George and Slim walked the beaten trail along the river. The cool spring breeze rustled the willows as they passed, causing a storm of blossoms to swirl around above them. Pebbles crunched quietly under their feet, adding sound to the otherwise silent landscape.
Three years had now gone by since Lennie’s passing. From that day, Slim filled his place and traveled with George, working and saving their earnings. Candy had joined them for a while, but died soon after due to his old age. The old man had kept his word, and put in his Will to have George inherit his savings in the bank. George and Slim combined now had over $800 and were traveling south to buy their own farm. They had been searching for quite a while, and George had finally found the ideal piece of land to invest in.
As the two men walked along, the afternoon sun was too much to bear. They ventured off the path and found a shaded area along the riverbank. The grass was bright and soft, still cool in the shadows. Slim looked at George. “You know how far ‘til we hit the town?” he asked. “No idea. But it can’t be too awful far. We’ve been walkin for hours.” George answered. Slim paused a minute. “You know,” he finally said, “Lennie’d be mighty happy if he were here with us.” George’s eyes clouded with guilt, then grief. “Aw c’mon George. You know I wasn’t blamin you. You had to do it. Curley woulda done a heck of a lot worse if he had gotten hold of him.” “Yeah…” George began to think out loud. “It always was that crazy man’s dream. Get a place on our own. Live off the fatta the land. I promised’m it’d happen someday. And by God I didn’t lie to em.” His eyes were watery, but his words were strong and clear. Memories flooded back to George, as they often did. Lennie was a normal part of George’s thoughts, but many of the frustrating memories had been worn away with time, making those that remained all the more sweet.
The men rested in the shade, waiting out the heat. Eventually evening came, and it was cool enough to continue their journey, and they were back on their feet. They often walked in silence, speaking only when necessary. This time was different, for they knew they wouldn’t be traveling around anymore. This final stretch to town acted as a finish line to their homeless lives. Now they would no longer be disposable mice, but rather they would be free to do as they pleased, on their own land, on their own time. As the town appeared in the horizon, Slim turned to George. He wanted to know about his new home that George had found in the paper. His knowledge was small from the small ad he had seen, with a picture and a brief description. However, George had been in contact with the owner, and deemed it perfect as soon as he knew the price. “What’s on this supposed ‘perfect farm’?” Slim wondered. “It’d be great to know if it’s worth puttin all of my money in.” George looked at him and gave a small laugh. “Well ain’t it a bit too late to turn around? Anyway, it’s a near perfect place. There ain’t no reason to worry.” George’s face took on a dreamy look. “No reason to worry at all.” He continued. “This place--it had a little house and a couple of acres an’ a cow and some pigs and—“”And rabbits?” Slim cut in. George’s face broke into a grand smile. “Yeah. Yeah—and we’ll have rabbits.”
