The Pride of Howard County

by Kevin Bachman

  Chapter 4

  Gus met Grace on a blind date when they were teenagers and knew there was something special about this skinny little redhead. Even though she played hard to get Grace fell in love with the tall handsome Rogers boy nearly from the moment they met. Neither one ever really considered dating anyone else. Gus had a reputation as a bit of a brawler and there was probably only one girl who could have tamed the young farm boy. Everyone always said Grace was the best thing that ever happened to Gus and he knew they were right. He always admired her ambition and was proud of her when she graduated from the Methodist Community College. Later, she would be known as the first woman to ever serve on the Howard County school board.

  They got married on a spring day, drove Gus’s old pickup to Niagara Falls for a week and they both could hardly wait to get back home to Howard County. They had traveled some over the years but life on the farm was their place in this world.

  In the springtime, the red headed beauty would be hard at work planting flowers and the rugged young farmer thought it was the sexiest thing he had ever seen. With her gardening gloves on, her straw hat, bare feet, and that red hair falling over her face. He would slip up on her as she worked and want to do it right there. Of course the belle of Howard County would have none of that. The best he could do was talk her into going up in the loft of the barn and do it there. Afterwards they would lay there for hours talking about each other’s dreams or about their families and how dysfunctional they were. Without ever really knowing it they were each other’s therapist. After a few years the therapeutic conversations were no longer needed as they already knew what the other was thinking.

  After a long day in the fields the young farmer would sit and listen to Grace go on and on about the Christmas party or some other silly thing and all the problems of the day would vaporize. At the end of the day as they retired to the darkness of Howard County he held her tightly in his arms and she thanked God He had given her this man.

  In the early years when Gus would get a new tractor, his wife would be just as excited as he was. She would rush into the house, grab the camera and make him climb up into the seat and pose while she clicked off a few photos. It was this enthusiasm that made them such a successful farming team. Later, the proud young farmer would slip back down to the barn with a couple of beers and walk around and around the new tractor wiping off the dust as if it were a new Cadillac.

  The first registered bull they bought, Grace named Barny. Gus thought it was silly naming a farm animal but the tender hearted belle insisted,she thought he was adorable and bottle fed him milk. He had the biggest beautiful eyes and although he grew to be monstrous was always gentle as a kitten. There would be many more animals on the farm but none would ever be named or hold the status of Barny. Many years later when Barny died, Grace insisted they bury him. Gus had to borrow a backhoe to bury ole Barn and prayed no one would drop by the farm while they were holding a funeral for a damn bull. He would never admit it but there was a special place in his heart for Barny.

  About a year after they were married Grace realized she was late and went to the doctor to confirm she was indeed pregnant. She could hardly wait until her husband came in from the fields that evening to tell him he was going to be a Daddy. Of course they had talked about having children but talking about it and actually doing it were two different things. After the initial shock the young farmer danced around the kitchen whooping and hollering with his woman in tow.

  And so they prepared the baby’s room complete with crib and rocking chair. The ladies of Howard County threw a baby shower and Gus stocked up on cigars. When it was “Time” the soon to be Daddy was out of bed like a shot. The soon to be Mommy had to tell him several times on the way to the hospital to slow down but the frightened young farmer kept imagining the baby popping out right there on the truck seat. Had he known it would be some nine more hours before the baby was born he might have acted a little more rational.

  He was at the mercy of the nurse at the small community hospital who stuck her head into the waiting room occasionally letting him know everything was going alright. Finally, the nurse came through the swinging doors with a bundle in her arms and said, “Congratulations Mr. Rogers, you have a son.” Gus was rubber legged as he walked across the waiting room but when he laid eyes on his son the young farmer thought he was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen. The nurse agreed to let him see his wife but only for a moment. But that would be plenty of time for the proud farmer to tell his wife how much he loved her.

  And so an heir to the family farm was born. Gus would teach him the ways of farming. He’d have a son to dress in jeans, boots and a cowboy hat. He would take him to the county fair and rodeos. He imagined his son being a super farmer, a farming machine. He would send him to college to learn the latest in farming technology. The Roger’s would surely be the envy of every farmer in Howard County.

  A couple of years later a little girl joined them and now they were a complete family. Both Gus and Grace were hoping for a girl which was only fair since they already had a boy. The Rogers went to church on Sunday morning as the perfect package. Luke’s hair was slicked back with tonic and Abigail wore ribbons in her red hair, she looked beautiful in her white tights and black patent leather shoes.

  Now an old man Gus sometimes sat on the porch and watched the last few rays of sunshine streak through a blood red sunset. The tree frogs and crickets would tune up and off in the distance an owl made her presence known. He knew tomorrow would be a good day for farming. The air had been cleaned and freshened by an earlier rain shower. The old farmer thought about the times when he had sat on this very porch with a child on each knee. He could almost hear Grace inside banging pots and pans together getting supper ready while softly singing one of her gospel songs. The children would be giggling as they rubbed the whiskers on his face.

  It seemed like so long ago and far away, almost as if it all had never happened. He sometimes found himself wondering if he had lived too long but tried to keep the promise he made to his dying wife. He figured she probably pulled some strings up there in heaven getting Howard County a desperately needed shower only to be followed by a spectacular sunset. If anyone could have done it, it was Grace.