A few years ago, I had some friends that lived above my property in the mountains. They were into the homesteading thing; building their own house, doing the wiring, plumbing and all the other shit that goes with it. They were from up north, but I didn't hold that against them, as they were friendly and anxious to please. When we met, I was on my four wheeler, riding around in the forest between our houses, checking out a new source of firewood for the coming winter. I had stopped to smoke a cigarette, when I heard someone call for help. I ran deeper into the forest, following the voice, until I finally saw a man with his chainsaw lodged in a tree. He was trying to push the tree in the opposite direction, to take the weight off his saw so that he could remove it. I ran up to him and helped push the tree enough for him to retrieve the saw.
"Thanks for your help," he said.
"No problem." I replied, "Glad I was around here when you needed me."
"Yeah, I'm glad you were around too." He said. "I always have trouble cutting some of these trees. They never seem to fall where I want them to."
"It helps if you know what you're doing," I said, not unkindly. "It took me the longest time to figure it out and that was with a guy showing me how to do it."
"By the way," he said, laughing, "My names John Rivers. My wife and I live just over that rise behind you."
"Yeah, I'd heard you all were up here." I said, "I was just waiting for the right time to introduce myself. The names Jim Higgins, and I live down the mountain, a mile or so from here."
"Well, I think your timing was perfect!" He said as we shook hands.
He invited me to his house to meet his wife and have a drink with them. I said that I'd like that and asked if he wanted to ride over on the back of the four wheeler. He said he'd just go across the rise and meet me there. He told me which trail to use and I left him and started over on my own.
Ten minutes later, I pulled onto his freshly graveled driveway, and rode up to a nice looking log home. He came out of the house and with him was his wife. She was a nice looking woman, tall, short brown hair, bright eyes and a clear complexion. She was dressed in a white t-shirt and tight jeans that accentuated her hips and long legs. She had small breasts, and I could tell that she wasn't wearing a bra, because her nipples strained against the fabric of her shirt. She turned to close the door behind her and I noticed that her ass was filling out those jeans, exactly the way the designer intended.
They stepped off their porch and walked over to me as I dismounted from the bike.
"Jim, I'd like you to meet my wife, Laura." He said, "This is the guy that saved my saw from being forever stuck in a tree."
"It's very nice to meet you Laura, I'm Jim Higgins." I said. "As I told your husband earlier, I've been meaning to get up here and say hello, but just never got around to it."
"Well, you have now, and I thank you for helping John." She replied, as she held out her hand to me. I took it and she gave my hand a firm squeeze, that perhaps, lasted a moment too long, "It's nice to meet you," and then released it.
We went inside and I made the obligatory comments about their house, which was still under construction. Both of them liked to work with wood and it showed. What work had been finished, was done very well; the attention to detail was such that you didn't see in most homes built for the commercial market.
"Can I get you something to drink?" Laura asked, as she stood by the refrigerator. "A beer or a soft drink, perhaps?"
"A beer would really hit the spot." I told her. "And I'll just drink from the can, if you don't mind."
She handed me the beer and gave one to her husband, then went to a small chest freezer in the corner and removed a half gallon jug covered with frost, and unscrewed the top.
"Oh Lord," John said laughing, "This is the end of the official workday for her. She's getting into her moonshine."
"You know I don't like the taste of beer, John, and besides, this is what mountain folk drink when they have company. Right, Jim?"
"Some of the ones I know around here sure do." I said, "And it doesn't seem to matter whether they have company or not."
We all laughed and I was directed to sit in a chair, while they took seats on their couch across from me.
How old are you Jim?" Laura asked, not beating around the bush.
"I'm fifty six in a few months, if I can make it that long." I told her, smiling at my own humor.
"I swear, John, he doesn't look a day over forty, does he?" She said with a twinkle in her eye, as she took her first drink of the potent, homemade alcohol.
"Flattery will get you everything," I jokingly replied, looking straight into her eyes. "If you keep that up, you're going to make me blush."
"How old are you, Laura?" I asked, because fair is fair.
"We're both fifty two, but I feel much younger than that. She replied, raising her eyebrows.
"I've got to warn you Jim, when she gets into her shine, you can never tell what she's going to say next." John said. "She's sometimes very outspoken that way."
"It won't bother me." I replied looking at her, "I enjoy a conversation mixed with a little good fun."
I guess we sat and talked and drank for the rest of the afternoon. I had one hell of a buzz going and I know John did. He could hardly talk coherently, and had to be helped to the bathroom on his last visit; but Laura, on the other hand, was quite talkative and animated in her conversations with me. We covered just about everything under the sun and I'm sure we thought that we had solved several of the world's most pressing problems in one afternoon.
"I have to go now or I'll never make it home." I announced suddenly. "It's almost dark and my bike doesn't have working headlights." "Plus," I continued, "I'm almost as fucked up as a can of worms."
"How about one more beer for the road?" She asked, as she walked over to the freezer to get herself another drink. "Come on, Jim, I thought we were having fun. You sure you won't join me?"
"Well, it's against my better judgment, but what the hell, ok, I'll take another beer." I replied.
