Chapter 5: Epilogue

The chill of late fall was in the air. One week before Thanksgiving and Jason was riding the bus thinking about what he wanted to do with his life. Since he had come home to the city, Jason tried to move on, but he found it difficult.

He got a job working at a wholesale warehouse. He was up early every morning, took the bus in, did his 8+ hours each day, and came home. It was physical work which he did enjoy, but it felt like hollow work. Moving skids of products from one place to another with a forklift, stacking products for displays, and other general duties. It didn’t fill him with much joy, just some money in his pocket and something to do with himself.

At night, he would go for walks around the city or read a new book he got at the library. His mom nearly fainted the first night she saw him with a book in his hands, she’d never seen that before. When he would go for walks just to breathe the outside air, but it was usually filled with car exhaust, garbage, and all the other scents of the city. Still, being outside was better than being cooped up in his mom’s apartment all the time. He missed the wide-open spaces, the woods, and of course, the creek. The city felt small and cramped now, like he had outgrown it.

When he was able to, he’d message or talk to Emily over various apps. Sometimes it was just texts, sometimes it was Zoom, and the odd time they would actually call each other. It was always nice to hear from her, to see how her day was but, in reality, it was difficult for him that he was unable to be with her. It was gnawing at him in the pit of his stomach. He wanted more!

While looking out the bus window, he thought about his conversations with Emily. She was doing well; she enjoyed her classes at the local college but didn’t like the 45-minute drive each way. She had made a few friends and had been asked out several times but always said no. They had discussed their relationship status at length. It had been difficult to pin it down, since they weren’t even in the same state anymore. They both knew they would be together if they lived close by, but the current situation made that difficult.

They would exchange nude pictures and sex chats; it was better than nothing. But Emily was hoping that at Christmas time, they would be able to see each other for at least a week. Even with that though, they both doubted that they could maintain a relationship like this long-term. They both had needs, and while they loved each other, at a certain point they knew they’d drift apart. It was what was always bound to happen and they both knew it the day Jason left the farm.

The bus slowed down, and Jason grabbed his bag to get off at his stop. He stepped off the bus on the side of the road and looked around.

“Hello Jason, you sure about this?” a familiar voice came from behind him.

“Yes, this is what I want to do, Uncle Bill,” Jason responded.

“Good! Let’s get your luggage in the truck so we can head home. You still have much to learn.” Bill helped his nephew load up all his bags into the bed of the truck, then set off back to the farm. There was quiet between them at first, as they both contemplated the decision that Jason had made a couple weeks earlier.

Jason had finished yet another shift at the warehouse and was on his way home. He was bored. Riding on the bus for the this 25 minutes was always a dullest part of the day. He looked at his phone and scrolled through pictures of the farm, his aunt and uncle, and finally some pictures of Emily. He realized the lethargy he had been feeling lately was actually home sickness. He was home, in the city with his mom, but he didn’t feel like he belonged here anymore.

That night, he sat down with his mom and discussed the situation. She was shocked to hear that he didn’t feel at home here anymore. It hurt her feelings at first, until Jason explained his situation. He no longer felt like he belonged in the city anymore. He didn’t like his job and there was little future in it. The best he could do was be a supervisor one day.

Each day he felt more and more alone, almost like he felt before the summer. He had more confidence and a better outlook on life but had no real connections here besides his mom. And while he loved her, he had to start living his life or he’d fall back into the pit of despair he had so recently crawled out from.

Finally, he talked about Emily. He had never actually revealed the truth about their relationship to his mother before then. She was happy he had found someone but was concerned he was making a massive decision based on a possible crush. Jason had to explain that he would have wanted to do this, regardless whether Emily was there or not. That put her at ease, but they needed to discuss it with Bill and Caroline.

They called the farm later that night. Jason and his mom were actually surprised by how quickly they agreed to let Jason stay there long term. Bill said he already thought Jason had the makings of a great farmer and would love to teach him everything he knew about it. There would be no pressure and he would be welcome to leave if he chose to, but neither of them thought that would happen.

If after the next full year of learning and hard work, Jason wanted to keep working the farm, Bill and Caroline would discuss passing the farm over to him. They wanted nothing more than for it to stay in the family. They never wanted to sell it in the first place, but they thought they had no other choice with their son, Tommy, uninterested in continuing the tradition.

“Does she know you’re here?” Uncle Bill said, breaking the silence and stirring Jason from his thoughts.

“No, she thinks I’m coming down at Christmas. I wanted it to be a surprise.”

“Oh, she’ll be surprised alright. I stopped by the store yesterday to pick up some wood and nails and she looked miserable. She tried to hide it with a friendly smile, but you could see she misses you.”

“Hopefully you’re right. It would be really awkward if she’s moved on.” Jason said with a laugh.

“It would be, but hopefully that’s not the only reason you’re moving here. We really would love the permanent help on the farm.”

“No, I would be doing this regardless, but Emily being here makes it even better.”

The two drove a bit farther, before turning onto the farm’s dirt laneway. Jason looked across the street to Emily’s house. He saw her window closed and the red curtains drawn. He wondered if she was home or was she still out somewhere?

“Here we are, welcome home!” Uncle Bill said as he got out of the truck. Caroline came out and welcomed Jason with a big hug. They took his bags inside and he knew exactly where to go. He carried his bags back up to Tommy’s old room, put them down and looked around, feeling at home again.

Tommy had visited during October while he was on leave but left after a few weeks. It turns out he had met a girl and they were living together just off-base when he was stateside. While his parents were happy that he had someone in his life, they were upset he never mentioned it before. It had also put the final nail in the coffin of their hope he would ever come back to take over the farm. When Jason expressed his interest shortly after, it gave them some solace.

Looking around, the room was mostly the same as he had left it. The linens on the bed were new and a few of Tommy’s things were gone, probably taken to his permanent home, but the rest was the same. Jason looked at his pile of bags on the floor and decided he’d tackle that another day. Since this wasn’t just a short couple month stay, he brought most of his possessions with him. The one thing he didn’t bring was his gaming computer; he had sold it and bought a simple laptop. He headed back downstairs to find his aunt and uncle sitting in the living room watching TV.