Date: Mon, 19 Jan 2009 11:49:26 -0500
From: chris james <drmeta4@gmail.com>
Subject: Granny's Pride and Joy, Chapter 13

Dear Reader: this is a story of adult fiction, persons under the age of 18
are not permitted to read this material.

	The inner workings of a family are based upon trust and love, when
one of those components is missing there is conflict. I have known several
sets of twins in my life, all of them strived to be different from their
genetic brother or sister. Twins may think alike in some way but they have
separate minds, and when one thinks he is better than the other not even
family ties can bind them tightly. As always, your comments welcomed. Chris
James.

drmeta4@gmail.com


		       Granny's Pride and Joy (M/B)

Chapter Thirteen

	The north pond had been repaired, the new dike seeded and water was
beginning to fill it back in, it had taken Jim and Brad a lot of work to
get it ready once again. But they manned the pumps and water once again
arched out across the corn. Tally and I were spending the week following
the bailer from field to field. Tossing bales of hay up on a trailer behind
the small tractor was hard work; I broke apart about six of them right off.

	"Take it easy, you're throwing too hard," Tally said. "You're gonna
wear yourself out way too fast."

	"OK, I get it," I said, panting from the effort. Tally made it look
easy, that was my problem, I was trying to keep up with him.

	Paulo had moved on to another field as Tally and I filled the
trailer. Worse was that I knew it was all going back to the barn where it
would have to be stacked. Even worse, now I itched all over from the
straw. At least Tally had his medicine, I just sneezed.

	Rick's pickup bounced and jiggled as he made his way across the
stubble to our location. He jumped out the truck and came running over to
me, grabbing me in a bear hug and spinning us around.

	"She isn't...isn't...isn't," He yelled. "I could kiss you, Evan."

	Tally stood there with his mouth open and I grinned as Rick put me
down.

	"Congratulations, just be more careful next time," I offered.

	 "Hell yeah. And thank you...Thank you both for covering my
ass. Gotta run," Rick said. He was back in the truck and bouncing away
before I could say anything else. Tally tilted his head to one side and
smiled.

	"Just trying to imagine you with Rick's lips on your butt...What
was that all about?"

	"What I couldn't talk about yesterday. Rick thought he'd made
Marlene pregnant, a test just proved she wasn't," I said.

	"Lord, no wonder he got drunk," Tally said. "Never gonna be a
problem for me."

	"Yeah, you got that right," I replied.

	We pulled the trailer back to the barn and unloaded, more hot and
sweaty work. Wearing a long sleeve shirt in ninety degree heat was absurd;
the alternative was getting bits of hay embedded in my arms. The cutting
made the ends sharp, without gloves and the shirt for protection it would
be like grabbing a bale of knives.

	Back for more bales, and this went on all afternoon until I was
exhausted. By four we had the two cut fields stripped, there would only be
more tomorrow. We left the bales behind and stood just inside the barn
door, reluctant to step outside in the sun. Tally had stripped off his
shirt, leaving him bare-chested. The exercise had left him all pumped up
and his muscles gleamed with sweat. It was like looking at a totally new
Tally.

	I could see he would develop a lot like his brothers, six foot
something with broad shoulders and strong arms. But none of them had much
in the way of body hair; I didn't think Rick or Barry shaved but once a
week. I loved that smooth chest on my boy, and he damn well knew it.

	"Like what you see?" Tally asked, the question followed by a
significant leer.

	"See? See what?" I teased. "Oh, yeah...baby looks hot."

	He slid into my arms for a hug and was about to kiss me when Rick
and Barry walked through the door. I moved my head to the side avoiding the
kiss and Tally's face went to my shoulder.

	"Oh yeah, get some of that sugar," Barry laughed.

	"You guys look beat, why don't you go for a swim?" Rick suggested.

	"Soon as we catch our breath," I said. "I think Tally had a bit too
much sun today."

	OK, it was a desperate move to deflect the near miss. Two seconds
later and Tally's lips would have been sealed to mine. How could we be so
stupid?

	"Tally, you OK?" Rick asked.

	"I did feel a little faint, must be those damn pills," Tally
replied.

	"Sure it wasn't Evan givin you a little lovin?" Barry said.

	"Fuck off, Barry...Leave them alone," Rick said.

	"Whatever," Barry said, heading back towards the milking shed.

	"He can be an ass sometimes, sorry Evan," Rick said. He smiled and
then followed his brother; they had the milking duty this afternoon.

	"I think he knows," I said.

	"Then he did see us in the river yesterday...Damn," Tally said.

	"Then maybe he won't say anything...Does he care?" I asked.

	"I think he likes you, we did help him out. Rick won't forget if he
saw something, he just won't use it against us. Barry is another matter,
but Rick won't tell him if he knows."

	"Twins but not close, huh?"

	Tally smiled. "They've been thrown together their entire lives; I
imagine that gets pretty old. Rick is the leader; Barry just seems to
follow along. I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking."

	"My fault too, we were just being dumb. Somehow I think if Rick
knows something he'll tell me, we'll find out. So, shower or swim?" I
asked.

	"Swim, I need to wash this damn hay out of my head," Tally said.

	This time we went in the house for towels and a bar of soap, water
alone wouldn't take away the stink of our sweat. I had smelled Tally all
day; his scent came to me every time we got close. I knew how bad I could
stink; it wasn't like that at all with him. It only served to turn me on.

	As I lay back in the river Tally held my hands to keep me from
drifting away. The current was strong today and we both had to fight to
stand up. But we washed off the day's sweat and heat in the cool water and
soon sat on the bank watching the shadows change in the trees.

	"I start school in two weeks, I'm gonna miss sittin here like
this," Tally said.

	"I'm going to miss having you around all day, this summer spoiled
me," I replied.

	"Think you'll stay on through the winter?"

	"You getting tired of me already?" I laughed.

	"No, that will never happen...it's just, do you mind being out of
school and here with me?"

	"Come on Tally, we're gonna make this a life for you and me. I have
to help you with school and Granny isn't getting any younger you know, she
needs me too."

	"I just don't want you getting bored, the farm is pretty busy all
winter but when I'm not there..."

	"Then I'll be thinking of when you are, don't worry about me."

	"Well somebody should," A voice said behind us. Rick had come
quietly, and I knew why.

	"Hello again Rick...what's on your mind?" I asked.

	"You guys...I mean are you...? What am I seeing here?" Rick asked.

	"Sit down and I'll explain it," I said.

	He sat on the bank beside me and I could feel Tally tense up, but
this had to be addressed and Rick seemed open enough.

	"Your brother and I are in love," I said. There, it was that
simple.

	"You're both gay?"

	"I'm gay," Tally said. "Known that for years...just didn't think
you were interested in my secret." I could see he was trembling; this was a
lot for him to handle.

	"And you, how long have you known, Evan?"

	"I didn't know until I met Tally," I said.

	Rick just looked at me for a minute and then the beginnings of a
smile crept to his lips.

	"You saying my little brother seduced you?" Rick said, and now his
face was really smiling.

	"I love him, what do you think? I just never met anyone like him
before, this is all so new to me," I said.

	Again the moments of silence. "You gonna tell Dad?" Tally finally
asked.

	Rick shook his head. "No, not if this is what you want, Tally. Do
you really love Evan?"

	"Yes...more than anything. Are you gonna keep our secret?"

	Now Rick nodded. "I have to...after what you've done for me. I'm
sorry Tally; I haven't been a very good brother have I?"

	"I was just a kid, Rick...maybe now you'll think differently of
me," Tally said.

	"I do...I better. Wow, so I suppose Granny knows, doesn't she?"

	"She knows about the love...and nothing else," I said. "You saw us
yesterday, didn't you?"

	"Yeah, sorry. I didn't mean to sneak up on you like that. I was
pretty shocked, but you figured that out." Rick was starting to blush, the
thought of what he had seen coming back to mind. "I...I didn't know guys
could do that stuff."

	"You ever wonder how Marlene feels when she's in your arms, and
then when you get carried away with the passion enough to make love?" Tally
asked.

	"No...Suppose not, I just know my side of it," Rick said.

	"Evan makes me feel incredibly passionate, and when we make love I
see stars," Tally said. "It's like the whole world goes away, leaving just
us two surrounded by the all the stars in the night sky. I have to love
him, Rick. No one ever made me feel like that."

	Rick's face was a sold red blush; Tally's words had completed the
transformation. "And...Well, I guess I saw that part, and then Evan
returned the favor before I walked in on you. I just couldn't go away; I
didn't know what to think."

	"You saw two people in love, Rick...that's all," I said.

	"But...I just don't get that carried away with Marlene; does that
mean I don't love her? This whole gay thing confuses me, but I could see
what you were sharing and it was...it just looked so wonderful. "

	It was my turn to smile. "Love is something you learn, Rick. Sex
isn't the biggest part of what Tally and I share, I want him to love me for
the rest of my life. Maybe Marlene isn't the one you need in your life, but
you'll find that person someday. Love makes it hard to breathe, it's like a
completely mind blowing ache in your heart. You'll know when it happens, I
promise."

	"My God...that's what Granny told me last night, you were right
about her," Rick said. "I never knew....Well, that's all past now that
Marlene isn't pregnant."

	He looked at Tally and then back at me. "You're secret is safe with
me, I won't ever tell on you. Just be careful, OK? I don't want either of
you to get hurt by this."

	"Thank you, Rick," Tally said.

	"Too many people won't understand what you have, Tally. None of
this is going to be easy for you guys if they find out. I'm not worried
about you; I worry about what might happen. Having a gay brother is fine,
I'll get used to it, and you haven't changed far as I can see. Just now you
have someone to love and I'm not sure why...but I envy that, can you
understand?"

	"Yes, I do," Tally said. "It took me an awfully long time to find
Evan, I hope you don't have to wait that long to find your love."

	"I have to get back," Rick said. "Barry has no idea where I am and
that can't be a good thing."

	He stood up to leave and Tally came over and threw his arms around
Rick's waist. It was awkward, Tally was naked and Rick wasn't sure how to
react, but he finally gave in and hugged back.

	"I love my big brother too," Tally said.

	Rick just nodded, let go and turned away, running back up the path
into trees before Tally could see the tears in his eyes, but I saw them. It
was the moment when I realized there was a bit of Tally inside his brother,
something that would never leave.

	Maybe it was why they played so hard against one another; Rick felt
the challenge from this boy who was but a few steps behind on the pathway
of life. Barry might be his twin but Rick felt more akin to Tally than
anyone else. Maybe Rick had gay feelings at some point in life, something
he would never openly express. But I didn't feel uncomfortable with Rick
knowing I loved Tally, Barry was another matter entirely.

	Tally sighed. "Well...that was different."

	"Different?" I asked.

	"Not very often that I remember Rick being so open about his
feelings. If I saw my little brother naked and sitting on a cock I don't
know if I could be so easy about dealing with it, but he was."

	"Tally, he would have reacted differently if he thought you were
being hurt, Rick is actually very protective of you," I said.

	"He envies me, I don't get it."

	"We have love, he doesn't...I don't think that means he wants to be
gay," I said.

	"I told you he and Barry did things when they were younger, I just
wasn't old enough to understand," Tally said.

	"You think it went beyond just fooling around?"

	"I think Rick was screwing Barry, at least that's how it seemed to
me. But Grandpa was around back then; I was too young to really know what
was going on. They were only like eight or nine so it couldn't have been
much like real sex."

	"And when did you first discover orgasm?" I asked.

	"Uh, maybe five or six when I started playin....Oh, I see what you
mean. Rick got the feelings but not the results. OK, that's intense. But
why did Barry let him do it?"

	I smiled. "You already know the answer to that. Besides feeling
good, I think Barry wanted Rick to accept him, to be his friend no matter
what it took. It's the wrong reason to allow that to happen, but it was
probably his way of thinking. I don't know what to say about Rick's
behavior."

	"Rick is a horn dog, maybe that's when it first began. It must have
felt like he was screwing himself, they were much closer in looks back
then. Eww, that's kinda sick," Tally said.

	I shook my head. "No baby, it makes perfect sense. If Rick had
feelings about other boys who else could he turn to except his twin? Maybe
he did flirt with being gay at some point, we'll never know."

	Being out here in the open didn't seem as private anymore, Rick had
proven that. Tally and I walked back up the path a ways and then moved
through the trees back towards the river. Going the other way would have
taken us up behind the trailer where Miguel and Paulo lived, discovery by
them would be worse.

	We walked through the trees, skirting the various poison ivy plants
that were a shiny red this time of year. We came back to the river about a
quarter mile west from where we usually swam and here the trees grew right
down into the water.

	This big old oak was toppled over, probably during the storm the
week before. But now the wide trunk offered us a seat beside the water. We
sat and kissed...a prelude to bigger and better things I hoped. In the
distance I could hear the sounds of distant yells.

	"Is someone on the river, it seems pretty late to be rafting?" I
asked.

	"That's the crowd over at baseball field, the high school is across
the river and through those trees," Tally said. "That's were we went on the
Fourth."

	"I didn't know it was so close. Yeah, I suppose you have to go into
town and then take the bridge across. So that's going to be your school,
huh?"

	"Yup, we're like next to last on the bus route, it's usually pretty
full by the time they get to the end of our driveway. Archer Middle School
is right next door to the high school, same bus and same bullshit."

	"What's wrong with the bus?" I asked.

	"The bus driver is a bitch. Mrs. Wright is about a hundred years
old and so crabby I don't know why she does it. Maybe we'll have someone
new this year. You could always drive me to school in the mornings."

	"Why would I do that when there's a perfectly good bus to take
you?" I asked.

	Tally smiled. "Because we could do this..."

	And with that he kissed me again, running his hand down my stomach
and sliding it into my overalls. I had to admit, his argument was pretty
persuasive. And off came the overalls as our bodies melted together in that
now familiar embrace.

	Tally slid down my body until his knees rested on the ground and
his face was in my lap, he licked my cock like it was some kind of frozen
treat and then looked up at me with mischief in his eyes.

	"So you gonna drive me to school?"

	"I'll have chores Tally...I don't see how..." And I groaned as he
slid my cock down his throat.

	I couldn't fault his dedication to sucking my cock, and then his
fingers grasped my balls and gently pull downwards. His mouth popped off my
cock and he grinned, little devil.

	"I'll make it worth your while." And he wrapped his wet lips around
my balls.

	His tongue lashed around and his mouth developed this incredible
amount of suction, I was about to be castrated. But then he released my
ball sac and it slapped back against my body.

	"Jeez, be careful, baby," I groaned, and then came the teeth.

	It felt like he was about to bite my cock off as he raked his teeth
down the shaft until I filled his throat. Again with the supreme vacuum as
he pulled back. Was he trying to drive me crazy? If so, it was working.

	"Oh...yeah, just suck it, baby," I moaned. And for once he
listened.

	His mouth was all over the head as his fingers stroked the
shaft. Tally knew damn well how to drive me to the edge. The rubbing and
sucking took me dangerously close, and then he stopped and sat back.

	"So are we taking your Jeep to school or what?"

	"Fuck, you little tease...OK, I drive you," I said, almost laughing
now.

	He smiled. "Then I promise to do this every morning if you want."
And with that said he went back down on me with such skill I was soon
groaning my orgasm down his throat. Tally was a true cum junkie, he never
missed a drop. Now it was my turn.

	He stood up and I slid down the rough bark of the tree and lay my
head back as I pulled his cock into my mouth. Tally leaned forward, placing
his hands on the bark of the tree and began fucking my mouth.

	Rick had stirred things up, I could feel the difference. Tally had
teased, knowing full well I would drive him to school, how could I resist?
And now I was jamming his cock down my throat as I grasped his butt and
forcefully pulled him in.

	I wanted him to overwhelm me, to use me...and I couldn't understand
why, it just felt like something I needed. I wanted him to dominate, much
as Rick had when fucking Barry all those years ago. Tally had the power to
hurt me, to choke me with his cock...but of course he didn't.

	Tally could indulge my little fantasy without hurting me, what had
Rick done? Did Barry protest and find himself dominated? Rick could do
that, I was sure. Barry wasn't assertive enough to completely say no, I
felt in the same position with Tally. But I was loved and that made all the
difference, Rick had not felt an ounce of love...and that made me sad.

	Tally seemed to sense my mood, probably wondering why I was being
so brutal in what I was demanding of him. His thrusts became gentle and he
slowed down to a moderate pace, pushing back against my hands, resisting
the assault. I couldn't make him hurt me and that had been the test.

	I slid my hands downwards, fingers grasping at his calf muscles and
allowing Tally the control over his movements. His hands came to rest on my
head as he ran his fingers through my hair and encouraged my participation
in his loving touch. It was enough, the long steady groan rumbling from his
throat brought him to orgasm, and I swallowed his precious seed.

	His cock slowly withered and yet I didn't take my mouth away, I
loved the feeling of it resting on my tongue. I looked up as he looked down
and we locked eyes. Only then did he back away and remove his cock and my
pacifier.

	"What was that all about?" Tally asked.

	"You play games, and you tease...but you can't bring yourself to
hurt me," I said, rising to my feet.

	"Hurt you? No...Never, why would I do that?"

	I smiled. "You just wouldn't, and that's why we share love."

	"It's Rick, isn't it? What were you thinking; you tried to make me
choke you."

	"I just discovered why we love and he doesn't," I said. "You won't
cross that line and he has, probably many times. And all Rick ever wants is
a love like we share...isn't that incredibly sad?"

	"But hurting someone doesn't show love at all, just the opposite,"
Tally said. "Now I'm confused."

	"No, you have it exactly right; hurting someone is not the way to
love. What he did with Barry was wrong; he only did it because he could. It
was like using someone to get off and nothing more. If you thought you were
hurting me you would never have achieved an orgasm, you would have pulled
away. That's what love means, no amount of pain is worth your own pleasure,
you just proved that."

	"But Barry didn't scream, he just lay there and let it happen."

	"There had to be some pain in the beginning, but he was past all
that. When you saw them Rick had probably been doing it to him for a long
time, Barry had just surrendered. He still does that and that's the
scariest part. I don't know how he holds back the feelings; you would think
he'd hate Rick by now."

	"You think Rick still does it? No way," Tally said.

	"He doesn't have sex with Barry, he doesn't need to. But he's never
allowed Barry to stand up to him, Rick is still dominating him," I
said. "What does Barry have, who does she turn to for love?"

	"He hasn't had a girlfriend in a while and all of them that I met
were real bitches. He couldn't have loved any of them, no one could. Now I
see what you're saying, Rick really messed him up."

	"Yeah, and I wonder just when he'll explode," I said.

	We made our way back to the house and changed out of our working
clothes, supper lay ahead, time to relax. The days had come and gone with
certainty, the chores seemed like work instead of a learning experience. I
wasn't bored, Tally took care of that...I just wasn't challenged.

	And so as our lives crept into August I was beginning to see the
impending corn harvest as a final step to my education. Not that the work
would be any less, but when Tally headed back to school I would work to
keep my mind off his absence.

	On an almost daily basis Jim went out to his fields to check on the
corn, and then he checked the weather forecast. The fields had been planted
weeks apart, they were maturing at different stages, but the watering kept
it all healthy. We had little rain that first week of the month and then a
few days of storms and showers before it began to dry out.

	"We start to harvest tomorrow," Jim announced at supper one
evening. The machines were ready, was I?

	Corn was turned into kernels, some bagged and stored in the
barn. The rest was taken in bulk to the Farmer's Co-op silos, it would only
remain to be seen what price it would fetch. The work was beginning to
point towards profit or loss, the latter being Jim's biggest worry, and now
he had hope.

	The mid-Western part of the country had endured flooding in late
spring, leaving water in fields where corn was supposed to be planted. And
yet even as farmers finally began to plant the storms returned wiping out
the young plants and devastating production. All that while the south
endured near drought conditions.

	The price had gone through the roof on fears that there wouldn't be
enough to meet the needs of the economy. Corn was used in everything, Jim
was sitting pretty.

	"Damn near eight dollars a bushel, that's incredible," Jim said.

	"What's it normally?" I asked.

	"Five to six is what we usually get; the wheat fetched
three-sixty." And then he smiled. "Seems like you brought us luck this
summer."

	I might agree except I felt it was the other way round. But I
wouldn't argue, farming was his game. We harvested corn, lots of corn. The
golden yellow kernels slid up the conveyor belt into the waiting trucks and
we kept on going.

	Several fields were left untouched to dry out on the stalk, pig
feed the intended destination. Tally and the brothers worked hard, and I
was right there with them. In ten days we had the corn stored, enough to
keep through winter, the rest off to market.

	The fields now looked sad, bent stalks and mere stubble in a once
proud sea of green leaves. It was the way things happened year after year,
everything on the farm would be renewed come spring. Even the Reverend
waxed philosophic in his sermon following the great harvest, and this time
I listened.

	"The bounty of the soil has been taken, thanks be to God," He
began. "In fall we plan our days with a mind to the coming winter. It takes
a keen mind to look ahead towards the spring when once again you will plant
and pray the rains give life to the crops.

	"Imagine God at his harvest, for we are his crop, for good or for
bad each of us faces the final harvest. Will the baby born of a spring reap
the rewards of a good life before winter embraces him and brings him back
to the Lord?  That is a decision between us and God, for he only gives
life, he doesn't make you live it.

	"The responsibility of feeding our lives until we grow strong and
healthy, both physically and spiritually is ours, we are the farmers in our
own family. For if a father is wrongful to his family he loses his crop,
just like a careless farmer might. If a mother doesn't see the need of her
children then she too is guilty of neglect, not just on Earth but in the
eyes of God.

	"And each of you young ones must follow behind, sowing your own
seeds someday, starting your own crop. Will you be good farmers when the
time comes? Will you stand up and bring forth a family that sees the source
of their wealth and happiness as the gift of God? You will if the roots of
that faith have been planted deep and been nurtured properly.

	"To each farmer in this room I say we all know that storms approach
when God decides to test our faith. Will you be ready to protect your crops
when the time comes? Can you deny that God's love for his chosen people,
this human race we belong to, is the source of our success in life? And
when we have love, for the crops, for our families and for God we reap the
benefit ten fold.

	"It takes planning and toil to be a good farmer, it takes much more
to be a good parent. For if God can give his only son for our salvation,
how can we cherish our children any less? There is no need for us to
sacrifice a single child since God has done that for us. And as the school
bell rings again in just a few short days, look at each and every one of
your children in wonder.

	"They are the future, of our lives and our family, they must be
taught to read and write, but their education in the love of God means so
much more. I see their faces here today and I marvel at how these fine
young boys and girls have grown. You have been good farmers and parents,
your crop prospers. I pray for that continued success as should you. In
Jesus name, Amen."

	"Amen," Came the response.

	I really, really liked this guy. To each person in the room his
message went out and was received with an open mind, there was no need to
pound it into anyone's brain. These were strong minded men and women, and
much of that strength came from faith.

	The Reverend seemed like someone I could talk to, and as of yet I
had no need. Would he accept me for who I am? What if he knew Tally was
involved, would that change his opinions? Tally had a better level of faith
than I did even though it was not something we had shared very deeply. I
was aware that his youth gave him a need to believe, and yet his being gay
would challenge that faith someday. I just hoped it didn't happen soon.

	I shook the Reverend's hand and thanked him for the sermon as we
left the church, his smile seemed warm and sincere. I had seen him interact
with his own family and he seemed to be a good parent. In some ways this
church and these people were his family as well. His duty to them was as
God's messenger, and I thought he was doing a fine job.

	Yeah, Tally and school. I wanted to see his text books, that would
guide my steps in tutoring him.

	"I hate carrying all those books around, especially on the bus,"
Tally said when I asked him to bring them home.

	"So how do you do homework without them?"

	"Most of the homework is on worksheets they hand out, multiple
choice questions," Tally said.

	"And where do you get the information to answer the questions?" I
asked.

	"We talk about most of it in class that day, I remember a lot. But
the answers are there on the paper anyway, it's pretty easy."

	"And what if there's something you want to know, or should know
that the teacher forgot to put on that worksheet, how would you even find
it?" I asked.

	"I dunno...ask?"

	"Lord help us," I said. "Do you even read the information in the
books or are they just there to fill up your locker?"

	"Evan, I am not dumb," Tally yelped.

	"I still want to see those books," I said. And I was sticking to
that.

	Tuesday came and I drove Tally to school after the milking chores
were done. So up at four, milk until seven, a quick shower, breakfast and
we were out the door. His homeroom started at eight-fifteen, we were there
by ten after.

	"Thank you for the ride...I love you," Tally said.

	"I love you too...hmm, suppose a kiss here would be a bad move," I
said.

	"Hell yeah, we should have done that on the bridge where no one
could see us," Tally said.
	"Tomorrow we will, have a good day, baby."

	"See ya after school," Tally said, and then he was gone.

	I looked up at the brick edifice, so typical of all schools built
here. Thank God, that's over and done. I drove back to the house; Tally
would take the bus home. Granny offered me another coffee when I walked in.

	"Get our boy off to school all right?" She asked.

	"Yeah, those places give me the creeps now," I laughed.

	"At least you graduated, I never did."

	"Granny, I'm surprised...how far did you go?" I asked.

	"Tenth grade, then I had to go find work. My daddy lost his job at
the furniture plant, someone had to bring in the money for groceries," She
said.

	"You ever want to finish school?" I asked.

	"Yes, but I don't see the need now. Doesn't matter, I would have
been out the following year because of Jessie. I appreciate you sending
Rick to talk with me. Sometimes I wonder about that boy."

	"Not like you wondered about Tally I hope," I said.

	"I was something like that, Rick is just so impulsive." She
said. "It's gonna get him in hot water one of these days."

	"It almost did...I think Marlene laid a trap for him."

	"That sounds about like her, they aren't even church folk."

	"How do you think Rick and Barry get along," I asked.

	"Tolerable, they've had some bad days," She said. "Something I
should know about?"

	"I don't know if it matters anymore, I sure don't want to be
spreading gossip about either of them."

	"I suppose you're referring to what Rick used to do to Barry when
they were boys, Tally told me." Granny frowned. "I just hope that doesn't
come back to bite either of them."

	"I didn't know Tally had said anything."

	"He was just a little fella, maybe five, but he had to tell his
Granny about it cause it didn't make sense to him. I suppose he's forgotten
about telling me."

	"He has, but he told me. I think it was wrong for Rick to dominate
Barry like that, and he's still got that attitude even if they don't do
anything like that ever again," I said.

	"Rick is vain, and vanity is a sin in the eyes of God. Barry's big
enough to stand up for hisself now, if only he would," She said. "I think
Rick enjoyed putting himself in that position over Barry back then, maybe a
little too much of that activity went on. I wouldn't know about that, you
might have a different view."

	I blushed just enough for her to chuckle. "I know, I'm sorry," She
said. "I imagine your relationship with Tally has grown a good deal since
the last time we spoke about it. I don't know how that works either, but
Tally seems happy."

	"Granny...I can't talk about that with you, it isn't proper."

	"I'm just teasing anyways, so why this sudden interest in Rick?"
She asked.

	I should have known. "He caught Tally and I down at the river, he
knows about us."

	Her eyes focused in on me. "Is he planning to talk about it?"

	"Said he wouldn't, I just don't know how good that promise is. I
don't know Rick that well, I'm more worried about keeping Tally focused on
school."

	"You do that, Rick will take care of himself," She said. "I see you
seemed to pay attention in church, and that was a pretty good sermon."

	"Yes it was, so I see you have winter squash and cabbage planted,
you have a good cabbage recipe?"

	We talked for a while and then I went back to work. I found myself
paired up with Miguel who was busy looking through the herd for sick
animals. Unpleasant though it might be, the deposits they left behind were
often the first indicator of a problem. Jim and Miguel could spot a sick
cow fairly easily.

	Miguel was a gentle soul, an experienced farm hand. He laughed as
he told me stories of past years here on the Winslow place, and even what
he saw as the difference between Jessie and Jim as managers. I was
astonished to realize he had been coming here for over a decade, but then
he explained why.

	"It is these people, I am not treated as a servant here," Miguel
said. "At home I have four cows and some chickens, my wife and youngest boy
look after them when I am away. I would not wish to have a place so big as
this, but I feel at home here as well. Mr. Jessie was a kind man, their
loss was also mine."

	"So you've been here a long time," I said. "How did Jim learn so
much, was it just by doing the work?"

	"Yes, and Mr. Jessie was very strict about making him do
everything. He was a patient man, always explaining the right way things
must happen. Mr. Jim make a mistake and he would be told to do it again,
only Mr. Jessie would do it with him to be sure he understand the right
way. I learn much from just seeing what they do."

	Then he laughed. "Is much the same with you I think? Why does a
city boy wish to be a farmer?"

	"I have no wish to spend my life on a farm, it's the knowledge I
seek," I said.

	"Ahh, then you have come to the right place for this, we will teach
you," Miguel said.

	And teach he did. In spring the grasses in the pasture came back to
life, cows eat an enormous amount of the sweet grass at that time of the
year. I imagine after a diet of dry hay and grains all winter they must be
overjoyed at seeing all that grass, but therein lays the problem.

	I'd sat through high school science class, I knew all about the
digestive system of a cow, four stomachs and all that jazz. But green grass
is hard to break down in a cow's system no matter how much they like to eat
it, besides producing methane gas it also introduced bacteria. Now at this
late date in summer the pastures had been well combed back by the herd, but
a cow would eat just about anything that grew.

	The pastures were under constant observation for plant life that
sprang up, if it was bad for a cow it had to be removed before the animals
got into it, and they would. Despite being fed a good diet of grass, Jim
had a ton of cow mash prepared. Made rich with corn, alfalfa, soy and
vitamins, the mixture was part of their regular diet. It was a wonder that
they ever got into eating the plant life that could harm them.

	But the younger cows didn't know any better, and pigweed was the
farmer's bane hereabouts. Miguel took me outside the pasture and showed me
a sample of the plant growing along the fence line.

	"We have this plant when the ground is dry," He explained. "There
are chemicals inside this plant that will make a cow sick and if she eats
too much she will die. So we look for this plant and others, some will show
in the cow remains or if she throw it back up. Always keep your eyes open
for signs."

	We walked the pastures looking for the cow that had left behind a
rather liquid waste and he spotted one of the Jersey varieties, of course
it had to be Rita. She seemed to recognize me and wandered over; Miguel
smiled when I scratched her head and slipped the rope around her neck.

	"She knows you, this will make her last days happy," He said.

	"She really has to be put down? Is it just old age? She hasn't
given milk in quite some time," I said.

	Miguel looked in her eyes and examined her hindquarters. "Her
stomach fails to digest, eyes are cloudy and you can see the remains of the
mess on her rear legs, she is sick. We will take her to the shed and see
what Mr. Jim says."

	Rita followed along, led by the rope as we took her to the
isolation shed which was little more than an enclosed pen for potentially
sick cows. I made sure she had water but Miguel said no food, not yet
anyway.

	Life and death affected me the same way it would any human, it made
me sad. I was sure Rita had given years of service to the farm, adding her
prized milk in with the others of her kind. Her fate was in Jim's hands, I
would only be there as an observer of the cycle of life, poor Rita.

	Miguel and I went back on patrol, observing the young calves born
last spring as they followed their mothers around. I'd seen young horses on
my Uncle Harry's farm; they were frisky and playful with one another, not
so cows. They kept to the pasture with their mothers and I had little
chance to interact with them. Now they just stared as we walked by, their
turn would come.

	By lunchtime Jim had decided Rita had to go, assigning the task to
Rick and Barry. He explained that her sides were becoming lean, she would
waste away if she couldn't digest food. I helped load her on the utility
trailer and watched as Rick drove off; her final trip was to the
slaughterhouse.

	Tally was back at three-thirty, bubbling about his first day at
school and the teachers he had. But he fell right into the afternoon
milking cycle and shrugged when I told him about Rita. It wasn't a
heartless reaction, just all a part of his life growing up on a farm. But I
carried the thoughts about her through the rest of my day and tried not to
be sad.

	Tally had a stack of books and after supper I looked them over. I
almost groaned aloud, these were the same crappy textbooks I had endured,
would they never change? He probably wouldn't have homework this first
week, even teachers seemed reluctant to get back into the grind that
quickly.

	"Mrs. Kaiser is my English teacher, she's cool, but I have
Mr. Peters for math, not cool," Tally explained. "And Mrs. Wright still
drives the bus, they ought to retire her."

	"Things will settle down once you get back into the groove," I
said. "I imagine it's still the farm boys versus the city boys?"

	"Oh yeah, but I'm in ninth grade, the older kids act like we don't
exist."

	"They will for a while, it's like chickens," I said. "You aren't
part of the pecking order yet."

	"Jerry is all excited; they're going to Jacksonville this weekend,
because Uncle Tom comes home on Saturday. It makes him happy, I'm just
relieved."

	"Good, Jerry will get his father back. Looking forward to meeting
your uncle," I said.

	"Yeah, they'll probably be over here Sunday for dinner I
suppose. I'm sure Uncle Tom misses Granny's cooking, I bet he's sick of
soldier food."

	"You think he's been eating nothing but canned rations? I bet they
have a nice mess hall, I read about that on the internet," I said.

	"You did? Show me," Tally said. And so we surfed the net for an
hour before bedtime. Granny was already planning Tom's homecoming meal and
Jim seemed pleased his brother would be back in time to harvest his own
acreage. It had been Tom's land that they had planted last spring, watered
and tended all year. The corn there was destined to wither on the stalks
and dry out to become pig food.

	I supposed that when Jessie passed that each of the two brothers
had been given a portion of the land. Jim had stayed here in the homestead
part of the farm and by then Tom already had his house across the road on
forty or so acres. But he planted his open spaces as well; it's what
farmers did with their land.

	We settled in for the night, listening to the sound of Rick and
Barry arguing about something in the room next door. I finally heard their
bedroom door slam and the sound of boots clomping down the stairs. If one
of them had left out I was pretty sure it would be Barry.

	I had not paid much attention to their lives together, only
recently focusing on Rick. But I could imagine the relationship between the
brothers was not always pleasant, their past dictated that. If Barry was at
a stage of fighting back against Rick's domination then I wanted to root
for him, I just didn't know him that well. But I could change all that.