Theron came out of his room on Tuesday morning wearing jeans, a black T-shirt with a bright colored symbol of an atom on it, and no hoodie. “Could we have waffles and sausage for breakfast, please?”
“Of course.” Vada still felt like she was living in a dream. “Hot tea or juice?”
“Milk,” Theron said. “I read that a growing person my age needs more calcium for the bones, and sunshine to get the D vitamin. I should have researched this before now.”
Vada popped a package of sausage links into the microwave and put two frozen waffles in the toaster. She tried to remember a time when her son had come out of his room two days in a row, but she couldn’t.
“I am ready to move to the ranch for one week,” Theron said. “I researched what I would need, and I have my things laid out on the bed. I need a duffel bag or a suitcase to put them in. After I eat, I will call Lucas and ask him if we can come today. I will need his phone number.”
To Vada’s knowledge, Theron had never used his cell phone for anything other than playing games or as a research tool, so she wasn’t sure he would even know how to use it to make a call.
“It will be easier if I talk to him on the phone,” Theron said.
“And if he says no?” Vada asked.
“Then I will put my things away,” he answered, “but I think he will say yes.”
From the time he started talking at a year old, he used very proper English—when he wanted to say something. To hear him verbalize as much as he had the past two days was mind boggling.
Vada wrote Lucas’s number on a scrap piece of paper and slid it across the table to Theron. “Here you go. Let me know what he says so I can get my things together, too.”
“I will,” Theron said with a brief nod. “My research says kids like me have trouble with change, but I need to work through that.”
“I’ll be right there beside you, son.” Vada blinked back tears as she got the sausage out of the microwave and put it on a plate. “If it gets to be too much for you, we can get in the car and come home.”
Theron nodded but didn’t say anything. Vada decided that she wouldn’t start packing to be away for a whole week until after Theron had really made the call. Her heart hurt for her son, knowing how much courage he would have to muster up to even poke the numbers into the phone.
* * *
Lucas’s phone rang and he answered it without checking the Caller ID. “Good morning.”
“This is Theron,” the voice in his ear said. “May I come stay on the ranch for a week, so I can see Buttercup and Tex every day?”
“I think that would be a very good idea.” Lucas did a fist pump and mouthed the word, “Yes!”
“May we come this morning?” Theron asked.
“Of course, but you should know the place where I live only has one bedroom. You and your mama can have the bunk beds in the living room, or you and I can take them and let her have the bedroom. You decide which would work better for you,” Lucas said.
“I have researched both bunkhouses and bunk beds, and I will take the top bunk. Mama can have the bottom one. Older folks might hurt themselves if they fall out of a top bunk,” Theron said.
Ouch, Lucas thought, but he said, “That sounds like a fine idea. Then you will be here in just a little while?”
“Yes, sir,” Theron answered. “Will you tell Buttercup and Tex that I am on the way?”
“I will certainly do that,” Lucas said. “Be sure to bring a warm coat and boots. A cold front is headed our way.”
“I have researched the weather, and I am ready,” Theron said. “Goodbye.”
Lucas started to tell Theron goodbye, but when he looked down the phone screen was dark. “Man, that had to take a lot of courage,” he said.
“What took courage, and who were you talking to?” Mia, his niece, asked as she tossed the last bag of cattle feed into the bed of the ranch’s old work truck.
“Theron Winters wants to spend a week in the bunkhouse,” Lucas said.
Mia closed the truck’s tailgate. “Is he coming today?”
“Yes, he is,” Lucas answered.
Mia rounded the truck and slid into the driver’s side. “Then we better get this feed out to the pasture. You need to be here when he arrives, or he might change his mind. This is a good thing you’re doing for him.”
“I wonder if he’s moving too fast,” Lucas said as he settled into the passenger seat and wondered just how things would go with Vada living in the same house with him, “but he seems determined to be here a whole week. I’ll be happy if he lasts a couple of days this first time.”
Mia started the engine and backed the truck out of the barn. “I hope I get to meet him while he’s here.”
“Me, too.” Lucas nodded. “He’s super intelligent but isn’t comfortable around people.”
Mia drove down the pathway that was just a couple of ruts in the pasture. “There was a kid like that at college. He was maybe fourteen and taking advanced classes. I kind of felt sorry for him. He didn’t fit in, and it was plain that he just wanted someone to talk to.” She pulled up to the place where they needed to dump feed and pointed to the cattle that had fallen in behind the truck. “Looks like we’ve got a waiting line. Maybe if Theron gets more comfortable at being around people, we can bring him out here some morning.”
A blast of cold air that could be promising sleet or snow hit Lucas in the face when he opened the truck door. “I’ll take care of this. You keep the vehicle warm.”
Mia shook her head. “I’m not just a pretty face, Uncle Lucas. I’m a ranch hand.” She slid out from behind the wheel and hopped up into the truck bed. She set one bag up on the end, pulled a pocketknife from her back pocket, and slit the top open. “There now, it’s ready for you to dump.”
Lucas carefully hefted the bag to the ground and pushed several cows back so he could get to the feeder. “You really are more than a pretty face.”
“That’s what I keep telling my boyfriend, Beau,” Mia said as she got another bag ready for him. “I can’t wait for you to meet him, Uncle Lucas. He’ll be here for Sunday dinner day after tomorrow. He missed last week because he had to take his grandpa to a rodeo. They invited me to go, but I wanted to be here with you on your first real day back at the ranch.”
“Well, thank you, darlin’.” Lucas took care of the last bag and tossed the empty in with the others in the back of the truck. “It sure was nice to sit down to Sunday dinner with the whole family. I can’t believe how much the twins have grown. They’re walking and trying to talk.”
“Oh, they’re talking,” Mia said with half a giggle as she jumped out of the truck’s bed and went back to the cab. “It’s just that they have a language of their own and only communicate with each other. I hope Beau and I have twins someday.”
“Oh, so you’re plannin’ babies before the wedding?” Lucas teased as he got back into the truck.
“No, sir!” Mia gasped. “We’re not plannin’ either for a while, but we know we love each other and all that’s on the calendar down the road. He’s a good man, Uncle Lucas, and he treats me right.”
“That’s what matters.” Lucas wondered if he’d ever find someone to share his life with—that would be on the calendar for a long-term relationship—as Mia said.
* * *
Vada packed jeans, sweatshirts, and casual clothing for the week. She thought about adding something for church but figured it would just take up space. She hadn’t been to Sunday services since her grandmother died. When her granny was alive, they had switched off attending Sunday services. One week, Vada went to morning worship, and Granny attended the evening service. The next week, they swapped. Common sense told Vada that she sure couldn’t leave Theron alone, especially in a new and strange place, and there was no way he would go with her.
She was only mildly surprised when she rolled her suitcase into the living room and found Theron sitting on the sofa. His feet were planted in front of him, and his hands were folded in his lap. His computer case and a smaller case that matched hers were beside the door with his coat, gloves, and the watch cap her mother had knitted for him lying on the top of it.
“I am ready.” Theron pulled up the hood of his gray jacket, and then pushed it back again. “I will put on my cap when we get there. I wonder if Buttercup’s ears get cold. I will have to research that tonight. I wouldn’t like for her to be cold just for me.”
Vada pulled her suitcase over to the door. “She might be in the barn in her stall since it’s so cold. Are you going to be comfortable spending time with her in the barn?”
“Yes, I am,” Theron answered as he stood up. “I will talk to Buttercup wherever she is. Do you think Tex comes into the bunkhouse to get warm? I read about ranch dogs when I did research. I hope he gets to come inside when it’s cold.”
“We can ask Lucas about that,” Vada answered.
When they reached the lane, he pulled out his fidget toy and played with it, but he didn’t pull the hood up on his jacket. She drove past the empty corral, and Theron straightened up in his seat.
“I guess she’s in the barn,” he said. “I can see her today, can’t I?”
“I’m sure Lucas will arrange it so that you can.” Vada parked in front of the long, low building that Stevie had described when she gave her directions to the bunkhouse. “Are you sure about this, Theron?”
He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “No, I’m not sure about it, but I want to get better. I don’t like people looking at me like I’m weird.”
“Do you really think they do that?” Vada hoped that she wasn’t treading on thin ice.
“I can feel how people see me, Mama,” Theron answered. “Lucas and Buttercup don’t treat me like I’m different. They see me as a ten-year-old boy, not a genius.”
“Then I guess the next thing for us to do is go inside,” Vada said.
“First, we knock on the door and wait to be invited in,” Theron told her. “That is what my research says about going to another person’s home. It’s rude to just walk in. I don’t want to do something that will make Lucas think I’m weird.”
Vada felt a slight prick in her heart for not teaching Theron the proper etiquette about going to see other folks. In her defense, she hadn’t thought that Theron would ever leave the house or face a situation like this.
“That’s right,” Vada said. “Do you want to knock or shall I?”
“I should do it.” Theron opened the car door. “It will help me to get better if I learn this. It can’t be harder than analytical psychology.”
“Is that where you got the idea to come out here for a week? Is this one of your experiments?” Vada got out of the car and removed her suitcase from the back seat.
Theron got out of the car and took out his suitcase. “I’ve been studying the relationship between the consciousness, which is what I do when I sink back into myself and don’t let others inside to be a part of my life, and the subconsciousness that keeps me from being social.” He stopped to inhale deeply again. “I figure I have to balance those two things, so yes, I suppose it is a bit of an experiment. Buttercup understands me, and I can talk to her about the correlation between the two. Sometimes I don’t need an answer to my questions. I just need to ask them so I can figure them out in my head.”
Vada wasn’t sure she understood a word of what he had said other than something about not being social. If it helped him come out of his shell, she was all for whatever conscious or subconscious signs he got, and for a horse that listened to his intelligent one-sided conversations.
She knew by the way his hand trembled that it took a great deal of determination for him to raise his fist and knock. In just seconds, Lucas threw open the door and motioned them inside. “Come on in. Tex is waiting in the living room, and I’ve got a pot of tea ready with some of my mama’s sugar cookies on the table.”
“That is very good,” Theron said. “A host is supposed to offer a guest a beverage and a snack. I like hot tea. What kind did you make?”
“Earl Grey,” Lucas answered.
“That’s a good one for this time of day,” Theron said. “Is it okay for me to look around before we have a break?”
“Of course it is,” Lucas answered.
Theron parked his suitcase at the end of the bottom bunk, dropped down on his knees, and stroked Tex’s head before he even took in the rest of the place.
“You look like you just saw a ghost,” Lucas whispered for Vada’s ears only.
“I just found out that he’s been studying analytical psychology on his own. I always know what high school classes he’s taking, but I don’t know what he’s ‘researching.’” She air-quoted the last word.
“Buttercup’s a real smart horse,” Lucas said with a smile. “She can listen to intelligent conversation or to babbling that doesn’t amount to anything at all.”
Theron rose, crossed the big room that served as kitchen as well as living and dining area, and stopped at the end of the sofa. “I have not been in very many houses, but I like this one. I’m ready for tea now.”
“I’m glad. Shall we sit around the table for tea?” Lucas asked.
“I would like that,” Theron answered. “And then can I go talk to Buttercup? Is she in the barn where it’s warm?”
“Yes, she is. Your mama and I can go with you out there, and you can spend as much time as you want with her.” Lucas poured three cups of tea and motioned toward the cream and sugar. “I like it plain, but you can fix yours however you like.”
Vada pinched her leg, and it hurt, so she knew she wasn’t dreaming. This child that she had all but given up hope of ever leaving her house was talking to a man he’d only met one time. She glanced over at Lucas and caught his eye. She wasn’t a bit surprised at the flutter in her stomach, or that her breath caught in her chest.
Good for you, her grandmother’s voice popped into her head. It’s about time you were attracted to a man, and I knew these boys. They’ve grown up to be good men.
But, Granny, I have to think of Theron, she argued.
Yep, but the way I see it is that he is beginning to think for himself, her grandmother said.
She didn’t have an argument for that. She took a sip of her tea and took in the whole bunkhouse with one glance. She could see into the bedroom. Lucas’s bed was made so tightly that she could bounce the old proverbial quarter on it. The bunk beds were straightened so well that she would have sworn that Theron had taken care of them. A blaze burned in a big stone fireplace that sat across the room from the sofa and a well-worn coffee table.
Just the basics, she thought. Maybe Theron and I both need just the basics.