Chapter 3

Michael made Susan stay with him while gathering up everything he could think of she could use to harm herself. He was surprised at how many things he had around that someone could use to hurt themselves with. Finally he put everything in the storage room and locked it. By this time it was time to milk the cows again and take care of the rest of the animals. Mistrusting the sudden change in Susan he made her go with him while he did. She looked at him milking the cows.

"Why are you squirting the first few squirts on the ground?"

"They are more likely to be contaminated by bacteria. If I had a cat they would get this but Gerick has chased off every one I've had."

Gerick perked up his ears when he heard the word "cat". With small barks of excitement, he ran around looking for the cat. Susan giggled when he came back looking betrayed at not finding a cat to chase.

"Jesus, she's acting like a little girl now", thought Michael. He finished taking care of the animals and headed toward the house, making sure that Susan came with him. Inside he set Susan separating the cream and the milk. While she did that Michael took out a jar of beans and cut some ham. Placing the ham in the water he let it soak to remove the excess salt. Taking out a poor-man's cheese he had made during the summer he cut the cheese in pieces.

Susan finished separating the milk. "What do you want me to do with the cream and the skim milk?"

Reaching under the cabinet by the refrigerator, Michael brought out a hand crank paddle churn. "Have you ever made butter?" he asked.

When he saw her negative response he showed her how to place the cream she had just separated together with the cream from several days milking in the churn. Setting her to cranking he returned to the stove and removed the ham from the water. Putting on a large iron skillet over the burner, he added some lard from the can and put the green beans in a sauce pan. Taking out a loaf of homemade bread he cut several slices and placed them on a plate. Putting the slices of ham in the skillet, he checked on Susan's efforts. The butter had started to clump together, "Tell me when you don't see the clumps getting any bigger."

He checked the ham and then set the table. Looking at Susan, he asked, "Tea, milk or coffee?"

"Could I have milk tonight?"

Removing the pasteurized milk from the refrigerator he poured two glasses of milk and then checked the churn. Taking the churn from Susan he poured the whey into a pail and began molding the butter on a board. Placing the butter under the faucet, he washed the butter several times to remove any whey still trapped in it. Finished he salted the butter lightly and placed it on the table. Picking up the skim milk he set it over a slow flame and removed the green beans and ham from the stove. Grabbing a slice of bread, he buttered it with the fresh butter and gave it to Susan. "Here try this."

Susan gave Michael a dubious look but tried it. A delighted look spread across her face. "It's good!' she exclaimed. Michael just nodded while he ate a piece of freshly buttered bread. Susan dug in and was surprised at how good the simple meal was. Susan felt at peace for some reason. This was entirely different from the way she had been living. Nothing was the same. There were no people to meet, shops to go to or classes to attend.

Suddenly it hit her, "My classes! I've got to get back or I'll lose my scholarship!"

Michael looked at her as if she was insane. "Susan, have you looked out the window today?"

Susan turned and saw the snow still coming down heavily in the strong wind. There was no way anyone could move in this weather. "What will I do? I can't go to school without the scholarship. I've got to get back!"

"There's no way in hell you can do anything right now so you might as well relax. Besides isn't this the winter break? You should have at least two more weeks before you have to worry about classes."

Susan heard his words but for some reason couldn't avoid moving around. Restlessly she wandered around the house, picking up things and rearranging them. Distractedly she began moving thinks around in the kitchen. Michael stood it for as long as he could and then burst out, "Will you sit down! I like the way things are!"

Susan looked at him and just sniffed, "I can tell you're a bachelor. This place is filthy and cluttered. Don't you ever clean it up?' She wrinkled her nose and sniffed again, "When did YOU last take a bath?"

Michael threw up his hands in frustration, "OK, I'll take a bath if you promise to stop moving things around!"

He headed toward the bathroom then paused, "Are you going to do anything except clean while I take a bath?"

"I promise that all I'll do is clean! Now take a bath!"

Warily Michael moved toward the bathroom wondering if he dared trust her by herself. He wanted a bath after taking care of her and the chores for the last three days. Susan seemed to be all right now, but with the extreme mood swings she had been showing he worried about what she would do. He decided that he would talk to her while he was taking a bath. If she was talking to him he could try to tell if she was going to do anything stupid.

Susan was feeling restless. She had to burn up energy before she exploded. She had no idea why she felt like this, but she did. Luckily she had a lot of things she could do in the house. "Men!" she thought to herself. "Why can't a man clean a house properly?" There were dust bunnies in the corners and under the furniture and cobwebs in the corners or the rooms. The floors were swept, but they needed to be mopped. As for the kitchen, she just shook her head at the clutter.

"Susan, what are you taking in college?" Michael called out as he began drawing the water for his bath.

"Math", Susan shouted back as she began looking for the broom.

"Aren't you a little young to be going to college?"

"I skipped a year of grade school and took extra classes in high school to graduate early. Besides, I'm almost 17 so I'm not that young." Susan began to sweep around the roof of the room to get the spider webs. Most were fairly easy to get but there were several near the peak of the roof that she was going to have to use something to stand on before she could reach them. Looking around she spotted a chair standing in the corner and decided to use that to stand on.

"How do you like college, so far?" Michael had gotten undressed and had gotten in the bathtub by now. He looked at himself and began soaping his body down. He looked at his cock and decided he better take care of it before he showed his arousal to Susan. "Damn it! I don't need this aggravation while I'm trying to write!" he muttered to himself.