“Yeah, Dad. I can tell things have been hard for you.” I kept my voice neutral. “How long have you been like this?”
“Three weeks,” he muttered.
I wanted to swear, but kept my mouth shut. “Okay, then.” I stood and got a pad and pen. “I need you to write down all the things that need to be done. Just list them, and once you do that, we’ll prioritize and decide if you can do them or if you need me to. Then we can make a plan and get this done.” I set the pad in his lap. “Unless there’s something else you’d like to talk about?”
He picked up the pad and started writing with a scowl. I should have known that he would rather do just about anything else in the world other than talk to me about something personal. Not that I was going to force him. I got up and left the room to start on the mess in the kitchen.
“How is it going?” Alan asked as soon as I picked up the phone that evening. “You had it with the country life and ready to come home?”
“I wish…,” I said quietly. “Things are pretty bad here.” I wiped down the kitchen table and turned to look at my handiwork. The place was clean, and I’d like to think even my mom would have been pleased. “Dad can’t do much, I need to get the crop in, and there are a ton of other things to do.” I hadn’t even seen my dad’s list yet, but I wasn’t blind. “Come up this weekend,” I offered. “I need your help.”
Alan was silent, and I wondered if I had broken him. I finally heard a half-strangled mutter come through the line. “You have to be kidding. You want me to spend time with the chickens and pigs?”
“We don’t have either of those. They used to have all kind of animals, but they’re gone now. Dad grows crops for cash, and I need help.” I lowered my voice. “The house is a wreck. I spent the entire afternoon just cleaning the kitchen. Dad’s existing, and I can’t do everything that needs to be done in the short time I have. So, please, come on up. You can help, and I’ll pay you in good country food.” I was getting desperate. “You can go into town and scope out all the farm boys.”
Alan growled. “Fine. I’m supposed to be off Friday afternoon and my date canceled, so I’ll drive up to the wilds of Wisconsin to help you out. But those farm boys had better be danged hot.”
“Thank you,” I told him without making any more promises. “I’ll text you the address and directions.” At least I was going to have someone to talk to for the weekend, and if Alan was willing to help, then maybe I could spend the hours in the tractor that would be required to get Dad’s harvest in. That had to be the top priority. Without the harvest, there was no cash no farm, and no father, because Dad would wither up and die if he didn’t have the farm.
Once Alan and I ended the call, I went to see what kind of progress Dad had made. I found him asleep, the pad and pen on the sofa next to him. I lifted it, and my eyes widened. It seemed Dad had given this some thought. The page was full, and I could tell that almost everything was going to fall on my shoulders.
I carried my things up to the room I used as a kid. It was exactly the same as when I had left, except for all the dust. I did a quick cleanup of the room, then put fresh sheets on the bed and fell into it, asleep almost before my head hit the pillow.
I was raised on a farm, and some long-ago memory must have surfaced, because I was up with the sun. There was plenty to do, so I dressed and went downstairs. Dad was asleep on the sofa, snoring like a chainsaw. I fed Rex, and after eating, he lay in the corner of the kitchen while I made some breakfast. I figured my first task was to check out the tractor and make sure the harvester was attached and everything was running properly. Dad didn’t stir by the time I was ready to eat, so I covered his to heat up later and wolfed down my food. “Come on, Rex. Let’s go outside,” I said, putting the dishes in the sink.
The morning was bright and cold. Not cold enough to frost, but it was close. I remembered many mornings like these, up before school to finish chores and get ready for the bus. I pulled my coat closed around me, went to the equipment shed, and opened the door. Rex stayed right behind me, and I was grateful for the company.
As I suspected, the harvester hadn’t been attached, so that was the first order of business. The tractor was as cantankerous as I remembered, but I got it running and pulled it out of the shed in time to see my dad standing in the back doorway. He waved, and I turned off the engine.
“What is it, Dad?”
“We don’t use that anymore.” He crutched himself closer, and I climbed down from the cab. “I have part interest in the lease of a corn harvester. I called Bill Nelson, and he’s a few days from being done with his fields and said he would bring it over. That sort of equipment costs as much as a house, so a bunch of us got together to lease the equipment. That’s what’s so urgent.”
“Why didn’t you tell me before?”
“You didn’t ask,” Dad said, and I wanted to scream.
“Dad, I came here because you asked for help. It can’t be like pulling teeth just to talk to each other.” I wasn’t sure how this was going to work. “So, when is this harvester going to be here for our use? Do you know how to operate it?”
He nodded. “I used it last year, and all I have to do is put in the GPS coordinates and it guides me through the work. I have that information, and it isn’t hard to operate. As for when… Bill said he would be done in two or three days, and then he’ll bring the big green monster over. You’ll need someone to drive the harvester, and I have someone who’s helped me the past few years. I’ll call him and make sure he knows the schedule.” Before I could ask any more questions, he turned back toward the house, and I followed him inside so we could go over the list.
But Dad had other ideas. I sighed and let him make his phone calls while I went back outside. The barns were a mess, so I set to work getting them organized and cleaned out. The equipment shed alone had tools on the work table in heaps, and nothing was in its place. It looked to me like Dad had started dumping things wherever he wanted.
I banged the tools around, making more noise than necessary out of frustration.
“Clay!” someone shouted from behind me, and I whirled around with a huge wrench in my hand, ready to take on any attacker.
“Dell,” I said with a smile. “Hey, Archie.” I set down the tool and would have shaken hands, but mine were a mess.
“Can I see the doggie?” Archie asked, and Dell placed him on his feet.
“His ball is in the yard right over there. If you throw it for him, he’ll bring it back,” I said, and Archie ran off, with Dell watching.
“He asked all night if we could see Rex today,” Dell told me. “And when your dad called a few hours ago, I figured that if I was going to help with harvesting, we might need to talk.” His expression was as serious as a heart attack, and I nodded. “I’ve driven the harvester for your dad, and I’m certified on it. I can do that part of the process. You need to drive the collection truck and then take the full loads into the grain elevator outside town. At least that’s how we usually do it, but I heard that Mack Liddle has a collector as well, so I arranged to use it. That way we can fill both and each make a trip to town. It should cut down on the time required.”