We lay on our backs under the cloudless sky, the sun's rays keeping our skin glossy with perspiration. A gentle breeze tickled. No words had yet been spoken, but I felt like our souls were forever entwined.
"I should get back to work."
"You probably should." Becky got up and headed behind the tree where she'd left her clothes. "I should find out if Lisa and Jack need anything."
"You'll keep your clothes on... right?"
She laughed.
I was serious.
Quickly, I got dressed and waited for her. Strange that she felt the need for privacy after we'd made love out in the open. Women -- they're weird.
My fingers were under my nose, enjoying the scent of Becky residue. When she stepped out fully clothed, I sniffed loudly, and said, "I'll be getting high on this while I plow."
She kissed my cheek. "I'll be thinking of you as your seed leaks into my panties."
'Seed' made me smile. I plowed and I planted. Now all I had to do was nurture.
After she left, the field plowing returned to its repetitive, mundane nature, which gave me time to think. Usually, I filled my days with distractions to thwart any self-examination or reflection. But the last few days opened my eyes to a future where catastrophic events can happen against my will. The realization that most of life was beyond my control was unsettling and, in a way, liberating.
After that small epiphany I felt restless. I wanted to put my future in fast forward and get things accomplished before fate screwed it up. Two hours later, the plowing was done and I parked the tractor behind the barn. A sigh of relief escaped, when I noticed Jack's truck was gone -- one less jackass to deal with. That left only me.
Entering the house was like entering a vacuum -- dead quiet. Did everyone leave with Jack? A moment of dread stilled my heart.
"Anyone home!"
A faint, "Upstairs," came back.
The temperature rose dramatically, as I ran up to the second floor. My heart leapt into my throat when I entered the master bedroom.
Clad only in pink panties, Becky leaned over and smoothed the clean bed sheet -- her flawless skin glazed with perspiration, the crotch of her panties dark from leaking seed.
"The Mets won," she announced, tucking the last corner, "in ten innings -- 2 to 1."
"Far out," I answered, mostly in response her nonchalant nudity. Baseball had retreated into the locker room of my mind.
I forced my lecherous eyes away and noticed the room had changed. "You've redecorated."
Placing her hands on her hips, she straightened up and smiled. "Yeah. I've decided this is my room now. I'm going to strip the wallpaper and paint this winter."
The photographs had changed some. A high school graduation picture of her brother, Jeremy, now hung on the wall alongside her parents and grandparents wedding pictures. Jealously, I wanted one of me to be front and center.
Her collection of Teddy bears lined the dresser, facing the bed, like a crowd of cuddly voyeurs. I had the impression she was clinging to childhood memories -- focusing on happier days.
"Where's Lisa?"
Becky picked up a pillow and stuffed it into a pillowcase. "On her way to San Francisco... with Jack."
"What!"
"Jack wanted to get away from home, and Lisa offered him chauffer services... among other things, I'm sure. She wants to see Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young at Winterland -- in November. Jack wants to see Led Zeppelin."
A weight lifted from my shoulders. "Sounds like a match made in Haight-Ashbury."
"He said you could probably get a job with his father... That is, if you want to hang around."
I hesitated with my answer. Not because I thought of leaving, but because farming was not my life's ambition.
Becky apparently misunderstood my hesitation, and declared, "I'm fine now. There's no reason for you to stay. Go back to school."
Picking up the naked pillow on my side of the bed, I slipped it inside a clean pillowcase, and asked, "Are you trying to get rid of me?"
Now she hesitated. The damp spot between her legs made me think this was possibly an authentic pregnant pause.
Through the open windows, the sound of tires crunching on the gravel driveway interrupted our conversation. A black, Buick Electra parked next to the front porch.
Hurriedly, Becky began to dress.
"I'll go see who's here," I said, heading out the bedroom door.
Exiting the house through the back and walking around front, I tried to give the impression I'd come from the barn. Three motherly types, and Sandy Roberts from the hardware store, stood on the front porch.
"Hi, Ladies. Beautiful day."
Sandy smiled warmly, as the other women eyed me with suspicion. "Hello again... I never got your name."
"Don Carter."
"How's the painting going, Don?"
"I just got started. So far, so good."
A lady in a sunflower print house dress, holding a casserole dish, asked, "Is Becky available?"
With perfect timing, the front door opened and Becky stepped onto the porch.
I pointed, and asked, "Is that her?"
Sandy was the only one who laughed.