pushed her hair back. "She's twentyeight, Jess," said Rose. "According to Daddy, it's almost too late to breed her. Ask him. He'll tell you all about sows and heifers and things drying up and empty chambers. It's a whole theoretical system."
Jess laughed. "I remember that about your father. He always had a lot of ideas. He and Harold could sit at the kitchen table and eat a whole pie, wedge by wedge, and drink two or three pots of coffee and one-up each other."
"They still do that," said Rose. "You shouldn't think something's changed just because you haven't seen it in thirteen years.
Jess looked at her. I said, "I guess you remember that Rose always offers her unvarnished opinion. That hasn't changed, either." He smiled at me. Rose, who is never embarrassed, said, "I remembered something, too. I remembered that Jess used to like his mom's Swiss steak, so that's what I brought." She lifted the lid on her dish and Jess raised his eyebrows. He said, "I haven't eaten meat in seven years.
"Well, then, you're probably going to starve to death around here.
There's Eileen Dahl, Ginny. She sent me those flowers in the hospital.
I'm going to talk to her." She strode away. Jess didn't watch her.
Instead, he lifted the lid on my dish. It was cheese garbanzo enchiladas. I said, "Where've you been living, then?"
"Seattle, lately. I lived in Vancouver before the amnesty."
"We never heard you'd gone to Canada."
"I'll bet. I went right after infantry training, on my first leave."
"Did your dad know?"
"Maybe. I never know what he knows."
"Zebulon County must seem pretty ordinary after that, after being in the mountains and all."
"It is beautiful there. I don't know-" His gaze flicked over my shoulder, then back to my face. He smiled right at me. "We'll talk about it. I hear you're the closest neighbors now.
"To the east, I guess so.
I saw my father's car drive in. Pete and Ty were with him, I knew that. But Caroline was with him, too. That was unexpected. I waved as she unfolded out of the car, and Jess turned to look. I said, "There she is. That's my husband, Ty. You must remember him, and Pete, Rose's husband. Did you ever meet him?"
Jess said, "No kids?"
"No kids." I gave this remark my customary cheery tone, then filled in quickly, "Rose has two, though, Pammy and Linda. I'm very close to them. Actually they're in boarding school. Down in West Branch."
"That's pretty high class for your average family farmer."
I shrugged. By this time, Ty and Caroline had made their way to us through the crowd, peeling off Daddy at the group of farmers standing around Harold and Pete at the tub of iced beer. Ty gave me a squeeze around the waist and a kiss on the cheek.
I got married to Ty when I was nineteen, and the fact was that even after seventeen years of marriage, I was still pleased to see him every time he appeared.
I wasn't the first in my high school class to go, nor the last. Ty was twenty-four. He'd been farming for six years, and his farm was doing well. A hundred and sixty acres, no mortgage. Its size was fine with my father, because it showed a proper history-Ty's dad, the second Smith boy, had inherited the extra farm, not the original piece of land. There'd been no fiddling with that, which went to Ty's uncle, and amounted to about four hundred acres, no mortgage.
Ty's dad had shown additional good sense in marrying a plain woman and producing only one child, which was the limit, my father often said, of a hundred and sixty acres. When Ty was twenty-two and had been farming long enough to know what he was doing, his father died of a heart attack, which he suffered out in the hog pen.
To my father, this was the ultimate expression of the right order of things, so when Ty started visiting us the year after that, my father was perfectly happy to see him.
He was well spoken and easy to get along with, and of his own accord he preferred me to Rose. He had good manners, one of the things about a
Jess laughed. "I remember that about your father. He always had a lot of ideas. He and Harold could sit at the kitchen table and eat a whole pie, wedge by wedge, and drink two or three pots of coffee and one-up each other."
"They still do that," said Rose. "You shouldn't think something's changed just because you haven't seen it in thirteen years.
Jess looked at her. I said, "I guess you remember that Rose always offers her unvarnished opinion. That hasn't changed, either." He smiled at me. Rose, who is never embarrassed, said, "I remembered something, too. I remembered that Jess used to like his mom's Swiss steak, so that's what I brought." She lifted the lid on her dish and Jess raised his eyebrows. He said, "I haven't eaten meat in seven years.
"Well, then, you're probably going to starve to death around here.
There's Eileen Dahl, Ginny. She sent me those flowers in the hospital.
I'm going to talk to her." She strode away. Jess didn't watch her.
Instead, he lifted the lid on my dish. It was cheese garbanzo enchiladas. I said, "Where've you been living, then?"
"Seattle, lately. I lived in Vancouver before the amnesty."
"We never heard you'd gone to Canada."
"I'll bet. I went right after infantry training, on my first leave."
"Did your dad know?"
"Maybe. I never know what he knows."
"Zebulon County must seem pretty ordinary after that, after being in the mountains and all."
"It is beautiful there. I don't know-" His gaze flicked over my shoulder, then back to my face. He smiled right at me. "We'll talk about it. I hear you're the closest neighbors now.
"To the east, I guess so.
I saw my father's car drive in. Pete and Ty were with him, I knew that. But Caroline was with him, too. That was unexpected. I waved as she unfolded out of the car, and Jess turned to look. I said, "There she is. That's my husband, Ty. You must remember him, and Pete, Rose's husband. Did you ever meet him?"
Jess said, "No kids?"
"No kids." I gave this remark my customary cheery tone, then filled in quickly, "Rose has two, though, Pammy and Linda. I'm very close to them. Actually they're in boarding school. Down in West Branch."
"That's pretty high class for your average family farmer."
I shrugged. By this time, Ty and Caroline had made their way to us through the crowd, peeling off Daddy at the group of farmers standing around Harold and Pete at the tub of iced beer. Ty gave me a squeeze around the waist and a kiss on the cheek.
I got married to Ty when I was nineteen, and the fact was that even after seventeen years of marriage, I was still pleased to see him every time he appeared.
I wasn't the first in my high school class to go, nor the last. Ty was twenty-four. He'd been farming for six years, and his farm was doing well. A hundred and sixty acres, no mortgage. Its size was fine with my father, because it showed a proper history-Ty's dad, the second Smith boy, had inherited the extra farm, not the original piece of land. There'd been no fiddling with that, which went to Ty's uncle, and amounted to about four hundred acres, no mortgage.
Ty's dad had shown additional good sense in marrying a plain woman and producing only one child, which was the limit, my father often said, of a hundred and sixty acres. When Ty was twenty-two and had been farming long enough to know what he was doing, his father died of a heart attack, which he suffered out in the hog pen.
To my father, this was the ultimate expression of the right order of things, so when Ty started visiting us the year after that, my father was perfectly happy to see him.
He was well spoken and easy to get along with, and of his own accord he preferred me to Rose. He had good manners, one of the things about a
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