Being a Barrow - A Sequel to Barrow's Boy

The Allegorical Envelope

     "No Teddy with you?" Percy asked as Abi followed him into the barn. He knew that this time of year, the moments near the end of summer when the heat persisted, only interrupted by brief winds trying to bring autumn, were some of the busiest of their year on the Wilson farm. If Percy needed to work while they talked, she didn't mind.

     "He's gone back to London, actually." She answered. Percy, who had gone to grab his tools from the arrangement of them hanging and leaning on the wall, turned to her with his eyebrows raised. 

     "With no goodbye?"

     "Well, I got a goodbye," Abi teased, to which Percy stuck his tongue out at her. He pulled a shovel off of the wall, one of the smaller ones. He started walking out of the barn, toward the fields, and she followed. "He was supposed to head back soon anyway. But going now was a sudden decision."

     "That's not like Ted."

     "I think he had a fight with his dad."

     "That's not like him either," Percy acknowledged. He stopped walking, shovel resting against the ground with him leaning against it as he looked down at Abi. "What about?"

     "I'm not sure," she replied. "He didn't want to talk about it. I didn't push."

    "Fair enough," Percy responded, lifting the shovel and continuing to walk. Abi took quick steps to keep up with him. 

    "I haven't had a chance to talk to you about America yet," she reminded him as Percy. "I mean, Teddy told me all the big stuff, but what about you? How was seeing your family?"

    "As complicated as we expected," Percy answered simply. He dropped the shovel and got down to the ground, starting to pick the weeds out of the field as he continued. "Seeing Mum was really good, though. I think I actually got somewhere with her."

     "That's good." 

     Percy only hummed in response, an envelope falling out of his pocket as he leaned forward. He looked at it, eyed the dirt on his hands, then turned to Abi.

     "Would you mind holding that?" He asked, to which she immediately nodded. "I'd rather it not be covered in dirt by the end of this."

     "Can I ask who it's from?" Abi asked as she picked it up. She didn't want to pry, but she couldn't help noticing the American postage on it. She sat herself down on a conveniently-placed rock, one she knew Mr. Wilson had taken to sitting on when he joined Percy out in the fields, as she held it safely in her hands.

     "An old friend from Chicago," he replied simply. "We reacquainted while I was there. Agreed to stay in touch."

     "Right. That tells me everything."

     Percy rolled his eyes fondly, then glanced up at Abi.

     "Her name is Dottie." Her. Now, that was interesting. "We were really close friends before I moved here. Us and Peter. The one we drove to Alabama for."

     "Well, it's nice that you two are talking."

     "Yeah," Percy replied with a smile. He turned back to the weeds as he continued. "She's been really nice to talk to. Funny, too."

     Abi watched Percy for a few beats, eyeing the smile on his face even as he worked on freeing a particularly difficult weed from the soil. She nearly reminded him that he had brought out the shovel for a reason, but his mind seemed to be elsewhere. Eventually, she spoke.

     "I heard that you broke it off with Margy when you got back."

     Percy paused for a moment, swallowed, then nodded.