Farm Holiday

" Milktec Industries proudly presents: Orange Creme! Specially made for the Halloween season, our new Orange Creme will have your whole family standing in line at the icebox! Maybe even some of the neighbors, too! Our scientists have been hard at work introducing new flavors into our wonderful variety of Milktec products. Strawberry! Chocolate! And, of course, Classic! Bring a sampler selection to your next community picnic! Have an ice cold bottle with a friend or relax after a hard day's work with a warm mug. Milktec is already perfect for any occasion, but we strive to make it even more special for each special day! So this Halloween, celebrate safely as ghouls or goblins. and get your daily dose of vitamins and minerals from a tall glass of Milktec Milk! And now, back to the Milktec Industries Hour of Horror....tonight's episode, 'The Haunting Romance of Alistar Trowen!'"

"Barbara, turn that radio off and come to supper," her mother called.

Barbara wrinkled her nose in protest, but obeyed. She wanted to stay on her parents good side. Too many of her evenings had been ruined by starting an argument with her mother. Barbara held tightly to an adamant belief that she could do what she liked as an eighteen year old, even though her parents maintained strict policies so long as she continued to live with them. Her father said she could make her own rules when she married, but Barbara saw nothing new on that front any time soon. All of the other girls from her graduating class had gone off to college or gotten married right away.

Even though her mother had been anxious to see her married, her parents seemed slightly alarmed at the sheer number of young couples getting hitched right out of school. They stopped going to the weddings altogether after a while. Barbara knew the group weddings broke the camel's back for her mother. Barbara thought the girls aways looked so pretty. They wore white, and the men, mostly the guys they'd been dating in high school but a few college boys who'd waited, wore their best suits. They all looked so happy together. Her mother grumbled about the girls marrying for the wrong reasons and even alluded to some indecent behavior on the part of more than one girl. Barbara overheard her gossiping on the phone about a neighbor girl believed to be at least two months pregnant by the time she finished her vows. Barbara's father had his complaints as well. He kept saying young folks were too eager, but her father complained about pretty much everything. Each morning he would see a new article about Milktec in the paper and claim the company was ruining America, but then he'd have his glass of milk all the same. Barbara attributed it all to her parent's generation being too different.

She went into the dining room and patted her father on the back. He smiled and asked about her day. His eyes drooped with fatigue, and Barbara could see his aches and pains in the way he held his shoulders. Another albatross around her neck was her fathers insistence on continuing to work until she wed. She may as well own two fog horns blaring "Get married!" and "For the right reasons!" one after the other in a dissonant cacophony. Her mother brought in a final platter of roast beef.

"Looks wonderful as always, dear." Barbara's father grabbed the bowl of potatoes and started to fill his plate. For a while only the clinking of silverware on dishes filled the room, but finally her father resumed the conversation. "I spoke with Mike Johnston today."

Her mother's eyes sparkled with interest, "How is Mike?"

"Fine, fine. Had some trouble with his mother a few months back. Seems she had a fall and needed someone to take care of her. Mike couldn't take off from the factory to handle it, but his boy, Josh, skipped a semester to go up to Rochford and look after her."

"Josh was always such a nice boy. I heard from Emily Mason that he was studying to be an engineer. You see all those advertisements for civil engineers these days. Seems they can't keep enough of them. Not to mention Milktec."

Barbara's father rolled his eyes, "Bah, Milktec. Plenty of honest work without joining up with that lot."

Her mother gave him a severe look, "You were saying about Josh though."

"Oh right. I think he's going to be in town for Thanksgiving in a few weeks. Mike's sure proud of him and says the boy is looking to settle down. Hell, these days he's ancient for being single at twenty one."

"I remember him from school. Tall and gangly. Always had his pimply nose in a comic book," Barbara said casually. Her mother tried this at least twice a week. Her father would run in to an old friend who just happened to have a single son about Barbara's age.

"Don't be so quick to judge, young lady," her mother snapped. "Looks aren't everything. A good husband is one who can provide for his family and love them. Contrary to what your radio plays or romance books tell you, marriage isn't about staring at each other's face all day and night. You find someone who can help take care of you, and you get on with it."

Barbara wanted to snap back. She wanted to berate her mother about her own marriage. Barbara had been told the story from the time she could remember. Her mother turned down suitor after suitor, most of whom were better off and had better prospects than her father, but she waited all the same. Instead, Barbara held her tongue and chose a different tactic. "I'm sorry. That's nice to hear about Josh. He was also a sweetheart back in school. I'd like to see him and catch up. I'm sure he hasn't heard about all of the changes around here." Barbara's acquiescence left her mother grinning while her father chewed a mouthful of roast with relief he wouldn't have to continue the plot any longer.

Her mother asked about work and other mundane things. Barbara kept her head down and ate nervously. She waited for a break in the conversation to finally speak, "I thought of going to a small party tonight."

"Oh?" her mother said, eyeing her carefully. "With whom?"

"Vera. She's started dating a boy from the county. Hank Jones. They're having a small Halloween party at his farm. A small thing. Soda and cake, I suppose."

Her father took another scoop of potatoes, "I know Hank. Well, Hank the first, the boy's father. Not well, but I've never heard anything bad about him. His boy though...I've heard he was a troublemaker."

Noticing her mother's face souring, Barbara added, "Well, Vera sees something in him. I don't know him well, but I wouldn't be going to see him. Vera says a lot of the singles from the county will be there. It would be nice to meet some new people, and maybe dance a little."

Though she waited for her mother's disapproval, it was her father who spoke first, "The county? Any from that...'farm' run by Gabriel Stevens?" Her mother let out an audible gasp.

Barbara genuinely didn't know anything about the Stevens's farm, but guessed it was a quick path to prohibiting her trip. "Of course not. Vera doesn't associate with those kind of people and neither do I. You raised me better." She held her breath to see if the bluff worked. Her father peered at her carefully for a few seconds, but then shrugged and turned his attention back to his meal.

Looking to her mother, she could see an internal struggle between wanting to preserve her daughter's chastity and wanting to marry her off. Taking the lead from her husband, "If you promise to be back by your curfew, I don't see anything wrong with it. We don't mean to keep you shuttered up here, of course, but we do want you to be safe. A lot has changed since we were kids. The things your generation has...well, I won't talk about it. But you hear one word about that Stevens farm, you grab Vera and drag her back to her house, Hank Jones or no Hank Jones."

"I'll do just that," Barbara replied. She ate the remainder of her dinner quickly, but not in a rush. She could barely contain her excitement of being free for the evening. Once a suitable time had passed, she excused herself and rushed upstairs to get ready.

***

"Vera, what on earth are you wearing?" Barbara asked as she hopped into the car. "And how did you get your dad to let you drive?"

Vera giggled. "He doesn't exactly know. I was only supposed to use it for an emergency, but my parents are gone on their anniversary. Don't you like my costume?" Vera leaned back in her seat to show off the dress. Barbara recognized it as one of the surplus dresses the local military store carried. Girls would buy them and use them as a template to create new patterns and such, which seemed to be what Vera had done. She'd laid large black spots across the white dress to mimic the pattern of a dairy cow. Around her neck she wore a small bell and she'd made a pair of felt, floppy ears attached to a headband. "I'm a cowgirl!"

Barbara admired her work, but worried about the idea. "Vera, you know what that implies right? People will think you're like one of those...Milktec girls."

"Hucow, Barb, you don't have to be embarrassed to say it. You know, not everyone is as stuck up as your mom and dad any more. Why do you think all of our girlfriends from school were so eager to get married? They found the right boy and signed up immediately. Everyone knows it, they just don't talk about it. Like Sue Ellen, when's the last time you saw her. And the two of you were thick as thieves during school."

The car lurched into motion as they started towards the farm. "She's busy, that's all. I think she's having a baby soon."

"Of course she is, dingbat. All they do is screw day and night. I've heard the stories. The second their husbands get home from work and all night long."

Barbara blushed. "Vera, you shouldn't talk like that."

She grinned devilishly, "Everyone has to grow up sometime, Barb." She tightened her grip on the wheel, and they picked up speed as they left the small town behind them.

Barbara suddenly felt rather anxious. "So, who is this guy that I'm meeting?"

"James. Hank knows him from work or something. I met him once, he's handsome. Not as handsome as Hank, but maybe that'll change if you're lucky."

"How can that change?" Barbara asked. She hated the way Vera talked about things as if everyone already knew her secrets.

Vera bobbed her head from side to side in frustration. "Come on, you know. Like with Sue Ellen. Have you seen her husband? Rick was a bean pole when he graduated. He could hide behind a willow reed. Look at him now, he's all barrel chested and rugged."

"That's from hard work at the factory my dad says." Barbara knew the rumors, of course, but surely they were just rumors.

"No way, kiddo. Hank already took a dose. That's why he's so dreamy."

She gasped. "Hank took the formula?"

"A drop, not a whole dose. He said it's made him feel more alive than ever. And, Barb, I know you're still a virgin, but you wouldn't believe his cock! He says it can stay up all night now. We haven't gotten to try it yet because I've been stuck with my parents."

Barbara suddenly understood. "Vera, you're not thinking of taking it? Are you?" Vera smiled with a wild look in her eyes and nodded her head. "Oh my god, have you lost your mind! I can't believe Hank talked you into this."

"No, he didn't. It was my idea. You haven't seen them, Barb. They're so beautiful and happy. Hucows are the future of being a wife. All the girls who got married, every single one of them, got the treatment. The guys too. Remember how Helen Newark was flat chested until the day we got our diplomas? I saw her two weeks ago with pair of boobs that would make sailors blush. I asked her about it point blank. She didn't want to confess right away, but when I pressed, she admitted it. She took the formula, and so did her husband. She said his dick grew about two sizes larger and now he can't get enough of her."

The idea fascinated Barbara. She longed to be dropped into one of the radio plays where a strong man saved her from the mundane rigors of life. But what would her parents think? If they even knew she'd entertained the idea for a second, they'd throw her out in the street and disown her. "What about the downsides? Do you really want to be your husbands dumb cow?"

Vera shook her head, "No, see that's the anti-Milktec lobby talking. Hank showed me all about it in this magazine. There's a big push by some conservative groups who think Milktec is ruining America. But that's crazy right? Milktec is the sole thing keeping us alive. Without it, we'd all be wearing red and praising the Kremlin. This stuff is the future, Hank says. It's just making people better. Eventually everyone's going to take it, just a matter of when."

"But it's illegal!" Barbara protested. She fought back a smile. The conversation excited her, but she couldn't tell if it was fear or fascination.

"Don't be a square," Vera chided. "It's only illegal if you get caught. And we're not getting caught."

"Jesus, Vera, are you doing this tonight? Is that why you're wearing the costume?"

She giggled again. "It's a surprise for Hank. When we were talking about it, he said he couldn't wait to get married and have his own perfect little hucow to screw whenever he wanted. He said I'd look so beautiful as a hucow. And I want it so bad. Think about it Barb. You have those big jugs full of creamy delicious milk, and a man ready to give you all the attention you need."

Barbara squirmed uncomfortably. "You really shouldn't talk like that. Are you sure about this?"

"I've done nothing else but think about it. Heck, I've dreamed about it. I'm so excited, Barb, and I'm glad you're going to be there with me."

"But I'm not --"

"-- no, no. Of course not. But if you were curious, Hank said he'd have enough. I'm not sure what James thinks about it or if you two will even hit it off. Still, the option's there." She trailed off, and they rode along in silence for a while. The lights of the town disappeared entirely, and dark fields rolled by silently outside the car window. Finally, Vera added, "I think you should though. You'd look so beautiful with big, milky tits."

***

The farm jumped out of the night like a beacon. The house looked enormous compared to Barbara's. A large red barn beside the house had two large work lights mounted above the barn doors. Between the barn and the house, Hank had strung Christmas lights providing some extra, festive illumination. In truth, Barbara thought it all looked like the kind of place the girl in a creature feature would run to for safety. Of course, the farmers would be in cahoots with the monster. As Vera pulled to a stop in the drive, Hank emerged from the barn and waved, followed by a thin fellow Barbara assumed to be James. The girls spent a few minutes touching up their makeup in the flip down mirrors before getting out to go meet the boys. Barbara almost stopped Vera for another long talk, but chickened out. She knew Vera wouldn't listen anyway. At worst, she need to stay with Vera and make sure nothing got out of hand.

As they got closer, Barbara realized the strange lighting was actually quite warm and inviting. Hank grinned like an idiot as they got close. "Well, look at you!" He grabbed Vera up in a hug and spun her around twice before putting her down. She did another spin to show off the dress's pattern. "That may be the prettiest dress I've ever seen." He gazed at her as if in a trance for long enough that the two singles cleared their throats audibly. "Oh, right, hey there Barb. It's good to see you. This is James, I don't think you two have met before, but he was real keen to see you once Vera told him about ya."

James rocked back and forth on his heels and smiled dumbly. "Hi, it's a...it's nice to meet you."

"And you," Barbara replied, trying not to blush. Vera had been right about James. The other man lacked Hank's broad shoulders and chin, but Barbara found something cute about his small dimples and slanted grin. "What are you boys up to?"

"Hank here was showing me the car he's working on," James gestured to the barn.

"Oh yeah, I should have it up and running pretty soon. Reckon we'll need something to leave the wedding with in style. Ain't that right, Vera?"

"Go on, you knucklehead." Again, they both lapsed into staring at one another, slack smiles on their faces. "Say, um, you have anything to drink?"

"Oh sure. I picked up a crate of those new Orange Cremes. Come on in the barn."

They followed their host into the red structure. Vera chased after him while the other two made nervous glances at one another. The barn was more spacious than Barbara expected. At the far end, an old pre-war car that Hank had clearly been working on for a while sat propped up on a jack. Nearer to the door, huge stacks of hay sat in a carefully planned stack. On the other side, tools hung in dissarray on a wall of random nails and hooks. Hank retrieved three bottles of the orange milk and handed them around before grabbing one for himself. Orange milk was immediately off-putting to Barbara, but she gave it a try, surprised to find how wonderfully it tasted. Music played gently from a nearby radio as Hank led them over to a small card table. "I thought we'd play cards for a while. Give everyone the chance to be better acquainted."

Relief flooded over Barbara, at least for the time being. The awkward tension eased as they took their seats, and Hank started to deal. Conversation picked up quickly, and she soon found herself deep in discussion with James. "I've never met someone who likes the Hour of Horror as much as me."

James grinned as he threw down a two of clubs, "Oh sure. My favorite episodes are when they take some of the old short stories and read them out as if it's actually happening."

"Like the one about the virus that turns everyone into mutants?"

"Exactly! Imagine if you heard that on the radio and didn't know it was a show. You're driving down a lone country road and for all you know, the whole world has gone mad."

"Hey, Barb," Vera interrupted, "come to me with the little girls room."

"No telling secrets now," Hank said with a grin.

Barbara followed her friend into the house and down the hall. Clearly, Vera already knew her way around. They went into a bedroom, and Vera closed the door behind them. Barbara figured it was Hank's room judging by the posters on the wall and the stacks of albums in the corner. "Well, what do you think of James?"

"He's nice. I think I really like him," Barbara had been enjoying herself more than she thought possible, but didn't want to seem too eager. "We were having a nice conversation before you pulled me in here."

Vera pulled her over to sit on the bed. "Do you think he could be the one for you?"

"That's a little fast --"

"No, not like a husband, necessarily. Just, the one for tonight? The one to go all the way with?"

"Geez, Vera, I don't know. That's a big decision to make so quickly."

"Quickly? Barbara you're almost nineteen. Girls don't wait any more, or they get left behind." Vera went over to a dresser and opened the middle drawer. She rummaged around for a minute before she pulled out a small case. Delicately, she closed the drawer and hurried back to the bed. "Look at this," she whispered. The case opened and Barbara saw eight pills arranged neatly in sets of two on a sheet of wax paper. Vera grabbed it up and tore the paper in half. "You don't have to take it. Heck, James may not want to either. A full dose is both tablets. Hank says if you just take one, the change isn't permanent. He learned all about it from the guy who sold them to him."

"And you're taking both?" Barbara asked.

For the first time, Vera's confidence and zeal faltered. "Yeah. I mean, we'll do it in private. Things get very...intimate once you take it Hank says. I think he's going to ask me to marry him soon, and this will prove we love one another." She clutched the pills in her hand. Barbara took the other half, solemnly. Out of nowhere, Vera hugged her. Barbara tentatively returned the gesture. The two pulled apart, and Vera's vulnerable side disappeared immediately as her fiendish smile returned. "I'm going to stay here. Can you tell Hank to come and see me when you get back to the barn? And, you two have fun, whatever you decide."