A Second Chance

By Dawn Natelle

This took a while, and I think I may need a break after this one. So don’t go looking for a story a day for a while: Dawn

SATURDAY, May 21, 2016

Rachael work up early, and discovered that her period had, in fact, started. She felt no cramps or nausea though, but had experienced a healthy flow the night before. She changed the pad, and decided to use a tampon for the visit to the farm. Luckily, old Rachael memories helped her with inserting it.

Robert and Peter arrived at 8:30 and Bobby got to sit in the front, to his delight, as Robert and Rachael took the back seat. Rachael had a paper bag containing biscuits still warm from the oven, and all of her guys nibbled on one as they made the short drive out to the farm.

“Mom says I’m supposed to drop you at the house,” Robert said. “I’ll take Bobby back to the barn to see the horses. Come get us when you are done with whatever Mom wants.”

“Okay.” Rachael got out of the car and took two of the biscuits, with the rest going out to the men in the barns.

She tapped on the kitchen door, where she expected to see Mrs. Jackson, who was there with another woman.

“Come in Rachael,” Mrs. Jackson said.

The other woman, who looked about 20, turned around with rage in her eyes. They immediately changed to a stunned look, and finally she broke out laughing. “That is Rachael?” she said, as if it was the most hilarious thing ever.

“Rachael is a school friend of Robbie’s,” Mrs. Jackson said. “Rachael, this is Ruby, the woman who was dating JJ rather seriously … at least until last weekend.

Ruby got a strange look on her face. “Oh my. JJ?” she said. “I’ve been so mean to him this week. How can I make him forgive me?”

Rachael was more than a little confused. She was asked to come to the farm for some emergency, and all that had happened was that people were laughing at her. She realized that she was still holding the biscuits, and handed one to each of the women. “I made biscuits,” she said, wondering when this would all be cleared up.

Mrs. Jackson took the first bite, as Ruby was still laughing too hard. “Oh my goodness, these are wonderful. Still warm from the oven,” Mrs. Jackson said. “Did you get up early to bake?”

“Well, I was up early anyhow,” Rachael said. “And I know the guys like biscuits, so I made a quick batch.”

“Did you send some of these out for JJ?” Ruby asked. “They are great.”

“I sent the rest of the batch out with Robert. I suspect that JJ will get one of them or a couple.”

“And he will be raving about the great biscuits that Rachael makes,” Ruby said, starting to laugh all over again. Now Mrs. Jackson was also laughing.

“What is all this about?” Rachael said. It was beginning to get a little annoying.

“Oh dear,” Mrs. Jackson said, as Ruby continued to laugh. “Last week you were out here and really impressed JJ, both with the horse, and especially with Queenie. So apparently he started telling Ruby about you. But he didn’t mention your age.”

“I thought you were older,” Ruby finally stopped laughing enough to say. “I thought he was impressed by another woman, as opposed to a young girl. I mean, when he described what you had done with Queenie, I started thinking of a woman older than him by a few years. Then he raves about you riding Blackie bareback, when the boys couldn’t even saddle him. He raved about the cookies you brought last week. And he raves that you would be the perfect farmer’s wife one day. Then he goes on how you saved Archie, and made him want to partner up with JJ. I guess that is when the overload hit my brain, and I stopped thinking. I stormed out of the house, jealous as one can be.”

“And she refused to talk to JJ, or answer his texts, for the entire week,” Mrs. Jackson said. “I figured it out on Monday, and that’s why I wanted to get you out here. It was a lot harder to get Ruby here. I had to promise her that she wouldn’t see JJ. I knew if she met you, she would realize that she has nothing to be jealous about.”

“Except your baking,” Ruby said with a smile. “You have to show me how you make these. They melt in your mouth.”

“I want that lesson too,” Mrs. Jackson said. “In fact, we can had a baking/cooking class this morning. Rachael wanted to know how to make Keri Peters old chickens from next door tender.

“Well, just for the record Robert is the Jackson boy I am interested in,” Rachael said. “Not that JJ isn’t a nice man, but I am looking more for a boy my age.”

“It was so cute,” Mrs. Jackson said. “They had a first date on Thursday, and Robert came home with lipstick on his face.” Rachael could feel her face reddening.

“On a first date?” Ruby asked. “I think it took three dates before I got JJ to kiss me.”

“Well, we have been having lunch together for a few weeks now,” Rachael said in her defense.

“Well, let’s get baking then,” Ruby said. “I want to learn how to make your peanut butter cookies too.”

“We’ll start with cooking first,” Mrs. Jackson said. “I got two chickens from Keri yesterday. The secret is the marinade, and if we start it now, it should be just about ready for lunch at 1. The ingredients we need are …”

The women spent the morning in the kitchen, laughing and cooking and bonding and baking. Meanwhile, out in the barns Bobby was having the time of his life. He got a chance to ride Lisa’s pony around the corral, and watched as Robert saddled up Blackie and put him through his paces. The big horse seemed scary to Bobby, but he loved riding the little pony. After their rides, the two groomed the animals, and Robert gave Bobby his first lessons in husbandry as he explained about the various elements of a horse.

After an hour Robert took the boy out to the barn, when he was introduced to Queenie, who was still nursing the baby bull. Bobby found it odd that a ‘baby’ could weigh over 100 pounds, and when Robert stood next to Queenie, his head didn’t come as high as her shoulder.

They then went out back to a pond on the property. Dairy cattle require enormous amounts of water, and the pond was a backup in case mechanical systems elsewhere failed. But it was a fine place for Robert to show Bobby how to skip a stone as the two boys just talked about everything they could think of.

They finally came back to the farmhouse after the noon milking, which was the time that Mrs. Jackson had decreed that the no-men rule would end. The kitchen smelled wonderful and when Bobby saw Rachael in her apron, he started to run towards her.”

“Freeze,” Rachael shouted at the boy, who skidded to a halt, confused.

“Boots off,” Rachael said. “We don’t want the barnyard in the kitchen, do we?”

Bobby looked up at Robert, who shook his head in agreement as he pulled his boots off. Bobby followed, taking his little black rubber Wellingtons off and setting them neatly next to Robert’s. He then ran in his stocking feet over to hug Rachael, as Robert did the same to his mother.

“What smells so wonderful?” Robert asked his mother.

“We have been busy. Ruby made Rachael’s biscuits and I made her cookies. Apparently the recipe is from a cookbook I have had for years, Fanny Farmer’s, but I had never tried it. And there is a chicken in the oven, baking for lunch.”

“Cookies?” Bobby heard only the one word. “Peanut butter cookies, like Rachael makes.”

“The same,” Rachael said. “Although I think these might even be better, because they are made with butter from Queenie.”

“I saw Queenie, and her baby,” Bobbie recounted. “And Blackie and the pony, and the dogs, and the kitties, but the kitties won’t let you pet them. Then Robert showed me how they milk the cows. Most of them were hooked up to a machine with four things that connected to each of the cows … ?”

“Teats,” Robert prompted.

“Yeah, teats. But there was one cow that Robert milked with his hands, and he let me try, but I wasn’t very good. He sprayed a bit of milk in my mouth. It was kinda good, but not cold.”

“It sounds like you learned a lot,” Rachael said.

“Yeah. Did you know that girl cows are called heifers until they have a baby? Little tiny cows are called calves, and boy cows are called steers, if they have their boy parts taken off. But your boy cow isn’t getting his parts taken off, so he will grow up to be a bull.”

“It sounds like you had a busy day,” Mrs. Jackson said. “Do you like the farm?”

“I love the farm,” Bobby enthused. “Best place ever!”

“Well, you boys should go wash up for lunch. The men will be in soon, and washroom space gets a little crowded. Robert led Bobbie off to clean up.

“I think Robert is really taken with Bobby,” Mrs. Jackson said. “He was always the little brother, but never really got to be a big brother. He is great with Lisa, but she is a girl, and they have different interests. He reads to her, and will babysit if I need it, but I could see that Robbie really enjoyed looking after Bobby.”

Just then the rest of the crew arrived for lunch. The twins and Frank headed to the washroom. JJ saw Ruby standing there, and just froze. Three seconds later the girl ran over to him, launching herself at him with kisses and a hug.

“I am so stupid, JJ,” she cried. “I don’t know why you put up with me.”

“I put up with you because I love you. I assume you are not mad at me anymore,” the young man said.

“No, and I shouldn’t have been. It was so stupid. I will tell you at lunch, so everyone can laugh at me all at once.”

JJ hurried off to wash up, and was back a few minutes later as the family sat down at the table. Rachael asked if she could say grace, and the request was granted, even though the Jacksons were not used to the habit.

“Dear Lord, thank you for this wonderful food we are about to partake,” she said. “And thank you for giving us such fine cattle that allow this to be one of the best dairy farms in the county. And we pray that JJ and Archie will succeed in making the other farm just as prosperous. We pray that JJ and Ruby will be together for a long, long time, perhaps beating the record that Mr. and Mrs. Jackson have made. Amen.”

“That was beautiful, dear,” Mrs. Jackson said. “I think a prayer before every meal is a habit that we should have for every meal.”

“Just as long as they are short ones, so the food doesn’t get cold,” Steve said, only half joking.

“I’ll teach Lisa a prayer for supper,” Rachael said, “and then the rest of you can take turns. If a little eight-year-old can do it, surely you big strong men can.”

By this time the meal was well underway, with the fried chicken a hit with everyone, and when the biscuits were served, it was noted that Ruby had made them, to the surprise of all.

“These are better than mammas. Almost as good as the ones Rachael brought this morning,” Peter noted.

“I’ll have you know my biscuits are fine,” Mrs. Jackson retorted. “And they will be better in the future, thanks to the tips that Rachael gave us this morning.”

“She also gave us her cookie recipe,” Ruby noted. “That will be dessert.”

“You gave away your cookie recipe?” Bobby said, almost in tears. “I liked those cookies.”

“Oh honey,” Rachael said. “I didn’t give away the recipe. I shared it. I can still make you cookies. In fact, I think they will be better, because Mrs. Jackson’s butter is better than what I used. Recipes are like love. When you give it away, you don’t loose it, it just gets bigger and better.”

“Oh that is so sweet,” Ruby said. “Now I guess it is my time to entertain you with the story of my foolishness of the last week.”

As predicted, all the men were laughing as she explained about her snit of the past week. She ended up by apologizing about being so silly.

“You weren’t silly,” JJ insisted. “You didn’t meet Rachael. And by the things she did, and does, you easily could imagine her several years older. But let me promise you, right now. You never, ever need to worry about me being attracted to another woman. You are the only one for me. Why would I look at another one, when I already have the best?”

All the women said ‘Awww,’ to this, and Ruby jumped up and gave JJ another huge hug, and a deep kiss, causing Steve to suggest that the two ‘get a room.’

“So what’s on after lunch,” Robert asked.

“If you could keep an eye on Bobby for a bit more, I’d appreciate it. I want to go over to Archie’s farm and check out his herd.”

“They’ll be in the fields until after 3,” JJ said. “Why don’t you take Blackie out for a ride. Robbie can ride my horse.”

“I’d like a ride too,” Ruby said. “Why doesn’t Robbie take one of the twin’s horses and I’ll take the other, and you can join us. Bobby will be on the pony, I assume.”

So that was the plan, and soon they were all in the barn. Blackie seemed to know that Rachael was there, and let out a whinny of delight as she walked into the barn. Rachael noted that there was now a barrel of apples just inside the door, and she took one, noting that everyone else did so as well. It was now a tradition on the Jackson farm to give an apple to any horse that was to be ridden.

Blackie was a little frisky as Rachael neared his stall, but calmed down as soon as he saw her, apple in hand. She gave the treat to the horse, and stroked his back. She checked him over, and fed some of her peacefulness into the animal, who lapped up the sensations.

Robert was helping Bobby saddle the pony as Rachael reached up to grab the saddle next to Blackie. It nearly dragged her to the ground. “A little help, maybe,” she said, embarrassed that she could no longer lift a 40-pound saddle, especially over her head as she would have to do to if she wanted to put the saddle on Blackie. She was only slightly mollified that Ruby also asked for help from JJ.

When Robert finished with Bobby’s pony, he came over and lifted the saddle up onto Blackie for her. It was at the limits of his strength, but he was only near 14. He had saddled the horse many times before, since he had trained the horse to saddle. Finally he went off to saddle Steve’s horse.

Soon they went off on a little walk out of the corral and out to the rear fields. Rachael could sense that Blackie wanted a good run. “Blackie wants to run. You folks keep trotting, but we are going to go into a gallop.”

“Wanna race? Ruby said with a gleam in her eye. “I’m pretty good on horseback.”

“To the back fence, then along to the east fence, and then back here again?” Rachael said. Ruby nodded her agreement.

“Ready, set, go,” JJ said, and the two girls took off. Ruby took an early lead, as Rachael wanted to see her horse running to ensure that it was fit. Then she let Blackie go, and the stallion was off like a shot. It only took 100 strides for him to catch Ruby, and then they left them behind. Rachael remembered where the ditch was, and had Blackie in perfect stride to be able to soar over it without losing a step.

She was well ahead at the back fence, and reached the east fence before Ruby was even halfway along that leg. Rachael wanted to ease up then, and not embarrass her new friend, but Blackie was having none of that. He wanted to run, and didn’t break stride until they were back with the boys.

She finally pulled the horse up and looked back, seeing Ruby barely past the east fence, galloping for all she was worth, but clearly unable to match Blackie.

“Well done, Rachael,” JJ said.

“Not me. It was all Blackie. He is quite a horse.”

“We should enter him into the farmer races in June,” Robert said. “He would win for sure.”

“He could win several races,” JJ said. “Rachael could ride them in the ladies heats, and you could run him in the under 16 class. Those races are far enough apart that he could do both.”

“Two bad none of these other horses are near him in speed or stamina,” Robert said. “It would be cool if we could win the farm trophy.”

“What are the farmer’s races?” Rachael asked.

“They started them a couple years back,” JJ explained, which was why Ron didn’t know of them. “The local feed mill noticed that the farmers, the cash crop ones, have a gap during mid June as their fields are growing. They organized a little mini-fall-fair, with the races as a centerpiece. Only amateur horses are allowed, no race horses. And if you win once, that horse can’t run again. So Blackie will only get one chance. The top prize to the farm with the four best results is usually a fancy saddle.”

“There are six different classes,” Robert continued as Ruby trotted up. “The seniors are for 45 plus, so Dad could ride in that. The powder puff is for women of any age. There is a pony race for 12 and under, and under-16 and under-20 boys’ divisions. And of course there is the open race at the end.

“You are talking about the farmer’s races,” Ruby mentioned, as she regained her breath from the ride after finally catching up. “Rachael could easily win with Blackie, although you might want to save him for a few other races. That girl could win the powder-puff on a nag.” She reached over to shake Rachael’s hand. “You are quite the rider. It’s a good thing you hadn’t ridden with JJ last week, or he would have had more bragging about you to make me mad.”

“I told the boys: it is not me, it is the horse,” Rachael said.

“Can I ride that horse,” Bobby said, pointing at Blackie.

“You are a bit small for him,” JJ suggested.

“Maybe he could just sit there,” Robert countered.

“That is no fun,” Rachael said. “But I think that Blackie would hold him safely if we just walked.” Someone would have to walk the pony anyway.” JJ finally agreed, if they were only walking.

Rachael slid off the stallion, and went up to hug his neck. “Listen my friend,” she whispered to him. This little boy is the most precious thing I have, and I am counting on you to look after him. No racing, no trotting. You need a walk to cool down anyway. Will you do that for me?” Blackie neighed in agreement.

“Did she just talk to the horse? And the horse answered?” Ruby asked JJ, who had dropped down from his horse.

“And you wondered why I was talking about her so much last week,” JJ said as he lifted Bobby onto Blackie’s saddle. The boy’s eyes went wide as Rachael started walking beside him, always keeping contact with the stallion, while her other hand led the pony along. Once he saw that they were walking at a reasonable pace, JJ jumped back on his horse and caught up.

They walked for about a quarter mile, and Bobby’s expression of pure bliss didn’t diminish at any point. They stopped again, and Bobby rode the pony, and Rachael went back onto Blackie, thanking him for being so gentle. As they rode back to the barn, Ruby rode alongside Rachael.

“Do you have a job, or go to school?” Rachael asked the girl.

“My family runs a beef cattle operation two concessions over,” Ruby said. “My older brother and I have a little meat business. He is a butcher, and we put together packages for people. Since it is a single operation we can offer savings. We give a third of the savings to the customer, a third for Nels and I, and a third for the farm. It works out pretty well.”

“That sounds interesting. How small a package do you do? We don’t have a big freezer at the house, and I don’t think grandpa does either. We don’t eat a lot of meat, or we didn’t, due to the cost. But things are looking better for us now. I don’t see us needing much steak, but a roast once in a while is good, and we always can use stewing beef and hamburger.”

“Bite your tongue, little sister of mine,” Ruby said. “Beef is the wonder food. I’ll have to visit your new house when you get moved in, and check out the freezer situation. Nels is really good at packaging the meat up into nice, compact packs that fit well together. We’ll make you a customer for sure. Especially since I’m going to give you the family discount. You will be my little sister, won’t you? I always wanted one, but my stingy parents thought that Nels and I were enough.”

“I would love to be your sister,” Rachael said. “Oh look, the cows are starting to come in at Archie’s. I want to get over there.”

“I’ll look after JJ and your horses,” Robert offered. “You can head straight over.”

“No,” Rachael said firmly. “If you ride a horse, you brush him down after. It only takes 10 minutes, and they deserve the attention after carrying us around for over an hour.”

In the barn, Rachael gave Blackie the attention he deserved, and then went to check on Bobby. The young boy was carefully and deliberately brushing down the pony, following the ways that Robert had taught him in the morning.

Robert and Bobby accompanied Rachael and JJ to Archie’s farm, while Ruby went to help Mrs. Jackson with dinner.

“The barn looks really clean,” Rachael noted.

“That is thanks to your boyfriend,” JJ said. “The place was a mess. Archie just wasn’t able to keep it up himself. Robert spent a lot of work in here over the last week to get it to this state.”

As the cows lined up to head into the milking parlor, Rachael ran her hand across the back of each one. “Do you have any antiseptic hoof tar?” she asked JJ.

“No, I don’t think so,” JJ says. “Dad has some. Do we need it?”

“Yeah, quite a few of them have early hoof rot, probably from the dirty conditions before Robert cleaned it up.”

JJ winced. The hoof tar was not expensive, but to coat the hooves of 30 cattle, with 120 treatments, would make a significant hit to the farm’s fragile profits. “Go make up about 30 treatments,” Rachael said. Meanwhile Robert and Archie started hooking up the cattle to the milking equipment, while Bobby stood patiently behind Robert, carefully observing everything the older boy did.

The milking was nearly done when JJ returned holding a bucket of black goop, and an official tar applicator. This was a broken hockey stick with a rag wrapped around the end, held on with several nails.

The cows had gone to their stalls after milking, waiting for feed, and Rachael and JJ went down the row, with Rachael touching each cow in turn, and looking for hoof rot. When she could detect an infected hoof, she had JJ apply the tar to that hoof only. On some animals it was only one hoof, occasionally two. Standard veterinary practice would be to treat each animal’s four hooves. But Rachael’s ability to see inside the animals meant she knew exactly which hoof needed the treatment, and there was no need to treat the uninfected hoof. With the floors now clean, there was little chance of the disease spreading.

Robert had finished milking and was about to start feeding the cattle but stopped and watched for a few seconds.

“She is even making them lift their feet for you,” he mentioned to JJ. “And they are so calm. They hated getting tarred that time we had to do those two cows we got in last fall. They fought against it like crazy.”

“And she is only having us do one or two hooves,” JJ noted. “That’s good, because Dad only had this much tar left over from back then. I hope it works.”

It is, Rachael thought to herself. She could feel the infections easing in the animals as JJ applied the mixture. She calmed the cows, telling them that the slight discomfort of the smelly mess would be much better than trying to walk on infected hooves if the disease was not treated. They responded well.

“All done,” Rachael said. “That should look after them.” In all 18 of the 30 cows had one or more hooves treated. “You can wash the tar off them anytime tomorrow.”

Robert and Bobby headed off to feed the cattle, and Rachael left, heading into the house to join the cooks. JJ went back to clean off his equipment.

After Rachael washed up to get the cow smell off her hands, she went into the kitchen and saw that the women were sitting. Ruby had made more biscuits, and they were in the oven on the top rack, while Mrs. Jackson had a roast on the bottom rack, covered in carrots, potatoes, and turnips. Mrs. Jackson had made two apple pies when the gang was out on their horse ride, and they sat on the counter, smelling divine.

“I called your Mom and invited her for dinner,” Mrs. Jackson said. “Peter will head in to get her at the bakery at 6:30. Supper will be at 7.”

“Oh, thanks,” Rachael said. “I was worried about her having to eat something all alone while Bobby and I are out here having fun.”

“Well, it is only fair. I practically dragged you out here today,” she said. “She said that she would bring bakery treats. I already had the pies done, but I’m sure that my boys will be able to devour them both. I’ve often wondered what my pies taste like on the second day … I’ve never had the chance to find out. They will be gone as bedtime snacks if they make it through dinner.” Rachael chuckled.

“Ruby told me that she has adopted you as her little sister,” Mrs. Jackson said. “I hope you and Robert have a long relationship too, because I also really like you. None of the other boys had much luck with first girlfriends. Even JJ had two other girls before he found Ruby here.”

“Well, I know that grade school romances seldom last,” Rachael said. “But I think Robert is something special, and he makes me feel complete. You can tell he has been raised right, and you should be proud of him. Just the way he had handled Bobby today is to his credit. ”

Soon after Maria came into the kitchen, and Rachael introduced her to the others. Then Bobby was speaking a mile a minute about his adventures on the farm. Somehow his walking while atop Blackie turned into riding, and it sounded like he milked the entire two farms on his own. The women just smiled at the enthusiasm of the youngster.

The men came in at 7 p.m. as though a dinner bell had rung, and the ten people ringed the table. Little Lisa gave a short prayer, asking for God to bless their meal, and for all of them to remain friends.

“You’re next, Robby,” Mrs. Jackson said. “Lunch tomorrow, and then Steve will do supper.”

Then there was a quiet spell as the farmers and their visitors made a major dent into the roast. Mrs. Jackson liked to cook meat to just short of well done, so there was a little juice in it, and her family was used to that. Ruby preferred her beef a little rarer, but had to admit that the meat her brother had selected was perfect. The roast vegetables also filled out the hungry stomachs all around.

Maria and her children had to leave shortly before 8, so that the boys could drive her home and be back for the third milking. Bobby actually fell asleep in the car, and Steve had to carry him into the house, where he woke long enough that Rachael could get him to take a bath. She had stolen a kiss from Robert before the Jacksons headed back to work, and thanked him for making Bobby’s day so special.

That night when she laid down next to a clean Bobby to read, Rachael noticed that the boy was already asleep, smiling as he dreamt about his day on the farm.

Rachael also had a shower, to wash off the farm smells so she would be clean for church. She then spent a few hours packing. Her mother had decided that they would move next Sunday, between church and suppertime at Grandpa’s house. Soon to be their house.

Dear Lord

Thank you for letting me meet Ruby. She is so fun, and the perfect match for JJ. Let them marry and have another crop of Jackson’s to honor you. Thank you for letting Bobby experience the farm. He had so much fun, but now he knows where his milk comes from, and hopefully other food as well. The Jacksons work from sunup to sundown for their animals, without a single day off during the year. They deserve to be honored for what they do.

And finally, thank you for making my period so effortless. Today should have been my worst day, and I hardly noticed it, other than having to change pads a couple times.

Amen