The English Woman

by Inch, Jennifer

  "Well, I should have thought about it. All I have is a couple of Hershey bars and two cans of coke" he said with a sheepish grin.

  "I guess that will have to do" Fran said laughing.

  "Well, I did tell you to have a good breakfast" Joe said as he stopped the Chevy, so they could get out and stretch their legs.

  Fran looked over the side and felt her stomach drop. "Wow I think I had better have that snack" she said, and they ate and drank while sitting on the road barrier overlooking the Dam.

  On the drive back from the Oroville Dam, Joe stopped at the ranch to check if there were any problems. The rice fields were divided into checks, which were flooded with water from the Sacramento River for many months of the year; the water being controlled by boards at the edges of each check. The water was drained from the fields about six weeks before harvest time which was at the beginning of October. It was Joe's first year to run the ranch and he seemed able to cope, but he was finding it difficult to have time off. As they approached the ranch a small bi-plane flew overhead almost touching the roof. Then they passed two Mexican looking men holding nets in one of the flooded fields.

  "We also spray pesticides to get rid of rice grass and shrimp. If the shrimp is left in the fields it would bite off the rice as it grows and so we consider the shrimp a pest. The local Mexicans and Pakistani's consider it a tasty meal, so they come around with their nets to see if they can gather some shrimps in before we start the spraying" he told Fran. He got out of the truck at the side of the track, bent over and put his hand in the water pulling out a sizeable shrimp which he held in front of Fran’s face.

  “Get that thing away from me” Fran shouted waving her hands in front of her face.

  Joe pulled the shrimp away. “You don’t fancy it for supper then!” he said laughing. “I’ll have to get some spraying done tomorrow, so I won’t be able to see you. I’ll take you home and get an early night.”

  When Joe left Fran at Richard and Stephanie’s house they were just preparing the evening meal, so Fran helped Stephanie in the kitchen. She had a pleasant evening with them, sitting on the veranda telling them about her visit to the Oroville Dam.

  **********

  After Joe had dropped Fran off at the Canyon he headed to the University. "I have to see Lauren" he thought, "I must tell her about Fran."

  Although it was late when he arrived at the University there were still students around using the facilities. Joe walked through the main building looking for Lauren although he had an idea where she would be. There was a sky diving club watching a video they had made in one room; students wrestling in one of the small gyms and a male student practising the euphonium in an auditorium. Some of the art students were testing lights on the stage whilst a Baptist congregation sang along with a band in gospel style at the end of the theatre. Lauren, being a music student, was in one of the small sound proof rehearsal rooms. She was a tall, attractive twenty one year old woman with dark brown hair and was standing next to an Italian student, Angelo, who was playing piano. It was hot and stuffy in the small room and as Joe listened to Angelo playing and Lauren singing numbers from Broadway shows he thought it was incredible that Angelo had only been playing piano for a year. After a few minutes Lauren turned to Joe and Angelo stopped playing and stood to say hello to Joe. He was a tall, handsome young man and because he had travelled so much he spoke reasonably good English. He had travelled with his family and lived in many countries so that his father could make money buying and selling diamonds and gold.

  "Hi Joe, it's good to see you" Angelo said as he shook Joe's hand "it's been a while."

  "Hi Angelo, yes I know, I've been very busy around the ranch. It's good to see you Angelo and your piano playing is brilliant. You have come a long way in a year; you must have done lots of practising." Joe said as he shook his hand. "I need to talk to Lauren, I hope you don't mind." He took Lauren's hand and walked her out the door.

  "Joe this is a surprise. When I saw you last you said you wouldn't be able to see me this week because a friend would be visiting" Lauren said trying to read Joe's thoughts.

  Joe let go of Lauren's hand and turned to face her. "Well, Lauren, that's why I have come to see you. My friend is here and her name is Fran. I met her in England over ten years ago and we have kept in contact by letter ever since. The thing is, now she is here I realise I still have strong feelings for her and I have told her that I'm not seeing anyone at the moment."

  "Joe, I thought we were dating. I know it's not serious but I do consider you my boyfriend. Are you breaking up with me?" Lauren said, her voice breaking and tears welling up in her eyes.

  "Sorry Lauren, I don't want to hurt your feelings, but I also don't want to go out with Fran behind your back" he said "and I would like you to meet her and be friends" he added pleading with his eyes.

  "Well Joe, I don't know" Lauren sobbed "I'll think about it."

  "Please Lauren, don't cry, you know our relationship wasn't serious. We are more like mates and I want us to stay friends. I have to get back to the ranch now because I've got a busy day tomorrow. I'll give you a call tomorrow evening and see how you are feeling" he said as he kissed her on the cheek and walked out of the University.

  Although Joe felt bad about upsetting Lauren he knew it was the right thing to do, because he could continue to see Fran without feeling guilty. He hoped Lauren would be okay with Fran because he wanted them to be friends. "Maybe when I 'phone her I could suggest that she brings Angelo along when she meets Fran" he thought.

  **********

  The following morning Stephanie told Fran that she was not working that day and if she wanted she could go with her and Jessica to the wine growing area called the Napa Valley. Fran accepted the offer and they picked up Jessica before driving through the mountains, which Fran thought was a very pleasant drive. They stopped in a small mountain village called Calistoga to have coffee in a converted railway station, before they came to the ten year old Sterling Vineyard just outside Calistoga.

  "I should be able to get a good picture from here" Fran said as she climbed into the gondola that swung them high into the air following the mountain side up to the Sterling Vineyard, and took some picturesque shots with her camera. On arrival at the top they joined the tour and Fran found her first visit to a vineyard extremely interesting and wished that she had more time to study everything.

  "What a lovely view" Fran said as she stood on a large patio on the roof looking over the Napa Valley. Then she took a photo of some huge eagles soaring overhead.

  Stephanie said “They have Graduation Balls on this patio in the summer and some wealthy people hold their Wedding Receptions here.”

  “How beautiful, it must cost a fortune” Fran responded.

  They then visited the gift shop where Stephanie purchased a hand-made blouse in a print reminiscence of wine making and after they went on to the terrace and sat around wine tasting. Unfortunately Fran found the wine to be bitter, which she thought could be due to the fact that the Vineyard had been going for only about ten years. They left the vineyard via the gondola and then drove through the rest of the Napa Valley passing many beautiful vineyards, the houses of which were in various styles, and Fran wished she could have visited them all. They stopped for lunch in a very expensive restaurant and ate a splendid meal. Fran had shrimps and avocado and couldn’t stop thinking about the shrimp Joe had waved in front of her face. After lunch they visited a candle making factory, and although everything looked very pretty the smell made Fran feel sick and she was glad to get out into the fresh air!

  Stephanie and Jessica had decided to do a circular route that day, so on the way back they went through the Sacramento Valley. They stopped at a small town where some old buildings and railway carriages had been converted into shops and looked around, and then Stephanie dropped Jessica off in Chico late afternoon. She couldn't stop because she had to get back to the Canyon to prepare an evening meal for Richard when he came home from work.
/>   **********

  It was a lovely calm day and was the perfect weather for spraying the rice with pesticides. After Joe had finished spraying and put the plane in the hangar, he drove back to the ranch house and grabbed some sandwiches and coke from the fridge, which Nancy had prepared before she took the girls for a walk.

  He then went out to his father, who was working on one of the combine harvesters. Larry hired out combine harvesters to other farmers in the autumn and Joe liked to help him keep them maintained.

  "Here father" Joe said as he offered a sandwich to Larry.

  "Thanks son, you finished the spraying then. I thought you were going to spray the barn the way you were flying!" Larry liked to criticise Joe's flying. He did not want to admit that his son was just as good a pilot as he was.

  Joe laughed. "Come on, what can I help you with?" he asked as he finished eating his sandwich.

  "You not seeing Fran then?" asked Larry.

  "No father, she's gone with Aunt Jessica and Stephanie to the Napa Valley. Knowing Stephanie they will probably be drinking wine in some vineyard right now" Joe replied.

  "She seems a nice girl, although English women do seem a bit strange, with their funny talking and ways" he said as he looked up from his work and grinned.

  "I'm sure you'll get use to her father, and I can tell you like her" Joe said as he picked up a rag and started wiping down some metal work.

  "What's happened to that music student, Lauren; I thought you were dating her?" Larry asked.

  "I was, but I told her yesterday that I was seeing Fran now" Joe answered.

  "So that's another one added to the list of ex's" Larry mumbled as he swigged back his coke to wash down his sandwiches.

  They spent a few hours working on the equipment and then Joe went back into the house. He decided to ring Lauren before he got involved in anything else, and picked up the 'phone and dialled her apartment number.

  "Hi Lauren, how are you feeling?" Joe asked before Lauren had time to speak.

  "As if you care Joe Peterson" she said bitterly.

  "Come on Lauren, please, let's be friends. I thought maybe you could meet Fran. Perhaps we could all go for a drink and you could bring Angelo" he said.

  "Maybe; I said I will think about it. Must go; I have rehearsals this evening." She hung up before Joe could say anything else.

  "She is obviously still mad at me" he thought, and then he picked up the 'phone and rang Stephanie's number. Stephanie explained that they had just got in and passed the 'phone to Fran.

  **********

  Fran was glad to have a day to herself. She did some washing, lazed around the house and then went for a walk along Honey Run Road. Stephanie had told Fran they had some evening appointments and would be home late, so Joe had arranged to pick her up early evening so they could eat out. They drove to Ricco’s Pizza Parlour in the Chevy.

  "We'll have a family size pizza" Joe told the girl at the counter. Fran looked at Joe puzzled.

  They sat down and talked until the pizza arrived and to Fran's astonishment it was huge. There was no way they could eat all of the pizza so Joe asked the waitress for a doggy bag and she presented them with some silver foil to take the left-overs home. This was the first time Fran had ever had a doggy bag which was normal practice in the States. She thought it was a good idea, after all they had paid for the meal and it would only be thrown out otherwise. Joe drove Fran back to the Canyon but on the way he pulled the Chevy up into some trees well away from the main road.

  Joe put his arms around Fran and they immediately kissed passionately. She felt slightly uncomfortable having eaten a lot of pizza but she tried not to think about that when he started undressing her. Although it was difficult in the small space they managed to make love.

  "I feel like a teenager again" Fran said as she pulled up her pants. Joe Peterson you are a bad influence on me!" she said laughing.

  "Well you can't say I'm boring" he said as he kissed her navel just before she pulled up the zip on her jeans.

  "I nearly zipped your nose" she said laughing.

  "We'll have to think of somewhere better than this to be alone" he said. "Jessica has a cabin in the mountains; perhaps she will let us use it for a few days" he added.

  "That sounds very romantic" Fran said as she pulled her fingers through her hair in an effort to make herself look respectable.

  When they arrived back at the Canyon Fran tiptoed to her room.

  **********

  The next morning Stephanie and Richard dropped Fran off at Jessica's house on the way to work. Jessica had a pot of coffee ready when Fran walked in.

  "Joe rang me and asked if you two guys could stay at my cabin for a few days" she said while pouring out two mugs of coffee. "I told him that would be fine, and said I would let you have the key."

  "Oh, that's lovely, thanks Jessica; we could really do with some time together" Fran said as she took the mug and sat down on the couch.

  "The key's here somewhere" Jessica said as she rummaged through a drawer in a side cabinet. Then she handed Fran the key which she put in her jeans pocket.

  "It's pretty basic but it's in a nice location and you guys won't be disturbed, apart from the odd wild animal!" she said with a grin.

  "The only wild animal I want to see is Joe!" Fran said, and they both laughed.

  After coffee Fran walked into Chico to do some shopping and had lunch in a diner. She walked back in the afternoon and stayed with Jessica until Stephanie and Richard picked her up after work and took her back to their house. Not long after they returned to the canyon the 'phone rang.

  "It's Joe for you Fran" Stephanie called from the kitchen. Fran excitedly grabbed the 'phone.

  "Hi baby, how was your day?" he asked Fran.

  "Just went into Chico and did some shopping and stayed with Jessica for a bit" Fran responded, "oh, and Jessica gave me the key for the cabin."

  "Great, she said she would. I missed you" he said. "How would you like it if mother took you out tomorrow and then brought you back to the ranch to have dinner with us?"

  "Yes that would be lovely." They talked for a while about Joe's day.

  "Oh, by the way" Joe said just before he hung up the 'phone. "I have some student friends I would like you to meet. Would you be okay to go out for a drink with them one evening?"

  "Yes, that would be nice" Fran said as she wondered why he hadn't mentioned any friends from the University before.

  **********

  The following morning Nancy left Larry looking after the girls, and collected Fran early and drove off to visit the Shasta Dam. On the way to the Dam they stopped at William B. Ide’s home which was built in 1860. In 1846 he had heard that the Mexican authorities were going to drive the Americans out of California, so he captured the Mexican officials at Sonoma and declared California independent and fashioned the California flag with a star and a bear in its field. After a few weeks this was replaced by the stars and stripes flag when California became part of the USA on 9 July 1846. The house was very basic but Fran was pleased to see that it had been preserved. It was set in a very pleasant park area where many people go to picnic.

  Before reaching William Ide’s home they had stopped in Red Bluff in a shopping centre called the Cowtown Plaza where each building represented an old Western building of the 1900’s. Nancy bought some shark skin boots for Larry and Fran fell in love with an old fashioned bath tub, but didn’t buy it! When they arrived at the Shasta Dam they were too late for the tour but watched the film in the auditorium. Fran secretly didn't mind because Joe had already taken her to a dam and she felt she knew all she wanted to know about irrigation.

  As soon as they arrived back at the ranch Nancy started preparing the evening meal, while Melissa and Marcia were watching children's TV in the lounge.

  "Joe will be in soon. He seems happy these days. I guess you two are getting along fine” Nancy said to Fran as she chopped some tomatoes.

  "Yes I really enjoy his company
; can I help? I could chop the onions; I wear contact lenses so they stop the onions from making me cry" Fran said as she moved next to Nancy.

  "Oh is that so, I didn't know that. Okay that would be great" she said passing the knife to Fran.

  "You know he has been seeing a girl from the University for a while. She's a lot younger, but then all his girlfriends seem to be a lot younger, it's like he forgets he is getting older. I think you're the first to be the same age; it would be nice for him to settle down" Nancy said looking at Fran and smiling.

  "What girl? How much younger?" Fran asked agitated.

  "Her name is Lauren, and I think she's about 21, but of course he won't be seeing her now that you're around."

  "Oh, I didn't know. Is there anything else I can do?" Fran asked changing the conversation. She had finished chopping the onions and Nancy passed her some peppers to chop.

  "Hi mother, I see you have some help" came Joe's voice from the doorway. The two women turned to look at him. "Hi Fran, have you two had a good day?"

  Fran found it hard to smile because she had images of him with a younger woman and a feeling of jealousy came over her. "Hi Joe, yes thanks, although the Dam was closed by the time we got there."

  "By the time you shower and change the dinner will be almost ready" Nancy informed Joe as he walked towards his room. He could tell Fran was not happy and wondered what had been going on before he got there. He guessed Fran would soon let him know.

  Larry came in from his workshop at the same time as Joe and soon they were all sat down to dinner. Larry spent most of the meal making jokes and telling funny stories which made Fran and the girls laugh, and so she did not dwell on the images of a younger woman in Joe's life. When the meal was over Nancy said "Joe, why don't you show Fran your room while Larry and I wash up the dishes and put the girls to bed."

  "Can Fran put us to bed" asked Marcia whilst jumping up and down on the couch.

  "Only if she wants to" responded Nancy looking at Fran.

  "I'd love to" Fran smiled at the girls "come on where's your room" she said as they each grabbed one of her hands.