Capturing You

Chapter 20: For Angel, My Angel

My Uncle Hank had inherited the family farm on the account of my dad — his younger brother — being more keen on playing sports for a living. My dad didn't have the height to do much, though, and it was actually my Uncle Hank who had my grandfather's height passed down to him, ironically. But being a quick drive away from each other's homes meant that my Uncle Hank recruited me often to be a farmhand, for one as a way to get out of the house during the summer and for two as a way to bond with my cousins. When my dad was away coaching, my mom liked to accompany me from time to time; she would paint my cousins and I handling the pigs for as long as she could stand the smell, at which point she'd move to paint Thompson Lake.

    I had fond moments of helping out at the farm, though it had been years since I was enlisted to do so. I sort of outgrew the inability to say no and my younger cousins took over soon enough for me to fly under the radar of responsibility. But as soon as we'd made it out onto that pasture and the familiar sounds from the animals grew louder and louder, I remembered how much I missed it. The ground grew softer under my sneakers as we approached the cow barn.

    "You might wanna change into these before you head in," Micah said, tossing Joe and I pairs of rubber boots.

    We took a seat at a nearby bench and changed into them, mine looking absolutely gargantuan in my hands. I could only picture what they'd look like on my feet. Embarrassed, I stalled to put them on. I looked over at Joe apologetically; we'd finally had a second alone as my cousins disappeared into the barn. "This probably wasn't the two week vacation you were envisioning."

    He gave me a reassuring smile. "To be honest with you? It's not. Because it's way better," he said, pulling his boots over his joggers. Of course, they fit him like a glove; he must have been the same shoe size as Micah for these back-ups to fit him. "I've had my fair share of island resorts, Disneyland trips... But stuff like this, I never get to do."

    I tried to convince myself he'd only said these things to make me feel better, but every bit of him came through sincerely. He could be so irritatingly perfect. I smiled back at him before tugging on my own boots, my hair falling over my face from my ponytail. "In that case, I think you owe me a trip to Disneyland," I quipped with him.

    He reached over and pulled my hair back from my face, my ponytail naturally resting behind me again as I sat upright, done putting my boots on. Butterflies flew in a frenzy in my stomach and I was foolish for thinking they would have gone away since I'd last seen him. They must have hatched tenfold, overdue from how long it had been since Joe and I had a moment together c just the two of us. Even with the smell of cow shit and humidity already making me feel sweaty, he managed to make it feel like a fairytale.

    "We can go wherever you want," he told me.

    I never thought I'd be such a romantic. It was concerning how much Joe had seemed to change me in such a short time.

    A hand knocked relentlessly against the side of the barn, pulling us away from our moment. "Hey Ave — woops, sorry." It was Hunter, retracting slightly back into the barn as he realized he may have messed with an intimate conversation. "Just wanted to say everything's ready for you guys in here."

    "Thanks, Hunter," I said, flashing him an awkward smile.

    Joe led the way to the entrance of the barn and we were quickly greeted by the mooing of about 10 cows, some of them laying down and others active, wandering about their hay piles. Claire and Micah were off in the corner, tending to a mama cow and her little calf. Once Micah saw us come in, he stood up and brushed his hands against his jeans.

    "Welcome to the family farm," he told Joe, then addressed me. "It's been a while, Avery, so you probably only know a few of the cows here from the last time you visited. Chessy had a little baby just a few months ago."