A Farmer's Son

Quick writer's note:

The tags for this story are Betrayal, Caught, Cheating, and Cheating wife.

One of my editors brought this idea to me over the weekend. He was listening to the radio and heard an old song, 'Lucille' by Kenny Rogers. He thought there was a Loving Wives Story in there somewhere. Here is the result of what we found when we looked for the story behind the song.

We changed the characters' names in our story because we went off script a bit from Kenny's original storytelling. We also had it take place on our current timeline, though the song always gave me a 1950s vibe.

I want to thank my editors for their collaboration and advice. Charlie, KenD, Demosthenes384bc, and HighLuster assisted. Each contributed to the story in their own unique way. The whole is greater than the sum of the parts.

Collaborations consistently improve results, so I'm always open to expanding my editing team. Please email me your private messaging address if you're interested in participating in our collaborative effort.

Joshua

I'm not sure if I chose this life or if it chose me. Either way, it hasn't always been easy. My childhood, having been spent on our farm, and my membership in the Future Farmers of America made it easy for me to believe that I was where I was meant to be.

I met my wife, Jessica, who also came from a farming community, during our sophomore year at ISU. After I completed high school and earned my agricultural degree from Iowa State University, I thought I had it all figured out.

Jessi's parents and grandparents farmed different crops but lived through the same battles my family had. We both were familiar with the struggles and hardships that accompany the life of a farmer and his family.

We connected on much more than just farming. We both wanted to travel, and we both loved cheesy comedies with fart jokes as we both delighted in inappropriate behaviors. I was studying to be a better farmer and learning how to bring innovations to the farm that would make it sustainable for future generations. Jessi studied accounting and finance. She wanted to find a way to make farming profitable, so we could afford the things that the generations before us never could.

Our plan was simple: we would marry right after college and then work on my parent's farm to put some money away to travel for a year or two before planting our roots deep with a family. Best-laid plans aside, we never had a chance to fulfill our dreams. Life seems to reliably get in the way.

For us, the first complicating factor was my father's death. He died one afternoon while trying to get the harvest in on time. I found him sitting on the ground, his back against the rear tire of our big tractor, looking like he was taking a nap. The doctor said it was something called a pulmonary embolism. All I knew was that my father was gone.

Through our grief, we knew what we had to do. We gave up our dreams of traveling and settled into our life running the farm. Well, at least I did.

That was fifteen years ago. Jessi managed to put kids off for another four years. I guess she wasn't ready to hand her life over to a piece of dirt, but eventually, as we all do, she succumbed, and we had the first of our four children ten years ago.

"Tommy, man, I'm really in a bind. This is the only combine I have up, and it just took a shit!" I was desperate. We robbed parts off our second machine to get this one limping along well enough to try and get our corn in. "Is there any way you can get someone out here today?"

"Josh, I know how important it is this year. My guys are just slammed right now." I could hear how tired Tommy was in his voice. The rainstorms during the last week of August destroyed about forty percent of everyone's crops. At the beginning of October, we were all desperate to get our crops in. I was one of the last farmers to start planting, so my timeline was much shorter than the other farmers'. "I might be able to get to you tomorrow evening. I'm afraid it's the best I can do, Josh. I'm sorry."

"I know, Tommy, I'm desperate. We still have a hundred and seventy acres to do, and I'll never make our nut if we can't get this done." I sighed deeply. I knew Tommy was as stressed as the rest of us. We were all just trying to survive. "Please get here when you can."

"I will," He hesitated briefly, and I knew what was coming next, "Hey, Josh, is there any way you can pay down some of that parts bill? I'm not sure I can float you any more parts till we get last spring's paid."

"Shit Tommy, let me check with Jessi when I get home. How much would get me by till I get this crop in?" I knew we were whittling down our savings. We tried planting more crops this year to cover our losses from the last season. I don't normally plant all three hundred and seventy-two acres at once, but we pushed it this year. The extra costs ate more of our cash reserve than planned, and now I've got both combines down.

Jessi is going to kill me. She warned me not to try it and how risky it was!

But our gamble would have paid off if it wasn't for that last storm.

"Five K would hold us over, Josh."

"I'll do my best, Tommy. Thanks, brother." I ended our call. It was around six-thirty in the evening, I knew I had a couple more hours of sunlight, but there was no need to stay out here with a dead machine. Adjusting my co-op ball cap, I decided to grab the truck and head back to the house. I hoped Jessi would appreciate the early return.

I watched the dust clouds bellow from under my eighteen-year-old dually farm truck as I skirted our fields and weaved my way back home. I was looking forward to seeing Jessi and the kids. I hadn't seen them much in the last seventy-two hours. The boys and I had been pushing hard, trying to get this corn in, which is

probably why I'm in the condition I am right now!

I wasn't interested in picking up the fight we put on hold before the harvest, but that appeared imminent.

I remembered it well. "Damn it, Josh, there has to be more to life than living from season to season." Jessi lamented; she was after me to sell the farm again. The city slickers were back in town and pushing on us independents to sell them our livelihoods.

"Jessi, this is the only life we know." It was a very tired argument. "What would we do if we weren't farmers?"

"I'm a hell of a bookkeeper, and you could go back to school and finish your engineering degree."

That was always her answer. I was only a few credits shy of a double major when I graduated. At one time, I considered designing farm equipment for one of the major manufacturers.

"I know it wouldn't give you the freedom you like," she continued, "but it would be steady work, and then we could start doing some of those things on our bucket list."

In the last couple of years, her resentment for our station in life grew faster than our crops did. I didn't understand her position. After all, this is what we both knew and what we both agreed to. Why would we give in to the corporate farmers? "Jessi, that ship sailed a long time ago."

"Josh, with what they are offering us, we could pay off everything, get you into school, and still have something left to buy a little house in town. I could support us till you graduate. We could make it work."

"Jessi, I'm so tired of this conversation. We need to get this crop in, and then we can discuss this further." She took my statement as it was meant, the final word on the topic.

That was two weeks ago, just before that two-day tax seminar she went to, and then the harvest began, so we hadn't discussed anything else since then.

As I pulled up into the yard, I could feel something was wrong. All four kids were sitting in the dirt pile next to the equipment barn. Mary, ten years old, was bossing eight-year-old Jimmy and four-year-old Carol around, while the two-year-old Suzy was trapped in a hastily made baby coral. Jessi's Subaru was nowhere to be seen.

I stepped out of the truck and prepared for the onslaught of children as they ran to greet me. "Mary, where is momma?"

"I don't know. She left a while ago and said she would be home before you." I could see the relief on her dirty little face. I think she was happy to have a parent home with her.

"All right, baby, watch your brother and sister for a minute, and I'll go see if I can tell where momma went, okay?"

"Okay, daddy." She accepted her assignment and herded Jimmy and Carol back to the dirt pile where their Tonka trucks and Barbies waited for their return.

I snatched little Suzi out of her pen and was greeted with the foul smell of a very soured diaper. I was pretty pissed; she had never neglected our kids like this, so I was also concerned. A search of the house returned no evidence indicating where Jessi might have gone. Then I spotted the folded card tented in the cast iron skillet on the stove. Flipping open the card, I read its message.

Josh,

I can't do this anymore. I've met someone, and I'm leaving you.

Jessica

A quick look at our electronic bank records showed that Jessi had withdrawn most of our operating capital, a large amount in cash, and then transferred the rest to what appeared to be a newly opened account.

Also listed was a recent debit card purchase at the Holiday Inn and Conference Center two towns over. Guessing she may still be there, I changed Suzie's diaper, gathered the four children, loaded them into the truck, and headed to town.

Liam

I loved doing contract work for these backward states. My CPA license is being put to good use going from hotel conference room to conference room and explaining how the new state and federal tax codes apply to local farmers.

The pussy wasn't terrible, either. Reliably, one of those slutty farmer's wives, tired of the everyday grind and the hard living, was happy to escape for a few hours of sin with a good-looking stranger. That's how I met the gorgeous creature sitting across from me, sharing a glass of a top-shelf whiskey that I'll expense to the state.

This last one, Jess, was one of the best. She was a little older than I usually went for, but damn, farming has kept her body rock solid. Her tits were sizable and, with the proper support, perked nicely. She was easy to charm. She was in the first of my two two-day sessions.

I showed her photos of my last trip to Paris, London, and Amsterdam. I fed her line after line about how much she was missing being stuck on a farm, how her husband didn't understand her needs, and how she should find a man who knew how to treat such a precious creature as she. After a few drinks, she willingly slipped into my bed on the conference's first night.

I remembered how that sundress hung perfectly on her feminine form, tightly conforming to her trim waist. It was loose enough, however, to shimmy and fly away when she moved around the tiny dance floor with me.

"You should come travel with me," I told her during the last afternoon we shared together a week ago today. "I've got seminars next week, but I'm coming back through town that Thursday. Be here and come with me?"

I'm not sure why I asked her that because I don't normally take things that far. But she was so delectable between the sheets. I was thinking with my little head.

"I can't. I have a husband. I have kids here. I can't leave them." I could tell she was nervous; we had already established that she had never cheated on her husband before, not even in college when they were dating.

"You deserve better, baby. He can't give you what I can." I thought for a moment before I sweetened the deal, "Next month, I'm going to Galveston. Come with me, and we'll take a three-day cruise and see the Caribbean. Have you ever heard of Cozumel?"

I could see the desire in her eyes. It was wanderlust. It was her need to be free and see the world. I knew she didn't love me and probably never would. And even if she did, I have no idea how I would explain Jess to my wife, who was actually booked on that cruise with me.

I figured I'd bang this horny slut for a couple of days as I completed my paperwork, and then I would leave her alone in the capital city when I flew home. She just had my name; she didn't even know where I was from. The risk was low.

"I'm sure your husband will understand that he can't give you what you need or deserve." I watched as her face started to relax, and I could tell she was surrendering.

"I can't leave my kids. What would I do about them?" I realized that the kids were a big concern for her.

"Just leave them with your husband until you get settled. Then I'll help you," I lied.

She stared at me. I could see the wheels turning in her mind as she worked through all the reasons why she shouldn't leave her family. "But it's the harvest. It wouldn't be fair to leave my husband right now." She was hesitant, and I knew if I pushed it, I might lose her.

I walked over to my travel case, removed what appeared to be a silken Japanese scarf, and presented it to her. "I got this the last time I was in Japan and was waiting for the right woman to give it to. Take it and think of me. If you're ready for an adventure, be here Thursday around three. We'll spend the night and head off together the next day."

As she pulled the scarf from my grip, I removed the local import company tag. I'd have to get my daughter a different gift at the airport. I wondered if she'd show up or not.

When I pulled up to the Holiday Inn on Thursday, I saw Jess standing beside her car, drinking a Diet Coke. I quickly ushered her into my room and then to the bar, where we enjoyed a light dinner and a few drinks before we retired for the night.

She looked over at me, "I'm no quitter, but I'm done giving up on my dreams. I want to live. I want to enjoy the world. I'm hungry for adventure. I'm ready for what's next."

I stifled a chuckle and let it turn into a smile. If only she knew what I had in store for her. The only adventure she'll be on is the one to put her life back together.

Not my problem that she bought my line of bullshit.

Suddenly, her face whitened as she stared towards the door. I looked in the bar's mirror to see what had her so spooked. I saw who it was, someone who was unmistakably out of place in here. He filled the doorway. His eyes were searching. A strange look washed over him. He locked onto us. He locked onto his wife.

The crowd parted as he made his way across the hotel bar. I wasn't the only one who could feel the tension, the despair, and the weight of the moment.

He stopped just off my left shoulder. Looking to the side, all I could see were the big, calloused paws he called hands. It was obvious that he worked for a living. His clothes were vintage farmer, still carrying the day's dirt. He was mountainous as he stood next to my seated self. Frozen in my chair, I couldn't move.

If only I knew she was married to such a monster, I would have fucked someone else.

I could see my life pass before me.

Joshua

I knew I was in the right place; her car was out front. I parked in front of the lobby and asked little Mary to watch her siblings for a moment. I figured I wouldn't be long.

I asked the kid at the counter if they had a Jessica Anderson registered. They did not. She did point me towards the bar, mentioning that they were fuller than normal. Standing at the door, I surveyed the room. There she was, towards the back, sitting at a table with a tired looking ole boy in a wrinkled Bon Marché suit. I made my way across the bar. The locals all stepped aside. It was as if they could feel the anger radiating off me.

She spotted me as I started across the floor. I locked eyes with her and watched the color drain from her face. I stopped at her new man's shoulder and stood for a moment, struggling to keep my temper under control.

"So, this the slick bastard you think is better than me?" I asked as I hooked a thumb toward the pale-looking bookworm. I watched her for a moment before continuing, "You have the worst damn timing, Jessi. You left the kids hungry and alone, I haven't got the crops in yet, and you're here playing footsies with some slick fucker. Just not a good time for this."

I saw her stiffen her back and look me square in the eyes. "It'll never be a good time. I've been pissing my life away on you and that damn farm for fifteen years. I'm tired of taking a back seat to dirt." I could tell she was just getting fired up, "At least Liam knows how to treat a woman and what someone like me needs, unlike you and your empty promises."

I was stunned at the venom she spewed, so caustic and curt. I could tell there was no need to try to convince her to come home. In fact, I was reasonably sure I didn't want her back.

"I see you pulled most of the money out of our farm account," I started and watched her nod along, "Did you forget we are an LLC, a business that you're an officer of?"

"What does that have to do with anything?" she spat at me, "I deserve that money as much as you do, and I'll need it for my new life."

"If that money isn't back in the farm account by ten am tomorrow morning," I started my threat, "I'm going to call the police and file embezzlement charges against you. You can't just take the farm's money." I had no idea if I could do that or not. I think Jessi knew just enough about the financial laws that it might scare her straight. "Go ahead and give me the cash you pulled out now." I stood there with my hand outstretched.

She pulled a white bank envelope stretched to its maximum from her purse and tentatively handed it over. I was relieved that I may have enough to get Jimmy started on the combine in the morning.

I stood there and placed a hand on slick's shoulder. Feeling him tense, I said, "Good luck, son. You're going to need it." I turned on my heel and headed out the way I came. I could hear the chair scratch across the wood floor as she stood and yelled at me for all to hear.

"At least I'm done with you and your damn worthless farm! You'll never be anything more than a broke dirt farmer who's going to die alone!" I could feel all eyes on me as she continued to yell at my back, "I'm with a real man now, someone who knows what a woman wants."

Liam

The big man lumbered out of the bar. Somehow, he looked smaller than when he first came in. A little defeated, I think. I looked at the cause of his hardship sitting across from me and flagged the waitress to bring us another round.

I shouldn't have bothered. The whiskey was no longer smooth. In fact, it burned as it went down. I found myself simply going through the motions. One step at a time, the now toxic Jess and I exited the dimly lit barroom and followed the forty-watt passage to my room.

She looked at me as she dropped the sundress I once found so sexy and stood there in her aging glory. She was still interested. I'd lost any interest I once had in her.

Not saying a word, I walked over to my unpacked bag, took it in hand, and headed to the door. Jess looked at me like I had lost my mind when I paused at the doorway and took her in one last time.

Time to cut my losses.

She collapsed into a sobbing heap as I let the spring close the door on this mistake. It was time to go, I'll file my reports remotely. Several hours later, I checked in my rental and had my airline ticket reissued. I was going home.

Joshua

The next few days were a blur. My cousin and my mother came to take care of the kids. Tommy got his payment, and my combine was up and harvesting. I had plenty of time in the cab of that unit to mourn the loss of my marriage. And to reflect on where I went wrong.