by A. American
She fidgeted for a moment, then asked, “Can I have one, please? I was never a big smoker, just one every now and then. And I haven’t even thought about a cigarette in a long time. But I just caught the smell of yours and now I can’t stand it.”
Squinting against the sun, Perez replied, “I don’t know. I’d hate for you to start a bad habit.”
“Quit being an ass and give the lady a cigarette,” I said.
Signaling defeat, Perez shook one out of a pack he produced from his shirt. When he leaned forward to offer her the smoke, I grabbed the pack and tossed it to Janet. “Just keep it. He’s got plenty more of those commie smokes. He looted the bodies of all the Russians we killed. While we were collecting weapons and ammo, he was busy taking their smokes.”
Janet quickly took a cigarette from the pack and held it up, asking, “Do you mind?”
As he fished into his pocket, Perez asked, “You don’t have a lighter either?” Finding his lighter, he lit her cigarette. Janet took a long drag and held it before letting it out.
With her eyes closed, she said, “That. That’s what I miss. That little rush.” She looked at the pack, then at Perez, “Thank you for the gift.”
He pulled another unopened pack from his pocket and waved her off, “No problem.”
Looking at Mel, I asked, “What have you two been up to?”
“Nothing. Just girl talk. You wouldn’t be interested.”
I looked at her, then at Janet. “Yeah, I’ve been married long enough to know when I hear bullshit. And I’m hearing bullshit.”
Janet started to laugh. “You’re right. You two have been married too long.”
“It only feels like forever,” I replied. “Right, babe?”
Mel gave me a snarky smile and gave Janet a gentle push, “Come on. I’ll introduce you to Ted.”
“What?” I asked quickly. “Introduce you to Ted? You already met Ted.”
Mel shook her head. “You have been married too long.”
Then it hit me, “Oh, introduce him. I get it. Good for you. He’s a good guy. Just remember, he comes with an annoying pet.”
Janet looked down towards the lake. “I think his dog has a new chew toy and won’t be a bother.”
I looked down at Mike and Crystal; they were obviously getting along pretty well. But I was curious about something. “I’ve got to ask. Why is everyone so casual about her hooking up with someone you don’t even know? I mean, I’ve known these guys for a while and I don’t want them hooking up with my daughters.”
“That’s because they’re your girls,” Mel replied.
“Crystal is a grown woman. She’s been stuck on the ranch since the Day. We all have. So, seeing new faces is nice. That and we always worried what would happen to her. Whether or not she would be able to find a man when the time was right.” She looked off into the distance and added, “And it’s like Daddy says. After all we’ve been through, we need to grab a hold of happiness whenever and wherever we find it.”
“That I agree with,” Mel said.
“I’ll leave you two up to your shenanigans,” I said as I walked off. I found Danny where I’d expect to find him, out near one of the large barns.
The place was scattered with old, broke-down and discarded farm equipment of all kinds. Danny was looking at an old row planter when I came up behind him. “You seen any corn harvesters?” I asked.
“Not yet,” he replied as he stood up.
“It would be a life saver if we found one.”
He pointed to another larger barn a short distance off. “Let’s go look over there.”
We walked around the big metal building for a while marveling at the vast variety of equipment quietly rusting under the sun. When we walked around to the back of it, we saw something interesting.
“I think this is a corn harvester,” Danny said as he ran his hand over one of the large cone-shaped pieces on the front.
I knelt down and looked into the machine. “I don’t know anything about corn pickers, but it looks like it could only harvest two rows at a time.”
“That’s twice as many as we can pick by hand.”
“Looks like you pull it with a tractor.”
Danny walked around to the rear of the machine and said, “Here’s the belt where the finished corn comes out.”
“I think you’re right. Let’s go up to the house and talk to Dave about it. If we could use this, it would save us so much time. Even if it only does two rows at a time.”
We walked back up to the house. Dave and Sarge were still sitting beside one another in the rocking chairs. It made me smile to think of the old show, The Odd Couple. Because if ever there was such, they were it.
“Hey, Dave.” I said as we walked up. “Out there behind that big barn is what I think is a corn picker. Am I right?”
“Oh yeah. That’s a New Idea 2540. It’ll pick two rows at a time. But ain’t nobody got no corn now, so I don’t think it’ll ever run again.”
“What if someone did have some corn? Say, about fifty acres of it?”
He looked up and asked, “You folks have a cornfield?”
“We do. We found some feed corn and planted it. It did well and is about ready to harvest. That machine would make the job a lot easier.”
Dave got up from his chair. “That thing’s been sitting for years. It probably doesn’t work now. But we can damn sure fix that!”
“Morgan, go over and get Cecil,” Sarge said, giving voice to what I was already thinking.
I returned with Cecil and introduced him to Dave. Shaking the man’s hand, Cecil said, “Good to meet you. Thank you for having us over today.”
“Morgan here tells me you got a field of corn about ready to pick.”
Cecil nodded. “I do. And it’s going to take everyone we know to get it done.”
“What if you had a New Idea two-row picker?”
“I ain’t seen one of those in years!” Cecil announced. “It sure would save the corn crop.”
“Well, it just so happens that I have one.”
Cecil looked surprised, “You pullin’ my leg?”
“No, we saw it,” I replied. “You want to walk over and look at it?”
“Yes, I do!” Cecil nearly shouted.
We all walked back over to the barn. After pulling weeds up from around it and scraping out all manner of rat nests and who knows what, we got a look at the machine.
“She’s going to need a lot of work,” Sarge said.
“It does,” Dave replied. “But these were made to be used on small family farms. They were simple machines that anyone could work on. Not to mention, they were built like a tank. We’ll get this thing pulled out and back into shape in a couple of days.”
Pointing at the contraption, Cecil asked, “You mean I can have this?”
Dave laughed, “You’re the only man I know of with a cornfield. Hell yes, you can have it! If it’ll help bring in that corn, you can damn sure have it.”
“That sure will make it easier. Say, you don’t mind if I come over and help put it back together? I like to know how to work on the equipment I use.”
“Feel free, we could use the help.”
Just then, a loud clanging erupted from the direction of the house. I looked up to see Janet ringing a very large triangle hanging from a post in the backyard and announcing, “Supper’s ready!”
“Gentlemen, this thing isn’t going anywhere, and I’ve been smelling that cooking meat all day. What do you say we go up and get us a plate?” Cecil said.
“That’s a fine idea,” Dave said. With a sweep of his arm, he added, “Come on, boys. Let’s eat.”
The spread of food was rather impressive. Of course, there was plenty of beef. But there were to my amazement also French fries. They were a huge hit with everyone as it had been so long since anyone had had a fry. The buns Kay made went over well too. She even made a pretty decent ketchup that really dressed up the burgers and went well with the fries.
“Kay, this ketch
up is really good. I have missed ketchup so much,” Mel said.
I laughed, “That’s putting it really mildly,” I said. “You ate fries as a vehicle for ketchup.”
Mel dipped a potato into the sauce and replied, “You’re right and this is really good.”
“But it’s not Heinz.”
“Heinz hasn’t got a thing on this stuff.”
“Thank you, Mel.” Kay said. “It’s alright. Better than nothing.”
She was shouted down with cat calls and praise for her variation. It was just nice to have something like it, something different. I looked across the table at Dave and asked, “How big a tater field do you guys have?”
“We grow a few acres of them,” he replied as he stabbed one with his fork. “This variety does well down here and is really prolific. We dehydrate a lot of them and use as many fresh as we can. We can give you some for seed if you want.”
“That would be great,” Thad quickly said.
Nodding in Thad’s direction, I said, “Thad is our resident farmer. He’s the primary one that takes care of our garden.”
“Be sure and take some of the seed spuds with you. We’ve got plenty of them.”
“Things are looking up,” Sarge announced. “We’ve got beef, taters and corn. Things are starting to change!”
“Amen,” I said.
I ate two hamburgers and a steak. Not to mention a pile of fries. The kids stuffed themselves on the potatoes. It probably helped that they were fried in beef fat in a big pot over the fire. That fat added something to them that was hard to describe. A heart surgeon’s nightmare, but damn good. Besides, we could afford to eat like this every now and then. There just weren’t many opportunities to indulge in foods that were less than healthy.
The kids all ran for the lake as soon as they finished their food. Well, almost finished. I saw Edie running for the water with half a burger in her hand. There were other kids here as well and when Travis walked past me, I asked about them.
He pointed to two little towheaded kids. “Those two are ours.”
The kids were splashing and playing at the edge of the lake with Jace and Edie. “How are you related to Dave?” I asked.
“We’re not. I just knew the family and when things went south, we eventually found our way here. I work for them and in turn, they took us in. Treat us like family. Dave and his family are good people.”
“That’s good. It’d be hard to be on your own now.”
“Yeah, it was tough. Erin is a nurse, so they really like having her around. I can work on about anything, so it’s a good deal for all of us.”
“I’ve got something in the truck for Dave, I almost forgot,” I said as I headed for the front of the house.
Slinging the sack of flour over my shoulder, I walked it back to the house and set it on the floor in the kitchen. Going out to the porch, I told Dave.
“You didn’t have to do that. But we really appreciate it.”
“I told you I’d give it to you and I want to keep my word.”
“We’ll surely put it to use. I can already taste the biscuits and gravy.”
I looked at Travis and asked, “You get those hogs into a pen?”
“Oh yeah. We fixed up a pen for them. They’re not getting out of it either.”
“Well, fellers, I think I’m going to go for a swim,” I announced and headed for the lake.
The lake was nice, with a white sandy beach and all the weeds cleaned out from the swimming area. The water was cool and clear. When I asked about gators, Dave laughed and said he was waiting on another one to move in. He was out of gator meat. Naturally, this gave him and Sarge something else to talk about. He also told me the lake was spring fed, so it never heated up like smaller bodies of water will do in Florida.
Seeing me coming, Little Bit got excited and started calling for me to get in the water. I took off my shirt and shoes and waded into the water where I was immediately attacked by a throng of kids. I fought back by picking little bodies up and tossing them through the air to splash down in the water. The kids loved it and I spent the next several minutes hurling small bodies and splashing around.
But they wore me out and I squatted down in the water. Little Bit climbed up on my back and I swam around with her. Then, I had to give all the other kids a ride as well. They wore me out! My intention to relax in the water had not played out as planned, but that was ok. So, after giving the last little one a quick ride, I said I was getting out and started for the bank.
“Come on, Daddy! Don’t get out!” Little Bit cried as I tried to walk out of the water. She was wrapped around my leg, making it slightly difficult.
Reaching down and tickling her, I replied, “You’ve worn me out, kiddo! I need to go sit down and relax now.” She wouldn’t let go, so I wrenched her from my leg, held her up over my head and waded back out to a little deeper water and tossed her in. It gave me the chance I needed to get away.
I took a seat in a chair in the field between the house and lake where I could watch the kids and dry in the sun. Mike and Crystal were still together, sitting on a small dock in the center of the lake. As people finished their meal, they made their way to the lake’s edge. Some went for a swim and others just sat in the water. Dave and Sarge moved chairs down to the water’s edge and sat with Kay.
The oppressive heat of the day was starting to release its grip and it was cooling off a bit. Being close to the water helped too. Thad and Mary pulled chairs up beside me and sat down. I looked over and asked, “You aren’t going swimming?”
“No. I’m good. My belly is full, all I want to do is sit for a minute.”
I leaned forward so I could see Mary and said, “You should get him in the water.”
She smiled. “I know. I tried. But he wasn’t having it.”
“The water feels great. You should go for a swim even if he doesn’t want to.”
“I think you’re right.” She stood up and stripped off her t-shirt to reveal the bathing suit beneath. “I think I will go for a swim.” She leaned over and kissed Thad before running into the water. Of course, she was swarmed by the kids who were excited to see any adult get in.
Fred and Aric walked by holding hands and waded out into the water. The kids wanted to play with them as well, but Fred said she couldn’t play, leaving Aric to deal with them on his own. He managed to shoo them away and wrapped his arms around Fred as they moved around in the shallow water. Gina and Dylan were sitting in the shallow water at the edge of the lake. Dylan had a steak in his hand that he was ripping large chunks from and chewing on.
“Those were some damn good steaks,” I said.
“The burgers were good too,” Thad replied.
“And those fries,” I said.
“Fried in fat like that; damn they were good.”
“Make sure you get the seed potatoes before leaving.”
He grinned, “Already in the truck.”
“Good man.”
Mel came up and held out her hand, “Come on. Let’s get in the water.”
I was surprised. Mel never wanted to swim. “You want to swim?”
“Yeah, come on.”
“Looks like you’re going swimming,” Thad said as I got up.
We walked down to the lake and sat down in the shallows beside Ted and Janet. They seemed to be getting along pretty well. I found it kind of funny. To be invited over and Mike and Ted both manage to hook up. I hoped it didn’t look bad though.
Taking Mel’s hand, I said, “Babe, I’m thinking about going to go see if I can find Mom and Dad. Hopefully bring them back here.”
“You think they’re alright?”
“I hope so. Being on the river, I’m sure they’ve managed to get by. I’m just worried about other people that may have showed up there.”
“You’re going to take a boat up the river?”
“I think it will be a lot safer than trying to drive.”
“I’m not trying to ease drop,” Janet said, “but
where are you taking a boat?”
“My parents live on the river over in Debary. I want to go check on them. Now that things are kind of calmed down, I can do it.”
“Do you have a boat?”
“We have a bass boat.”
“You should take ours. It’s a big aluminum thing. Dad used it for duck hunting. It’s got the camo skirt and all on it.” Janet pointed towards a large pole barn. “It’s over there if you want to go look at it.”
“How many people can it hold?” I asked.
Thinking about the reply, she answered, “Ten. It’s a pretty big boat.”
Ted stood up and said, “Come on, Morgan. Let’s go look at it.”
I patted Mel’s leg. “I’ll be right back.”
“Take your time. We can talk girl-talk.”
Ted and I walked over to the pole barn. Janet was right, it was a big boat. Eighteen feet as a matter of fact, and it had a mud motor mounted to the transom. Mud motors are a great little invention that allows a boat to be operated in shallow weed-choked waterways. The motor will cut through the vegetation and also allow the boat to run in mere inches of water.
“This would be a lot better than that bass boat,” Ted said.
“Yeah it would. We could take more people, more security.”
“And have room for your parents on the way out.”
“Yeah. If they’ll let me borrow it, I’ll take it.”
We walked back to the lake where a rousing game of chicken was going on in the water. Jess was up on Doc’s shoulders. Erin was on Travis and Danny had all three kids on his shoulders. All of them were splashing in the water. Mike and Crystal were swimming towards the mass of bodies and swirling water to get in on the fun.
I dropped back down beside Mel and asked, “You want to get on my shoulders out there?”
“No. You’d just drop me.”
“Good, I don’t think my back could take it,” I replied as I rubbed my lower back, feigning pain.
Mel slugged me in the shoulder, “I’ll show you pain!”
“What’d you think of the boat?” Janet asked.
“If you’ll let me use it, I’ll gladly accept. It’s much larger than the boat we have, and that mud motor will ensure I can get down the river.”
“The bottom is slick-coated as well. It’s pretty fast on the water. You’re welcome to it, especially if it will help with getting to your mom and dad.”