YES!

A Blog by Cowboy Bob

Out of the blue this August, Miss Gail touched my shoulder, and stared directly into my eyes and said, “Yes.”  Since I was cooking a steak on the grill at the time, I thought it had to do with my extraordinary skill as a chef. So, after kicking that out of my slow brain, I turned and said, “Yes, what?” Also thinking about her endless list of things to do, I figured she had added another task or maybe in a fit of wishful thinking, she had discarded the list and decided to go live with me in a sheepherder wagon in the middle of Wyoming. As my useless brain concocted all this in a whirlpool of conflicting thoughts in a micro-second, she turned me toward her, and said, “Remember what you asked last winter? I thought about it, and I think we should.”   

I began to think of the promises, a jack-leg fence, learning French, making her a New York Times bestselling author, and, of course, there are the words a man says in the warm intimate moments under the down comforter in the hours toward midnight with the silent snow drifting down in the moonlight outside our window. I do remember broaching the subject of what is next for our love story and remember stumbling on the words, those mystery words in the middle of the night. 

Those words and thoughts were silly, because she is so far out of my class, you all know that, I should explain to outsiders that she is a world class traveler, adventurer, and writer, highly educated, native Idahoan who is on speaking terms with the Governor, she has a Lexus, a wine cellar, and a fancy computer. I am just a retired rancher, yes, a cowboy, a pilot, and a Montanan, who has a pickup and a dog, my grandson worked on the Governor’s place, but that is as close as I get to the political establishment of Montana.

Besides that, this was more than six months ago, and Miss Gail and I don’t look back, we both think about what lies ahead, what adventure is going on right now, and next week, next year. So, it was out of character for Miss Gail to bring up things from last winter, although she does have an uncanny memory for remembering whatever I would just as soon forget. “What did I say?” said this old cowboy. She smiled and answered, “You asked me to marry you.” 

There are times in my life that time stands still, this was one of those times. She said, “Yes.” 

Noticing my open-mouth stare, she said, “Are you all right? Do you still want to get married?”  All of my quick responses seemed bottled up, my brain was slogging through mud, slowly trying to catch up with this lightning bolt, but from somewhere deep inside me a voice immediately said, “Yes.” 

“Where and when?” she said, hugging my arm, her green eyes sparkling and her silver hair fairly dancing in the light evening breeze. 

“Well, I asked you if you wanted to go to Paris when we first met, and this seems to fit the bill.”  I remarked, “How about it, this fall, in the Rose Market on the banks of the Seine?” 

Wahoo! Boys, we are getting hitched in the most romantic city in the world, a honeymoon in Paris for these old codgers, plenty of PDA to go around, and not a thought of anything but each other for seven days (and nights!), Moulin Rouge, the Louvre, midnight cruise on the Seine. Life is grand!

What is the meaning of time, of love and of life? Well, that’s a mouthful and mind full of thoughts for this old cowboy.

If you enjoy these blogs, check out the website.  All her books and blogs are available at gailcushman.com Electronic versions are available on Amazon.com.