The Right Kind of Wrong

The Right Kind of Wrong part 1

It was the beginning of August and I was working in the barn brushing one of our horses when my older brother, Ben, came walking in.

"Hey, I got the fence fixed on the far side of the property. So Bessie shouldn't go wondering out again." Ben said causing me to give a small laugh.

"Yeah because I won't be wrangling her again." I said and he sighed. I could hear the worry and stress in his sigh. I stopped brushing the horse and looked at my brother.

"What's wrong Ben?" I asked even though I was pretty sure I knew.

"Erin, there is so much wrong with this farm. Mom and Dad really left us in a bind." Ben said. I groaned and went to walk out of the barn.

"Let's not have this talk again." I said.

"We have to! We can't do all of this work ourselves. I think it's time we talk about hiring someone to help out with the labor around here." Ben said and I sighed crossing my arms.

"Can we afford it?" I asked and Ben nodded.

"I went through the finances the other night and we have enough. Plus, we have the spare bedroom. They can just stay here at the house. So a place to stay and 3 meals a day. You can't get any better than that." Ben explained and I huffed a laugh.

"What's an extra person to cook for?" I said sarcastically.

"I mean, you're more than welcome to do the hard labor and I do the cooking." Ben said and laughed.

"Fine, I guess we can put an ad out in the paper tomorrow." I said and Ben nodded as we sat down on the porch and just looked out over the land our parents left us. I took a deep breath and then sighed.

"You okay?" Ben asked and I nodded.

"Yeah just thinking about all that needs done and how much having an extra set of hands will actually be nice. It's just something about a stranger working on our farm that mom and dad spent most of their lives building." I said and Ben nodded in agreement.

"I understand. I feel the same way. But we need the extra help. I don't want to let this place go and ruin all of mom and dads hard work. Let's face it, we can't do it alone." Ben said looking at me. I knew he was right. I just didn't want to admit it.
"Let's head inside and get some lunch." Ben said and we stood up and headed inside.

I made ham sandwiches for lunch. It was one of Ben's favorite simple sandwiches. As we sat there eating, we went over the ad for help with the farm. "Ok, so what should the ad say?" I said getting a paper and pen. "Well, for one, the person has to like animals. Because we have a lot of them." Ben said with a little laugh. I nodded in agreement. "Yes we do. But I enjoy their company." I said with a smile. Ben smiled back. "Ok, what else besides the obvious?" I asked with a huffed laugh. "Well, they need to be able to lift heavy things. Be able to work 10-12 hours majority of the days. Be able to drive a tractor, be a handy man and the most important thing, they need to be ok with living in our house. To be on-site to be ready to work." Ben said finishing his sandwich. I nodded in agreement to everything he said as I wrote down the qualifications. "Alright, I will get the ad written up and we can take it tomorrow to the newspaper company." I said taking the last bite of my sandwich. "Sounds good.....Hopefully we get someone sooner than later. I don't know how much more I can handle." Ben said putting his head in his hands. I looked up from the paper "Ben, I'm sorry I can't be more of a help to you with things around here." I said with a little voice. "What? I didn't mean it like that. Erin, you do a lot for this farm. You tend to every single animal. Making sure they are fed, brushed and you even clean their stalls and pens. You milk the cows, collect the eggs from the chickens. You even cook every meal to make sure we eat in between all the work you're doing. Don't sell yourself short. You're doing an amazing job." Ben said. I smiled "Thanks. I really needed to hear that." "You're welcome... mom and dad would be really proud of you, Erin." Ben said putting his hand on my arm. I gave a small smile. "I sure hope so. I'm pushing every day not to break down." I said with a tear welling up in my eye. It was silent for a few minutes as Ben stood up from the table. "Well, gotta get back to work. The crops ain't going to crop themselves." He said as we both laughed. He headed outside and I could hear the rumble of the tractor starting.

Ben had always been the one to try to make me laugh and feel better if I felt down. Even though he was fighting his own feelings. As kids he would dance like a chicken to get me to laugh if I came home crying when a kid picked on me. I always looked up to my big brother. He was always protective of me. But his protectiveness got worse when our parents passed away. I guess he felt like he had to be so he wouldn't lose me either.
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The next morning we woke up, had a cup of coffee and drove to put the ad in the newspaper. It was a quiet ride. We were both tired and exhausted from the day before.
Working on a farm was a lot of work but honestly, I wouldn't have it any other way. I loved animals. Our parents raised most of our animals from babies. My mom would take me horseback riding around the farm everyday after school when I was little. I often think of those memories.

"We're here." Ben said, startling me. Pulling me out of my own thoughts. "I'll be right back." He said as he got out of the truck and headed inside the office of the local newspaper. A few minutes went by and Ben returned to the truck. "All done. It'll be in tomorrow's newspaper. Let's hope someone is looking for our type of work." Ben said as he started the truck. I nodded.
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A few days had passed since the ad was put in the newspaper. We were really losing hope and will power. "It's been a week. Why hasn't anyone responded yet?" I asked annoyed as I handed Ben his breakfast plate. "I don't know. I was certain someone would have responded by now. I guess it's hard to find honest work around here." He said with a sigh. We ate our breakfast in silence. As I stood up, taking our plates to the sink, we heard a truck pull up the driveway. "Who drives an old red Ford pick up?" I said confused. "No one I know." Ben answered as he stood up and headed out to the porch. I followed him. A young man, around our age, stepped out of the truck. "Are you Ben and Erin Mason?" The stranger asked. "Yes, I'm Ben and this is my sister, Erin. Can we help you?" Ben asked as we stood on the porch. "Um, yea. Um, My name is Sebastian and I'm responding to your ad in the newspaper. Is the position still available?" He asked. "Yes. The position is still available." Ben said surprised but kind of relieved. "Great! I'm really interested in this job. I think I have all the qualifications you listed." Sebastian said with a smile.
"Are you ok with staying in the spare bedroom?" Ben asked concerned. "Uh, yes. It's a place to stay and 3 meals a day. What more can I ask for?" Sebastian said in a playful but nervous laugh. Ben just looked over at me with a *I told you so* smirk on his face. I rolled my eyes. "Well, Sebastian, how soon can you start?" Ben said stepping off the porch and extending his arm to shake Sebastians hand. "I can start immediately!" Sebastian responded. "Good. I'll show you to your room and then around the farm." Ben said as he led Sebastian inside the house. "Wow, that's a beautiful blue '66 Ford you got there." Sebastian said to Ben. "That truck is actually hers." Ben said with a smile. Sebastian looked embarrassed. "Oh, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have assumed." I smiled at him. "It's ok. A lot of people think it's his." I said. Sebastian smiled back and followed Ben inside.
"As You can see, this is the living room upon entering the house. The kitchen is to the right. And stairs to the second floor is straight ahead." Ben explained to Sebastian. He led Sebastian down the hall between the stairs and the kitchen to where the spare bedroom was.
"This is where you'll be staying. The door further down the hall to the left is your bathroom. Mine and Erin's rooms are upstairs. We have our own bathroom up there." Ben explained. "It's a nice room. Thanks." Sebastian said as he put his bag down on the bed. "Do you have any questions so far?" I asked. "Not that I can think of." Sebastian replied. "Good. I'll show you around the farm." Ben said as he left the room and Sebastian followed.