Page 8 of Kinsey

“I can’t believe that you’re not positive about this.I would have thought that you’d have a list made out of what you’re going to buy first.”He made himself not glance in the direction of the list he’d made up about what he was going to do with his part of the money.“I have one.It’s not as extensive asyours should be, but I’m making one.I’m going to buy myself a house that I love.Not that I don’t love the one that I’m in, but I grew up in the place, and it doesn’t hold any kind of mystery for me.Grannie said that I need something larger.It only has the three bedrooms in it and they are being used by us, and one as my office.”

“If I had a list, and I’m not saying that I do, I’d have a new truck on the list.My grandda bought the one that I’ve been using new thirty-five years ago.It runs when it wants to and stops the same way.I love that he had it new, but I really need something reliable that I can use in the winter months.With my new house.”They laughed.“I have silly things too that I’d like to have.Like new socks and shirts that don’t have more holes in them than are necessary.”

They went on about what they’d buy, silly things that they’d get if the sale went through.By the time the call was an hour old, they were both laughing hysterically and having a good time.He was really glad that he had called her when she said that she was glad that he had.

“It was my pleasure.I do feel much better.I’m not sold on the land selling yet, but I do feel much better just talking to you.”He had been wanting to ask her out since this entire thing started, but didn’t want to be turned down by her.He was just getting the nerve up when she spoke again.

“How about we have dinner sometime?Just the two of us and no talk about the sale.”He said that he’d love that.“I would as well.Just two people who have had a good laugh together, having a good meal.Someplace that sells seafood.I’m sure you told me once that you love seafood when you can get it.”

“I would love that.I can eat my weight in crab legs.When I was out of the country, I would go to this little restaurant that served them on Friday nights.A bunch of us would go there when we got paid.I think they might well have hated it when five of us would show up for all-you-can-eat meals.”He laughed at the memory.“There was this place that served Chinese too that we’d hit up.Oh the memories I have of that place.”

“Grannie and I went to the buffet up in Amish country.I think that I put on ten pounds while I was there.All right.Friday night, the night before we go live, you and I will have dinner and have a lovely evening.”He said that since she knew where he lived, she could pick him up.“I’ll do you one better, I’ll send someone to get you and we’ll have a wonderful time.I know just the place we can go to.My treat.”

“It’ll have to be.I’m broke, remember?”They both laughed again, and he told her that he could get to her house.After getting the address, they hung up.Kinsey hadn’t realized how long he’d been on the phone until Wylie came back in to find him.He thought that he’d fallen or something.

“Just talking on the phone.”He asked if it had been Meggie.“Yeah, it was.Why do you ask?I mean, you’re all right with that, aren’t you?”

“I had hopes that the two of you would hang out together.She seems perfect for you.”He felt his face heat up when he told him about the date.“Good for the two of you.I’m so happy that you guys are going to get together.I mean, it might not be long-term, but it’ll be nice if it is.You’d be the first of any of us getting what we all desire.”

“It’s just a date.I doubt that she’d want to have anything to do with me after the sale goes through.As I said, it’s just a date to get some seafood.”Wylie just nodded at him and walked away.

Kinsey then looked at the list that he’d been making while on the phone with her and laughed about the things that he’d ended up putting on his list.In addition to new socks, he’d put on it a suit too.Something he’d not had since he’d graduated from high school.Even then, it had been second-hand.

Going back to work, he was deep in fixing the tractor again when he noticed that it was getting late.He’d not put any dinner on because everyone was going to get their own, so he realized that he should have done something for himself.As soon as the tractor fired up and was going, he got on it to plow around his garden.It was much larger than it had been last year and even the year before.He wondered if they’d be here when it was time to harvest it.The least he could do was have the peas that had come on early.That was what he was going to have for his dinner.A nice pot of peas with creamsauce with them.

After his dinner, he finished up the paperwork for the roof.They’d had to be certified on the laying of it, or it would have nullified the warranty.There were still things that he needed to keep up on, one of them was the billing for the milk, and he had to make sure that even the Amish that he’d been working with knew of the potential sale of the cattle.They were going to sell them off at the end of the sale unless the buyer was going to take them on, too.

It was a little after ten when his brothers came home.He could have joined them, but he decided that he didn’t want to be with a crowd tonight.Wylie had brought him home a piece of cheesecake that he’d gotten for him, and he sat and ate it while listening to his brothers being brothers.He knew that he said this a great deal to anyone who would listen, but he was proud of his brothers and thought they were good men, dependable men too.

Going up to bed later than he normally would, he looked in his closet to see what he had to wear on a date.Nothing jumped out at him, so he hoped that his newer jeans and shirt that he’d gotten for Christmas one year ago were enough.He’d even polish up his shoes before going to dinner tomorrow night and was smiling as he dug around in his closet for the box of shoe polishing stuff.It was right where he’d used it the last time, when his grandma had passed on.

He’d been thinking about her a great deal over the past few weeks.She’d been a good mother to them all.Even when he’d joined the Army, he’d made sure that she had money when he did.All of them, he thought.Each of them was doing their stint for the country; they’d all graduated from high school and gone straight into the service to get their college paid for.

Ara was the last to graduate from college with a degree in journalism, going part-time until he got it finished.He’d taken six years to get his degree in husbandry, thinking that it would do him more good than not.It had served him well over the years, but he did wonder what he’d do with all his knowledge after the sale.Kinsey thought that even if he was able to get himself a new home out of this, he might well have a couple of cattle and a garden.Then thought that he was just getting back into what he’d been in before.

Going to bed at eleven, he knew he was going to regret it tomorrow.But he also had something to look forward to, and that kept him on pins and needles.As soon as he laid down on the bed, he realized that he was going to get to sleep soon and rolled to his back to turn off the lamp.It was the last thing that he remembered before the alarm woke him up in the morning.

~*~

She’d been calling it ‘the date’ since she asked him out.Meggie didn’t feel bad for being the one who did the asking.She was about as excited as she’d ever been about going out with someone.As soon as she figured out what she was going to wear, that was.

Knowing that he’d not be dressed up, she downplayed her own outfit.Twelve times now.Her room looked like a tornado had gone through it, and there were hangers and outfits everywhere.She was dressed in a pair of slacks and a sweater when her doorbell rang.Looking in the mirror, she decided that she could always change again if he was dressed better than her.Going to the door, she was never so excited as she was then about having a man take her out to dinner.Or she him.They’d play that part by ear, she supposed.She opened the door to hear him talking to the gardener.

“No, I’d not pull them up until I was sure that they weren’t going to be coming back.Those don’t look as dead as I think they could.”She looked at her gardener and asked what was going on.“Nothing.He was saying that he was going to have to pull out the rose bushes this year, and I told him I’d just trim them to the ground and wait for them to grow back in.We have the same kind of roses around Grannie’s grave and do that every year so that they don’t get out of hand.”She’d forgotten that he had a minor degree in herbs and would know a little about the plants that were around.

“You look fantastic.”She felt her face heat up when she said that sort of loudly.“I’m sorry.I’ve been debating all day on what to wear, and I was worried that I’d be overly dressed.The restaurant doesn’t have any rules about what to wear, and I’m glad that you didn’t go all out in a suit.”

“I’m going to get one when this is finished.I want to be able to date and look better than afarm hand when I go out.”For some reason, that bothered her that he was going to be going out with someone else when he sold the farm.Asking him to come in, Grannie wanted to talk to him, and he came into the house and made her otherwise large entryway look smaller by comparison.“You’re a big man, aren’t you?”She told herself to shut her mouth as she was just blurting out anything that came to her.“I’m sorry.You must think I’m terribly rude.I’m so sorry.”

“I think that we’re good enough friends that we can say what we want.”He handed her some flowers that she’d not noticed until then.“These are from the garden around the house.I thought that I’d bring a bit of the farm to you and then we’d not talk about it again.All right with you?”

“No one has ever brought me flowers before.”She felt her eyes fill with tears.“It’s been a stressful day, and this is simply the best thing that you could have brought me.I remember seeing them when Grannie and I were there.”She took them to the kitchen and was glad that he followed her.“I’ll have them put in a vase for tomorrow’s dinner party.Grannie is having a few of her friends over for bridge tomorrow night.”

She didn’t want to drive to the restaurant, so they took the service that she used to go.This allowed them to talk about things, and they were both really good at not bringing up the sale.She loved how they could talk about anything, and he was up on the topic.She never thought that he was stupid or dumb, but she’d been on dates—a long time ago—where the men would just grunt when she brought something up, and this was a wonderful change.

As soon as they were seated, he ordered a bottle of wine for the two of them.He said that he’d been joking about being broke and could afford dinner.She laughed; it was funny to her that he was so free with her that he could bring something like that up and not be embarrassed about it.She really liked this man and hoped they could see more of each other in the future before he found his perfect wife and left her out in the cold.Meggie was being silly, and she knew it, but it was painful to her heart to think that he’d be finding himself a wife before too much longer and no longer her friend.

They talked about so many things, and she was happy for it.Kinsey seemed to be well-versed on the topic of brokerage firms, and she answered him when he had a question.No topic was taboo, but the sale, and she thought that they’d done really well until dessert was served.

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