Adventures of Pudge

WYOMING SUMMER: PART V

A week after his pack trip/cattle drive with Jack Drew’s family Pudge answered the phone and discovered it was Jack

Drew calling. “Hi, Pudge, I called to invite you and your family to a cook-out we’re having this Sunday. If your mom or dad

are home I’d like to talk with one of them.”

“Sure,” said Pudge. “How’s Jean’s ankle?’ Pudge was referring to an ankle injury Jean had sustained during the cattle

drive.

“As good as new,” replied Jack. “She’s the one who asked me to invite your family.” Remembering the incident Pudge

again blushed. “Hold on, Jack, I’ll get my mom.” All the arrangements were made and as Cliff’s family would be going also

Mrs..Hammond called Polly Drew, Cliff’s mother, and arranged for them to drive there together. That way Polly wouldn’t need

to give Mrs. Hammond the complicated directions for getting to Jack’s ranch in Wirth.

“Bring your swimsuit,” Polly suggested. “There’s a good swimming hole on their creek.”

When Sunday arrived the Hammonds piled into their station wagon and drove to Cliff’s house. From there they formed a

two car caravan, with Chuck leading the way. After arriving at their hosts’ house Pudge introduced his parents to Jack and

Penny Drew and their two children. When it came time to introduce Jean he again turned red and stammered her name,

“Th-this is J-jean.”

Jack took them on a tour of the ranch buildings and showed them the fenced pasture where the horses were kept.

Immediately Pudge spotted Puffer, the horse he rode on the cattle drive, and ran her direction, calling her name. Puffer paid

no attention until Pudge was about ten feet from her; then, with a flick of her tail, moved away another ten feet.

“So much for friendship,” Pudge exclaimed. “Did you forget me already?”

Jean, who had followed him, commented, “Don’t rush her. If you walk up slowly with your hand out you’ll soon be friends

again.”

Pudge followed her advice and was soon nuzzling and being nuzzled by Puffer.

“I think the family is ready to go swimming,” Jean told Pudge. “I hope you brought your bathing suit.”

“Why, I didn’t need one last time I went swimming,” he replied. Then, once again, Pudge blushed and when he saw Jean

blushing too, apologized. “I’m sorry, I was only kidding.”

Jean looked at him with a bemused look on her face and then burst into laughter. Soon, Pudge was laughing too. When

they walked back to join their parents they were still giggling.

Both sets of parents looked, first at Jean and Pudge, then at each other and raised their eyebrows.

“Did someone say something funny?” asked Pudge’s dad.

“A private joke, Dad,” commented Pudge. Then immediately he and Jean started laughing again, so hard their eyes

watered.

This again caused the parents to look at each other and then nod their heads slowly to show they understood.

The swimming hole in the creek was a short distance away so everyone piled onto the seat or into the back of a pickup

and rode there. It turned out to be a wide spot in the creek that Jack had widened and deepened with his tractor so that now

the swimming section was about 40 feet long and 20 feet wide.

A diving board was set up at one end and a picnic table stood under the shade of several large cottonwood trees at the

other end. Near the table stood a barbecue that had a spit on which a large shoulder of meat was cooking over a hot bed of

coals.

“Meat won’t be ready for an hour so why doesn’t everyone take a swim,” Jack suggested.

Two changing sheds stood beyond the diving board. The women went into one and the men the other to change into

their swimsuits. Pudge and Cliff were the first ones in the water and were soon splashing each other, with Cliff teasing

Pudge about liking Jean. When the others joined them in the creek the splashing subsided. “I’ll get you later,” cried Pudge.

Jean and her brother Ralph spent most of their time diving off the diving board. Pudge noticed that they were both

excellent divers and swimmers. As with Cliff, the Drews all seemed to be good athletes. Pudge was somewhat chagrined

that Jean could do better than he could at both swimming and diving.

After an hour of water play Penny called out that everything was ready to eat. It was a sumptuous meal. Large portions

of beef were served along with a tossed salad and delicious, freshly picked ears of corn. This was followed by large slices

of water-melon and all of it washed down with iced tea and home made root beer.

Pudge couldn’t remember the last time he had stuffed himself so full. Everyone decided to rest a while and let the meal

digest before going back into the water.

Pudge noticed that Jack Drew had fallen asleep under one of the cottonwood trees. He edged over to where Jean was

sitting and whispered to her, “Want to help me play a trick on your dad?”

Jean looked at him as if he had gone out of his mind and then asked, “What kind of trick?”

“I just want to get even with him for throwing me in the creek last week. I thought that if we could find a bucket we could

throw water on him. Do you think he would get mad?”

“Not mad, but he would get even in some way,” she replied. “But it sounds like fun, and I know where there’s a bucket.”

With this she took Pudge’s hand and led him to the women’s change room. “There’s a bucket inside we use to wash out the

change rooms when they get too sandy. Wait here and I’ll get it.”

When she emerged with the bucket Pudge took it from her and together they walked quietly to the swimming hole. Here,

Pudge filled the bucket with water and they stole softly over to where Jack was peacefully snoring. With a whoop and a holler

Pudge threw the water on Jack. Immediately, Jack woke up and jumped to his feet, gasping and looking around him. There

was no doubt who the culprit was, Pudge was standing there with a big grin on his face holding the empty bucket.

With a roar like an angry lion Jack reached for Pudge and missed. Then, a chase began, with the fleetfooted Pudge

easily evading Jack’s grasp. When Jack realized he couldn’t catch Pudge he sat down next to the creek and pretended to

cry.

Another period of swimming followed. During this time Pudge kept an eye on Jack, in case Jack had any ideas. About

an hour later Pudge’s dad called and said it was time for them to be heading home. Pudge headed for the change room to

change into his clothes. A few minutes after he entered, while he was drying himself with a towel, Ralph entered, said “Hi”

and immediately left again. As soon as Ralph left Pudge noticed that all his clothes, including his swim suit, were missing.

Then, the reason for Ralph’s quick entrance and departure dawned on him. Jack had put him up to it. Pudge was chagrined;

what was he going to do now? Pudge began pounding on the door, hoping to get someone’s attention. Soon he heard

steps outside and Jean’s voice asking, “Is something wrong in there? Is that Pudge?”

Embarrassed, Pudge mumbled, “Someone stole my clothes. Find my dad for me.”

Jean’s response was, “I can’t hear you; you’ll have to open the door and tell me what you want.”

When Pudge heard this he knew he had been had. All of Jack’s family had conspired to play this trick on him. “I’ll show

them,” Pudge said to himself. With that, he opened the door and walked out, naked except for the towel he had draped

around his waist. When Jean saw him she gave a mock scream and ran back to where her dad was standing, laughing.

Pudge shook his fist at Jack and then, ,nonchalantly, walked to the back of the pickup and climbed in. “Let’s go, Dad,” he

called.

“They’re on the front seat,” Jean called to him.

Pudge scrambled to the front seat of the pickup to get his clothes, returned to the change room to put them on and again

called, “Let’s go, Dad.” At that the entire group started laughing, Pudge included.

On their way back home that evening Pudge and his parents had a long conver- sation about the day and the people they

had been with. “I enjoy their company; they’re good people,” Mr. Hammond said. “It’s too bad the summer’s almost over. I

guess you’ll miss them when we leave, eh Pudge?”

“I wish we could stay here,” Pudge responded. “I like all of them.”

“Especially Jean,” said his dad. At which Pudge blushed and then mumbled.

“Especially Jean.”