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Travis drove slowly along the bumpy, unpaved road that led to the Yoder home, thinking of how thankful he was that the close-knit community of plain folks was so giving.
Like most of the other odd jobs he had done over the last few months, he was certain this one was something that any one of a dozen men in the community would normally have pitched in and done for free.
However, because Katie and her mom had made their neighbors aware of his family's needs, her neighbors were constantly asking him to come over and help with this or that—and they always insisted on paying him... and sending food home with him as well.
I owe that girl so much.
He tried to convince himself that his feelings were nothing more than friendship whenever he started thinking about Katie and how much he enjoyed spending time with her.
Oh, who am I kidding? What am I gonna do?
He tried to think about something else... anything else. Fortunately, he spotted the oversized black mailbox that had “Yoder” painted in neat, white block letters beside a long gravel drive and he signaled, slowing down for the turn.
Fences lined either side of the wide driveway. On one side, there were cows grazing; on the other side were horses. He followed the smooth, gravel drive for awhile before a house came into view.
His foot eased off the gas pedal as he pulled into a clearing that stretched out in a wide circle in front of a red barn, a collection of smaller buildings, and a white house with blue shutters. The house stood against the green landscape like something from a postcard or a painting.
There was a peace in the simplicity of the surroundings for as far as he could see; the clear blue sky and thick white clouds were unspoiled by towering wooden poles with miles of wires carrying electricity to houses and businesses.
A knock on his window startled Travis and the car lurched beneath him and stalled when his foot pressed the brake pedal. In his haste he had forgotten the clutch.
He shook his head as the person outside his window started laughing. He didn't even bother to look to see which Yoder it was at his window, especially since the only one he knew by name was Jake. He started the car again, being sure to engage the clutch.
“Yeah... yeah... I'm just a riot.” He muttered to himself as he pulled over to the obvious parking area beside the barn.
By the time he had parked and gotten out of the car, three other Yoder boys had joined their brother in the driveway—and two of them were laughing with him.
Jake, however, was not one of the faces he saw. He came striding out of the barn a minute later, removing a thick pair of work gloves as he walked toward Travis and the other boys.
“Timothy, Levi, I believe you still have stalls to muck out. Thomas, you really ought to get that milk in to Mamm right away. And Samuel, those chickens are not going to feed themselves.”
Travis watched as the four boys went in different directions, the two younger boys moving a lot quicker than their older brothers.
“Thanks for that.”
“Not at all.” Jake answered, with only a hint of a smile. “Truth is, they don't see much of that kind of car around here. John Baker drives the twins to their job over at the mill every day, but his vehicle is a truck.”
“A truck? I thought he drove a van.”
Jake answered, “Jah, he drives a van when he is carrying more than two or three passengers.”
“So, what is it you need help with, Jake?”
“We need another chicken coop—a really big one. Mei onkel and aenti are moving to Florida and leaving their chickens with us.”
“Another one? But you already have a perfectly good chicken coop. Why would you need another one?” Travis gestured to the little buildings grouped near the barn.
One of those had to be for all those chickens he had driven past a few minutes ago.
“We do, jah, but they have over a hundred chickens. There is not enough room in the one we have for that many chickens.”
“Oh...” Travis stopped to think about why someone would have that many chickens, but he couldn't come up with any kind of answer that made sense.
“Is it a dumb question to ask why they would have that many chickens?”
Jake laughed before he answered. “No, it is not dumb. They have that many because they sell the eggs. If they sold chickens, they would have several thousand. I am thankful they only sold the eggs.”
Well, that makes sense, I guess.
“So, they're leaving them here with your family?”
“Jah, because so many people around the area buy the eggs.”
“And they're not going to sell eggs in their new community?”
“Actually, they are taking about a dozen with them. If they have the same kind of demand there as here, they can always buy more chickens.”
“Oh, ok. That makes sense.”
“Jah, I thought so, too.”
“Well, but isn't this something you usually make into a group activity... kind of like those barn raisings?”
Jake laughed before he answered. “No, I don't believe we have ever had a chicken coop raising. Guess we could though—if you're too busy.”
“No, I'm not too busy.” Travis answered quickly. “I just hate to have you pay me for work you could probably have done in an hour or two with some of your neighbors helping you.”
“Wait,” Jake turned and raised a hand between them. Travis stopped and waited for Jake to go on. “You were expecting me to pay you?”
To that, Travis had no answer. Could I have misunderstood?
He stood there, trying to figure out how to get his foot out of his mouth, when Jake started laughing.
“Travis, I am teasing you.”
It took a moment for Jake's words to sink in, but then Travis smiled and pretended to punch Jake on the arm. “Oh yeah, that's a good one, man.”
Jake laughed again before turning to walk towards the barn, motioning for Travis to follow him.
Travis followed Jake through the wide double doors and through a large open area that ran the length of the structure. There were stalls lining both sides, but the ones on his right were of various sizes, with different doors and walls.
As they moved through the barn, Travis was surprised at the amount of light inside the enormous building. There were no electric lights that he could see, but there was also no air of gloom that he had expected from a space with no artificial light and only a few windows.
“Should we get started?” Jake stood by a large pile of neatly stacked wood boards.
“Wow. This is going to be quite a chicken coop.”
“A hundred chickens.” Jake looked over his shoulder at the lumber behind him. “Jah.”
He tossed a pair of thick work gloves to Travis and turned to heft several boards onto his shoulder.
Travis pulled the gloves onto his hands and lifted as much lumber as he could—not quite as much as Jake had, but a respectable amount all the same—and followed Jake back out of the barn.