A Most Unusual Passage
Copyright© 2026 by J&J
Chapter 14
I dropped Martha off at the front door and then parked the old truck in its accustomed resting spot, behind the barn. When I entered the mudroom to the house, I could hear Martha humming a nondescript tune in the kitchen.
“Sounds like you had a nice day,” I said, entering the kitchen.
“Humm ... I sure did. It’s nice to get away for a while. Besides I enjoy talking with Elizabeth. She’s so down to earth, and thinks about what she says. I get tired of the usual senseless women’s prattle.”
She paused a moment and then continued. “Besides, it’s nice to talk about something besides the weather or wheat fields or babies.”
“I can’t argue with that. I think I’ll catch a nap. It’s been a long day for me, and I’m a bit tired.”
Martha gave me a kiss, and I found my way to my chair. In a matter of minutes, I was asleep.
The telephone woke me up. I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes, and as I was starting to get up to answer the phone, I heard Martha’s voice from the kitchen.
“Hello ... Oh, hi, Elizabeth.”
“You what?” And then I heard Martha laugh.
“No, we’re not much for going to church on Sunday.”
Martha laughed again, and then said, “Let me check with Marcus, and make sure we don’t have anything else planned.”
Martha then walked around the corner, “Marcus, Elizabeth is interested in taking a shopping trip to Denver tomorrow. She asked if I could go along, since she has no idea where she’s going. You mind if I go?”
“Nope,” I answered. “Go, and have a good time. Besides, it will give me a chance to get some work done on the pasture fence.”
Martha nodded her head and returned to the kitchen.
“Damn,” I thought to myself, “these two could be dangerous.” I then leaned back in the chair and finished my interrupted nap.
Martha and I finished the leftovers from our dinner with Elizabeth. As I was helping her with the dishes, I asked, “So, you and Elizabeth are going to Denver?”
She nodded her head, as she handed me another dish to dry, “Yes, she wants to get a few things, and it’s been a long time since I’ve had a good shopping trip.”
I laughed; Martha loved to shop. That is, unless I tagged along with her. She’d always said I wanted to rush too much, and she couldn’t enjoy herself. Besides, it would do her good to get out of the house for a day. It wasn’t often we made the trip to Denver, and I was sure she’d enjoy her time with Elizabeth.
As usual, I was up and about before sunrise the next morning. Martha also got up with me. She breezed around the kitchen making breakfast. She hummed as she worked; clearly, she was keyed up about the shopping trip.
After breakfast, I went out to the barn and loaded the wagon with a roll of barbed wire, a few fence posts, staples, posthole digger, tamping bar and a come-along. I was just getting ready to start the tractor, when I heard a car pull into the yard. I walked out to find Martha coming out the front door. She waved at me and got into Elizabeth’s SUV. I gave them a return wave as they left and went back to start fixing the bad spots in the fence.
Fixing fences is not one of my favorite chores. It is hot, sweaty and dirty work. Most times the barbwire is rusted, and you have to be careful not to rip your arms open when taking bad pieces down. There was no shortage of farmers ending up in the hospital, because they didn’t take care when working on fences. Barbwire can break real easily, especially if it’s been on the posts awhile. Having a strand snap and wrap around a person can cause some serious injuries.
I started on the bad spots closest to the house. I worked steadily all morning, but soon found out that it was going to be a long day. It seemed like it took me much longer to get things done and much more effort as well.
It was about noon before I took a break. My old body just didn’t work as well as it did when I was younger. Hell, this job would be done by now, if I were twenty years younger. As it was though, I still had about half the distance to the road before I was finished.
I wiped the sweat off of my face and then climbed on the tractor. No sense trying to work any more without first having lunch. Besides, it was getting pretty hot, and I could use a break from the sun.
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