The Forgotten Ones (On Hold)

2: A Working Man

April 7, 1954

**Fact of the Date: President Dwight D. Eisenhower gives his famous 'domino theory' speech**

(Billy's POV)

The rays of sun that were sprawled across my face woke me from my slumber. As I moved, I felt many of my joints cracking in protest. Times like this made me miss having a bed to sleep in.

Yawning, I looked around the room. Now that there was daylight, this house looked different. It was filthy and run-down, but it had potential. To the left of the main entrance was a wooden staircase. Near the fireplace was a long hallway that led to many other rooms. The right side of the room was spacious and had a large broken window. There was a small pool of water near the window from the rain that had entered last night, and a cool breeze was blowing its way inside.

I leaned down and picked up my clothing, pulling them back onto myself. Running my fingers through my hair, I attempted to make myself look not so dishelved. I wanted to make a good impression on the farmer today, and looking like a complete mess would not accomplish that.

Throwing my bag over my shoulder, I walked out of the house. The scenery that greeted me looked much different than it had last night. I could now see all of the overgrown plantlife and a clear pond not far from the house.

There was the remains of what had once been a driveway, but was now mostly grass with hints of gravel peeking through. I treaded along it, making my way back towards the main road.

I tried to settle my nerves as I walked to the grocery store, but as soon as I saw the pick-up truck with crates of assorted vegetables parked outside my stomach clenched with anxiety.

There was an older man standing next to the truck chatting with the grocer as a man around my age was unloading some of the crates from the back.

As I got closer, the grocer noticed me and waved me over to them. The other two men turned to look at me with blank expressions. It made me wonder if they were good at poker.

"Here he is, Mr. Borgman," the grocer said with a smile tugging at his lips.

The man looked me up and down as he reached up and stroked his beard. The moment of silence wasn't helping my anxiety.

Tilting his head to the side, he said in a coarse voice, "What do you think, Richard?"

The other man paused what he was doing and looked in my direction. Shrugging his shoulders, he turned back to his work, "Seems fine to me."

"What's your name, boy?" Mr. Borgman's dark eyes were focused back on me.

"Billy. Billy Eckley, sir," I offered my hand out, but he didn't even give it a glance.

"You'll do. Go help my son finish unloading."

"Thank you, sir. Will do, sir," I quickly said and walked over to the back of the pick-up.

Richard looked up and smirked, "Don't worry about him. He acts stern, but he's really a big 'ole teddy bear. I'm almost done here. Just got these last two crates."

Giving a slight smile in response, I reached over and lifted up a crate of tomatoes. I followed Richard inside and stacked it next to the others.

After the grocer paid Mr. Borgman, the three of us piled into the pick-up. It smelled like an ash tray, even with the windows being all of the way down.

As the engine roared to life, Mr. Borgman struck a match and lit up a cigarette. With the cigarette still gripped between his lips, he mumbled, "So where are you from, boy?"

"All over the place, sir," I looked out the window, watching the houses pass by as we headed towards the edge of town.

We pulled into a long driveway that had fenced-in fields lining both sides of it. The field on my side had cattle roaming in it, whereas the other side was a massive corn field.

The truck haulted to a stop outside of a two-story farmhouse. Stepping outside, I took a deep breath. It took a moment to get used to the smell of manure. It had been a while since the last time I had worked on a farm.

"I'll show you the ropes. Are you ready?" Richard asked.

I nodded my head and followed him as he began walking towards the large red barn. I was eager to begin working; the sooner I started, the sooner I'd have money in my pocket.

Richard gave me a tour of the farm and put me to work. I milked some of the cows, weeded the garden, and fed the pigs and chickens. Before I knew it, the sun was setting and Mr. Borgman was walking towards me.

"You did alright today. You made it through six hours. Here's $4.50 for the day. Be here bright and early tomorrow if you want to make some more," he said as he dropped the money into my dirty palm.

"Thank you. I'll be here," I responded, wiping the sweat off from my forehead with my other hand.

"Do you need a ride anywhere?"

"Uh, if you could give me a ride back to town, that would be great. I'll be heading to the store."

"Sure thing," he gave me a pat on the shoulder and we began walking back to the truck.

***

After returning back to the house and lighting another fire, I decided that I'd need to take the risk of leaving some of my belongings there. With me now having a box of Ritz crackers, a two pound bag of apples, and a five pound bag of potatoes, my backpack was getting heavier to carry around with me.

With the remaining logs that were beside the fireplace, I arranged them so that they would provide a good hiding place for my food. I grabbed myself an apple, a stack of crackers, and the jar of peanut butter. After opening the jar of peanut butter, I realized I didn't have anything to spread it onto the crackers with. My fingers would have to do this time, but I'd have to remember to get some utensils the next time I'd go to town.

Sure, it was a small meal, but after being used to it for so many years it didn't take much to satisfy my hunger. I finished eating and put the rest of the items hidden behind the logs. Then, using my backpack as a pillow again, I laid down and closed my eyes. I wanted to wake up as early as I could so that I could work as many hours as possible tomorrow. I needed every cent I could get before I have to move on to the next place.

A/N: So very sorry that it's taken so long to update this. I had written down things for this story in a notebook and then ended up losing it until yesterday. I didn't even work on my other stories because I had told someone that this would be the next story that I would update.

Anyways, I hope you all enjoy. I may need to go back and edit this, but the beginning chapters are always the hardest for me when it comes to stories. I'm always too excited to get to the main part of the story that I have to wrack my brain trying to come up with the parts that lead up to it.