dude ranch? She’d heard of them all her life, but she’d never been to one. Truth be told, she’d never traveled west of the Mississippi. Every trip had been to Florida, the East Coast, New York City, the Jersey Shore or Toronto. Tony had promised Johnny that when he got out of the service next year, they’d take a big driving trip west, all the way to Disneyland. Another pain shot through her.
She took a deep breath, curious to know who would be writing to her from Wyoming. After slitting the envelope open, she pulled out the handwritten letter.
Dear Mrs. Baretta,
My name is Carson Lundgren. You don’t know me from Adam. I served as a marine in Afghanistan before I got out of the service.
The word Afghanistan swam before her eyes. Tony. She closed them tightly to stop the tears and sank down on one of the kitchen chairs. Her husband had been gone eleven months, yet she knew she would always experience this crushing pain when she thought of him.
“Mom? Can I have a peanut-butter cookie?” He’d drunk his milk.
“How about string cheese or an apple instead?”
“No-o,” he moaned.
“Johnny—” she said in a firm voice.
“Can I have some for dinner?”
“If you eat everything else first.”
“Okay.” She heard him rummage in the fridge for the cheese before he left the kitchen to watch his favorite afternoon cartoons.
When he’d disappeared into the living room, she wiped her eyes and continued reading.
Buck Summerhays and Ross Livingston, former marines, are in business with me on the Teton Valley Dude Ranch. We put our heads together and decided to contact the families of the fallen soldiers from our various units.
Your courageous husband, Anthony Baretta, served our country with honor and distinction. Now, we’d like to honor him by offering you and your son John an all-expenses-paid, one-week vacation at the dude ranch anytime in June, July or August. We’ll pay for your airfare and any other travel expenses.
Tracy’s eyes widened in total wonder.
You’re welcome to contact your husband’s division commander. His office helped us obtain your address. If you’re interested and have questions, please phone our office at the number below. We’ve also listed our website. Visit it to see the brochure we’ve prepared. We’ll be happy to email you any additional information.
Please know how anxious we are to give something back to you after Anthony’s great sacrifice.
With warmest regards,
Carson Lundgren
His words made her throat swell with emotion. With the letter still open, she phoned the commander’s office and learned that the offer was completely legitimate. His assistant had nothing but praise for such a worthy cause and hoped she and her son would be able to take advantage of it.
Tracy’s thoughts flew to her plans for the summer. When school was out, it was decided she and Johnny would spend six weeks in Cleveland with Tony’s parents. They saw Tony in their grandson and were living for a long visit. So was Tracy, who’d been orphaned at eighteen and had no other family.
Luckily, she had June and the first half of July off from her job as technology facilitator for the Sandusky school district. Both she and Johnny needed a huge dose of family love, and they would get it. Grandma planned for them to stay in Tony’s old room with all his stuff. Johnny would adore that.
The Barettas were a big Italian-American family with aunts, uncles and lots of cousins. Two of Johnny’s uncles were policemen and the other three were firefighters, like their father. Like Tony, before he’d joined the Marines to help pay for a college education.
Their loving kindness had saved her life, and Johnny’s, when news of the tragedy had come. He needed that love and support more than ever. She wondered what his reaction would be when he heard what this new invitation was about.
But before she did anything else, she called her sister-in-law Natalie to feel her out. When Tracy read her the letter, Natalie cried, “You’ve got to be kidding me! A dude ranch? Oh, my gosh, Tracy. You’ll have the time of your life. Ask Ruth. She went to one in Montana with my folks a few years ago. Remember?”
“Vaguely.”
“Yeah. It was a working ranch and they helped feed animals and went on trail rides and stuff. She got to help herd some cows.”
“I don’t think this is that kind of a ranch, but I don’t know for sure. The thing is, Johnny’s been difficult for so long, I don’t think he’d even like the idea of it.”
“If you want, I’ll tell Cory about it. I could have him call Johnny and tell him he’s thinks it would be super cool.”
“That might work. Johnny loves Cory and usually goes along with anything his favorite cousin says.”
“Cory will want to go with him. But seriously, Tracy, I can’t believe what a wonderful thing these ex-marines have decided to do. You hear a lot of talk about remembering our fallen heroes, but this is the first time I’ve heard of a group of soldiers doing something like this.”
“I know. Believe me, I’m blown away by this letter. If Tony knew, he’d be so touched.” The tears came. She couldn’t stop them. “There’s just one problem. The folks are expecting Johnny and me to visit there as soon as school is out. Since my vacation is over in mid-July, I would have to make arrangements to do this trip before then.”
“True.” Natalie’s voice trailed. “It will cut into the time you planned with Mom and Dad Baretta.”
“Yes. You know how they’re looking forward to spending time with Johnny.”
“Well, don’t say anything to them until you find out if he wants to go.”
“You’re right. First things first. I’ll let you know what happens. Thanks for being there and being my best friend.”
“Ditto to you. Ciao.”
Deciding there was no time like the present to find out, Tracy picked up the letter and walked into the living room. Johnny was spread out on the floor with his turtle pillow-pet watching Tom and Jerry.
“Honey, do you mind if I shut off the TV? There’s something I want to talk to you about.”
He turned to look at her out of eyes as dark a brown as Tony’s. She picked up the remote and turned the set off before sitting down on the couch. “We just got an invitation in the mail to do something we’ve never done before. It was sent by some men who used to be marines, like your father.”
That seemed to pique his interest enough to sit up cross-legged. “Are they going to have a party?” In his child’s world, an invitation meant a party. Since Tony’s death he’d shied away from them. He seemed to have lost his confidence. It killed her.
“No.
