The Rocking Horse

SHADY CREEK, KANSAS

Twenty-two Years Ago

~ 1 ~

Amanda Preston didn’t notice the car that was slowly following her and her two-year-old daughter, Jenny, as they walked down the quiet street. A brewing rainstorm teased the ground with its first drops of refreshing wetness on the hot sidewalk. It was a smell so sweet that Amanda wished she could bottle it and use it whenever she needed a smile. Scooping Jenny up in her arms, both giggled as Amanda began to run. They reached the back door of Aunt Ruth and Uncle Don’s new house just as the cloudburst let loose.

Amanda gave a quick rap on the door to announce their arrival, “Knock, knock, anybody home?” They went through the unlocked door into Aunt Ruthie’s kitchen. Hardly anyone in Shady Creek bothered to lock their doors. “Hi girls. Jenny, what a nice surprise to see you!” Ruth Shepman glowed as Amanda and the child rushed in. Jenny ran over to her great aunt’s wheelchair and gave her knees a hug. “Cook—cook.” she managed to say as she proudly held up a slightly crushed gingerbread man to her aunt. “A cookie? For me?” laughed Ruth. “Ooh, my favorite!” Feigning surprise and delight she took the gingerbread man from Jenny. Holding it up her nose and inhaling deeply, she said, “It smells luscious!” “Jenny and Mom made them for you this afternoon while I was at work. Jenny thought you needed to have a cookie party in your new home,” explained Amanda. “Thank you so much, Jenny,” Ruth smiled. “Do you think we should gobble this gingerbread man up?” Jenny’s reddish blond curls bounced as her head bobbed. Gingerbread cookies were her favorite too. Amanda was already getting glasses and napkins out for the feast. She opened the container that held more cookies and was pouring milk when her Uncle Don and his friend Jimmy popped into the room. “Hi, Uncle Don,” Amanda said. She walked over to him and gave him a quick hug. “Hi, Jimmy.” “Hi,” came a shy reply from Jimmy. Jimmy Barclay was often at the Shepman house. Jimmy was a twenty-seven-year-old man who had the reasoning power of a nine-year-old boy. His body grew fast and large, but his mental capacity simply did not develop with the rest of him. He stood just over six feet and had the physical strength of a man. His nature was gentle, yet he appeared strange to some of the townspeople. When they saw such a big guy act like the child his mind restricted him to be, prejudices and superstitions arose. And though he had never given anyone a reason to fear him, there were a few in town who did. Since Don and Ruth had no children of their own, they loved Jimmy as if he tell everyone how Jim Bo had adopted him and Ruth. Amanda went to the cupboard and got two more glasses. As she started to pour more milk, she said, “We brought enough cookies for everyone, Jimmy. You want a glass of milk too, don’t you?” Jimmy nodded. “Those cookies sure look good.” There wasn’t much conversation in the room while everyone enjoyed the spicy cookies and the cold, sweet milk. As soon as Jenny had finished her cookie and glass of milk, her mother wiped her face and hands and put her on the floor. Jenny immediately started pointing to the top of the refrigerator, saying “HoHo.” She was pointing to her special toy at Aunt Ruth’s house—a small wooden rocking horse. She loved to push on the backside of the horse and watch it rock back and forth. “How ’bout we take that in on the wooden floor in the other room? It’ll rock better in there,” said Uncle Don. “Me too?” asked Jimmy. Jimmy was fond of Jenny and loved to just watch her as she played. “Sure,” said Uncle Don. He reached on top of the refrigerator, retrieved HoHo, and gave it to Jenny. As the three headed off to the other room to play with the rocking horse, Amanda gathered the empty glasses and started to wash them.

* * *

The man in the car, who had been following Amanda and Jenny, had not been able to take his eyes off the little girl. When she and her mother disappeared inside, he sat and watched the house for some time. It didn’t take long for him to pop the last pill he had with him. He washed it down with a beer from the six-pack in the backseat. Draining the remainder of the beer, he stumbled out of his car. He was soaked to the bone by the time he reached the back door. He stood to the side and watched everyone eating cookies and having a good time. He especially watched the little girl. When she left the room, he was desperate to see more of her. He opened the back door and walked in on the two women in the kitchen.