| |
––––––––
Every year at orange blossom time, Jesse waited for the old truck to come rumbling into the farmyard, kicking up dust. The truck would be piled with hives ready to be unloaded in the grove behind the house.
When he heard the familiar grinding of gears Jesse ran out to meet them. Katy jumped down almost before the truck stopped and ran to give Doris and Ted a hug.
"Hi, Jim," Ted said stepping forward to shake his hand.
"We've got a couple of nice chickens in the oven for later," she said as they walked to the house. "Sure hope you brought your appetite with you," Doris said. She handed Jim a glass of lemonade and hugged Katy, smoothing her golden hair. "I swear you get more grown up every time I see you. You're almost as tall as me."
No bib overalls for Katy this year. Her jeans were gently hugging her teenage curves, and her loose shirt could no longer conceal how she had developed.
Jesse took Katy's hand, pulling her in the direction of the barn.
“I don’t know about those two,” Jim said. “Whenever they see each other, it’s like they have never been apart."
"Should I be worried?” Doris turned to Jim. “Have you had that little talk with Katy?” Doris asked. “You know, the birds and the bees talk.”
Jim sputtered and dribbled tea onto his plaid shirt.
Doris giggled at his reaction and offered him a napkin to wipe his shirt.
Jim blushed. “I... I asked the nurse in the doctor’s office to talk to her about that. I just couldn’t bring myself to do it."
"Well, I can understand that," Ted said, not meeting Jim's glance.
"The nurse, Mrs. Cotrelle, came to me and asked if I’d given it any thought. Shoot, I never thought much about things like that. It's - you know - girl stuff. I don’t know much about that. I have tried to be both mother and father to Katy, but I just couldn't...” His voice trailed off, and he cleared his throat.
“I do have some news though,” he continued. "It's kind of on that subject. Well, not really. I uh, I’ve been seeing a lady from Myakka, out near where we live. She runs a little shop and a gas station there. We had talked several times, and I finally got up the nerve to ask her out last summer. I didn’t want to jinx it by mentioning it to anyone. Malinda - that's her name - she gets along with Katy real well. I’m thinking of asking her to marry me.” Jim took a deep breath, waiting to see what Ted and Doris' reaction would be.
Ted jumped up, bumping the table and splashing the tea.
“Why, you ol' dark horse! You sure can keep a secret,” Ted bellowed, reaching out to shake Jim’s hand, and then he slapped him on the back.
“Oh, Jim, this is wonderful news,” exclaimed Doris. “You’ve been a widower for so long, and it will be great for Katy, too. She will love having another woman around. Have you told Katy your plans?”
“No, but I might soon. I'm just waiting for the right time,” he said. “I think I need to work up to it. I think she might be ok with it. She likes Malinda. They go shopping and to movies. They're more like friends really, but I’m keeping my fingers crossed.”
“So, tell us more about Malinda,” Doris said, "I'm bubbling over with curiosity."
Jim was more than happy to talk about Malinda now that his secret was out, “She’s about my age and Spanish. Her folks came here to work up in Ybor City at the cigar factory years ago. She’s a widow with two grown children that live nearby. She's pretty soft-spoken most of the time, but her temper can get her going. We joke about that a lot." He grins. "Sometimes I rile her up just to have a bit of fun,”
The adults sat and talked, while the aroma of baking chickens wafted from the kitchen.
––––––––
Jesse and Katy stood inside the huge double doors. The barn smelled of fresh hay. Jesse had worked all day cleaning out the calves' pen. He had cleaned it for Katy. He didn't want her stepping in cow manure if he could help it.
"What do you think of the new calves?"
“Oh, Jesse, they are adorable,” she exclaimed, looking over the wooden railing into the pen where two sets of dark eyes stared back.
"You can feed them a bottle of milk if you want?" Jesse opened the gate and showed Katy the spot where a clean bale of hay had been put down for them to sit on. He handed her a large bottle of milk and showed her how to hold it up for the calf.
Katy giggled as the small calf nudged her hand and found the bottle. It curled its tongue around the oversized rubber nipple and started to drink. The little cow tugged hard, and she had to hold on tight. This made her laugh.
“What are their names?” Katy asked.
“No, we don’t usually give them names. They get a tag in their ear with a number on it, but maybe you can give them names,” Jesse said. He didn’t want to tell her that the calves would be going to the market when they got bigger. The profit from raising beef cattle helped to keep the farm running.
Jesse and Katy settled down in the hay. One calf in Katy’s lap, the other one in Jesse's while they fed.
“Katy, can I ask you something?” Jesse's tone had turned serious.
"Sure," she said.
“You know I have my driver’s license, right? Dad lets me use the truck to go into town. I wanted to ask if you would go to a movie with me tonight. Some friends are going, and I’d like them to meet you. I’ll understand if you don’t want to. We can stay here if you'd rather. We can play a board game or cards, whatever you want.” Jesse kept his eyes on the calf he was feeding, too afraid to look at Katy. "I'd like to go, but I want to be with you. Shoot, you're pretty and smart... and I like you a lot. You're not like those other girls. The ones at school can only talk about clothes and stuff.
“Why, Jesse Sullivan, are you asking me out on a date?” she asked, keeping her eyes on the calf in her lap.
“Well, I guess I am. Would you like to go with me, Katy?” Jesse was blushing and shaking, and his hands were sweating. He’d never asked a girl out before. Plenty had wanted him to, but he had never met one he liked enough until Katy.
“I’d like to, Jesse. You have to ask my dad if it’s ok. If he says yes, then I’d be pleased to be your date,” Katy giggled at the word, and she could feel herself blush. No one had ever asked before, but she didn't want to tell that to Jesse. She suspected that this was new territory for both of them.
––––––––
The two families sat around the enamel and chrome table with wonderfully smelling food, steam rising from bowls and trays and baskets.
"Lovely supper, Doris." Tom took a chunk of chicken breast and passed the plate on to Jim before reaching for the dumplings.
"Yes, sir. Mighty find supper." Jim helped himself to a chunk of chicken, although he wasn't exactly sure of the cut.
"Jesse, take the biscuit and hand it on, then pass the butter, please," Doris said, reaching to serve herself.
While clearing the table, Jesse asked to be excused and joined the men on the porch.
“What’s up with Jesse?” Doris asked.
“Oh, he just wants to talk to my dad about something,” answered Katy.
Jesse stood at the door considering his next move. As well as he knew Jim and as often as they had talked comfortably, this was different. He swallowed hard and pushed through the door. He went to stand by Jim and started to speak then forgot what he wanted to say. Jesse was not a shy person, and when he realized he was shuffling his feet, he immediately stopped. He held his head up and began to put his hands in his pockets, then changed his mind. "Mr. Hailey, can I ask you something?
"Of course, Jesse, how can I help? Is this about the bees?"
"Uh, no sir." Jesse cleared his throat. Maybe it would be best to just jump in with both feet. What's the worse he could do? He could say no. But that wouldn't be the worst. What if he laughed? Jesse cleared his throat again.
"What is it, Jesse?"
"Well, you see, some friends and I were thinking of going to a movie tonight, and I'd kind of like... It's a good movie, everyone says so, and I thought maybe, well, I'd like to take Katy. Can she come? It’s Saturday night, and there’s no school tomorrow. But we have to leave pretty soon if we're going to make it before it starts and..." Jesse realized he had suddenly run out of words.
“I don’t know, Jesse. We were going to get on the road soon. I have to be up in Brandon early tomorrow morning to pick up a load of hives to move to another farm.”
“Jim, you and Katy should stay here overnight." Doris was standing at the screen door wiping her hands on a kitchen towel. She stepped out onto the porch. "You can leave for Brandon from here in the morning. You would have a soft bed and a hot breakfast, and then be on your way. It is just a suggestion, but it would save time.”
Jesse held his breath and looked from his mom to Mr. Hailey.
"I don't know," Jim began.
There was a moment of silence that felt like eons to the seventeen-year-old boy standing almost shoulder to shoulder with the girl's father. He saw Jim glance over at Katy. Was he looking for a response from her? She didn't react but stood to wait.
"Well, if you promise to be careful and come straight home after the movie, all right?"
What had felt to Jesse like slow motion suddenly snapped back into real time? "Oh yes, sir. I promise. Thank you. I'll take real good care of her. I'll drive carefully and have her home on time; I promise." Jesse grabbed Katy's hand, and they ran to the house.
"I haven't thought much about Katy growing up and going out on her own; never mind with a boy. It scares me a little, you know, to see my little girl grow up. But, honestly, I'm glad it's Jesse asking.
Doris followed the kids into the house.
"Jesse is washing up," the girl told Doris.
"Come with me. I'll help you get ready." Doris pulled Katy's long flaxen hair up, pinned it in place and added a bow. Then she applied a light shade of lipstick on her lips.
"I've never used make-up on before." She checked her reflection in the mirror atop Doris’s dresser and liked what she saw.
“You look great,” Doris said. “Let’s go down and show you off.”
Jesse’s eyes lit up when he saw Katy. They said their good-byes and ran to the truck. Jesse opened the passenger door and helped her in. He hurried around to his side.
The parents watched the Ford truck pull out of the farmyard and turn down the drive heading for the road. Then they walked back toward the house.
“I can’t say I’m not nervous about Katy being out with Jesse. It’s not that she’s with Jesse; it’s that she’s out at all... and with a boy. I suddenly feel very old. My little Katy going with a boy to a movie,” Jim said. Taking off his ball cap, he ran a hand through his hair; a habit they knew he employed when he was worried.
“It’s getting chilly out here. I’ll put the coffee on while we wait for them to get back. There might still be some rhubarb pie left in the fridge.”
Doris hurried into the kitchen while the two men stood on the porch talking. They could hear her bustling around, opening cabinet doors, drawers, and the refrigerator door.
“Ted, I don’t mind telling you this is all new to me. You have to be so careful with a girl.”
"She doesn't go out with boys at home?" Ted asked.
"Well, no. I mean she never seemed interested. But, I guess she is growing up. Maybe it's good that I met Malinda when I did."
Just then Doris called, “Come on you two, coffee’s hot and pie’s ready.”
