by M. E. Carter
There’s not much cell reception out here either, which means there’s no way she can get sucked back into working. Don’t get me wrong, I understand what it’s like to be a business owner. You’re never really away from the office, even when you’re away from the office. But one thing I’ve learned over the last month or so is that Greer never has any downtime. She has to take advantage of the time Oli is away by working, and when Oli is home, the battles are pretty constant. This may be the first chance she’s really had to truly relax in, well, in years.
“How come you don’t have any kids?”
Julie’s question shouldn’t take me by surprise. She’s not the first one to ask me. I glance over my shoulder at Greer who just looks at me and shrugs. I guess she wants to know the answer, too.
“Just wasn’t in my life plan, I suppose.”
“You know that’s weird, right?”
That comment actually does take me by surprise. I never thought being single and childless at my age could see strange, but I guess from a fifteen-year-old’s perspective it is.
“What makes it weird?”
She gently pulls on the fishing pole like I taught her, trying to entice a fish to bite. “You’re just really old to not have any kids and not be married. Or at least divorced. Wait, are you divorced? That would make it less weird.”
I bark a laugh. “No, I’m not divorced. I guess the right woman just hasn’t come along yet. It’s kind of hard to date when you run a farm.”
She looks at me like that’s the dumbest thing she’s ever heard. “Why? You’re the boss. You can do what you want.”
I chuckle and gently tug on my own fishing pole. So far, we’re not having much luck. “There’s more to it than just that. My work day usually starts at about four-thirty and doesn’t end until about eight at night.”
Greer says “Ew” behind us and I know she’s thinking about those long hours.
“Why do you have to work so much?”
For being the quiet one, Julie sure is full of questions. I’m going to pretend that’s a good sign; that she wants to get to know me better.
“The cows aren’t going to milk themselves. And the animals can’t feed themselves either. It’s a big responsibility taking care of animals. I like it, but it doesn’t leave a lot of time for going out and meeting people and since we live in the middle of nowhere, not many people come out to visit.”
“Do you want them? Kids, I mean?”
How do I answer that? Do I? Maybe. I guess I gave up that dream a long time ago so it’s not something I really think about, but I have to admit, when I held baby Nio at the hospital the other day, I realized how much I missed by staying secluded on the farm. It was never my intention to be this old and still alone, but it still happened.
“I think,” I begin, trying to be careful with my words. “If I’m supposed to be a dad, it’ll happen. I’m not out looking for that, but if the stars align and it happens, that would be okay with me.”
She nods and reels her fishing line all the way in, then casts it out into the water again.
“You’re getting really good at that,” I remark, impressed with how quickly she’s picking it up. Looking over, I see Oli has ditched his shoes and waded ankle deep into the water staring intently at something underneath. I’m curious to know what it is, but not curious enough to scare off any fish that may start being interested in our hooks.
“Do you read?”
Greer sniggers behind us, like she knew this was coming. Honestly, I expected this one long before now.
“A bit.”
“So what house are you?”
I crinkle my brows and look at her. She’s staring intently at me like my answer is the most important one of this entire conversation. I’m about to fail because I have no idea what she’s talking about.
“What… house?”
I glance quickly at Greer for some sort of indication as to what the right answer is. She’s too busy snickering to help me out, the traitor.
Julie rolls her eyes. “What house? Harry Potter?”
“Oh. I’ve never read those.”
Another eye roll. “How can you call yourself a reader if you’ve never read Harry Potter?”
Reeling my hook all the way in, I attach another worm and cast the line again. “Well hold on now. I tried reading the book. Hel…heck… I tried watching the movies but they just didn’t catch my interest.”
Julie sighs like I’ve disappointed her. “Fine. What about the Percy Jackson books?”
“Nope.”
“Hunger Games?”
“I watched the movies,” I say excitedly thinking I got one answer right. She purses her lips and quirks an eyebrow at me, looking at me over the top of her glasses.
“Not the same,” she deadpans. Guess I failed that one, too. “Do you read anything interesting at all?”
“Last book I read was Saving Private Ryan. It was fascinating. Did you read that one?” I already know how she’s going to answer, but I can’t help holding my breath that maybe we’ll have found some common ground. Instead, she crinkles her nose like she smells something bad.
“I’m not into historical drama.”
“That’s not historical drama. It’s based on a true story.”
“Yeah, no.”
Before I can open my mouth to respond, Julie gasps and her eyes get wide. Her pole is bending and her line is moving.
“Ace…” she pleads, not sure what to do.
I secure my own pole on the pier and turn to help her. “Don’t panic, Julie. Hold on tight,” I instruct. “Now reel it in slowly. Good. Now stop. Let the fish fight for just a little before reeling it in more.”
I talk her through her very first catch for the next several minutes, Greer standing over our shoulders watching. Even Oli has noticed something happening and splashed his way over our direction.
It takes a several minutes, but sure enough, Julie reels in a good-sized catfish.
“I did it!” she squeals, holding it up by the line as Greer snaps a pic with her phone. “I caught a fish, Mom!”
“You did,” Greer says with a laugh.
Oli, still without shoes or socks and wet from playing in the water, grimaces. “I don’t want to eat that.”
If it’s possible, Julie’s eyes widen again. “We can eat that? You mean I just caught our dinner?”
“Of course you did,” I exclaim, knowing we need about six more of those to actually have a decent sized meal. I don’t say it though. I don’t want to ruin Julie’s excitement. “What do you think we came fishing for? That is some good eating right there.”
Julie dances around for a few seconds, still holding onto her line, until the fish makes one last flop scaring the shit out of Julie and making Greer and I laugh. Oli, still not happy about the idea of eating our catch and sad that it died, wanders away. I wonder if he realizes where all the meat from the grocery store comes from. He might never eat again if he found out what the live version of beef is.
“Greer, grab me the ice chest, will you?” She rolls it over to me and I spend the next several minutes talking Julie through safely getting the fish off the hook. She’s a natural so far and I realize she and I are more alike than I first suspected.
We spend the next several hours talking fish and books and the various critters Oli catches. I laugh way too hard when Greer screams when the lizard Oli shows her jumps on her lap, and Julie about busts my ear drum when she catches a second fish.
I’ve always liked my life. Felt like I landed exactly where I needed to be. But glancing at the people around me in my favorite place in the world, I realize Julie may be more astute than I gave her credit for. This is what I’m missing in my life—family. Complete with kids and a partner and lazy days when the fish aren’t biting a lot but we’re enjoying it anyway.
Like a ton of bricks has fallen all around me, jarring me from the monotony I’ve been stuck in for so long I realize this is what I want. It’s only been a couple
months. It’s way too soon. But in this exact moment, I think I’ve fallen in love with Greer. Not just with her tenacity and her strength. I love how she puts people before herself. I love her humor. And I guess it shouldn’t surprise me, but I love her kids as well.
I’m so shell shocked by the revelation, I find myself staring out at the water, deep in thought. I want them. All of them. I want to provide for them. I want to make them smile and laugh. I want to help celebrate milestones, and help pick up broken pieces when they come. I want to find a place in all their lives and them to find a place in mine.
“Ace.” I look at Greer who has a strange look on her face. “You okay? You’ve been staring at that water for a while now.”
Smiling up at her, trying to disguise the shellshock I feel, I nod. “Yeah. Sorry. Must have zoned out. You guys ready to head back to the house? Learn how to fry up some fresh fish?”
“Yes!” Julie yells at the same time Oli groans a “Nooooooo.”
Greer shakes her head in amusement and then adds, “But we don’t have enough for dinner.”
“Don’t worry.” I push myself to my feet and begin packing up our supplies. “I always freeze some when the fish are biting a lot, just for times like these. It’s cheaper and fresher than going to the store.”
She gives me a mega-watt smile and spends a few minutes arguing with Oli about putting his shoes back on while helping put everything away.
My heart swells with excitement that this could be my future. I just have to take things slow and prove my intentions are genuine since they’ve all had a lot of hurt. But if I’m honest with myself… I can’t wait.
I woke up to the biggest surprise this morning… sweater weather. Finally.
Sure, it’s also known as long sleeve weather everywhere else in the country. Maybe even grab-a-sweatshirt-just-in-case-you-need-it weather for everyone north of Kansas.
But whatever it’s called, I’m thrilled the cooler temperatures have arrived. It has put me in the holiday spirit, which is perfect since I’ve been cooking Thanksgiving dinner since six this morning.
Joie arrived around ten to “help”. I now understand why Jack warned me she was a disaster in the kitchen. I thought he was exaggerating. When she spread out all her brightly colored and organized recipe binders, I wondered if he was trying to play some weird joke on me.
So I put her on pie duty and had her make the first pumpkin of the season. It’s not hard to make—eggs, pumpkin puree, condensed milk and spices mixed together and thrown in a pie crust. Simple.
Apparently not for Joie. I don’t know if she mixed up creamer and milk or used the wrong spices, but the second it came out of the oven I knew something was very wrong just by the smell. So I took a discreet bite and promptly spit it out in the sink.
She’s since been relegated to washing vegetables and peeling potatoes with Julie, all while rambling on about how she did it last year. “How did it not cook right this year?”
Her organizational skills have come in handy, though. She figured out how we could have a sit-down dinner, despite not having a formal dining area, just by moving the couches forward a bit and bringing in a couple folding tables. With Julie’s help, and the magic of tablecloths and placemats, it now resembles a banquet for just the seven of us. It helps that Joie knows how to fold napkins into swans. I honestly never knew her part time job skills of making balloon animals would ever benefit me, but there you have it.
The doorbell rings at the same time the oven timer goes off and I look at the clock. Four on the dot.
“Turn off the TV please, Oli and get the door.”
He grumbles about having to turn off his video game but complies. Joie gives me a look like she’s impressed and I have to admit, I was also expecting more a reaction. Then again, he knows who is missing—all the men.
There is nothing a teenage boy likes better than having some testosterone around to break up all the girly talk around him. Especially when it’s his mother and sister all the time. I wouldn’t know if he would feel the same if there were girls his age here but I put that thought right out of my head. There will be no dating prospects for Oli. Ever, if I have my say in it.
The sounds of several deep male voices get louder as our final guests round the corner. Ace, my brother Jack and Joie’s son Isaac all meander into the room. Looks like they all showed up at the same time. Can’t say I’m surprised considering there is a feast waiting for them. A way to a man’s heart and all that crap.
“Smells good in here,” Isaac says as he greets his mom with a kiss to her cheek. We’ve met a couple times in passing. He seems like a nice kid. Glancing at Julie, I notice her blushing and refusing to turn around to look at anyone.
Uh oh. I make a mental note to remind her later that Isaac is a grown man in college, and basically her cousin now. Hopefully that’ll deter any crush she might have.
Jack bypasses Joie and heads straight for my whipping bowl. “That’s because your mama didn’t do any of the cooking.”
“Hey!” Joie and I both yell at the same time, her because of the insult and me because he just stuck his finger in the whip cream I’ve been mixing.
“I’ll have you know, I peeled some amazing potatoes,” she argues when he licks his finger and finally puts his arms around her.
“I’m sure they’ll be great baby,” he says, then playfully covers her ears and whispers over her head “Don’t eat the mashed potatoes.”
As they laugh and banter, Ace takes the opportunity to kiss me on the lips. It’s just a quick peck, but enough for Julie to notice.
“Ew,” she says under her breath, but of course Jack notices.
“Ew is right,” he says. “That’s my sister you’re kissing.”
Cocking an eyebrow, I recognize my brother’s ornery mood. It always makes life fun, but being that he’s my brother and all, I can’t let him have the last word.
Grabbing Ace by the lapel, I warn, “Cover your eyes Julie,” and her hand flies up to her face without hesitation. She’s been around a while. She knows how her Uncle Jack and I each give as much shit as we take with each other. Apparently no one else does because they start laughing when I pull Ace to me, deepening our kiss.
“Oh come on now,” Jack bellows, but that doesn’t stop me from finishing what I started.
When I finally pull away, Ace leans into me and whispers “Gentleman in public and dirty lover in the bedroom remember?”
It feels like an electrical charge shoots through my body at the reminder. “Oh I remember. But I figured you wouldn’t mind this one time. Just to make my brother squirm. Consider it payback for how he acted on our first date.”
Ace chuckles and I smooth his lapel down. When I’m finally steady on my feet after that kiss, I let him go so he can continue leaning against the counter and I can finish cooking.
Turning to Jack so I can gloat in my victory of the battle of the siblings, he’s around the counter and stalking my direction. I know that look in his eye. He’s headed for the whipping bowl again.
“Stop right there, Pride.” I hold my hand up like a traffic cop in an intersection. “You get out of my kitchen before I call Hank and tell him what you thought it meant when there was a sock on the doorknob of your college dorm.”
Isaac chokes on the sip of water he was drinking and Ace starts laughing. “What did he think it meant?”
Ignoring Isaac’s question while the Mexican standoff music plays in my head, I narrow my eyes at my brother.
He grits his teeth. “You wouldn’t dare.”
“I would so dare and you would never hear the end of it.”
Minutes go by. Okay, fine—seconds go by but he finally throws his hands up in the air with a “Fine! I’ll wait for dinner.”
“It’ll only be about five minutes. You’ll be okay.” I use his favorite patronizing tone on purpose and turn back to my task, ignoring his glare my direction.
“Wait,” Isaac says hesitantly. “You can’t leave us hanging
like that. What did Jack think that meant?”
“Don’t you dare, Greer.” I roll my eyes at Jack’s attempts at sounding threatening.
“No really,” Isaac continues. “We’re all family. Who are we going to tell?”
“Your head coach,” Jack says through a clenched jaw but Isaac just waves him off.
“I would never hold it over your head to get out of doing burpees. Nope.” Isaac pops the “p” over exaggerating his sarcasm. I’ve made up my mind. I love Isaac. He’s my favorite almost nephew ever. “I would never do something like that. So spill Greer.”
“He thought it meant laundry service was on the way,” I spout off, Jack shouting obscenities behind me. “I don’t know how his olfactory senses didn’t work or if he just had terrible allergies, but his roommate thought it was so funny that any time a girl left, he’d fold all Jack’s dirty clothes and put them back in his drawers. He wore dirty clothes for close to a year before someone finally told him the truth.”
The room erupts in laughter and all I can do is bat my eyelashes at my brother who is shooting daggers at me.
“I love you,” I mouth to him, causing him to flip me off. Of course that makes everyone laugh harder and even Jack has a hard time fighting the grin threating to overtake his face.
This is what we love. Being surrounded by family who can joke with each other and laugh together. Even if it’s about dumb things we did in our youth. It makes us happy. It makes us feel good.
It makes me feel like we’re home.
“Julie. Can you go tell your brother it’s time to wash up? We’re sitting down in about five minutes.”
“Sure.” She wipes her hands on a towel and goes to find Oli while the adults begin grabbing dishes of hot food, putting them on the table. Several conversations happen naturally around me, as they do when you have multiple adults in one room.
Suddenly, there is a crash and a scream from Julie’s bedroom.
“What the hell?” Jack mutters and gives me a knowing look. We’ve been here before, so I know he’s thinking the same thing I am. I wonder if my fun-filled family holiday just went bad.
