“What are those three talking about? They’d better pay attention to where they’re going. Oh, my goodness they’re going to walk right into the kitchen steps!”
Martha was in the mudroom at the window. She had seen Miss Em, her sister and Samuel coming in from the garden. Miss Em was hanging on his every word. Her sister was nodding, adding a comment or two. Samuel was gesturing in the direction of the orchard. They slowed their walk as they approached the kitchen steps. Martha breathed a sigh of relief. Back into the kitchen she said. “Looks like they’re fine, Elizabeth. Do you think they’ll tell us what that conversation’s about?”
The back door opened. “You ladies, get on in there. I’ll just clean off my boots. Don’t want Elizabeth to have my hide and refuse me my sandwich.” Dez just laughed. “She wouldn’t refuse you anything, Samuel.” She and Em went into the kitchen. “Hi, you two. What’s for lunch?” Dez loved these two women like they were older sisters. “Just soup and sandwiches, Miss Dez.”
“Before you get your lunch, what were you three talking about so intently?” Martha couldn’t contain herself any longer. James always kept her out of the loop about discussions with Samuel unless it involved her role as housekeeper. Elizabeth was not quite as tight lipped, so she did know that her employer was going to be working with her sister. She had mentioned that they would be working together “outside”, but nothing more. Miss Em spoke up “Samuel has become my teacher about working the land. I’m listening to everything he has to tell me.” She smiled and took a seat at the table. “I’m quite excited about this farming thing. Getting out of the house and away from meetings, possibly even growing our produce for sale.”
“My goodness, Miss Em. You’re positively glowing. What an adventure!” Martha had known Miss Em for a very long time. Had seen her through her years with Mr. Michael and the very sad time after he passed away. She had been very pleased that she and her sister had found each other. Had done very well during and after the pandemic. But farming? Would she be strong enough?
“Everyone thinks I’m crazy to learn about farming.” She stopped suddenly “Samuel says I need to listen to the birds, feel the wind and be gentle with the bees. That’s right, Dez?” Her sister, already eating her soup, just nodded and gestured towards Samuel. He smiled in agreement. “We’ll get Miss Em all fixed up and have her knowing the land like the back of her hand”
“Why don’t you three join us for lunch. If we’re going to make a team, we might as well start.” Dez patted the seats beside her. When James came out of his office for his lunch, he saw this little knot of friends and was pleased.
~~~~~
“You know, Matt, I really don’t think my wife is cut out for farming. She’s been a socialite for far too long. I just can’t see her hands getting all rough from a days work.” Jeremy had finally said it out loud. As long as Emelina was a ‘woman of breeding’ - that’s what his mother would have said - there was no room for the life of a farmer, orchardist or beekeeper. It was all right for his sister-in-law, but not his gentle wife. “If you want my opinion, I don’t have one. My ex didn’t like getting her hands dirty. That was our biggest argument. Never wanted to come out and help with any of the farm. I figure if Dez’s sister wants to try to do the work, why not.”
Jeremy had taken Matt up on his invitation to help him out at the orchard. He had no idea what he could do, but thought that if he could sew people back together and diagnose diseases, he’d be of some use to Matt. Now he was staring at a tractor with no idea what to do. Matt laughed in a burst. “It’s not going to blow up. It’s just a hunk of metal. All I want you to do is move it across the yard to get it out of my way.” Jeremy had been confronted with heart attacks, trauma victims, hysterical children, people dying of COVID 19 …..any thing that came in the ER doors, but this little green tractor was terrifying. “Jeremy it’s just like your car, without the bells and whistles. You turn it on, work the clutch and gas,……….” Matt saw the frozen look of panic on his friend’s face and decided to help. “Here, let me show you. Get up in the seat. The key’s in the ignition - she’s a pretty old girl - get your hands on the steering wheel.” Matt spent most of the morning getting Jeremy acquainted with his equipment. Muttering to himself, he said. “Sorry I got him out here! Wonder how Em’s ever going to manage?”
“Did you say something, Matt? How’m I doing?” Jeremy was having the time of his life now that he sort of knew what he was doing. “Just talking to myself. Do that all the time, especially when I’m working on my own.”
“Matt, I’m beginning to see the attraction of working out here on your own. In the hospital it’s all call bells and p.a. systems and telephones. Patients and nurses asking for help - lots of times with no answers for them. Out here, it’s just the silence of the trees, the birds and butterflies.” He had relaxed for the first time in weeks. A different sort of relaxation, he thought. “Like all the noise has been turned off and I just have to drive this tractor. Mow the grass.” He grinned. “And follow Matt around.”
He looked at his watch when he felt his stomach stir. “Let me take you for lunch, Matt. I have been more trouble than a help this morning and want to do something for you.” On his forklift, Matt wanted to keep working, finishing up stacking the empty pallets but he was hungry and an offer of lunch sounded good. If he’d been on his own he would have just kept on working. There wasn’t anything much in his fridge anyway. Parking and turning off the forklift, he jumped down and knocked the dust off his pants. “Let me go in the house to change first.” Only gone minutes, Jeremy had time to look around the yard and see what he could see. New and old equipment, some he had never seen before. For the first time, he had a better understanding of what Em might be looking for. What he might be looking for.
“There is nothing like looking, if you want to find something.”
~ J.R.R.Tolkein, The Hobbit
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