Last of the Summer Tomatoes (5 page)

“Oh… okay.” He looked around. The cows were just standing there, chewing their cud, swishing their tails. What he was doing seemed simple enough. “I can do this.”

“That’s my boy! I’ll be back in fifteen. Enough time for you to do about a full cycle of ten. Don’t worry, as I said, you think something is wrong, just shut it off and call. No harm, no foul.” Kyle nodded as Walt walked away toward the house. He took a deep breath and started with stall number one, letting the cow go and herding the next one in. He had to direct more than one to the right stall, but once they were in, it was simple, like they knew exactly what was happening and didn’t mind. It was almost zen-like, the quiet morning, a few birds singing, a couple of the cows mooed, but he was alone with them, alone with his thoughts and marveling at how his life had changed.

W
ALT
came back within the fifteen minutes he said he would. He nodded his approval, and helped Kyle finish the milking. The last round only had seven cows.

“Do you have exactly a hundred head or is that just an estimate?”

“Actually got 132; five are heavily pregnant, due to give birth any day now. The others are off their breeding cycle and are considered ‘dry’ until we breed them again next cycle. We’ll go out to get the pregnant ones after we finish here in the barn. I usually do them by hand and take just enough to relieve the pressure. Each one will need all she’s got for the calf for the first few days.”

“So you still have to learn to milk by hand?”

“Yep. The goats are all milked by hand as well. Only have three milking females; not worth the equipment for three. We just get enough for Glenda to make her goat cheese and maybe a glass or two of milk.”

“I’ve heard of goat cheese, but you actually drink the milk?”

“It’s a lifesaver for some that can’t process dairy milk. My brother was like that; from what I was told, he almost died because he couldn’t drink cow’s milk, and my mother had difficulty breastfeeding. My grandmother finally took control of the situation and got goat’s milk down him.” Walt released the last cow and shut the processor down. He went over to a wall of switches and pressed a couple of buttons.

“What’s happening now?”

“The milk is being filtered, in the off chance hay or dirt was in the tubing. After that, it’ll be flushed into the holding tanks. Every other day the tankers come to take it away.” Walt picked up a couple of buckets and motioned for Kyle to pick two up as well. “Come on, it’s out to the field now. I’ll introduce you to the expectant mothers.”

Kyle trotted out of the barn, trying to keep up with Walt. While the milking wasn’t strenuous, it was more than what he’d ever done in an entire day. And after looking at his watch and realizing it was only now eight, he knew it was going to be a
long
day.

After hitting a couple of puddles and cowpies, they made it to a smaller enclosed pasture. Walt looked down at Kyle’s filth-covered sneakers.

“Tell ya what. After lunch we’ll run into town and get you some proper footwear. Sneakers are okay for running around in town, but not very practical for fieldwork.”

Kyle took a deep breath. He had no clue how much “proper footwear” was going to cost. He recalled his mother hugging him good-bye and sneaking in a crumbled twenty-dollar bill in his hoodie’s pocket when Hank wasn’t looking. He doubted twenty dollars was going to cut it, but how could he bring this up? He figured Walt and Glenda had been straightforward with him. He’d be straightforward with them. “Um, Walt, I… I only have twenty dollars. Will that… will that be enough? Um, if not, is… is there a way I can work more for it?”

Walt stared at him. “Didn’t Glenda give you the talk this morning?”

Kyle looked at the ground. “She said, um, she said I wasn’t hired help, that she, uh, you both wanted to make a difference in my life.”

“Well, she should have emphasized being part of a family. Don’t you worry about the cost of anything while you’re here. If it snows in July and you need a winter coat, I’ll get it for you.”

Kyle’s eyebrows shot up. “
Snows in July
?”

Walt laughed. “Well, it did happen. I think it was 1818 or something, but yeah. How many pairs of jeans, t-shirts, did you bring?”

“Two pairs each. That’s all I own.”

Walt took in a deep breath and looked away for a moment. He turned and focused his stare on Kyle. “Son, I won’t ask, and you don’t need to tell about where you came from. But I won’t have any person under my roof who is in need of anything. Glenda will take you into town today and buy you whatever is required to do this job. And believe me, two pairs of jeans and two t-shirts isn’t going to cut it.”

“I don’t want to be a burden. I never want that. I can do whatever you need….”

Walt put his hand up. “Stop. You are not a burden. I can tell from the way you handled the cows this morning you are a gentle soul, probably gone through more than most people have to experience in a lifetime. I know you’ve been abused, and from what I can tell, certainly neglected. Let me do this for you. Let me show you how life’s supposed to be. Hard work with great payoffs in the end.”

“Y-yes, sir.”

Walt looked heavenward. “You can call my father ‘sir’. Not me, please.”

“Yes, si… Walt.”

Walt laughed. “Tell ya what, I’ll allow one ‘sir’ a day. Sound fair?”

Kyle gave him a small smile. “I’ll try.”

“Good. Now, let’s milk our five expectants before they get nasty.”

“Nasty? I thought your cows were pretty docile?”

“How would you feel with a hundred-pound calf in your stomach kicking and wanting to come out?”

“Point taken.”

Walt grabbed a stool that hung by the gate. He went up to the nearest cow and placed his hand on her back, just like the others in the barn. He nudged the stool near the cow and sat down, his hands never leaving her side. He pressed in slightly, feeling the rounded bulge of her stomach. He motioned for Kyle to come to him, taking Kyle’s hand.

“Feel, right here. Feel that? That’s the calf’s head.”

Kyle’s eyes grew wide. He could feel a hard lump, then it moved. He jumped back, causing the cow to jump forward.

“Easy, easy, both of you.” Walt put his hand back on the cow and rubbed gentle circles. Kyle stood away from them, frozen, afraid to move. “It’s okay, Kyle. Sorry it surprised you. But please try to not startle her if you can, okay?”

Kyle nodded, still afraid to move.

“Come on back over here. Just walk with purpose, head up. Show her you’re not a threat.” Kyle got within a couple of feet of the cow, just behind Walt. “Now, place your hand on her again.” The cow didn’t move, just swished her tail and chewed. “That’s good.” Walt again nudged the stool next to the cow and sat down. “Bring me one of the buckets; when you get close enough, put your hand back on her and place the bucket underneath her udder.”

Kyle did what Walt asked, wary of the other cows in the small lot. They all seemed to ignore him. It was one thing to herd one cow at a time in and out of a stall; it was quite another to be out in the open with five of them.

“Watch me; this isn’t yanking on the teats. You have to roll down, make the milk flow from top to bottom. If you want, put your cheek against her side and don’t look, just feel. Sometimes that works out better. You might even feel the calf move again.”

“That… that was a little freaky.”

“You’ve never felt a baby move in a woman?”

“No. I don’t have any brothers or sisters and my only good friend is Billy. He’s the youngest of three boys.”

“And no one you’ve ever been around has been pregnant? Have they finally gotten the contraception message in high schools?”

Kyle gave a nervous smile and looked at the ground. “No, there were pregnant girls in my high school. Just wasn’t friends enough with any of them to ask to do that.”

“Ah well, maybe its best you learn with the cows, then.” Walt finished with that cow and gave her a gentle push to show he was done. He went to the next cow and placed the stool next to her. “Your turn.”

“I… I… she’s huge.”

Walt unsuccessfully stifled a laugh. “That she is. But as long as you do what I say, she’s just going to stand there. Now sit down, place one hand on her.”

Kyle forced his feet to move. The first cow walked by him, and he hugged his arms in closer.

“Son, she won’t bite. I swear. She doesn’t have the teeth to rip your arm off. They’re all flat teeth. Here, look.” Walt rubbed the cow’s nose for a moment, then gently pried her mouth open. Kyle saw the massive tongue and slurry of grass and, as he said, flat teeth. “Now, don’t get me wrong, you stick your hand in there, and she’ll bite down, but sure as anything she’ll open right back up. You don’t taste like grass.” Walt let the cow’s mouth go and sidled back next to her. “Come on, try this. I’m not going anywhere.”

Kyle slowly sat down on the stool. He placed his hands on the cow’s teats, Walt’s big hands over his.

“Feel what I’m doing. Squeeze from the top down.” Walt applied pressure to Kyle’s hands. After a few tries, Walt let go, and Kyle was amazed to see the milk stream into the bucket. “That’s it, you’ve got it.” Kyle kept at it for a few minutes.

“Okay, that’s good. On to the next one.”

They finished with the five most-expectant cows. By the end, Kyle was actually hoping to feel the calf move inside its mother’s body. It was surreal. To know a life was about to be born out of that body… Kyle was no stranger to the facts of life, but to experience it like this was blowing his mind.

They trudged back to the barn with the buckets full of milk. Walt showed him how to manually pour the milk into the filtration system and what buttons to push to get the system started. It was now past ten, and Kyle felt like it should be more like six in the evening.

“Having help puts me ahead of schedule there, Kyle. Thank you. Once Sam gets home, we may have all the milking done in no time.”

Kyle tried to scrape the muck off his shoes using the side of the concrete slab in the barn. “It was certainly a learning experience.”

“Here.” Walt handed Kyle a small, pointed shovel-looking tool. “Try this to get it off.” Walt poked his head into the office, coming back out with an old towel. “Then use this. Clean off the best you can; we’ll get them washed tonight, and tomorrow you’ll have appropriate boots for the job.”

“I hate being a bother.” Kyle got most of the muck off with the small shovel, then took the towel to his shoes, making them acceptable.

“As I said, you’re not a burden. Just take them off before you go inside. Glenda’ll have a fit if we track into her kitchen.”

“Okay.”

“All right, then. Let’s go check on the vegetable garden before lunch. I’ll show you how to set up the sprinkler system. If there’s no rain like it has been, we water every day. Glenda’s known for her tomatoes; she usually takes first place at the county fair.”

Kyle looked up at him. “County fair? Is that like a neighborhood block party? Grilling hotdogs and hamburgers, having one of those balloon houses to jump in?”

“Not quite. There’s a balloon house, but I can almost guarantee the food’s much better than hotdogs and hamburgers. Although you can find those at the fair, I’d recommend at least going for the corn dogs and elephant ears.”

“
Elephant ears?
You have elephants here? Come on, they’re only in Africa and India.”

Walt laughed. Kyle was getting used to hearing laughter by now. He welcomed the sound.

“Elephant ears are basically fried flour batter with cinnamon sugar on them. Or powdered sugar. They are huge and round, like an elephant’s ear.”

“Oh.”

“Don’t worry, Kyle, you’ll get used to the language sooner or later. As for the fair, they also have contests, best cow, best pig, biggest pumpkin, tastiest pie. It’s a big contest wrapped up with food and rides.”

“When is it?”

“Usually first part of August. So you’ll still be here to experience it. Something else to write home about.” Walt headed out the side door of the barn. “Come on, gotta tend to the garden so Glenda can add to her blue ribbons.”

Five

T
WO
more hours out in the sun left Kyle with a splitting headache. Although, he did learn the difference between a weed and an actual shoot of something edible. And he learned there were more vegetables in the world other than tomatoes, lettuce, broccoli, and green beans. He had no clue what okra was or that there were many different varieties of squash. He’d assumed the green zucchini squash was all there was to the vegetable world. Man, if his local grocery store could see what they could actually offer… although, truth be told he had no clue what these new and mysterious vegetables tasted like, so maybe he shouldn’t be all that excited to expand his palate.

They stopped at noon for lunch. Kyle had lost all apprehension about eating by now. He was ravenous after just a few hours’ work. Glenda set down sandwiches in front of him.

“I hope you like ham and turkey. I made both, didn’t know if you preferred one or the other or both together.”