Michele Belcher's Blog: June 2013

I spent five years writing a book and I finished it this spring and I would like to get someone's opinion about it. I don't have any friends who are into reading books so I don't know if my book is any good or not. If it is I will continue writing but if it isn't I would like to know so I don't waste my time, or anyone else's time, if I am not a good enough writer. I am going post some of the chapters here and if you are interested in reading the whole book let me know with an email or a comment and I will send you the whole book to read. Thank you for reading this. Michele Rae DeJean
THE WILL OF MY GRANDFATHER - Chapters 1 through 24 (out of 50)

A faint reddish pink glow crept out onto the dark and deserted street. It was radiating from the faded neon Open sign which was attached to a large painted wood sign hanging in front of a building sporting a log cabin façade. The neon alternatingly flickered bright and dim where it sat on top of the big sign with the flaking gold and green paint barely clinging on to it. The name spelled out was Murphy’s Tavern and the front door of the tavern was ajar with a colorful group of men and women revealed through the crack. The men were wearing cowboy shirts and boots in contrast to the women who wore sequined blouses and brightly colored silky skirts. They loosely huddled around an antique jukebox and were attempting to sing along to the sounds coming out of it. The men pounded their feet to the beat while the women clapped along and it was unlikely that any of them could hear the sound of their own voice over the noise they were making. The clock chimed the twelve chords leading up to the New Year and when the twelfth chime proclaimed it was midnight it triggered kissing and hugging among these town folk who knew each other all too well. In the midst of all of the reveling a raggedy dressed old man stumbled into the bar to the obvious annoyance of the partiers.

“Old man Anthony is dead! I just heard that old man Anthony has died!”

The group halted their celebration and quietly stood and stared at the old man. They were silent for a moment and then turned to blankly look at each other. An unspoken agreement was reached and they started singing again, this time to Auld Lang Sine which had begun playing on the jukebox while the old man made his announcement.

Meanwhile in a different town another New Year’s Eve celebration was in progress in a small apartment occupied by a handsome, dark haired disheveled looking young man and two quite attractive young women. One was a honey blonde woman with very long hair who was wearing a bright red sequined dress and the other woman had light brown short hair and was wearing black jeans and a tight fitting tee shirt. All three of them were holding glasses of champagne and making cheery gestures toward each other as the television announced it was midnight. After they finished their toasts the flashily dressed woman gave the man a sly look and the two of them began singing Happy Birthday. The other woman gave them a look that revealed little enthusiasm for the serenade.

“Isn’t it exciting to turn thirty on New Year’s Eve Karen?”

“Not particularly since my birthday has occurred on New Year’s for the previous twenty nine years. You two are making ‘much ado about nothing’ and I feel the same as I did when I was twenty nine, which was one minute ago. You probably wish you were still thirty don’t you Tom?”

“Not really, life would still suck just it has been for all of the previous years so why would I wish to go back and live it over again?"

“What a lovely attitude you have.”

“Can’t you two be nice to each other for just one evening? What is wrong with you guys? It seems like all you do anymore is fight and it’s getting old.”

“You mean old like me Tina? Besides, if I wanted your opinion I’d give it to you!”

The empty bottles of cheap beer littering the kitchen floor seemed to indicate that the trio was experiencing hard times. There were many more bottles sitting on the kitchen counter next to a cake that was decorated with children’s toys. They dancing as the alcohol began to exert its influence on their party.

"Hey girls, check out this joke, why did the chicken cross the road?”

The women both immediately glared at him.

“You have got to be kidding with a chicken joke. Don’t you need to dust it off first?” Tina snidely remarked.

"Can’t we skip the lame jokes?" Karen said with a not now look in her eyes.

"Lame you say? Surely you can come up with something more insulting to say than that. I wasn't trying out for a talk show. I guess I mistakenly thought a little humor might be kind of nice for a change. I wouldn't want anyone to get hurt by laughing!”

“Why start thinking now?" Karen challengingly threw out.

“You girls have no sense of humor. It actually is a good joke but you'll never know."

Tina gave him a dirty look and went to the bathroom. Tom reached over and grabbed Karen's hand.

“This hasn't been that bad of a birthday has it?"

“I guess not.” She reluctantly said.

“I wish I could afford to give you a decent gift.”

“It doesn’t matter because I don’t really need anything. You really were never very good at buying me presents I liked anyway.”

"It’s so nice of you to say that even when I’m not broke I can’t make you happy with a gift anyway. I must be a pretty crappy boyfriend so why are you still with me?”

"Not all gifts cost money. There is something I’ve been wanting for a while. I was waiting until things got better but I may be waiting forever if I wait for that to happen.” She tentatively said.

“Please tell me what that gift is and I’d be happy to oblige.”

“I would like for us to have a child.”

Tom dropped her hand as if she was on fire. "You’ve got to be kidding. Didn’t you just say what a loser I am, and then you jump light years forward into wanting to have a child with me?”

“Well I’m not getting younger while waiting for our situation to improve and time marches on.”

“I don’t recall us ever having any conversations about either one of us wanting a family. We barely can afford to buy champagne for your birthday, how are we supposed to support a family?” Tom couldn’t believe what Karen was saying.

“It’s stupid of me to think that you would want to get a job and be responsible like everyone else. I’ll be old enough to be grandmother before I ever become a mother.”

“That’s ridiculous and you’ve got to be kidding about wanting us to have a kid feeling the way you do about me.”

“I should have known better than to bring it up.” Karen abruptly go up and went to the bedroom and slammed the door shut.

Tom couldn’t believe Karen would suggest their having a child when they couldn’t even get along or support themselves. The sound of the toilet flushing brought Tom back to reality, Karen’s sister was still there and missed the whole baby conversation.

“Where’s Karen?” Tina looked curiously around the room.

“She’s in the bedroom, the party ended in a mistrial while you were in the bathroom.”

“Very funny, what really happened?”

Tom shrugged his shoulders. “You’ll have to ask her.”

”Fine, tell Karen I will call her in the morning. I hope things are better than they seem to be right now.” She grabbed her coat and left the apartment.

Tom went to the refrigerator and grabbed another beer and went back to the couch and soon passed out.

The next morning came and the light streaming through the apartment highlighted the mess from the previous evening and managed to make the room look even worse than it already did. Tom was still sitting on the couch in the semi upright and sideways position he was sitting in with his beer when he passed out. To his amazement the beer was still upright between his knees when he awoke. When he moved to get up he felt a sharp stabbing pain in his neck from the unnatural position he spent the night in. He stood up and stretched and then went to the bedroom where Karen had retreated into the night before, but the room was empty. The apartment wasn’t very big but he checked the bathroom anyway and when she wasn't in there he went in to see there to see if he looked as bad as he felt, he didn’t but he looked worse. The tattered jeans and old sweatshirt he had on did nothing to improve his appearance. He ran a comb through his hair, slipped on some tennis shoes and grabbed a coat and headed out the door. He stumble walked down the stairs leading to the sidewalk and joined the crowd of people walking by.

Tom wove his way through the horde that was in no apparent hurry to get anywhere. He got to the first crosswalk and started through it even though Do Not Cross was flashing on the sign. A taxi came around the corner and barely missed hitting him. The driver slammed on the brakes, honked the horn and then he rolled down the window and yelled at Tom.

"Hey asshole, get some glasses!"

Tom responded by flipping him off and continuing on across the street. He turned right at the next corner and then turned right again. He entered a narrow walkway which ended near a door with a small OPEN sign over it and the word BAR painted on the side of the wall next to it. He continued around the side the next door which was marked ENTRANCE/EXIT. Tom entered the one room bar which had six tables and a counter that extended the length of the room. There was a small but inclusive selection of liquor stacked behind the counter next to a small grill. Tom grabbed a newspaper from the counter and sat on a stool in front of the counter. The bartender came out from the back room and looked at Tom and then poured a glass of beer and set it on the bar in front of him. Tom was looking at the newspaper while holding a pen in his hand.

"When did you learn how to read?" The bartender said with a wry smile.

"Very funny, I can get attitude at home and it's free!"

"Well, considering how big your tab is, what's different about your getting it here?"

"In that case can I get a shot of Tequila to go with my beer and attitude, please?"

"It's been over two months since you've paid anything on your tab. It seems to me that it would be cheaper just to give you the beer and keep the tequila."

Tom looked at the bartender and his face clearly showed the despair he was feeling.

“Yeah I know, it seems like my luck has got to change one of these days...wouldn't you think?"

The bartender grabbed a bottle of Tequila and poured a shot and set it next to the beer.

"I try not to think too much, it’s too much effort and doesn't do any good.” He turned and walked away.

Tom downed the shot of Tequila and as the warm glow of the booze made its way through his body he smiled towards the disappearing bartender.

"Thanks man. The only good things I still have to look forward to these days are straight shots with beer chasers.”

Tom picked up the beer and quickly drank it as well. He looked around for the bartender but he was still in the back room so he got up and walked out of the dark bar and back in to the brightness of the day.

Tom left the same way he came in but turned the opposite direction when he got to the sidewalk. He walked along with the rest of the pedestrians and appeared to be walking aimlessly. He stopped in front of a small gate that led into a playground which had a well-manicured lawn and a sandy area with a swing set.

The day was cold and there were only a couple of people sitting on one of the benches and there were no kids playing anywhere. Tom walked down a small path that wound through the play areas and ended at a wading pool surrounding a fountain. He picked up some rocks and started trying to skip them. Tom appeared ready to leave but then he picked up a few more small rocks. Karen suddenly appeared and walked towards where Tom was standing.

“Sorry I’m late but we actually had enough customers for me to get an extra hour of work. After our party went so badly last night I wasn’t really sure you would even show up.”

“Late isn’t a problem because I didn’t have anything else to do, unfortunately. Unfortunately only because I wish I had a good reason not to be here, like a job.” He sounded sincere.

Karen sat down on a bench as Tom tried to skip one last rock.

“I’ve been thinking about what you said last night.”

“And what are you thinking?” Karen implored hopefully, her dark blue eyes were glistening with a hint of tears.

“That having a baby for any reason is a very bad idea and I don’t believe you don’t know it!”

Tom started walking a tight circle around Karen while keeping his eyes fixated on hers.

“That’s what I figured you would say.” Disappointment was written on her face.

“Why are you taking this so hard? If we aren’t making it without a kid how could we be better with one?” Tom seemed genuinely mystified.

“Our relationship and the lack of money continue to stay the same. I think being a father could be the best thing to happen to you. It would give you a reason to step up.” Her unspoken words were louder than the spoken ones.

“That’s ridiculous Karen, if I can’t take care of myself how can I take care of you and a child? I just don’t buy that you don’t know that deep down somewhere inside!”

“You don’t need to be so negative about my feelings even if you don’t share them.” Her head was bowed down.

“Okay, let’s say for a moment that I share your dream for a child, and I pretend that this is a rational conversation. How do you propose we feed the kid?” He sounded pretty upset.

“Our child would have loving parents which is more that most children have these days. You could get a job if you really wanted one.”

“Love can’t buy you money and we don’t have enough to raise a child. Being a loving parent is over rated and it is not going to pay the bills. You are not in the real world and since you think I’m such a loser, why would you want a child with me anyway?” He was glaring at her.

“I guess I don’t really have an answer for that. I do love you and I think you really love me but maybe I don’t know what love is. You are correct that I am delusional and I’ve been lying to myself. I think that you will be sorry about this someday but you are probably right that I need to get out of here!” Karen leaned over and kissed Tom lightly on the cheek and walked away.

Tom watched her walk off, feeling sad but also somewhat relieved. He waited until she was out of sight and he walked back to the apartment.

Darkness came and the apartment looked much better now that the light was disappearing. Tom was lying on the couch drinking a beer and surfing through the channels. He belched loudly and for a moment he expected to hear a reprimand from Karen but then he remembered that if she was true to her word that won’t be happening again. He felt a pang of sadness so he turned up the volume and went to the refrigerator and returned with a fresh beer.

There was a light knock on the door and before Tom could sit up the door opened and Karen entered. She immediately began yelling at Tom.

“What a mess! It looks like a pig sty in here!”

“What do you expect? I let the maid take the day off since I was supposed to be home alone tonight!”

“That’s so very funny! I find it really amazing how lazy you are, you do nothing all day long! You’ve been this way for months. You could at least clean the place up a little since I'm paying the bills.” The rage is building in her voice.

“I was going to clean it up after I met you in the park but then when you said you weren’t coming back I lost my motivation.” He sounds sheepish.

“Everything is always later! You have the same old excuses every time I think you will change.”

“So what’s your point? You already said goodbye at the park so what are you doing here?” His voice is now sounding full of rage.

“Since my stuff is here I came to tell you that maybe I was a little harsh earlier but after seeing the same old shit going on I guess I wasn’t harsh at all. I am tired of this. Why are you so lazy?” She is practically yelling at him.

“Why don’t you just leave like you told me you were going to do?”

“I don’t know what I was expecting when I came here this evening.”

“Don’t put things off until later that you can do today, isn’t that what you always tell me?” His voice has a sharp edge to it.

She glared at him and left the apartment and slammed the door.

Tom sat up on the couch and angrily kicked the coffee table which knocked his beer and an ashtray onto the floor. He kicked the table again because he was mad at his own stupidity which made even more of a mess. Instead of cleaning it up he took a shower.

He walked out of the bedroom wearing clean clothes although his new clothes didn’t look much better than his old ones other than being less wrinkled. He grabbed his jacket off the chair and left the apartment. He walked down the sidewalk that ran in front of the building and appeared to be walking to nowhere in particular. The noise was tremendous from the rush hour traffic combined with the sounds of horns being used by frustrated drivers. Tom stood at a corner and was approached by a man who appeared to be homeless.

“Hey buddy, can you spare some change? I haven’t had anything to eat for two days.”

Tom doubted the two day part but grabbed his cigarettes and held one out. “You’ve caught me at a bad time and this is all I have to offer.”

The man grabbed the cigarette and gestured for a light. Tom lit the cigarette and the man nodded his head in a gesture of gratitude. He noticed that the man immediately hit up another pedestrian. Tom muttered under his breath. “Who knows? Maybe someday I will end up like him.” Tom had a feeling that day might not be too far away considering he was living in an apartment that his girlfriend paid the rent on and he had just run her off.

Tom had only left the apartment because of the fight he had with Karen so he took a turn on the sidewalk that led him back the where he started. He went in and cleaned up the beer and ashtray mess he made before he left and turned on the television and laid on the couch.

Tom woke up early the next morning with the television still on but the station off of the air. He once again had slept on the couch right where he had been sitting. It was the second night in a row though last night had been a choice, unlike the night before. He got up and made a cup of instant coffee and took it into the living room near the only window in the apartment so he could enjoy the morning sun.

There was a light knock on the door and Tina walked in before Tom could get up to open the door. She walked over and sat on the sofa with her back turned to the window. She gave Tom what he perceived to be a disapproving look which he knew he richly deserved. Neither of them said anything for a few minutes.

“So what did your sister have to say? Does she plan on coming back?”

“It’s doubtful as long as you’re still here. Last night she came over to my house in an extremely bad mood and said you guys needed to take a permanent break from each other. When she went to work this morning she said something about going to our mother's house and that you were a lazy bum.”

“Yeah, I may be a lazy bum but she is totally delusional. She is right about us needing to take a break.” Tom had a dejected tone in his voice.

“You haven’t been very nice to her lately. She asked me to grab some of her clothes if you were still here.” Tina said in a matter of fact tone.

“Why does everything seem to be going wrong? I guess I don’t deserve anything good since I don’t do anything good.” Tom sounded whiny.

“What happened to those dreams you had about going off to some tropical paradise to live? Weren’t you going to sail across the water and open up a nightclub on a tropical island?” Tina sounded sincere.

“Yeah, well you know what they say happens with dreams, they are a lot like promises, here today and gone tomorrow.’’

“That’s too bad, your eyes used to light up whenever you talked about it.”

“Well that dream is gone and there is no point in thinking about it.”

“I think my sister misses the way you used to be. Maybe it was only a dream, but at least it was a nice one.”

The doorbell rang again and Tom went to answer it. Tina walked over to the television and picked up a picture sitting on top. It was a photograph of Tom and Karen in better times. Tina stood there looking at the photo.

Tom returned to the room with an envelope. “That was a mail delivery service.”

“Good news or bad news?”

“It’s a certified letter telling me that my grandfather has died.”

“That’s too bad, I’m really sorry.”

“It’s no big deal. We were never very close and I haven’t seen him since my mother died eighteen years ago. She sent me on a bus to stay with him the summer before she died of cancer. The last time I saw my grandfather was at her funeral, not long after the summer I spent with him. The three months I spent in the country with my grandfather were pretty cool. It was the first trip I had ever taken by myself. This letter says I have to go to the town he lived in to find out what he left me. I have nothing better to do so I guess I should go there. You can tell Karen I won’t be here so she can come back to the apartment since she told you she doesn’t want to be here as long as I’m here.”

“A change of scenery might do you some good. I’ll tell her she can come and get her own things since that was the reason she sent me here.”

“It certainly won’t hurt anything for me to get away from here for a while. Could lend me a few bucks until I get back?” Tom sounded pretty hesitant about asking this.

She opened her purse and slowly handed him some money. Tom took the money and gave her a grateful look.

“Thanks for being so understanding. If this turns out to be something good I promise you won’t regret this. I will get this back to you one way or another. I know you think I am a loser and I am fairly inclined to agree with you, maybe this is a sign that my luck is changing.”

“Well nobody hopes that more than I do, except maybe my sister, so I will keep my fingers crossed. Have a good trip and I really do hope something good comes of this.”

Tom went to the bedroom to pack for the trip he was about to embark on and Tina left with Karen’s things she had already gathered together.

The bus trip from the big city to the small town took about four hours longer than it would have taken by car but it finally arrived in the town Tom's grandfather had lived in early in the afternoon. The bus made only one trip a day from the northern part of the state to the southern end and it stopped at every city or town in between, this kind of trip was referred to as the ‘milk run’.

Tom was the only person waiting to get off the bus as it came to a stop alongside the bench on a sidewalk that ran in front of a small market inside a converted warehouse building. It was the brightest part of the day but the sky was darkening and dust was starting to swirl on the side of the road in an ominous manner. Tom’s backpack was hanging over one shoulder and his jacket was draped over the other as he departed from the steps of the bus. The bus stopped just long enough for his feet to touch the ground before the driver put the bus back in gear and Tom watched it vanish into the horizon.

Tom’s hippie-like appearance was in total contrast to the rural setting he had just arrived in. A young farmer wearing a large cowboy hat drove up on a tractor and stopped next to where Tom was standing. His cheek bulged with chewing tobacco and he spit juice on the ground in front of Tom, he then revved up the engine and drove on down the road. Three old men wearing coveralls and baseball caps sat on a bench a few feet away and they watched Tom with great curiosity. Tom figured it was probably because there wasn’t much to do in this town and the arrival of someone new was probably pretty exciting. The men sat and stared at him without saying a word to each other.

Tom approached them. “Can someone tell me where the county clerk’s office is?”

No one responded at first and then all three of them pointed at the same time to a nearby building. Tom found this amusing and chuckled. “You guys sure make one hell of a greeting committee, thanks for your help.”

The men didn’t make a move and then they all put their arms down at the same time after pointing out the building. Tom walked to the building and a strange feeling came over him as if someone was watching him. He glanced around and noticed an older woman staring at him. She was leaning out of a window in a building ahead of him and it appeared she was trying not to be seen, she was partially hidden behind a curtain. An involuntary shudder ran up his spine as he made eye contact and when he passed under the window where she was standing she quickly closed the curtains.

Tom hadn’t felt very welcome from anyone he had encountered since his departure from the bus but he was beginning to feel persecuted. The town he remembered from when he was there as a teenager was of a much larger place than the one he had encountered thus far. It did seem that there were a lot of empty buildings that appeared to be recently abandoned.

The building the old woman was lurking in looked as if it was vacant as well. Tom felt a sinister aura radiating from the woman, she was dressed in black and he felt an ominous sense of foreboding exuding from her.

Tom arrived at the building he had been pointed to and on the outside it said it was the county records office. He entered and inside was a large warehouse type arrangement with a small office inside. Tom stood there and a slightly built man with a large mustache, he looked to be in his early sixties, came walking out of the office.

“What can I do for you Sir?”

“I think I should be the one calling you Sir. You have just spoken the most words I've heard from anyone in this town since I arrived here. I am Antonio Vargas’ grandson and I received a letter that I am to see someone here about his will.”

The building was fairly empty with odd pieces of office furniture placed about it. There were several rows of file cabinets lining one wall and many more loose files stacked on shelves. The man motioned Tom over to a conference table and walked over to one of the cabinets and opened it. Tom sat and watched as the man retrieved a folder from the file drawer and brought it to the table. He opened it up and looked at Tom briefly and then looked down at the papers in the folder.

“I, Antonio J. Vargas, residing in Phoenix, Oregon, being of sound mind and body do hereby declare this instrument to be my last will and testament. I give all of my estate which consists of a bank account, a twenty acre ranch with a house, a barn and one hundred acres of land, adherent with the enclosed conditions; to my grandson, Thomas L. Simonsen.”

The man then looked at Tom and he looked like he was in a state of shock.

“There are some conditions listed in the will but what I read aloud is the major content of what is written here, except to describe the property in more detail. I doubt you want to hear the ‘fine print’ so to speak, do you?”

“Only if you think it is necessary.”

“Your grandfather made out this will about two months ago, so as far as I know these are his final wishes.”

“I am not complaining,” Tom whistled and leaned back in his chair. “But why he left this to me is a surprise since I haven’t heard from him for about eighteen years but neither of us has been in contact with each other. I can’t believe anyone even found me, which is usually a good thing, but I certainly am glad I got ‘found’ this time! Nothing like this has ever happened to me before.”

“I can’t tell you why your grandfather named you his heir but since he is gone it will be his secret forever.” The man said while giving Tom what Tom perceived to be an odd look.

“I remember he had a very nice ranch when I stayed there many years ago.”

“It’s a beautiful ranch with some of the finest grazing lands in the entire valley. They are presently being leased out, and you are entitled to receive the rent money from them, should you decide to stay.”

The man took a deep breath and continued reading, “There are two conditions established in the will.”

“Well go ahead and tell me what they are?”

“First, you will not be able to sell any part of what has been willed to you, this includes the house with the twenty acres known as PARADISE RANCH and the adjoining property that is leased out, for a period of twenty years. At the end of that period the beneficiary of the will becomes the official owner and will be allowed to keep or sell any part of the properties.”

Tom started laughing. “So I guess it really isn’t mine for twenty years then, is that correct?”

“I am not sure what you mean but it is yours but you can’t sell any of it. Secondly are responsible for Ignacio as long as you live on the ranch. The last item is your grandfather’s money, it is set up at the bank in a trust with a monthly stipend as well as an account you can withdraw a set amount every year to cover any repairs, a vehicle or any other expenses you wish to incur up to that amount. I will go get the information you will need to get the account information from the bank. There is a lawyer that has paperwork with all of the details if you should ever need them.” The man got up and left the table and went into the office.

“So what is Ignacio?” Tom received no answer and the man had his back turned as he retreated into the small office and retrieved something out of the desk. He returned with two envelopes. He took a key out of the smallest envelope and handed it to Tom.

“There may be more keys at the ranch but this is the one your grandfather had put with his will. When you go out of the office door take a left and keep on the main road until you reach a driveway with a wood sign over it that has PARADISE RANCH carved onto it. You shouldn’t have any trouble finding it.”

“I came here on the bus. How far is the ranch from here?”

“It is well within a reasonable walking distance.”

“It has been a pleasure doing business with you.” Tom stretched out his hand to shake. The man handed Tom a larger manila envelope.

“Here is information about the bank account that is already set up so you can go make arrangements to access the account whenever you are ready.”

Tom took the second envelope. “Thanks for everything. I can use a good meal and a stiff drink to celebrate my good fortune!”

“There is a bar a few blocks away and I guess the good part will be up to you but it is indeed a small fortune.”

The man continued to talk in the same monotone voice that he had from the very first words they exchanged.

Tom walked out of the building and headed in the direction he was told to go in. He was anxious to revisit the place he had so many vague and happy memories of. He remembered there was a large house with a barn and a pond that he had waded in a few times. He was thinking maybe he should have asked how far down the road it was since his car was the shoes on his feet but he remembered he was told it was close so hopefully that didn’t meant anything different here than it had meant in the city he came from.

When Tom passed by the store the bus had let him off in front of he went inside and bought a few things to eat and drink to take to the ranch. He hadn’t eaten since he got on the bus that morning and that was beginning to feel as if it had occurred on a different planet, he felt like he had entered the twilight zone.

The road he was walking on began as asphalt but quickly turned into gravel and before long he was walking on a dirt road. A wood fence appeared alongside the road and up ahead he could see a driveway with a sign hanging above it, he hoped this was the one he had been told to look for.

A large field with cattle grazing on it was located next to the fence and gigantic oak trees lined the driveway. The wind gusts were getting stronger and they forcefully shook the branches of the large trees. Near the edge of the driveway was a gate with a small sign hanging on it which read Welcome and it was just then he noticed the large wood sign over the top of the gate had the words Paradise Ranch written on it and it led into the driveway.

Tom walked through the gate and was greeted by the beautiful log cabin house from his memories. The yard that surrounded the house seemed to be well taken care of and he noticed noises coming from inside the barn which sounded like a dog barking. The barn was located just behind the house. He thought it was a little strange considering his grandfather was dead and he assumed the house was deserted. Maybe a neighbor had been taking care of the dog and had left it in the barn. Maybe this was the Ignacio mentioned in the will, though it was a strange name for a dog. After he checked out the house he would go out to the barn and see if there really was a dog inside.

To the right of the house there was a well-manicured garden area with a tall fence around it and rock partitions within it that he assumed were designed to keep rows of plants separate from each other, although it was winter and there were very few plants in it. Behind the house was a small hill, barren of any tall plants or trees but it was covered with low growing vegetation that looked like clover.

The wind was twirling the small branches of the huge trees in a circular motion and they wildly danced as if a giant was sitting inside and shaking the branches around. Tom took the key he had been given out of his pocket and walked up to the front door and slipped the key in to the lock.

As the door opened Tom’s mind instantly flooded with memories from the time in his youth that he had spent there. He threw the door wide open and walked through the house. Tom turned all of the lights on, even though there was already plenty of light, because the act of turning the lights on made him feel powerful and in control. No one was there to tell him not which filled him with a sense of power that he hadn’t ever felt before. He’d never owned anything before this and it felt really good to walk into a place that was actually his own. Even if it had been given to him and not earned it was still his. He spent some time looking around the house and checking out the various rooms and then he went out to the barn to locate the dog he thought he had heard barking earlier.

The barn was close to the house and he entered it through a small side door instead of opening one of the large hanging doors that loomed overhead. He found the dog inside the first stall and when he opened it the dog almost knocked him down he was so excited to see someone. Tom noticed there was half of a bowl of food and a completely full bucket of water in the corner which led him to believe the dog wasn’t quite as abandoned as he made himself out to be. The dog was obviously well taken care of even if he did act like he hadn’t seen anyone for a long time, the dog was a mixed breed, something like a Labrador mixed with a border collie, one of those needy friendly types of dogs. Tom left the dog in the barn since he was going to walk back to town and go to the bank about his inheritance and also to find a place to get something to eat and drink. There were some other animals in the barn that he would check out later on, for now they would have to wait.

Tom returned to the house, wiped the dust from his jeans and walked into the living room and sat down on the large leather couch.

“Man I just won the lottery!” Tom said out loud as he looked around the room.

Next thing he knew he woke up still sitting on the couch in exactly the same position he was when he sat down on it.

“I can’t believe I keep doing this!” He exclaimed as he jumped upright.

Tom looked at his watch and noticed that he had only been asleep for an hour so he still had plenty of time to go back to town and get to the bank before it closed. He put his coat on and left his backpack on the couch after first grabbing the envelope with the bank information in it. The clouds had moved back in and the wind was blowing even harder than it had been when he first arrived.

He wandered around the side of the house to the driveway and as he approached the gate he noticed someone was standing outside the window near the living room. They appeared to be attempting to look inside the house and Tom figured he was probably the person they were trying to spy on which made him even more curious to see who it was. Whoever it was couldn’t be much of a threat since they hadn’t noticed the person they were trying to get a glimpse of was already outside of the house watching them try to spy on him.

Tom couldn’t see the face of the stranger because his back was turned to him so he attempted to sneak up on the man but as he did he stepped on something that made a loud cracking sound. Since there was no longer any chance of sneaking up on anyone Tom yelled at him instead.

“Hey, what are you doing out here?”

The intruder took off running towards the small hill behind the house without looking back. Tom had no chance of catching him so he just watched as the figure disappeared behind the hill. He walked back to the front door and locked it just in case the prowler decided to return to the house. He then left and started walking towards town again and he briefly wondered why the dog wasn’t barking this time.

As Tom walked back to town the weather continued to get more miserable and he noticed when he arrived there weren’t any people out but he soon noticed the lady dressed in black was watching him once again. Tom felt strong negative feelings radiating towards him from her. It was as if she disapproved of his presence from the way she was evilly staring at him and he had to wonder why since he didn’t know her. Tom saw a crow fly overhead and this sent an involuntary shudder up his spine, the feeling that frequently is described as “someone has just walked across your grave."

Tom continued towards the end of the block and saw a sign over a doorway that bore the name of the town on it and after that the word "Bank". Tom figured that had to be the one he was looking for. He walked up to the building and entered it. There was a tall and somewhat portly middle aged man wearing a cheap suit sitting behind the only desk in the room. He motioned Tom towards a chair next to it.

“I’ll be with you in a moment.” The man said and quickly got up from his chair and disappeared through a door in the middle of the room. A few minutes later the man emerged and walked back to the desk and looked at Tom with curiosity.

“I set up an account as per Antonio’s instructions through his lawyer a couple of weeks ago and have been waiting to see if his heir had been found. Today John Peters came over here, he said you had been in to his office and told me to expect you here this afternoon.”

“Boy, I have heard that secrets are hard to keep in a small town but given I have only been here a few hours this is rather amazing. Doesn’t anyone in this town have anything better to do than to stare at the stranger and talk about him?”

“Not really, I don't see why you are so surprised given that probably only three hundred people live within fifteen miles of here. Why do you think you wouldn't be the talk of the town?”

“Well, when you put it that way I guess you have a point. I haven’t ever been this big of a deal to anyone in my entire life for any reason. I’m not sure if it’s a good thing or a bad thing. So how much money do I have in my bank account?” Tom figured he might as well get to the point.

“Well, that will vary a little from month to month and year to year because of the way the funds are set up. Your grandfather had the account set up sort of like a trust fund. Every month there is a set amount of money automatically deposited into your account as well as a portion of the yearly stipend that you can use for repairs, vehicles and other necessary expenses. He wanted to make sure the money would last you for a long time. Two thousand dollars a month will be deposited into your account and an additional twelve thousand a year added at a thousand a month to cover ‘other expenses’. You will receive this amount for the twenty years that is bound by the stipulations of the will. Do you have any other questions?” The banker then handed several items to Tom.

Tom looked at them and they consisted of a checkbook, a debit card and a couple of other items.

“Is there anything more I can help you with today? I imagine you would probably like some real money as long as you are here wouldn't you?”

Tom was still stunned and he mumbled a quick thank you and a yes to wanting cash. He watched as the man opened the cash drawer and came back and handed him the money. Tom smiled and took the money and other items and he walked out and headed down the street towards the sign that said MURPHY’S TAVERN.

Tom arrived at the tavern quickly since every place in this town was located next to each other. He was feeling rather dazed and it seemed as if he had been pushed from the bank to the tavern by the strong wind that was continuously blowing. He couldn’t believe how much money he had been told was going to have be given to him to live on every month. That was more money than he had ever had to spend in one month, what a wealthy and generous man his grandfather was.

As Tom entered the tavern he noticed that the patrons seemed to be made up of mostly men. They were scattered around the bar but the main point of interest was a noisy game of pool going on in the middle of the room. Tom started to walk towards a table at the corner opposite from the front door but as he entered the place it became quiet as everyone turned to check him out. This irritated him so he walked directly to the bar instead of hiding out at a corner table. No one else was sitting at the counter so he sat right in front of where the bartender was standing.

Tom had the attention of everyone in the place so after he sat he looked around and addressed the patrons. “Good afternoon.”

Nobody acknowledged his greeting. When the bartender asked him what he would like to drink Tom tried to strike up a friendly conversation with him.

“What’s with this crazy weather, the wind hasn’t stopped blowing all day, is it always this way in the afternoon?”

The bartender seemed to be ignoring him just like the rest of the bar. Tom lost his patience, “Is everyone in just plain rude?”

Once again there was no response. The men continued playing pool but they were playing a bit more quietly. Tom faced the bartender and laid a twenty dollar bill on the bar.

“Young man, how about pouring me a beer and then give me a shot of whiskey and a pack of cigarettes as well, please?”

The bartender poured a beer, grabbed a shot glass and a pack of cigarettes and placed all three items in front of Tom and walked away. He grabbed a bottle of liquor and was getting ready to pour some into the shot glass he had set on the bar. Tom quickly snatched the bottle out of the bartender’s hands before any liquid had started to flow out.

“It’s probably a good idea if you just leave the bottle here with me because I have a feeling that this could be a lonely afternoon and I might need this bottle to keep me company.” Tom laughed.

The bartender gave him a startled look and took the money off the counter where Tom had set it and returned with the change.

“I didn't answer your question about the weather earlier because I have been inside this place all day so I don't have any idea what the weather is like outside. I wasn't trying to be rude." The bartender said to Tom.

"That's alright. I really didn't care about the answer as I was just trying to get someone to talk to me. Thanks for giving me an answer, since no one else seems to be willing to talk to me around here." Tom pushed the change the bartender put in front of him back towards him.

He picked up the bottle, shot glass and cigarettes and then he winked at the bartender and made a growling sound to the room. He headed to the table he was originally going to sit at. It was a small distance away from where the other customers were sitting, which was in front of the fake fireplace, but it was still close enough that he could watch the men that were playing pool.

“Howl!” Tom announced to the room.

Tom noticed that his howling seemed to make the bartender nervous but he didn’t say anything and kept himself busy behind the counter.

Tom filled the shot glass with whiskey and quickly drank it. He spent the rest of the afternoon and well into the evening alone at his table drinking the rest of the bottle and watching the men play pool. The ashtray in front of him became full of cigarette butts and the bottle of whiskey was getting emptier as the hands on the clock kept advancing.

The men eventually stopped playing pool and gathered at a table in the middle of the room and started to play cards. This continued throughout the evening until there were only a few embers left glowing in the faux fireplace and most of the customers had gone home.

Tom noticed that very few new customers came in to replace the ones that left. Tom got up from the table to leave after he had emptied the bottle of whiskey. It was quite dark outside and time to head back to the ranch. He had a good buzz from drinking the evening away on an empty stomach. He carefully walked to the door but he was staggering and could feel the eyes of the men watching him. They continued to ignore him as he walked by on his way to the door. He was almost to the door when a colorfully dressed young man brashly walked in. He was also drunk and Tom had a bad feeling as he observed the man’s swaggering gait upon entry. He looked to be around twenty five and was wearing a very gaudy outfit of an alligator skin coat and ostrich hide cowboy boots with gold tips. He had a large gold cap on one of his front teeth and when he smiled it looked more like a snarl than a smile. The men that remained in the bar were playing pool and Tom observed their response to the man seemed more perfunctory than respectful. Tom wasn't sure how he should react to this dandy but in his inebriated condition he hoped he would not have to react at all. The bartender was busy pouring him a drink out of a bottle of liquor that he had retrieved from under the counter.

The man looked at Tom with disdain. “Well look what we have in here now.”

Tom tried to take a menacing step towards him but he wasn't stable enough to take any steps without staggering much less be menacing. “What in the hell is your problem? You are the only guy in this place that has talked to me all day and then you turn out to be an asshole. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised.”

The men had stopped playing pool and tension filled the air.

“Randy, you should be more selective about who you let drink in here. You shouldn’t serve losers.” The newcomer addressed the bartender after he was handed a drink.

Tom moved closer. “From where I stand the only loser I see is you.”

There was silence as the men standing around the pool table watched the confrontation unfold.

“You should watch what you say jack-ass. You don’t know who you are talking to."

“I know exactly who I am talking to, an asshole!” Tom replied and stumbled towards the door again.

“I have some advice for you; you need to get out of this bar and leave town, because if I see you around here again you will live to regret it.”

Tom stared at the man and glanced over at the bartender, then at the group of men, “Growl, Howl!” He laughed and stumbled out the door.

The young man was infuriated and turned to the men watching him. “I had better not see any of you hanging out with that guy or you will be sorry!”

The men tried to avoid making eye contact with him and then they noticed Tom had returned to the bar and was standing in the doorway. The men attempted not to look at Tom as he waited for the other man to notice he was standing right behind him.

“Possibly you are the one who should watch what you say since you obviously don’t know who you are talking to.” Tom said softly.

“You had better leave this bar right now because you are not wanted in here!” Tom’s adversary quickly replied.

Tom stared at him for a moment and turned around and made a final exit.

The wind was much calmer than when Tom first walked back into town. The daylight had been replaced by light from the full moon. Tom tried to navigate the bumpy country road as he slowly staggered his drunken way back to the ranch. The trip was accentuated by a great many brief encounters with the ground.

Tom eventually arrived at the gate leading to the front walkway and as he approached he heard a strange sound coming from behind the house. He looked around the back of the house and could vaguely make out a shadowy figure on the hill in the dark. He heard strange throaty sounds that seemed to be coming from that silhouette. As he approached the shadow it suddenly started yelling at him and then he felt small objects hitting his body.

“Get away from here. Leave!” Those words came from the moonlit apparition.

Tom was too drunk to deal with a ghost throwing rocks though he didn’t actually know for sure if the ghost was really throwing anything at all but it sure felt like it. He became frightened and lost the ability to behave rationally and ran to the front door in terror. After a great deal of difficulty he managed to get the key for the door out of his pocket and he slipped inside the house.

Once inside he struggled to get the door locked and then leaned against the front door breathing heavily. He could hear the sound of someone approaching the house. He yelled out to the figure he imagined was standing outside the door. “Leave me alone, you lunatic.” He went into the pantry and rummaged around until he found something to use as a weapon. All he found was a baseball bat so he took it to his post by the door. Tom was calming down a bit but he continued to stumble about as he eventually he worked his way up the stairs to the bedroom he assumed was his grandfather’s. He entered it without turning on the light and immediately went to the window and opened the curtains.

He looked out into the darkness behind the house but the silhouette he saw there earlier was gone and there weren’t any sounds coming from outside any more. All he could see was the full moon lighting up the barn and the hill behind it. He was tired and over to the bed and took off his shirt and jeans and sat on the covers. He laid the bat next to him just in case the stranger came back.

As soon as he lay down on the bed he felt the room start spinning and he made a mad dash for the window and threw it open. The liquor he had been drinking all day made its exit from his body in a violent upheaval and fortunately Tom got his head out the window just in time. He returned to the bed, slipped under the covers and quickly lost consciousness.

The morning sun shone brightly through the window and Tom slowly woke up with a richly deserved hangover. He heard a noise and he jumped up and grabbed the bat. “Who the hell is here? I can hear you in the hall so show yourself.”

As commanded a figure appeared in the doorway, it was a teenaged boy whom Tom was sure he hadn’t ever seen before although for some reason he seemed familiar. The youngster had a medium build and brown hair about the same color as Tom’s and Tom recognized that the boy had the features of someone with Down syndrome.

The boy stood there quietly staring at Tom. Tom made a threatening gesture with the bat and the boy took a couple of steps backwards. Tom stayed next to the bed holding the bat in front of him.

“Who are you? How did you get in here?” Tom yelled. The boy glanced towards the open window and Tom remembered opening it before his quick dash to it the night before. He realized how stupid he must have looked threatening a boy with a baseball bat while wearing only his underwear. He sat down on the bed and put the bat down. He reached over the side in search of his clothes but couldn’t locate them. All of his clothes as well as his backpack were missing.

“Where the hell are my clothes?” Tom yelled even louder.

The boy yelled angrily back. “Get away from here, this house is not your house. Leave!”

The boy turned and ran down the stairs. Tom chased after the boy and watched as he quickly ran out the front door. By the time Tom got there he couldn’t see any sign of him. He started outside but as he did he realized there was no way he was going to catch him so he stopped. He heard a noise out by the barn and spotted the boy running past it and up the hill behind the house.

Tom felt foolish and noticed his clothes and backpack were scattered on the ground next to the fence. He yelled out at the disappearing figure. “You little jerk. You could have just hit me with the bat while I slept!”

He was hit with a heavy dose of nausea and felt a strong urge to go lay down to stop the spinning inside his head. He didn’t want to experience what happened to him the night before so he gathered up his things from out in the yard and headed back to bed. He would deal with the boy later, much later with the way he was feeling.

Tom woke up after getting some much needed sleep. He was feeling somewhat recovered from having been startled awake earlier. He got dressed and looked around the house to see if the boy might have returned while he was sleeping. There was no sign of him so he left the house in search of him.

He started out by walking to the hill the boy ran behind when he ran away from him. He continued to go further away from the house until he came to a small pond hidden beyond the crest of the hill. He could see the boy sitting on top of a large rock at the top of the trail leading up to it.

As Tom approached the boy started nervously looking around for a way to escape. He was trapped on the rock unless he came down the trail he had walked up and Tom was standing at the base of it. Tom was afraid the boy might jump to avoid having to walk by him. He waved his hands to get the boy’s attention. “Get away from there! You’re going to hurt yourself!”

The boy moved to the edge of the rock and yelled. “Leave! This is not your place!”

“You are wrong about that, I am the new owner. My grandfather owned this place. Did you know Antonio?”

As soon as Tom mentioned Antonio the boy stared at him attentively and no longer looked as fearful as he had before. Suddenly it dawned upon Tom who this might be.

“Are you, is your name Ignacio?” The boy kept staring at the water below. Tom realized he had been pretty stupid not to have figured out who the boy was from the first time he saw someone looking into the house.

“Damn it!” He picked up a rock and threw it into the water. “I’m sorry. I should have known who you were and I shouldn’t have yelled at you, come down from there and talk to me please?”

The boy appeared calm and he spoke softly. “You, you are Tom?” Tom nodded and the boy smiled. “Uncle Tony said you would come here and help me take care of the ranch before he went away. Is he coming back?”

“I was told that the man you call Uncle Tony, who was my grandfather, is not coming back. That’s why he sent me a letter asking me to come here.” He figured if the boy hadn’t been told his grandfather was dead it might be for a reason so he wasn’t going to tell him. At least not right then.

The boy was still standing up above him on the rock and he was looking at the end of the pathway where Tom stood. Tom moved over towards the edge of the pond away from the end of the path. He watched Ignacio from the corner of his eye but the boy was still not moving.

“Ignacio, get down off of that rock up there and come down here please. You are making me nervous up there.”

The boy obeyed him and stepped back a few feet and jumped off the rock and started down the trail.

“Let’s go back to the house and have some lunch and talk. We can get to know each other.”

“I am hungry. I haven’t eaten any food since yesterday when you left for a long time and didn’t come back until it was really late. I was going to eat breakfast this morning but when I went to talk to you in Uncle Tony’s bedroom I thought you were going to hit me with that stick so I left and didn’t get to eat.”

“I’m sorry about that. I didn’t realize who you were but that’s no excuse and I acted very stupid. I apologize for yelling at you and threatening you. Will you forgive me?” Threatening the boy with baseball bat was not one of his finer moments but it was done and he couldn’t take it back.

The boy looked at him with curiosity. “Okay.” He started to walk towards the house and Tom followed him.

“Uncle Tony calls me Nacho. That’s my nick name. Will you call me Nacho?”

“Of course I will. It’s easier to say anyway.” Tom realized that was a stupid thing to say since that’s probably the whole reason for a nickname.

“I have to go let Paco out of the barn before I come in the house.” Nacho headed for the barn while Tom went into the house.

Tom remembered the dog he visited in the barn and assumed that he was Paco and sure enough when Nacho entered the house the dog was enthusiastically following him. Nacho walked past where Tom was sitting at the table and sat in the chair at the end of the table. Tom looked around the kitchen and as he did he stared at the very large cast iron stove and it brought up memories from when he spent the summer there. He had found it intriguing at first but he never was able to master cooking on it. Tom noticed Nacho was intently watching him as he stared at the monster of a stove.

“Do you want me to put some wood in the stove so we can cook breakfast?” Nacho cheerfully asked.

“Sure that would be great, the last time I used this stove was probably before you were born and I didn’t do very well so I can definitely use your help.”

Since Tom had woken up with a ferocious hangover, after having spent the previous afternoon and evening drinking and not eating, his head and stomach were now telling him how bad an idea that had been.

While Nacho was starting a fire in the stove Tom went to the refrigerator and took out some of the items he had purchased the day before on his first trip to the ranch. He managed to find a frying pan which he placed on the stove next to the food. Tom noticed there was food in the refrigerator the day before when he put his groceries in it. Now that he knew Nacho was living there it seemed quite likely the food in there was probably good to eat but he had a craving for the ham and eggs he bought and should have eaten before he drank the night away. It might have prevented his hangover but too late now.

“So how hungry are you Nacho?”

“A little.” He rubbed his stomach. “Well, maybe a lot.”

“How long does it take before the stove is ready to cook on it?”

“It gets hot pretty fast but it will be perfect in twenty minutes.”

“That sounds great. I am going to go take a quick shower while the stove heats up. Okay?”

“I need to take a shower too. I am not that fast. I will eat first.”

“We can wait if you want to take a shower before breakfast.”

“No. I want to eat first. It is almost time for lunch too.”

“You’re right. I’ll hurry.” Tom bounded up the stairs and took a very fast shower. Since it was his fault Nacho hadn’t eaten yet he didn’t want to make him wait any longer than the stove took to be ready to cook on.

When Tom walked back in the kitchen Nacho and Paco were not in there but Tom noticed Nacho had the ham and eggs out of their containers and sitting by the stove and he had even put another frying pan out. It was obvious that Nacho knew what he was doing because he had everything needed to cook breakfast with on the counter.

The stove was kind of pretty in a really old fashioned way and he figured it was probably worth a lot of money but he would trade it for a new one any day. Oh well. Time to see if he could cook on it, he had his doubts.

Tom put the pans on the cooktop and put the ham in one pan and poured some oil for the eggs in the other one. He started cracking eggs into a bowl, but the eggs were a lot harder to break open than he remembered them being the last time he did so and he ended up with a lot of egg shells in the bowl as well. Nacho walked in and sat down at the table as he was pouring the eggs into the pan that he now decided would have to be scrambled.

“Did I get out everything you need to cook with?” Nacho asked.

“Yes. You did a good job getting everything ready for me. Thank you.”

“I almost started to cook but I didn’t know how you wanted to cook the eggs.”

“I’m not sure about that myself but here goes nothing.”

Tom continued with his efforts but he was still having problems with the eggs, the mixture he had poured into the skillet started to explode and threw hot bits of raw egg from the pan that landed on his arms and burned his skin. He cursed and pulled the pan off the burner and threw his hands up in a gesture of surrender. He stepped back and surveyed the unfolding disaster, trying to decide if it was worth trying to salvage the eggs or if he should throw them out and start over.

The eggs that were in the skillet continued cooking while he was getting burned and contemplating what to do next and were beginning to burn so he grabbed a plate out of the cupboard and scraped the eggs onto it and set the plate in front of Nacho, who had been quietly sitting at the table watching Tom’s performance. Tom grabbed a piece of ham out of the other pan with a fork and handed it to Nacho who was staring at the plate of eggs Tom had placed in front of him.

“Would you like a glass of milk to go with the eggs?” Tom asked.

“You’re a pretty weak cook, huh?” Nacho innocently inquired. Calling his cooking weak was a polite understatement. Tom pretended to be angry and snatched the plate from in front of Nacho.

“Well then I guess I will take this plate of eggs and you can make your own and we’ll see how much better you do, smarty pants! I am sure the dog will be happy to eat the eggs I made for you.” Tom turned away from Nacho and took the plate over to where the old dog was lying on the floor and when Tom set the plate down on the floor his tail started thumping. A few egg shells won’t spoil the eggs for Paco.

Nacho got up and grabbed the frying pan, wiped it out with a paper towel, put it back on the stove and neatly cracked an egg into it and did the same with three more. Nacho successfully cooked them and scooped them out onto a plate and put the piece of ham on it that Tom had handed him before he snatched up the plate of botched scrambled eggs. “Want me to make some more for you?”

“I’m not hungry anymore.” Tom’s hangover has set in with full force and he doesn’t feel like being a good sport.

“Okay. I will eat these then.” Nacho voraciously ate the eggs he had cooked and finished the rest of the ham as well.

Nacho washed the dishes after he finished eating and Tom just sat and watched him. He was still feeling bad from his hangover and didn’t feel like doing anything.

“What do you usually do in the afternoons here?” Tom asked as Nacho finished cleaning up the kitchen.

“Today I have to go out to the barn and take care of the animals. Uncle Tony and I feed them in morning but this morning I was waiting for you to get up to ask you why you were in the house. I didn’t know you were Tom, who he said was going to come here and help do the chores with me. I thought you weren’t supposed to be here so I wanted to tell you to leave. I’m sorry.”

“I’m the one that screwed up and I’m sorry. I need to go take a nap but later on let’s visit.” Tom watched Nacho walk out to the barn and then went to his grandfather’s room and took tried to sleep off his hangover.

Later on in the late afternoon Tom went out on the front porch and sat in the rustic wood rocking chair, which he discovered was quite comfortable, and he watched as the sun began to disappear behind the row of trees that lined the outer border of the wood fence. The weather was amazingly warm down in the southern part of the state Tom had noticed, there would have been no way he would been this comfortable sitting outside where he came from. He was beginning to like this little slice of paradise.

Nacho was sitting on a big decorative rock a few feet away that was underneath one of the enormous oak trees.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m looking at the sun in the trees, they look really pretty.”

“Yes they do. What you are thinking about?”

“Nothing, I am just looking at the grass and the trees with the birds in the sun. Uncle Tony and I used to sit out here a lot.”

“I can see why, those are some pretty bitchin’ birds all right and it is a very nice view!”

“You talk dirty.”

“What do you mean?” Tom said defensively.

“You swear a lot.”

“Yes, I probably do, especially when compared to you. Who died and made you the head of the grammar police anyway? I didn’t see the rules posted in the house anywhere Señor Cervantes.”

Nacho looked at Tom and was clearly confused. “Who is that?”

“He was some guy who wrote a book called ‘Don Quixote’, it’s about a crazy guy who ran around fighting windmills as I recall. Have you heard of him?”

“Well, I don’t think so. I have never been out of town. I don’t know any windmills. Why was he fighting with them? Are windmills bad people?”

Tom realized that he was being too sarcastic. “No, forget about what I said. I was just being a smartass for no good reason.”

“Do they live in town?”

“I said to forget about it, I was stupid to say what I did. I was just being a jerk because you were right about my using bad words and it made me mad at myself. I will try to do better.”

“I don’t know any bad words because Uncle Tony said that it wasn’t polite to say them. The only place I go to is to the church on Sunday and they don’t say bad words there. Uncle Tony told me that there are mean people who might use bad words but I shouldn’t listen to them.”

“My grandfather was right that there are some mean people in this town, just like in the other towns. They don’t always use bad words but they sometimes do bad things when you don’t expect it which is worse.”

“I don’t understand. What bad things are they going to do?”

“Nothing, I shouldn’t have said that either. Let’s change the subject, whatever you are cooking for dinner sure does smell good, what is it?”

“I am making chicken the way Uncle Tony taught me to.”

“If it tastes as good as it smells it is going to be delicious.”

After dinner Tom and Nacho sat in the living room on the couch together looking out the front window. The beautiful evening ended with both of them staring at a large oak tree enjoying the beautiful sunset.

“Is it alright if I go to bed right now? I drank a too much alcohol last night and there was some strange creature creeping around here that kept me from getting enough sleep.”

“I am sorry I threw those rocks at you but I was afraid that someone was trying to steal this place since I was all alone here, I won’t ever do anything bad to you ever again.”

“It’s alright Nacho, I am just teasing you. I know you were just scared. I am not mad and you don’t need to apologize since it was my fault and not yours. Tomorrow we start out as friends and you can show and tell me about everything on the ranch.”

“We are going to be very busy.”

“How long have you been living here on this ranch with my grandfather?”

“I don’t know, I only remember always living here. I really miss him. I loved him very much and he said he loved me too.”

“It sounds like you had a good life here with him. I hope you will as happy here with me as you were with him. Good night Nacho.”

“Good night Tom.”

Tom was hoping for a good night’s sleep since he hadn’t had one for several nights since before he left Portland. The night of Karen’s birthday he had slept on the couch, the next night was the night after they had the big fight, and the last night in Portland he had been so full of anticipation of his journey to his grandfather’s ranch he didn’t sleep well and then he spent the first night at the ranch drunk and then sick with a hangover last night which hadn’t resulted in as restful of a night’s sleep as he had been hoping for.

Tom felt partly it was because he couldn’t quit thinking about all the things that had happened since he arrived in town. He was feeling very lucky to have inherited this beautiful ranch, especially given the way his life had been going before the knock on the door had given him new possibilities for the future.

Tom was almost afraid to sleep for fear he would wake up and find that everything had been just a dream. At least when he woke up on this morning he was still sleeping in his grandfather’s big bed which did feel nice and it wasn’t a dream. He lay in bed thinking about the day ahead of him and got up so he could get some things done before Nacho got out of bed.

He got up and got dressed quickly, he wanted to go to the store and buy some coffee along with more groceries. He knew he should probably have asked Nacho what supplies were already there since it was obvious he knew what there was to eat in the house but he wanted to sneak out of the house so he didn’t have to answer why. After Tom had eaten the wonderful dinner Nacho had cooked for them the night before he knew Nacho knew exactly what was going on around the house food wise. Tom’s brain was spinning around and he needed some time alone and the walk to town would give him some.

After he was dressed he quietly slipped out of the house so he wouldn’t wake up Nacho. He didn’t want to explain why he wanted to be alone, he didn’t want to hurt his feelings and besides he really wasn’t sure why he felt the way he did.

Even though it was well before noon he couldn’t resist going in to the bar for a quick beer. He used the excuse that he didn’t want anyone to think he was afraid to go back in there after the confrontation he had with the gold toothed jerk. The truth was that he really wasn’t sure why he wanted to there. He realized it was probably so he could have a drink and also that he wanted to do something stupid.

The bartender was the only one there but he was pretty sure that he would tell someone that Tom had been in, that was just the way small towns roll. Besides, a drink sounded pretty good and he didn’t want Nacho to see him drink so early in the day. Tom left the bar after he quickly drank his beer and went to the store. He bought as many groceries as he thought he could easily carry back to the ranch and headed home. He took a deserted side street so he could see a little more of the town.

Suddenly a large black car sped down the narrow side street and ran into him. The car managed to bump him and send the bags of groceries flying out of his arms. They landed a few feet away on the sidewalk where he was just walking. The car slammed on its brakes and Tom furiously got up and looked at the contents of his two bags of groceries spread all over ground.

“You asshole, how did you get a license?” Tom yelled as he approached the car which almost took a block to come to a stop. When Tom reached the car he kicked the rear bumper which broke out one of the light covers.

The front doors of the car slowly opened and when the driver got out it was the young man from the bar he had the altercation with. An older man emerged from the passenger side and he was wearing an expensive looking suit. He walked around to the back of the car to survey the damage that Tom’s kick had done.

Tom’s voice quavered. “It figures it would be the village idiot that almost runs over me! I guess they don’t have very high standards for driving a car in this town!”

“I warned you before that you don’t belong here.” The driver blurted out.

“Are you telling me that you have ESP and you knew that I was walking down the street minding my own business when you decided to display your exceptional inability to drive a car? You have a lot of nerve to say I don’t belong in this town when you have shown that you don’t belong behind a steering wheel.” Tom realized he was shouting but he couldn’t stop he was so mad.

The older man approached. “This young man is my son and I am the mayor of this town so maybe you ought to calm yourself down.”

“Well I sure hope you are not as worthless as your son is.”

“Anyone can make a mistake but if you keep on talking like this I may decide that the mistake is yours.”

“Of course you will. I am not so sure that this was an accident but it certainly is an example of bad driving.”

“That’s enough as it no longer matters what you think!” The mayor said and bent down to pick up some broken glass from the street.

“It certainly looks like we have a problem here. What you did by kicking the car and breaking the tail light was, how should I put this, a stupid thing to do?” The mayor looked at Tom and smiled.

“I’m not too sorry considering my groceries are all over the middle of the road. Kicking the car was an instinctive reaction to having been hit while innocently walking down the sidewalk where cars are not supposed to be! At least I think that is the reason they are called sidewalks! I suppose it is asking too much for your son to drive on the road where cars are supposed to be. I didn't break the tail light on purpose but I did kick the car because I was mad and I am not going to apologize for that.”

“Whether or not you broke the light on purpose or not doesn‘t solve anything. You will at least have the decency to pay for the cost of repairing it won’t you?”

“And you are kidding aren’t you? You want me to pay for your son's lousy driving? There is no way I will pay for your son’s ability to drive on the sidewalk unless it is legal in this town!”

“He should have to fix it himself or pay to have it fixed. It wouldn’t be broken if he hadn’t ran into me.”

“I’m kind of short on money right now.” The mayor’s son said with a smirk.

“Why don’t you sell that gold tooth and you‘ll have plenty of money to fix the car.” Tom looked back with his own smirk.

“Are you finished talking yet?” The mayor inquired.

“Yes. Nothing more needs to be said. I know that it’s illegal to run over pedestrians.”

“Well you are mistaken if you think this matter is over. How dare you have such disrespect for the local authority?”

“I don’t think that not wanting to be run over is considered being disrespectful.”

“You haven’t heard the last of this. Come on son, we need to go to work and quit wasting time here.” The mayor looked at his son who was staring at Tom. “Jerry we have better things to do than stand here wasting time so go and get in the car right now or I will leave you here.”

The mayor got back in the car though Tom noticed he got in the driver’s side. Jerry gave a final sneer at Tom as he minded his father and got into the car. The mayor started the motor and drove off.

Tom watched the car disappear around the corner and then turned to survey the street to see how much gathering up of his groceries he was going to have to do. Much to his surprise the bags were still intact so he picked up everything and put them back in and walked home. He felt this was not likely the last problem he would have with the mayor’s son but it was time to get back to the peaceful ranch.

Tom walked through the gate and looked around to see if Nacho was outside. He didn’t see him so entered the house and went into the kitchen to put away the groceries. Tom found Nacho in the living room where he stood by the fireplace adding logs to the nice fire he had going. Tom silently observed for a minute and felt as if he was really home.

“Good morning Nacho. I just walked to town and got some good sausage to go with those eggs that you cook so well. How about helping me make us some breakfast?”

“I am very hungry. I didn’t know where you were or when you would be back so I made the fire keep burning so I could wait and eat with you but I am really hungry now.”

“That doesn’t surprise me so let’s get in the kitchen and get cooking.”

Tom walked into the kitchen with Nacho right behind him. Tom got the sausage out and put some links in a frying pan and sat down at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee. He figured Nacho would take over at least he hoped so.

“So what do you know about your parents Nacho? Did my grandfather ever mention them to you?”

“He told me that they went away and it was far away from here and that they wanted me to live with him for as long as they were gone. I hope I will meet them someday but sometimes I get confused.”

“So you never got to see them or meet them?”

“No, but Uncle Tony told me he was my father while mine was gone away.”

“So what was life like living here with him and why do you call him Uncle Tony?”

“I don’t know. We spent almost every day working on the ranch, we fixed fences and planted the garden and weeded and took care of the animals and...”

Nacho stopped talking and got a confused look on his face.

“I’m sorry but I forgot what else you asked me.” He looked down at the floor ashamed of having lost his train of thought.

“No I am the one that should be sorry because I asked you too many questions. I just want to get an idea what your life here on the ranch with my grandfather was like. You don’t need to tell me everything you did with him.”

Tom quit talking and watched Nacho get out a pan and as he took the eggs out of the refrigerator. Nacho concentrated on making breakfast and didn’t notice Tom watching him. After Nacho put butter in the frying pan and cracked eggs into it Tom asked him a new question.

“Did Tony go to town very often and did he ever take you with him?”

“He stayed here on the ranch most of the time but sometimes we would go to the store and get some ice cream. He said the people in the town weren’t very nice and he would rather stay here with me. The man at the store brought food to the ranch so we didn't have to go get it. Uncle Tony would give the man a list of things to bring us.”

“Did he have any friends come to visit him here on the ranch?”

“I don’t know if they were friends but there was a man who brought the garden and animal food and there were two different men who brought the groceries. Another man came to visit in the house sometimes. Uncle Tony told me I was his best friend.”

“Who was it that came to visit with him?”

“Sometimes a man called Mr. Peters would come. Uncle Tony said he was important and when he came to visit they would use the office. They shut the door so I don’t know what he and Uncle Tony talked about.”

“And they never had you go in the office with them?”

“No, I had my chores to do around the ranch while they were talking.”

“That makes sense. I hope I can have the kind of relationship with you that you had with my grandfather.”

“You are my new best friend. I think that is what Uncle Tony wanted. Do you want to cook so you can learn how to be better?”

“Just because I had some problems yesterday doesn’t mean I can’t cook but I won’t claim to be any good. I usually do better than I did with the eggs last time but it is just fine with me if you do the cooking.”

“I really like to cook. I really like everything I do. I like to work in the garden and feed the animals.”

“Well I guess we should finish up breakfast. I will get the bread out and make toast while you finish cooking the eggs and sausage, how does that sound?"

"It sounds good. I am hungry."

Tom finished buttering the toast as Nacho placed the contents of the frying pans on plates and they sat down at the table.

After breakfast Tom asked Nacho to go out and take care of the animals while he continued going through his grandfather’s papers, the ones he started looking at the night before. He hoped there might be some clues about Nacho’s parents and why he was at the ranch somewhere in the office.

Nacho went out to the barn like Tom asked but he gave Tom a sad look. Once again he was going out to do the chores by himself after Tom had told him the night before he wanted to go with him and help. Nacho got all excited about the prospect of showing Tom the animals in the barn and having him help him with the chores. Tom knew he had disappointed Nacho but he felt like he really needed to know more about Nacho and he hoped Nacho wouldn’t be too upset with him.

Tom started out by going through all of the rooms just in case there was somewhere else besides his grandfather’s office that had any information hidden away in them. He discovered that his grandfather wore almost the same size clothes as he did and he now had a whole new wardrobe. His grandfather’s taste in clothes was also very similar to his as well. Tom had always hated shopping for clothes so now he wouldn’t have to for a long time. The clothes were also a lot nicer and more expensive than Tom would have ever bought for himself.

Tom was quite impressed with the library in his grandfather’s office. There were a lot of books that a teacher might use which led Tom to believe that his grandfather may have home schooled Nacho, or had someone do it. Tom was impressed with how much effort that his grandfather seemed to have made for Nacho.

Tom knew that Nacho know why he was living there other than his grandfather told him his parents left him with his grandfather to care for until they came back for him. Tom wondered if it was possible to find out where they were or whether or not they were alive. He didn’t find any papers in any of the rooms that pertained to Nacho. He now hoped that maybe Mr. Peters might know more than he had been told in their initial meeting. Since Nacho told him that Mr. Peters had been to the ranch to visit his grandfather it would seem that he needed to visit him and ask some questions.

Right now it was time to go outside and see what Nacho was doing. Maybe he could make up for not going out to help him earlier. Tom found Nacho in the barn giving the chickens’ water and throwing feed out for them. Tom watched how carefully and deliberately he was doing those tasks. Tom figured he had learned his work ethic and carefulness from his grandfather this made him sorry he hadn’t taken the time to visit his grandfather again after the one summer he spent at the ranch.

That one summer was the only time his mother had ever encouraged him to visit her father and he was now beginning to wonder why. She had never really talked about her parent’s much at all that he could remember and didn’t remember her ever visiting her father. He didn’t even know when his grandmother had died and when he stayed with his grandfather it never came up and he was too stupid to ask about her.

Maybe his mother couldn’t afford to visit her father since she had always been a single mother and had raised Tom all by herself. Whatever the reason was for her lack of involvement with her family he never had any curiosity to know anything more about his mother’s family and he hadn’t asked the questions that he now wished he had. He now knows why she didn’t talk to her father on the phone since he didn’t have one. She must have sent him a letter to arrange for him to go and stay at his grandfather’s that one summer.

After seeing all the effort he put into Nacho he felt like he might be the one who lost out but it was too late now. Nacho was the only way he was ever going to have to get to know his grandfather better. He also felt he had better start helping him with the chores if he wanted to continue to be his friend. Tom put his hand in the chicken feed and grabbed a handful of it and started to throw it out like Nacho was doing. Nacho looked at him and smiled.

“I think it is getting close to lunchtime isn’t it Nacho?”

“Yes I am hungry. I thought you were going to come out and help me more?”

“I know and I am a loser. I was looking for something in the house but I couldn’t find it. Do the chores have to be done in the morning? If so I promise I will try to do better tomorrow. I am not much of a morning person as you may have already figured out.”

“We have chores to do in the house after we eat lunch. That’s what Uncle Tony and I would do. We did the chores outside in the morning and the ones in the house after lunch. We talked in the living room after dinner and read books together.”

“Well it sounds like a busy schedule so you are going to have to be patient with me and teach me slowly. I haven’t done any chores like these before.” Tom smiled.

Nacho just looked at him and took the empty feed bucket back to the barn. He came out of the barn and shut the door and he and Paco followed Tom into the house.

“How about after lunch you show me where the clean sheets and towels are kept?” Tom tried to make conversation.

“I can do that. We need to do the washing soon.”

“Well then I guess I need to know where we will be doing it and maybe we should go through the food also so I can make sure we don’t run out things to eat. I bought some things at the store this morning but not that much. I don’t know what is already here and what I need to buy.”

“I will show you where the extra food is.”

“I guess we have an afternoon plan then.” Tom spent the afternoon following Nacho around the house as he explained what they have to do to keep the house up. He showed him where the supplies were, items like soap, toothpaste and toilet paper. Nacho also showed him what was is in the freezer and in the pantry and explained to him what he and his Uncle Tony usually cooked for dinner.

When evening arrived Tom watched while Nacho made dinner and he drank a beer. Later on in the evening, after they had eaten Nacho’s soup they retired from the kitchen and spent the rest of the evening doing their own things.

Tom spent the evening looking through the checking account and some papers concerning the ranch and the house he had found in the drawer of the nightstand next to his grandfather’s bed. He was trying to figure out what he needed to know to take care of the ranch, Nacho and himself included. He finished looking over as many papers as he could concentrate on for one evening turned the lights off to go upstairs.

As he passed by Nacho’s room he looked in to see what the boy was doing. Nacho was pulling out a tattered shoe box from under the bed and he put it on the bed and opened it. Tom stood in the hall and watched as Nacho took things out of it and put them on the bed. It was a strange looking collection of objects. He couldn’t see all of the items but he could see that there was a pocketknife, a harmonica, and a radio and he could tell there were many more items in the box.

Since the door was halfway open Tom pushed it the rest of the way open and leaned in. Nacho blocked Tom’s view of the box and turned to look at him.

“These are things Uncle Tony gave me. Do you want to see them?” He began to show Tom the items he had already placed on the bed. “He gave me this knife so I can carve wood, and this is something I can make music with. We used to listen to baseball on the radio.” Nacho got very animated as he showed Tom his prizes. It was obvious Tom that Nacho loved his grandfather a lot.

“Maybe we should go to bed now and you can show me the rest of the things tomorrow, as well as teach me things I need to know about taking care of this place. I need a good night’s sleep first.”

“I can show you everything tomorrow. We have a lot of chores to do so we can catch up. We are going to be very busy.” He said this in a serious tone of voice. Then he gathered up his things and carefully put them back in the box.

Tom didn’t comment about the things in the shoebox because Nacho obviously had strong emotions tied to the shoebox’s contents.

“I guess I like these things mostly because they remind me of Uncle Tony.” Nacho said as he put the box back under the bed.

Tom finally got his decent night’s sleep. His grandfather’s bed was starting to feel pretty comfortable. Since he told Nacho the previous day that he would be around to help him in the morning and had disappointed him by going through his grandfather’s things instead Tom was afraid to tell Nacho that he wanted to go to town and see Mr. Peters after they were done eating breakfast.

Nacho looked very unhappy when Tom told him that he needed to go meet with Mr. Peters. He lied and said that there was a meeting already set up that he forgot about. Tom felt guilty about telling Nacho a lie but he felt less guilty about telling the lie than about not helping him again for the second day in a row. He hoped he could make up for disappointing Nacho when he got back. When Nacho headed out to the barn Tom walked to town. He really hoped Mr. Peters could give him some information about Nacho.

It was a beautiful winter morning. The sun was shining and it was pretty warm considering it was still the dead of winter, this southern part of the state was much nicer than up north.

Tom immediately headed to the County Building. He didn’t understand why he hadn’t been told anything about Nacho other than his being mentioned as a provision of the will. Nacho’s history couldn’t be that complicated so why wasn’t he told the truth? Of course he was assuming Mr. Peters knew the truth which of course he might or might not. He was pleased to find the building was open and Mr. Peters was in. Tom stood next to the front door and Mr. Peters looked up and gave Tom a smile.

Tom immediately got to the point of his visit. “So now that I have proven I won’t run for the hills after meeting Nacho I think it's time you give me some information about him.”

“So what information do you think I have that you would want?”

“Like who he really is, where his parents are and why was he raised by my grandfather?”

Mr. Peters motioned for Tom to sit. “Nacho’s mother died while giving birth to him. You should know who she is, her name was Ellen.”

“You mean Aunt Ellen, my mother’s sister? She was supposed to have been living with my grandfather when my mother sent me to stay here that one summer. My mother underwent treatment for cancer while I was here, although she didn’t tell that, or even that she was sick until I got back home. When I arrived at my grandfather’s he told me that Ellen had gone with some friends on a trip. I didn’t see her the whole summer I was there. She never even came to my mother’s funeral either, so why isn’t she here helping Nacho out?”

“I don’t understand why you don’t know much about your family. Ellen wasn’t actually related to you. Your grandparents adopted her from an orphanage when she was a baby. They had been trying to have a child for a long time and rather than keep on trying they decided to adopt. Several months after they adopted Ellen your grandmother became pregnant with your mother. I don’t think your grandparents ever told your mother or Ellen that they weren’t really sisters, there was enough difference in their ages for them to really be sisters. Your grandmother died in a car accident one day while the girls were in school. It was just before school was out for the summer and it was the year Ellen graduated from high school. At the end of summer your mother finished high school and Ellen started doing the things around the house that her mother had done. Antonio never bought another car and he had the market deliver the groceries to the house after that. Your mother graduated high school and moved to Portland so she could go to college. She graduated, began working there and continued to live there.

Apparently your father left her soon after you were born I was told. Your mother stayed there and raised you. She brought you to visit here once when you were very young but she never came back and I don’t know why.

Ellen continued to live here, possibly to help Antonio and she also really liked living here. There were a lot more people here back then and Ellen had friends here that she grew up with and there were a lot more community social events before times got tough and businesses closed. This was a pretty good place to live back then.

The summer you were sent here to stay with your grandfather Ellen went to Portland to help your mother while she went through the treatments for cancer. She met a man while she was there and got pregnant. She came back here but when it was time to have her child she went to go a town near here to give birth to him and she died during childbirth. The boy was born with Down syndrome and Antonio was afraid he wouldn’t be adopted because of that. He didn’t want him to spend his life in an orphanage he had the child brought to him to raise. He hired a lady to help care for him when, he wanted him to have a female in his life. So that is the history of Ignacio. I was told his father was Spanish and Ellen chose the name for him before he was born so Antonio honored her wishes. Now you know all that I know about Nacho and why he lived with you grandfather.”

“Wow, so Nacho is my, he is my cousin! That is cool. Since Ellen was my aunt that makes Nacho my cousin. It is nice to find out he is my family, since as far as I know I don’t have any other living relatives. My mother told me my father died but who knows whether or not that was the truth, and I guess whether he was dead or alive I never knew him. I only met Ellen once. It was when I was in junior high when there was a graduation ceremony for me that she came to. I remember she was very pretty and nice but that’s about all I remember about her. I have a photo of her, at my apartment in Portland, with my mother and me from the time she visited. I always wondered why she never came back but my mother never talked about her family for some reason. Weird I guess but what’s done is done.”

Mr. Peters didn’t comment.

“Since you used to visit with my grandfather I guess you would know if he taught Nacho at home. I found a lot of books that look like school backs in his study and Nacho knows how to read as well as a lot more things that someone must have taught him how to do.”

“I think Antonio chose to teach him here because he never bought another car after his wife died and he couldn’t drive him anywhere. This town sends the few students that live here to a town 20 miles away on a bus but I am sure they don’t have anyone to teach a child with special needs. If he had sent him anywhere to go to school he wouldn’t have been able to visit him. It was probably easier to teach Nacho himself and he didn’t have any one else in his life. I know he really enjoyed his life on the ranch with Nacho, they did everything together. There is a woman, she still lives here, who he hired to come to the ranch and help him raise Nacho for several years. She pressured your grandfather to marry her, but since he never wanted to remarry anyone after your grandmother died he told her that and she wasn’t happy about it so she quit coming to the ranch. When Antonio found out he had cancer he didn’t want Nacho to see him get sick and the doctors told Antonio about how long he would be able to live at the ranch much longer without feeling too bad and he wanted to be gone before he did. He asked me to find you and see if you were be in a position to come here and live there if he arranged for you to inherit the ranch. Antonio never had any intention of fighting the cancer as he was satisfied with having lived for a good eighty six years. He felt Nacho would be the happiest and safest living on the ranch as long as he has the right person living with him, and he felt you would be the right person. Even before Antonio started feeling bad he had already been thinking that it was time for Nacho to have a younger influence in his life. When he found out he had cancer it seemed like a good idea to speed his “dying” along and to bring you into Nacho’s life. I found out that your “situation” in life seemed to not be going very well. This convinced him he was doing the right thing by “faking” an early death. Antonio had exhausted all the things he could teach Nacho and he knew Nacho needed a fresh new influence in his life and it seemed fitting to have his oldest grandson be that influence. Antonio told Nacho that he was ill and needed to move away from the ranch to be somewhere he could have someone care for him. He told him that his grandson was going to come and live with him on the ranch to take his place. He didn’t want Nacho to deal with his illness and he knew that Nacho wouldn’t be able to manage the financial end of running the ranch though he is plenty capable of doing the physical parts.”

“I agree with you and my grandfather that Nacho can’t run the ranch by himself and I don’t think he would want to be there by himself anyway. If I am hearing what you have told me correctly it sounds like my grandfather wasn’t dead when I received that telegram saying that he was and that I had to come here to find out what he had left me?”

“You’re correct. He wasn’t dead but we assumed it would take some time for you to come. You surprised us when you showed up just a day after I had the telegram delivered. I was planning to move to the ranch and help Nacho out after a couple of days but then you showed up. After I had the telegram sent to you I drove to the ranch and picked up Antonio and brought him to my house in Ashland where he could stay without anyone in this town knowing what was going on. I told the town drunk that Antonio had died and he put the word out to the town. It was an easy deception since Antonio didn’t deal with anyone except the guys from the feed center and the store. We waited for you to show up and if something had gone wrong we could have put his alternative plan in motion. You and Nacho began the friendship that Antonio hoped would happen so everything has worked out just as he wanted.”

Tom was overwhelmed by all this information. “There is a lady in town who doesn’t like me and she watches me when I am in town. Do you know who she is?”

“She is the woman Antonio brought to the ranch when Nacho was young. Betty is very bitter. She thought she was Antonio’s girlfriend and she is unhappy over her imagined jilting by Antonio. She hates anything to do with him but she especially hates the boy and blames him for your grandfather not marrying her. She never would have had a relationship with your grandfather at all if hadn’t wanted a woman to help him with the boy. She has invested a great deal of energy trying to make everyone in town dislike everything to do with the ranch. The townspeople only know Nacho from his going to the church on Sunday, they don’t dislike him but they don’t really know him. Antonio took care to keep Nacho from being a target of that negativity by staying away from the town."

“So they don’t like me because I am a relative? I guess I can understand my grandfather’s thinking that what happened with Betty was none of their business. So my grandfather picked me to be his heir because there was no else available, is that about right?”

“Yes, you are the only relative he has besides Nacho. Nacho trusts you because you are his “Uncle Tony’s” grandson. He thought you would be the best choice to take over for him and you have proven him right.”

“Why does Nacho call him Uncle Tony?”

“I think it started when Betty was taking care of Nacho. I think that’s what Antonio told her his relationship to Nacho was. He didn’t want Nacho to be called a bastard which he would have been if the people had known he was Antonio’s unwed daughter’s son.”

“I suppose that makes sense. So what would have happened if I hadn’t decided to accept the responsibility of living on the ranch with Nacho?”

“In that case there is a second will made out with other provisions. There is a lawyer that is in possession of that paperwork but that is irrelevant now. Since you have accepted the responsibility and things are going well with you and Nacho it doesn’t make any difference what would have happened. Have I answered all of your questions?”

“Yes I guess you have. It's time for me to head back to the ranch.”

“I hope everything continues to go well."

“Thank you.”

Tom left Mr. Peters office with more answers than the amount of questions he had gone in there with. He wasn’t sure how to feel about his newfound knowledge about his family. He felt betrayed by his mother for her failure to tell him about his cousin that he was now living with. Why did his grandfather have to die for him to find out about Nacho and why hadn’t she ever taken him to visit him? It didn’t make any sense. There must have been some reason for his mother to have had no contact with his grandfather but it was too late to find anything out now. He didn’t understand why she didn’t tell him anything about his Aunt Ellen and her child.

Tom purchased a bottle of wine at the store on his way back to the ranch. He told Nacho that he wasn’t feeling very good which he actually wasn’t lying about. He spent the rest of the day drinking and trying not to think about his mother and all the things he didn’t know about her. The day turned into evening and Tom spent some time looking through a notebook he found of his grandfather’s in his library. It had information in it about the garden, records of the kinds of vegetables he had planted in the garden and notes about how well the different plants had done.

Tom heard Nacho in the kitchen preparing dinner so Tom figured it was time for him to suck it up and visit with him. Tom's all day drinking binge had provided him with a warm glow and he was beginning to feel mellower about his family history. He was pleased to find out Nacho was really his family since he didn’t have other family left.

Nacho had been observing Tom all day as he worked on Operation Get Wasted. He wisely chose to watch and not to ask questions.

After dinner they moved to the living room where Tom stretched out in the recliner and Nacho sat on the couch.

“Why do you smoke?”

“I don’t know. I started smoking when I was your age because my mother didn't want me to. It became a habit I couldn't quit. It’s good that you lived with my grandfather and never smoked. I am trying to quit.”

“It smells funny.”

“I suppose it does smell funny. It doesn’t smell very good on my clothes when I smoke too much which I am sure I did today.” He poured another glass of wine.

“Why are you drinking so much wine?”

“I like the way it tastes and it gives me a good buzz. Have you ever tried it?”

“No. Uncle Tony told me I was too young to drink.”

Tom found another glass in the cupboard and filled it with wine and offered it to him.

“You are too young to drink in public but we are not in public here. I think it is alright for you to try it.”

Nacho drank the entire glass in one gulp and smiled at Tom. He begged for more by pounding his glass on the table. Tom laughed and poured him some more. After the second glass Tom noticed Nacho started laughing for no reason.

“Do you like the wine Nacho?”

“I feel like singing.”

“Well, don’t let me stop you, go ahead and sing.”

“Uncle Tony taught me this a long time ago and it’s my favorite song!”

"Well then will you please sing it for me?"

Nacho started singing ‘Old MacDonald’

Tom laughed as Nacho cheerfully sang the song just as Tom remembered it. Nacho gestured for him to join in so he did. For the first time all day Tom was smiling and enjoying Nacho’s company.”

Tom was sound asleep and snoring loudly after getting so drunk the day before. His bedroom door opened as Nacho turned the handle and walked in. He tried to wake him by shaking the bed but Tom was hung over and protested in an angry tone of voice. Nacho was not deterred and continued to pester him.

“Come on Tom, wake up! The sun’s been up for a long time and it’s getting late.”

Tom kept his head underneath the covers trying to block out the light that was making his head hurt.

“And tell me why I care?”

“We have to do the chores. You promised me you would start helping me last night when we were drinking the wine. Don't you remember?”

“Boy I must have been really drunk if I promised you anything last night. I can't say I didn't because I don't remember what I said to you last night. If I told you I would help you I'm sure I meant it. I can’t believe I did something as stupid as that. I shouldn't be held responsible for anything I did or said yesterday. Can I have a rain check?" Tom continued to hide his head under the pillow but Nacho kept pestering him.

“I don't know how to check the rain but I need your help. You promised you would help me. I need to get all the chores done. Uncle Tony always helped me do the chores. Come on, get up, please!”

Tom stuck his head out from under the covers and gave Nacho his best nasty look. He covered his head again briefly, but gave up and rolled over and sat up. He got dressed and a small wave of nausea hit him when he closed his eyes while pulling the shirt over his head. He managed to get dressed anyway.

Nacho seemed assured that Tom was really coming out to help him because he walked out of the room and hopped down the stairs. Tom hoped Nacho would lose some of his energy shortly.

“I need to have a cup of coffee before I go out to help you.”

Nacho pointed to the coffee pot and it had coffee in it. Then he grabbed a box of cereal and took out a couple of bowls, got the milk out of the refrigerator and placed them all on the table. He poured a bowl and put milk and sugar on it and offered it to Tom but Tom shook his head. Nacho scarfed down the cereal and poured another bowl which he finished as fast as the first one.

“Do you want me to leave the cereal out for you?”

“No I think I will wait awhile before I eat but thanks for asking. I will be out as soon as I finish my coffee.”

Nacho walked out the door. Tom was tempted to go lay on the couch but he knew better not. After all he promised to help Nacho. He finished his coffee and walked out to the barn. It was obvious from Nacho's smile he was excited that Tom had finally come out to help him.

“Now we have to feed the animals.” Nacho pointed to where a several large plastic containers were placed inside a stall. Paco looked at them at wagged his tail.

“Even the dog? He’s so old we should probably get rid of him.”

“What do you mean?”

“And we should eat the chickens.”

“Then we wouldn’t have any eggs.” Then he figured out Tom was teasing him and he smiled.

Nacho pointed to a woodpile. “We have to make some firewood pretty soon.”

“Do I look like a lumberjack to you?”

“I don’t know. What is a lumber jack?

“Never mind.”

“There are a lot of chores to do. We have to feed the animals every day. They are always hungry, just like me.”

“I wondered how such a small farm could be so much work and now I know”

“We have to wash clothes after we finish in the barn.”

Tom raised his hands to his head like he had a headache. “Alright let’s just take it one thing at a time please. Will you please slow down a little?”

“The food for the rabbits is in the green barrel and there is a bowl for it in the rabbit cage. There is a bowl for water in there too that you have to take out of the cage and clean and then you put new water in it. We have to hurry. We have to feed the all the animals before lunch.”

Tom was starting to think this may end up being the best job he has ever had the more he does it, and the wages are good as well. His mood is getting better and his hangover is almost gone.

After they finish the chores in the barn they go in the house to eat.

“We will need more food for the animals pretty soon.”

“Where do we get that from?”

“A guy brings it to us in a truck. The same truck brings the things for the garden. He brought a whole bunch of food last time he came but that was before Uncle Tony left.”

“So there must be a place in town that sells animal food then. Are we close to running out?”

“I think so. Is has been longer since he came here.”

“I can go to town after lunch and see if I can find the place so they bring more food out here.”

“I think that is a good idea.”

Tom walked to town to find the feed and garden store. He didn’t think it could have been that long ago based on what Mr. Peters told him. It did sound like a good idea to go ahead and have the deliveries start up again. It also provided him with a good excuse to make a quick stop at the bar to have a little hair of the dog that bit him the day before.

Tom asked the bartender where the feed store was and was told if he walked a couple of blocks past the bar the place he wanted was right on the corner. Tom downed his drink along with a big glass of water and left. In a few minutes he was standing in front of a sign for “GLEN’S FEED & GARDEN CENTER”.

“Hello.” Tom greeted the young man at the counter and then realized he had already met him. “I remember you. You were working at the bar a few nights ago when I stopped by for the first time.”

“Hi. I remember you as well. You had a little run in with the mayor’s son. How are you today?”

“A little better now than I was earlier. So did you quit working at the bar?”

“No I work part time at the bar and here. My father owns both places and he lets me work at both I can make enough money to pay my own expenses. I don’t imagine you came in here just to visit with me, what can I do for you?”

“Antonio Vargas was my grandfather and I am now living at his ranch. Nacho told me that you deliver feed and garden supplies to the ranch. Nacho is a little panicked about running out of something. I guess I need to have you start up deliveries again.”

“That’s easily done, what the ranch gets is in the records. My name is Randy. Why don’t you give me your name, again if you told me already, and I will start the deliveries? I can bring out what it looks like you need in a day or two.”

“Thank you Randy and I didn’t tell you my name before, it's Tom Simonsen. I look forward to seeing you again when you come out to the ranch or at the bar, whichever comes first I guess. See you later.”

Tom proceeded on to the store, he needed to buy some staples and also wanted to buy some canned food that he could heat and eat since cooking was not one of his talents. He left the store carrying a grocery bag under each arm. Along the way he crossed paths with the old lady he saw the first day he arrived in town, the one Mr. Peters told him about. He immediately set down the grocery bags and walked up to her.

“Is there something you want to say to me? I’m tired of the dirty looks. I have never done anything to you since I’ve never seen you until I got here a few days ago. What is your problem?”

“That retarded Vargas boy is the fruit of evil! Antonio shouldn’t have done what he did! Never!”

Her voice sent a shudder running up his spine again just like the first time he saw her. He thought he knows why she hated Nacho and his grandfather, and now she apparently hated him because he was related to the two people she already hated. After her tirade she walked away. He talked to her back as she left.

“Wait! Please talk to me. Stop hating an innocent boy or me just because Antonio was my grandfather.”

His pleas were being ignored and the bitter old lady left without revealing any more of her thoughts. Tom stood there dumbfounded by her blind hatred of him and Nacho. She yelled out a last remark as she walked off.

“He shouldn’t have done it!”

Tom returned to the ranch and took his groceries into the house and went looking for Nacho. He found him sitting on the wooden swing on the back porch. Paco was lying on the ground near him and the planter box that had a few flowers coming up in it. Nacho told him Paco guarded the flowers so the deer didn’t eat them. Nacho said his grandfather had given Paco to him when he was a puppy for the boy’s sixth birthday and since Nacho was eighteen Paco was now twelve. The things Nacho knew he remembered clearly.

Tom brought a couple of cans of soda out and sat on the porch with Nacho. He handed him a pop and sat down on a wood chair next to the swing. Nacho looked at the can of pop and smiled a thank you. Tom felt like he just might be able to make a home here. Tom was starting to miss female companionship though. He thought maybe it was time to give Karen a call and invite her to visit him. He was now in a position to offer her the kind of life he thought she was interested in having.

He was lying back in the chair feeling quite relaxed when he glanced over to where Nacho was sitting and he wasn’t there. He looked around and saw that he had built a small fire in the rock lined fire pit off the porch.

“You look unhappy Tom, don’t you like my fire?”

“Yes I like it, it's very nice. I am just thinking about some of the things I left in the town I moved here from.”

Nacho looks worried. “Are you going back?”

“No, I would miss you then if I did that.”

Nacho speaks with a sad tone in his voice. “I know that some people think I’m weird, but Uncle Tony said that it was other people who were weird. I think he just said that because sometimes when he took me to town people would look at me and say bad words about me or call me a retard. Uncle Tony always told me to ignore them and he said I am a good boy. I didn’t feel good when people said those things.”

“I agree with my grandfather, you are a very good boy. You have a good heart and you do good things. I have been called many bad things in my life as well and they are much truer about me than they could ever be about you.”

“I am happy you came to live with me and help me on the ranch.”

“I am doing my best and I am definitely happy living here with you.”

“What is the place you used to live that you are thinking about?”

“It is a big city, unlike this place. It is a place where no one knows who you are really and they don’t care what you do. Unlike here where everyone knows who you are and knows everything you do. I haven’t decided which place I like better but they are very different.”

“Do you miss it?”

Tom looked at Nacho and smiles. “I miss some of the things but not as much as I thought I would. Probably it is because of the way things had been going just before I left there.”

“Some bad luck, huh?”

“Some of it was bad luck but most of it was my fault with no luck involved. I wasn’t very good at doing anything and never stayed at one place for very long whether it was my choice or whether I was asked me to leave.”

“Well nobody is going to ask you to leave here. You can stay as long as you like.”

“Yes I hope that is true, let’s hope this happy little family of ours stays that way.”

“Don’t you like it here?”

“Yes I like it here. I just don’t know if this town can keep my interest for the rest of my life or how long I can handle all of the nosy people that live here. I am afraid my temper may get the best of me one of these days and I will screw things up.”

“Do you want to go back?”

“It’s not that I want to go back, the truth is that I don’t really miss that city very much. I do miss some of the privacy that you don’t get here in this town as well as some of the conveniences like places to eat and shop. I just don’t know if I can be happy living here for the rest of my life.” Tom’s voice trails off as his voice chokes up with emotion.

“So where do you want to live?”

“I used to think I wanted to live on a tropical island and run a bar on the beach. It was just a dream but it always sounded like a cool thing to do to. I have only seen places like that in the movies and it might get to be boring just like anywhere else.”

“Is a tropical island better than here?”

“I don’t know but a nice little restaurant and nightclub with a bar made of beautiful wood with a live band to dance to on a sandy beach sounds pretty awesome.”

“Is the island very far from here?”

“Yes all of them are and there are quite a few in many different directions from here.”

“Do you think my parents might live there?”

“Maybe, anything is possible.”

Tom didn’t see any reason to tell Nacho his mother was dead and his father was unknown. The truth was that neither of them will know who their fathers were.

“Since Uncle Tony isn’t coming back maybe we can go look for them.”

“Maybe someday we can but not tonight. It’s getting late so we should go make dinner.”

“Are we going to drink some wine?”

“No, I drank too much yesterday and I don’t want to corrupt you with my bad behavior. Besides we shouldn’t drink very often because it isn’t good for you. Last night I wanted you to feel what I was feeling but it probably was because I was already drunk. It doesn’t make you feel very good if you do it too much. We should only drink once in a while for a good reason and not a bad one like I was doing yesterday.”

“I took a chicken out of the freezer to make Uncle Tony’s fried chicken.”

“Fried chicken sounds good, especially if you are cooking it.”

“I can teach you how to cook it if you want me to?”

“One of these days but how about you cook tonight and I will help you.”

Nacho went in the house and Tom stayed to watch the fire die out and then went in to help Nacho.

While Nacho finished cooking dinner Tom set the kitchen table and poured them some ice water.

“This is fantastic fried chicken. You are a really good cook.”

“Thank you. Uncle Tony taught me how to cook this. He was even better than me.”

“I don’t see how he could be much better but he taught you well.”

“Can you could help me again with the chores tomorrow? We still need to catch up a little more. There are still too many for me to do all by myself.”

“You don’t have to do them all by yourself. Ask me again tomorrow. I am going to bed early tonight.”

“Okay. I can go to bed early too.”

The next morning came and Nacho made coffee as soon as he got up. He hoped Tom would get up when he smelled it brewing. Nacho called out his name but there was no answer. He went out to do the chores by himself again.

He was unsuccessfully attempting to split firewood with an axe when Tom arrived. There were some very large chunks of wood that needed to be chopped into fire place sized pieces. Nacho kept missing the center of the piece of wood and kept knocking it off the chopping block. Tom could see Nacho was frustrated so he walked over and gently removed the axe out of Nacho’s hands.

“Why don’t you go do some of the other chores while I chop wood?”

“That would be good, Uncle Tony used to chop the big wood.”

“It’s been awhile but I will give it a try.”

Tom set a large piece of wood on the block and swung the axe and split the piece in half on the first try. He knew this was total luck but he will take it. Nacho watched with admiration and clapped at his success. Nacho headed to the barn and Tom continued to make firewood and kindling for the stove. Tom planned on getting a microwave as soon as he got a car. He really wanted to see that old wood burning stove out of service, not that he ever cooked on it. He finished the wood and found Nacho in the barn.

“What can I help you do since you keep complaining that I haven’t been much help?”

“The chickens lay eggs every day and they need to be picked up. I will show you how.” Nacho eagerly took Tom to the chicken coop and showed him how to gather up the eggs. “See it isn’t hard.”

“You are right. It’s the first time I have ever done this.” Tom gave Nacho a little shove. “This is almost fun.”

Nacho grinned. “I like doing all of the chores. You should feed Paco and I will feed the chickens. Paco’s food is in the green barrel and his bowl is on the ground next to it.”

Tom went over to where the food was and he took a scoop of the food out of the plastic container. He started to pour it into the bowl but Paco already had his head in it. Tom grabbed the bowl to move it so he could put the food in it better but made the mistake of touching the bowl after Paco already started eating out of it. The dog growled like he was going to bite him. Tom realized he should have filled the bowl and then set it down but was too late this time. He jumped away from the bowl quickly when Paco growled. Nacho saw Tom was frightened by Paco and laughed.

“You think it is funny for me to get bit?” Tom gave him a dirty look.

“He always does that, he never bites. He doesn’t like anyone close to his food while he is eating.”

“I can see that now, thanks for the warning. I will be more careful next time.”

Tom was beginning to enjoy himself. Nacho eagerly showed Tom things that needed to be done. Tom was surprised by how much Nacho knew. Nacho motioned for Tom to come over to the stall where Nacho had the two cows tied up inside. Nacho grabbed a small stool and a steel bucket and set the stool next to one of the cows. He put the bucket under the cow and started to milk the cow aiming the stream of milk accurately into the steel bucket. He reached out and grabbed Tom’s hand but Tom hastily broke Nacho’s grasp.

“There is no way I am going to milk a cow. Milk is very cheap to buy. I have to draw the line somewhere.”

“Uncle Tony said this milk is better.”

“Maybe it is but it’s not better enough.”

“Okay, I can milk the cows by myself.” Nacho sounded a little dejected but he continued milking.

“I will go do something else. I can go give the rabbit’s fresh water and fill up their food since we haven’t done anything with them and you showed me where their food is yesterday.” He walked off without waiting for an answer. He looked behind him and could see Nacho was milking the cows again. He took this as his cue to hurry over to the rabbit hutch.

Tom and Nacho finished doing the barn chores and went to the garden. Nacho showed Tom where to place the sprinklers to water the clover that was planted in it. Even though it was still winter Nacho told Tom that when it didn’t rain for several days like it hadn’t this week they would need to water.

After the barn and garden tasks were finished they went into the house to have lunch.

“Now we need to put the dirty clothes and towels in the washing machine. Where are your dirty clothes? Mine are in the basket with the other dirty laundry.”

“I only have a few dirty things. They are in the bedroom. I will go get them.”

Tom ran upstairs and got his laundry and brought it down to the washing machine and put them in with what Nacho already had in it.

“Usually I mop the kitchen and Uncle Tony vacuums the living room while the clothes are washing.”

“I can vacuum the living room. Just tell me where the vacuum is.” Nacho showed Tom where the vacuum was and started mopping.

After twenty minutes Nacho yelled to Tom. “Tom the laundry is ready. Can you come and help me.”

Tom put the vacuum away and went to where Nacho was waiting by the washing machine.

“We need to take the laundry out and hang it up on the line to dry.”

“Why don’t we use the dryer, doesn’t it work?”

“It works. We only use it when it is cold or raining. Uncle Tony said it is better for the clothes to dry them outside. Oh and we have to hang the white clothes also, he said they stay white longer. It is sunny today so we should hang the clothes up.”

Tom wasn’t so sure about it being better for the clothes to hang dry but he did have to admit that all of his white laundry ended up grey. He also knew that anything his grandfather told Nacho had the same credibility as if God had said it so it was hard to overturn something God said to do. He certainly wasn’t going to try to do so over something as trivial as the laundry.

Tom went outside and waited for Nacho to come out with the laundry. Tom watched as Nacho came out and then he tripped and drops the basket. The basket flipped over and clothes bounced out all over the ground and some landed right in a pile of cow manure. Nacho got a horrified expression on his face.

“I am sorry. I I I...” his voice trailed off. He just stood there with his head down.

“Relax dude it’s only laundry. The washing machine still works. We will just gather it up and wash it again. This is the kind of thing I usually do.”

Tom and Nacho gathered up the clothes and put them back in the washing machine. Tom patted Nacho on the back as they walked away.

“Why don’t we go to the barn and dig that old motorcycle out of the corner it’s in. We need to have a little fun. Let’s see if it still runs.”

It was late afternoon and Tom happily washed off the motorcycle. He greased parts on the motor bike after removing some cob webs and a lot of dust. He put gas in it from a gas can that was sitting near it. Tom figured it might have been there from the last time his grandfather used it. Nacho sat quietly and watched as Tom worked on getting the bike running.

Tom thought he had the bike ready to go and he hopped on the seat and tried to start it. He failed to get it started on the first and second attempt. Nacho looked at Tom with doubt showing in his glance, or at least that was how Tom interpreted the look.

Tom persisted until he finally got the motorcycle to start. He raised his fist in triumph and Nacho exuberantly applauded his success. Tom rode the bike for a few yards and applied the brakes to make sure they worked. He sat for a moment after the bike came to a stop and he turned and motioned for Nacho to get on the back of the bike.

Tom remembered they should wear helmets so he stopped Nacho and told him where he saw a couple of helmets sitting on a shelf in the barn. Tom wasn’t sure if they were for bicycles or motorcycles but he hadn’t seen any bikes anywhere. Nacho grabbed them and they both put a helmet on. Nacho got on the motorcycle behind Tom and put his arms around Tom’s waist. They rode off into the beginning of a beautiful sunset heading towards town.

Inside the only phone booth in town Tom stood with the phone in his hand. Nacho was at the curb by the motorcycle and it was obvious that he was trying to listen in on the conversation.

“Karen? Hi, how‘s it going? (…) Me? I’m doing fine. Sometimes I get a bit lonely but other than that, things are going pretty good. (…) A lot of interesting new things have been happening. (…) So why don’t you think about taking a trip to visit real soon? (…) This Sunday sounds great! (…) Rogue and your sister can give you directions. (…) Could you do a small favor for me and bring that photo of my mom, her sister and me that is on top of the television set? (...) Thanks, I will explain when I see you. (…) Take care and good bye until Sunday.(...)”

Tom hung up and walked to where Nacho was standing. He flashed a big smile.

“So did I talk loud enough for you to hear my part of the conversation?”

Nacho’s expression revealed he thought he had been caught doing something wrong.

“Uncle Tony used to come here sometimes when we went to get ice cream. Is your girlfriend going to come and see you?”

“Yes, she is coming Sunday.”

Tom motioned for Nacho to get on the motorcycle behind him.

“So now we need to go home and clean the house for my girlfriend. I better go to the store tomorrow and stock up on food that I know Karen likes because she is kind of picky. I might find out if there is some kind of restaurant to take her to in town though I doubt there is.”

Nacho had a pensive look on his face. “So do you think your girlfriend will like me?”

“Of course she will like you, you are a great kid.”

Tom reassuringly said this to Nacho though up until Nacho asked it hadn’t occurred to him before that it may or may not be how Karen would feel about Nacho. His biggest doubt was whether or not Karen liked Tom well enough to want to live with him more than whether or not she would like Nacho.

“Come on Nacho, let’s go home and have dinner since it is getting dark and I don’t know if this old motorcycle has lights that work.”

“It was dinner time when we left and now I am really hungry.”

“So I guess that means that we are in agreement that we should go home.”

Nacho got on the motorcycle and put the helmet on. He grabbed Tom around the waist and off they go with the sun nearly set behind them.

Saturday morning arrived and Tom helped Nacho with the chores after breakfast. They didn’t take as long as they had the day before. He guessed that they must be caught up. Nacho told him that most of the time his grandfather used to work in the garden while Nacho took care of the animals. It sounded like a good plan but unfortunately Tom didn’t know anything about gardening.

They finished lunch and Tom went to town. He stopped at the bar first so he didn’t have to carry the grocery bags in there on his way home. He ordered a drink from the older man who was working.

“Is there a restaurant in this town?”

“What’s wrong with the food we serve here?”

“I’m sure there isn’t anything wrong with it. I have a lady friend coming to visit me and I thought she might like to go out to a fancy dinner. I wasn’t trying to insult you. Sometimes I come here and visit Randy, he also works at the feed store.”

“Randy is my son but I haven’t seen you in here before.”

“My name is Tom and I am Antonio Vargas’s grandson. I am new here.”

“I have heard a little bit about you from my son. He seems to like you. My name is Glen. Randy and I take turns working here at the bar and running the feed store. The answer to your question about a restaurant is a no. There is a restaurant about ten miles from here in the next town. I haven’t eaten there but I have heard that they serve good food.”

“Thank you Glen but all I have is a motorcycle so I won’t be riding it that far to go out to eat. If my girlfriend wants to go out to dinner we will eat here.”

Tom handed him money for the drink and left for the store. He figured Nacho would have dinner started by the time he got back. Looking at food in the grocery store was beginning to make him hungry.

Nacho was standing by the front gate when Tom walked up with the groceries. Nacho grabbed one of the bags from Tom and excitedly bounded up the front steps. He placed the bag on the counter for Tom to put away.

“Something sure smells good in here.”

“This is your lucky night!” Nacho said enthusiastically. “Uncle Tony taught me how to make stew with the vegetables I dug up in the garden today. I made Uncle Tony’s lamb stew.”

“Well if your stew tastes anything like it smells it will be awesome. I am very impressed because usually when I make stew it is because that is all I can make out of the food I have left in the refrigerator. Your stew smells better than any stew I have ever made though that isn’t saying much.”

Nacho had a big smile on his face.

“I bought us some ice cream for us to eat after dinner.”

“Mmm. I really like ice cream.”

“I know”

The next morning Tom was sitting on the couch drinking a cup of coffee when Nacho entered the room all dressed up in a suit.

“Man, you look like you are going to a job interview.”

“It‘s Sunday. I always go to the church for Sunday school.”

“Seriously?”

“Uncle Tony always let me go to town on Sunday morning. He said it was a good place for me to go. He didn’t go to the church because he said it made him feel sad. He said he used to go with his wife but she died. When I was little Father Larson used to come in his car and take me to church. That was fun too”

“Going to church without his wife probably would have made him sad. If you like going to church then you should go. I will stay here like my grandfather did, so you go and have fun.”

“I like to go I have fun. I go to the confession booth that Father Larson in. There is a piece of special wood between me and him and he listens to my confessions so I can’t see him. I know it is Father Larson because I know what his voice sounds like.”

“Confession, what do you have to confess to? Now that I am living here may change.”

“Sometimes we say the Lord’s Prayer together and sometimes we read from the Bible.”

“That’s nice.”

“You can come to church with me if you want to. I know Father Larson would be happy if I brought a friend. Do you want to come?”

“No thanks, I hate to disappoint you.”

“Father Larson would listen to you.”

“I think that would be more than he can handle.”

Tom started laughing and Nacho took off. Tom looked out the window and saw him skipping along towards town and looking very sharp.

Tom sat back down to finish drinking his coffee. He looked at his watch to see what time it was. He jumped up and started talking to himself. “I almost forgot, Karen is about to arrive at any minute now! I better get my ass in gear.”

He finished his coffee and took a shower. He put on some of his grandfather’s clothes. He found a really nice jacket that fit him really well. He glanced at himself in the mirror and thought that he didn’t look too shabby.

Tom looked at the time and looked out the window and no one was coming down the driveway so he poured the last cup of coffee and went out to the front porch to wait.

It had been awhile since Nacho left for church and Tom was getting a little nervous. Finally a car turned in the driveway and came to a stop. Tom’s girlfriend got out of the car. She looked around the place and smiled at him.

“Wow! You’ve come a long way.”

Tom approached her and gave her a big hug and a quick kiss.

“Wow you look snazzy. I don’t think I have ever seen you dressed this nice. You must be doing well here.”

“Thank you and you look nice as well. I am really happy you came to see me. I think you will really like it here. I don’t have a car yet but I will be getting one soon.”

Karen’s obviously quite impressed. “Wow, you weren’t kidding when you said that your grandfather left you a nice ranch. I can’t wait to see the inside of the house if it matches the outside.”

“It is definitely as nice. I went to the store and bought some of your favorite foods. If you want we can go in and have something to eat right now. You are probably hungry after that bus trip.”

Tom blurted that out very excitedly since the last time he was around Karen he couldn’t even afford to even buy her a birthday present. He was feeling quite pleased that he could afford the goodies he knew Karen really liked.

“How considerate of you, it is nice to see you this happy and prosperous. Especially since things have been kind of rough for quite a while.”

“Everything you can see around you belongs to me. I never would have imagined in my wildest dreams that something like this would ever happen to me.”

“It appears your grandfather was pretty well off. It’s too bad you didn’t have a closer relationship with him before he died. Maybe then you wouldn’t have had to move to the middle of nowhere to inherit this incredibly beautiful place.”

“I can’t complain, this isn’t that far from Medford or Ashland. When I get a car I can be in either one of those towns in about twenty minutes. Heck, it takes that long to go around the block in Portland during rush hour. It has been kind of peaceful not having to deal with traffic all of the time.”

“I suppose that would be nice for a while, though I would get bored pretty quickly around here I think. How do you take care of this whole place all by yourself?”

“Well I would be lying if I told you I actually take care of this place by myself. I found out I have a cousin who has lived here with my grandfather his whole life. I didn’t know he existed until after I got here. He is about seventeen and he helps me, well actually I help him take care of the place but I am not too sure how much help I really am.”

“That sounds wonderful for you I would think, to go from having no family to having a cousin to hang out with! What’s his name?”

“Nacho is his nick name, his real name is Ignacio. Kind of like my name really is Thomas and I am called Tom.”

“Yeah, I understand what a nick name is and I sure don’t need the concept explained to me. Where is he?”

“He went in town this morning to go to church and I imagine he will come back when it’s over. This is the first Sunday I have been here so I don’t know how long he’ll be there.”

“So what’s your cousin like to do? At his age I would think he would get bored hanging around here.”

“Well, Nacho, he’s different from most boys his age. He enjoys working around here, it’s what him and my grandfather used to do together. My grandfather was more like a father to him than a grandfather. I think you will really like Nacho. He’s very sweet and friendly. You will see and, and hopefully you will understand, I am sure you will, I think.”

“Of course I will. Why are you stammering about so much? Well, aren’t you going to show me the inside of the house or are we to stand and visit at the front door all day?”

Tom affirmed by nodding his head and they went into the house. After showing Karen the main rooms downstairs Tom took her upstairs to where his bedroom was located.

“I can’t believe how much your life has changed in just a week. You went from living in our small apartment in Portland that I could barely afford to now living in a small mansion all by yourself, or I guess almost all by yourself, and now you are living like a big shot! I am so happy for you.”

“Could you see yourself living here with me, you wouldn’t have to work ever again as my grandfather provided a monthly income that is enough for all of us to live on, even if there were to be children in the future?”

“I will need a little while to think about that but I promise that I will think about it, but first we need to get re-acquainted. Our relationship wasn’t doing so well when you left. I think we need to see if we really still have a relationship before we talk about me moving here. I didn’t really get the impression you wanted a family, period, am I wrong?”

“I don’t really know how to answer that because I hadn’t thought about it before you brought it up on your birthday. All I knew is we couldn’t afford to raise a kid and you caught me by surprise. Would you like to have the lunch I mentioned to you outside?”

“Yes I think that sounds like a great idea.”

“Then let’s get back down stairs and go to the kitchen. I can make you a sandwich with all your favorite meats and cheeses and then later I can heat up some frozen dinners. Just kidding, I bought us some really nice steaks for dinner.”

“I don’t remember that you were into cooking this much, all I ever remember seeing you “cook” in the whole time we lived together was take out Chinese food. Even having you make a sandwich for me is a new experience.”

Tom realized that there is a little bit of an insult implied on Karen’s part but he also realized that it was probably the truth so probably should keep his mouth shut. They went into the kitchen and Karen sat down at the kitchen table and watched while Tom made a couple of sandwiches and poured a couple glasses of wine to go along with them.

“You were right, this sandwich does have all my favorite things on it. I am somewhat surprised that you actually know what I like. You never made anything that didn’t come out of a microwave the whole time we lived together. I can’t wait for you to cook us dinner.” Karen smiled at him.

“Very funny, but if you’re lucky Nacho will cook the steaks I bought. He is a very good cook unlike me. My grandfather taught him how to do a lot of things that my mother never taught me. I could have used some of those lessons. It might have helped our relationship if I had any domestic skills.”

“I surely would have appreciated them no doubt. We did have some pretty good chemistry at times. Maybe this is a good time to see if we still have that.” She had a twinkle in her eyes.

“Well since I already gave you a tour of the house. Why don’t you lead the way young lady?”

She grabbed Tom’s hand and they headed upstairs. Karen sat on the bed and bounced up and down a couple of times. She stared at the wall with a pensive look.

“It’s hard for me to believe that you like living here in the country since you have spent your whole life living in the city.”

“Things change sometimes. I wouldn’t have imagined this life for myself either. If my mother hadn’t sent me to stay here when she was going through chemotherapy I am sure I wouldn’t be here now. I am not so sure that sending me away was the right thing to do but I guess that’s irrelevant now. On the other hand, if she hadn’t I might never have met my grandfather and he wouldn’t have given me this place. Sometimes things happen for a reason, and sometimes they just happen and who knows what the reason was.”

“That’s for sure, and lots of things happen that don’t seem to have any reason at all.”

They gazed into each other’s eyes and they sensed that the time spent away had driven them farther apart than just the week they had been away from each other.

“You know I really missed you.”

“Was it me you missed or did you just miss having a woman around? After all you are living in the middle of nowhere with a teenage boy.”

“I know I’ve been pretty screwed up for quite a while and I’m sorry. I understand why you are pissed at me. Is it too late to make it up to you?”

“I don’t know.”

Tom got down on his knees, raised his face up to hers and sweetly kissed her cheek.

“Before we do anything I think we should finish the discussion on this subject you just opened up.” Karen said in a serious tone.

“Can we not talk for just a little while first? I would just like to feel you in my arms again for a little while.”

Tom started kissing her again and this time she welcomed his advances. They start undressing each other until there were no more articles of clothing to take off. They threw back the covers and made love to each other. Then they lay on the top of the bed together.

They were laying there holding each other in a tender way that had been missing from their relationship for a long time. They exuded calmness and satisfaction as they quietly rested in each other’s arms enjoying the peaceful feeling they were sharing. Tom lay back with his eyes closed when all of a sudden Karen screamed.

When he looked over at her and saw that she had pulled the covers up to her neck and had scooted her body down from where she had been comfortably resting against the pillows. She was obviously completely freaked out and was fixated on something in the doorway.

Tom looked that direction and he could see Nacho standing in the doorway. He was what Karen was screaming at like an axe murderer was attacking her. Tom sprung up, looked at his screaming bedmate and then looked at Nacho who was staring at Karen.

“Get the hell out of here Nacho. Why are you standing in the doorway staring at my girlfriend? Can’t you tell you are not wanted right now?”

“What’s going on here? Where did he come from?” Karen yelled.

She finally quit screaming after she realized that whoever was standing in the doorway was not a stranger. She was now curious.

Nacho was still standing in the doorway watching quietly and attentively. He also looked curious and just stared like he was in a trance. He didn’t react to Tom’s yelling at him.

“It’s alright Karen, it’s the kid I was telling you about that lives here. I don’t know why he is standing in the doorway right now or why he seems to be ignoring me, but he isn’t dangerous.”

Tom turned from trying to calm Karen down and addressed Nacho again.

“What part of get out of here right now didn’t you understand?”

This time Tom did get a reaction from Nacho and he got a sad look on his face and started to walk away. Tom yelled at him to shut the door and Nacho closed the door behind him as he walked out of the room.

“Who did you say that was?”

“That’s Nacho, the young man that I told you my grandfather cared for, the one who lives here.”

“That’s your cousin? Are you serious?”

“Calm down. He’s a good kid and to be fair he didn’t know you were in here with me.”

“He’s good alright, good at giving me a heart attack! That’s one hell of a surprise you didn’t tell me about!”

“Part of the reason that my grandfather left me the ranch was that I am the only relative he had and he wanted someone to live on this place with Nacho so he could continue to live here. Without Nacho needing me I probably wouldn’t even be here right now.”

Karen got out of the bed and put her clothes on.

“I had imagined that he would only be staying here with you for a short time when you suggested that I should move here. It seems that assumption was wrong and you will be living with him forever I guess.”

“You’re not being very understanding. You haven’t even really met him yet. You don’t like him because he looked at us in bed when the door was wide open? He didn’t know I was in here with you. Since when did you turn into such a prude? It wouldn’t hurt you to try to get to know him before you decide he is a terrible person.”

Karen looked at him in astonishment at the sarcastic remarks he had just barraged her with.

“I guess I know where I stand with you. Come on Tom, you don’t really think that we could live with someone like… like…”

Tom looked at her sadly.

“Go ahead and say it! What were you going to call him? He is someone like what, a freak, a retard, an idiot, weirdo, or maybe a mongoloid? Did I miss any of the things that you are thinking about him even though you haven’t had one word with him?”

Karen finished buttoning her dress and turned to look at him.

“I don’t know what to call him and I am sure he is nice but living with him is not something I am prepared to do.”

“What do you know since you don’t know what to call Nacho?”

“I only know that I’m not ready for this. I can’t believe you have such a low opinion of me just because my idea of having a family doesn’t involve living with an unusual teenager. Was that word alright with you or don’t you think he is not unusual?”

“Actually that is a perfect word to use because he is unusual. He is unusually nice, happy and always pleasant. That is a lot more than what I can say about most people. But he does need help Karen and there is no reason I can’t give it to him. I like helping him.”

“Since when did you turn into such a good Samaritan?”

“Wasn’t it you that told me that I should take more responsibility in my life?”

“But if I’m not mistaken you refused me to take any then and now you are turning 360 degrees and you are ready to accept way more responsibility than I was ever asking for? You didn’t want us to have a baby but now you are suggesting that and taking care of a teenage boy with some issues. I have enough of my own problems without taking on anyone else’s.”

“I was thinking we could start a new life together here. If you were willing to meet Nacho and really get to know him you might actually find that you like him. This could be an ideal place to raise children also but apparently you have no interest in that now either because of Nacho.”

“I’m not sure you have any idea of what I want or what you want for that matter. I do know this is more than I am prepared to deal with for whatever reason you want to name.”

“So you are just going to leave then?”

“I’m sorry but given the position you have put me in I can’t see that I have any other choice.”

“Let me say just say one thing, I think that you are the one who is missing out but I’m not going to try and talk you into anything. The person I want to be with wouldn’t act like this.”

“Then I guess I am not the person you want to be with. I’m not about to change just because you tell me that I disappointed you. You have disappointed me for so long I don’t care what you think of me.”

“That’s too bad but I guess it’s better that we found out we shouldn’t be together sooner rather than later.” Tom said with a hint of anger in his voice.

“I shouldn’t have ever come to this place, it has been a mistake. If you ever decide to return to the city give me a call and we can talk.”

“I think that is best for both of us. Our relationship wasn’t doing so well before you came here and I guess it is obvious that nothing about that has changed. Can we just remember the good times and forget about this visit? I am truly happy for your good fortune and I really do mean that.”

“I also would like to just focus on the fun we have had during the time we were together. I borrowed some money from your sister when I left and I told her I would pay her back. She loaned me twenty dollars so here is forty for her being so helpful and tell her thank you. Here is another hundred to pay for your gas to come down here.”

“You didn't have to pay for my gas. I just remembered that I put that photo you wanted me to bring in my back pack. I better get it out right now. Give me your address so I can send you anything that comes for you that I think you might want.”

She opened up her pack and took out the old photo of Tom, his mother and his Aunt Ellen. Tom handed her a paper with his address on it.

Tom went over to her and gave her a cold kiss on the cheek. “Have a good drive home.”

“Thank you and I am sorry this didn’t work out the way you wanted.”

Karen left the bedroom and went downstairs and walked out of the house. Tom went to the window and watched as Karen got into her car and drove away.

Tom walked outside and found Nacho out by the barn playing with the dog. Actually Nacho was throwing sticks while Nacho tried to get Paco excited enough to chase them. Nacho could tell Tom was not in a very good mood. He thought Tom was mad at him for coming in the bedroom earlier.

“You do know that old dog is never going to chase those sticks you are throwing. The only thing he might run for would be a steak and I’m not too sure he would do that either.”

“I am sorry I scared your girlfriend. I didn’t know you were in your room until I looked in and she screamed at me.”

“It’s alright, I should have closed the door and she over reacted. Don’t worry about it.”

“Is she going to come back here, I can show her the animals in the barn?”

“No she doesn’t seem to like being out in the country so she is going back to the city.”

“Is it because I scared her?”

“No it isn’t your fault, it isn’t anyone’s fault or if it is it’s mine for asking her to come here in the first place. I don’t know why I thought a big city girl like her would ever want to live so far away from the shopping malls and the phony people she likes to hang out with in the first place.”

“I’m sorry Tom. You were happy she was coming to visit.”

“I’m sorry too but mostly I am sorry that I didn’t realize that I didn’t really know her. Why don’t we go in the house and look at the food I bought for dinner yesterday. I bought some nice steaks and some other things I will need your help to cook. It is a little early for dinner but I am hungry right now. You are always hungry it seems like. Are you hungry enough for us to have an early dinner?”

“I’m not always hungry but I do like to eat a lot. Eating is my favorite thing to do.”

“Mine too so let’s go see what we can make with all the fancy stuff I bought at the store yesterday.”

Tom threw his arm over Nacho’s shoulder and started guiding him towards the house.

Tom got up early, took a shower and went for a quick walk to clear his head before he went in the house to make some coffee.”

He didn’t see Nacho out by the barn or the garden when he got back from the walk so after he started the coffee he walked through the house to locate him. He heard noises coming from Nacho’s bedroom and he noticed the door is closed. Probably it was because of what happened yesterday with Karen when she saw Nacho standing in the doorway and Tom had yelled at Nacho to close the door.

He knocked on Nacho’s bedroom door and then opened the door.

“I’m sorry I yelled at you to close the door yesterday. I should have had it shut already. You didn’t do anything wrong. Are you okay?”

Nacho was reaching under his bed and Tom saw him pull out an old tattered shoe box which he placed on the bed. He opened the box and started taking things out of it.

“What do you have there?” Tom inquired.

From what he could see it looked like a strange collection. Tom could see a pocketknife, a harmonica, a radio and he could tell there were still a few more items left in the box. The door was halfway open so Tom pushed it open the rest of the way and leaned in. Nacho started to block Tom’s view and then looked at him.

“These are presents Uncle Tony gave me, do you want to see them?” He showed him the items he had placed on the bed. “Do you like these?”

“What do you do with them?”

“I carve on wood with this, and I can make music with this one, and I listen to people talk about baseball on the radio.” Nacho was very animated as he showed Tom his prized collection.

It was obvious that Nacho loved his grandfather a lot. He could tell Nacho felt comforted by the items.

“I guess I like these things mostly because they remind me of Uncle Tony.” Nacho put the things back in the shoebox and put it back under the bed.

“I didn’t mean to scare your girlfriend when I went up to your room. I forgot she was coming here and I was just going to see if you were in there. She screamed as soon as I got to the door. It kind of scared me. I didn’t know why she was screaming. I never had anyone scream when they looked at me before and I didn’t know what to do.”

“I don’t know why she did that but it’s my fault for having a city girl come to the country. I am glad she left. I am happy living here with my good friend Nacho.”

“She is very pretty.”

“Yes she is very pretty but it’s time to forget about her and move on to something new. Karen brought me a photo my mother gave me a long time ago of her and her sister. I found out from Mr. Peters that my mother’s sister was your mother. I don’t know why no one ever told me about you before, and I don’t know where her, or your father, are right now either but I do remember meeting her once.”

Nacho very carefully took the photo that Tom handed to him. He looked at and stared at the two women in the photo. He had a confused look on his face.

“What does that mean that your mother and my mother were sisters?”

“It means that you and I are related, we are what they call first cousins, which is why my grandfather, who you call Uncle Tony, raised you. He was not your uncle, he was your grandfather just like he is my grandfather. Does that make sense to you?”

“I am not sure, why didn’t he tell me he was my grandfather?”

“I don’t know. Maybe he didn’t think about it. Did he tell you he was your uncle?

“I don’t remember. I just remember he was always my Uncle Tony.”

“I don’t know why my mother never told me that my aunt had a child that lived with my grandfather. I guess there are things that neither one of us knows about our family. At least we know we are family. That is kind of neat don’t you think?”

“Yes. You are my very best friend. Uncle Tony told me that I was a good kid. He told me he was your grandfather when he told me he had to leave. He said you were coming here to live with me. Maybe he didn’t think I was smart enough. I don’t know why had to go away and be sick.”

Nacho has a sad and confused look on his face. Tom thinks that was an appropriate reaction since he was also more than a little confused. Maybe his grandfather really was worried about how the people in the town would react to his raising his daughter’s illegitimate child.

“I guess there are things that neither one of us will ever know about our family but at least we know we really are family. So you thought my ex-girlfriend was pretty huh?”

Tom decided it was time to change the subject. Talking about Nacho seeing a naked girl for the first time seemed like a good way to get Nacho’s attention on something else.

Nacho raised his hands up to his chest. “She has two tits here, not four like the cows.”

“She would just love to hear you compare her to a cow. That is a priceless!” Tom started laughing. “Living here with you seems to be good for me. I never had anything I wanted to be responsible for until I came to live here with you and whatever this is I have here it feels good.”

“You are happy living here with me? Won’t you miss the girl who came and left?”

“No I will not.”

Nacho hesitated and then asked another question.

“Why were in bed with her?”

“It’s something that you are not quite ready for yet. It will be soon when you are all grown up. It is good you are interested in girls. You are normal.”

“There are girls when I go to church. I am grown up and I like girls. They are pretty.”

“Well I don’t know about your being grown up, I am not even sure if I am grown up, but you are certainly getting there.”

“Uncle Tony said he used to like the girls at church when he was a boy. He told me I would meet a nice girl but he didn’t tell me when.”

“I think maybe our grandfather wanted me to come here and help you meet a girl. When we get a car I will take you somewhere we can both meet girls. Maybe you can ask Father Larson to introduce you to girls at the church.”

“I don’t know if Father Larson wants to talk about girls. We mostly talk about the stories we read in church. Do you think that I can have a pretty girl like your girlfriend?”

“I don’t see why not. I haven’t seen very many young women in this town but you said there are some at church so maybe you will meet one there.”

“Will you help me find a girlfriend?”

“Sure, someday when I start looking for one for myself I will look for a girlfriend for you. I don’t think we will have time for girls right now. We are going to have a lot to do on the ranch. You are going to have to teach me how to work in the garden since I have lived in a city all of my life and don’t know how to do anything. There is no hurry to find a girl because you are very young and have a long life ahead of you in which to meet girls.”

Tom got up to leave Nacho’s bedroom and Nacho pulled the box of treasures back out from under the bed. Tom left Nacho to pursue his memories of his grandfather.

The visit to the ranch by Karen soon became a long forgotten event. Spring gradually moved in and Nacho and Tom started to get the garden ready. The man at the feed store showed up with his tractor and prepared the garden for planting just like Nacho said would happen. Nacho showed Tom how to plant the vegetable plants that were delivered. The garden provided many hours of work for Tom and Nacho and their relationship continued to grow.

They found a lot of projects to work on during the time that wasn’t spent on the daily chores or the garden. They rebuilt all of the cages and stalls for the animals in the barn and repaired the fence around the property. Tom found a kit for making a dog house sitting in the barn so he and Nacho put it together. Tom decided that they should build it in the back yard near the porch with the wooden swing and chair that he and Nacho liked to sit on in the evenings. That way Paco had his own place to hang out with them. They even built a small deck to put the dog house on complete with its own little porch. They also put a fence up around the porch and dog house so that when Tom got a car to take some weekend trips in there would be a safe place to leave Paco. The dog house and fence took the two of them a couple of months to completely finish. When they were done with it Tom thought it was the fanciest dog house he had ever seen. Randy, from the feed store, brought out a catalog of pet supplies and accessories for Tom and Nacho to look through to add to Paco’s house. They put in a fancy dog food feeder that held enough dog food for a week on the little covered porch they had built for him. They also put in an automatic water bowl that was hooked up to a garden hose. A lot of this was with a little help from Randy and his father.

Tom talked Nacho into letting him give the cows to Randy’s father so they didn’t have to care for them along with the rabbits. The rabbits had just been pets and Randy’s father said that he knew a family with a couple of little girls that would really like to have them. The two of them didn’t drink enough milk for owning cows to be saving them any money and Nacho and he didn’t spend any time playing with the rabbits so they agreed it would be best for the rabbits to have a new home. Tom enjoyed the fresh eggs so they were the only animals they kept and they were easy to keep anyway.

The garden soon became filled with growing vegetables, too many vegetables for only two people Tom thought.

“It looks like we are going to have a lot of extra vegetables to put in jars and the freezer for our dinners this winter. When we have too many vegetables to eat we pick them in the summer and Uncle Tony would put some of them in jars. I helped him put some of them in bags to put in the freezer. Are we going to do that with the extra vegetables like Uncle Tony did?”

“You are kidding right? Do I look like Betty Crocker or whoever it is that does all the fancy things with food on television?”

“What is television?”

“I forgot that you have never watched TV, we are going to have to change that real soon because the evenings are getting long and we have built about everything we can around here to keep ourselves busy. Going back to the vegetables, hell, I barely know how to cook any of them. Maybe we can pay one of the ladies in the town to can vegetables for us. Did my grandfather have any lady friends that you know about?”

“No, when he went to town sometimes without me and I don’t know what he did.”

“Well I am sure we can find someone that will do the canning and freezing if I pay them, I will ask Randy when he comes out next time. I think it is time I think for us to get a car so we can go to other towns to buy things and go do some sightseeing.”

“Where are you going to get a car?”

“There is a town about 20 miles from here that has places that sell cars. We can take the bus there and go to one of them, buy one and drive it home. In fact, tomorrow you and I will go do that. We can go see the city and ride around in a car. Does that sound like fun?”

“I think so. I haven’t ever been on a bus. I used to ride in Father Larson’s car when I was little but that was a long time ago.”

“I am sure you will like riding on the bus but I know you are going to enjoy riding in our very own car even more. When we get a car we can start going to some really cool places.”

“That sounds like fun. I can get up early tomorrow and get all the chores done really fast.”

“Alright then, we have ourselves a plan. Shall we call it a day in the garden and go in the house and have some dinner and have a little wine to celebrate?”

“Okay, I had fun the time you let me drink wine, except you were really in a bad mood the next day. Do you always get in a bad mood after you drink wine?”

“No, I just drank too much wine that time and that’s not going to happen tonight. I want to feel good tomorrow for our trip to buy a car.”

Tom was getting excited about taking a trip to Ashland to buy a car. He was ready to start doing some of the things he used to enjoy doing when he lived in the big city, things like going out to eat at restaurants and watching movies. It was time to bring a little bit of the big city to the little one.

Michele Belcher's Blog

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