I was scared of snakes too, but I wouldn't tell her that.
We rode along the bumpy road with the old man, until her turned on an even bumpier road where the dust seemed to fly up in bucket fulls. Julie turned her face into my chest to keep from inhaling all of it.
He pulls up into this large farmhouse, and it feels like we've been transported back to the early days, when people actually worked for a living. Farm tools and equipment, and animals galore. I see Julie beginning to smile, and I know what she's thinking.
She wishes she could sit and draw.
The old man parked near the house, which was a large farmhouse, with a wraparound porch, and large front facing windows. It looks like the type of place where an old couple would sit and drink their morning coffee together.
I can see the same thought running through Julie’s mind as she stares, admiring the beautiful scene before us. She was enchanted by it fairy tale imagery, just as I was.
She got out, and I grabbed our bags, I started to grab Liam's, but he came around and got them himself. Julie was leading Hilary to the house, and the old man was waiting with us.
“I'll take you to the rooms, but then I’ve got work to do, so you'll have to entertain yourselves,” he told us, but he said it in a light-hearted way. “We don't have a TV or anything, so unless you boys like playing charades,” he replied, laughing.
Liam grinned, and I actually laughed. “Is there anything I can do to help?” I asked.
He looked directly at me, then kept walking, a smirk on his face. “Do you know how to operate any farm equipment?” he asked.
I shook my head. “No sir, but I learn quick, and I don't mind doing anything manual,” I replied.
He nodded slowly, walking up the porch with us. He opened the screen door and smiled as I passed. “Get freshened up and meet me at the barn. Wear something comfortable,” he said.
He didn't follow us in, and the door shut behind us. I couldn't help it, I was suddenly giddy. The thought of exploring more of his farm had me feeling like a kid again.
We saw an old woman coming down the stairs, and she grinned as she stopped and looked at us. “There's more of you. Hello, boys,” she replied, and nudged up the stairs. “Follow me. The girls are up here.”
We did, and she lead us to the rooms. We each had one, which was nice, and she was letting us stay with each other. I had considered she might tell the boys to take one room and the girls another, but she didn't.
“My name is Rosemary, and I'm guessing you are Falon,” she said, looking to me. “And you're Liam.”
I nodded. “Yes ma'am.”
She smiled. “Dinner will be done in an hour. I'll call you when it's ready,” she replied.
“Is there any way I can help?” Julie asked, smiling from the side of the bed.
Mrs. Rosemary smiled in return and nodded. “Sure, if you want. The kitchen is on the right,” she replied. “Let me know if you need anything, kids.”
I went inside with Julie, and she was tucking our bags under the bed. “You'll be okay alone for a while, right?” she asked, smiling up at me.
I nodded, taking off my shirt. “Yeah. I'm going down to help in the farm,” I told her, and got beside her to take another shirt from my bag. She kissed my cheek and stood.
“My country boy,” she cooed. “I always knew there was a little bit of a farmer in you,” she replied.
“Yeah, it's written on my face,” I told her, slipping the shirt over my head. “And in my voice. Wouldn't you think all southern accents are country boys?”
Julie shook her head. “No, I wouldn't. There's a very large area between being country and being a fake,” she told me.
I smiled. “So, now I'm country?” I asked.
She shrugged noncommittally. “Let's see how you smell when you come in for dinner. Then I'll let you know.
♥
Mr. Harrison, the old man, was actually really awesome. We were mostly throwing hay into the back of his truck, but we talked to, and I suddenly felt like an adopted grandson.
Besides Ava, all of my family had either died, or never existed.
He talked to me about his children, what they were doing with their lives, how many kids they had, how proud he was of them, but I could hear beneath that how he wished they were around more too.
“What about you? What do you want to do with the rest of your life?” he asked me.
I started to give him my normal answer of 'I have no clue', but the truth was, I did have a clue. This road trip had proven to me that I had a very large clue.
“Honestly, I don't care what I do for the rest of my life,” I told him, and stopped. He looked to me, his old gray eyes staring at me inquisitively. “The only thing I want to do is be with that beautiful girl inside, and make her happy. I want to drive her around the world and show her how none of it is as beautiful as she is.”
I thought he might tell me how stupid that was, or go man on me and tell me that I sounded like a whipped baby, but instead, he smiled. “The sick one? Pretty smile?” he asked.
I nodded, and threw more hay on the truck. “She has leukemia. Third time. The only way to save her
