The Stable Boy

by Stalter, Harmony

  “That will not be necessary,” he said. “I can handle it. It is just that first time makes me nervous.”

  “Okay, but I must warn you that John always kept the hay in the loft of the feed barn. I had David bring me some down when he left, but there is still quite a bit up there.”

  “That is no problem. I can handle it,” he said as he loaded some of the wooden planks to fix the fence into the back of the gator. He grabbed the tools he needed from wall and tool chest. I got in the passenger seat of the gator. He drove me back to the house, and then he headed off to fix the fence.

  I sat on the porch step and watched him for a few minutes. He reminded me of John in so many ways. His walk, his confidence, and his ability to want to get this farm running were just like John at his age. I smiled. I got up and brushed off my backside. I went into the house and began preparing dinner. I made buttermilk fried chicken with mashed potatoes, biscuits, fresh corn on the cob, and homemade gravy. The chicken was frying, the biscuits were in the oven, and the potatoes were boiling when he was done. He knocked on the screen door.

  “Come on in, Joshua,” I said. He was covered in dirt. “If you want to wash up before dinner, there is a bathroom with a shower at the end of the hallway. It is the door on the left. I believe I have some men’s clothing still around. Let me get you something.”

  “Thank you, ma’am,” he said.

  “Please stop calling me ma’am. I asked you to call me Claire. I know it is your manners and I appreciate the great up bringing you have had, but if you are going to work for me and share meals with me, then we need to be on friendlier terms.”

  “Okay.”

  I went to the hall closet. He followed close behind. I could smell the dirt mixed in with his sweat. It was a smell I was all too familiar with. I missed it. I pulled out one of John’s old shirts and a pair of jeans. I never got rid of his stuff. I could not bring myself to do it.

  “There are towels in the closet in the bathroom. There should be soap and shampoo in the shower already.”

  “Thank you, again. I will be out in a few minutes.”

  “Okay, dinner should be done by the time you are out.”

  “Great,” he said.

  “What would you like to drink with your dinner?”

  “That sweet tea you offered early sounds mighty good.”

  “I will make sure there is a big glass waiting for you.”

  I handed him the clothes and squeezed past him in the tight hallway, rubbing his upper arm as I went. He turned to watch me walk back into the kitchen. I could feel his eyes burning a hole in my back. He went to take a shower while I checked on dinner. I had to take a couple of deep breaths to keep from following him in the bathroom. This was going to be trouble. I could not have this taking place. I was going to have to tell him over dinner that I was not going to need his services. He came out of the shower just as I was putting dinner on the table.

  “This smells and looks delicious,” he said.

  “Thank you,” I said. “It is the one thing I have always been good at. I love to cook, especially for someone who will enjoy it.”

  “I am sure this will be as good as it looks,” he said as he pulled out my chair for me.

  “Thank you,” I replied, sitting down.

  “You’re welcome.”

  We ate in silence. Staring at his blue eyes threw me for a loop. I did not want to let him leave, but I could not bare the thought of feeling like I was cheating on my deceased husband. He was the first to speak when he had finished eating.

  “It was just as delicious as it looked,” he said with one of the nicest smiles I had ever seen.

  “Thank you,” I replied, blushing. “I have homemade apple pie, if you have enough room for dessert.”

  “That sounds great,” he said.

  “A la mode or plain?” I asked.

  “A la mode,” he replied.

  “Do you want me to warm it up? I also have coffee or tea to go with it, or another glass of sweet tea.”

  “I will take it cold with a cup of coffee.”

  “Sounds good to me,” I said.

  “Can I ask you something?” he inquired.

  “Sure,” I said.

  “What happened to your husband?”

  I cringed at the question. It must have been a visible cringe.

  “I don’t mean to pry and you don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to, but you are so young to have lost your husband already.”

  “It’s okay,” I said with my back to him. I needed to wipe away the fresh tears that stung my eyes. “I knew you would get around to asking. He was a do it yourself kind of guy. The roof of the barn was leaking. Instead of calling a roofer, he tried to fix it himself. It had rained the night before. He slipped on a portion of the roof that was slick. He fell off the roof head first, crushing the vertebrae in his neck. I saw it happen. One of the farmhands called the ambulance immediately. I could not bare the thought of going over to him. He was gone. They said he died on impact.”

  “I am so sorry,” he said, as I heard the chair scrape across the linoleum floor. I felt his hand on my back. “Come here.”

  I turned around. He wrapped his arms around me. I buried my head in his shoulder and let the tears fall freely. I needed to have that cry. I had not cried in front of anyone before. I just kept it to myself until I was alone at night. It was a release of the emotions I had been pushing back since John’s passing. I had to remain strong and keep the farm running. For some reason, Joshua made me feel like I no longer needed to keep my feelings hidden. He reminded me so much of John. The coffee kettle whistled. I pulled away from him.

  “I’m so sorry you had to see me like that,” I said. “I normally wait until I am alone to cry like that.”

  “There is no need to apologize to me,” he said. “I should be apologizing for asking you about your husband.”

  “No, you shouldn’t. I would have eventually told you,” I said, taking a deep breath. I poured the coffee and plated the pie. “I need to tell you something.”

  “Okay,” he said, grabbing the ice cream scoop and placing a scoop on each piece of pie.

  “Do you take cream or milk, or sugar?”

  “No, I like mine straight up.

  “Just like, John,” I said with a smile.

  “Was that your husband’s name?”

  “Yes, it was,” I said, taking another deep breath. “Before you asked me about my husband, I was contemplating asking you not to come back.”

  “Did I do something wrong?”

  “No, it is just the memory of my husband was stirred up when you walked my horse back. You have the same walk and confidence.”

  “I will try to walk differently tomorrow, if you let me comeback,” he said with a big grin.

  I laughed. “You don’t have to walk differently. You are more than welcomed to come back tomorrow.”

  “Great,” he said.

  “Do you want to take some of this chicken or pie home with you?”

  “No thanks, but I wouldn’t mind eating it again for lunch tomorrow.”

  “Sounds like a plan.”

  We finished our pie and coffee.

  “Let me help you with the dishes.”

  “Thanks, but my husband was nice enough to install a dishwasher. He said I worked too hard cooking the meal. I did not need to work just as hard to clean up after it.”

  “I agree,” he said. “He sounds like he was a good man.”

  “He was a very good man,” I said.

  “Well, on that note, I am going to head back to the Everett farm.”

  “Okay, I will see you in the morning, Joshua.”

  “I will see you first thing. Please call me Josh.”

  “Okay, I will. Have a good night,” I said as I walked him to the door. He stopped at the door and turned around.

  “I believe my truck is still at the Everett farm.”

  “Oh my God,” I said with a chuckle. “I think you are
right. Let me give you a ride to get it.” I grabbed the keys to my truck off the carved wooden key holder by the door. John had carved it our first year of marriage. I was always forgetting where I put my keys. He said I could never lose them this way. It was a pair of angel wings with gold metal hooks at the bottom. He told me he made angel wings to go with my angel eyes. He always called me “angel eyes,” from the time we began dating.

  I looked up to see Josh staring at me.

  “Are you okay?” he asked.

  “Yeah, sorry, just memories.”

  He smiled. “It is good to have memories. It keeps the person alive in our hearts.”

  “Yes, it does,” I said with a smile of my own. He opened the driver’s side door for me. “Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome.” He went around to the passenger side and climbed in. We drove over to the Everett farm in silence.

  “Which is your truck?”

  “That beat up jalopy.”

  I pulled up next to the rusty, white Ford F150. He hopped out.

  “I will see you first thing in the morning.”

  “Okay, sounds good.”

  We both looked toward the screen door opening on the Everett’s porch. Bob and Alison Everett came out and over to us.

  “Do you think he is going to work out for you?” asked Bob.

  “Yeah, it seems he might.”

  “Good, I sent him over there with your horse. I knew your last guy left and you needed the help. I know if I called you, you would have just refused. He did not know my intentions when I sent him there. I simply do not have enough work to keep him busy here. He is a real hard worker.”

  “He seems to be. Thanks Bob.”

  “You’re mighty welcome, Claire.”

  “How have you been holding up, sweetheart?” asked Alison.

  “Doing the best I can, I suppose,” I answered.

  “You know I am just a phone call away, if you need someone to talk to.”

  “I know, thank you, Alison.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  Josh climbed in his truck and pulled up to the barn. I left. Back at home, I went inside. Closing the door behind me, I locked it. I was putting the dishes in the dishwasher when there was a knock. I looked out the window to see Josh standing by the door.

  “Hey, what’s wrong?” I asked as I opened the door.

  “Um, nothing,” he said rubbing his neck. “I was just kind of wandering if I could, maybe, sleep in the barn?”

  “Why would you want to sleep in the barn? Do you not have a home?”

  “No, not really, I just, kind of, always slept in my truck on the farm or in the barn.”

  “Josh, why didn’t you tell me that? Come in. I have four bedrooms in this house; you can sleep in one of them.”

  “I don’t want to be a bother. The barn will be just fine.”

  “You are not going to bother me. You can have the bedroom on this floor.”

  “Thank you, I really do appreciate it.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  I went to the back of the house to make the bed up, while he finished loading the dishwasher. I was almost finished when he walked in the room.

  “I’m sorry. I thought that maybe Mr. Everett told you my situation when we were over there.”

  “No, he did not. What happened?”

  “I have no family. My momma and daddy where killed in a car wreck when I was a kid. My grandparents raised me. They have both since passed away. The bank took the house for back taxes my grandfather owed. I didn’t know anything about it.”

  “There was no life insurance?”

  “No, they could barely afford to feed the three of us.”

  “I am sorry to hear that. There you go. The bed is all made. You already know where the bathroom is. Do you have clothes?’

  “Yes, I brought them in from my truck.”

  “There is plenty of closet space in this room and there is an empty dresser.”

  “Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome. I am going to head to bed.”

  “Okay, have a good night’s sleep.”

  “You, too,” I said as I brushed passed him. I had a feeling that I was going to regret having him in this house. He smiled and watched me walk down the hallway. I ran up the stairs. I walked down the hallway to the last door on the right. I closed my bedroom door and began to get undressed. My bathroom was attached to my bedroom. I grabbed my red robe from the back of my bedroom door. I turned on the shower and waited for the water to heat up. Undressing, I took a hot shower. Letting the water run over my body, I recounted the day. I could not believe what was taking place. I was going to have to speak to Bob Everett about this situation, but it could wait until tomorrow. Tonight, I was too tired.

  2 THE NEXT DAY

  I had restless sleep all night that night. I kept listening to see if he was moving around downstairs. It had been a long time since there was another person in this house. Finally, I woke up at 5:30am and stayed awake. I got ready to begin the day and went quietly down the stairs. I thought Josh was still asleep. I was wrong. I went to gather the eggs from the chickens and he was already out there feeding the horses. ‘Bob was right about this kid’ was all I could think. I gathered the eggs.

  “Good morning, Claire,” I heard from behind me.

  “Good morning, Josh,” I said. “How do you like your eggs?”

  “Over easy or in an omelet,” he replied.

  “Do you like fresh vegetables in your omelet or would you prefer ham and cheese?”

  “Either one would be fine, thanks for asking.”

  “You’re welcome. Breakfast will be ready in an hour. I will let you know when it is finished.”

  “Okay.”

  I went into the house. I could feel his eyes on me. I made the right turn into the kitchen where I grabbed my cutting board and chef’s knife to start cutting vegetables up for the omelets. After I gathered the onion, peppers, tomatoes, and cheese from the refrigerator, I picked up the receiver to my land line. I dialed Bob Everett’s farm. Alison answered on the first ring. She must have been in her kitchen preparing breakfast, too.

  “Good morning, Everett farm,” she said.

  “Good morning, Alison.”

  “Oh, hey, Claire, how are you this morning?”

  “Not too good. I did not sleep well last night after I received a house guest I was not expecting.”

  “Oh, we thought maybe he would have told you last night before you got here. That is why we didn’t say anything.”

  “He did not. We barely talked all day.”

  “I am very sorry. Did you let him sleep in your barn? He seems to be real comfortable sleeping there or in his truck.”

  “I could not in good conscience do that to someone. I gave him the downstairs guest room. What do you know about this guy? Please tell me you checked him out before he began working for you.”

  “We did. He grew up here after his parents passed away. Remember old man Jones, the one that used to always be at the general store selling his delicious homemade pickles.”

  “Yes.”

  “That is or was his grandfather.”

  “Oh, he was always so nice.”

  “Yes, he was. Josh has a lot of his traits. He has never been in trouble. He just likes working and is a hard worker. He loves being a part of a farm. It is what he grew up doing and knows what he is doing.”

  “Okay, I feel better about him being here, now. Thank you for obliging me.”

  “You’re welcome. What are you doing over there? I can hear you cutting things up.”

  “Cutting up vegetables for omelets, I am going to guess that you are making breakfast, too.”

  “Yes, I am. How did you guess?”

  “You picked up on the first ring.”

  “That is always an indication, isn’t it?” she laughed.

  “Yes, it is,” I said as I placed the vegetables in the skillet. The loud sizzle told me the skillet was preheated to t
he right temperature. I lowered the heat and let them simmer. I began peeling the potatoes to make home fries.

  “I know these past two years have been really rough on you, but I think it is about time we got together for dinner. What do you say?”

  “I’d like that. When do you want to do it?”

  “How about you and Josh come over this weekend, say Saturday. We can have a cookout.”

  “I will talk to him about it, but I would be up for it. What would you like for me to bring?”

  “Your famous pasta salad would be great. You know how much I love that stuff.”

  “You got it,” I said with a smile.

  “Great, I will let Bob know. Do you need me to ease your mind about anything else?”

  “No, I think I am all set. I will see you on Saturday.”

  “Okay, honey. You try and have a better day than your night. We will see you, Saturday.”

  “Good bye, Alison.”

  “Good bye,” she said with an audible click.

  I hung up the receiver, cut the potatoes and placed them in another skillet. I cracked eight eggs and beat them. I poured them over the vegetables and waited until it was time to flip the omelet. My mind was still racing over the situation I had gotten myself into or been put in. I peeked out the window to see that Josh was working with the colt. He had removed his plaid shirt to reveal a white tank top underneath. His skin glistened with sweat, giving his muscular body more definition. I stared so long I nearly burnt breakfast. I flipped the omelet and pulled the potatoes off the burner.

  “Josh, it is almost time to eat,” I said out the window. “Do you want toast?”

  “Is there any more of those biscuits from last night?”

  “Yes.”

  “Can I get two of those heated up just a bit?”

  “I can do that.” I heated up two biscuits for him and made myself some rye toast. “Time to eat, Josh.”

  He came in the house putting his shirt back on. ‘Thank God he is covering himself up or I may not be able to eat,’ I thought to myself. I smiled at him as he sat down.

  “Do you want coffee? I just brewed it.”

  “That would be great,” he said. “Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome.” I said as I poured him a cup. “Did you sleep okay last night?”