It was still dark out when I woke up. Sherry was asleep next to me. I lay there looking up at the ceiling dreading my meeting with Sherry's father. The thought of getting fired pounded at me. I wanted to keep my apprenticeship and I didn't want to leave Sherry. What would I do if he said, "I warned you to stay away from my daughter--you're fired!"
I decided to get up, go to the farm and do the morning chores. The only thing John knew was that I saw Sherry on the road and helped her get her car to the garage. I got dressed and then sat on the bed next to Sherry,looking down at her sleeping so peacefully. I gently touched her hair and then her cheeks, admiring how beautiful she was. I touched her shoulder to wake her and tell her my plan.
She looked up at me then closed her eyes. "How come you're up?" she asked, keeping her eyes closed.
"I'm going back to the farm to do the chores and hope your dad thinks I was in my cabin all night."
"Cool idea," Sherry mumbled. "I'll see you later." She opened her eyes and looked up at me. She lifted her head and then took my hand. "Don't let him fire you," she said. "Be strong and stand up for yourself."
She gave my hand a squeeze then plopped her head back down on the pillow and closed her eyes.
It was still dark and I was certain that John would not see me drive my truck down to my cabin. I noticed the sun was just coming up over the trees in the pasture. Sunday was a day off on the farm, but the chores still had to get done. The cow had to be milked, the pigs and chickens fed, the sheep let out of the barn so they could get to the pasture, shoveling manure and wheeling it to the compost pile. The whole routine took a little under an hour. I looked at my clock then went to the window to see if there were any lights on in the house.
I knew Sherry was getting picked up at the motel by Jenny around nine and assumed she would come straight to the farm. My only worry was that John might have gone into town and saw my truck parked outside the Riverside Motel. I don't know what I'd say if he happened to see my truck there. I shook that thought away as an unlikely scenario. Why would John be going to town on a Saturday night?
While I walked up to the barn to do the chores, I saw the light go on in the kitchen. The milk bucket was on the porch at the house. I grabbed it on the way to the barn. Chelsea, the cow was in the pasture and I saw her walking down the path from the pasture. I always milked at the same time each morning so her biological clock knew. It was uncanny how she and I arrived at the barn at the same time. She just waddled into her stall, while I poured grain into her hopper. I got my stool and leaned against the cow's warm body and started milking. When I finished, there were three barn cats sitting by their empty bowls waiting for me to pour some milk for them.
When I got up to the kitchen, Mary was sitting at the table with a cup of coffee. I put the milk on the counter, got the filter and two gallon jars and poured the milk though the filter. While pouring, I noticed Mary had the flour out, a big mixing bowl and was getting ready to make bread.
"Have a nice night in town?" she asked.
"It was okay, nothing special," I answered, wondering why she asked and hoped she wasn't suspicious.
"I heard you helped Sherry when her car broke down," she said.
"Yes. I just happened to be driving by when I saw her. I had a chain and hitched her Saab to my truck and pulled it to the garage in town." I didn't like lying but didn't know what else to say.
"John's pretty upset," Mary said.
"He shouldn't be. I didn't plan to be with Sherry. I just saw her car broken down. I couldn't just keep going and not stop to help."
"John's suspicious about anyone that comes near Sherry," Mary said, "Especially apprentices."
Mary went to the stove and poured herself another cup of coffee then looked at me.
"Pete, you're one of the best apprentices we've had in years and we'd hate to lose you, but John is a man of his word and he can be pretty stubborn."
"I don't want to get fired. I love working here and I'm learning so much."
"That's good, but John's very protective of Sherry. We home schooled her and John has ideas about what he wants for her. She's very precious to him, actually to us, but he sees her as someone special."
"I see," I said. "She is pretty smart and talented, but I don't understand what he thinks I'm going to do to her, if we're friends." Then I remembered that we had been fucking each other and was sure he wouldn't like that, if he knew.
"John worries about Sherry," Mary said as she picked up the mixing bowl and moved it closer to the sink. "Well, I better get this bread started."
"I love to bake," I said. "In fact, I know how to make bagels."
"You do," Mary said. "I've always wanted to learn. John loves bagels, but we hardly ever buy them because we make our own bread."
"I worked as a baker when I was in college. We made great bagels everyday. "
"If you want, I'll show you how. We can make bagels and surprise John."
"Okay, let's do it," Mary said. "I really want to learn." I could see from how Mary responded and how much she and Sherry were alike.
"We have to boil water in that big pot. Making bagels is pretty easy, but they get boiled in sugar water before they get baked."
"These are whole wheat and honey bagels," I said. "I know the recipe like the back of my hand. I just have to adjust for a smaller amount than we made at the bakery."
We got started. Mary was a good baker and it was easy to get the dough mixed. I showed her how to roll and shape the bagels. Then we put them in the boiling water until they doubled in size, then onto a baking sheet and got them in the oven. The kitchen had the wonderful smell of bread baking.
"There's nothing like the smell of fresh bread baking," I said.
"John is going to be impressed when he sees these bagels," Mary said.
We were taking the bagels out of the oven when John came down the stairs and into the kitchen. It was a little after eight. I had on a white apron that Mary had lent me and was spilling the bagels from the baking sheets into a big wooden bowl.
John walked over to see what we were doing. "Bagels," John said. "They look great."
"Pete just taught me how to make them," Mary said. "Don't they smell wonderful?"
"So you're a baker," John said, lowering his nose to the bowl of bagels.
Then he stood up and looked at me. "We've got to talk," he said. "I know you were with Sherry last night."
"You're right. I was heading into town and saw her car broken down, so I helped her." I was disappointed that the bagels didn't get his mind off of his concern about me and Sherry.
"That's not all you, did, Pete," John said.
"What do you mean?"
"I drove into town after I talked to Sherry and saw your truck."
"You did. Where did you see it?" I was sure he was going to say he saw it at the Riverside Motel, then I decided to tell him, "Sherry and I had dinner at the Bangkok after we dropped off the car. She wanted to treat me to dinner for helping her."
"And then what?" he asked.
"Nothing, that's it," I lied. "Her friend, Jenny came and got her."
"I don't believe you, Pete," he said.
"You don't."
"I know something is going on with you two and I don't like it."
Mary was listening but then she sliced a bagel and spread butter on it. She took a bite and said, "Wow, this is the best bagel I've ever had."
She handed John the other half and said, "You've got to taste this bagel."
John took a bite and stopped talking while he chewed. I don't know where I got the courage to say what I did, but I decided I had nothing to lose. While he was chewing the bagel, I took my apron off and threw it over the chair.
"I have to say something to you John so please hear me out." I cleared my throat. "I know you don't want me hanging around Sherry and I'm not sure what the problem is but I don't want to leave the farm. I love being an apprentice and learning from you."
John looked at me surprised.
"I don't want to be lumped in with all apprentices. That's not fair. I want to have my own homestead one day and I know you want to protect Sherry, but you'll never find as dedicated an apprentice as me. You would be making a huge mistake, if you fired me."
"Really," John said, holding the bagel away from his mouth and listened.
"Yes, I'm serious about farming and I'm a hard worker and now, I want you to tell me what you're so worried about? What do you think I'm going to do to Sherry that worries you? I want to know why I should stay away from her."
Mary looked at me with her mouth open. John looked stunned by my questions. I don't think he had ever been challenged like this before. I could not believe the words pouring out of my mouth.
John just looked at me then glanced at the bagel and inch from his mouth.
While I was waiting for him to respond, I heard a loud engine outside and turned to see who was coming. I saw a motorcycle drive up to the house and saw it was Sherry sitting in back of a girl wearing a black leather jacket and black jeans.
Sherry took off her helmet and then the two girls hugged each other. Mary went out on the porch and waved. "Hi Jenny, come on in and get a fresh bagel we just made."
"I only have a minute," Jenny yelled back and the two girls walked up to the house.
