David C. McLavic - 3. Chapter 3

The next thing I knew, my door was opened and I was pulled from the car. There was this kid with a big grin on his face. “My name is Carl what’s yours”

I spurted out, “David”

A big woman came and Mom was in a hug. There were tears, I guess not seeing each other for several years renewed old feelings.

I didn’t have much time to take a look around, Carl had my suitcase and pulled me toward the house.

“This is my bedroom and you’ll be sleeping here.”

Dad came in and handed me another suitcase. When I opened it, there were my old clothes from home. I changed and then I was pulled out of the house. Caleb was excited and I didn’t know why. Dad said to go with the flow so I did.

We stopped at a fenced-in area with chickens running wild, or so I thought.

“I gather eggs twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening.”

I must have a dumb look on my face, “Don’t worry I’ll show you how.”

Then I realized I was getting the tour of the farm when we stopped at the pig pen, then the pasture where 7 cows were lying down.

“We milk them twice a day. I’ll show you.”

We entered a building, later I knew it was called a barn. I followed him up a ladder, he said this is the hay loft and we can sleep here. I looked around and wondered how we could sleep here; there wasn’t a bed.

The next stop was the milking shed. Caleb explained how the cows would come in for milking. “When we do the milking tonight, you will see how we do it.”

Next, I had to see his horse, he said I had to see him. There was a small shed on the corner of a building. Caleb said that was where his dad kept the equipment. Walking into the shed, there was a horse. Caleb walked up to it and the horse nuzzled his chest with his head,

“Over in that corner, there is a bucket with some carrots in it. Bring me one.”

I picked one out and brought it to him. “Hold it like this.”

I did, and the horse took one bite. The piece that was left, Caleb took, held it in the palm of his hand, and offered it to the horse. For a moment I thought he was going to lose his fingers. But the horse used his lips to pick up the piece.

Then I heard a clanging sound. “That’s the call for lunch.”

I followed Caleb thinking we were headed for the house. “We need to wash up.”

We stopped at an outdoor sink where four men were washing their faces and hands. Caleb said there were the men who helped his dad on the farm. Three of the men were older but one was a lot younger. I watched the men wash up, Caleb handed me a washcloth and some soap. I stood next to the fourth man and Caleb was on the end.

“Caleb, who is your friend?”

“He’s my cousin from out west. He’ll be here all summer.” That I didn’t know.

The men introduced themselves as they headed for the house, all except the young man who was standing next to me. He took off his shirt and proceeded to wash the front of his chest and under his arms. Then he walked away but not toward the house. I quietly whispered to Caleb, “Where is he going?”

“To his car to get a clean shirt.”

Walking into the house, there were plates on the tables. I thought Aunt Sarah was a big woman but the man sitting at the head of the table was bigger. Dad came in and sat on his left, Aunt Sarah sat on his right. The men sat at the foot of the table, I sat next to Caleb. Jim came in and sat next to me, he had a clean shirt on. Uncle Carl said the blessing which made me wonder why we didn’t say a blessing.

Then the food arrived, Two bowls of roasted potatoes. Caleb handed me the bowl I took one and passed it to Jim. Caleb had a bowl of green beans which he handed to me, I took some and passed it to Jim. That was when I noticed I had two potatoes. Caleb had one, I looked at Jim and saw him add more beans to my plate.

“Jim, this is more than I can eat. Please take what you added.”

“'You're small and skinny, you need to gain some weight.”

“I’ll help you.”

Then a dish of fried chicken, Caleb took a leg, I took a leg and passed it on to Jim. “Jim, I have plenty of food.”

I took a bite of my chicken leg, it was the best I had ever had. I rapidly concluded Aunt Sarah was the greatest cook. I finished the chicken leg and started on the rest of the meal. Caleb said to wait for dessert. When I looked back, there was a leg on my plate and the bone was gone. I looked at Caleb, he mouthed Jim. Mom always said we could have as much as we wanted but we must eat all we take. Now I have a problem. I had more food on my plate than I could eat. Caleb moved his plate next to mine and took half of what I had left which was still more than I could eat.

“Eat slow, when Jim looks away add a small fork full to his plate. And that was what I did. One of the older men, saw me adding food to Jim’s plate. He just smiled.

Mom and Mary Lou started to pick up plates and take them to the kitchen. Caleb picked up his plate, I followed. Walking into the kitchen, it was as long as the dining room but not as wide. Caleb put his utensils in a tub of water I followed. Plates were scrapped into a bucket and the plates were put into a sink filled with sudsy water.

We went back to the dining room table. I asked Carl to change places with me. He laughed.

Desert was apple pie. One pie was cut into quarters, and each of the hired help took a quarter. Caleb took a quarter, cut it in half, and gave me half of his quarter. I saw Dad do the same thing but not Uncle Carl, he took a full quarter.

“Jim, take a look at that tractor in the soybean field.”

“Yes, sir”

Jim finished his pie had two cups of coffee, excused himself, and went to check on that tractor.

“You’ll like Jim. Dad says he has a few loose screws but he can fix anything. That tractor was Dad's whew Granddad and Grandma’s when he was a boy.

With lunch over, I didn’t want to move. I never ate so much at one meal.

With Caleb’s arm on my shoulder, we started to walk toward an apple orchard.