by Amelia Jones
One Saturday evening, they were booked to play at a country pub and it was a local audience full of sheep farmers. Jack liked those nights because he enjoyed talking with the farmers while Sophie was playing. They were old timers and mostly couldn’t see the sense of going to college to learn about the land. This was familiar territory for Jack but these men weren’t violent like his dad was.
He found he was learning a lot from the conversations and wondered for the first time if he should give away the idea of becoming a Park Ranger. There was one old fellow who was looking down the barrel of having to sell up his farm because his son had set out on a career as a banker in the city.
‘I couldn’t think of anything worse,’ said Jack. ‘Cities sap the life out of a person. Give me a farm any day.’
‘It doesn’t bear thinking about, where I’m going to end up that is. The farm has been passed down through four generations and now I’m going to have to sell it and leave. My son just doesn’t give a hill of beans about the land or his heritage.’
‘Where’s your farm?’ asked Jack. ‘It can’t be too far away if you’re drinking here.’
‘It isn’t and my name’s Ben, by the way.’
‘I’m, Jack and it’s been great talking to you. Maybe I could come out and see your farm sometime, if that’s OK with you.’
‘I’d like that Jack. I run sheep and keep a few cows for beef but it’s all running down now. I’m getting too old to do much anymore. Say, how about you come out tomorrow? I live by myself since my wife died and the place is pretty rough and ready, but I’d love to show you around.’
‘You’ve got yourself a visitor then Ben. I’d love to see your place.’
‘Say, do you know how to crutch sheep? I know they don’t teach you that at college …’
‘Sure I do. I grew up on a sheep farm and used to help my dad do it all the time.’ Jack pulled his mind away from what his dad used to do if he didn’t do it right.
‘Well now I’ve seen everything, a college boy who knows how to crutch sheep.’ Ben’s face broke into a smile, which Jack returned.
‘I’m an early riser. I can come out early if you like. I’d love to give you a hand.’
‘That’d be great, son. Here, let me buy you a beer.’
****
Jack told Sophie on the way home about his plans for Sunday, hoping she wouldn’t mind him not being around.
‘Of course not Jack, I think it’s a great idea. How sad his son doesn’t care, but then you can never tell what goes on in families.’
‘I don’t think he’s the type of man to go in for hurting his children, but I’m looking forward to the work. To be honest, I’ve missed it.’
As he spoke, he suddenly realized how much he’d actually missed being on a farm. He loved the honesty of farming and the simplicity. He wondered why he’d dismissed a career on a farm and concluded his father had a lot to do with that decision. In his determination to get away from the old man, he had turned away from farming when that might be the answer to his problems.
“You know, I think I’ll ask Ben about the possibility of working on a farm here.” He said to Sophie.
‘So you like it around here? Would you work here if you had the chance to stay?’
‘You bet I would. I like this country and the land is good too. With what I’ve been learning in college and plenty of hard work, I could make a good living.’
Sophie hid her delight. Only that evening, she’d had a good talk with Rod and had explored the idea of teaching music. She hadn’t been too excited about the possibility when her music teacher had mentioned it, but hanging around the band had changed her way of thinking. She was slowly getting excited about the possibility and the thought that she would still get to spend time with Jack was an added bonus.
They parked in front of the house Sophie shared with her housemates. After a quick ‘goodnight’ she made to open the car door when Jack held her arm and pulled her towards him for a hug. She didn’t pull away. He didn’t try to kiss her, but instead, just held her. Sophie’s heartbeat sped up and then settled into a steady rhythm, keeping pace with that of Jack. She let out her breath in a sigh and nestled into him. It felt good to share a hug without the pressure of anything more.
Very reluctantly, they moved apart.
‘Have a great time tomorrow, Jack.’
He touched her hair lightly and smiled. ‘You too and I’ll see you on Monday. Bye.’
Chapter Seven
Sophie felt excitement course through her. After the brief conversation with Rod, she felt as though her world had suddenly expanded with possibility. As she walked to Rod’s room, she wished Jack was there with her.
She frowned at that thought. She’d always been a loner and she liked it like that. The fact that she was suddenly missing Jack’s company was a source of worry to her. She didn’t want to get emotionally dependent on anyone, not even someone as nice as Jack.
She’d reached Rod’s room then and rapped on the door.
‘Hi Sophie, come in.’ He called from inside.
She pushed the door open and stepped in. ‘Hi.’
‘I’ve just made some coffee …would you like some?’ He offered.
‘That’d be great, thanks.’ She took the time to look around his place and shook her head. It was a typical Bachelor’s jive with minimal furniture and stuff strewn all around. But that wasn’t why she came. ‘I’m so pleased you’ve got some information about adult education. I hadn’t thought about it because I’ve been focusing on high school teaching - mostly about how much I don’t want to do it.’
Rod came back with the coffee. ‘Here you go. You like it black right?’
‘Thanks.’
‘A lot of people end up going into high school teaching because it seems like the only career option. What we end up with is a whole lot of high school teachers who hate teaching and it’s not fair to the kids either.’
She nodded slowly, ‘I hadn’t thought of it like that,’ she admitted. ‘But I don’t want to teach high school, that’s for sure. One thing I am sure about is that I want to stay here. My teacher has indicated there is likely to be an opportunity in the music faculty the year after next and I’d like to take it. I’ll have all the music qualifications I’m ever likely to need at the end of this year, but not the educational ones. I need some kind of a teaching qualification that will allow me to teach at college.’
‘You’re doing a double music major, right?’
‘Yes, as well as some serious qualifications in violin playing.’
‘Which would be wasted on high school students?’
‘Yes again, but I would like to offer a couple of scholarship places to high school students who show promise but can’t afford the tuition. Kind of like a way of giving back and supporting kids who are having a hard time.’
‘That is a great idea. Basically all you need to teach and/or tutor up at the college is a diploma in adult education. You just tack that onto what you’ll already have and you’ll be good to go. It takes a year full time. Are you on a scholarship at the moment for your undergraduate degree?’
‘Yes. It runs out at the end of the year. I could teach privately to pay for the extra year of college tuition but …’ She shrugged and let her sentence trail off. She’d do that if it meant she didn’t have to go back home.
‘You could apply for funding to cover it if you like. Adult education is desperate for more candidates and with what you’re doing there won’t be a problem with funding it. I’ve found all the forms you need to apply, as well as the enrollment forms for the adult education course. Fill them out and send them off ASAP and you are on your way.’
She couldn’t believe it was that easy. ‘I’ve been stressing for months about what to do. My music teacher had no idea about any of this.’
‘Well, I daresay he’s into the music side of things rather than the people stuff. That’s what people like me are here for. Besides, I have an ulterior motive. I want
you to stay on with the band. It’s a lot of fun and we’ve all improved since you’ve been here. We get a lot more jobs too, which helps the guys with a little bit of money as well.’
‘So is doing this kind of helping, part of your tutoring for Drummond? There’s nothing like that over at the flats.’
‘Yeah, it’s one of the reasons it’s cheaper to live there. But I’m happy to help you out with this because it affects some of the students I’m responsible for here in Drummond. Like I said, keeping you here helps keep some of the boys here. Besides, I’m just a helpful kind of person anyway.’
‘Well, thank you. I really appreciate it.’
‘I like your scholarship idea for high school kids who can’t afford the tuition. You’re serious about that?’
‘Yes. When you see the kind of kids whose parents can afford tuition, most of them are just doing it to please their parents and often don’t really want the lessons anyway. I’d far rather teach kids who really want to learn and can’t afford it. They try so much harder and teaching them is a reward in itself.’
‘There’s the other reason I wanted to help you out. Good karma goes around. Now let’s get organized in here. The others will be here any minute. Here, give us a hand to move these chairs before they arrive …’
Chapter Eight
Jack had arrived on Ben’s farm very early on Sunday and Ben had been happy to see him.
‘Morning Jack, you really are an early riser. I’m pleased you didn’t change your mind and your offer to help wasn’t just the beer talking.’
‘No sir, I’m not like that. It’s great to be here. You’ve got a nice farm.’
‘It’s good of you to say so, but it’s getting to be too much for me on my own. All the jobs that are easy when you’re young, take forever when you get old and things soon start to run down.’
‘Well, I’m all yours for the day so just let me know what you’d like me to do.
‘Hearing that is like music to my ears. How about we start with the sheep, then have some lunch and if you’re up for it, maybe we could look at the fence over yonder. The cows broke through it the other day and for some reason they like the field through there better than this one.’
Jack laughed. ‘They’ve got minds of their own sometimes, those cows. Sure, no problem, I’d be happy to take a look at the fence.’
They headed off to the holding paddock where Ben had put the sheep and the gear they would need for the crutching. ‘Hope you don’t mind getting your hands dirty. It’s a filthy job.’
‘Nothing water won’t wash off. Now are you going to hold and I’ll crutch?’
‘Yes, if that’s Ok with you Jack. I thought we could give ‘em a quick spray while we’re at it, just to finish the job off.’
‘That’s fine. It’s a good idea and it’ll help them not to become blown again. I’ll go grab the first one then.’
They worked solidly for several hours and soon fell into a routine of grab, hold and crutch for each sheep. It was backbreaking work for Jack, but he didn’t mind because it was pleasant working with someone who liked to talk and crack a joke. It took a while, but he’d crutched two hundred and fifty sheep during the morning.
‘How’s your back Jack? You must be ready for a break.’
‘Well, it’ll be good to stand straight for a while, that’s for sure, and have a wash.’
‘Come on then, let’s go and have some lunch. I cooked up a nice piece of corned beef the other day and it’ll taste great with some fresh bread and relish.’
Jack felt his stomach growl. ‘Perfect. I know it’s a filthy job, but those sheep will be a lot more comfortable now, better quality at shearing too. Tell me Ben, do you have a grader?’
‘Yeah, over in the shed,’ and he pointed to one of the farm buildings off to the side of the house.
Ben pumped some water into a trough at the back of the house and went to fetch some soap for Jack. ‘Here you go. Why don’t you wash your shirt out too while you’re at it. I’ve got a spare one you can borrow.’
‘Thanks, Ben. That’d be great.’
Ben went into the house to find a shirt while Jack stripped his fouled one off, washed himself down and then started in on his shirt. He was so absorbed in getting himself clean that he’d forgotten about keeping his back hidden and he didn’t hear Ben come up behind him with the clean shirt.
‘Good Lord, Jack. What happened? Who did that to you?’
Ben’s voice startled Jack and he stiffened before turning around to face the older man. ‘No one’s meant to see that,’ his voice was subdued as he took the towel and the clean shirt from Ben. He dried himself off and put the shirt on.
‘Well I can see you don’t want to talk about it, but know this boy, you needn’t be ashamed of your body. Whoever did that to you is the one who should be feeling ashamed.’
Jack nodded, but said nothing. After a beat, Ben nodded as well.
‘Come on inside for some lunch. I’ll take a guess it was your father who did that and I’ll tell you something for nothing, son. You can wear that back with pride and hold you head up. The cowardly excuse of a man who beat you isn’t fit to be in the same room as you, let alone deserves to be called a father.’
‘That’s kind of you to say so, Ben. Thank you.’
Ben handed Jack a doorstopper of a sandwich and a glass of beer. ‘Thanks, this looks great.’
‘After the morning you put in, I think I’ll have to make you another one. You’re a good worker, son. Make no mistake, better than I’ve had here in a long time.’
Jack had never been praised for working hard before and it left him feeling good inside. ‘Thanks for saying so Ben. I like working on a farm, just not with my father.’
He didn’t have to say why; it showed in his eyes that the older man understood completely.
‘How would you like to come and work here? I can’t afford to pay you much until the farm is humming along again, but you could live here for free food and board. You could come on weekends until you finish college. There are five bedrooms in this house and only me here, so if you wanted to move, you could save on paying rent in town for the rest of the year.’
‘I don’t know what to say, Ben.’
‘Do us both a favor and say yes. If you decide you like the place, I’d give you first option to buy it, once it’s making some money for you.’
‘OK, then yes. It’s a deal.’ They shook on it.
‘Hey, let’s get started on the fence and next weekend, I wouldn’t mind running the grader over the road…’
Chapter Nine
Sophie and Jack met up for lunch on Monday and swapped their good news with each other.
‘I’m going to move out of Drummond, Sophie, and save the rent money. I’ll finish college of course and it will be good to experiment with some of the new land management practices and find a good balance between having a profitable farm and looking after the land properly. I can’t wait.’
He took hold of Sophie’s hand and gave it a friendly squeeze. She liked his hands, so held onto it, enjoying the strength of it and the way her smaller hand fitted so comfortably inside it.
‘I’m so glad I spoke to Rod about how to fund an extra year. It was really so simple in the end. It came down to finding out how to find the information I needed to make it happen. Just goes to show that keeping things bottled up is not necessarily the best way to solve problems.’
‘No.’ He squeezed her hand again and began to stroke the side of it with his thumb as if it was the most natural thing in the word. ‘Learning to open up after hiding secrets for years is harder than it sounds. But it makes sense. I think we need to celebrate.’
He pulled her up. ‘Let’s go for a walk.’
‘OK, where …’
‘Anywhere … Sophie, how would you feel about moving out to the farm too? There are five bedrooms, plenty of room and you could save some money too …’
‘I don’t want to move anywhere until after my vio
lin exams, but I’ll think about it afterwards. The exam is two months away and it’s an essential building block in my career.’
‘I understand. Look, I guess I’m trying to say that I like you a lot and it would be great if we could somehow be together, as friends or whatever. I feel like it’s better for us both if we’re not alone. We’re good for each other, if you know what I mean.’
Jack put his arm around Sophie as they were walking along. They’d gone past the library and the main administration building, and were at the edge of the campus, where the leaves on the poplar trees were starting to turn golden. Jack stopped and pulled Sophie against him for a hug and kissed her softly, before hugging her again.
