Hazel was disappointed that Carolyn’s truck wasn’t on the driveway. That didn’t matter to her. She plopped onto the porch, lit a cigarette, and waited. Eventually, she heard an engine. Sure enough, it was Carolyn’s truck. Hazel didn’t move. She watched Carolyn leave the truck and tried to read Carolyn’s face. Except for surprise, she wasn’t showing anything.
“Hello,” Hazel called.
“Hello,” Carolyn returned.
“Did Elmer give you my message?”
“He did. I’m glad the car is working,” Carolyn said.
There was a lengthy beat. Hazel took the first step. “I don’t know if you want to see me or not, but I just wanted to apologize for prying. I didn’t mean to cross a line. I’d really like to work with you still. If that’s all right. If I’ve offended you too much, I understand.”
“If you offended me? I was worried that I’d offended you. I didn’t mean to get harsh. It was a bad day,” Carolyn answered. She took a breath before she admitted it. “I went by your house today. I wanted to apologize and ask if you might want to come back.”
“Is that so? Well, here I am.”
“Want to start with the chickens? I know how you like ‘em,” Carolyn kidded.
“Anything but that.”
They shared a laugh and went into the house so that Hazel could get into her overalls. Afterwards, they took care of the cows and garden. Hazel thought that she might want to plant a garden of her own. It’d give her something to do in her downtime. These thoughts were interrupted by the horse. He licked the back of her ear, causing her to leap and shriek.
“Oh, it’s you,” she sighed.
“He likes you a whole bunch, you know…” Carolyn smirked.
Carolyn lovingly leaned against him. Hazel saw the adoration, on both sides, and caved. She nervously rubbed her hands together. “Where’s the saddle?”
“What?” Carolyn asked.
“I’ll go for a ride, but you better be on him with me.”
“I’ll be right with you, darlin.”
There it was again. Darlin. This time, Carolyn didn’t realize that she had said it. Hazel certainly did. She beamed as she followed Carolyn to the horse’s barn. Carolyn walked Hazel through how to care for a horse. She saw the horse snort and tap his hoof in an intimidating manner. Hazel was having second thoughts. However, that changed when Carolyn stood behind Hazel. She put her hands on Hazel’s hips. Their bodies locked in place.
“I’ll lift you up,” Carolyn murmured.
Hazel finally felt what it was like to be in Carolyn’s arms. She didn’t want it to end. Carolyn placed Hazel securely on the saddle, and then she climbed on behind Hazel. She looped her arms over Hazel to take the reins. Hazel leaned into her. Carolyn felt her pulse sputter.
“I’ll walk you through it first so you can get a feel for it,” Carolyn muttered.
“All right. Take me,” Hazel answered just as gently.
“Take you? Where?”
“Anywhere,” Hazel replied.
Carolyn thought of a single word: Away. That’s where she wanted them to go. Of course, that was out of the question. She could only take them to the edge of her property. They rode through the few fields and along the fence line. Hazel was taken aback by how much she was enjoying her first ride. Still, she was hesitant when Carolyn handed her the reins.
“Bad idea, Carolyn. Bad. I’ll goof.”
“You’ll be fine. You got to hold them right first, though. Like this.”
Carolyn’s hands held onto Hazel’s fingers. She adjusted Hazel’s grasp, but Carolyn held on longer than she had to. It was obvious to Carolyn that they were getting too cozy. It didn’t stop either of them. Carolyn only let go once the horse began to move.
The horse wasn’t used to a different rider. He jerked back and forth, ran in a jagged line, and went in circles. Hazel was terrified that he’d somehow throw them to the ground. Yet, Carolyn was laughing. Hazel originally thought that Carolyn was insane, but she started to find the fun in their chaos too.
By the time that Hazel managed to get the horse in the stable, Hazel couldn’t deny that she had a great time. “Well, Carolyn. That was…”
“Was?”
“Enjoyable.”
“I knew you’d like it,” Carolyn grinned. “Lunch?”
“Yeah.”
Carolyn prepared their lunch. They went to their favorite spot to savor it. Hazel watched Carolyn pick her teeth with a piece of straw. Hazel’s mother told her to never pick her teeth. That was something only suitable for low-class men. Not ladies in the parlor.
Once, Hazel agreed with her mother on that subject. However, Hazel loved how rugged and country Carolyn seemed. She never expected to feel that way, given that she was from New England and her mother’s household. But, there was no way around it. That farmer was just Hazel’s kind of woman.
“You know, I think I should start a garden,” Hazel commented.
“A garden?” Carolyn asked as she spit the straw from her mouth.
“Yeah. I like helping you with yours.”
“I appreciate that very much,” Carolyn said.
“Of course. Didn’t you say that you make pies with the berries?”
“I sure do.”
“Maybe I could try one someday. If you wouldn’t mind, I mean.”
Carolyn faintly smiled. “I wouldn’t mind.”
“Great. Maybe I can grow some berries too and share them with you. If I could. Do you think that I could start my own garden?”
“You can do anything you set your mind to.”
“And how do you know that?” Hazel smiled.
“Because you’ve got a pretty mind.”
“You think?”
“Yeah. I think,” Carolyn confirmed. Her tone was too serious to doubt.
A surge of warmth rushed through Hazel. “Thank you. You have a pretty mind too. Have you had a chance to read any of the book I gave you?”
“No. I’ve been too busy. That’s the honest truth.”
“All right. Maybe one of these days we can go over it together.”
“You’d do that?” Carolyn asked.
“Of course I would. I love to read, especially when I have someone to read with.”
“All right. One of these days.”
“Good. We should probably get the chicken coop done before my food settles. I don’t want to have anything in my stomach in case I vomit.”
“They aren’t that bad.”
“I don’t know what’s worse. Mucking the stalls or cleaning up after the chickens. That’s a difficult choice to make.”
“That’s just part of being a farmer,” Carolyn chuckled.
“Well, someone can’t love everything about their job,” Hazel chuckled in return. “I’ll race you to the coop. Last one there is a rotten egg.”
Hazel sprinted towards the coop. Carolyn fondly shook her head. That girl was full of energy, and Carolyn needed that spark. She didn’t know how much.
Sixteen
Hazel made the decision. She was going to start a garden. For that, she needed to go to the farm supply store. When she went on her tour of the town, she drove by it. That morning, she followed the roads by memory. It was exactly where she’d thought it was.
The owner was an old man that seemed to do everything in slow motion. Hazel saw him in church a few times, yet that was all. He was in the process of leading Hazel to various seeds when a man arrived. His truck was stacked with various crops. There was something familiar about him, Hazel thought. He was in his twenties, though he appeared much older.
Immediately, the owner of the store left Hazel standing uncomfortably among the gardening supplies. Apparently, there was business to be had. The men haggled for some time. Then, the owner forked over a stack of cash. He went outside to unload the truck. Unfortunately for Hazel, the mystery man saw her.
He walked towards her with a smug look on his face. When he was close enough, he held out his hand. “Hi there,
ma’am. I’m Randy. Randy Richardson.”
Hazel’s eyes nearly rolled. However, she kept it together. “Another Richardson.”
“So you know us?” Randy asked.
“Yes, I know you. I’ve met your brothers.”
“We own most of this town, you know,” he seemed to gloat.
“I’ve heard,” she answered in a bored voice.
“What brings you in here? It’s not exactly the place for a woman,” Randy commented.
Hazel’s eyes lit with fury. “A woman can go and do as she pleases. We’re more than cooks and seamstresses.”
“Is that what your husband thinks too?”
“I’m not married. Not yet, anyway.”
Randy understood. “You’re that new gal. The one at the Twine place. My brothers talked all about you.”
“Did they?”
“They sure did. Ronnie for sure.”
Hazel was hardly surprised. Luckily, the owner of the store finished unloading the truck. He walked inside at a snail’s pace. It was the perfect excuse. “Pardon me, Mr. Richardson. I have business with the owner.”
“You can call me Randy. I’m sure that I’ll see you again. It’s a small town,” Randy sneered.
“I bet that I will. Farewell,” Hazel promptly darted towards the owner.
Randy huffed to himself. “Just as pretty and feisty as Ronnie said. We’ll get her, though.”
*-*-*-*
Hazel set the blackberry seeds on her kitchen table. She figured that she learned enough from Carolyn to start the garden on her own. First, lunch was required. Hard boiled eggs were on the menu.
Gracelessly, she made the mistake of dropping her eggs on the kitchen floor before she could get to work. She didn’t have much else to eat, so the only thing that she could think to do was to buy more eggs. That naturally meant a trip to Elmer’s store.
“Ms. Mayer! Hello, hello!” Elmer greeted her fondly.
“Hello. Do you have eggs, or have you sold out?” she inquired.
“I think I’ve got some. Go on and check.”
“Thanks, Elmer.”
Hazel found a few eggs. She figured that’d be enough until her usual grocery day. As Elmer worked on her transaction, his fingers snapped. “I almost forgot. You got a letter.”
“I did?” Hazel smiled. Sally.
“Sure did. Here,” Elmer said as he handed her the letter.
Without a doubt, it was from Sally. Hazel knew the erratic handwriting instantly. In a flash, she tossed her money in Elmer’s general direction and darted towards the door. When she had one foot out, she popped her head back into the store. She’d forgotten her manners.
“Thank you!”
Elmer chuckled at the young woman’s enthusiasm. She skated to her car and thrust her bags onto the passenger’s side. Her excitement was too intense to ignore, so she ripped into the envelope before turning on the engine.
Sister—
I’m so happy that you wrote me! Orville and the girls say hello, and they miss you terribly. I miss you terribly. I was glad to read that you haven’t completely lost your mind out there. It’s peculiar to think of a town without telephones. I wish that I could hear your voice.
Mother is…well. She’s Mother. Still as condescending and demanding as ever. The bad news is that Father is getting worse. You shouldn’t be extremely concerned at this point. The doctors say that it could be a temporary lapse, nothing more. He seems to be in good spirits. He mentioned you. I think that he misses you as much as Orville and I miss you.
You’ll have to tell me more about Debarr. It sounds like an entirely different world out there. I’d be fascinated to hear the details. It’s funny to think of you on a farm. I’m sorry, but it really is. It’s like imagining that Orville became a tailor. It simply doesn’t fit.
I absolutely hate to mention this. I’m sure that you’re doing everything you can to forget it. However, the Millers have been in contact with us. Eugene wrote them a letter. He’s doing well. They said that he would have written you himself, but he forgot your address. It’s his dream farm and he forgot the address? That’s horrible. But, so you know, he said that he loves you and misses you.
Anyway, this letter needs to come to a close. I just have one question. Who did you meet? You said that this “someone” helped you fix your car and is taking you under their wing, but that’s all. I’d love to hear more about him, though I must caution you. You are engaged. Finding a lover out there can only end badly. However, it’d be wonderful for you to have a dear friend.
With love,
Sally
Hazel had mixed feelings about the letter. It wasn’t shocking that Sally assumed that her someone was a man. Afterall, Sally probably didn’t know a single female mechanic. That clearly wasn’t the part of the letter that bothered her. Why did Sally have to mention Eugene? Why did she have to throw Hazel’s engagement in her face?
Also, her father was worse. How couldn’t she be concerned? How could she not be upset? It was as if her entire life in Boston had dug its talons into her again, slicing through every dream that she could possibly have. Dreams were the only things that were holding her together.
At home, she tossed her eggs onto the counter as tears trickled. The fact that half of the eggs shattered upon impact did not disturb her. She snatched a whole egg and squeezed until it splintered in her hand. She slammed the remnants on the counter. The smallest shards clung to her fingers. She muttered to herself. “Hold on, Hazel. Don’t lose it now. You’re running out of things to break already…”
The knock on her door startled her. She wiped her eyes on the kitchen towel before making her way to the living room. Once the door opened, Hazel found Carolyn standing on her front porch. Carolyn held a pie in her hands while she timidly spoke.
“I don’t know if this is a bad time or anything, but I’m on my way to the farm supply store. Thought I’d drop off a pie on my way. You’d asked about them, and I’d just happened to of made some this morning. So…here…”
“That’s so kind of you. Could you bring it in here for me? I had an egg accident, and I’ve still got some yolk on my fingers,” Hazel requested.
“Are you sure? I was dropping it by.”
“I’m sure. Just ignore the mess on the counter.”
Carolyn followed Hazel into the kitchen. Hazel was right about the mess. Carolyn knew destruction better than most, so she knew the truth. There was no way that the mess before her was caused by a simple accident. The egg container was obviously thrown down with force, and one egg was undoubtedly crushed by hand. It was then that Carolyn saw the redness in Hazel’s eyes.
“I’ll clean this up,” Hazel said.
Carolyn discreetly blocked her path. “Can I ask you something?”
“What is it?” Hazel wondered.
“Well, if you don’t want to answer, I understand. Lord knows that I ran off when you asked me.”
“Just ask me, Carolyn.”
“What’s wrong?”
“You’re right. You did run off when I asked you that.”
“I can just go, if you want me to,” Carolyn offered.
Hazel’s eyes welled with tears. Rather than pretend or ask Carolyn to leave, she reached out and took Carolyn by the wrists. She abruptly brought Carolyn to her chest. Carolyn was taken aback when Hazel’s arms circled her waist. Hazel’s voice was tiny and muffled.
“Hold onto me. Please. And don’t go.”
With little hesitation, Carolyn wrapped her arms around Hazel. “I won’t.”
Seventeen
They held each other for at least ten minutes. Eventually, Hazel squeaked. “It’s all right if you want to leave.”
Carolyn didn’t want to go. Nevertheless, she still had her schedule. “I should get to the store.”
“Sorry that I’ve kept you,” Hazel said as she reluctantly backed away from Carolyn.
“Don’t apologize to me. You gonna be all right if I go?”
�
��I’ll be all right. Thank you for indulging me.”
“That’s not what I was doing,” Carolyn assured her.
“What were you doing?” Hazel wondered.
“What I wanted to do.”
Hazel stared at her curiously. “What did you want to do?”
“Be here. I’m sorry that I have to go now.”
“It’s all right. You’ll be at church, won’t you?”
“I never miss a Sunday,” Carolyn promised.
“I’ll tell you how much I like this pie when I see you then.”
“How do you know that you’ll like it?”
“Because you made it,” Hazel answered simply. “At church, then?”
“Yeah. I’ll see you then,” Carolyn confirmed.
“Until then.”
“Until then, Hazel.”
Hazel and Carolyn parted ways. Hazel listened until the engine was a distant gurgle. Afterwards, she tried the blackberry pie. It was the best pie that she’d tried in her life. She couldn’t help feeling like Carolyn did everything well. Almost everything.
Carolyn ran from her emotions. Sometimes, she physically ran away from them, as Hazel saw. Hazel didn’t want that. She wanted to be part of Carolyn’s life. Yet, Carolyn was determined to keep everything hidden at any cost. Still, Hazel knew that she was getting through to her. It was just taking time.
Her sister’s words rang in her mind. “I must caution you. You are engaged. Finding a lover out there can only end badly.” Had she found a lover in Carolyn? Hazel had to admit that she wanted it to be true. She wasn’t scared of feeling so strongly about Carolyn anymore. She was only scared of letting go.
*-*-*-*
On Sunday morning, Hazel pulled into the church’s parking lot. She excitedly sprang towards the entrance, knowing how happy Carolyn would be when she mentioned the pie. However, Hazel was cut off before she could reach the door.
“Mrs. Mayer! Always a pleasure,” Mrs. Gable appeared.
The woman physically kept Hazel from entering the church. Hazel forced a polite nod. “Good morning, Mrs. Gable. I would like to say that it is Ms. Mayer…as I’ve mentioned repeatedly.”
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