Henry had half way decided to buy some Belgian horses again. The Governor had told him he was down to two possible appointees regarding Henry's replacement so Henry knew he'd be free from his job in a few weeks. He'd have the time and he loved the horses and the shows with Marty along would be fun again.
Henry had not sold the rigs. He hadn't looked at them for years but they should still be in good shape - he'd paid enough for them. He knew that Reind occasionally used the horse barn for storage so if anything were wrong with any of the five rigs, Henry would have been told. He did, however, think he ought to look for himself.
As he approached the barn, he heard a whinny. He figured he knew what he'd find and he was right. A very proud, happy, solicitous Larry was there, currying his new, very handsome Tennessee Walker mare. "Damn", he thought, "Reind's going to spoil that boy rotten."
"Look what I got, Uncle Henry."
"She's good looking. What's her name?"
"I haven't thought of one yet. Ain't she a beauty? I'd name her Black Beauty but that would be dumb. It would be like stealing a name."
"She is nice looking. How old is she?"
"Three. Dad's got papers on her. He said I might be able to make some money from her foals. She's got a name on those papers but I don't remember what it was and I didn't like it. I'll think up a good name for her.
"Mom had a fit. She says Dad is spoiling me." With a kind of sheepish grin Larry added, "He is but I like it. I didn't get everything I wanted. I wanted a motorcycle but Mom put her foot down. She said no son of hers was going to have a motorcycle as long as he put his feet under her table. I don't care. I love this horse."
Larry almost teared-up. "I'm so lucky. I got the best Mom and Dad in the world. Even if they never bought me nothin', they'd still be the best."
"Maybe you are lucky but we're lucky to have a boy like you on Grünfelder."
Larry gave Henry a hug. "Why don't you buy Marty a pony?"
"Do I have a choice? There'd be no living with him now that you have a horse. Marty and I will go pony shopping this weekend."
"Dad said I had to muck out the stable and feed and groom my horse. I can feed and groom Marty's pony when he ain't here."
"Well, I'm sure he'll appreciate that. Help me take these covers off these rigs."
"What these for."
"They're show rigs. It ain't fair for you and Marty to have horses and not me." Henry joked. I'm going to buy me some horses too."
"I know you're kiddin' 'cause that ain't the way you talk. You ain't gonna buy no horses."
"Yes, I am and my horses will be bigger than your horse." Henry was enjoying acting like a kid. He was excited - both about having Belgians again and at the thought of Marty's reaction at getting a pony. It was good to get excited and playful about things again.
Larry stroked his horse's neck and teased, "They might be bigger but they won't be as good".
Henry grabbed the boy and began to tickle him. Larry giggled and Henry forgot that he was sixty-seven. He was a kid again and he was having fun.
Since Larry had a black horse, Marty thought he had to have a black pony. He abandoned that thought, however, when that little, four-year-old, paint Shetland gelding nuzzled him. The pony had been owned by a family with four children whose father had been transferred to LA. His name was Scout - the father's idea because he looked like the horse Tonto rode. Even the promise of another pony and some horses for the older children once they settled in California did not quell the torrent of tears from that quartet of six to fourteen year olds as their pet and friend was loaded into the trailer. Marty even felt sad. "We ain't stealing their pony, are we?"
"Marty!"
"Oh, ya - we're not stealing their pony are we?"
"No, I paid them for it and they will get another pony but think about it. Now that he's yours, how would you feel if you had to move and give him up?"
"Oh, ya."
To placate a worrying Betje and a doting Henry, both boys took riding lessons but within two weeks were very adept - adept enough that each set of "parents" felt confident enough to let the boys ride anywhere they wanted as long as they stayed on Grünfelder. Of course, both knew by now that you don't go into the fields where the cows were grazing and you don't chase calves but they had the woods and along the creek and three thousand acres had many wonderfully interesting places for these two intrepid, mounted explorers. Anyway, it was a lot more fun fighting Indians when you had a horse like a real cowboy.
Fritz and Corky, Larry's Jack Russell, haltingly accepted these new intruders into the attention they got but it wasn't long before they understood that the horses couldn't sleep in the boy's beds at night and gave tacit consent to the horses' existence.
Marty had not forgotten his calf, although that calf weighed almost three hundred pounds by now. Marty had a more complete understanding of biology since his chats with Sarah Collins and decided to play the role of matchmaker. He suggested to Larry that maybe LeAnn and Ferdinand could make a baby and that that calf could be both of theirs. Marty had come to know that he loved Larry like a brother and the idea of sharing something with his "brother" appealed to him. Marty had not been told that minor surgery had deprived Ferdinand of any inclination toward fatherhood. A bull for a pet - no way. Uncle Henry loved his Little Bird too much to put him in that kind of possible danger. A steer for a pet was reasonable.
Joseph T. Brenner replaced Henry Schmidt as judge of the Jefferson County Circuit Court on August first. Henry was pleased with the choice. Joe had practiced before Henry and Henry respected his knowledge and demeanor. Since Henry had offered to serve as a temporary replacement occasionally, it pleased him to know that he would be working with a competent judge and an honorable man.
Henry and Marty left August fourth on "vacation" and some vacation it was. They flew first to Fairbanks and saw just enough of Alaska to know that next year they had to come back and spend a month. Wolf, elk, moose, bear, huge fish and Denali - a ten day sustained Marty Moment. It's a wonder the boy didn't have a stroke.
They came on down to Glacier, did Yellowstone and Yosemite, had to skip the Grand Canyon - not enough time - but did a quick one day at the Arches. Too much planned for too short a time. They came home knowing exactly what they would be doing all of next summer.
Henry picked Marty up after the first day of school. It was typical Marty. Excitement! David Marshall was still in his class but Adonis Jackson wasn't. He was in Mr. Platt's room but Marty and David were lucky. They got Miss Williams. Everybody said that she was really, really, really, really, really neat. Fourth graders got to take band. Could Marty play a trumpet?
Henry would have bought the boy a Bach 180S37 Silver Plated Stradivarius Bb Trumpet. $1,500.00 didn't seem too much to spend on his Little Bird but - he had an attack of common sense and ended up with a $300.00 student Besson. Nine-year-old boys don't understand the number 1,500 so handling the instrument delicately was only slightly in the realm of possibility. Anyway, what if the boy changed his mind and decided on the piccolo or the tuba or, God help us, a saxophone next week.
Henry was more than a little surprised at himself. He had never been a spendthrift and despised the ostentatious. But his Little Bird had had nothing and it was so easy to give him more than was actually good for the boy. Henry had to realize that even though his Little Bird deserved the best of everything; overly lavish spending on the boy was setting a very bad example.