Tell Tale Kiss

Chapter Nineteen

Life starts early on the farm. Already Calem was up, dressed, had mended a fence, fed the animals and checked on the tractor that was giving John trouble, and it was only 9 a.m.

Calem grumbled about things being too old. 

"What's that? You calling me old?" John asked coming into the barn.

"No, just out dated," Calem taunted. "It needs a new water pump back plate gasket. I'll go into town this afternoon and pick one up."

"Sure, is nice having a second set of hands to help out around here." John handed Calem a rag to wipe the grease off of his hands.

"Don't go getting used to it. You know the farm has never been the place for me." Calem shoved the rag in his back pocket and started collecting the tools. "Things here are falling apart. How bad has it been in the last few years I've been gone?"

"Kinda figured she hadn't told you anything. It's been pretty bad. We barely made it through some of the droughts. The worst of it is, it's getting harder and harder to find help during harvest time. Seems no one wants to be bothered anymore."

To Calem, that confession seemed to take a lot out of John. He obviously didn't want to admit that farming and farmers were a class of citizens that were slowly dying out. Many of the droughts had farmers encouraging their children to look to other avenues for money and careers, it broke the lines of tradition and some never made it back.

"You still think this place has some life in it?" John only shook his head and shrugged in answer.

Calem's mother was struggling when they had to sell most of their land and she's been struggling ever since. That's why Calem took the out, by accepting the chance to do something different. He didn't want to go down with the ship but he also hoped to save his mother by taking her with him. However, she refused to go. 

"Dottie has breakfast ready. Go on. I'll put the rest away. Get yourself cleaned up. She's waitin' and so is the new girl."

Upon mention of Evelyn, Calem picked up his pace, and sprinted from the barn causing John to laugh at him as he exited. All spruced up and decent enough to enter the house Calem couldn't wait to see Evelyn again.

He found her giggling with his mother. The two of them were as thick as thieves, with their heads together, and their hands busy plating the food for breakfast. Calem's mother shushed Evelyn as she saw him entering which left Calem with no doubt that he was the subject of their conversation. God only knew what stories his mother was telling Evelyn to cause such giggles.

"Good Morning, Ladies. I see you've been busy gossiping about me."

"Gossip! Bite your tongue. I'd never. The truth is always far more interesting."

Dottie gave Evelyn a little hip check and wink and Evelyn started giggling again. Now Calem was nervous on several levels.

John came in the back door, and Dottie smiled warmly at him. "Have a seat at the table you two. Breakfast is ready."

The two men sat at the table and Dottie and Evelyn brought out a feast of biscuits, fried eggs, potatoes, bacon and a course a stack of fluffy buttermilk pancakes. Fresh squeezed orange juice  was added to the table, followed by a carafe of coffee, and some fresh cream.

Calem missed eating his mother's cooking. Food from the farm was so fresh it was impossible to get a bad meal. He wondered if Evelyn made any additions to his mother's usual recipes as she had with the honey butter.

He discovered the difference was with the bacon, thick cut, baked with what tasted like orange juice and a brown sugar glaze, made the bacon taste like candy. Evelyn reveled in the looks of pure delight that showed on the men's faces as they devoured the food her and Dottie made.