"What's up, Frank?" I asked.
"Well, Mr. Ostersen," he said, "with only two days left, I'm going to go on my first airplane trip. I'm flying to Texas."
"Oh?" I asked.
"Yessir," Frank said. He shuffled his feet, as if he knew he was doing something foolish. But his face was set. He was waiting for me to tell him not to go.
"I'm going out where I can ride a horse. Mr. Ostersen, I've always dreamed of going to Texas and riding a horse. It isn't just the horses, I want the airplane ride too, and I want to see what all that land looks like. I was figuring on doing it this summer, on my vacation, but now—well, I'm going."
I walked to the back of the store and opened the safe. I had four thousand dollars there; the rest was in the bank. I came back and handed Frank two thousand.
"Here, kid," I said. "Buy a horse for me." He just stared at me for a second, then dashed out. There wasn't much to say. Besides, it was an easy gesture. The stuff was as good as worthless. Might as well see the other fellow have a good time.
For once my wife seemed to agree with me. She smiled.
Minnie came in almost as soon as Frank left. She was all dressed up, too, in another dress she hadn't bought in my store. There was a young fellow with her. He wasn't good-looking or bad-looking; just the sort of fellow you'd see anywhere. But Minnie seemed to think he was something pretty special, to judge by the way she was clutching his arm.
"Are you going to Texas too?" I asked.