The Stable Boy

by Stalter, Harmony

  “That is true. I can see why it would scare you.”

  “Yeah, you get used to it after a while. It is to the point when I don’t even notice it anymore when I am sleeping. It used to wake me up.”

  “It is loud.”

  “I know. I am waiting for the morning I go out there and the door is in the middle of the pasture.”

  “A good strong storm comes through here and I am sure that will happen,” he said as a clap of thunder sounded over head. The crashing clouds let out a spark of lightening. The entire room lit up. Another clap of thunder sounded. “It looks like we are in for a good one tonight.”

  “It sure does,” I said walking over to the door. I open the door to latch the screen door. A wind gust came through trying to pull it back open. I secured the latch before it was able to fully grab a hold of it. I stood there watching the lightening strikes dance among the clouds, lighting up each cloud as they moved from one to the next. I felt his arms around me. “I love storms. They have such a mystery to them. They can be beautiful and scary at the same time.”

  “I have not heard anyone describe storms as beautiful before.”

  “I just like the way the lightening strikes. It gives a dark portion of the clouds new light.”

  “The thunder doesn’t bother you?”

  “No, when the thunder rolls through the sky, I think of the train tracks I used to live by as a kid. I used to sleep to the sound of the passing trains. When we first moved here, I couldn’t sleep because it was too quiet. The thunder helps me sleep. When the rain beats on the window pane, it sets its own rhythm like that of a beating heart or a song on the radio. It makes me happy. It is hypnotic.”

  “I never saw storms in that way. When I moved here as a kid, I used to hide under my bed when it stormed.”

  “Really?” I asked. “I can’t see you doing that.”

  “Yes, we didn’t have storms like this in New York City. They scared me, until my grandfather made me sit on the porch with him one summer evening during a storm. We sat through the whole thing and never said a word. I was never scared after that. I saw that there was nothing to really be scared of. It was just the sky making noises.”

  “In Montana, the storms were like they are here, just not as frequent. They only took place in May and June. The rainy part of the spring was always my favorite. I used to sit by my bedroom window and watch the sky light up. There is just something about it that fascinates me.”

  “I think you missed your calling as a meteorologist,” he said with a smile.

  “Hardly,” I said with a laugh. “But I do think all farmers need to be able to predict the weather in their own way. Our crops live and die by our knowledge of the seasons and their patterns.”

  “My grandfather was really good at knowing what was going to happen and when to put the seeds in the ground.”

  “That is because he did it all his life.”

  “Yes, he did. He taught me a lot about it. It took a while for me to learn it, but now I know when it is the right time to plant.”

  “That is the best thing to know as a farmer or you can lose so much.”

  “Yes, you can,” he said, squeezing me a little tighter. “Ready to go to bed or did you want to watch the storm more?”

  “I am definitely ready to go to bed.”

  “Me too,” he said, letting go. I grabbed his hand and led him up stairs. I was ready for him to share my bed. Turning on the bedroom light, I saw the pictures that were on the ledge above the headboard on the bed. The wind gust blew them down. I picked them up, looking at each of them. They were all pictures of John and I. “Let me help you with that.”

  “It’s okay,” I said. “I got it, but can you get me a towel from the bathroom. This ledge is soaked.”

  “Sure,” he said going into the bathroom. He came back with a towel and wiped down the ledge. “Does it always get this wet when it rains?”

  “Only when there is a lot of wind,” I said, taking the towel from him. I wiped each picture off. “Most of the time it stays dry.”

  “I think we need to close the window, maybe not all the way, though.”

  “Yeah, if we don’t want to get wet or have the pictures smack us in the head while we are sleeping, it’s definitely necessary to close them part way,” I said with a laugh.

  “What’s funny?” asked Josh.

  “I just had a mental picture of us sleeping and all of the sudden the pictures come flying off the ledge. It is either the making of a good horror flick or one of us would wake up with a knot on our heads.”

  “It would most likely be me,” he said, smiling. “I have always been accident prone. My grandmother used to say, if it could cut, bruise, or break a bone, I attracted it.”

  “Always good to know what to expect with you, I better stock up on bandages and ointments.”

  “Hey, now, I haven’t had and injury in many years, since I was about 19.”

  “What happened?”

  “I was trying to impress a girl and jumped off of the tractor. I broke my leg. I ended up at the County General Hospital getting it set and casted. The receptionist that was there the night Alison went in was the same one that was there the night I was there.”

  “Are you kidding? She has been there that long?”

  “Yeah, she remembered me, too.”

  “Making impressions on women wherever you go,” I said, laughing.

  “There is only one woman I want to make an impression on,” he said pulling me close.

  “Believe me when I say you have made all the impressions you need to make on me,” I said, kissing him. He laid me down on the bed. Laying his body on mine, his elbows at my shoulders, he stroked my hair while kissing me. I reached to pull his shirt off. He reached down and grabbed my hand.

  “Not tonight,” he said. “I just want to hold and kiss you tonight.”

  “Okay,” I said, wrapping my arms around him. He rolled us over. I was now on top. The thunder clapped so hard it made us both jump. We laughed. “That was a close one.”

  “Yes, it was,” he said as I rolled myself off of him. I laid on my stomach and watched the lightening dance in the sky. He rolled over to watch with me. The sky lit up and another clap sounded in the distance. He entwined his fingers in mine. We laid there watching until the storm calmed down.

  “That was a beautiful storm,” I said.

  “Seeing the storm as you see it, is a different experience. I have never known anyone to feel how you do about storms.”

  “John used to say I could find the beauty in the weirdest things.”

  “I think he was right. Not that there is anything wrong with it. Seeing things differently than others can open a whole new world up for you and for the person you are sharing your life with. I am just glad that person is me.”

  “Thank you,” I said. “He was always happy to hear what I had to say about things he may have found not as beautiful as I did. Your willingness to listen to my craziness as much as he did makes me feel at ease. I am glad to be sharing my thoughts and feelings with you in this moment. It makes me happy. I am glad that you are here.”

  “I am happy to be here. Walking across the pasture with your horse was a scary moment as I did not know what to expect when I came to your door. When I saw you open it, my heart skipped a beat. I was a little nervous.”

  “Nervous?” I asked.

  “Yes, the state of the farm had me worried about the animals and I was afraid that if I asked to tend to it you would tell me no.”

  “Ah, well I have never been one to turn down help when I needed it. I know it is in disarray, but I do all that I can. I was never taught how to use the equipment, so using it was not an option for me.”

  “The animals all are healthy, but the land was what worried me. I knew it was going to be time to plant the crop in a couple of days. I was afraid that if it did not get planted you would be in danger of losing your land.”

  “I only have a couple of payments left to ow
n it as I did pay most of it off with John’s life insurance policy. The milk sales from the cows and eggs from the chickens help keep my head above water. The little bit I make each week from transcribing the doctors notes keeps food on the table. During the fall and winter months the apples and pears from the various apple and pear trees will sell well. If the crop this spring is good, then I will be able to pay the farm off completely.”

  “We will make sure that it is. I saw the apple and pear trees out back. The apples are just beginning to form. When we went into town, I noticed you sold the pears to the local market.”

  “Good, when they are ready, I can make a couple of apple pies to sell at the fall harvest festival in town. I can even sell bushels of apples and pears with the different varieties I have out there, it will be good. Yes, the pears are always the first to harvest. Some begin ripening in August and will continue to bear fruit to anywhere from January to July.”

  “I noticed there are a couple of different varieties out there. Was there a reason you planted them?”

  “No, we just have always been big apple and pear eaters, so having a few different varieties made us happy.”

  “What kinds do you have?”

  “All of apples are ready to harvest in the month of October. We have the Cameo, Rome, the Blushing Golden; John said he planted that one especially for me, Granny Smith, the Pink Lady and the Fuji apple. The pears are Green and Red Anjou, the Green and Red Bartlett, the Bosc, the Concorde, and the Forelle. Most of the pears can be harvested starting in August,” I said with a smile.

  “The Blushing Golden was especially for you. That is great. The more you tell me about John, the more I like him,” Josh said, laughing.

  “Yeah, he was a kidder. He liked to crack jokes.”

  “I can tell,” he said with a yawn. “Sorry about that.”

  “No reason to be sorry, it is getting late,” I said looking at the clock.

  “Yeah, I guess it is,” he said seeing the clock read 2:00am. “I like just talking with you. We can talk about anything.”

  “I know,” I said. “But, I do believe we need to get some sleep if we are going to get stuff done tomorrow.”

  “Sounds like a plan,” he said. “Come here.”

  “Okay,” I said sliding over to him. He put his arms around me and kissed me good night. I laid my head on his chest and we both fell fast asleep.

  7 The sweetest fruit

  The alarm interrupted our peaceful sleep at 6:30am. I did not want to get out of bed, but the day was calling my name. We both got up. Josh went down stairs to get dressed. I got dressed and went down stairs. Going outside, I went straight to the chicken coops. I gathered the eggs, making up the dozen cartons as I always do. Talking about the Fall Harvest with Josh made me excited for it. I had not participated in the past couple of years, but asked Alison to pick the apples and pears and sell them for me. After gathering the eggs, I went inside to begin breakfast. Josh met me at the door.

  “I am going to get the cows set up for milking and feed the horses,” he said.

  “Great, I will begin making breakfast,” I said.

  “Okay,” he said, kissing me. I went into the kitchen and started breakfast. I wanted to finish up the doctors transcriptions today and then check on the apples and pears. If they were ripe, I would begin harvesting them. Each variety would ripen at a different time. John planted them so there was not an overwhelming demand of the fruit to be picked all at once. I loved being out there with the apples and pears and harvesting them. When we lived in Montana, we would go apple and pear picking together. There was a rush of joy that came over me when he planted the trees on our own farm. Josh came in as I just finished making breakfast.

  “This morning, I am going to finish up the files for the doctors, and then I plan on going to check the apples and pears. Do you want to go with me to see if they are ripe enough to pick?”

  “I would love to,” he said. “It will be something new for me to learn. I have never gone apple or pear picking, so I don’t know when to tell if they are ready or not.”

  “I will teach you everything you need to know. It was the one thing on the farm I was always good at.”

  “I’ll make you a deal,” he said. “You teach me about the apples and pears and I will teach you about the farm equipment.”

  “Deal,” I said. “I always wanted to learn, but John said that was his job, not mine.”

  “I agree with him, but you have to learn at some point.”

  “I agree, I was here alone for months and the farm fell into disarray. If I end up being here alone again, then I at least want to be able to run the farm properly.”

  “You don’t have to worry about being alone, again. I am not going anywhere. I am here for as long as you will have me.”

  “I know you are,” I said with a smile. “But things we cannot control do happen. I just want to be sure that I am able to care for the farm.”

  “You will be able to when I am done teaching you.”

  “Good,” I said. “I will warn you that I suck at driving stick shift. I know that the equipment is stick shift.”

  “It isn’t that hard,” he said, laughing. “By the time I am done teaching you, you will be a pro. We may have to replace a few parts here and there, but you will learn.”

  “I may frustrate you along the way, but I want to learn,” I said as I placed breakfast on the table.

  “I don’t think you could ever frustrate me.”

  “You’d be surprised,” I said with a laugh.

  “We will see,” he said, smiling. We sat and ate our breakfast. He kept smiling at me throughout the meal. I liked when he smiled. It lit up the room. The smile was not only on his lips, but in his eyes. You could see that he was truly happy being in this house. It warmed my heart. I was still a little apprehensive about him being here, but I was slowly coming around. Leaving him here alone on Saturday was going to test my resolve. “I am going to check on the cows and finish mowing the other pastures. When you are ready to go check on the apples and pears, come and get me.”

  “I will,” I said, clearing our plates. “I need to finish up the last of the transcriptions, and then I will be up there. It may be right after lunch that I go out there.”

  “Sounds good,” he said. “I am looking forward to it.”

  “Good, then maybe you can teach me about the tractor.”

  “I like that idea,” he said with a grin. He got up from the table and went back to work. I went up stairs after putting the dishes in the dishwasher to begin work. I looked out the window to see the calf following Josh to the equipment barn. I shook my head. She really liked him. He still had not come up with a name for her. I sat down and opened the first file. Reaching behind me, I turned on the transistor radio. Listening to the music as I worked made the time go faster and the work easier. I was done within three hours. I sat back and relaxed for a minute. I wanted to go check the apples and pears. I heard the tractor out in the east pasture. I decided to make some sandwiches and take them to him. I jumped on the gator and took a ride out to him. He saw me coming and cut the engine. We ate our sandwiches in the back of the gator.

  “Are we going apple and pear picking?”

  “Depending on their ripeness, yes we are,” I said.

  “Since you know which variety is what, you should drive the gator over there.”

  “Okay,” I said. “Let’s go.”

  “Is it weird that I am excited about this?” he asked as we climbed into the front of the gator.

  “No,” I said. “I was excited for my first apple and pear picking experience, too.”

  “Okay,” he said. “At least, I know I am not the only one.”

  “I think everyone who has ever been apple or pear picking has felt a little tinge of excitement their first time,” I said as we pulled up to the first row of Cameo apples. We got out of the gator. I went to the first tree to see the plump fruit sitting on the branch. I grabbed the ladder out of the
gator. Setting it up, I climbed until I was able to reach the fruit. Picking one off, I tossed it down to Josh. “Look at the flesh of that one and tell me what you see.”

  “It is red and yellow, maybe orange, striped,” he said.

  “Good, now smell it,” I said.

  “There is no scent to it. Should there be?”

  “Yes, you should be able to smell it. If there is no aroma, then it is not ripe enough yet.”

  “Ah, so this one is no good.”

  “No, the Cameos are not ready yet.”

  “Okay,” he said as I climbed down the ladder.

  “Let’s move over to the Rome,” I said. “See the red flesh on that one there?”

  “Yes,” he said.

  “It may be ready to pick, but these are tricky as it’s too early in the season for it to be ripe enough to eat. It may have a tart flavor.”

  “Ah, so the longer it stays on the tree the better?”

  “Sometimes,” I said. “It can tend to hurt the fruit the longer it stays on the tree. Some will ripen beautifully in storage.”

  “Really?” he asked.

  “Yes, each variety is different,” I said as we continued to go through the rows of apples to see if there were any ripe enough to pick. “See this Blushing Golden? If I was to pick it now and place it in storage for a week before selling it to the market, it would be perfectly ripened when a customer would get it home.”

  “That is great to know.”

  “The Granny Smith, Pink Lady, and the Fuji are the last ones to be picked. You can actually store these for up to three months.”

  “Wow, I guess you do know a lot about apples. Now, what about those pears?”

  “The pears you have to pick when they are firm. These all ripen best when you leave them in a bowl on your counter. They way to tell these are ripe it to lightly press on the neck of the fruit. When there is a slight give, they are ripe. There are certain varieties, such as the Bosc, and Concorde, that do not have to be soft to be ripe.”

  “Which variety are the ones that have not become pears, yet?”

  “Those are the Forelle. Those flowers will turn into pears in October. They are very small pears, but delicious.”