Date: Fri, 29 Aug 2008 12:37:22 -0400
From: numlfl <numlfl@musfiber.com>
Subject: Maggie's Farm - Part One
This story is the property of the author. You may keep a copy on
your computer for personal enjoyment, however if you wish to publish or
distribute the story then you must get the permission of the author.
Maggie's Farm
Maggie was coming in from one of her outer fields that she grew corn
on, when she saw someone sitting in one of the rocking chairs on her porch.
One of the local families had become famous with their handmade rocking
chairs and her father had happened to have gotten a couple before they were
discovered and thus got them before they were too expensive to buy. She
couldn't make out who it was other than that the person was a man and a big
man at that. She noticed that Max and Angel, two of her border collies were
at his side demanding attention. She looked down at Princess, her other
border collie as she noticed the man. Princess let out a yelp that Max and
Angel answered then she took off for the house. Maggie then knew who the
man was, her dogs never let anyone get near her house unless they knew them
and more importantly that they liked that person, so that mean that it was
Judge Kerner. The Judge and her father had been close friends before her
father had died so she knew him very well as she also had been friends with
one of his daughters when they were in high school. Maggie wondered just
what he why he had ventured out here to see her. It must have been
important for him to take time away from the bench in the middle of the
week just to see her. Maggie drove the old tractor past the porch not
acknowledging the judge as she drove on into the barn. She dusted herself
off before closing the barn door behind her, then she walked quickly to the
house as she always had too much to do to take her time doing anything.
"So how's my favorite adopted daughter?" Judge Kerner asked as he
handed her a glass of iced lemonade that he had made and brought out to the
porch.
"Thanks," Maggie said as she took the glass, first putting the glass
to her forehead cooling her it off before she took a big swig. "So what do
you want from me now?" Maggie asked as she stared him down which wasn't
easy as many a lawyer had tried to do that very thing in his courtroom but
none had ever succeed. But Maggie had always been able to get her way with
the Judge who held a special place in his heart as she was like a daughter
to him and he had always treated her like he did his daughters.
"Now you're cutting me to the quick there girl. Can't I come and
visit with you without a reason." He said feigning being hurt.
"Yes you can but the last time you arrived unannounced, I ended up
with a family staying in my house for a year." She said with a smile.
"Hey they were a great help to you when you needed it most and they
needed a place after they got swindled out of their farm by that con
artist. God I hate those son of bitches." He said with the venom that he
felt for people who take advantage of innocent people who didn't know what
was happening to them.
"Well you got their farm back for them and now that son of a bitch
is getting butt fucked in prison." Maggie said with pleasure.
"You both got a lot of benefit from me putting you all together,
Freddie and his two sons helped you with your first harvest and you showed
Joyce how to take care of their money." He told her.
"Yea, I showed her how to do her books and made her understand and
well as Freddie that nothing gets signed until you or I look it over
first." Maggie said feeling good about the year that Freddie and Joyce and
their children spent with her. It was a good thing for all of them and to
this day she still helps Joyce with her books and Freddie and his sons come
to help her on the farm when she needs it. They made a lasting friendship
that had endured for the past five years.
"See, I was right by getting you all together." The judge said
proudly.
"Tell you what, how about I fix us something for lunch while you
tell me about the family that needs help now." Maggie said as she got up
and she noticed that the judge didn't protest this time. So they went into
the house with him following close behind. Maggie cooked them up some lunch
as they talked about the farm and about her father.
"It's actually not a family that needs your help this time, but a
young lady." The judge said as he put a forkful of fresh green beans into
his mouth.
"What's her problem?" Maggie said as she studied the judge to see
how he was going to present this girl to her.
"Do you remember a few years ago when that crazed madman walked into
the King Theater up in Topeka?" The judge asked.
"Yea that was horrible, I have never understood someone doing
something like that." Maggie said as she remembered how so many innocent
lives were lost because of him.
"Well that that night also happened to be the girl's parents
fifteenth wedding anniversary and the girl's father had gotten his wife
front row seats as she loved to go to plays." The judge said just as Maggie
started to take a bite of the fried chicken livers that she had made as
knew that the judge loved them.
Maggie lowered her fork back to her plate as she said, "That is so
sad, I'm so sorry. What happened to the girl?"
The judge knew he had Maggie right then, she was a tough young lady
but she had a soft heart. "Well that is where the poor girl's tale turns
real sad. They was no other family to take her in so she ended up in the
state's custody. She was put into foster care and things went from bad to
worse."
"Oh god she wasn't abused or anything was she?" Maggie asked feeling
her heart go out for her.
"No she had relativity good foster homes but her parents were taken
from her when she needed them the most. So she went from an only child in a
loving family to one of many children where she couldn't get the attention
that she needed. So she began to act out and causing herself and her foster
parents problems." He said
"Just what kind of problems?" Maggie asked beginning to get a little
worried about what the judge was trying to get her into. "I don't need some
druggie or anything around here."
"No nothing like that. She would just get into mischief that kids
sometimes do when they are begging for attention. Which is how she ended up
in my courtroom. It seems that she had run away from her last foster home
and headed down here. She broke into the high school where she spray
painted some pretty art work onto the hall ways. So when she was brought up
to me, I made her clean up the school which she did very well but now I
have to do something with her. I don't want to send her back up to Topeka
and the foster care there as obviously that isn't working for her. I
brought her into my chamber and talked to her telling her that she had to
straighten up before she really fucked up her life. Right now it's petty
stuff but soon she would be an adult and then the penalties get a lot
worse. I think that I put a bit of a scare into her but as I was talking to
her and surprising enough she did open up to me a little but only a little
and I saw that she had a need. That is when I thought of you. I thought
that maybe you could give her the discipline that she needs but more
importantly the one on one attention that she is crying out for. I think
that you two would be a perfect fit." He said as he looked to her for the
help that he needed and more importantly the help that this poor girl
needed.
"I don't know. You know how set in my ways I am. I'm just as hard
headed as Pop was and you know that. I'm not sure that I would really be
able to help her and besides what makes you think that she just wouldn't
just run away the first chance that she got. I mean I could use the help
but I need someone who is willing to work and not someone I have to keep
after, I don't have the time or patience to deal with some teenager."
Maggie said as she thought over the problem that the judge was presenting
to her.
"You got the patience of an angel girl, if anyone can help this
girl, you can." He told her.
"Have you ever seen me when Pop's old tractor acts up?" Maggie asked
as she arched her eyebrows at him to make her point.
"Hell, your father use to swear that tractor came straight from hell
just to make his life miserable." He said with a laugh, "I don't know why
he didn't buy a new one and I don't know why you don't either."
"Because we're both hardheaded and neither of us are going to let
that damn machine get the better of us." Maggie said with a laugh as she
knew that she was more like her father than she cared to admit.
They both grew quiet for a moment as they began to eat again. The
judge knew he needed to give Maggie time to think about what he wanted her
to do and Maggie was thinking it over. She so wanted to help the poor girl
as she deserved a better life than she was given but she was unsure that
she was the one that could help her. She liked her life as it was, she had
her farm, her dogs, and most importantly her peace. This girl would change
all of them and probably turn her world upside down. She hated that the
judge was putting her in this position to have to turn him and the girl
down but she didn't want any more trouble than she already had in her life.
Still that girl... She just couldn't get that girl out of her mind
and how she lost her parents so violently and suddenly when she was so
young. "Oh god... I what am I going to do?" Maggie asked herself as she
went over everything that the judge had told her so far. She looked
carefully at the judge and she saw the hopeful look on his face. She knew
that while he was a tough judge, he wasn't uncaring especially when it came
to children. He always put them first and he tried to give them every
opportunity he could to get it right before he came down hard on them. Then
even when he went hard, he kept a check on them to see if there was a way
he could help them turn their life around. That was what he was doing here
and Maggie knew it. She just hated that he had chosen her to help him turn
this girl's life around.
"So you sure that this girl won't give me any trouble and will
listen to me. I don't have time to be chasing her around the country if she
decides to up and leave on me." Maggie said as she felt resigned to the
judges plan. "And you can wipe that smug smile off your face, you knew all
along that I wasn't going to turn you down."
The judge gave her a soft smile, "I was counting on that big heart
of yours dear. I promise that she won't give you any problems. She's not a
bad girl, just a little confused and unfocused. She needs some direction
and I know that you're prefect for the job." The judge said as he put his
hand on Maggie's hand giving it a squeeze.
"Well you had better be right, she better be good and willing to
work her ass off." Maggie said.
"She will, I'm going to put the fear of god into her before I bring
her out tomorrow morning. She will be so scared of me that you will be like
a angel to her. That way you will be able to play the good cop to my bad
cop." He told her.
"I only know how to be a bad cop, you got the roles reversed there."
Maggie said already regretting her decision.
"You forget that I've known you your whole life and I've seen what
you got in that big heart of yours. You're like your dad was, talking tough
but your actions say something else entirely. And this girl needs you and
whether you care to admit it or not, you need her." He said as he got
up. "Now give me a hug so I can get back to putting the bad guys where they
belong."
Maggie smiled as she stood up and she did give him his hug and she
felt his big arms folding about her. She knew that he loved her as much as
her father did, he had looked after her since her father had died and made
sure that she was doing fine. She also knew that if she ever needed
something then he would be first in line to help her and that made her feel
safe. But like her father, she found that there was times that he made her
mad but she would always love them both. She saw him out to his old beat
up Ford truck then she returned back to her little farm house.
"One of these days I'm going to turn that damn man down!" Maggie
cried out knowing that she never would. Then she went to the spare bedroom
stripping the bed so that she could wash the sheets and give the room a
good cleaning. She thought to herself that she should just wait and let the
little trouble maker clean up the room but she couldn't do that. She wanted
her to come into a clean room with fresh sheets on the bed. Once she got
the room cleaned the way she wanted it, she went back to her work that was
always piling up on her. Running a farm meant that you never ran out of
things that needed to be done, and since she ran it by herself, she was at
times overwhelmed by the work but it kept her busy and her mind off how
lonely she had become.
The next morning she went out the house wondering just what the day
would bring. She was starting to dread meeting this trouble maker. As she
tried to sleep that night she had just about come to the decision that
maybe this wasn't such a good idea. She wasn't made to be the loving and
caring type. She was a take the bull by the horns type of person and that
wasn't always the way you had to treat troubled kids who needed attention
like the judge said this girl needed.
So as she drove her old tractor to the corn fields, she made the
decision that when the girl and the judge arrived, she would send them both
packing and if the judge got mad at her then that was just the way it had
to be. She walked through the corn stalks seeing that they were doing
fine. A little rain wouldn't hurt but otherwise it looked like she might
have a good crop this year. She checked some of the budding ears of corn
for worms and saw that she was safe so far. Princess followed her every
step before running off to chase some small creature away from her corn,
only to return back to her heels. She stayed out there longer than she
normally would as she hated what she was going to have to do when she
returned back to the house. She knew that the judge would be disappointed
in her but that was just the way it would have to be. When she felt like
she couldn't put it off any longer, she got back up on her tractor hoping
that it would pick that moment to act up but of course it started like a
dream. She cursed it for being good when for the first time in her life
she wanted it to tear up. She called it a bitch as her father had always
called it a bastard when it acted up on him. She put it in gear and she and
Princess headed back to the house.
As she got near the house, she saw two people on her porch, one big
and one small. She felt her heard tugging at her but she told it to shut
up, this was best for everyone involved. She went the long way around to
the barn and then she took her time going to the house. Normally she wanted
to get things done and over with but this was something that she dreaded so
she was delaying as long as she could. As she turned the corner of the
house, she saw the judge stand up and then she heard him say something to
the girl and she about shot out of her chair so they were both standing up
when she came to the steps. She hesitated a second before she turned to
face the judge and the girl.
She saw that the judge had his judge look going strong. He was
standing straight as a board and he had this "all business" look on his
face. Maggie knew that the judge had given the girl the fear of god
speech. Then her eyes switched over to the girl who was also standing
straight as a board but she was doing so because she was scared to
death. Her bright green eyes looked like they were about to burst into
tears at any moment and she was biting her trembling bottom lip. She looked
to be about five-eight and was so slim, like she had no muscles at
all. Maggie felt her heart going out to this poor girl and any thought of
sending her on her way went right out of the window. "I have to help this
poor girl." She thought to herself. Maggie then looked down at how she was
dressed. She had her old dirty overalls on with one of her father's shirts
on. Her short brown hair was soaked in sweat and she had on her father's
cap on. She knew she probably looked like some hick from the boonies to
this girl who had grown up in the city.
"Hi I'm Maggie Sobieski and you are?" Maggie said as she went to the
girl completely ignoring the judge.
"I'm... I'm Brandie Saunders ma'am." The girl squeaked out.
"Call me Maggie please." Maggie said as she reached out and she took
Brandie's hand in hers giving it a squeeze.
"Okay... Maggie." Brandie said as she looked down at the porch.
Maggie put her hand to Brandie's chin lifting it up so that she
could look the girl in the eyes. She could see the fear in those eyes but
she also saw something else there and that something else encouraged
her. The girl was scared but there was some grit in her eyes too. Maggie
liked seeing that as she wanted to bring that grit out. "Let's go inside
and fix us some lunch." Maggie said as she let go of the girl's chin. Then
she turned to the judge, "You going to join us?"
"No I need to get back to court." He said to Maggie then he turned
to Brandie and said in a strong booming unwavering voice, 'You remember
what I told you young lady. I don't want to see you in my court room ever
again. You hear me."
Maggie thought the poor girl was going to pee in her pants as she
replied, "Yes sir."
"Come on inside Brandie and let's see what we can cook up." Maggie
said as she took her to the door, opening it for her, then she turned to
see the judge give her a smile and a wink. Maggie thought to herself, "Damn
that man played us both like a fiddle."
"So have you ever worked on a farm before?" Maggie asked Brandie as
they entered the kitchen.
"I've... I've never been on a farm before ma'am." Brandie said
nervously.
"Maggie." Maggie reminded the girl.
"Maggie, I mean." She replied.
"Well don't worry, it's not that complicated just lots of hard
work." Maggie said smiling as she tried what to fix this girl that she
might like, then she decided that she might as well get used to plain old
country food. So she pulled out some left over green beans and mash
potatoes which she fried into patties for them both. Then she got out some
beef steak that she also fried up giving the potatoes some favor as they
cooked them in the left over grease of the steak. While she was cooking,
she told Brandie about the farm and what all she grew there. The girl, for
her part, did pay attention to what she was saying but only replied with a
word or two here and there. Maggie figured that it would take Brandie a few
days to start warming up to her so she didn't press her to talk more that
she was willing to at the moment. Maggie had Brandie help her set out the
plates showing her where everything was. If Brandie was going to be staying
with her for a while, then she might as well learn where everything was in
the house. Maggie being the big eater, dug into her food as she knew that
she would be working and sweating all the calories off soon enough. Brandie
however just picked at her food, Maggie told her to eat up but Brandie
picked all the same.
"Do you have some work clothes?" Maggie asked after lunch and she
was showing Brandie her room.
"No just some jeans and blouses is all I have." Brandie said as she
put her bag down on the bed.
"Well let me see if I got something for you to wear, I don't want
you to ruin your clothes. I'm not sure that I have anything to fit you but
then it will be just you and I out here." Maggie said as she motioned for
Brandie to follow her into her bedroom which used to be her parents'
bedroom.
"Let me see what I got that won't swallow you whole." Maggie said as
she started to go through her old clothes. Around the farm, she mostly wore
overalls as they had plenty of pockets to put things that she always seemed
to need. Maggie noticed that Brandie was trying not to curl her nose up at
the choices that were being presented to her. While she never had any nice
clothes, at least they were not old farm clothes that were faded from wear
and not by the manufacturer of the clothes. "Oh here are a couple of
overalls that I had when I was growing up, I'm glad that I never got around
to giving them away." Maggie said as she handed the overalls to Brandie
along with a couple of old shirts that she had that she could no longer
wear.
"Thank you." Brandie said as she took the clothes none to happily.
"Oh and try on these boots, they may be a little big but they just
might work.
"Okay..." Brandie said as Maggie put the boots on top of the clothes
that Brandie now had in her arms.
"Just meet me out in the barn and I will show you around the place
and then we can get started on the afternoon chores." Maggie said as she
dropped Brandie back at her room and she went on out.
Maggie was wondering just how much help that Brandie was going to be
able to give her. She seemed so small and frail. Working on the farm was
hard work but maybe it was what the girl needed to put some muscle on her
and make her stronger.
Maggie was checking the tractor over when she saw Brandie coming
through the door. She almost wanted to laugh at the poor girl who looked
absolutely miserable as she walked toward her. The overalls were so big on
her that they seemed to swallow her whole. And the old shirt just added to
that theme but at least she looked more like a farmer now. "I see that we
might need to run to the co-op soon and see if we might find something that
will fit you but for now I think that will work."
"Can't I just wear my jeans and tennis shoes?" Brandie asked as she
adjusted the straps on her overalls.
"The overalls will be more comfortable and they give your body the
ability to breath and the boots will protect your ankles in case you step
in a hole or we happen upon a snake out in the fields." Maggie said as she
saw Brandie's eyes light up at the word snake.
"There's snakes out there?" Brandie said as she took a step
backwards.
"Yes dear, we are out in the country but don't worry Princess will
warn us if one comes around where we are." Maggie said and Princess let out
a yelp upon hearing her name which made Brandie jump. "Now I got the poor
girl really scared." Maggie thought to herself and she knew she had to
reassure her.
"Don't worry, Princess and I will look out for you. We'll not going
to let anything happen to you on your first day." Maggie said as she gave
Brandie what she hoped was a reassuring smile.
"Okay..." Brandie said not in any way assured of anything except
that she was in way over her head and the lady she was looking at was
crazy.
"Come on and get up on the tractor and lets go see how the wheat
fields and the grass that we will be cutting soon for feed hay is doing."
Maggie said as she got up on the tractor then reached out to help Brandie
up.
"Stand behind me and let's see if this old tractor will start this
afternoon." Maggie said as Brandie in back of her trying to find something
to hold onto without having to touch Maggie.
Maggie reached down to start the old tractor and of course it had
decided not to start so Maggie smiled at Brandie who was staring at
her. Maggie cursed under her breath as she tried again but the old gal
would not start. Maggie was quickly losing her patience as she wanted
everything to go well this afternoon so that Brandie would be a little more
comfortable about having to stay with her. Maggie tried a couple or more
times but the tractor refused to do anything. Maggie got mad at this point
as she had no patience for the old tractor. She then forgot about Brandie
being there as she reached down and pulled out a big old ball peen hammer
and she stood up. She wacked the top of the tractor with the hammer adding
another dent to the top. "Now start you fucking bitch or I'll take you to
the scrap heap!" Maggie screamed at the tractor. As she sat down she saw
Brandie's eyes go wide.
Maggie realized what she had done and she felt slightly embarrassed
by her showing her temper. "Sometimes you just have to get tough on the old
gal and show her who is boss." Maggie said as she tried to explain her
outburst. "Come on old gal start." Maggie said to herself as she tried
again and this time the tractor started right up.
"See it works every time." Maggie said smiling but she saw that
Brandie wasn't very convinced. "Hang on." Maggie warned her but still
Brandie wouldn't touch her that is until Maggie put the tractor into
reverse and started to back out of the barn. The sudden movement scared
Brandie and she grabbed onto the first thing she could which, was Maggie's
shoulders.
"Sorry." Brandie said as she realized that she had Maggie's
shoulders in a death grip.
"That's okay, just hold on to my shoulders as we are moving." Maggie
said over the roar of the diesel engine.
"Okay," Brandie said as she moved her hands back to Maggie's
shoulders. As they started forward Princess ran out in front of the tractor
like she was leading the way.
"Don't hit the dog!" Brandie cried out as the tractor got close to
Princess.
"Don't worry, Princess has been leading the way since she was born,
she knows just how far to keep away. She likes to think that she is the one
in charge and I let her think it." Maggie said as she looked back at
Brandie who was watching out for the dog. Maggie veered a little to the
right as she did this and Princess gave her an bark.
"Yes Princess, I'll watch where I'm going from now on." Maggie
called down to Princess who seemed please that she had chastised her master
properly. Maggie looked back at Brandie and she saw that Brandie was just
as pleased as Princess was that she had seen the errors of her ways.
Maggie went over to the corn fields first show them to Brandie
before moving on over to the wheat fields. There she parked and they got
down as Maggie showed Brandie how the wheat was growing and was starting to
product the seeds that would make the money that kept the farm going. She
gave Brandie the basics on growing wheat before they went on over to the
fields that she would soon be making the first cut of the year. They walked
through the fields with Brandie who at first was watching every step for
fear of a snake but eventually she forgot about the possible snakes as she
began to relax.
They spent most of the afternoon going through the fields making
sure everything was growing well and nothing was eating up her crops. The
afternoon soon got very warm and they were soaked in sweat so they stopped
under a shade tree to drink some water that Maggie had brought along. They
sat silently for a while before Maggie began to talk about the farm, she
was hoping that Brandie would start to open up a bit but it was too early
for that, so Maggie just carried on the conversation. Then they got back on
the tractor and headed toward her beef cattle. It was there they began some
real work, as Maggie with Princess's help, herded the few head that she had
to another field where they could graze. Brandie tried to help but she was
scared of the big cows and she would get only so close but Princess was in
her element as she was bred to herd and she loved moving the cattle from
one place to another.
From there, they headed back to the house as there was other chores
to be done before it was time to quit for the day. Maggie parked the
tractor and they first went into the house for some cool water and to rest
for a moment. From there they went back to the barn where Maggie got
Brandie to help her move some bags of seed around. She had been meaning to
do this but hadn't got around to it yet and besides she wanted to start
building Brandie's muscles up to the point where she could be a real help
to her. She saw that Brandie was straining to move the big bags of seed but
she had to give the girl credit as she was trying to help. She struggled to
move one bag while Maggie moved three but she was giving it her all.
"Well I guess I can finally mark this off my list of chores that
needed to be done." Maggie said as she and Brandie moved the last bag into
place.
"What list?" Brandie asked.
"Oh I have a list of things that I need to do on the fridge. When I
find something I need to do then I add it to the list and when I get one
done then it gets marked off the list. If you see something that we need to
do then feel free to add it to the list." Maggie told her.
"Okay." Brandie said and Maggie noticed that for a brief second
there was a flash of brightness in Brandie's eyes and then it
disappeared. Maggie started to say something but she let the moment pass as
Brandie's eyes went back to the doubting looking that she had at all times
in her eyes. But Maggie was glad to at least see that brief bright spot.
They went in to wash up then as Maggie began to fix them some
dinner, she had Brandie feed the dogs. She had decided that Brandie needed
some chores of her own to do and feeding the dogs seemed to be a good place
to start. Maggie did see that Brandie ate a little better but still she was
picking at her food. Maggie so wanted to tell her to eat up as she would
need the energy to be able to work but then she figured that Brandie would
come to that conclusion on her own soon enough. Maggie also noticed that
Brandie checked out the list of chores that was on the fridge when she had
come in from feeding the dogs. There was something about the list that had
caught Brandie's attention.
They both cleaned up the kitchen then they sat outside on the porch
in the rocking chairs as the house cooled down. Again Maggie did most of
the talking which was something new to her as she had lived alone for so
long now that she wasn't used to talking. But yet she found that she had a
lot of talking built up, and Brandie seemed content to just listen to her
talk. She talked about growing up on the farm and how at times she had
hated it but yet there was something about watching things grow from the
ground that got to her. But she had never planned on being a farmer but
when her father had died suddenly she found herself back on the farm and
thus she became a farmer. They talked or rather Maggie talked until the sun
began to go down. Maggie then declared that it was time to take their
showers and get ready for bed. Maggie went first as Brandie went to her
room to put up what few clothes that she had.
This was the favorite time of the day for Maggie as she let the
water wash over her, washing the sweat and dirt from her body. The warm
water eased her tired muscles and when she was in the mood, it was when she
let her hands play with those sensitive parts of her body that had not been
touched by anyone other than herself for much too long a long time. But
tonight her mind was on other things and she got lost in those things as
she sometimes did. She had to figure out how to get into Brandie's head and
see what was there. So she had her mind on that as she washed and then
dried herself. She then hung up her towel with her mind a million miles
away, she stepped out into the hallway just as Brandie came out her room.
Maggie heard a grasp and she looked up to see Brandie staring at her
wide eyed. Maggie looked down at her herself and she realized that was
naked. She always walked about naked after her shower but she had forgotten
that she now had Brandie in the house. Even thought she had just spent her
whole shower thinking about the girl, she still forgot about her being in
the house with her. She stood there still as these things went through her
head then she noticed that Brandie hadn't moved a muscle and Brandie's eyes
had never left her body. Maggie felt her whole body blushing as she felt
Brandie's eyes drilling in to her soul.
"I'm sorry," Maggie said quickly as she ducked into her bedroom
leaving Brandie standing there.
"Oh god now I've really scared her away." Maggie said to herself as
she sat down on her bed. She heard the bathroom door close and she could
only hope that Brandie hadn't heard her say that. Maggie went to her
dresser pulling out a oversize tee shirt that she decided that she needed
to wear after she shower now that Brandie was here. She grabbed a pair of
panties putting them on then checking herself to make sure that she wasn't
showing anything off before going into the living room to watch the news
and weather forcast before heading to bed. The scene went through her head
several times as she tried to concentrate on the TV but she just hoped that
Brandie didn't feel bad about what she had done. She didn't even realize
how much time had passed until she heard Brandie enter the living room She
looked up to see her dressed much the same way she was.
"I borrowed one of your tee shirts, I hope you don't mind." Brandie
said as she came over to the couch sitting on the opposite end.
"No that is fine, whatever I have you can borrow anytime." Maggie
said as she never thought about why Brandie would just happen to be dressed
as she was. She didn't know that Brandie had peaked in on her to see what
she was wearing before going back to find something similar.
They were silent for a few minutes as Maggie tried to decide what to
say then she decided to be up front with Brandie, "I'm sorry that I came
out of the bathroom without any clothes on, I hope that I didn't embarrass
you."
"No it was cool, this is your house and you shouldn't have to change
anything because of me. If you want to go naked then that is fine with me."
Brandie said as Maggie looked her in the eyes.
"It's your house now too and I want you to be comfortable." Maggie
told her as she smiled.
"I'm fine, it's not like you have anything that I don't." Brandie
said as she smiled.
"True but all the same I'll try to remember to bring some clothes
with me when I shower." Maggie assured her and to Maggie's surprise,
Brandie seemed to be disappointed by her remark.
"So how was your first day out in the boonies, with just the
chickens to keep you company?" Maggie asked trying to change the subject.
"It was okay I guess but you don't have any chickens do you?"
Brandie said then asked.
Maggie laughed, "No I don't. We had some when I was growing up and
it was always my job to keep them up and I hated it. They were always
squawking and running after me when I went to feed then and don't get me
started on the rooster that we had, that was the meanest little bastard I
have ever seen. I don't know how many times it attacked me scratching my
legs and pecking at my ankles. It was a glorious day when we fried that
sucker up for supper." Maggie said remembering that old mean rooster then
she looked over at Brandie and saw that she was smiling just a little. She
was making headway with the girl however slight.
"Did you really eat him?" Brandie asked.
"Yep, the stupid bird made the mistake of attacking my father when I
had stay over at school one day and he had to feed them. When I got home
that night, pop had that bird frying in the cast iron skillet.
"When I asked pop about the chicken in the pan, he turned around and
I saw all the scratches on his face and I knew what had happened and from
the look on my father's face I knew better than to say anything as I had
been complaining to him about that bird for years. I was just happy that I
wouldn't have to deal with it anymore, and you know what?" Maggie asked her
smiling guest.
"What?" Brandie asked.
"That damn bird was tough as leather, he still got the last laugh on
me." Maggie said as she laughed and she saw Brandie let out a little
giggle.
Maggie told Brandie a few more funny stories about her life on her
farm trying to show that it could be fun too and not just hard
work. Brandie did let out a few more smiles and giggles but as soon as she
realized that she was smiling, she would stop and Maggie would have to work
harder to get her to smile again, unfortunately Maggie started to run out
of stories and she was getting tired so she suggested that they head to bed
as the day always started early on a farm.
As Maggie lay in her bed that night, she thought over her first day
with Brandie there. She was still a little peeved at the judge but she had
to admit that Brandie was an interesting girl. She was so shy and quiet not
wanting to talk much but Maggie could see that her eyes were taking
everything in. She was a sharp girl and she had some smarts. Maggie could
see that very clearly even though she could see that Brandie was trying
hard not to show any of her cards. Maggie turned over onto her side and she
knew that she had her work cut out for her when it came to Brandie.
Maggie woke up at a couple of minutes before five the next morning
as she always did. She hadn't set an alarm in years, her body seemed to
sense when it was time to get up. She yawned real big as she sat up. She
stood up and stretched feeling her bones pop and she felt better. She went
down to Brandie's room and she banged on the door telling her it was time
to get up. She heard a loud groan and she had to smile. She could almost
hear Brandie cussing her through the door. Maggie went on into the bathroom
then she went to the kitchen as she heard Brandie's door opening and she
heard some muttering coming from Brandie's direction.
"You know it's still dark outside." Brandie said as she shuffled
into the kitchen.
"Yea, we get a early start around here." Maggie said as she put the
skillet down on the stove.
"But we can't work in the dark can we?" Brandie asked as she sat
down at the kitchen table.
"Oh it will be light soon enough and by then we'll be ready to get
started. I saw some fences that the wire was broken and I want to get them
repaired before my cows figure out that they can get through the last
strand easy enough." Maggie told her. "Now how about setting the table and
pour us some coffee so we both can get woke up."
"Okay," Brandie said as she heaved herself up from the table with
some effort and Maggie saw her wince some from her sore muscles. Maggie
figured another couple of days of hard work and those muscles would start
to get stronger. Brandie again picked at her breakfast and when Maggie told
her that she needed to eat, Brandie replied that she never ate
breakfast. Maggie let it go, though she had always been taught that
breakfast was the most important meal of the day though she refrained from
telling Brandie that. Instead she let Brandie clean up the kitchen as she
went out to open the barn. She checked the tractor over and got the things
that was needed to fix the fence as Brandie got fresh water for the dogs
and some food so that they could get their day started right. Maggie picked
Brandie up in front of the house and they went out toward the outer
pastures where she had her cattle now. They saw that they were all doing
fine and none had decided to see if the grass was really greener on the
other side of the fence. From there they went on to the fence line where
Maggie parked the tractor. Maggie had Brandie help her with the wire first
giving Brandie some tough work gloves so she wouldn't cut her hands on the
barbed wire. This was definite a two person job and while it took Maggie
and Brandie a little longer to get it done, they did finally get it fixed
to Maggie's satisfaction. They checked the rest of the fence line making a
few more minor repairs. Before returning back to the house for lunch.
Again Brandie just picked at her food and Maggie was beginning to get
concerned as she was working Brandie hard and the heat of summer was
beginning to move in. That afternoon they stayed closer to the farm house
as Maggie began to show Brandie some of the jobs that she had decided would
be hers alone to work on. Part of that would be to tend to the garden that
was in the back of Maggie's house. There she grew tomatoes, potatoes,
lettuce, etc that she canned and ate over the winter. She showed Brandie
how to weed the garden and where the hoses were so that she would water it
when needed. Then they picked a couple of tomatoes for supper.
As they started to eat, Maggie saw Brandie get a small bite and put
it to her mouth. Brandie chewed it then when her fork went down for a
second bate, Maggie noticed that it was much fuller. Maggie had worked
Brandie hard that day and finally her appetite was winning out over her
habit of limiting her intake of food. Maggie didn't say anything about
Brandie's eating as Brandie stuffed her mouth, instead she talked about
everything that they had done that day and how proud she was at how hard
Brandie had worked. This made Brandie smile and she didn't try to hide the
smile either.
After dinner, they went out on the porch to enjoy the evening as the
house cooled down. Maggie sat in the rocking chair as Brandie sat down on
the top step of the pouch and played with the dogs. Maggie had always given
her dogs some attention but for her they were guard and work dogs
first. But now they had Brandie who would pet them and scratch their
ears. Then Brandie went out to the yard and sat down with the dogs. She
would scratch their fur and throw sticks for them to fetch and bring back
to her. Maggie watched as Brandie seemed to have become a little girl
again with no cares in the world. She was letting all her worries go as she
played with the dogs. Watching this made Maggie heart swell, she knew then
that her dogs would play as much a part in making Brandie whole again as
she would.
That night as Maggie left the bathroom after her shower, she
remembered to wrap a towel around her. She saw that Brandie was waiting at
her bedroom door to go next. Maggie told her that it was all hers as she
made her way to her bedroom. She didn't notice that Brandie was a bit
disappointed that Maggie had remembered to cover up.
Maggie slowly brought Brandie along as she showed Brandie everything
that she knew about farming and Brandie quickly picked things up so she
didn't have to be told what to do but knew from day to day what she was
suppose to do. Maggie took her along with her when she went to the fields
but there was also days that she left her at the house when something there
needed to be done. The other thing that Maggie showed Brandie how to do was
to drive the tractor. That way Brandie would be able to drive as Maggie did
things in the field without have to constantly get on and off the
tractor. Brandie was nervous at first but since Maggie never let her get
past second gear, Brandie soon settled down and was able to get the hang of
driving it.
And slowly Brandie began to talk about some of the foster families
that she had lived with. She would let out small details at first and then
she began to talk more about them. Some she liked more than others but to
Maggie, it seemed that she never quite felt at home with any of them. They
were just a place to live. Maggie could feel her heart go out to this young
lady more and more. She was determined to help her.
Then after Brandie had been there for over three weeks, Maggie
noticed that on the bottom of her list of things to do, there was something
added and it wasn't in her hand writing. This was neatly printed and she
could see that Brandie had put a lot of thought into it before she wrote it
down as there on the bottom of the list was written, "Teach Brandie how to
drive". Maggie stared at the request and she felt proud of Brandie for
having to courage to ask something of her.
When Brandie dragged herself into the kitchen, as sleepily as she
always was, as she still hadn't gotten used to getting up so early, she
eyed Maggie carefully. Maggie knew that Brandie was waiting for her to say
something about the addition to the chore list however Maggie decided that
she wouldn't say anything but she would also find the time to teach Brandie
to drive. Unfortunately it took Maggie another week to find that
time. Things just got busy for her as they did the first cutting of the
hayfield so that meant that they had to cut it, dry it out, then put the
grass into large round bales. This was a lot of work that had to fit in
around all the regular things that they needed to be done.
Then on the following Saturday morning Maggie knew that it was
time. So that morning, she crossed Brandie's request off the list. It took
Brandie a few minutes to see her request to be taught to drive crossed
off. Maggie saw the disappointment in Brandie's eyes like this was just
another of the things that she yearned for but would be denied. Maggie
talked all through breakfast but Brandie was back to being her quiet
self. Maggie so wanted to tell her but she decided to surprise her. When
breakfast was done, she told Brandie to finish up her morning chores then
they had to head into town to pick up some things. This brightened
Brandie's mood a bit but not much. At around ten, Maggie decided it was
time to go so they headed out toward the truck. They had almost gotten
there when Maggie suddenly stopped.
"Damn, I forgot my purse, would you go back to get it for me
Brandie?" Maggie asked.
"Sure, no problem." Brandie said as she turned to head back into the
house. While she did this Maggie went on to the truck and got into the
passenger seat.
"What..." Brandie said as she opened the passenger door without
looking only to see M<aggie sitting there. "What you doing sitting there?"
Brandie asked.
"I marked off the chore that you had written down that needed to be
done this morning and I never mark a chore off unless it has been done so
that means that I need to teach you to drive before the day is done and I
can't very well do that if I'm sitting in the driver's seat now can I?"
Maggie asked of the now smiling brightly Brandie.
"No ma'am." Brandie said as she couldn't stop smiling.
"Well go get in the driver's seat and let's get going or we won't
make it into town before the stores close. I believe that I also promised
to buy you some new clothes to work in and I haven't done that yet
either. So we got a busy day ahead of us girl, let's get it started."
Maggie told her trying to sound like her usual self when she wanted to show
her excitement as she was getting caught up in Brandie's excitement.
"Oh yes!" Brandie said as she ran around to the driver's side
opening the door and jumping behind the wheel.
Brandie sat there a second as she looked the truck over then a frown
came over her face. "What's wrong dear?" Maggie asked.
"This is a straight shift, don't you have an automatic I can learn
on?" Brandie asked.
"Afraid not, this is the only vehicle that I have. Beside you've
driven the tractor and it has a clutch and gear shift doesn't it?" Maggie
asked her.
"Yes but..." Brandie said before Maggie interrupted her.
"No buts to it, they are both the same and if you can drive one then
you can drive the other." Maggie told her and that made Brandie think for a
moment.
"I guess..." Brandie said but again Maggie stopped her.
"No guessing to it, you can do it now push in the clutch and start
the engine." Maggie told her.
"Can I ask you something?" Brandie said as she started to reach down
to the key.
"Sure hon, what do you want?" Maggie replied.
"Please don't yell at me, I'm already nervous enough." Brandie asked
and Maggie could see that this request was very important to her.
"I promise I won't yell. Despite what you have seen when I am
dealing with the tractor, I can be patient when I need to be. So just relax
and take a deep breath, then let's see if I can't teach you to drive
without getting us both into a tizzy." Maggie said as she put her hand on
Brandie's forearm giving it a squeeze which made Brandie smile warmly.
Brandie did take that deep breath and then she pushed in the clutch. She
started the engine.
"Now slowly let the clutch out until you feel the engine start to
struggle then slowly push take your foot off the brake and give it a little
gas as you release the clutch." Maggie told her as she gripped onto the
door handle as she knew one of two things would occur and one did. Brandie
did as she was told or close to that however the truck jerked and died.
"You know what you did wrong?" Maggie asked.
"No..." Brandie said as she turned to look at Maggie.
"You didn't give it enough gas so the engine died. Just do it again
but a tad bit more gas this time."
"Okay," an eager Brandie replied.
She started the engine and tried it again and this time the truck
lurched forward then died. "Shit!" Brandie cried out then she looked over
at Maggie fearing that Maggie would yell at her for cursing. "Sorry..." she
quickly added.
"Hey you have heard me cuss that damn tractor, I can't very well get
on you for cussing now. Just don't try to teach me any new words okay."
Maggie said as she smiled at Brandie whose body showed it's relief.
"I don't think I know any words that you don't already know."
Brandie said before she could stop herself and she put her hand to her
mouth.
Maggie was taken aback by Brandie's quick wit but then she burst out
laughing. "Touch‚" She said.
"Sorry," Brandie said as she tried not to laugh.
"Hey that was a great comeback, I loved it. Now back talk will get
me riled real quick but now a good come back done with the right attitude I
appreciate. You understand the difference don't you?" Maggie asked.
"Yea, I do." Brandie said.
"Good," Maggie said as she put her hand on Brandie's arm giving it a
squeeze to reassure Brandie then she went on with the lesson. "So what did
you do wrong that time?"
"Too much gas?" Brandie asked not completely sure of her answer.
"Yep so now what do you do?" Maggie asked.
"I don't know..." Brandie said as she bit her lower lip. Maggie knew
that she was going to lose Brandie if she didn't catch onto this driving
thing as it was very important to her.
"Let me show you." Maggie said as she decided on a new approach. She
started to get out of the truck then she saw Brandie doing the same
thing. "No honey, you stay right where you are." Maggie saw Brandie's face
scrunch up in confusion. This was something that her father had done to her
and it helped her so it might help Brandie.
Maggie went over to the driver's side of the truck and opened the
door. She then bent over putting her hand to the tops of Brandie's
feet. She taught Brandie how to do move the peddles with her hand pushing
down on Brandie's feet and then pulling them up to simulate how she should
do it when she was driving. Then she made Brandie do it on her own. As
Maggie watched. She let Brandie work the peddles for a while until she
seemed to have it down pat.
"Okay let's try it again." Maggie said as she got back into the
truck.
Brandie sucked in her breath and let it out before she started the
engine. Maggie saw that Brandie was biting her lower lip as she began to
let the clutch out. This time the truck jerked forward but the engine kept
running. Brandie smiled brightly as she glanced over at Maggie.
"Now shift it into second." Maggie told her and Brandie had this
sudden frighten look but she pressed in the clutch and grabbed the gear
shift and yanked it into second like you had to do on the tractor. They
went on a ways going slow before Maggie told her to shift it into
third. The old dirt road into Maggie's place was about five miles long so
they had plenty of room to practice. Brandie got the truck into third and
she had it up to about twenty-five when Maggie told her to stop.
"Did I do something wrong?' Brandie asked as she shut off the
engine.
"No you did great but now I want you to do it again." Maggie assured
her.
"Oh okay," Brandie said as she a big smile went across her face.
"You know practice makes perfect." Maggie told her.
"Yep," Brandie said excitedly as she started the engine.
Maggie made her stop and start over about twenty times before they
got to the main road which was just an old country road with mostly farm
traffic. When they got there, Brandie stopped the truck, turning off the
engine and she started to get out.
"What you doing?" Maggie asked her.
"I'm getting out so you can drive. I don't even have a learner's
permit." Brandie told her.
"Get back in and take us to town." Maggie told her as if she hadn't
heard anything that Brandie said.
"But the judge said that he would throw me in jail and throw away
the key if I got into trouble again." Brandie told her.
"Let me worry about that fat old judge. You just worry about keeping
the truck out of the ditches." Maggie said as she reached over and pulled
Brandie back into her seat. Brandie looked at her carefully to make sure
Maggie wasn't messing with her and when she realized that she wasn't, she
turned the key and started the old truck. So they slowly made their way
into town. Maggie let her get the truck up to about forty- five and when
they hit a long stretch with no traffic, then she would make Brandie stop
the truck so that she could run through the gears again. She was starting
to get the hang of driving and slowly the tension was easing from her
face. Maggie tried not to talk much just giving Brandie pointers here and
there. Mostly she let her concentrate on her driving. As they got close to
town, one of the county deputies came up behind of them and Brandie got
real nervous even as Maggie tried to calm her down. But of course the
deputy hit his lights. Maggie could see that Brandie was white as a sheet
and was about to pee her pants as she pulled onto the shoulder of the road.
"Oh god, I'm going back to jail!" Brandie cried out.
"Now hush girl, everything will be fine." Maggie told her in a stern
voice as she sat there waiting for the deputy to get to the side of the
truck.
"I thought that was your truck." The deputy said to Maggie as he
looked Brandie over.
"Yea John, just teaching Brandie how to drive. Have you met her,
she's staying with me, helping out on the farm." Maggie told him.
"No I haven't, nice you met you young lady." John said as she
reached in and Brandie shook his hand with a badly shaking hand. Maggie
winked at John who was smiling back. He knew what was going on so he was
playing along with Maggie.
"Nice to meet you too." Brandie said as her voice sounded as shaky
as her hands were.
"Now you listen to this lady and she never lead you astray." John
told Brandie.
"Yes sir." Brandie replied.
"Take care Maggie." John said as she started back to his truck.
"You too," Maggie replied.
"Oh god!" Brandie said as soon as John had pulled out around them,
giving them a last wave.
"See I told you it would be fine. I grew up here and everyone knows
me." Maggie told her as she tried not to smile too much at Brandie's
obvious distress.
"I know but..." Brandie said.
"Honey, everything is going to be okay now, you don't have to worry
so much. Just relax a minute and then let's get on to the stores before
they close." Maggie told her.
"I think I'm too nervous to drive now." Brandie said as she started
to get out of the truck again.
"Hey get back in here and drive us to town." Maggie told her in a
tone that left Brandie without a chance to argue.
Brandie looked at her hoping for a reprieve and when she saw none
coming, she started the engine and she immediate killed the engine as she
tried to pull out onto the highway. She looked at Maggie and saw that she
wasn't going to say anything. Brandie sucked in her breath and tried
again. This time she got the truck onto the highway without killing
it. Maggie started to talk about all the things that they needed to pick up
at the Co-op. She never mentioned that she had other places for them to
go. Once they entered town, Maggie showed her where to go. While it wasn't
a large town, it also wasn't just a spot in the road. So on their way to
the Co-op, they had to go through several stop lights. Maggie could see
Brandie tensing up as they got closer to the first red light. Maggie kept
on talking so that she could ease the pressure that Brandie was putting on
herself. Brandie got lucky at that first light as no one was behind her and
so she made it through without any problems, however the second light,
several cars were lined up behind of Brandie and Maggie saw that Brandie
was looking more in the rearview mirror than in front of her. So Maggie
reached up and turned the rearview mirror toward her so Brandie couldn't
look behind of her. When Brandie looked over at her, Maggie just pointed
out ahead of them. Brandie smiled as she focused more on what was in front
of her and not what was behind of her. Thus she was able to get through the
light without killing the engine. Maggie then put the mirror back right and
at the next light, Brandie only glanced behind her once.
When they got to the Co-op, they went inside where Maggie was
greeted by several of the people there. She introduced Brandie to the men
and women as she talked to them. Then she made her way to the counter where
she asked for Red, whom she always dealt with when she came in. She
introduced Red to Brandie and she told him that Brandie may be coming in
for her and to just give her what she asked for and put on her account.
Maggie saw the surprised look in Brandie's eyes and she saw that Brandie
let a smile of pride come to it. The first thing that Red got for her was a
big bundle that he ordered for her. When he brought the small box up, he
gave it not to Maggie but to Brandie.
"What's this?" Brandie asked.
"Your new overalls. Take one back to the restroom and try it on."
Maggie said as she watched Brandie open the box and her eyes lit up upon
seeing several new pairs of overalls.
"They're so stiff." Brandie said as she pulled a pair out of the
box.
"They're brand new and they're not like the new jeans are nowadays
that come in prewashed and softened. But don't worry, a couple of washings
and some fabric softener will soften them up." Maggie told her.
"I didn't think of that." Brandie said as she took a pair and headed
to the back where the bathrooms were.
As Brandie went to try on her new overalls, Maggie talked to Red
about the things that she needed. As he wrote the items down he was yelling
at a couple of young men getting them to go find what Maggie was needing
and to load it onto her truck. A few minutes later, Maggie saw Brandie
coming from the bathroom with her new overalls on. She saw that these were
much better fitting and they showed just how pretty a woman Brandie was
becoming. The overalls were still a hair big but a much closer fit than the
ones that she had been wearing.
"How do they fit?" Maggie asked already knowing the answer.
"Great, a little stiff but much better than your old ones. How did
you get the length right?" Brandie asked.
"Oh that was easy. I just measured your jeans when I put them into
the washer." Maggie told her and Brandie seemed impressed by Maggie's
thinking.
"Can I wear them now?" Brandie asked.
"Sure honey, whatever you want." Red told her before Maggie could
answer her.
Maggie went on with her shopping getting things for the farm until
the point that her old truck was full. Then just as they were about to
leave Maggie noticed the boots. "Come with me." Maggie told Brandie as she
headed for the boots leaving Brandie to carry her new overalls and other
small stuff that was added to her box as they were there. Maggie looked
over several types of boots and she began to pull several down. "I think
these are the best ones and then she saw Brandie eyeing a more stylish boot
so Maggie pulled it down too getting another smile from Brandie. She was
beginning to get hooked on those rare smiles from Brandie which made her
want to try and make her smile more often. Brandie tried on each of the
types of boots that Maggie had picked out. She ended up with one pair that
she liked and Maggie knew she picked them out more for her and not for
herself. After Brandie had taken them off, Maggie called Red over to them.
"We're going to need these boots here..." Maggie said as she showed
Red the boots that Brandie had picked out. "And we're both going to take a
pair of these." She said as she handed Brandie the fancy boots that had
caught her eye. "I can't let you be the only one looking fine.' Maggie said
as she gave Brandie a wink that caused Brandie to giggle.
Maggie then sat down on the bench beside of Brandie so that she
could put her fancy boots on. "I do look nice in these don't I?" Maggie
said as she walked around in front of Brandie showing off her boots.
"You sure do." Brandie told her just as proud of her own boots.
"So do you girl." Maggie said giving Brandie another wink and that
got Brandie to grin.
They got back to the truck and Maggie got into the passenger
seat. Brandie jumped into the driver's seat feeling good. That is until she
started to back out and she killed the engine. Maggie could see Brandie
blushing for killing the engine when the place was filled with cars and
people all around watching her or so she thought.
"The truck is loaded down with supplies so it needs more gas to
move." Maggie told her as she watched Brandie looking around to see who was
looking at her. "Don't worry about them, they don't care that you killed
it, they all had to learn to drive just as you are learning." Maggie told
her, "Now try again, we still have another stop or two to go yet."
Brandie tried again and while she almost killed it, she kept the
engine running and she got the truck back onto the road. The next stop was
the grocery store where Maggie got some of the staples that they needed
like salad dressing, flour, spices, etc. Then they were back on the road
only this time Maggie had Brandie stop at Wal-Mart.
"What do we need here?" Brandie asked as they got out of the truck.
"You'll see." Maggie said as she headed toward the store, with
Brandie quickly catching up with her. Maggie went straight to the women's
section where she stopped. "I noticed that you only had one small bag when
you arrived and I know that you have to be tired of wearing overalls all
the time so let's see if we can't get you some more things to wear.
"I'm getting used to the overalls now, I really don't need
anything." Brandie said as she looked at Maggie.
"Well if nothing else you'll need school cloths in a couple of
months and who knows when you'll get me back into town so let's see if we
can't pick you up a few things anyway." Maggie said and she saw Brandie
frown at the mention of school but she went on. "Go on and pick out some
jeans and a few blouses or whatever you want."
"You sure?" Brandie asked with her eyes staring at Maggie just to
see if she was being serious.
"Yes I'm serious, now let's do some shopping before I change my mind
and haul your butt back to the farm and put you to work." Maggie said
smiling as she gave Brandie a wink to make sure that she knew that she was
kidding.
Brandie's eyes lit up again and for a second they seemed to sparkle
as she looked at Maggie. Then Brandie did something impulsive as she
grabbed Maggie's hand leading her to the center of the women's clothing
section. Brandie went through the racks of blouses picking out a couple
that she liked. She tried to stick to the less expensive ones as she
looked. Maggie also looked through the blouses as it had been years since
she had shopped and she had forgotten how much she enjoyed shopping with a
friend to talk to about what the clothes would look like when they would
wear them. From there Brandie dragged her to the tee shirts which Maggie
watched as Brandie went for the wilder ones while she liked the tamer
ones. Next on Brandie's list was some jeans so that is where she
went. Maggie had long ago given up jeans for the more comfortable overalls
so she let Brandie pick a couple of pairs out, this time Brandie did go for
the name brand as she had never been allow to buy such jeans before. She
was only allowed to try on a couple of pairs at a time so Maggie went with
her to the dressing rooms standing outside the door with several pairs of
jeans in her arms as Brandie went into one of them.
Maggie's mind was a million miles away when she heard a sharp gasp
coming from inside the dressing room then a "Oh god!" Came from the other
side of the door.
"What's wrong honey?" Maggie asked suddenly worried then she
happened to see the size of the jeans that she was holding for Brandie and
she figured out what was probably the problem.
"I gotten fat!" Brandie cried out. "It's all that food you're making
me eat." Brandie told her.
"I don't remember forcing you to eat dear." Maggie told her.
"Yea but I could see it in your eyes that you wanted me to eat
more." Brandie said as she let out a sigh.
"Honey you're not fat, so let's just find some bigger pants and try
them on." Maggie said and then she heard a sob and she knew that she had
said the wrong thing. "Shit" Maggie said to herself.
"Brandie let me come in there a moment." Maggie told her as the
attendant gave her a dirty look and Maggie gave her a dirtier one back and
that kept the lady from telling her that there was only one person allowed
in the dressing room at a time, not to mention the several pairs of jeans
that were in her hands. As Maggie slipped into the small dressing room, she
saw Brandie with her new jeans up over her butt but the fly was open with
no hope of closing. She also saw that the top of Brandie's panties seemed
to be digging into her waist.
"See how fat I am now. This is the size of jeans I've always worn
and now I can't come close to fitting into them. I don't want to be fat!"
Brandie cried out.
"Baby you're not fat, not even close to it." Maggie assured her as
she sat down on the small bench in the dressing room. "Now turn around and
face me." Maggie told her and Brandie did so.
"I want you to reach down and pinch your belly and see if you can
feel any fat." Maggie told her and while Maggie could see that Brandie
thought that it was a big waste of time she went ahead and did it. "So are
you feeling a big roll of fat?" She asked her disbelieving friend.
Brandie tried to pinch the fat she thought was there but she
couldn't on the first try or the second nor the third try.
"Well?" Maggie asked.
"No I don't feel any fat but..." Brandie was saying before Maggie
stopped her.
"There is no buts to it. Turn sideways to the mirror and tell me if
you see a big belly or a flat one." Maggie told her.
Brandie looked into the mirror and stared at it for a moment before
answering then she said, "A flat one but look how big my ass is." Brandie
told her.
"Your ass is fuller and your thighs are fuller but they are
firm. You haven't gotten fat honey, you have firmed up. You are firmer and
stronger. The work you have been doing has made you into a beautiful young
woman. Ninety percent of the women in this country would kill to have your
body." Maggie said then she put her hands to Brandie's hips feeling how
rounded they had become.
"When you came to live with me you were slim as a bean pole but now
you have developed curves and become beautiful. The food that you are now
eating and the work that you are doing have brought out the beauty in you."
Maggie told her noticing this for herself.
"But I don't want to become muscle bound." Brandie said as she
looked into the mirror seeing herself in a new light and Maggie could see
that she was beginning to like what she saw.
"I have been working on this farm for most of my live, am I muscle
bound?" Maggie asked her.
"No, you're beautiful." Brandie said with eyes that seemed to glaze
over as she said it.
"Well I don't know about that but I'm not muscle bound. I just eat
healthy foods and I burn off the calories that I eat. That is what you are
doing. You are eating more but that food is helping you to build up your
muscles and it is filling out your body. It is making you look better and
feel better. Don't you have more energy now and you can work all day
without wearing completely out?"
"Yes but I am tired at the end of the day." Brandie told her.
"So am I but it is a good tired." Maggie told her and Brandie seemed
to agree. "How about us going back out there and finding you some jeans
that will show off that cute new ass of yours." Maggie said and that made
Brandie blush. "So you feel better about things now or do you want to stop
by that new work out center and let them measure your body fat ratio?"
"No that's okay, I believe you." Brandie said then she reached out
and gave Maggie a hug which took Maggie by surprise but she quickly
recovered and hugged Brandie back. Then Maggie slipped out of the dressing
room as she felt her own body start to glow from the contact from this
beautiful young woman.
Maggie waited outside as Brandie took off the ill fitting jeans and
put on her overalls. Maggie noticed that it was taking Brandie longer than
it should have and then she realized that Brandie was taking a moment to
see herself as she now was and not the thin waif that she was
before. Brandie eventually made her way back out of the dressing room and
they went back to the jeans section, getting a size that Brandie could fit
into. She then tried them on, coming out of the dressing room so that
Maggie could see just how beautiful she had become.
"How are you doing for panties and bras?" Maggie asked as they put
Brandie's jeans into the buggy.
"Well I have noticed that they are getting a bit tight." Brandie
admitted, I just thought that it was the way you washed them.
Maggie laughed then she said, "Well while we're here let's gut you
some new ones."
"Can I pick out any type that I want?" Brandie asked.
"Sure that it what this is all about, getting things that you need
but also some things that you want. However I would suggest that you get
some cotton bras and panties for working in the fields. I don't think
wearing thongs would be too comfortable out in the hot sun." Maggie said
grinning as Brandie blushed.
"Maggie!" Brandie said as she had to smile.
"Hey I was just giving you some friendly advice." Maggie said as she
pushed the buggy toward the lingerie section.
Once there, Brandie went through the bras first getting a couple
cotton ones that Maggie thought would fit her now. Brandie went to try them
on and she came back saying that they fit perfectly as she discovered that
she had gone from a A to a B cup. Brandie then places several that she
liked that were thin and comfortable into the buggy. Then she found some
nylon ones that were more stylish and the cup much thinner. From there they
went to the panties where again Brandie got several packs of plain cotton
briefs and then some nylon ones. And when she thought that Maggie had her
head turned, she got a pack of thongs. But Maggie did notice however she
didn't say anything as her mind thought about how Brandie would look in
them. As that thought went through her head, she tried to push it back out
which wasn't easy by any means.
"I don't know about you but I'm long past hungry." Maggie said as
Brandie very carefully maneuvered the truck out of Wal-Mart parking lot.
"Yea, I'm starving." Brandie said as she came to a stop at the end
of the parking lot.
"So what do you want to eat, it's your choice." Maggie said.
"Anything?" Brandie asked as she looked over at Maggie.
"Anything that you want." Maggie said wondering just what Brandie
would decide.
"Cool, I saw just where I want to eat on the way into town."
Brandie said.
"Lead on, my young lady." Maggie said as she sat back. She tried to
think of just what had caught Brandie's eyes and she knew that there was no
fast food places on this end of town which is what she figured that Brandie
would want.
Maggie listened to Brandie talk about the fun she had shopping and
the nice things that Maggie had gotten for her. She thanked Maggie over and
over again as she talked. At first this puzzled Maggie as to why Brandie
would be so thankful about getting some jeans and stuff but then she
remembered that Brandie had spent most of her teenage years in foster homes
where the clothes she got were probably second hand and gotten at GoodWill
stores. This was probably the first real shopping trip that she had been on
since her parents had died. For Maggie it was just going out to get Brandie
what she needed but now Maggie realized that for Brandie it was so much
more. As Maggie thought about these things, Brandie was talking away.
Talking more than she had talked since she had come to live with her.
Maggie cleared her head and started to pay more attention to what Brandie
was telling her. It was still mostly about the clothes that she had gotten
at Wal Mart but to Maggie's surprise she also talked about the new overalls
which were all hers and not hand me downs. As they nears the edge of town,
Maggie saw just where Brandie was heading, a pizza cottage that Maggie had
heard served great pizza and she had mentioned that to Brandie on the way
into town.
Seeing how it was long past the lunch hour, they had the place
mostly to themselves. Maggie had to admit that it had been much too long
since she had anything other than what she had grown herself and that maybe
now that Brandie was here, they should do it more often. Even when she went
to into town on her own, she always went in the early morning and was back
on the farm before lunch time. So Maggie let Brandie order the style and
toppings of pizza that she wanted. Then they talked as they waited for the
pizza to arrive and when it did, Maggie saw that Brandie had forgotten
about her fear of getting fat as she devoured one slice after another. They
were definitely going to do this more often Maggie thought to herself as
they talked and ate and Maggie also remembered how much she enjoyed the
pizza. When she was in college, she practically lived on pizza but she
hadn't had any since.
"Why haven't you ever learned to drive before now?" Maggie asked
Brandie as she got them back on the highway leading home.
"My last foster family had no extra money for insurance. Beside they
were just required to care and feed me but not do anything extra. So that
is why I put it on your list. I was hoping that you would teach me to drive
and you are. I really do appreciate you going out of your way to do
something like that. I mean this whole day has been great, one I won't
forget for a long, long time." Brandie said smiling.
"Hey it's no big deal, besides it'll help me. Now you can go into
town for me when I'm busy and don't have time. So it worked to my advantage
to teach you." Maggie said trying not make a big deal of it.
"All the same you are doing more for me than anyone else ever has."
Brandie told her and Maggie saw that Brandie was about to tear up.
"Hey you have helped me out a lot too. It works both ways, you know,
so if there is anything you need then just tell me. I may not be able to do
everything but I will try."
"Thanks," Brandie said and then they both grew silent as Brandie
slowly drove the truck back to the farmhouse.
After Brandie had taken her clothes inside and they both changed out
of their fancy boots and Maggie had put her old ones on while Brandie put
her new work boots on. They then set about getting back to work unloading
the truck putting the farm supplies where Maggie wanted them stored. Once
they were finished and they had checked on the cows, Maggie started supper
as Brandie put her new overalls onto wash. She sent them through a couple
of wash cycles as Maggie had suggested then added a little extra fabric
softener to get some of the newness out of them. Then after supper and
after Brandie had played with her dogs, as Maggie now referred to the three
collies who used to be loyal to her but now had turned their loyalty to
Brandie as she now fed them and gave them the attention that they loved,
Brandie talked Maggie into letting her drive the truck out to the end of
the drive. Maggie watched as Brandie almost skipped out to the truck
carrying the keys in her hands.
As the weeks passed, Brandie's driving skills improved vastly. But
then they had to as she dragged Maggie into the truck every chance that she
got. And Brandie let her make a some Saturday morning trips into town for
things that they needed. Maggie even sent her for things that they could do
without when she saw that Brandie needed some time to herself. The girl was
beginning to blossom right in front of her. She talked more but only from
the time after her parents died, it was like the time before that event
never existed. Maggie didn't bring it up allowing Brandie to talk about
her parents when she was ready. She wasn't sure if this was the right thing
to do or not. Time would give her that answer.
About a week before Brandie was to take her driver's exam, she was
out practicing her driving, when Brandie ran into her first trouble
driving. Maggie had gotten Brandie the State book on driving and Brandie
had it down pat within a day. Maggie didn't believe Brandie at first when
she said she was ready to take the exam so soon. So Maggie got the book
and started to test her on it. She tried easy questions first which Brandie
was answering before she finished asking the questions. So she went on to
harder and harder questions which also Brandie got right. Then she decided
try and trick Brandie with some questions just to shake her but Brandie
quickly saw through that and she answered Maggie's questions
correctly. Brandie was smiling brightly as she did this as she knew that
she had Maggie right where she wanted her and that was to let her take her
exam so that she could be legal. She still didn't want to get on the bad
side of the judge, even though he had stopped by a couple of times to see
her and Maggie and he seemed to be nice. He treated her with respect and
told her each time that if she needed anything at all then she was to call
him. Anyway, Brandie was out driving as Maggie sat in her rocker just
relaxing after a hard day out in the hot fields. The sun began to set and
Maggie began to get worried as Brandie was always back before it got
dark. So Maggie began to look out at the drive. She was about to go looking
for her when she saw a figure running up the road. She knew that it could
only be Brandie and something must have happened to the truck. She figured
that it must have broken down so she got up and started to walk toward
her. As Brandie got closer, she could see that Brandie was upset and was
hollering at her. So Maggie started to run toward her.
Brandie was crying when she got to her so Maggie hugged her tightly
as Brandie cried and she kept saying, "I'm sorry," over and over again.
"What happened baby? What are you sorry for?" Maggie asked as
Brandie began to calm down.
"I wrecked the truck, but it wasn't my fault, it ran right out in
front of me." Brandie sobbed.
"What ran out in front of you baby?" Maggie asked her as she put her
hands to Brandie's cheeks making her look into her eyes.
"A deer, it just ran from the corn field and it went right out in
front of me. The stupid thing just stood there in the middle of the
road. It just stood there!" Brandie said as she sobbed again.
"It's okay, they tend to do that around here. It is okay but what
happened to the truck, where is it?" Maggie asked her.
"I tried to avoid the deer and I veered to the side and the truck
went into the ditch. I know I tore it all to pieces. I'm so sorry but I
didn't know what to do. I didn't want to hurt that poor deer." Brandie said
as she started to cry again.
"Honey, it's okay, it's not your fault. Come on and let's get the
tractor and see how much damage was done." Maggie said smiling as she
started to lead Brandie back to the barn.
"You're not mad?" Brandie asked as she stood still.
"No honey, I'm not mad and besides I doubt that you hurt the truck
too much, it's pretty tough." Maggie told her as she took Brandie's hand,
pulling her toward the barn.
As Maggie started up the tractor, she told Brandie, "Next time go
ahead and hit the deer, it has been awhile since I have had some good
venison."
"You'd eat deer meat?" Brandie said then she added, "They're too
cute to eat."
"In a second girl, I love deer meat." Maggie told her.
"Gross," Brandie said as she wrinkled up her nose.
Maggie laughed as she thought about the jerky that Brandie loved to
chew on came from some deer steaks that the judge had given her last year.
Brandie then changed the subject back to the truck that she just
knew was totaled as she had tried to back it out of the ditch but it
wouldn't budge. The engine ran but the truck just sat there. Maggie kept
assuring her that it probably wasn't as bad as it looked and such was the
case. One of the rear wheels was off the ground and thus when Brandie tried
to back out, that was the wheel that turned and thus the truck wouldn't
move. So Maggie hooked up a chain to the rear of the truck and used the
tractor to pull it out of the ditch as Brandie steered the truck.
"Oh god, look at what I did to the fender." Brandie said as she put
her hands to her mouth as they both looked at the left side fender that was
dented in.
"Oh hell, it just gives the truck some character." Maggie said then
she turned going back to the tractor getting a big hammer. She used the
hammer to bang the fender from the tire. "See all better." Maggie told her.
"You're really not mad at me?" Brandie asked yet again.
"No honey, I'm just glad that you're not hurt. But next time, hit
the deer." Maggie said as she laughed making Brandie smile. "Now let's
head home, I'm getting tired and I do need a shower real bad."
"You want to drive the truck and I'll drive the tractor?" Brandie
asked hopefully.
"Nope, you're the one that drove the truck out here so you get to
drive it back." Maggie said as she went to back to the tractor.
"I figured that you'd say that." Brandie said under her breath and
Maggie smiled to herself.
The next week Maggie took Brandie into town to get her license. She
aced the written exam and John ,the cop that had stopped them the first day
that Brandie drove, was there to give Brandie her driving test. This scared
Brandie half to death as then John would know that she had driven without
her license but Maggie assured her that John wouldn't say anything about
that and he didn't. He did make Brandie drive all around town, hitting all
the stop lights and even made her hold the car on a hill so he would know
that she could indeed do that without rolling back too far. Again Brandie
passed with flying colors and she became a legal driver. Maggie then
treated her to a pizza lunch and they stopped to get Brandie added to
Maggie's insurance so that she would be completely legal.
When they got back to the farm, it was back to work. As summer began
to ebb away, the work picked up as they got ready for the harvest. They
also had the garden producing nicely so that meant that their evenings were
filled with canning and freezing the produce. This just made their days
longer and by the time that they were done, it was time to take their
showers and hit the bed. It was on one of these long nights that Maggie
forgot to put her towel around herself as she came out of the bathroom. She
looked up the hallway and she saw Brandie looking at her intently. Maggie
started to say that she was sorry but then she saw that look in Brandie's
eyes. So she just threw up her hands and went on into the bedroom. After
that night she stopped worrying about covering herself as Brandie didn't
seem to mind in the least. She didn't realize that Brandie had been hoping
night after night that Maggie would forget about covering herself after her
shower and that is why she always waited in the hallway for Maggie to
finish her shower when she could just have easily waited in her room.
As they moved into August, Maggie began to talk about getting
Brandie started into school. She kept asking Brandie just what she needed
to graduate as she really didn't know with all the foster homes that
Brandie had been into and the trouble that she had gotten herself into,
just what all she lacked. Brandie would always give her vague answers or
she would say that Maggie needed her too much on the farm for her to start
school. Maggie kept after her about it and she also tried to get Brandie to
tell her why she seemed to be trying to avoid going back at all. Maggie
knew that Brandie had to go and that was all there was to it. Maggie kept
after Brandie and Brandie for her part was doing a great job of deflecting
her. They were both beginning to get frustrated with it all.
So finally one day when it was nearing the start of school Maggie
was out in the field as Brandie tended to the garden and did some of the
canning that needed to be done, Maggie decided that she was just going to
have to lay down the law. There just was no away around it, Brandie was
going to have to go back to school whether she liked it or not. As she
neared the farmhouse, she saw a truck in front of the house and then she
saw two people sitting out on the front porch. She knew one was Brandie and
the other one was the Judge. Maggie got a feeling inside of her that this
wasn't going to be good. Something was up and her first thought was that
the judge was going to have to take Brandie away from her for some reason
or another but then she realized that he just wouldn't spring something
like that on her from out of the blue. He would have given her some type of
warning first. So if that wasn't it, then something else was. She just
wondered what it was.
"What brings you out here today?" Maggie said as she came up to the
porch after shutting down the tractor in front of the house.
"Oh nothing, just checking up on my two favorite girls." He said.
"I see, so you have adopted Brandie as your daughter too. I didn't
realize that you had developed such a relationship with her." Maggie said
as she sat down taking the glass of ice tea that Brandie offered her.
"Well sure, she's been a great help to you and she is such a nice
young lady." He said and to Maggie it seemed that he was emphasizing the
help to her a great deal.
It was then that Maggie begin to feel that she was being set up for
something. So she looked them both over carefully before she said anything
and then it was, "So what's up guys?"
"What makes you think that, we're not up to anything. I'm just out
here visiting and nothing else." He said as he put his hands up in the air.
"Then why is Brandie biting her lower lip and looking to you to tell
me what she so desperately wants you to tell me. And you are giving me that
look that you are famous for when you are about to set up some poor stupid
lawyer that thinks he has all the cards in his hard when he actually has
none." Maggie said as she sat back and watched them both twist in their
seats for a moment. It wasn't often that she had the judge backed against
the wall and she was enjoying it for this brief moment. But she knew that
it was her that would be having to do something that she didn't want to do
and there wasn't a damn thing she could do about it.
"Fess up guys." Maggie told them.
"Okay there is something that we want to talk to you about." The
judge said and he sat up straight as if he was about to address his
courtroom.
"Hold it there a minute judge, I think that this is something that
Brandie is wanting so I think that she needs to ask me and not you." Maggie
said as she turned her eyes to Brandie who looked like that deer caught in
front of her truck several weeks back.
Brandie switched her eyes to the judge hoping that he would save her
but he sat back and said, "She's right Brandie, you are the one that
started this so you ask her."
Brandie saw that she was trapped so she turned to Maggie and after
taking a deep breath she spilled it out in a rush, "I want you to home
school me."
"You want what?" Maggie asked not believing what Brandie was asking
of her.
"I want you to home school me. You said that you have a minor in
education and have even did some student teaching." Brandie said using
Maggie's words against her.
"I do but the teaching I did was with first graders and it was only
one semester. This is something completely different." Maggie said
completely taken by surprise by all of this and a bit angry that she was
set up like this where she was the only one that didn't have a clue as to
what was going on.
"Teaching is teaching and you can do this. I know just how smart you
are." The judge told her.
"Why are you taking her side?" Maggie asked.
"Because she asked me to and I told her I would help her in any way
that I could so when she called I listened to her request and then she
convinced me that this was something that would work out for both of you."
He said.
"Yea, I can study in the morning then help you in the afternoon. See
how it would be better for you to teach me instead of me being gone for
most of the day." Brandie said.
"Yes but what is best for you. I mean you need real teachers and not
someone that doesn't have a clue as to what she was teaching you." Maggie
told her trying to get Brandie to see the logic of her going back to a real
school.
"Maggie I think that this is the thing to do." The judge said and
from his tone, Maggie sensed that this was what he wanted.
"Okay, we'll give it a try but..." Maggie said.
"Great, well I got to get back to court. Why don't you two come over
to the house on Saturday and I'll cook up some steaks for us. See you
Saturday." He said as he gave Brandie's shoulder a squeeze as he gave her a
wink then he went to Maggie giving her a hug as she stood up. "Talk to
her." He whispered into her ear then he headed out to his car.
"Let's go fix some lunch." Maggie said after the judge had driven
off.
They went on inside going to the kitchen. Neither of them talked
much as Maggie pulled out some ground beef and she fried them up some
hamburgers as Brandie cut up some onions and tomatoes.
"So talk to me Brandie. Why is this so important that you pulled the
judge into it." Maggie said as she took a bit of her juicy hamburger.
"Are you mad at me for doing that?" Brandie asked.
"A little but I'll get over it." Maggie said honestly and Brandie
seemed to accept this.
"I knew I had to get his approval first, cause if he didn't agree
with it then it wouldn't matter if I could convince you. Then once I had
talked to him, he seemed to take it over from there and I let him. I
figured he could convince you better than I could." Brandie admitted.
"Yea he can get things done where I may not be able to but that
doesn't explain why you don't want to go back to school." Maggie told her.
Brandie put her hamburger down as she thought for a second. "This
will be the fifth new school for me in the past six years and I don't think
I can handle that again. I mean I have always been the new girl and to
make that worse, I didn't have parents but foster parents and they never
had time to deal with me. And I always seem to find a way to get in trouble
in school. I don't know why but I do. If I was here then I wouldn't have to
face all those strange looks and I could stay out of trouble." Brandie
told her and her story did tug at Maggie's heart strings.
"Honey, I can understand why you wouldn't want to have to attend a
new school but you can't hide out here forever. One day you will have to
face the world again and you need to be prepared for what the world has in
store for you." Maggie told her as she put her hand on Brandie's arm.
"But I like it here and I like being with you. The rest of the world
doesn't matter here and that is fine with me." Brandie told her.
"We'll try it but you have to work at it and help me help you. The
instant that you start to slack off or don't do the studying that I think
you should then your ass is going back to school. I won't argue or fuss
with you about this. It is up to you to make this work." Maggie told her
meaning every word that she was telling her.
"I promise, I'll make good grades and I will learn everything that
you ask of me." Brandie said smiling for the first time that day.
"You had better and in this school paddling is still allowed."
Maggie warned her.
Brandie looked at Maggie to see if she was serious and when she saw
that Maggie wasn't smiling this time then she replied with, "Yes ma'am."
The next day the superintendant of schools arrived with Brandie's
old school records and the books for the courses that she would need to
pass to graduate. He didn't seem very happy about Brandie being home
schooled and he let his feeling be known. Maggie took it for a moment then
he temper began to boil. The superintendant must have sensed this as he
chose this time to make his exit.
So that night Maggie went through the books trying to jog her memory
of courses that she had long since forgotten. Then the next morning, Maggie
put Brandie to work even though school didn't start for another couple of
weeks. Brandie knew better than to complain as she had gotten what she
wanted and she knew going in that she would have to work to earn her grades
not that she was too worried about that. She was smart and she knew
it. Her grades did not show her intelligence but that was because she chose
not to do very well in her classes, just well enough to pass. So every
morning after she had the dogs fed and the garden tended to, not that there
was much growing now that the summer was ending, she opened up her text
books and turned on Maggie's computer. Maggie turned out to be a strict
teacher as she made Brandie write lots of essays and work every problem at
the end of her math and science texts. Brandie usually had her lessons
done by ten and was heading out to wherever Maggie was to help her. Once
she was finished by nine and when Maggie saw her coming toward her she
thought that Brandie was slacking at her studies. Brandie however said she
had everything done that was assigned and even had read a couple of more
chapters of her history as she wanted to finish it early.
"So you got all your work done already?" Maggie asked as she showed
her doubt in her facial expression.
"Yea I did, don't you believe me?" Brandie asked and her expression
show her displeasure of being disbelieved.
"Yes Brandie, I believe you." Maggie told her but still there was
something that made her doubt her when she knew that she shouldn't.
"You know we can go back right now and I dare you to find anything
not done or any problem not solved correctly." Brandie said with a strain
in her voice that told Maggie that she had misjudged Brandie by not taking
her word right off.
"Honey I'm sorry. I believe you and I should have ever doubted
you. Please forgive me." Maggie told her trying to show Brandie that she
indeed believed her now and she was sorry that she doubted her.
"Okay but when we get back tonight I want you to check everything
carefully." Brandie told her.
"I will." Maggie told Brandie then she got Brandie to help her with
what she was doing, hoping that Brandie would forget that she had
questioned her.
After dinner that evening, Brandie brought out her books and she
laid them in front of Maggie telling her to look them over carefully and
she said the word carefully very clearing leaving no doubt in Maggie's mind
that Brandie was still a little pissed at her. So Maggie picked up the
first notebook and compared the answer that Brandie had to the answer she
had in her teacher's book.
"So did you find anything wrong? Brandie asked Maggie after she had
got done checking her work.
"No I didn't. You were right, you got it all completed and it was
done correctly." Maggie told her and she saw a grin come across Brandie's
face as she had gotten the better of Maggie. Maggie liked seeing this
defiance in Brandie's face as it was completely different from the look
that she had the first few days after she had arrived. It was then she
realized just how bright a girl Brandie was. So she worked Brandie just a
bit harder knowing that Brandie wouldn't have any trouble keeping up. She
knew at the rate that they were going, Brandie would be finished with all
her studies by Christmas. Then she knew what she would want Brandie to do,
but it was a matter of convincing Brandie of that, but that was a battle
that she would put off for now. Maggie did let Brandie forgo her studies
during the harvest time for the wheat and corn. She had Freddie and his two
sons over to help her with the harvest and then once it was up, she and
Brandie went over to his farm to help him out. But then it was back to her
studies.
Once the harvest was in, things began to slow down a bit around the
farm. Maggie used this time of the year to get the farm ready for
winter. She had lots of jobs that needed tended to that she had to put off
during the spring and summer. This was when she added lots of things to her
chore list but she also marked lot of things off of it. Brandie was
learning fast as she showed her how to do plumbing and carpentry to the
house and fixing things around the barn. She also went over the tractor
replacing everything that she could think of that might act up the
following summer.
It was at the end of October that Maggie began to notice a
difference in Brandie. The first thing that she noticed was that Brandie
had grown much quieter. It was getting harder and harder to get her to talk
about anything. She also saw that the smile that was often on her face
nowadays had disappeared completely. It was like she had reverted back to
the person that she was when she had gotten there. Maggie tried to get her
to talk about whatever was bothering her but the only response that she got
was "Nothing". It didn't take Maggie long to get to the point of
frustration. There was times she just wanted to go to Brandie and shake her
until she started to talk. As the days passed Maggie kept trying harder to
get Brandie to talk but that only left them both feeling
frustrated. Brandie also began to slack off on her studies. She was making
mistakes that she had never made before. And her essays went from being
clear and well thought out to almost a grade school level. Maggie was
getting worried about Brandie and thought about calling the judge to see he
she would talk to him about what was going on with her. As he and Brandie
had seemed to have become great friends since they had worked together to
get Maggie to home school Brandie.
However that was when the back talk began. Maggie let the first few
comments go as she just figured that Brandie was just going through a stage
in her life where she felt she needed more space. The only problem was that
Maggie had never been allowed to back talk her father and she felt his
wrath when she made the mistake of doing so. Now she knew how her father
felt when she back talked to him and she could now see why it upset
him. Maggie then began to warn Brandie about her back talking and that it
had to end as she wouldn't put up with it but that just seemed to make
Brandie do it more. Maggie took it for as long as she could but like all
people she had a breaking point and Brandie was fast approaching that
point. Maggie could also sense this anger in Brandie that was just below
the surface.
Finally after about three weeks of this Maggie had enough and when
Brandie had a comment that just ran all over Maggie, she drew a line in the
sand. She told Brandie that she had all that she could take and it was time
for Brandie to get her shit together. Then she went out to the barn to work
and cool off as Brandie worked around the house. At lunch, they both
remained quiet and Maggie thought that Brandie had decided that she had
gone as far as she could go and would back off. Supper went the same way
with Maggie trying to talk but Brandie just remained silent. Instead of
back talking, she had obviously decided not to say anything at all. And
again Maggie seemed to be able to see that anger in Brandie, she just
didn't know if it was at her or just who Brandie seemed to be angry
at. This wasn't much better as far as Maggie was concerned, to her it was
just another way for Brandie to back talk without actually doing it. Again,
Maggie let it go for the moment. She and Brandie had come too far for this
to happen. It was just a big mystery to Maggie. However she couldn't get to
the bottom of it if Brandie wouldn't talk to her.
So after supper, Maggie got the essay that Brandie was suppose to
write on The Great Depression of the twenties. This should have been an
easy essay for Brandie and one she would normally write with great
compassion but what Brandie gave her was about two paragraphs and basally
said that the stock market crashed and many filthy rich people killed
themselves over their loss of money and no there was mention of what effect
it had on the common person. There wasn't even anything on the soup lines
that came to be as there was so many people out of work and thus had no
money to buy food for themselves or their families. Maggie couldn't help
herself as she told Brandie, "What were you thinking? This is terrible, a
first grader could do better than this."
"Hey if you think that you could do better then you write the
fucking essay yourself. Then you could give yourself and fucking A!"
Brandie said letting a devious smile come across her face.
Maggie was taken aback by Brandie's comment and her use of language
that she had never used before. She had gone way past the line that Maggie
had drawn and had dared her not to cross. The worst part about it was that
Brandie seemed to be daring Maggie to do anything about it. "What did you
say young lady?" Maggie asked as she felt her face go red from anger.
"You heard me or did you turn deaf?" Brandie said as she folded her
hands across her chest and she had this smug smile on her face.
Maggie couldn't believe that Brandie was just sitting there daring
her to do something about what she said. Then she acted before she could
think about what she was doing. "Come here young lady and will see just how
deaf I am. I've had about as much of your mouth as I can stand. I don't
know what is going on with you these past few weeks but I think I know of a
good way to change that attitude that you have seemed to have developed."
Maggie said as she jumped from her seat taking Brandie by the forearm. She
pulled her up and she dragged Brandie to her bedroom. "Don't you move a
muscle and I'll be right back. And I would advise you to think carefully
about your attitude."
Maggie practically threw Brandie into her bedroom then she went to
her own bedroom. She went to her drawer throwing things out until she found
what she was looking for, her father's leather strap. This was what he had
used on her and it always got the results that he was after. Maggie didn't
think she had ever been this angry in her life but she had put up with
Brandie's mouth for far too long and she had given her every chance to come
clean with whatever was wrong. But Brandie had chosen not to take Maggie up
on her offers. So Maggie decided she had to do something to get Brandie's
attention. Maggie knew that she was too angry to face Brandie right then so
she sat down on the edge of her bed and made herself calm down. She thought
about what she was about to do and she tried to figure of another way of
solving the problem that Brandie had given her but she couldn't think of
anything that she hadn't already tried. If this didn't work then she didn't
know what she would do but she had to show Brandie that she meant what she
had said.
So after she had calmed down she got back up and she walked down to
Brandie's room. She opened the door and she saw that Brandie was sitting on
the edge of her bed. She saw Brandie look up at her and just for an instant
she saw something different in Brandie's eyes. There was this hurt, scared
look in her eyes. It was if Brandie was lost in that fear and pain. Then
just as quickly that look was replaced with the anger and defiance that was
there these past three weeks. Then as Brandie started to stand up, Maggie
noticed the calendar on Brandie's wall. It had every day of November that
had past crossed off up to that very day and it was circled. Maggie knew
there was something about that day that was important but she couldn't
place it for a second. She looked into Brandie's eyes again and she saw
that anger but as she looked deeper she saw all the hurt that was hidden.
Then it hit her like a two by four across the side of the head.
End of Part One.
To be continued...
Please let me know what you think of my story. I welcome all comments good
or bad. You can email me at numlfl@hotmail.com