Behind The Curve-The Farm | Book 2 | The Farm

by Craven III, Boyd

  “Kerry, before you go? Do you know if the government agencies are going to be cracking down on farm stands?”

  “They didn't mention any of that this morning. It wouldn't surprise me though. Are you still thinking about calling all this off?” Kerry asked Leah, motioning to the farm stall.

  Leah grunted, and then helped a customer who wanted to buy three dozen eggs. Kerry had a lot of people to talk to, so they said quick good-byes and promised to talk again before the end of the market day or after everyone else had gone home. Luis did not say much and kept working with Leah. Until, that is, he got caught up and had cleaned all the eggs. He decided to start walking around and check out the other farm stalls he saw. He knew the group wanted to put in a kitchen garden, but for 10 to 12 people they would need a lot more of a garden than that little quarter acre they were thinking.

  Oh, Luis knew there were ways to maximize output and smaller spaces, but he was not an expert at that, and he didn't think anyone else there was either. Rob's experiences had mostly been on the ranching and farming of grains. He had admitted that he hadn't spent a lot of time growing fruits, vegetables, pumpkins, or gourds. Most of his experience had been ranching, running a planter, fixing irrigation equipment, and harvesting things like soybean, corn, sorghum, wheat, and other crops of that nature. That’s why Luis found himself going to the different vendors who were growing all different types of fruits and vegetables that he thought the farm could benefit from.

  Kerry had talked with some of the other people at the stalls already, and people were starting to mumble as conversations between vendors were overheard. The customers were already accustomed to food shortages in the grocery stores, but some were upset that they were now going to be losing part of Thursdays at the one place they for sure knew they could come and get food. They heard one woman say Thursdays, for her, were the only day she could go because of work, and Saturdays were spent running her kids around for extra-curricular activities and sports. Luis could sympathize with that plight, he knew things were only going to get worse.

  “Are you looking for anything in particular?” one of the vendors asked him.

  “Honestly, I'm looking for some seeds. Bulk, more than what you get from those paper packets from the big box stores.”

  “You should go talk to Gene over there. He not only grows all his own stuff, but he also saves and sells seeds. I think he has got a fancy contract with that place out in Missouri. Something Creek people. I can't remember for sure, but he grows a lot of seed stock, and sells it.”

  “Thank you, I think I'll go talk to him,” Luis told him, walking towards the next stall, and giving the previous vendor a short wave.

  “Hey buddy,” Luis said, “a vendor over there sent me in your direction. Looking to buy some seeds.”

  “Hey, how are you doing? Yeah, I've got some seeds. What are you looking for, and how much?” Gene asked Luis.

  Luis had a small list prepared, and he thought it would cover just about every situation. Granted, his list had a lot more hot peppers on it than he thought the group would probably like to grow, but he was going from memory from what his Abuela used to grow in her own garden. He didn't know if he’d got the quantities right, so he took what he thought his grandma used every year, then multiplied that out times six, to account for how many people were in the group. And since she always grew what was in season without season extenders, he doubled that amount again. He handed the list over to the vendor who looked it over nodding.

  “Tell you what, I'll make you a deal on everything you need here, and then maybe a little bit more. Do you know anyone that's got a couple of sows that are nearing age?”

  “Actually, I do,” Luis told him. “What kind of horse trading are you thinking of mister?”

  “The kind that I don't have to report to the goddamn government regulators,” Gene told Luis.

  “I think the people I'm looking to buy the seed for would be agreeable to something like that. I got to talk to them first though, do you have a phone number I could get a hold of you, for when I know for sure?”

  Gene gave it to him, and they shook hands. Gene kept the list, promising he would start pulling the order regardless. If he could not make a trade for almost 15 or 20 pounds of vegetable seeds, the cash price really wasn't going to be horrible. Feeder pigs were not going for very much right now, and what he was asking for was a pig that was a little bit older. As it turned out, because of the farm exchanging hands, all their grow outs were a little on the older side and were probably not converting the grain and food into meat efficiently at this point. Part of the reason they had built the underground cold room was to save what they could, animal-wise, and make sure no animal went to waste.

  Which also reminded Luis that he needed to go find the butcher here. That was something Rob had pulled him aside and asked him to look up for him. Whenever they’d thought about doing it, they’d zigged, or he’d zagged, and it had just never happened. Luis was there trying to be as helpful to the group as he could be, and trying to prove his worth. He was not going to let this opportunity get away from him, and he just hoped that Leah would forgive him for leaving her with all of the egg customers by herself.

  The butcher was busy as all get-out, most of the time saying he was out of various cuts of meat, but he was writing down future orders for people that were desperate and looking for something specific. Luis waited his turn in line. He introduced himself and told him that he was helping out friends at the Langtry farm, and he’d heard that he wanted to talk to them about purchasing some animals for meat for his shop.

  The butcher's face opened with a big smile, and said he had been trying to get a hold of them too, but did not know the phone numbers of anyone there. He’d tried to catch them on the market days, but it just had not worked out for him either. He was looking for beef, chickens, and pork.

  It was something the entire group had a whole lot of right now. Especially the chickens. As long as they kept the barns cleaned out, with freshly put-down straw, fresh food, and water, the chickens were doing their own thing with very little work needed from the humans that were looking after them. Even the automated feeders were doing more work than the humans were. All of the laying hens that Luis had seen had enough chicks growing out right now to replace them, or even double their numbers. There were enough male chickens hatched out naturally that the meat pen was also about to get refilled with newly feathered chicks.

  The two exchanged numbers, and Luis decided to head back to the Langtry stall to see how Leah was doing and help her with the rest of the eggs for the day. When he got there, he saw a woman who did not quite fit in, berating Leah.

  “What do you mean, these are cage-free eggs?” the strange woman demanded.

  “What I said was that these guys do not live in a cage. They live in a large barn, with fresh straw put down once a week. I can assure you that they do not get antibiotics in their feed. Their feed was mixed right at our farm, using only the best of grains that we grew ourselves. Even the supplements that we mix into their feed, like oyster shell, are sourced from the wild and not factory farmed.”

  Luis could tell by Leah's voice that she was getting frustrated. There were a couple of people in line behind the strange woman, and he could tell they too were getting agitated. Leah looked up at Luis hopefully, and Luis stepped behind the counter. He knew it was chauvinistic to do this but...

  “Excuse me ma'am, what can we do for you?” Luis asked her, trying to be as soft-spoken as possible.

  “I just find it revolting that the farm continues to sell factory-farmed eggs. It is not like we don't already have enough of that in this world? Right? I'm just trying to make her see that there's other ways of doing things.”

  “Ma'am, I can guarantee you, factory farming is the farthest thing away from what we're actually doing. When she said these chickens live in a barn, they live in a 2,000 square foot barn separated into three areas. One for the laying hens, one for the chicks, and one ar
ea that we use to grow out our meat birds. To call what we do inhumane, would be correct though.”

  “Ha ha! I knew it. Even you admit it, don't you?” the new lady was growing in excitement, drawing a crowd around her.

  “Well ma'am, it's kind of like this. We do not treat them like humans, because only humans are people and should be treated as such. Now, as far as treating them chickens like chickens, there ain't never been a chicken that had a better life than our chickens. They get the best of everything, with more square footage than most people have in their house. They get the best home grown organic feed that could be sourced anywhere in the world, provided with the love and affection that only a large farm family can give. Even our predator control is handled in a manner that most would find agreeable. We have got two humongous dogs who patrol the farm. If anything tries to get in anywhere, mostly they just bark their fool heads off. But if something is attacking the farm animals? Those two dogs will defend the farm, the family, and the animals in the homestead. And that is all there is to it. So, do you want to buy some eggs?”

  “No!” the strange woman said, stomping her feet on the ground in anger, her face turning red enough that Luis was worried she was going to blow a vein.

  “Then I'm going to ask you to step to the side, as we still have paying customers waiting behind you.”

  The strange woman sputtered, but as soon as she stepped to the right, someone stepped into her place. She stood there collecting her thoughts, or at least that is what it looked like to Leah and Luis. They started helping the customers who'd been patiently waiting, but when the strange woman started to talk to them again, she got nudged in the side by the woman who was trying to pay for her eggs. All the strange woman seemed to be able to do was spit and sputter, so he asked Leah to go get the market manager.

  “You know Kerry better than I do, I want to keep an eye on this fruit loop,” Luis said.

  “If she tries anything, just… avoid. I think she’s begging for a response of some kind.”

  “Just get security and Kerry if you can,” Luis said, as he took Leah’s place and started selling the last third of the eggs they had left.

  “You can’t silence my questions,” the strange woman shouted over the shoulder of the man who had just taken the place at the front of the line.

  “You shout in my ear again woman, I’ll throw you out myself,” he grouched. “Toss your skinny ass over my shoulder and walk you right the fuck out.”

  Leah slipped out of the way before things got ugly.

  “Sir, that’ll be ten dollars,” Luis said, trying to draw his attention back, “and ignore the lady. I think she’s trying to get attention the way a baby would.”

  “You’re calling me a baby?” the woman screamed at Luis. “I am not trying to get attention, I’m trying…”

  “I told you,” the customer said, dropping the money on the counter. He turned and scooped her up and put her over his shoulder. She went insane, hitting and trying to dig into the man’s back and shoulder, the only thing she could reach. Since the entrance to the market was only ten feet in front of the Langtry stall, her screams were muffled quickly. What Luis had not counted on, was the eruption of cheers of the nearby customers.

  “Sir, your eggs,” Luis said as the man came back in, without the screaming lady.

  “Sorry about that. Thank you kindly. A man can only take so much,” he said, rubbing a finger in his ear.

  “We have security on the way,” Luis told him loud enough so people behind him could hear what was going on, “so I pray she doesn’t try to repeat that performance.”

  “Yeah, they should ban her from the market!” another voice yelled.

  “Kick her ass out!”

  “Excuse me!” she shouted from the door. Luis groaned and saw it was the strange woman again, tired of screaming incoherently.

  “What now, miss?” Luis asked.

  It was almost impossible to hear her words because everyone in the front of the market started shouting at her all at once. Suddenly the crowd hushed as Leah came back into sight, pulling Kerry along by the arm, a security guard trying to keep up with them.

  “Quiet!” Kerry shouted.

  “Miss Kerry,” Luis said after a moment, “this woman here,” he pointed to the strange woman who was huffing and puffing like she was the big bad wolf, “is not a customer, and does not want to buy our products. She refuses to leave us alone.”

  “Ma’am, this is the second time you’ve done something like this. I’d like you to leave the market,” Kerry said.

  The security guard kept moving towards the strange woman, gently pushing people out of the way until he was standing in front of her. The woman looked shocked that the market had a problem with her behavior.

  “You can’t kick me out,” she almost yelled.

  “Sure, I can,” Kerry said, “but if I have security toss you out, I’m calling the cops and having you charged for trespassing and harassment.”

  “Harassment? Who are you kidding? Who did I harass?”

  “Her, me,” Luis said simply.

  “That’s a damned lie,” she shot back.

  Luis shrugged and Leah was suddenly glad he had taken the lead instead of being annoyed. He was not a hothead, and had a way of making a gesture that conveyed meaning so well. His simple shrug enraged the woman.

  “You calling me a liar?” she yelled louder.

  “I’m pretty sure you are,” Luis said. “Aren’t you the lady who was trying to get Andrea Mallory tried for capital murder, and it turns out you set the whole thing up?”

  It had just clicked into place for Luis. He had seen her on the television, being led to questioning in handcuffs. Obviously, they had nothing on her, yet, so they’d had to let her go.

  Leah turned to him in shock. “That’s ADA Winters?”

  “I’m pretty sure. I knew she looked familiar,” he muttered back to her. “I’m right, aren’t I?” Luis called to the strange woman.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Winters said, indignant, now trying to back out of the door, her cover blown.

  “Guess what?” Kerry asked her, making her pause.

  “What?” The woman asked, still huffing and puffing.

  About three people at once held up their phones, taking pictures and recording. The woman let out an inarticulate scream and fled the market.

  “Can we get a copy of that?” Leah asked loudly to everyone. “I’ll give you my email address.”

  They were able to, and decided that they did not need to sell eggs so badly on the last full Thursday the market was open.

  Twelve

  “Is that her?” Leah asked Andrea.

  “That’s her. What is that stupid bitch doing on this side of the state?” Andrea snarled.

  “I don’t know, but I think we should call the police in. She’s under investigation for corruption and trying to set you up. Your choice,” Dante told her.

  The group had sat down in the big house around the expanded dining room table, their unofficial meeting place.

  “That lady was crazy,” Luis said. “Maybe it’d be better if we just ignored her instead of making her more insane?”

  “I wonder if she’s the one who stirred up trouble here,” Anna said suddenly.

  “I’m wondering the same,” Steven said, pulling his wife close and onto his lap.

  She had gotten over spiraling into depression with Rob’s help, but he was also correct about the dreams. She could not do anything about what happened when she fell asleep. Thankfully, the dreams had been few and far between.

  “No hanky panky at the table,” Grandma Goldie said to Steven.

  “What’s hanky panky, Grandma?”

  Rob had been about to take a sip from a tall boy, and put it down chuckling. “That one is all on you Ma,” he said with a grin, then took a drink of his beer.

  “You just… never mind,” Goldie said. “Anybody else want some more chicken?”

  She
had fried up three of the grow outs. After Leah and Luis had left for the market, she had shown the others at the farm her way of killing and skinning the birds. Instead of plucking, scalding, and plucking some more, she had just pulled the skin off, putting it in the compost bin. The others had been impressed at the speed of that.

  “Do you want us to look in on Angelica after supper?” Dante asked Rob, taking the big bowl Goldie had offered.

  “Sure, but I don’t think she’s got the Wu Flu,” Rob said quickly.

  “We know,” Leah said, “but she’s sick enough she doesn’t want to get out of bed.”

  “She never has an easy time, this time of year,” Rob told them. “Allergies, and she catches some kind of chest cold.”

  “She even coughs in her sleep,” Harry said, trying to be helpful.

  “Well, we’ve got something for the cough, but I want to make sure she’s getting enough fluids in her and…”

  “We’re doctors,” Andrea finished for Leah. “It’s what we do.”

  “It won’t hurt,” Rob said with a sigh.

  “If she doesn’t want to eat this,” Goldie said, “I saved the carcasses to make some chicken broth. I could toss in a cup of noodles for her. I’ve got that pot on to boil right now.”

  “We can ask her,” Rob said.

  Angelica was sick. She had never felt like this. It was like a weight was pressing down on her chest, making it hard to breathe. To make matters worse, she was coughing. It was a tight, dry cough that kept triggering her to cough again. She had tried napping since she had been up half the night, but whenever she’d drift off to sleep, she’d start coughing again. The fever had been coming and going in waves, usually coinciding with the timing her ibuprofen was wearing off. Her body hurt all over.