After Tracy left, I held my arms out to Pam. She crawled into bed and let me hug her and give her a kiss.
“It’s good that I love you both, or I might be mad,” Pam said.
“If I thought you’d be mad, I would never have been with her.”
“I know.”
“You okay?” I asked.
“Do you love me?”
“Yes.”
“Show me.”
◊◊◊ Tuesday June 14
I awoke to the feel of someone pressing into my back. I rolled over and got licked in the face.
“Duke!”
His tail just thumped on the bed. Peggy must have allowed him on the bed while I was gone. I rubbed his ears; I’d missed him while I was away. It was time I got up, so I did so and walked down to the house to help Peggy get the boys ready for our run. Duke snuck into my parents’ room and didn’t want to come when we left.
My day fell into the routine I’d had yesterday. Coach Hope helped me work out, I practiced football and then baseball. The only difference was, Cassidy showed up with everyone after my baseball practice, and we did
◊◊◊
“Hey, Grandma,” I said as I came in the back door at the farm and gave her a hug. “What smells so good?”
“Yelena is making something and won’t let me in the kitchen. You’ll have to ask her,” Grandma Dawson said.
“You stay out. Ruin surprise,” Yuri’s grandmother ordered me while shaking a big wooden spoon.
My self-preservation instinct was still good, so I decided not to push it. I stepped out the back door with my grandma, and she walked me around the farm. They’d gotten a few chickens, and I commented on that.
“Yelena wanted fresh eggs.”
“Ah. How is it working out?” I asked.
“It’s not too bad. She and I get along, and with Jan around, we have someone to keep us amused.”
“So, Jan moved in?” I asked.
“Yelena thought it was for the best, and I agreed. Jan needs her own life instead of focusing on Yuri 24/7.”
“I bet he hated that.”
“He is typical man,” Grandma Dawson said in a faux Russian accent.
We both had a little chuckle at that. I could imagine Yelena saying just that.
“How are you liking the farm?”
“I’d forgotten how much work it is. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to keep doing it but then thought about the alternative. Honestly, I was bored out of my mind, being retired. Caryn, Megan, and Yelena have been a godsend. Yelena oversees the Mennonites and keeps them busy. Caryn and Megan take care of all the bookkeeping and ordering. Now I only have to worry about the big-picture stuff.
“I was happy when they finally finished working on the house. I was tired of living in the mess. Now that it’s done, I love it.”
I noticed that her smile was softer, more content.
I was impressed with the work that had been done. A lot of the decorative wood (floors, trim, cabinet faces) had come from black walnut trees here on the farm and crafted by a local woodworker. They’d also made furniture with it. Grandma had had them make me a bedroom set for when I got my own place.
“I was approached by someone from the State about the river,” she said to change the subject. “It has slowed and widened over the years. They say it has filled with silt, and that’s causing some problems with flooding. The State wants to dig out several feet of silt but wants us to pay for the work.”
“I’m sure it’s not just us. What do the other farmers think?” I asked.
“They don’t want to spend the money, but I have an idea. I talked to an Ag professor, and he agrees it has merit,” she proposed.
“Let’s hear it.”
“The State wanted a fortune to do the work. I talked to the other farmers, and they said that they could rent equipment and do what’s needed for about a tenth of the cost. What I want to do is use the silt for fertilizing the produce fields. Part of the project would be to put in gravel and sand to make a small beach area for the kids back here.
“I talked to the state agency representative, and he said they’d be willing to let us do it if they supervised. All that’s needed is for you to authorize the funds,” she said.
She told me how much. It didn’t seem like a lot when you compared it to what the State wanted to hit us with if they did it just for our section.
“Tell them they can go ahead if they give us our access bridge at the same time,” I suggested.
◊◊◊
I was glad I spent the time to walk the farm with my grandmother. She and I had gotten closer now that she’d come home, so to speak. I had been pleased when she stepped in to help resolve the rift between my parents over my dad’s infidelity. And I was even happier now, for a lot more reasons.
Once we got back, we found Zoe and her family in the living room. Zoe was helping Jan set the table. When Zoe saw me, she stopped what she was doing to give me a kiss.
“Look at the two lovebirds,” Roc chirped.
“Leave alone. They are good together,” Yelena announced. “Jan, please help.”
