some make-believe in this bit
Nov. 9th, 2011 08:58 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
smackenzieFortunately, Mrs Godwin and Julia return home in time for James to introduce his sister to Sean and Liam, explain their game, and draw her into it. She is much more fun than William, if no more interested in being a damsel in distress. She takes over the role of Indian from Liam, fetches one of her hats for him, and ties him up with the belt from her dressing-gown so that Sean, as the cowboy, will have someone to rescue from James as the Mexican bandit.
Liam is very involved in his role at first, crying "Oh! Oh! Won't someone rescue me from this terrible Mexican bandit!" in a reasonable facsimile of a melodramatic actress voice, but soon he is yawning, and Julia suggests he take a nap in James' room.
"Julia's bed is perhaps bigger and more comfortable," James says, "but she sleeps in" - and here he lowers his voice - "a girl's room."
"He was playing the girl," Sean observes. Liam nods sleepily.
"Come with me," Julia says, picking him up and carrying him out of the nursery.
While she is gone, Sean and James decide to switch all the roles around so that by the time she returns, Sean has become the Indian, James is the cowboy, and Julia has to be the Mexican bandit.
"Perhaps we can get Aimee and Luisa to be the damsels in distress," James suggests.
Julia counters with "Perhaps Aimee would like to be a cowboy too," at which suggestion Sean looks dubious. But James gives it some thought. If Julia can play the Indian and the Mexican bandit, why could Aimee not be a cowboy if she wished?
"I will find them and ask," Julia says, leaving for a second time.
James and Sean look at each other.
"I want to be an Indian too," James says. Sean raises a hand, palm out, in imitation of photographs of the Indian greeting that they have seen.
"How," he says solemnly.
"How. Cow." James grins. Sean swats him on the arm. "Ow."
"How cow ow," Sean repeats, laughing. "Plow."
"Cow plow?" James scrunches up his face, thinking. "Now. Uh. Sow!"
"Sow cow!"
"A sow is a lady pig."
"I know that. We should have a war cry, if we both get to be Indians. We need a cry to strike terror into the hearts of Western settlers and enemy Indians and... and... buffalo."
James sits on the floor to consider this. Sometimes it is easier for him to think if he is sitting down. Sean makes a circuit of the nursery, apparently thinking as well, before plopping on the floor next to James. He crosses his legs Indian-style. James studies him for a minute, bends his legs in an approximation of Sean's position, loses his balance, and falls over onto his side. Sean laughs at him, and after a minute James laughs as well. He has to unfold himself to sit up and decides that perhaps he will sit with his legs in front of him, so as not to fall over again.
They are discussing how one might frighten a buffalo, and if the buffalo would stampede you if you frightened it enough, and how fast do they run and could you get out of its way in time, when Julia finally returns with Aimee and Luisa in tow. Aimee says she does not want to be a cowboy, thank you, she is a lady. Luisa consents to be the cowboy, while Julia is the Mexican bandit, and Aimee submits to letting herself be tied up with Julia's dressing-gown belt, so that she can be in distress and not escape before she can be rescued.
James and Sean dance around her yelling their war cry - Aimee looks suitably impressed but Luisa lets out a giggle before she manages to stifle it - until Julia tries to surround them, her fingers pointing at them in place of actual six-shooters.
"You are supposed to be the Mexican bandit," James tells her.
"I am," she says. "Mexicans carry six-shooters too. Now hand over your damsel before I shoot you both like the dastardly dogs you are."
"You must fight us for her!" Sean announces, pretending to draw an arrow.
"Bang! Bang!" Julia mock-shoots him twice and he clutches his heart and collapses onto the floor.
"I'm done for," he gasps at James. "Tell my squaw I loved her."
"If you have a squaw," Aimee asks reasonably, "why do you need a damsel?"
"Ransom," Julia says. "You are from a wealthy ranching family and your father will pay dearly for your safe return."
"You can be her father," James tells Sean, "now that you are dead as an Indian."
"I thought the cowboy was supposed to rescue the damsel in distress," Luisa says.
"He is in love with her. He does not know she was ransomed, or that her father is going to pay to get her back. She can be rescued by both."
Julia retrives a little drawstring purse to stand in for the bag of gold that the damsel's rancher father is going to use to pay her ransom, and when it comes time for the father - Sean - to rescue the damsel, he is interrupted by both the remaining Indian - James - and the cowboy - Luisa - and there is another battle, after which everyone is sprawled on the floor dead, including the damsel and (inexplicably) the Mexican bandit, who was not even around for the exchange of gold.
Aimee sits up first, untangles herself from the dressing-gown belt, and announces "You are all very silly and I am going to play with my dolls." She stands and walks out with remarkable dignity for a nine-year-old. A minute later she is back, calling "Luisa... come play with me" through the doorway. Luisa sits up, rearranging her clothes in the process, and follows the voice.
"Liam will be sorry he missed that," Sean says. He is still lying on his back, where he fell when James pretended to shoot him dead.
"We can wake him up and tell him about it," James suggests. Sean sits up, grinning.
"He is in my room," Julia says. "Be quiet."
So James and Sean tiptoe out of the nursery and into Julia's room, where Liam is fast asleep on top of the covers on the bed. Before James can stop him, Sean jumps on the bed, yelling "Wake up, man!" Liam bolts awake, kicking Sean in surprise. Sean falls on top of him, the two of them wrestling and making a mess of Julia's bed. James is aghast. Even he is not allowed to jump on her bed, and he is her brother, and she lets him do anything.
"Stop!" he cries. "You are not allowed to jump on the bed!" Sean has Liam in a headlock and Liam is pounding on Sean's arm, but they both stop moving and stare at James. "Get off Julia's bed," he demands. He can hear his mother and Luisa and even Mrs O'Donnell in his head, scolding the brothers for messing up Julia's bed and scolding him for letting them.
Sean and Liam sheepishly climb off the bed. Liam even tries to rearrange the pillows.
"Sorry," he says. "But he should not have woken me up like that." He jabs his finger into Sean's ribs. Sean looks as if he might grab his brother in a headlock again, but any future chaos is thankfully stopped by Julia's appearance in the doorway.
"You missed an excellent Indian war cry," she says in Liam's direction.
"If you come back next Saturday we will do it again," James adds.
Julia gets them out of her room by suggesting they see if there is any cake left in the kitchen, for she is hungry and would like a snack. There is indeed some cake, but not much, so Julia cuts them all small slices and they eat sitting around the table in the kitchen, where Mrs Malcolm and Mrs O'Donnell and Mr Sewell usually eat. James is not used to eating in the kitchen. He feels as if he is doing something daring and unexpected.
Eventually Mrs O'Donnell is done for the day and takes Sean and Liam home, but not before James manages to extract a promise from her that she will bring them back next Saturday if Mrs Godwin says it is ok. The rain has not let up, but Mrs O'Donnell has a giant umbrella and she and her sons have rubber boots, but James still offers Mr Sewell to drive them home.
"He has taken Momma to see a friend of hers," Julia says. Liam and Sean, who perked up at the thought of being driven home, now look disappointed. "Perhaps next week, though."
"Yes, next week," Sean says. "Goodbye."
"Sean," Mrs O'Donnell says, in a prompting tone of voice that James recognizes as meaning "Remember your manners".
"I had a very nice time today," he continues, his voice oddly formal. "Thank you for inviting us over."
"It was Ma's idea," Liam tells him, but he thanks James anyway.
Mrs O'Donnell hustles them out of the house and into the rain. James watches them go, then looks up at Julia.
"Do you think Momma will let us take them to the movie theater next Saturday?" he asks.
Julia ruffles his hair. "When she gets home, you will ask. But she and Papa are going to a dinner party tonight, so you must ask quickly. But she was in a good mood earlier, so perhaps she will be more inclined to say yes."
"What did you do today?"
"Momma and I? Shopping. A great deal of shopping." She does not look entirely enthusiastic about this. "Hats and gloves and new boots and dresses and new stockings and there were so many clothes, for both of us. I think next weekend she will take Con instead." Julia grins as if she and James are now sharing a joke, and James can just imagine his impatient, occasionally angry brother forced to shop for clothes with his mother.
It seems mean to find such a thing amusing, but James does. He feels a bit sorry for Con, in fact - he would not want to spend a day trying on clothes and hats and boots and gloves, even if it did mean he could spend the day alone with his kind, beautiful momma.
words: 1742
total words: 13,978
quickie research: none for this bit
Liam is very involved in his role at first, crying "Oh! Oh! Won't someone rescue me from this terrible Mexican bandit!" in a reasonable facsimile of a melodramatic actress voice, but soon he is yawning, and Julia suggests he take a nap in James' room.
"Julia's bed is perhaps bigger and more comfortable," James says, "but she sleeps in" - and here he lowers his voice - "a girl's room."
"He was playing the girl," Sean observes. Liam nods sleepily.
"Come with me," Julia says, picking him up and carrying him out of the nursery.
While she is gone, Sean and James decide to switch all the roles around so that by the time she returns, Sean has become the Indian, James is the cowboy, and Julia has to be the Mexican bandit.
"Perhaps we can get Aimee and Luisa to be the damsels in distress," James suggests.
Julia counters with "Perhaps Aimee would like to be a cowboy too," at which suggestion Sean looks dubious. But James gives it some thought. If Julia can play the Indian and the Mexican bandit, why could Aimee not be a cowboy if she wished?
"I will find them and ask," Julia says, leaving for a second time.
James and Sean look at each other.
"I want to be an Indian too," James says. Sean raises a hand, palm out, in imitation of photographs of the Indian greeting that they have seen.
"How," he says solemnly.
"How. Cow." James grins. Sean swats him on the arm. "Ow."
"How cow ow," Sean repeats, laughing. "Plow."
"Cow plow?" James scrunches up his face, thinking. "Now. Uh. Sow!"
"Sow cow!"
"A sow is a lady pig."
"I know that. We should have a war cry, if we both get to be Indians. We need a cry to strike terror into the hearts of Western settlers and enemy Indians and... and... buffalo."
James sits on the floor to consider this. Sometimes it is easier for him to think if he is sitting down. Sean makes a circuit of the nursery, apparently thinking as well, before plopping on the floor next to James. He crosses his legs Indian-style. James studies him for a minute, bends his legs in an approximation of Sean's position, loses his balance, and falls over onto his side. Sean laughs at him, and after a minute James laughs as well. He has to unfold himself to sit up and decides that perhaps he will sit with his legs in front of him, so as not to fall over again.
They are discussing how one might frighten a buffalo, and if the buffalo would stampede you if you frightened it enough, and how fast do they run and could you get out of its way in time, when Julia finally returns with Aimee and Luisa in tow. Aimee says she does not want to be a cowboy, thank you, she is a lady. Luisa consents to be the cowboy, while Julia is the Mexican bandit, and Aimee submits to letting herself be tied up with Julia's dressing-gown belt, so that she can be in distress and not escape before she can be rescued.
James and Sean dance around her yelling their war cry - Aimee looks suitably impressed but Luisa lets out a giggle before she manages to stifle it - until Julia tries to surround them, her fingers pointing at them in place of actual six-shooters.
"You are supposed to be the Mexican bandit," James tells her.
"I am," she says. "Mexicans carry six-shooters too. Now hand over your damsel before I shoot you both like the dastardly dogs you are."
"You must fight us for her!" Sean announces, pretending to draw an arrow.
"Bang! Bang!" Julia mock-shoots him twice and he clutches his heart and collapses onto the floor.
"I'm done for," he gasps at James. "Tell my squaw I loved her."
"If you have a squaw," Aimee asks reasonably, "why do you need a damsel?"
"Ransom," Julia says. "You are from a wealthy ranching family and your father will pay dearly for your safe return."
"You can be her father," James tells Sean, "now that you are dead as an Indian."
"I thought the cowboy was supposed to rescue the damsel in distress," Luisa says.
"He is in love with her. He does not know she was ransomed, or that her father is going to pay to get her back. She can be rescued by both."
Julia retrives a little drawstring purse to stand in for the bag of gold that the damsel's rancher father is going to use to pay her ransom, and when it comes time for the father - Sean - to rescue the damsel, he is interrupted by both the remaining Indian - James - and the cowboy - Luisa - and there is another battle, after which everyone is sprawled on the floor dead, including the damsel and (inexplicably) the Mexican bandit, who was not even around for the exchange of gold.
Aimee sits up first, untangles herself from the dressing-gown belt, and announces "You are all very silly and I am going to play with my dolls." She stands and walks out with remarkable dignity for a nine-year-old. A minute later she is back, calling "Luisa... come play with me" through the doorway. Luisa sits up, rearranging her clothes in the process, and follows the voice.
"Liam will be sorry he missed that," Sean says. He is still lying on his back, where he fell when James pretended to shoot him dead.
"We can wake him up and tell him about it," James suggests. Sean sits up, grinning.
"He is in my room," Julia says. "Be quiet."
So James and Sean tiptoe out of the nursery and into Julia's room, where Liam is fast asleep on top of the covers on the bed. Before James can stop him, Sean jumps on the bed, yelling "Wake up, man!" Liam bolts awake, kicking Sean in surprise. Sean falls on top of him, the two of them wrestling and making a mess of Julia's bed. James is aghast. Even he is not allowed to jump on her bed, and he is her brother, and she lets him do anything.
"Stop!" he cries. "You are not allowed to jump on the bed!" Sean has Liam in a headlock and Liam is pounding on Sean's arm, but they both stop moving and stare at James. "Get off Julia's bed," he demands. He can hear his mother and Luisa and even Mrs O'Donnell in his head, scolding the brothers for messing up Julia's bed and scolding him for letting them.
Sean and Liam sheepishly climb off the bed. Liam even tries to rearrange the pillows.
"Sorry," he says. "But he should not have woken me up like that." He jabs his finger into Sean's ribs. Sean looks as if he might grab his brother in a headlock again, but any future chaos is thankfully stopped by Julia's appearance in the doorway.
"You missed an excellent Indian war cry," she says in Liam's direction.
"If you come back next Saturday we will do it again," James adds.
Julia gets them out of her room by suggesting they see if there is any cake left in the kitchen, for she is hungry and would like a snack. There is indeed some cake, but not much, so Julia cuts them all small slices and they eat sitting around the table in the kitchen, where Mrs Malcolm and Mrs O'Donnell and Mr Sewell usually eat. James is not used to eating in the kitchen. He feels as if he is doing something daring and unexpected.
Eventually Mrs O'Donnell is done for the day and takes Sean and Liam home, but not before James manages to extract a promise from her that she will bring them back next Saturday if Mrs Godwin says it is ok. The rain has not let up, but Mrs O'Donnell has a giant umbrella and she and her sons have rubber boots, but James still offers Mr Sewell to drive them home.
"He has taken Momma to see a friend of hers," Julia says. Liam and Sean, who perked up at the thought of being driven home, now look disappointed. "Perhaps next week, though."
"Yes, next week," Sean says. "Goodbye."
"Sean," Mrs O'Donnell says, in a prompting tone of voice that James recognizes as meaning "Remember your manners".
"I had a very nice time today," he continues, his voice oddly formal. "Thank you for inviting us over."
"It was Ma's idea," Liam tells him, but he thanks James anyway.
Mrs O'Donnell hustles them out of the house and into the rain. James watches them go, then looks up at Julia.
"Do you think Momma will let us take them to the movie theater next Saturday?" he asks.
Julia ruffles his hair. "When she gets home, you will ask. But she and Papa are going to a dinner party tonight, so you must ask quickly. But she was in a good mood earlier, so perhaps she will be more inclined to say yes."
"What did you do today?"
"Momma and I? Shopping. A great deal of shopping." She does not look entirely enthusiastic about this. "Hats and gloves and new boots and dresses and new stockings and there were so many clothes, for both of us. I think next weekend she will take Con instead." Julia grins as if she and James are now sharing a joke, and James can just imagine his impatient, occasionally angry brother forced to shop for clothes with his mother.
It seems mean to find such a thing amusing, but James does. He feels a bit sorry for Con, in fact - he would not want to spend a day trying on clothes and hats and boots and gloves, even if it did mean he could spend the day alone with his kind, beautiful momma.
words: 1742
total words: 13,978
quickie research: none for this bit
