When Bitter Springs was first released and I was on a “virtual book tour,” I was asked a really fun question that gave me a little more time to play with one of my favorite characters, Hank Burnett.
Warning! If you haven’t read the book, spoilers abound.
Give us a to-do list for one of your characters.
Well, Hank is the sort of man who appreciates order, but also has a rather droll sense of humor. Now that he and Renaldo have gotten to a place of ease out at Bitter Springs, I like to think his “to-do list” would go a little something like this…
- Go hide Renaldo’s boots before he wakes up. He does have awful handsome feet, come to think of it.
- Stop in and tell Juana Maria good morning.
- Check and see if she needs anything. She don’t need to be lifting those heavy pans all the time.
- Take a breakfast plate back to Ren after washing up the rest for Juana Maria.
- (She did go to all the trouble of cooking something for me, after all.)
- Tell Ren where you hid his boots (after he earns it)
- Give Cecilia a good rub down
- Check Puerco’s back leg. He’s been favoring it.
- Sneak Paloma some of them prickly pear fruits.
- Catch that squeak in the kitchen door hinge that Juana Maria mentioned last night at supper
- Remind Eduardo that it’s no trouble at all for little Pedro to come along with me while I work with the ladies and Puerco in the north corral
- Show Pedro how to whistle on a blade of grass
- Remind him not to make his mama crazy whistling all the durn time
- Hide Ren’s boots for teasing me about carrying Pedro all morning on my shoulders
- Make Ren earn his boots back
- Nap
- (With Ren)
- Make Ren go get some of them molasses cookies Juana Maria said she’d make me for fixing the kitchen door
- Tell Juana Maria thank you myself because Ren probably won’t let her know just how much I like her cooking, and it’s important
- Sneak Cecelia some of them prickly pear fruits she’s so fond of
- Help Hortensia fix the water pump out by her place
- Remind Eduardo that no, it’s no trouble at all
- Hide Ren’s boots for teasing me about being a sucker for all the ladies at Valle Verde
- Don’t let him earn his boots back because he ought to know better
- Well…. maybe he can earn them back if he keeps doing that one thing
- Make supper – that fatback and bean dish Ren’s partial to
- Spring a ‘warm summer night bedroll under the stars’ surprise on Ren just because
- Be grateful
- (Make sure Ren knows just how much)