Chapter 2

Now, my Mama wasn't no dummy. A growin' boy has his needs n' I knew that she knew I was pleasurin' myself any time I could find a couple of private minutes. I mean, I tried to be careful and not make a mess but there would still be stains on my underwear and on the sheets. Back in those days, clothes weren't just tossed in a washin' machine. She'd scrub each piece one at a time on a scrub board in the washtub. At night, I'd take some toilet paper with me to bed and try to aim at it when I went off but when you're in that state, sometimes you miss. Anyhow, I always appreciated that she never called me on it. I guess she understood there ain't no fifteen year-old boy can resist playin' with hisself, not unless his hands are tied behind his back. Even then, I bet he'd find a way. I bring it up because after I met Mrs. Webster, I couldn't get her out of my mind and just thinking about her made me hard. I guess there was stiff, yellow stains all over my underwear and sheets.

I know it sounds stupid but I was jealous of Mr. Webster somethin' awful. I hadn't even met the man but I was havin' terrible thoughts like hopin' he might die in a accident and Mrs. Webster might call on me to give her some comfort and then fall in love with me. Imagination is really somethin', ain't it?

It was maybe three weeks later when she called in another grocery order. John was in the back room and I was dustin' the shelves when the phone rang.

"Etter's."

"Yes, this is Elizabeth Webster and I'd like to have some groceries delivered if I may."

I felt my insides go all fluttery. "Oh, uh, hi Mrs. Webster. This is Richie. Hang on just a minute while I get some paper and a pencil." I scrambled around searchin' for somethin' to write on without any luck and finally used the back of the order sheet John was workin' on.

"Go ahead, Mrs. Webster. I'm ready."

She read off a list that turned out to be a pretty big order. I figured it would fill up two boxes. When she was done, she asked, "I don't mean to be a bother but is there any chance I could get this sometime today? My husband's coming home this evening and I need the flour and sugar to bake him a cake."

Well, that put the damper on my enthusiasm for rushing right out to her farm with the order but I said I'd do my best and try to get it to her right after lunch. She thanked me and hung up.

About that time John come in and asked, "Was that an order?"

"Yeah, Mrs. Webster asked if we could get it out to her sometime today."

He chuckled at me and said, "Of course we can unless you up n' quit on me. Otherwise, go on ahead and take it out to her now."

I went in the back for a couple of boxes while John started rounding up her order.

When I drove up to the farmhouse an hour later, she was hanging out some laundry. She was wearing blue jeans and a shirt that was tied up in the front leaving her bare belly for all to see. She also had her hair tied up on the top of her head with a red bandana. My eyes were drawn right to her butt. I don't know what it is about that shape that makes me all wobbly but it does every time and hers was real nice to look at. She heard me coming and turned to smile and wave.

As she held the door open for me she said, "You didn't really have to rush right out. Anytime today would have been just fine."

The sound of her voice and the smell of the lavender soap made me decide to forgive her for bein' a married woman. "No problem, Mrs. Webster, I got my morning work done and anyhow, customers always come first."

I couldn't help but be a little nosy. "Um, has Mr. Webster been away workin'?"

She gave out a little sigh before she answered. "Yes, he's been rough-necking for the past few months. There's a new oil field down near Lawton and he went down there to hire on. They're bringing in a lot of new wells so he might be there for a while. When I talked to him on the phone he said he could only stay for a couple of days. Since the war, there are so many men still looking for work he doesn't want to risk his job by being away from it too long."

"Dang, that's too bad!" I didn't really feel that way but it felt like the right thing to say. "Ain't that gonna make things hard for ya, I mean havin' to take care of this place by yourself n' all?"

"Well it certainly is inconvenient. I can handle most things by myself but I'm basically a city girl from Pittsburgh. I don't really know much about farm chores. Like for instance, I've got a cow out there in the barn that I think is in pain but I can't figure out what's wrong with her. I don't suppose you know anything about cows, do you?"

"Well, I know some. I'll sure take a look at her for ya. At least I can probably tell if ya need to call in the vet from Watonga."

I near fainted when she grabbed my hand and squeezed it saying, "Oh, would you Richie? I'd be so grateful."

"Sure, let's go take a look."

The first thing I saw was that a quarter of her bag was too full and the teat was all swelled up. "Has she been milked today? She sure don't look like she's very comfortable."