Dead in Vineyard Sand by Philip R. Craig Page A

the tree house and the balcony.”
    Zee almost frowned. “The balcony is just for big people. You know the rule.”
    Diana nodded. “We need a place for the vine bridge to go, and the balcony’s the only place we can think of.”
    While their mother chewed and swallowed her bite of sandwich, Joshua looked at me. “You got a lot of rope out there in the shed, Pa. We could use that for vines. It’s strong rope that would do the job.”
    â€œI take it that this idea came from the movie,” said Zee. She looked from one of us to the other. The children looked at me.
    â€œWe watched it the first day of vacation,” I said. “You missed it because you were working. There’s this great scene where the leopard men are trying to capture Jane and Boy, and there’s a lot of fighting up in the tree house and on the vine bridge. We have a tree house and a rope to swing down to the ground, but we don’t have a bridge.” I looked at the children. “That’s the idea, isn’t it?”
    They nodded. “That’s it, Pa. Only we don’t have vines, so we think rope would be good.”
    â€œJoshua and me could help make it,” said Diana. “We don’t have to go to school, so we could work all day.”
    â€œJoshua and I,” said Zee. She looked at me. “I think I’d better see this movie.”
    Her children thought that was an excellent idea. “You’ll like it, Ma! It’s good!”
    â€œA classic,” I concurred. “No one should grow up without seeing Tarzan and the Leopard Woman. ”
    â€œThen we can all make the bridge!” said happy Diana.
    â€œNow, just hold your horses,” said Zee. “We’re going to have to talk about it before we decide anything. We’ve gotten by without a rope bridge so far, and I’m not sure we need one now.”
    â€œAw, Ma . . .”
    â€œI didn’t say no, but I haven’t said yes, either,” said firm Zee. “We’ll talk about it later, after I see the movie.” She put her great, dark eyes on me and said, “And after your father and I have talked about it.”
    I took her hand. “It’s always a pleasure to have an intimate chat with you, my sweet.”
    She gave me a huge faux grin, teeth pressed firmly together, and said, “I love being kept up to date on things my husband and children are doing. It makes me feel like I’m important to them.”
    I held on to her hand and widened my smile. “Mothers are always the center of happy families, and there’s nothing better than a happy family!”
    Zee surveyed hers and sighed. “Break out your video again, Jefferson. We can have a movie matinee.”
    The children were delighted. “We can all watch it together!”
    The family that watches Tarzan and the Leopard Woman together is a healthy family. After I’d washed the dishes and stacked them in the drainer, I got the video from its shelf.
    â€œYou’ll love it,” I said to Zee as I closed the living room curtains and she put the video into the VCR. “Johnny Weissmuller, Brenda Joyce, and Johnny Sheffield. What could be better? And did you know that somebody recommended Cheetah for an Oscar?”
    â€œNo, I didn’t,” said Zee, taking her place on the couch beside me.
    The drama unfolded as before, and justice triumphed again, although not without difficulty. If Cheetah hadn’t untied Tarzan just in time, heaven only knows what might have happened.
    â€œWell,” I said to Zee, when the movie was over. “What do you think? Great, eh?”
    â€œWell,” she said, “I have to admit that the tree house looked pretty good. All the dirt on the floor would just fall right down to the ground. Jane wouldn’t have to do much sweeping.”
    â€œNice bamboo shower too. Clever of Tarzan to build it.”
    â€œI like our outdoor shower