edition published by Central Avenue Publishing,
a division of Central Avenue Marketing Ltd.

Amanda in Alberta: The Writing on the Stone

ISBN 978-1-77168-020-5

Published in Canada with international distribution.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

Cover Design: Michelle Halket

Photography Copyright & Courtesy of: Darlene Foster; CanStockPhoto: schankz; PhotoXpress: babou

To Dad

A true cowboy

“Howdy!” A gentleman in a red vest doffed his white cowboy hat. “You look like you might need some help, young lady.”

“Where do you meet the people coming from England?” asked Amanda Ross.

“That would be over there at the international arrivals. Are you here to meet a friend?”

“I sure am. Her name is Leah, and she is my BFF coming all the way from England to visit me here in Calgary. I met her in the United Arab Emirates, and then we met in Spain and I visited her in England too. We always have so much fun together. She is way cool.”

“I don't think this gentleman needs to know all that, Amanda.” Mrs. Ross sent an apologetic look to the airport host. “I finally found a parking spot and noticed Leah's flight has arrived. She should be coming through that door any minute. Amanda, please stand still.”

Amanda almost danced, she was so excited. She never had a visitor from overseas before. She carried a stuffed, baby Maine Coon cat; a gift for her friend.

The automatic doors swung open, releasing a flood of travellers.

“There she is! There she is!” Amanda ran up the ramp leaving her mother behind.

Leah wore a VIP badge, dragged a designer wheeler bag and carried a stuffed baby camel. The girls ran towards each other and embraced. They giggled as they exchanged gifts.

“Come and meet my mom.” Amanda took Leah's wheeler bag.

“Mom, this is Leah, all the way from England.”

“So very pleased to meet you, Mrs. Ross.” Leah extended her right hand.

“We've heard so much about you, Leah, and we are very happy you've come for a visit.” Amanda's mom shook Leah's hand and popped a white cowboy hat on her blond head. “Call me Evelyn. All Amanda's friends do.”

Leah touched the brim of her new hat. “Wowza! A cowboy hat just like Princess Kate got when she came here. Thank you ever so much.”

* * *

Amanda and Leah, happy to see each other again, held hands in the back seat and talked nonstop on the drive to the Ross's house.

“So how's your new school, and how's Rupert doing?” asked Amanda.

“My new school is fine and Rupert is doing just great. He's become my best pal and Mum and Dad really like him too. It's like he has always lived with us. He sends you tons of cat cuddles.”

“Here we are,” said Mrs. Ross as she pulled into a wide driveway.

“My, your house is so large,” said Leah as she entered the house.

“It's just an average house here in Calgary,” replied Amanda's mom.

“Mom,” said Amanda, “houses in England are much smaller.”

“Well, I wouldn't know. I'm not the world traveller you are. Why don't you girls visit in the backyard while I get the barbeque ready?”

Amanda led her friend into a spacious backyard surrounded with a lilac hedge.

“We have some fun things planned while you're here; like visiting a dinosaur museum and Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump.”

“W-what? That sounds dodgy.”

“Tomorrow we'll go downtown and watch the Stampede parade.”

“I hope you like barbequed hamburgers, Leah.” Amanda's mom brought out colourful paper plates and a jug of pink lemonade.

“I love burgers. I seldom get them barbequed. Thanks ever so much, Mrs. Ross—I mean, Evelyn.”

* * *

The sun shone brightly as they made their way to downtown Calgary on the crowded C-train the next morning. Thousands of people wearing cowboy outfits lined the streets waiting for the parade. Store fronts were decorated to look like a wild-west town, with bales of hay scattered everywhere. The smell of fried sausages and maple syrup filled the air.

“Let's stop here first for a pancake breakfast.”

Amanda's mom pointed to a covered wagon with a long line-up of people, all in jeans, cowboy hats and western shirts. When they got to the front of the line, they noticed a fellow in a huge cowboy hat and a bigger smile flipping pancakes. Another man plunked two pancakes and two sausages on a paper plate. He placed a square of butter on each pancake and poured maple syrup over everything.

“Here you are young ladies. Enjoy,” he said as he handed them each a plastic knife and fork rolled up in a paper napkin.

“He put syrup on my sausages,” whispered Leah to Amanda.

“Don't worry. It'll be good.” They found a shady spot under a large maple tree where they sat on bales of hay and ate their breakfast.

“Yum, this is good,” said Leah as she wiped syrup off her chin.

With full tummies, Amanda's mom led the girls through the swelling crowd to a good viewing spot in front of the high-rise building where she worked. Chairs were set out with a sign that read:

RESERVED FOR D&R ACCOUNTING

“I feel so special,” said Leah.

“You should, you are our special guest.” Amanda gave her friend's arm a squeeze. “I'm so glad you came for a visit. We'll have so much fun.”

Just then a loud BOOM sounded the start of the parade. Amanda and Leah sat spellbound as marching bands in smart uniforms, fancy baton twirlers, cowboys and cowgirls wearing colourful sequinned shirts riding on decorated horses, funny floats and First Nations people wearing traditional feather headdresses passed by.

A clown stopped in front of the girls to hand out candies. He wasn't laughing though. In fact, Amanda thought he looked quite sad. His eyes glanced into the crowd as if searching for someone. He hitched up his baggy pants and an object fell on the ground.

Suddenly, the clown turned around and ran down the street in his oversized shoes. Children laughed as he almost tripped over his feet.

Amanda shouted after him, “Hey, you dropped something.” But he was too far away to hear.

She picked up the stone object, put it in her pocket and continued to watch the parade as a bagpipe band came by.

“I can't believe you have bagpipes over here too. My dad would be impressed. He loves them and used to play in a pipe band,” said Leah.

“I love them too,” said Amanda. “When they play
Amazing Grace
, I always cry.”

“Oh, you definitely would have cried when you heard my dad play. He was awful.”

Both girls giggled.

A beaming Stampede Princess wearing a tiara waved at them from her snow white horse.

* * *

Amanda remembered the stone later that night before she went to bed. She took the smooth flat rock out of her jeans pocket and rolled it over in her hand. It was a dark grey colour, about the size of a loonie. She noticed a faint mark on the stone in the shape of a V.

“I wonder what that means,” she mumbled.

She placed the rock on her book shelf and crawled into bed beside a jet-lagged Leah already asleep. Happy that her BFF was there with her, she soon fell asleep too.

Amanda's mom served toast at the breakfast bar the following morning. “Are you over your jet-lag, Leah?”

“Oh, yes, Mrs.—I mean Evelyn. I slept well last night.”

“It's too bad you missed Amanda's dad. He went into the office early. Hey, how would you like to go to a real ranch with real cowboys?”

“That would be so great. I've only seen ranches on the telly.”

“They have way cool horses at the ranch we're going to,” said Amanda. She stuffed the rest of the toast in her mouth and jumped off the stool, eager to get going.

Leaving the busy city behind, they drove past golden fields of wheat and through rolling green hills towards the snow capped Rocky Mountains in the distance.

“These are called The Porcupine Hills,” said Amanda.

“You do have funny names for places,” replied Leah.

“There it is.” Amanda pointed to words burnt into a slice of wood that read:

BAR U RANCH

“Why do you think it is called the Bar U Ranch, Mom?” asked Amanda.

“I believe that's the brand the rancher puts on his cattle to prove they belong to his ranch.”

“Do they paint it on?” asked Leah.

“No. They use a hot branding iron to burn it onto the side of the calf. That way it stays on the animal for the rest of its life.”

Leah scrunched up her face. “Wouldn't that hurt?”

“Probably. But I don't think it hurts very much,” replied Mrs. Ross. “The skin of a cow is leather, so it's tough. Do you remember going to a branding party at your Uncle Jimmy's, Amanda?”

“It was a while ago. I remember I had fun with all my cousins, but I didn't like the burning smell. I felt sorry for the cute baby calves who were crying for their mommies.”

Mrs. Ross laughed. “You asked your Uncle if he would please stop hurting the calves. He assured you they would all be back with their mommies soon and would get a special treat for their supper.”

They drove through the gate, into the yard, past a large red barn, a log cabin and other red-painted buildings. Once parked, the girls jumped out of the car and were immediately greeted by an excited dog that barked and leapt up to lick their faces.

Leah backed away, but Amanda patted his head and said, “Hi there, Bud. How're you doing?”

“Bart, leave the young ladies alone.” A man, his face tanned and wrinkled, grinned and shook Mrs. Ross's hand. “Sorry about that, ma'am, he just loves to get company that's not cowpokes. Welcome to Bar U Ranch. My name's Andy and I'll show you around. This your first time to the ranch?”

“Yes,” said Amanda and Leah at the same time.

“She's from England and we wanted to show her a real ranch,” said Amanda.

“Well, you've come at the right time. The horses are being exercised right now. Follow me. You don't mind if Bart comes along, do you?”

“Not at all. I love dogs.” Amanda gave the grey-blue dog another pat on the head. “What kind of dog is Bart?”

“Bart here is a Blue Heeler. They come from Australia and are great cattle dogs. They need the wide outdoors. Best on a farm or ranch. Not good as house pets.”

They followed Andy to a corral where some horses were being led while others wandered around on their own. Two men in one corner of the corral appeared to argue. Amanda glanced in their direction just as one man punched the other in the face. A grey horse near them reared up his front legs. Andy ran over and caught the horse's reins. He spoke softly into his ear until the horse settled down, and then led him back to the large red barn.

Other men broke up the fight. The man who had been hit held his bleeding nose and limped past the girls. He looked directly at Amanda with the saddest eyes she had ever seen. Somehow the eyes looked familiar. She shivered in spite of the hot weather.

Leah continued to watch the magnificent horses walk around the corral. They sauntered very proud and alert, some mostly grey with specks of black while others black with white markings on their heads.

Andy came back from the barn a few minutes later and asked if they would like to go for a wagon ride and see the rest of the ranch.

“Oh, that would be super, wouldn't it Leah?”

The girls climbed up onto an open wagon and sat on bench seats, while Andy held the reins of two large salt and pepper grey horses. “Whoa, Dick. Stand still, Casey. Let everyone get on board before we get a move on.” Andy stroked their broad foreheads.

“You sure like your horses. What kind of horses are they?” asked Amanda.

“These are Percheron draft horses. They are the best work horses and extremely intelligent. They are known as the gentle giants of ranching. This ranch is well known for raising Percheron horses over the years.”

They toured the ranch at a leisurely pace. Andy pointed out various buildings and told stories about the ranch in the old days. They watched cowhands round up cattle, while Bart barked at the heels of the cows to keep them in line.

“Is that why they are called Blue Heeler dogs; because they are a bluish colour and they bark at the heels of the cows?” asked Amanda.

“You're darned right, young lady. That's exactly why they are called Blue Heelers.”

“And why is he called Bart?” asked Leah.

Andy laughed. “When my son was younger, he was a big fan of
The Simpsons
. When we got the puppy, he started calling him Bart and I guess it stuck. He sometimes has an attitude like Bart Simpson, but all in all he's a good dog.”

They returned to the cookhouse, where the friendly cook offered them milk and cookies fresh out of the oven.

“Why were those men fighting?” Amanda asked Andy as she sipped the cold milk.

“Oh, it was nothing. The hot weather lately tends to get the cowpokes a bit testy is all,” said Andy. “Upstairs is the bunkhouse where the ranch hands slept after a hard day on the trail. Take your time and look around.”

After finishing the refreshments, the girls and Amanda's mother checked out the rest of the cookhouse. One room contained two large round tables, fitted with lazy-susans in the middle.

“I guess this is where they ate,” commented Leah.

Upstairs they found rows of single beds. Some beds were neatly made with personal items stowed away underneath or stacked on shelves. Other beds were in a tangle and the person's items in disarray.

Amanda walked over to a bed covered with a red and grey striped wool blanket. On the bed was an open fiddle case, a cribbage board and a newspaper open to a page with an advertisement for a western jamboree. The bedside table consisted of a wooden apple crate on its side, the bottom lined with books. On top sat a picture of a pretty young girl with braids and a cowboy hat. Beside the picture rested a couple of smooth rocks. Amanda, tempted to pick them up and examine them, was startled by a man rushing up the stairs. She noticed he had bright red hair.

“Sorry to disturb you folks,” said the cowboy out of breath. “I forgot something here earlier.”

“We should be going anyway.” Amanda's mom steered the girls down the stairs.

As they were about to leave the cookhouse, Amanda noticed some rocks behind glass doors in a cupboard.

“Look at all these cool rocks. Were did you get them?”

“People who lived and worked here have been collecting them over the years. If you look closely, many are fossils. It's hard to imagine, but this entire area used to be a sea bed. You'll notice seashells embedded in some of the rocks,” explained Andy.

Amanda noticed a dark grey rock with interesting marks on it. “What do those marks mean?”

“I don't know. They may be pre-historic. Perhaps a form of written language.”

Amanda thought the marks looked similar to the one on the stone the clown dropped.