been like one of those cartoon characters who saws off the limb between himself and the tree, and just hangs in midair for a second before the limb drops. But the second has lasted almost fourteen years. I guess I feel like if I reattach the limb, somehow, then the restlessness that’s always gotten into me whenever there’s been the chance to settle down and figure out a life will go away.”
Ty said, “But do you want to farm? You don’t have to live with Harold to do that—you could rent my place next year. That’s a quarter-section south of here about halfway to Henry Grove. A guy down there farms it now, but you could get started on that.”
Jess rocked his heels, moving the swing back and forth. Ty looked at me and I smiled. He was right. It was worth something to have Jess in the neighborhood.
Jess said, “I don’t know. When would you have to know?”
“I have to inform the present tenant in writing before September first.”
Jess rocked his heels some more, then said, “That’s it. That’s what drives me crazy. Yeah, of course I want it. But the idea of sending for all my stuff, and moving it in and being here and saying, yes, this is what I’m going to do, I’m going to practice what I learned when I ran those gardens and I’m going to really dedicate myself to organic farming and make something of my beliefs. It’s not the work. I could do the work. It’s saying, this is it.”
Ty said, “Organic farming?”
Jess guffawed. “Hey. You make it sound like I offered to shoot your dog! Just think of it as manure spreading on a large scale, okay?”
I said, “Anyway, that’s not the point.”
Jess said, “Sometimes I think I ought to get married so I’ll be forced to figure this out.”
We all fell silent. Thunder rumbled off to the southwest, and Ty said, “An inch of rain would be nice, wouldn’t it?”
I said, “I should get the dishes done.”
Jess said, “Think that tractor’s going to run tomorrow?”
Ty stood up. “That’s a question I never ask myself before bedtime.”
We all laughed.
Now there was a long silence. The darkness had deepened into real night—time to get to bed—but Jess and I sat rocking and creaking, reluctant. Ty said, “You know, I can’t get over that family. Those people in Dubuque. I’ve been thinking about them for the past two days.”
I said, “You mean where the girl was killed.” It had been a shocking murder, especially vivid, even though the paper had a penchant for covering murders in detail. A man had tried to break in to his ex-girlfriend’s family’s house. When the father and brother chased after him, they happened to leave open the heavy front door, which gave him access after he eluded them. He got in, and the girl hid in a bedroom. Then she came out, apparently hoping to calm him down, and he grabbed her and dragged her into another bedroom and slammed the door. When the family and the police managed to get that door open (a matter of seconds) they found him stabbing her with a long knife. The police shot him in the head.
I said, “The paper went into a lot of detail.”
Ty said, “Yes, but there were just so many things about it that didn’t have to be. I keep rewriting it in my head. Remembering to lock the door behind you, for one.”
“In a city,” said Jess, “the door would have locked behind them automatically.”
Ty said, “Anyone could be that father. Anyone could just react by trying to chase the guy, thinking you could do it. Being that mad.”
I said, “It was like the movies, where somebody just throws off all his enemies with superhuman strength. Isn’t there some drug that gives you that kind of strength?”
Jess said, “Yeah, adrenaline.”
Ty leaned back against the railing. “I just couldn’t shake the images all day yesterday. Today, too. What they must have seen when they opened the bedroom door.”
We mulled this over. I looked at Jess once, wondering if we seemed naive to be so
Ty said, “But do you want to farm? You don’t have to live with Harold to do that—you could rent my place next year. That’s a quarter-section south of here about halfway to Henry Grove. A guy down there farms it now, but you could get started on that.”
Jess rocked his heels, moving the swing back and forth. Ty looked at me and I smiled. He was right. It was worth something to have Jess in the neighborhood.
Jess said, “I don’t know. When would you have to know?”
“I have to inform the present tenant in writing before September first.”
Jess rocked his heels some more, then said, “That’s it. That’s what drives me crazy. Yeah, of course I want it. But the idea of sending for all my stuff, and moving it in and being here and saying, yes, this is what I’m going to do, I’m going to practice what I learned when I ran those gardens and I’m going to really dedicate myself to organic farming and make something of my beliefs. It’s not the work. I could do the work. It’s saying, this is it.”
Ty said, “Organic farming?”
Jess guffawed. “Hey. You make it sound like I offered to shoot your dog! Just think of it as manure spreading on a large scale, okay?”
I said, “Anyway, that’s not the point.”
Jess said, “Sometimes I think I ought to get married so I’ll be forced to figure this out.”
We all fell silent. Thunder rumbled off to the southwest, and Ty said, “An inch of rain would be nice, wouldn’t it?”
I said, “I should get the dishes done.”
Jess said, “Think that tractor’s going to run tomorrow?”
Ty stood up. “That’s a question I never ask myself before bedtime.”
We all laughed.
Now there was a long silence. The darkness had deepened into real night—time to get to bed—but Jess and I sat rocking and creaking, reluctant. Ty said, “You know, I can’t get over that family. Those people in Dubuque. I’ve been thinking about them for the past two days.”
I said, “You mean where the girl was killed.” It had been a shocking murder, especially vivid, even though the paper had a penchant for covering murders in detail. A man had tried to break in to his ex-girlfriend’s family’s house. When the father and brother chased after him, they happened to leave open the heavy front door, which gave him access after he eluded them. He got in, and the girl hid in a bedroom. Then she came out, apparently hoping to calm him down, and he grabbed her and dragged her into another bedroom and slammed the door. When the family and the police managed to get that door open (a matter of seconds) they found him stabbing her with a long knife. The police shot him in the head.
I said, “The paper went into a lot of detail.”
Ty said, “Yes, but there were just so many things about it that didn’t have to be. I keep rewriting it in my head. Remembering to lock the door behind you, for one.”
“In a city,” said Jess, “the door would have locked behind them automatically.”
Ty said, “Anyone could be that father. Anyone could just react by trying to chase the guy, thinking you could do it. Being that mad.”
I said, “It was like the movies, where somebody just throws off all his enemies with superhuman strength. Isn’t there some drug that gives you that kind of strength?”
Jess said, “Yeah, adrenaline.”
Ty leaned back against the railing. “I just couldn’t shake the images all day yesterday. Today, too. What they must have seen when they opened the bedroom door.”
We mulled this over. I looked at Jess once, wondering if we seemed naive to be so
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