Our Love Story, Part X

Catch up on Parts I-IX here.


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~The next morning dawned bright and maliciously early. Farming families, apparently, think little of sleep.

I wish I could say I was one of those girls who was so excited to be in love that I barely ate or slept whilst floating in love land. But while I could be oblivious to the blisters shrouding my feet and hands, the peeling layer of sunburned epidermis on my face, and the aching groan of my overextended muscles, I still slept like a log and awoke with a voracious appetite.

After downing a hearty plate of bacon, eggs, and homemade cinnamon rolls (his mom's cinnamon rolls are bundles of beauty), Mr. Amazing and I set out for the alfalfa field.

After our late evening chat the night before, the ride was rather quiet. It wasn't awkward at all, but we were both comfortably lost in our thoughts.

He took a scenic route past rolling lush green fields, and I involuntarily gasped in delight at their perfectly ordered beauty. It was so perfectly even it looked fake and I wondered who the rich dude was who could afford mammoth fields of AstroTurf.

"You like this, hm?" he said at last, breaking the silence.

"It's exquisite." Before I could stupidly ask, "What kind of grass is it?" he said,

"If you think these wheat fields are beautiful, then I know a place you'd really enjoy."

Wheat? I thought wheat was golden. Boy did I have a lot to learn.

By then we'd arrived and set out to work with Tim and Meg. I was asked to prime the pump (a cushy job allowing one to sit in the shade), and was pleased with my comfy lot while the others went out looking for those danged pipes seeking buried treasure.

A few hours later, while I was sitting there avoiding reassignment, a car drove up. A slender woman with dark eyes spotted me lounging working in the shade and rolled down the window. She called over, and I quickly discovered her purpose and surmised her identity. She was looking for Mr. Amazing. This must be "Janet," his ex-fiance.

I couldn't help it. I arched an eyebrow! But I answered civilly, "Oh, he's out in the field." I gestured to a dot on the horizon that I'd been watching for an hour. "If you hurry you'll probably catch him before he gets out of sight."

"Oh I'm not wearing the right kind of shoes. I'll just wait for him."

"Not wearing the right kind of shoes?? I'd run over burning coals barefoot to see him!" I thought, defensively, but just smiled and shrugged.

She honked several times and at length he spotted her. He smiled broadly and went over to talk with her. I couldn't bear to watch. A few minutes later she drove off. Blast. He was still smiling. He came to take a break in the shade, sitting near me.

I looked at him coolly.

"How's the pump priming going?" he asked, oblivious to my stony cold glare.

"Fine," I shot back, tersely. "Who was that?" I finally asked, casually.

He shifted uncomfortably.

"That's right, buddy. Squirm sucker, squirm." I thought.

"That was Janet." And we both said nothing more.

Of course I had no reason to be mad at him. I was the one with the crazy crush; besides a disinterested and cordial porch conversation, he'd made no move and he owed me nothing. He'd played the part of a gracious host when Miriam was working, entertaining me as any good older brother would do, and chauffeuring me out to visit Meg.

But at the time I felt like a crossed lover.

Meg and Tim came over and we all called it a day.

I had two days left in the Pacific Northwest, but I was ready to go home.

To be continued...