“Kevin?” Allen Ferris looked at his son with raised brows, holding up a muddy pair of tennis shoes that Kevin had left on the back porch. “Is there a mud hole somewhere in the yard that I don’t know about?”
“No, Dad. They got muddy when I went through the creek.”
“You mean the creek on the backside of the property, the same creek on the other side of the fence?”
“Yes sir, but it’s okay for me to go back there. I was with my new friend down the street. His name is Leonard and he and I have four classes together in school. He said it’s okay if we play back there, that the rancher doesn’t mind. You should see it, Dad! The whole place is loaded with trees and little ponds and so many places to fish, it would take forever.”
“Well, just because your friend down the street has permission to go back there and play doesn’t mean you have permission to go back there and play too. You need to speak to the rancher yourself and make sure it’s okay that you play back there, and your friend should do the same if he hasn’t yet.”
“New friend?” Jane Ferris appeared in the room with an armful of groceries. “When do we get to meet your new friend?”
“Oh, Mom, you will love him,” Kevin said. “His mother is a teacher at our school, and he just moved here from somewhere else too. Well, about a year ago.”
The questioning went on for several minutes as Kevin and his parents exchanged stories about their days, with most of the focus on Kevin’s first day at his new school. As they talked, several trips were made back and forth between his mother’s car and the kitchen.
Allen and Jane were immensely happy that their son had what seemed to be a good first day and had already made a friend. They were concerned, however, about the boys strolling through the ranch property uninvited, and they insisted again on the boys obtaining permission to be on it. The rancher’s name was well-known to the community—a Mr. Kelso. Jane and Allen had learned about him from the realtor.
Jane belabored the point to Kevin some more, even though he’d already heard it from his father. “I know your friend has permission, so you say, but you’ll have to check with Mr. Kelso himself. We are new here, and I don’t want any problems. So after dinner, you and your father can drive over and speak to him.”
Kevin just rolled his eyes and exhaled as he dropped his shoulders. “Geez, mom, you always have to make such a big deal out of everything.“ He pivoted on one foot as he half-turned to walk away.
“It is a big deal, and you know it’s the right thing to do. How would you like it if you came home and the rancher was sitting on our front porch, letting his horse graze on our beautiful yard?”
“Now how would he do that, Mom? There is no gate for the horse to walk through on the back of our property.”
“You get my point. You either ask permission or you don’t get to go back there at all—your choice.”
Kevin looked over his mother’s shoulder at his father, who was nodding his head with his arms crossed, and Kevin knew it would be done just the way Mom wanted it done—only he wanted to do it with Leonard.
“Okay, okay. But I’ll go tomorrow with Leonard, so the rancher can meet both of us.”
“Great idea, son,” said Allen as he mussed Kevin’s hair, which he knew Kevin hated.