Mays was driving down the road in her Bug and stopped. ''Hey, girl need a ride.'' Yeah, I sure do'' ''Well climb in'', and Mays reach over and unlatched the door and opened it for Gypsy. Gypsy climbed in and sat down comfortably. The car sat well and the radio was on the kind of music she liked.
The car smelled good of sweet perfume very lightly though and Mays was a sweet woman who to Gypsy was pleasant and just the same as hanging with a girl her age. They weren't tremendously different in age just by eight years was all.
It was a hot summer day in July and around noon. Mays had on a bright long dress that was flowing and had tinges of lace around the bottom of the dress in ruffles and around the bodice, it was white with little yellow flowers which looked to be either buttercups or dandelions. May loved flowers and had planted them all around her house.
They were riding down the road when Mays said would you like to have lunch with me and Tom he's coming over later after the service. I'm serving fresh veggies from the garden and fried chicken. I've got a special treat too I made using fresh fruit peaches mostly. '' Yeah, I'll stay and eat with you all. I'm not sure what mamas up to I figure her and daddy will head off on a picnic and fish this evening they do a lot. My grandparents usually have dinner with their neighbors they grew up with them and have always been good friends.
We've all been fairly close never really a crossword has ever been said. Although my parents don't approve of a lot of things I do like the clothes I sometimes wear or the music I listen too.
My grandparents say that every living thing has a choice to be made and in order to decide what that choice is going to be or the path were going to take in life we have to discover the things that make us who we are.''
''Gypsy there right, you have the control over your own fate. You know your destination whether it's the right one or the wrong one and you have the power to choose your own fate. Take it girl run with it and have no regrets. Do what you feel is right at the moment it comes to you and then always remember the best things in life come free. Yet everything has a price although sometimes hidden.''
As they neared Mays house Gypsy looked at it in the manner she always did and was delighted at the sight of it.
It was a pleasant white two story house with dark green shutters and beautiful flowers surrounding it. There were boxwoods near the entrance out front they were perfectly shaped in rectangles and circles. Roses climbed the porch rails and were a rainbow of color.
Mays pulled into the driveway and parked the vehicle. They got out and walked up on the porch. A beautiful quilted white porch swing hung on the right side of the porch and matching rockers were on each side of the door. Wind chimes hung up on the porch. The floor was a light bluish green.
They entered the house and Mays said 'make yourself at home''.
Gypsy did she sat down on the sofa. Mays home was so inviting. She could smell the smell of incense and the freshly lit candles.
On the mantle was a glass vase of freshly picked flowers mostly daffodils. The furniture was quaint and homey. Mays had a thing for saving everything and being thrifty. She was handy with her hands and could sew beautifully. Her curtains were handmade and very beautiful.
Her home had a Victorian air to perhaps lingering on from the place she had originated from. The middle of the living room floor had an antique Persian rug. Her fireplace had been designed and made out of rock from a local quarry by the owner before her.
Almost all the fixtures were original to the house. On the chairs were knitted throws she had made and some given to her by her mother. Everything was pieced together to her liking it was a unique look in that everything was beautiful and looked like it went together although it didn't go together.
The colors were bright and intertwined with light colors. Some things were bold and others light and airy.
Mays was well known for her belief that another man's treasure used to be someone else's junk.
Life's a mystery you never know what you'll find was her saying. May was a bit of an eclectic lady with an unordinary sense of taste that for the ones that knew her best was rather pleasing and comforting.
Some questioned her morals as on Sundays she didn't go to church instead she sat at home burning incense and her favorite vanilla candles. She made the candles herself.
She would turn on the small turntable by her bed and open up all the windows in the house when it was warm and sunny outside. Then she would proceed to gently and softly dance around the room. She would even sing. Later she would sit down upon her bed or next to the window and closed her eyes imagining all the things in life she wanted and the dreams she could have. She would listen to the birds and take in all the other sounds. Sometimes she would get in her car and take a drive mostly just around town. Sometimes she would drive farther.
She loved adventure and all the thrills it gave her. Gypsy knew this cause often on Sundays she would walk to Mays house and catch her dancing and all her other routines.
The time passed rather slowly and soon the warm good delicious smell of food entered the room. Then she heard '' Foods ready, Tom will be here any minute.''
Then just as she had predicted a car pulled up in the drive and then turned off. Tom slammed the door and made his way up the steps. He knocked on the door and May opened up the door. '' Hey babe'', missed you he said then he kissed her and was lead in the door. '' Man, something sure smells good, what is it'' '' Fried chicken and veggies'' ''Yum, sounds good, you know what they say you can tell a preacher cause they always like fried chicken'' '' Whatever floats your boat, honey. What do you say we get out our food and all of us sat in here in the living room and watch whatever's on the TV set? Then we can either go fishing in the catfish pond up on the hill or we can ride horses. Gypsy, you can pick I'll let you have the decision since you're the guest of the evening.''
''Why don't we do both'' '' That works fine with me. What about you Tom'' '' It's good with me too. It's been awhile since I last rode.'' Well let you ride Bart and we will take Magic and Angel.'' ''Bart's cool with me he's a cool man to me I can handle him and honestly, I think he's the flashiest one of them all. Magic was Angel's mom and they had been inseparable since Angel was born so no one had ever bothered to separate them and now that thought was unthinkable.
Bart was a solid white Medicine Hat gelding with bright blue eyes and he had a fire in his eyes and spunk in his step. He wasn't wild or anything just full of life and fire. He came off the New Mexico plains and was a full blooded mustang. Magic and Angel were thoroughbreds. Angel had been bred in Kentucky and had cost a hefty fee which was paid by Mays father who was a huge fan of thoroughbred racing.
He even owned a few horses of his own. Even though he was a gentleman he was a kind good hearted man.He had salt and pepper hair trimmed neatly and a little mustache and a tad of stubble and always wore dress pants a plaid shirt or other dress shirt and sometimes a leather vest and he wore a dressy forties type hat upon his head and he had dark green eyes.
Gypsy had met him once when he was in from Maine and her and Mays went out to dinner with him. They all had burgers and fries. The local diner made the best. He paid for it and even bought them all a chocolate milkshake a piece. Then he took them both to a movie he was like another pappaw to Gypsy and she loved him dearly just as Mays was like the sister she never had.
Her eldest brother was off fighting in Vietnam he often sent her letters and once sent her back a wooden peace sign necklace suspended on a metal chain he had made. She wore the necklace everywhere rarely ever taking it off.
He meant the world to Gypsy and she knew that she meant the world to him also. Before he left he bought her a baby bunny from the local feed store and gave it to her. She named the bunny Petals.
Petals was a fluffy little bunny with long ears and was dark brown and white. When her brother sent her letters he rarely ever talked about any of his feelings but he did mention once that war is a sad thing for even a soldier to go through.
After dinner, Mays walked out with them to a small white barn with three or four stalls. Behind the barn was a field and each of the stalls had a door on the outside that opened to let the horses out. May left it open and they would come and go as they pleased.
She whistled and they came up to them. ''Grab gently a hold of the side of the halter and don't let your hand get caught and come with me.'' They followed May to the inside of the barn were they saddled each horse and climbed aboard each one. ''Now we ride'', Gypsy followed and Tom and May rode side by side. ''Well ride up the mountain through the woods till we reach the catfish pond. Then we can swim if you all like'' ''It's fine with me'' ''
So they rode and finally reach the fish pond. They got off the horses and turned them into a field on the other side that belonged to May too. ''Now how to swim we probably don't have bathing suits. We will have to just do then'' The day was hot and kind of muggy typical I guess for a southern day. They took off the top layers of clothing to reveal a pair of shorts and slips and underclothes for the girls.
There the same as a bathing suit, not much difference. The water was crisp and clear and feed off a mountain stream. They waded in not too deep just enough to be fairly submerged. It felt good heavenly almost. Gypsy and Mays sat in the water soaking in the coolness of it the warmth of the day and the shade from the tall old oak above them.
There was moss underneath it and it towered tall almost looking like it was never ending it truly was a giant possibly the biggest one around the place. Names had been carved in its trunk and in the middle, she could see Tom and Mays initials in a tiny heart he had surely carved.
Gypsy longed for someone to love her that way. Maybe someday she would find somebody who would love her and cherish her. Someone who would allow her to grow into the women she so desperately wanted to be that believed and felt the same way about things just like she did.
She looked over Mays had her shoulder laying on Toms and every now and then he would steal a little kiss. Was that what love was.
Gypsy had never known love and all the boys that were into her were either one of two things so full of themselves that the only vibe she got from them was annoying and so much like the ones she had grown up with. She craved different. A guy that was more free more loving someone who was more then she had ever known.
As they day lingered she forgot that they had forgotten to fish. Finally, they got out. Tom picked May up and laid her on the bare ground. Gypsy walked out and sat next to them. It was getting up in the day. They laid around awhile longer. Then decided to get the horses and head back home.
They got dressed saddled up Angel, Magic, and Bart. They then rode back to Mays were they put the horses up. Then it was around five o clock so they had leftovers and sat around talking. Then when dusk came they sat out on the porch and watched lightning bugs quietly listening to the sound of the crickets. ''What sweet music they make, Gypsy thought. There so innocent too like little flashlights seeking to light up someone's day.
She thought of the things throughout history that had been used to light up someone's way even the moon had been used. Later they roasted marshmallows and then Tom took Gypsy home.
That night she thought about her dreams and aspirations. One thing she thought was I want to fall in love and not just with anybody. I want to be loved and I want somebody who's a lot like me only a little bit more of a mystery and who is down to earth and introduces me to things that I've never seen before.
She fell asleep thinking about the day and how it had been a lazy relaxing sunny Sunday. The next morning she awoke to the sweet smell of bacon, syrup, pancakes, and eggs.
It was Monday an ever typical Monday. The beginning of the week always seemed to feel the worst because you rest and are lazy all weekend usually then you get up and you got to do it again. Every weeks kinda like de ja vo. Sometimes different things happen buts it's always tossed in with a little bit different routine. Mixing things up is always good it adds variety and sometimes a little bit of spice. Spice is always a nice little touch in life.
Gypsy sleepily wandered down the stairs even though she was still in her pj's. On the table was the food sat out and a pitcher of milk and orange juice. A jar of honey filled with honeycomb graced the table in the middle was a vase of freshly picked flowers that look an awful lot like bluebells and a white lace tablecloth sat underneath.
Her mother had a thing for special touches her attitude was a little bit of nice luxury never hurt anything or anybody. She always would say it's the simplest things in life that sat the mind free and she was always telling Gypsy and the other children to follow their hearts, minds, and dreams. To let those things take them were they want to go. Gypsy loved her mother with all her heart. Prudence showed her things and taught her the ways of the world she gave her dreams and taught her things.
They would spend time together and rarely had a wrong word although Gypsy got a tad aggravated sometimes when it came to certain issues that they held different views on in some areas but they made up for it in others. Prudence was a typical housewife she tended to every need sometimes overlooking her own.
This bugged Gypsy who felt that what people thought was the stereotypical way to live were kinda crazy and going about things wrong. They tended to embrace reality. Why not think outside the box and do something no one else has done.