Larabee was walking down the boardwalk when he thought he'd heard
something coming from the alleyway. He stopped and cocked his head, not
certain if he had really heard anything. It was silent, so he started
to go on his way again, but just as he stepped up the one step, he froze
again. He knew he heard something that time.
Chris slowly and silently made his way down the alley, hugging the
wall. He drew his gun, just in case .... you could never be too careful
and he couldn't see very well as the sun already began to set. He was
halfway to the back of the long alley when the voices became more distinctive.
He halted himself so he could concentrate on the whispered conversation.
"Wait. Mr. Wilmington ...... I'm afraid ........" It was Ezra, thought
Chris, and it almost sounds like he's whimpering.
"Awww, Ezra!" interrupted Buck softly, "There's no reason to be afraid.
Just be still and ol' Buck'll take care of everything." It sounded so
intimate.
Then it was silent again. Chris was shocked, and a little embarrassed.
He couldn't believe what he was hearing, but he was hearing it. His discomfort
deepened when he could hear a gentle grunt, and then another, coming
from the direction of his two friends.
"Buck, please ........... ", Ezra begged quietly.
"Ezra, I'm almost there, just quit fidgeting and I can do this."
"Please be quick, Mr. Wilmington. If anyone ever discovered us, I
would most certainly die of embarrassment."
"Well, that's gratitude, Ezra!" said Buck, his voice slightly rising,
"I thought I was doing you a favor - one that I'm particularly enjoying
-" (another small grunt) "..... and all you're doin' is complainin'."
Chris heard a small sigh escape Ezra's lips. "I realize that, Mr.
Wilmington, but ....... ouch! Watch it!"
"Sorry, Ezra. Just one ..... more .... minute."
Oh, Lord Chris thought, I can't stand here and listen to any more
of this. Chris' mind was on overload trying to understand what was going
on here. How could he face his two friends again? He slowly started turning
around to creep back out of the alleyway.
Ching! .......... He stood shock still, hoping to God that the men
hadn't heard his spurs.
"Chris?" It was Buck.
DAMN! He had no choice but to answer. He talked without turning around
and his head down, hoping to get out of the situation with the least
amount of embarrassment. "Yeah, Buck. I ... I thought I heard something
and was checking it out. I ... I didn't mean to........ interrupt."
Then, Bucks voice was almost next to Chris' ear and Buck was standing
just inches from him.
"Well, that's okay." Buck said, ever so quietly, "Why don't you join
us back here?"
Chris slowly looked up at his friend, his mouth open. He couldn't
believe what he just heard. Buck grabbed ahold of his arm and pulled
him back to where Ezra was standing. Chris was at an absolute loss as
to what to say or do, so at first he didn't even protest, but just as
he saw Ezra's back, he started to pull away from Buck.
"C'mon, Chris." Buck said, while grinning that big grin of his, "you
just gotta see this!"
As the men both rounded the corner of the building, Chris just couldn't
take it all in at once. He wasn't quite sure of what to do, but all of
a sudden, he let out the biggest laugh. Then he couldn't stop. Ezra stood
there, his face reddening to an almost purple color but still, Chris
couldn't stop the waves of laughter coming out of him. No one had probably
ever seen Chris practically doubled over like this.
"How the HELL, did you do this, Ezra?" Chris managed to get out.
Ezra stood with the lady sheriff, Marie, who'd ridden into town several
days ago, very close to each other. She had been hunting down a cattle
thief and had asked Chris for some help in tracking him down and they
had caught him. She was due to leave town the next morning. He hadn't
realized anything was happening between these two, but here they stood,
facing each other, with their gunbelts locked together like they were
molded that way.
They had gotten Bucks' attention and he was valiantly trying to undo
the couple, but so far, nothing had worked. The looks on the faces of
Ezra and Marie were absolutely priceless. The waves of laughter had ebbed
from Chris, but he still had a grin about as large as Buck's.
"Well, what are we going to do, Buck? I don't think we can leave them
this way."
Buck about split a gut. "No. No, Chris," he said between chuckles
and chortles, "I guess we can't."
Ezra put his hand over his face, and the boys were enjoying his predicament
so much .... but Marie looked as if she wanted to crawl into a hole and
that's what brought the two men back into a more serious mood ..... still
smilin', though.
"Well," Chris said, wiping a tear from the laugh lines around his
eyes, "let me try and see if I can ....... unhitch ....... them." With
that, Buck again went into peels of laughter, as Chris controlled the
wave of hysteria threatening to break through his resolve. He bent down
to examine the gunbelts, and after a few moments, saw where they were
caught. After a bit of difficulty, he was able to release the two from
their extended embrace.
A sigh of relief escaped from both Ezra and Marie's lips. After scowling
at Chris and Buck, Ezra turned to Marie, "I am so sorry, m'dear......
" but Marie just put her hands to her cheeks and ran down the alleyway.
Ezra watched her run but felt helpless as to what he could possibly do
or say to repair the situation.
He turned back toward Chris and Buck. Seeing that they were barely
able to hold in even more laughter at his disconcertion, he knew that
threatening them to keep this quiet wouldn't do any good. He knew that
he would either have to stay in his room for weeks or get out of town
for awhile until this whole thing blew over.
Ezra straightened himself up and coldly looked at Chris. "Mr. Larabee,
I think I will be taking a few days to myself. I will be out of town
for the next several days ...... if that's all right with you." Ezra
dared the men to make any kind of joke by the challenged look he was
giving them.
Chris had to take a moment to regain his composure. A few fits and
sputters leaked out, but he finally said, very stoically, "Of course,
Ezra. Take all the time you need." Chris and Buck were holding their
breath. They couldn't hold it much longer.
"Thank you, Mr. Larabee." Ezra stood his ground and glared at the
two for a moment longer, then turned to leave the alleyway. He had almost
cleared the alley, when the laughter burst and he heard two bodies falling
to the ground.
The End
