Authors: Harmony Stalter
“Okay,” I said with a smile. I kissed his cheek and went inside. The house smelled wonderful. Whatever he had made was filling the house with its enticing aroma. I went up the stairs and hung the dress up. I looked at it and smiled. I was finally ready for this. It had been a long two years, but I was finally in a place where I thought I could be with friends and family again. I went back down stairs. I walked out onto the porch. Josh was just setting the food on the table.
“I have something to tell you,” he said.
“What’s up,” I said.
“I finally figured out a name for the calf.”
“What did you decide on?”
“Cassie,” he said. “She even comes when I call her.”
“Really?”
“Yes,” he said.
“I tried a couple of different names, but she would not come until I called her Cassie.”
“That is great,” I said, laughing. “Mr. Deabring said it would come to you.”
“Yup, now she has a name.”
“Good, I will register her after dinner.”
“Then it will be official,” he said, smiling.
“It sure will be.”
“How was your day?”
“Interesting,” I said with a laugh.
“Anything good happen?”
“Vanessa ended up going shopping with us.
“That is great. How is she?”
“She is good. Her and Alison put a hurting on their credit cards today.”
“Poor, Bob,” said Josh.
“My thoughts exactly,” I said. He laughed.
“Oh, your brother’s invitation came today. At least that is what I think it is. I’ll be right back,” he said, getting up from the table. He came back with this black envelope addressed to me. The return address was for Montana, but with no name on it. I opened it. It was the invitation. On the RSVP card it said to Claire and Guest. I smiled. “Is that what it is?”
“Yes,” I said. “I have no idea as to why it is in a black envelope though. That is just odd.”
“I thought so, too,” he said. “Is it a black tie affair or is that the color of the wedding?”
“I don’t know,” I said. “I will have to ask him when we talk on Sunday. What is this that I am eating? It is delicious.”
“Family secret recipe. Grandma passes it down to me. I was sworn to secrecy and I must obey. I can only pass the recipe along to other family members. Maybe, one day I could pass it along to you.”
“That is so unfair,” I said.
“I know,” he said, smiling. “I even made dessert.”
“You did?”
“Yes, I made grandma’s cheesecake. I hope you don’t mind, but I did use the rest of the pears you had for the topping.”
“Not at all, I can always walk to the orchard and get more if I need them. How were the pancakes?”
“Delicious. I put the rest in the freezer.”
“Thank you,” I said.
“You’re welcome,” he said. We finished eating our dinner and he cleared the plates. “Are you ready for dessert?”
“Sure,” I said. He brought out the cheesecake. He had arranged the pear slices fanned out on the top. I did not know if I wanted to eat it or take a picture of it. “It looks beautiful.”
“Thanks,” he said with a laugh. “That is how grandma used to do it. It is the only way I know how to decorate a cheesecake.”
“That is great,” I said, smiling.
“How big of a slice would you like, love?” he asked.
“Not very big,” I said.
“I can understand,” he said. “Cheesecake can lay a bit heavy.”
“Yes, but it is so sinfully delicious.”
“Yes, it is. That is the best part,” he said. He sliced of a small slice for the both of us. The first forkful I could taste the vanilla. The silky texture just melted in my mouth. I was in heaven. John could not make a pot of spaghetti properly, but Josh could cook high end restaurant quality food. It was not something I was used to, but I could get used to it.
“I have never been able to make a cheesecake like this,” I said.
“It is a learned art,” he said with a smile. The phone rang. “I’ll get it. You continue to eat..”
“Okay,” I said.
“Hey Alison,” I heard him say. “How was your day? I am glad to hear it. Yeah, she is here. Hang on and I will bring the phone to her.”
“Hey,” I said. “What’s up?”
“Did you get your invitation?”
“Yes, I am going to assume you did.”
“I did,” she said. “That is why I am calling.”
“Was yours in a black envelope?”
“No, mine was a lavender color. Was yours?”
“Yes, it is just weird. Maybe the colors are black and lavender?”
“I don’t know,” she said. “Could be.”
“I will have to find out on Sunday when I talk to him.”
“Have you had dinner, yet?”
“We just finished.”
“So did we. Bob wanted to know if you guys wanted to come over and watch a movie with us?”
“I’ll ask,” I said.
“Okay,” she said.
“Hey, do you want to go over to Alison and Bob’s to watch a movie?”
“I’m game.”
“We will be there in a few,” I said.
“Great,” she said. I hung up the phone.
“Are we going to make it through a movie?” I asked.
“I will make us some coffee to bring,” he said.
“I am sure Alison will have a pot brewing,” I said. “Let’s put our things away and head over.”
“Okay,” he said getting up from the table. He grabbed the cheesecake and I cleared the dishes. After putting the dishes in the dishwasher, we headed over the Bob and Alison’s house. When we pulled up, we could see Alison in the kitchen window. She held up a pot of coffee. “Man, she is good.”
“She knew how tired I was all day, so I knew she would have some ready,” I said. We got out of the truck and went inside.
“Hey, you two,” Bob said.
“How are you?” asked Josh, extending his hand. “Thanks for the invite.”
“I am good,” he said, shaking Josh’s hand. “You’re welcome. I am glad you came. While the girls are out on Saturday, me and a couple of the guys are going to get together for a card game. Do you want to join in?”
“Yeah, I don’t see why not.”
“Cool, it will be Vanessa’s boyfriend, what’s his name?”
“Jimmy,” Josh said.
“Yeah, that is it. I don’t know why I can never remember it. Him, Doc Russell, Mike, and Nick, basically the significant others of the ladies going out. I know you don’t fall into that category, but we would like to have you join in. It probably will only be a couple of hours and the women won’t even be home when it ends.”
“Sounds like a great idea, Bob, I would like that. Thanks for including me,” he said, looking at Alison and I. We were trying to stifle a laugh.
“What are you two laughing about?” asked Bob.
“Oh nothing, honey, just girl stuff,” Alison said, grinning.
“You two and your girl stuff,” he said. “Come on, Josh, let’s go into the living room.
“After you,” he said to Bob. “What are we watching tonight?”
“Some movie called Safe. It is supposed to be action packed,” Bob said with his back to us. Josh turned to us and gave us a shrug. We laughed harder.
“I have heard of it. I think it has Jason Statham in it.”
“Yeah, I like his movies.”
“Me too,” Josh said. We came into the living room with a tray of coffee for the three of us and a beer for Bob. He started the movie. It was definitely the action packed adventure he was looking to watch. Surprisingly, Josh and I stayed awake for the entire movie. When it was over, I stood up and stretched. I was really beginning to feel tired. I needed to sleep.
“Thank you for inviting us over, Bob, but I think it is time to hit the sack. I am tired.”
“Shopping with my wife all day will wear you out,” he said, giving me a hug.
“Shut up, you big lug,” Alison said. “Have a good night you two. Call me tomorrow so we can decide on what time we are leaving and I will let Vanessa know.”
“Will do,” I said with a smile and headed out the door. Josh followed. We drove back home in silence. We were both too tired to talk. “I am headed to bed. I will have to register Cassie in the morning.”
“Okay,” he said, yawning. “I will see you in the morning.”
“Are you going to sleep in your own bed or would you like to come upstairs and sleep in mine?”
“I think coming upstairs could be trouble.”
“Somehow I doubt that, tonight, at least,” I said with a grin.
“Good point,” he said, yawning again. “Let’s go.”
“Okay,” I said, heading up the stairs. He followed. He saw the dress hanging on the closet door.
“That is going to look beautiful on you,” he said.
“Thank you,” I said, undressing to my bra and panties and climbing in bed. He followed suit. I was facing the closet when I felt his arm come around me. He kissed my bare shoulder.
“Good night, beautiful,” he said.
“Good night,” I said. Within in five minutes the two of us were fast asleep. The alarm startled me awake. Josh was already out of bed. I did not feel him get out of bed. I got dressed and went downstairs to see that he had coffee brewing, but was outside. I was starting breakfast when he came back in. “What time did you wake up?”
“About an hour before the alarm,” he said, planting a kiss on my cheek. “I carefully got out of bed so I didn’t wake you. You were sleeping so peacefully.”
“Thank you for that,” I said. “I didn’t know you had left.”
“Good,” he said. It was the second night in a row where I had a peaceful sleep. There were no nightmares and John did not invade my dreams. I wondered if I was beginning to move on. Josh saw the look of concern on my face. “You okay?”
“Yeah,” I said, smiling. “I am okay.”
“Okay,” he said, pouring us both a cup of coffee. “I think today should be your first lesson on one of the machines.”
“That sounds good to me,” I said. “After breakfast, I will register little Cassie, who looks like she is waiting for you to come back outside, and then I will be out for my first lesson.”
“That sounds like a plan to me,” he said, looking out the window and shaking his head.
“She likes you,” I said.
“I don’t know about her.”
“It is fascination,” I said. “She is not sure what you are, but knows that you are nice to her. You were also the first person she saw. Your hands were the thing that helped her come into this world.”
“I know, but I am not her mother or father.”
“John used to have the same thing take place when he helped birth a calf or colt. He said it would end in a couple of days. Most of the time, it took about two weeks before they would stop following him around.”
“Now I know what I have to look forward to,” he said, smiling.
“Yes, you do. She is just getting to know you. She will become fascinated with her own kind soon enough.”
“I hope so,” he said as I put breakfast on the table. We heard a deep, low outcry from outside. We both went to the window. Cassie was mooing because Josh walked away from the window.
“I think we need to have breakfast on the porch so she can see you,” I said with a laugh.
“Oh jeez,” he said. “Is that why she cried out?”
“Yes,” I said. “You moved out of her sight.”
“She doesn’t do that at night,” he said.
“I know,” I said. “But that is because she is in the stall with her mother. She knows when it is bed time. It is during the day she wants to see you.”
“Alright,” he said. “I guess we should eat out there then.”
“Soon,” I said, grabbing our plates. “You just have to be patient.”
“I will be,” he said. We ate our breakfast with Cassie watching our every move. I cleared the plates and went upstairs to register her name. When I came back down, Josh was waiting on the porch steps. “Are you ready?”
“I am,” I said. “Which machine are you going to teach me today?”
“I think the tractor should be your first lesson.”
“Okay,” I said. “I am ready.”
“Great,” he said. We began walking hand in hand toward the equipment barn when there was a nudge prying our hands apart. Cassie had worked her head between our hands. I laughed. “What? Do you think my hands are only meant to be petting you?”
She looked up at him with her big, brown eyes. He petted her on the head. I joined him in giving her some pets. She leaned up against him. He looked at me and smiled.
“Do you see what she does?”
“Yes,” I said. “It is cute. She really likes you.”
“I guess,” he said. “Let’s get on that tractor.”
“Let’s,” I said. We walked the rest of the way to the barn with Cassie between us. Josh went in and drove the tractor out of the barn. Cassie and I waited. He pulled it through the big double doors and turned it off. He climbed down. I noticed just how tight his jeans were. I smiled. He got off the last step and turned around.