Date: Wed, 25 Apr 2012 02:06:01 -0500
From: Andrew Davidson <in.the.arms.of.angels564@gmail.com>
Subject: Love of a Redneck, pt 2

The morning came a bit sooner than I would have liked, but I sprung out of
bed anyway. It was Friday, and ever since Tanner and I had started dating,
he always was able to find something for us to do on the weekend. Tonight,
we'd be attending the away game in Idabel. Football was a big part of
Broken Bow's culture, like most small towns in America. I hadn't been a big
sports fan in Conway, but after moving here, I realized it was either this
or stay home Friday nights.


Besides, while Tanner and most of our friends weren't on the team, they
still lived for those Friday night lights. I showered quickly and fixed my
hair into its usual fauxhawk, and chose to wear my black and gold school
t-shirt with the school's mascot, the "Savages", plastered on the back. I
always tried to be a bit festive on game days.


After wolfing down a piece of toast and rinsing my mouth with some orange
juice, I heard Tanner's Dodge roaring outside my house. I grabbed my bag
and went outside. Tanner usually always picked me up in his truck on
Fridays, because we hardly ever had homework over the weekend and always
hung out after school until the game started.


"How you feelin?" he asked as I climbed in the truck.


"I'm tired, but happy." I smiled. I wanted to tell Tanner just how happy he
had made me last night, but I didn't want to sound sappy. There'd be time
for that later.


Tanner was sporting some dramatic black and gold face paint while wearing a
make-shift tank top that had Idabel's mascot, the Warrior, with an X
through it on the back. He always showed more spirit than I did, but that
was to be expected. He was from this town.


The football players were sporting their jerseys and the cheerleaders were
all wearing their uniforms, as was common on game days. The teachers had
pretty much caught on that not much learning would get done with spirits
running high on game days, so they tended to be a bit more lenient with us.


Dani turned around in her seat to face me in English class that
afternoon. "So, what did y'all do last night in Tanner's truck?" she asked
with a slight giggle. I couldn't help but admire how straightforward
country folk were. Sure, I had encountered my fair share of two-faced
people at Broken Bow high, but everyone mostly made it clear whether or not
they liked you.


"Why do you ask that like we did something bad?" I gave her a smile. I
wanted to keep her guessing.


"C'mon, y'all might be different but y'all are still guys. What happened?"
she persisted.


"He just kissed me. That's all." I shrugged.


"Tanner Christianson just kissed you? Are we talking about the same guy?"
she asked. I couldn't tell if she was joking or not.


"C'mon, he's not the kind of guy to be pushy, is he?" I asked.


"Who knows? Maybe you're different." she said mysteriously.


The bell rang and we stood up to head towards the cafeteria. We met Tanner
and Taylor on the way, them having come from the gym. Their 4th hour was a
PE class, and all they did was lift weights the entire hour. I had asked
why they didn't just call it `weightlifting'. Apparently, then the school
would feel obligated to offer an official weightlifting team. God forbid.


"Where's Amy and Davis?" Dani asked.


"Those bastards ran off to Sonic without tellin nobody." Taylor said. And
so while Amy and Davis enjoyed Sonic burgers, we were stuck with fried
chicken breasts that tasted like paper. That was one thing you couldn't
escape in America: if you're in a public school, the lunch is going to be
sucky to okay. But why am I bitching? At least I got to eat.


"How was class?" Tanner asked me.


"We spent most of the hour talking about you." Dani interjected smugly.


"So y'all mean to tell me y'all didn't pay attention?" Tanner asked. I
could tell he was trying to keep a straight face but I could see a smile
trying to crack through.


"We have the same English teacher, don't we? Don't make us laugh." I smiled
back. Honestly, Mr. Washington was a bore.


"Are y'all gonna come with us to Davis's after the game?" Dani asked us.


"I had another idea for us two." Tanner said, looking to me.


"I don't care. Whatever you want to do." I shrugged. I really didn't
care. Tanner had never put me in a situation where I felt uncomfortable, so
I trusted his idea.. whatever it was.


"But y'all ain't missed a party yet." Dani looked at us through narrow
eyes.


"We'll start tonight, then." Tanner grinned at her.


"Fine. More beer for us." she flashed her own smile.


I stood up to get another milk and Tanner followed me.


"Hey, I wanted a chance to talk to you alone, but Taylor was on my heels
the entire time." he said to me. My heart leapt.


"What's wrong?" I asked.


"Wrong? Ain't nothin wrong. Don't be stupid." he grinned at me. "I just
wanted to tell you that it's just gonna be me and you tonight. I had enough
bonfire fun last night. They can get drunk and sing till the cows come
home.. I think we'll have more fun tonight together."


"You sure you're not ditching them because of me?" I asked hesitantly.


"Tyler, you're part of the group now. Don't talk like you're an
outsider. This is what I want to do." he said.


"Alright, but what are we even gonna do?" I asked.


"Cain't tell ya.." he smiled even bigger and walked back to the table,
leaving me in line. I watched his muscular legs hugged by his wranglers as
he walked away. I was interrupted by a sweet woman's voice: "Honey, did you
need somethin?"


"Oh, sorry." Embarrassed, I turned around quickly.


-----


The end of day bell rung loudly and we all met up in front of the school
once class let out. We all agreed to meet up at Davis's house before the
game, so Tanner and I got into his pickup and headed out of town. Davis
lived between Idabel and Broken Bow, so we had a few miles to go before
we'd get there.


"So Dani asked me what we did last night in your truck." I said awkwardly
to Tanner.


"Yeah, what'd you tell her?" he asked.


"What do you mean? I didn't tell her that we did it or anything." I
laughed.


"Couldn't spice it up a little? I'm kiddin. She's nosy but she don't mean
no harm." he reassured me.


"I didn't feel invaded or anything. She seemed genuinely curious." I said.


"Well, you're the first guy I've actually dated. So she ain't never got to
see me like this." Tanner said.


"Like what?" I asked.


"Thinkin with the head up here and not down there." He blushed a little and
kept his stare straight ahead on the road.


"Come on, don't tell me you've ever been a player." I asked, half-jokingly
and half-seriously.


"Everyone has a past. That's all I'm gonna say." he shifted his smile to
me. When we got to Davis's house, everyone had beaten us there. Tanner
wasn't in any rush, given he was going the speed limit. It was like a game
to race down these two lane backroads for the others, though.


"What are we doing before the game?" I asked curiously. Every week brought
something different.


"They're gonna do some team ropin'. I think I'll cook some burgers or
somethin." Tanner said.


"Y'all are late!" Davis called from the pasture.


"Don't say that like we got shit to do!" Tanner called back, his voice
reverberating through the open sky.


"Y'all gotta see us kick Amy and Davis's asses!" Dani shouted out.


"Quit your yellin' before you scare my mare!" Davis retorted.


"I feel real stupid, but what are they doing?" I asked. I could tell it was
some sport, because all four of them had saddled their horses and were
wearing gloves.


"It's kind of complicated. Basically one of them will be a `header' and
it'll be his job to rope the steer around the horns or the head. Then he
has to tie the rope into a `dally' around the horn of his saddle. That's
the part that sticks up near the front. Once that's done, the header guides
the steer around the arena while the `heeler' waits for a clear shot at the
steer's hind legs. His job is to rope the hind legs, and he ties a dally to
the horn of his saddle just like the header. Finally, they face each other
and back up until the steer is completely stretched out. Once they do that,
a flagger (probably me) takes the time. The other team does the same thing
and whoever does it faster wins." He explained. I could see him getting
excited just talking about it. To me, it sounded complex, difficult, and
cruel all at the same time, but I got over it. I was anxious to see it
happen.


"Do you like doing it?" I asked.


"I love it! But those four got this kind of `couples' rivalry' thing going
on so I'm lettin' them do their thing." he said.


Tanner went inside to get the stuff to grill the hamburgers, and I sat on
the back of Davis's tailgate, as his truck was closest to the arena. When
Tanner came back outside, I asked him, "Wouldn't an arena like this be
expensive?" I asked, examining the lights that went around the entirety of
the arena.


"Yeah, it is, but Davis's dad does competitions and stuff. It's like an
investment." he said.


"And his parents don't care that we're using one of their bulls? Aren't
those expensive too? What if they hurt it?" I asked. Curiosity was getting
the best of me.


"You're so cute.. it's not a bull, baby, it's a steer. It don't have its
balls no more. And ropers have steers specifically for this purpose. That
steer is one of them. Cattle is all Davis's parents raise. Those four
horses are the only ones they have, and that's just so there're mounts to
team rope with. Normally, riders would bring their own, but since Davis has
four anyway, it saved us time from havin' to go and load up a horse
trailer. His parents have so much cattle that they don't mind using this
meat to make hamburgers. Don't sweat it." he explained, holding up a
package of hamburger meat wrapped in foil.


"So, do they slaughter the cows, or do they pay someone?" I asked.


"Davis's uncle owns the slaughterhouse in Idabel. That's where they get
their cattle slaughtered. For the most part, they sell the meat, but they
keep some for their own use. Have you ever had farm grown cow meat?" he
asked me.


"The only hamburger meat I've had was from Walmart." I said, slightly
embarrassed.


"Once you taste some of this, you'll never want store bought meat
again. Where do you think this came from?" he asked, flexing his left
bicep. "Not from eating processed meat." he flashed me a smile.


I smiled back. Tanner was such a sweet devil.. it was a fiery combination
that captivated me.


"I'm gonna let this grill get hot while I go be their flagger. I'm running
away once time is called though `cause I don't wanna lose an ear hearin'
them cry about my judgment. Someone's gotta lose."


I watched the game commence from the tailgate. Amy and Davis were up
first. The steer bolted out of the chute and into the arena, quickly moving
far enough to open the barrier holding Amy. She ran through that arena like
lightning. She obviously did this often as she caught the steer's horns
perfectly with her rope. Taylor and Dani made very distinguishable `booing'
noises from the sidelines.


Davis rode around the arena, trying to line up with the steer's
backside. He threw the rope and caught the steer's hindlegs easily. As they
stretched the steer, Tanner called out their time: "10 seconds!"


I watched in amazement. It all happened so fast that if Tanner hadn't
explained it to me, I wouldn't have known what happened. My first reaction
was that they could be professionals, but what did I know? I had just heard
of the sport.


Taylor and Dani made gestures that I was almost certain would not be
allowed at a rodeo as they made their way into the arena. Like Amy, Dani
started off as the header, but she wasn't as graceful as Amy. Her horse
nearly bucked her on her initial take off, but she got him to straighten up
and roped the steer around the head. Taylor, the heeler, made his way
around the arena, but tried to rope the steer's hindlegs from the side and
barely missed. I heard him curse all the way from where I was, and he
quickly threw out his lariat again and roped the steer's hindlegs. Tanner
called out the time again: "18 seconds! Amy and Davis win!" he called out
before returning to the grill.


"See what I mean?" he asked as shouts reverberated from the roping
arena. "It gets pretty intense. And in an actual rodeo, no time would have
given since Taylor missed the first time. That's how it is in most rodeos,
anyway." he explained as he put the hamburger meat on the grill.


My head was spinning. I had just absorbed so much information. I was a city
boy and my idea of `sport' was like football, basketball, you know.. the
normal ones. I had barely grasped the concept of team roping when I
realized how many different sports are played at the big rodeos.


"How'd you like that?" Amy asked me as the four of them came back to where
me and Tanner were after turning the horses loose in the pasture.


"It was exciting." I replied. Truthfully, it was. Of course, I was more
worried about one of them falling off the horses, which I'm sure they
weren't concerned about.


An hour passed as the food got finished and we talked about how badly we
were gonna beat Idabel that night as we ate the thick hamburgers. Taylor
and Davis were drinking on some Bud Light, but the rest of us were sticking
with sodas. I didn't drink anyway, and Tanner was probably saving his
inebriation for another night. He did say he had something planned for us,
so maybe that had something to do with it. 6:00 came around pretty fast,
and the game started at 6:45. We all loaded up and headed to town so we
could get good seats. Those bleachers filled up fast, especially at Broken
Bow home games.


I rode with Amy, who was driving Davis's truck. Davis rode with Tanner in
his, and Dani and Taylor took Taylor's. "Are y'all coming over tonight
after the game?" Amy asked me. She hadn't been in the lunch room when
Tanner had turned down Dani's invite.


"Tanner said he has something planned for me." I said nonchalantly. I
didn't want my excitement to show through. I wanted to stay cool about it.


"Think he's gonna propose to you? Or drop the L word at least?" she
suggested.


"I hope not.. I've only been dating him for a few weeks." I said.


"Don't worry.. Tanner ain't like that. He'll do it right." she said. Amy
was different from Dani in that Amy was more serious. I usually took what
she had to say more seriously than I did Dani, who seemed to joke a lot.


"Yeah. Dani asked me if we had done anything at the Bonfire last night. All
we did was kiss." I said.


"How was that?" she asked.


"Intense." was the first word that came out of my mouth.


"I'd imagine so. This ain't Tanner's first rodeo. But then, I suppose it
ain't yours, either. Y'all got something good goin'.. don't mess it up."
She said.


"I'll try not to.. but most people who mess up their relationships don't
usually do it on purpose." I noted.


"You're right about that." she replied as we pulled into the school's
parking lot.


As the Idabel Savages came onto the field, Tanner and some other guys who
had `anti-Idabel' shirts on booed the crowd. Well, actually, most Broken
Bow students did. The same went for when the Broken Bow team came onto the
field, but the Idabel side's booing was drowned out by the cheering of me
and the rest of the BBHS students.


The sun went down by 7:30, and the extremely bright stadium lights came on
all at once. It was the kind of surreal feeling that I didn't know existed
till I moved to Broken Bow. Watching the cheerleaders perform cheers
specifically worded to put down the other team, no holds barred really
intensified the game. The way the guys on the field were just nearly
fouling each other damn near made the game seem more like a brawl than a
regular football game.


The score was tied with just thirty seconds remaining on the clock when our
team's quarterback scored a touchdown. He had slid through two defensive
linebackers like water and won the game for us that week. Deafening cheers
erupted from our side of the stands and I wouldn't be surprised if we could
be heard all the way in Texas. Tanner had been on the other side of Taylor
throughout most of the game, so we hadn't talked much during the game. We
all went out front to our trucks and the others talked about where they
were gonna get the alcohol from for the night's party.


Tanner, on the other hand, put a rough hand around my waist and asked, "You
ready?" Not knowing what I was getting myself into, I gave him a smile and
whispered, "My life's in your hands, cowboy."