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“Biscuits, oh my, that does sound good,” said Mrs. Sullivan." She was looking at something off in the distance. “I think I’ll whip up a batch tomorrow for Jessie. I'll bake a nice chicken and hot biscuits would be perfect.”
Josh and Maggie looked at each other wondering what had made the woman think of biscuits in the middle of her story.
Just then the Bella began barking. She jumped from Katy's lap and ran to the door. Outside the other two were frantic and barking. It was apparent someone was approaching.
A handsome young man knocked loudly and walked into the kitchen, the dogs followed yelping and jumping. The stranger was tall and dark, and wrinkles were just beginning to form at the corners of his eyes. He wore a weathered cowboy hat that sat at a jaunty angle.
“Hi, Gram. I was driving past and saw the lights on. I see you have company.”
Josh stood up and shook his hand. “I’m Josh Beaumont, and this is my fiancée Maggie. A cow forced us off the road and into a ditch. We ended up here waiting for a tow truck. Mrs. Sullivan has been entertaining us while we wait."
“It's good to meet you. I’m Travis,” he said. "That friendly lady there is my grandmother. She’s into rescuing everyone and everything. Gram loves company. It’s probably more like she’s keeping you captive.”
“She’s been telling us about growing up here on Honey Tree Farm. It’s fascinating,” said Maggie. “We hope we're not imposing. She’s waiting for your grandfather, and we’re waiting for Barry to pull our car out.”
“Gram, you called Barry?” asked Travis. “He’s about the slowest and most incompetent tow truck driver around. No wonder these poor folks are still waiting.”
“We are enjoying her. Mrs. Sullivan has been telling us all about you and how you help take care of the bees.”
“Gram, you’re waiting for Grandpa?” said Travis. He took off his hat and walked over to her rocking chair. He put his hands on the arms of her rocker and looked her in the eyes. “You know we talked about this before.”
“Travis, you go on home now. He’ll be here soon. He's just out on a special errand.”
“Have it your way, Gram,” He shoved the cowboy hat back on his head. It was nice meeting you folks. Sure hope you brought a toothbrush. If you're waiting for Barry, you might be here all night.”
Maggie laughed. “Could be. But Barry called a while ago to say it wouldn't belong."
"One time a cow made him put his truck in a ditch, and he had to wait on someone to pull him out.” Katy giggled at this.
“Figures,” said Travis. Maggie took Josh’s arm and tried to stop her own giggling.
“Folks, have a safe trip home, and if you need me for anything, my number is in the little book by the phone.”
“Gram, I love you and stop kidnapping people. I’ll stop by in the morning and see if you need to do any shopping.” Travis stooped to kiss the old woman on the forehead, patted the dogs, and walked out the way he’d come.
"Travis, take the dogs out with you."
He gave a little whistle and patted his thigh. The three dogs hurried to his side. Travis waved once, shook his head with a smile and headed out the door.
Maggie had calmed down. She picked up her glass and took a sip of the tea.
"Oh my, let me put more ice in your glass." Katy put her knitting down and started to get up.
"Let me. You stay there and be comfortable. Ice is in the freezer, I imagine," Josh said, walked around the table and opened the refrigerator door. The light came on immediately. He opened the small door at the top and found a bowl of ice. There were several rectangular pans with dividers and a handle. He pulled out the bowl and added ice to Maggie's and the other two glasses on the counter. He replaced the bowl and closed the doors.
"Mrs. Sullivan. Our refrigerator has an ice maker. I'll bet Travis or Jesse could install one for you. They are a real time saver."
"I'm used to the ice trays, and I don't want to bother the men. Thank you for the suggestion. I'm not good at learning to use new fangled things."
"I love the things you've collected. You know how fond I am of antiques, and you have quite a few," Maggie said looking around. "What is that in the corner?"
"We called it a mangle. It's a Kenmore ironing machine. Jesse bought that for me thinking it would make ironing easier."
"It looks like a commercial unit with that large roller and the chrome cover." Maggie got up and went to it. "I imagine the roller revolves and the cover is the hot part that comes down over the piece you're ironing."
"It would steam too. That saved having to dampen all the clothes ahead of time. It was nice, but I don't use it anymore."
"You also have a coffee percolator and a clock radio. These must be from the 40s or 50s."
"Some are older, but that's pretty close. A few were wedding presents, and others came from my parents or Jesse's."
Maggie walked back to her chair and sat down. "You have taken very good care of everything. I'm surprised they still work."
"Every now and then something will break or just stop working, but Jesse is very good at fixing things." Katy took a sip of her tea and then sat the glass on the floor beside her chair. She rearranged the colorful bundle that would soon be Jesse's afghan and began knitting again.
“What happened next, Mrs. Sullivan?"
“Oh right, the prom... Well, it didn’t quite go the way I’d hoped,” she said. “But first came the wedding.”
