never had a boy in my bedroom and I’ve never even come close to feeling this way. I feel like I could do anything right now if Forest did it with me. It’s exhilarating and it’s also a bit scary.
“Hey.” He points to the photos on the desk. “Is that your mom?”
“Yeah.”
He walks over and picks up a framed photo. The best one, I think.
“Wow. You could be sisters. She’s so beautiful.”
“I know.”
We hear a rumbling outside and I walk over to the window and look out to see Miguel driving the tractor into the yard. Tomás is riding in the trailer filled with tools that follows behind. Forest stands next to me.
“Which one is Tomás?” he asks.
“He’s the one in the trailer.”
“He’s so young. I never expected him to be so young.”
“Neither did I.”
We stand there for a moment, side by side, watching, as Tomás jumps out of the trailer and walks next to Miguel toward the bunkhouse.
Back downstairs, Jane is rinsing a bunch of green grapes under the faucet and putting them in a bowl.
“Hey, Forest, can you go outside and make sure Steve didn’t burn the place down? Tell him that the food’s almost ready. He should tell Tomás and Miguel too. And he needs to cut some weenie sticks.”
“Weenie sticks?”
“Yeah, to roast the hot dogs on, or veggie dogs if you prefer.” She holds up a package.
“Sure, okay.” He looks at me.
“I’m gonna help Jane carry the food out. I’ll see you out there.”
We wait for the screen door to wheeze shut before we say anything.
“So?” says Jane, eyebrows arched.
“So what?” I grin at her.
“So, he’s pretty cute,” she says, wiping her hands on a dish towel.
“He is, isn’t he?”
“And nice. He’s a nice boy.”
“Did Steve tell you who his mother is?”
“He did. But luckily I don’t believe in guilt by association. I go primarily on my spidey senses and I like him. Now, can you pull that corn out of the pot and wrap it up in foil?”
I find the tongs and pull the foil out of the drawer. “So, I guess you heard about what’s going on around here.”
Jane leans against the counter and grabs her wineglass. “More or less. Do you think your dad’s going to go ahead with a lawsuit?”
I shrug. “Probably. He’s not likely to leave this alone.”
Jane muses, “No.”
“You think my dad’s nuts?”
She takes a sip. “No. He’s not nuts. I’m not sure how all of this will play out, though. Are you worried about it?”
“Yeah, I guess I am . . . a little.”
“Well, you know, the thing about people like your dad is that you can’t stop them from doing what they think is right, and it’s probably a damn good thing that they don’t think twenty steps ahead like some of the rest of us or they’d never try to change the world.”
“Yeah, I know. It’s just that it’s my world too, you know? He dragged me out here, against my will, and now that I’m finally settling in, he’s going to turn the entire town against us.”
“Well, maybe not the entire town.” She smiles. “C’mon, sweetie, let’s not be glum, let’s have fun tonight.”
Jane and I work together to get all the food for our cookout into containers. I gather up forks and knives and plates and napkins and cups and condiments. Cat Stevens sings “Here Comes My Baby” as we head out the door, our arms piled high.
The light stays with us until the last hot dog is eaten. Rufus is only too happy to lick the plates. Darkness closes in around us and the stars appear. The fire turns everyone’s face a warm golden brown. Jane explains how s’mores work to Miguel and Tomás. They’ve never seen them before but they seem to like them a lot. Jane’s Spanish is pretty good and Steve can fill in whatever she misses. Forest is a bit of a rookie to this whole campfire concept too. Apparently he never went to camp. His first two hot dogs ended up as charred husks that even Rufus wouldn’t eat and then I showed him how to brown them
“Hey.” He points to the photos on the desk. “Is that your mom?”
“Yeah.”
He walks over and picks up a framed photo. The best one, I think.
“Wow. You could be sisters. She’s so beautiful.”
“I know.”
We hear a rumbling outside and I walk over to the window and look out to see Miguel driving the tractor into the yard. Tomás is riding in the trailer filled with tools that follows behind. Forest stands next to me.
“Which one is Tomás?” he asks.
“He’s the one in the trailer.”
“He’s so young. I never expected him to be so young.”
“Neither did I.”
We stand there for a moment, side by side, watching, as Tomás jumps out of the trailer and walks next to Miguel toward the bunkhouse.
Back downstairs, Jane is rinsing a bunch of green grapes under the faucet and putting them in a bowl.
“Hey, Forest, can you go outside and make sure Steve didn’t burn the place down? Tell him that the food’s almost ready. He should tell Tomás and Miguel too. And he needs to cut some weenie sticks.”
“Weenie sticks?”
“Yeah, to roast the hot dogs on, or veggie dogs if you prefer.” She holds up a package.
“Sure, okay.” He looks at me.
“I’m gonna help Jane carry the food out. I’ll see you out there.”
We wait for the screen door to wheeze shut before we say anything.
“So?” says Jane, eyebrows arched.
“So what?” I grin at her.
“So, he’s pretty cute,” she says, wiping her hands on a dish towel.
“He is, isn’t he?”
“And nice. He’s a nice boy.”
“Did Steve tell you who his mother is?”
“He did. But luckily I don’t believe in guilt by association. I go primarily on my spidey senses and I like him. Now, can you pull that corn out of the pot and wrap it up in foil?”
I find the tongs and pull the foil out of the drawer. “So, I guess you heard about what’s going on around here.”
Jane leans against the counter and grabs her wineglass. “More or less. Do you think your dad’s going to go ahead with a lawsuit?”
I shrug. “Probably. He’s not likely to leave this alone.”
Jane muses, “No.”
“You think my dad’s nuts?”
She takes a sip. “No. He’s not nuts. I’m not sure how all of this will play out, though. Are you worried about it?”
“Yeah, I guess I am . . . a little.”
“Well, you know, the thing about people like your dad is that you can’t stop them from doing what they think is right, and it’s probably a damn good thing that they don’t think twenty steps ahead like some of the rest of us or they’d never try to change the world.”
“Yeah, I know. It’s just that it’s my world too, you know? He dragged me out here, against my will, and now that I’m finally settling in, he’s going to turn the entire town against us.”
“Well, maybe not the entire town.” She smiles. “C’mon, sweetie, let’s not be glum, let’s have fun tonight.”
Jane and I work together to get all the food for our cookout into containers. I gather up forks and knives and plates and napkins and cups and condiments. Cat Stevens sings “Here Comes My Baby” as we head out the door, our arms piled high.
The light stays with us until the last hot dog is eaten. Rufus is only too happy to lick the plates. Darkness closes in around us and the stars appear. The fire turns everyone’s face a warm golden brown. Jane explains how s’mores work to Miguel and Tomás. They’ve never seen them before but they seem to like them a lot. Jane’s Spanish is pretty good and Steve can fill in whatever she misses. Forest is a bit of a rookie to this whole campfire concept too. Apparently he never went to camp. His first two hot dogs ended up as charred husks that even Rufus wouldn’t eat and then I showed him how to brown them
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