Winnowing (A Novella)

Winnowing

The month after I met Joanne, Mom took me to grandma’s farm because she had a conference overseas and wanted me to have a different summer vacation than tennis camp. This will be a good experience. It’s not like you’ll be staying long and besides, it’s time you get out of the city and see a little bit of the countryside. It was the worst three weeks of my life. Grandma lived in a house built in the ‘80s; even the landline didn’t work on rainy days. Still, it would have been tolerable if it weren’t for the winnowing she insisted on teaching me. I had no idea why she continued such an ancient practice when she could easily buy a bag of flour or oat without wasting hours tossing grains in the air.

“Lily. Let the air do the work. Let the heavier grain sink down. Let the sound of certainty echo in your heart.” My grandmother would say every time I returned from the field, itchy and sunburned. She didn’t make much sense to an eleven year old with no patience for wisdom. But strangely, it was her words I suddenly remembered as I stared at the engagement ring in front of me. This was what I wanted ten years ago. It was ten years late. The old man was no longer playing and now a kindergartner was having fun at Chopsticks.

“You don’t have to give me a decision now,” said Evan after a long moment.

I placed the ring on my finger impulsively. It was beautiful in the way all diamonds were beautiful—cold and cut with meticulous care, promising to last forever.

“Ten days,” I said quietly.

He crooked a smile. “Ten days,” he agreed. “But you’ll have to be fair about this. Dinner with me every night and you’re not allowed to see the dentist.”

“I already made plans with Leo, but we can start tomorrow.” I stood and grabbed my coat. “You can pay for coffee. That’ll be a start.”

His laughter followed me to the door.

 ~*~

“Work on your mind? You seem more absentminded than usual this evening,” remarked Leo as he cut his steak carefully.

Unlike me, he preferred his meat rare. I averted my eyes from the bloody mess and grabbed a sweet potato instead. “It’s nothing. I just happened to make an important decision today.”

“Oh? What about?”

Instead of answering, I gave the restaurant a cursory glance. It was a slow night, and there were only a few occupied tables. Leo knew I didn’t care for the crowd. He was considerate like that, full of smiles, sympathy, and soft-spoken words. What was wrong with me? At my age, I should consider myself lucky to have caught his eyes.

“Do you remember how we met?”

He raised an eyebrow. “I doubt I can forget. You thought I was a fool for not minding my own business and went out of your way to “rescue” me from a couple of wannabe drug dealers.”

I laughed. “That’s not how I’ll phrase it. Do you remember I lost a shoe?”

“You did. And I lost my breath and almost my life when I realized you planned on running the entire way back.”

“For someone so skinny, I’m amazed at how weak your body is,” I commented without thinking.

Leo gave a wicked smile. “That wasn’t what you said the other night.”

I blushed and almost choked on the fries. “Leo, I—”

“Do you need anything? Dessert perhaps?” interrupted our waiter.

“No, we’re fine. Thank you,” said Leo. He redirected his attention to me and flashed a smile full of teeth. He had really white teeth. I was jealous of them. “What were you saying?”