Mary and Jody in the Movies (10 page)

16

Caesar Arrives

MARY AND JODY arrived at Lucky Foot Stable the next morning just in time to see the big black truck pulling the silver horse
trailer down the farm lane toward the road. Behind the wheel sat Willie, with Twister riding along in the passenger seat.
Braking their bikes so abruptly that gravel went flying in all directions, the girls waved their arms, flagging Willie down
before he could drive past. Willie slowed the truck until it came to a grinding halt just before the end of the lane.

“Willie!” Mary yelled, walking her bike up to the window and peering in. “Where are you going?”

Willie tugged on his earlobe and glanced over at Twister. “Well, now, who wants to know?”

Mary and Jody looked at each other quizzically, then turned back to Willie. “We do,” they said in unison.

“Hmph,” Willie snorted, “you do, do you?”

“Willie! What’s going on?” Mary said indignantly. Then a thought dawned on her, and she jumped up and down trying to see into
the back of the trailer. “Willie! You’re not taking the horses back to the auction, are you?”

“Well, I reckon I’m not, since this is Friday, not Monday, and the auction ain’t even going on today,” Willie replied calmly.
“We’re not goin’ to drop somethin’ off. We’re goin’ to pick somethin’ up.”

“Oh, Willie, what?” Jody squealed. “More horses?”

“Now, look, we wanted to get on our way before you girls got here and started buggin’ us to death. You’ll just have to wait
’til we come back to see what’s goin’ on. In the meantime, take care of the horses and git the stalls cleaned. By the time
we come back, you’ll be done, and you can see what we’ve got.”

“But, but, Willie…” Mary began, but Willie revved the engine so that she was drowned out by the sound, and they drove off
in a cloud of dust.

Mary and Jody watched silently as the truck drove down the road and disappeared from view and then turned their bikes toward
Lucky Foot Stable. It wasn’t until they were inside the coolness of the little stable that Mary found her voice. “I wonder
what they’re up to,” she muttered to herself, then walked over and scratched Star between the ears. “I wonder what they’re
up to, Star,” she repeated, as Star rubbed his head up and down on her forearm.

“Mare, let’s try not to think about it,” Jody said matter-of-factly. “We’ve got work to do. Why don’t you put hay out in the
paddock for Augie and Hoppy, and I’ll put Star, Shalimar, and Stumpy on crossties in the aisle so we can clean the stalls.
Then we’ve got to bring Augie and Hoppy in and turn Shalimar and Stumpy out. And we’ve got to visit Lady and Gypsy in the
big pasture. And we’ll have to take Star out for a walk, since he’s stuck in his stall so much right now.”

With so many horses and only three stalls in Lucky Foot Stable, it was a juggling act to make sure that everyone had a chance
to be turned out in the paddock for at least part of the day or night. The girls kept busy for the next two hours, leading
horses in and out, cleaning stalls, grooming Star, filling water buckets, and sweeping the aisle. Finally it was time to take
the frisky colt out for his walk.

“Why don’t we lead him out to the big pasture so we can visit Lady and Gypsy?” Jody suggested. “Then we can kill two birds
with one stone, asWillie would say.”

“Good plan,” Mary agreed. She snapped the lead rope onto Star’s halter and led him from his stall. “And, since we’ve already
groomed him, let’s put his saddle and bridle on. It never hurts to keep up with his training!”

But even before the girls had the chance to get Star’s saddle from the tack trunk, the low growl of the truck engine could
be heard in the distance. Star pricked up his ears at the sound, and Finnegan awakened from his morning nap. Jody flew to
the back of the stable and looked out the back doors.

“Mare! It’sWillie and Twister, back already! Oh, Star, you’ll have to wait just a little longer for your walk!”

Mary turned and hastily led Star back into his stall, where he snorted and pawed impatiently as if to say, “Hey! I want to
see what’s going on too!”

“Star, I promise, we’ll be back as soon as we see what Willie and Twister are up to!”

With that, the girls ran out to the gravel lane just in time for the big truck to pass by the stable on its way to the farmhouse.
Twister grinned impishly and waved at the girls, ignoring their attempts to wave the truck to a stop. When they saw that Willie
was really not going to stop at Lucky Foot, they took off at a gallop after the truck and trailer, Finnegan nipping at their
heels. By the time Willie braked to a stop just outside the farmhouse, the girls were red-faced and completely out of breath.
But that didn’t stop them from jumping up and down in an attempt to see what was inside the trailer.

“Willie!” Mary called the instant Willie stepped from the truck cab. “Where did you go, and what did you get?”

“Now, just hold yer horses,” Willie said, grinning in spite of himself, “and stand back while me and Twister unload. Matter
of fact, why don’t you just cover yer eyes ’til I tell you to look.”

It was all Mary and Jody could do to stand back and cover their eyes, but they did asWillie said. Even Finnegan sat silently,
wagging his tail in anticipation. The next sound was the creaking of the trailer door opening, followed by a metallic clank
of ramps put in place, then a crunching of wheels turning on gravel. Last, a more familiar sound—hooves stepping from the
trailer and walking in a circle.

Still, Willie said nothing to the girls. At last, they could stand it no longer.

“Willie!” Jody cried. “Can we look now?”

“Oh, I almost forgot,” Willie chuckled. “Yes, you can look.”

Mary and Jody dropped their hands from their eyes and blinked once. Then, the vision that greeted them made their eyes and
mouths fly open wide and made Twister laugh at the sight of the two astonished girls.

Resting on the gravel lane, in all its magnificence, stood a dazzling white Cinderella carriage, complete with elegantly curved
patent leather fenders and royal blue velvet seats. A pair of brass carriage lamps glistened in the sun on either side of
the driver’s seat. A delicate, rounded step descended from an arched support to allow easy access to the two seats of the
carriage, where passengers could sit facing each other. And the crowned top of the carriage was folded down and back for an
open ride in the warm afternoon breeze.

But even more thrilling for Mary and Jody was the sight of the carriage horse, standing as still as a statue in Twister’s
grasp as if waiting patiently to be hitched up. He was very light gray, almost white, with a sprinkling of shiny dapples over
his loin. The crest of his neck formed a perfect arch as he bent his head to sniff a spot on Twister’s shoulder. He was the
tallest and broadest horse the girls had ever seen, but his eyes were so kind that they felt no fear of him.

“Ooh,” Jody sighed, exhaling for the first time since she caught sight of the carriage and horse.

“Oh, Willie,” Mary whispered, reaching out to touch the smooth leather surface of the dashboard. “Where in the world did you
get this? What are we going to do with it? Is it for the movie? Do we get to keep it? What’s the horse’s name? He’s so beautiful!”

“Now, which question do you want me to answer first?” Willie asked, grinning at the look of awe on the faces of the girls.
“Fact is, I rented it from a carriage company in the city. We’re gonna use it for the last scene of the movie. No, we don’t
get to keep the carriage or the horse, either one. And his name is Caesar.”

“We don’t get to keep it, but it’ll be here all day today, and maybe tomorrow, depending on how filming goes,” Twister added.
“We’re gonna be hitch-in’ up soon, and as soon as Will’s ready and the camera’s set up, we’ll get started.”

But even more thrilling for Mary and Jody

was the sight of the carriage horse, standing

as still as a statue in Twister’s grasp.

“Oh, Twister, can we watch?” Jody pleaded, “We won’t get in the way or make noise or anything, we promise.”

“Now, it’s gonna be a while, and besides, don’t you have more work to do?” Willie replied before Twister had the chance. “I
know you didn’t get everything done in the stable already.”

“Well…we almost did.We just have to take Star for a walk and visit Lady and Gypsy in the big pasture and check the water and
hay in the paddock,” Mary said breathlessly.

“Then git on down there and finish up, and by that time, maybe we’ll be ready to shoot,” Willie said. “And don’t go rushin’
around like crazy. You ain’t gonna miss anything.”

Before Willie had even finished his sentence, the girls were halfway to the stable. Upon their arrival, Star nickered and
pawed impatiently in his stall.

“Sorry, buddy,” Jody said, hastily opening the stall and clipping a lead rope on Star’s halter. “We came back as fast as we
could!”

Just as planned, Star was led to the big pasture, where Lady and Gypsy stood muzzle to muzzle under the weeping willow tree,
switching their tails at flies. The cows raised their heads curiously as the girls trotted past with Star in tow but soon
lost interest and lowered their heads to graze. The ponies greeted Star by sniffing noses in turn, and then Mary and Jody
told them all about the dazzling carriage and Caesar, the gorgeous carriage horse.

“Of course, you are far more beautiful,” Mary assured them for fear of hurting their feelings, although they didn’t look offended
in the least.

“Mare, I think we should go back now and switch the horses out of the paddock so Star can go out,” Jody said anxiously. “They’re
probably ready to start filming by now. And we still have to check hay and water!”

“Good plan. Let’s go!” Mary shouted, and just as quickly as they had entered the pasture, they were out again and finishing
up final chores at Lucky Foot.

17

Happy Endings

ALTHOUGH ONLY AN hour had passed since the girls had left the farmhouse, they were surprised to see how much progress had
been made when they returned. Crew members were milling about, putting final touches on the lighting and sound. Two cameras
were set up, and Mr. Gordon was already studying the monitor. Mary was thrilled to see Brian McVey standing near the door
of the farmhouse, looking very handsome in a black tuxedo! Caesar, resplendent in a shiny black harness, was hitched to the
carriage, with Twister standing at his head.Trying not to attract attention, Mary and Jody nonchalantly sauntered up to Twister
and began asking questions.

“Twister!” Mary whispered loudly. “What’s happening?”

“Why is Caesar hooked to the carriage?” Jody continued.

“This is the last scene of the movie, where Brian and Vicki’s characters get married in the farmhouse.” Twister replied. “When
they come out, they’ll get in the carriage and drive away.”

“Are they getting ready to get married right now? In the farmhouse?”

Twister chuckled. “No, no, they already shot that scene a few days ago. All we’re shooting now is them coming out, like as
if they just got married, and they get in the carriage. Then they kiss, and the carriage takes them away.”

Mary and Jody giggled at the thought of Brian McVey actually kissing Vicki Beaumont. Then Twister gave them a sly smile.

“Hmm, here comes the carriage driver now,” he said, drawing out his words as he pointed toward the farmhouse.

“Wow, he’s dressed up almost as fancy as the groom,” Jody observed, taking in the driver’s black suit, bow tie, and shiny
black top hat in one glance.

“Yeah, he sure looks…” Mary began, and then she stopped. Her eyes widened, and her mouth dropped open, shut tight, and then
opened again. She pointed wordlessly, then found her voice. “Jody, Jody… That’s…That’s…”

Jody looked at Mary and then back at the carriage driver. Then it was her turn to gasp in shock.“Willie!” she shrieked.

And it was Willie. But the girls had never seen Willie quite like this before. His silver hair, peeking out from beneath the
top hat, was slicked back on either side. Covering his gnarly hands was an elegant pair of black driving gloves. His feet
were shod in shiny black shoes. And the woman who was normally fussing with Vicki Beaumont’s hair was now bustling around
Willie, comb in hand, making sure not one silver strand of hair was out of place!

Twister laughed out loud at the girls’ expressions. “What’s a’matter? You never seen Will dressed up before?”

Mary gulped before replying. “Twister! We’ve never seen Willie in anything except his barn clothes! Why, he’s…he’s…he’s…”

“Handsome!” Jody exclaimed in disbelief.

“Yes. He’s handsome,”Mary agreedmatter-of-factly.

“Twister, how did he get the job driving the carriage? Don’t they have to hire a real actor for that?”

“He got the job because he’s the head wrangler, and he knows how to drive a carriage, and he’s just the best man for the job.
He doesn’t have any lines to say, he’s just goin’ to sit up there and drive the horse, that’s all. And look handsome, o’course,”
Twister finished, rolling his eyes.

“Twister, can we go talk to him?” Jody asked, feeling shy all of a sudden.

“Well, I reckon so. They haven’t started shooting yet.” Twister looked down at the two girls. “What are you two lookin’ all
blushy about? It’s just Will, dressed up in a penguin suit.”

Twister’s description ofWillie’s ensemble made the girls giggle, and, forgetting their shyness, they walked over to the door
of the farmhouse arm in arm. Willie’s back was turned to them as the hairdresser smoothed down a few stray hairs for the hundredth
time.

“Ahem, excuse us, sir, but…”

Willie turned to face the girls.

“Could we have your autograph?”

“Oh, quit your foolishness,” Willie harrumphed, pulling at the collar of the starched white shirt. But the girls could see
he was secretly pleased, even turning a little red himself.

“Willie, we hardly recognized you!” Jody chirped. “You look so…so…”

“Handsome!” Mary shouted.

“Shush now, girl,” Willie said, blushing more deeply as he looked around at the bustling movie set. “The sooner we get this
over with and I can get this doggoned straitjacket off, the gladder I’ll be.”

“Well, Willie, my goodness, don’t you look…”

“Mom! What are you doing here?” Mary spun around at the sound of her mother’s voice.

“And Dad!” Jody exclaimed. Mr. Stafford reached out to shake Willie’s hand and then turned smiling to Jody. “Well, now, do
you two think you’re the only ones allowed to hang around the set? Willie invited us down to take a look at the carriage.”

“Oh, Daddy, isn’t it beautiful?” Jody breathed. “Wouldn’t it be heavenly to take a ride in it?”

“It sure would.” Mary’s mom and Jody’s dad exchanged glances.

“And Mom,” Mary said excitedly, taking her mother’s hand, “come pet Caesar. He’s really big, but he’s about as gentle as a
lamb.”

Mary’s mom allowed herself to be led to Caesar’s huge head. When she tentatively put out her hand and stroked his muzzle,
Caesar closed his eyes and sighed.

“See, Mom? He likes you! Now, Twister said they’re just about to film this scene where Brian and Vicki get married and ride
away in the carriage. Can you stay and watch? Please?”

“Well, I guess so, if Frank says it’s all right. We drove over here together. I think he is planning on staying a while.”

“Oh, goody! I think it’s OK if we stand right over here.”

“Quiet! Quiet, please! We’re ready to roll! Last looks!” Mr. Gordon boomed through his megaphone. The hairdresser smoothed
Willie’s hair one more time, and the wardrobe lady straightened his tie. Twister stood at Caesar’s head while Willie climbed
onto the driver’s seat of the carriage and gathered up the reins. Sitting straight as an arrow, dignified in his top hat and
suit, Willie almost looked young again. Mary and Jody, standing with their parents on either side, gazed at Willie in awe
and then looked at each other, grinning through teary eyes and not feeling the least bit embarrassed about it.

“Quiet, please!” It was the assistant director yelling this time. Then, “Rolling! And…action!”

The door of the farmhouse burst open. Brian emerged first, pulling a laughing Vicki by the hand through the open doorway.
A crowd of well-wishers followed, throwing rice and shouting their congratulations. The wedding photographer and most of the
guests snapped away as the smiling couple ran to the carriage and climbed in.

“Look at Caesar,” Mary whispered to Jody. “He’s being such a good boy! He hasn’t budged at all, even with all the commotion!”

“Cut!” yelled Mr. Gordon, just as Willie gave Caesar the command to move forward by tapping him on the rump with the carriage
whip.

“That was great. Let’s do it again. Back to one!”

“If it was so great, why do they have to do it again?” Jody’s father asked. “And what’s he mean, ‘back to one’?”

“Dad, they do everything way more than once. You just have to get used to it,” Jody explained.

“That means everybody goes back to the places they were at first so they can start all over,” Mary explained.

“Yeah, Daddy, don’t you remember the day you watched us in the ring? We did everything at least twice,” Jody said.

“Yes, Frank, don’t you know anything about moviemaking?” Mary’s mom asked with a smile.

“Oh, excuse me, Katherine. I’ll wait for you to explain everything to me from now on.”

Mary and Jody’s parents locked eyes and smiled for so long that Mary nudged Jody, and Jody looked at Mary quizzically. Finally
they shrugged in unison and turned their attention back to business. Willie had turned Caesar in a circle so that he was standing
in the exact same spot, and it was time to shoot.

“And…action!” The door burst open again, rice came flying, Brian and Vicki climbed in the carriage, and this time Caesar actually
trotted a few steps before Mr. Gordon called, “Cut!” Then, “Reloading!”

“What’s happening now?” Mary’s mom whispered.

“Oh, the camera needs to have its film reloaded,” Jody explained patiently. “It just takes a few minutes.”

Just then, Mary caught a sudden movement out of the corner of her eye, over near the old horse chestnut tree. When she turned
her head, she saw Annie Mooney peeking out from behind the tree, watching the filming. In that instant, Annie saw Mary watching
her, and she turned and tiptoed away.

“Annie! Wait!” Mary yelled, grabbing Jody by the hand. Running together, they soon caught up with Annie, who was on her way
back to the house trailer. “What’s wrong, Annie?” Mary asked breathlessly. “Why don’t you come watch with us?”

“Me?” Annie said, looking at the ground as she walked. “Oh, well, I never really got to be in the movie or anything.”

“So?” Jody said.

“So I didn’t know if I was allowed so close up.”

Mary snorted. “Well, of course you’re allowed, Annie. You were already on the set the day they filmed the riding scene, and…”

“I know,” Annie interrupted. “That’s why. I didn’t think they would want me around after that.”

“Annie, what are you talking about? That wasn’t even your fault,” Jody said.

“But it was!” Annie exclaimed, spinning around suddenly to face the girls. “I wasn’t supposed to be sitting on Stumpy, and
then he took off, and I couldn’t hold on, and Willie had to rescue me, and at first it didn’t seem so bad, but then I thought
and thought about it, and I knew they would never give me another chance to be in the movie, and it was just the worst thing
that’s ever happened to me in my whole life!”

Mary and Jody were rendered speechless by this, one of the longest sentences Annie had ever uttered. But when they saw tears
springing to her eyes, they quickly recovered their voices.

“Aw, Annie, don’t worry about it,” Mary said gently. “Nobody blamed you for it. It could’ve happened to anybody. Now, come
on, why don’t you come back with us and watch?”

“Yeah, Annie, you haven’t even seen Caesar up close,” Jody continued. “I bet he’ll just love you.”

Annie stopped, squared her shoulders, and wiped her nose with the back of her hand. Then she nodded without a word and turned
back toward the movie set. Mary and Jody smiled at each other, trailing a step behind.

The three girls walked quietly for a minute, but as they neared the set Mary thought of a topic to break the silence. “Our
parents came to watch today, too, Annie. They’re really acting goofy.”

“Yeah,” added Jody. “They were looking all googly-eyed at each other.” “Well, they’re in love, you know,” Annie said.

Mary and Jody stopped in their tracks. They looked at each other again, but this time they weren’t smiling.

“What did you say, Annie?” gulped Mary.

“I said they’re in love,” Annie repeated.

“But, but…what do you mean?” Jody sputtered.

“What do you mean, what do I mean?” Annie stopped walking to face the girls. “Didn’t you know? I mean, anybody can see it.
Can’t you?”

The girls gulped and stood staring at each other. Then they turned in unison and looked at their parents, who were standing
just out of camera range, grinning and whispering like teenagers.

“Checking the gate!” yelled Mr. Gordon.

“Come on, that means they’re done filming!” Mary exclaimed, grabbing Jody by the hand. In the next instant, the girls were
standing, hands on hips, in front of their surprised parents. Annie crept over to Caesar, who immediately began licking her
hand.

“Hey, girls. Where did you go off to?” Jody’s dad asked, a bemused look on his face.

“What in the world is the matter?” continued Mary’s mom, reacting to the girls’ expressions.

“Dad, we have to ask you something,” Jody said breathlessly.

“OK, shoot.”

Mary and Jody stood silently, gazing anxiously from one parent to the other.

“Mary, what is it, for Pete’s sake?” Mary’s mother asked.

The girls gulped, and the question came bursting forth from both lips at the same instant.

“Are you in love?”

Mary’s mother gasped and took a step back. Jody’s father simply grinned and shook his head. Then he took Jody’s hand in his.

“We were wondering when you two would figure us out,” he said gently. “Jody, we were going to sit you and Mary down tonight
and have a talk about it. We’ve had these feelings for some time, but we wanted to be absolutely sure before we brought you
two into it. We didn’t want you to be hurt if it turned out not to be real.”

Mary stared at her mom. “And…and…is it real, Mom?”

Mrs. Morrow nodded slowly, tears coming to her eyes. “Oh, yes, Mary. It is definitely real.”

They turned in unison and looked at their parents,

who were standing just out of camera range,

grinning and whispering like teenagers.

“It was funny what you said about taking a ride in the carriage, Jody,” her father continued, “because that’s one reason we’re
here today.Willie thought we should see it if we want to use it ourselves sometime in the future.”