An explosion of sound blasted me out of my sound sleep. The long slow roll of thunder that followed seemed to shake the house causing Tally and I to sit up, all thoughts of sleep now past.

"What ... ?" Tally mumbled.

"The storm," I replied. Neither of us was really awake, but something felt wrong.

The room was silent, the air conditioner was off and so was the clock, we had no power. Lightning flashed again and the resounding clap of thunder showed how close on top of us the storm was, we both slid out of bed. Tally pulled back the curtains and I saw rain drops on the window, another flash of light, more thunder.

The storm must have slid over us quickly; the first rumbles of thunder going unnoticed until that close call. I wondered what the lightning had hit. More flashes of light and now the raindrops became larger, splattering hard on the glass as the wind picked up. And then sounding like a million drums overhead the storm began to dump gallons on the metal roof of the house. The power was off, what time was it?

Tally opened the bedroom door and quickly shut it.

"I'm naked ... where are my shorts?" He mumbled, still confused and half asleep. My boxers were on my bed and I found them fairly quickly, we both covered up before Tally opened the door once again. His mother was in the hall and I heard sounds of someone clumping down the stairs.

"Tally?" A flashlight shone in his face, and then mine. "Your dad has gone to see where the lightning hit; you boys go back to bed, it's only two in the morning."

Another bolt of lightning struck close by, the brief flash lighting up the hallway through the windows, and an instant response of thunder.

"He shouldn't be outside in this," Tally said. "Do the phones work?"

"I don't know, I suppose so ... we need to call the power company if they do," Sam said.

"You can do that, I'm gonna go find Dad," Tally said.

"Don't go outside ... " She began, and then the brothers were in the hall. Tally ran downstairs in his shorts; I turned back in the room for something besides boxers, finding my wet overalls in the corner. Rick and Barry were downstairs when I got there, the front door open to view the rain overflowing the gutters and allowing gusts of wind into the house.

I stumbled into the kitchen and found Granny there with a flashlight in hand, the back door was open halfway, and Tally had already gone outside. There were rain slickers hanging on pegs behind the door and I grabbed one, but my boots were still outside ... and they would be full of water by now. I had to follow Tally and bring him back, he shouldn't be out there, and as if to emphasize that thought the lightning flashed again.

I pulled up the hood and stepped out into an incredible downfall of water, my boots were still there on the porch and completely full, but Tally's were gone.

"Evan," Granny called as I was dumping out the water and sliding into my boots. She held out the flashlight, a good solid beam of light, and waterproof too. "They'll be in the milking shed or behind it," She yelled above the wind.

"Ok, that's where I'm going," I yelled back, and I turned for the stairs. Lightning lit the yard and the wind nearly knocked me over ... were we facing a tornado? I leaned into the wind and crossed the yard to the barn, slipping through the passage door and into the vast empty cavern. The metal sheets on the roof buckled and banged overhead in the wind, but so far none had come off. I ran across the space towards the door to the milking shed, and there I heard the sound of an engine roaring in the distance outside.

Of course, Jim had run over to fire up the generator, the milk had to stay cold in the tanks or it would spoil and be lost. Another flash of light through the high windows and I took off for the back door towards the cow barn. I could just imagine the panic amongst the herd, at least those that had sense enough to come in out of the rain.

I stepped through the door, back into the rain and damn near knocked Tally over.

"Evan ... good you have a light," Tally said. "Come on."

I could smell smoke in the air between the raindrops, something was on fire. I followed him into the end of the cow barn and knew it wasn't in here. The cows were milling around and Tally shown the beam across the herd, it seems most of them had taken shelter.

"I can't find Dad," Tally said. "He started the generator right off but I haven't been able to find him."

"What's burning?" I asked.

"Yeah, I smelled it too ... it isn't in the barns."

We left the cows and went around towards the pig sty, that's when we saw the beam of another flashlight, Jim was over by the corn cribs. The rain was slowing down, the storm sliding away. As Tally and I rushed across the yard, lightning flashed again. In the brief moment of illumination I saw the damage; a corn crib had been demolished and burned.

Jim was standing there examining the damage when Tally and I arrived.

"It's over, the fire is out," He said. "You shouldn't be out here."

The crib was a total loss. The power lines ran on poles across the property back here to the road, and one of them had fallen, probably struck by lightning. Its fall had brought it down on the crib, the burning transformer igniting a fire in the corn dust and kernels that lay inside. The thin metal of the crib had collapsed under the weight of the pole and the heat of the fire, the rain had slowly extinguished the blaze.

"Mom's calling the power company," Tally said.

"Good, and tomorrow I call our insurance company. We're going to need another crib real soon ... stuff happens," Jim said. "Now we all need to go back to bed."

The rain continued to fall as we trudged back to the house, the storm might be past but at least the cloud cover remained. Maybe we wouldn't have to water the crop tomorrow, but I knew Jim would make that decision in daylight.

Granny and Sam met us at the kitchen door with towels and we stripped off in the hall while Jim explained the results of the storm. The generator would run eight hours before needing more fuel; Brad said he would take care of that if the power wasn't back on by then.

The power company had promised a morning assault on the problem, which left the milking issue up in the air.

"We can't hand strip a seventy cows," Jim began. "The generator isn't big enough to supply all the power we need, we'll need to use the tractor to get us through the first milking cycle."

"Tractor?" Tally said.

"Yeah, hook up the power takeoff to Grandpa's old generator, that outta work," Brad said.

"It's the best shot we have," Jim said. "OK, everyone back to bed."

Like anyone could sleep after that excitement, Tally and I lay there awake feeling the heat and humidity building up in our room. We were on top of the covers, naked and still sweating, sleep was impossible.

"I got scared when I couldn't find my dad ... I'm so glad you showed up," Tally said.

"You didn't listen to your mom, why did you go out?" I asked.

"I ... I was afraid something might happen to him, he would get hurt and no one would be there for him."

I stroked his sweaty brow. "Such a good son ... he's very lucky to have you, and so am I."

"And you came out too, were you worried about me?"

"Yes, I don't want anything to happen to you either ... I can't love anyone else," I said.

Tally rolled over and kissed my lips. I couldn't sleep now, I was becoming aroused and so was he.

"Jeez ... not now, everyone is awake and it's too quiet," I said.

"I need to do something ... you first," Tally said, and he slid down my body.

The room was pitch black, there were no visual stimulations, everything was a matter of touch. He licked the sweat off my stomach and went straight for my cock, and I bucked as his mouth took me in. Oh God, I had been so aroused in the bath, now it all flowed back into my mind. The feel of his hair, my fingers on that soft skin ... I was lost in the feelings and almost groaned aloud.

His mouth held my cock as his hands pried my legs apart. Those magic fingers kneaded my balls and slid down further, rubbing across my anus. I grabbed the pillow and pressed it to my face as I groaned with pleasure. Oh God, he knew how to turn me on.

A finger wiggled up my butt as his mouth slid up and down, sucking the very essence out of my balls. His method was insistent, he wanted it all and he wanted it now. The glow of warmth spread through my crotch and the nerves in my gut felt on fire as that finger rubbed my prostate. Tally would have his way; I shuddered and sunk my teeth into the pillow, arching my back with a groan as I came.

His mouth sucked up every drop and begged for more, his tongue lapped up the final drops and then Tally withdrew both mouth and finger. I was spent, and truly so.

I pulled his face to mine and kissed him, tasting my sperm on his tongue. My hands slid down and grasped his butt, rolling him on his back and staring down into his eyes.

"Is it my turn?" I asked.

Tally smiled and then his face spread in a great big yawn. "Sorry, guess I'm tired ... can we wait?"

"Oh baby, no hurry ... we're never going to stop loving each other. Sleepy?" I asked.

"A little, but I imagine milking is gonna be a little late this morning, makes for grumpy cows," Tally said.

"I thought you said there were a hundred cows, your dad said you only milk seventy."

"Yeah, some of them are pregnant and others are just dry for the moment, that's how it works."

"Pregnant ... you guys have a bull too?"

"Nope, but Darryl does ... he rents the bull out." Tally giggled and then gave me another yawn. "Yeah, he brings the bull over every couple of months and it goes to town on our ladies. How do you think I learned about sex?"

"Oh, I'm sure your dad enjoyed explaining that," I laughed.

"He wasn't there, Brad did when he was my age, I was only seven. I thought the bull was attacking her ... boy was I wrong." Tally yawned again and cuddled into my arms.

I rubbed his back and he fell back asleep, I couldn't. The storm still raged in my head, why had Jim taken such a risk? But then I knew the answer, the farm was his responsibility and so was this family.

His actions were dictated by the concern for his farm, his property and the creatures living there. If there was something he needed to do then he would do it, even if it meant risking his life in the process. Tally had exhibited the same courage in going out into the storm, it was foolish but I understood his motive.

Protecting his father was foremost in his mind; this family had already lost one good man. In another life Tally would have been a fireman, a policeman ... someone who risked themselves to save others. But he was a farmer, and I wondered if Tally understood how close he was to the land ... could he ever leave it?

I wanted to show him the world, but a true farmer stayed close to the farm. I could show Tally things through education, and work to entice him away ... but would he go? It took courage to rush out into the storm and I knew his heart was with his father every second. It would take greater courage to walk away from all this.

It was just barely daylight when I heard sounds out in the hall, Jim and someone else were going out to get the milking started. No one knocked on the door, maybe they wanted us to sleep in. I was tired but too anxious about the day to fall back asleep; I knew Tally wanted in on what was going to happen.

I blew in his ear and felt him move, he was awake.

"Hmm ... don't stop there," Tally said.

"Your dad is up, it must be around six," I said.

"Yeah ... another day, and just when I thought you were gonna attack me," Tally giggled.

"I'd love to but ... maybe in the corn field later on."

"Oh, you liked that did you?"

"Today I get to ride, I want you to fuck my brains out," I said.

"Eww, that sounds messy ... how about I fuck your ass instead."

I slapped his bottom and he laughed, then we rolled out of bed to get dressed. Granny took one look at me and smiled.

"Didn't sleep, did you?" She asked.

"No, too wound up ... I'll survive."

"The power company ought to be here this morning, the news says there was a lot of damage up north of us, and they had a tornado touch down in Virginia."

I nodded and followed Tally out the door. Dry socks and wet boots, it didn't seem to matter at the moment. Jim had what looked like a pump trailer pulled up behind the milking shed, but I saw the electrical connections and knew it was a generator, a very old one.

"I just hope it still works," Jim said.

Brad backed the small tractor up to the trailer and I watched them join the two with a flexible shaft. Jim cranked the generator by hand a few times just to be sure the shaft was free, and then Brad pulled the PTO lever on the tractor. The generator soon hummed and Jim stared down at the output meter.

"Good, sixty hertz. All I need is a hundred amps at two-twenty, seems we have almost twice that." He ran a heavy rubber covered cable out the door of the milking shed and hooked it up to the disconnect on the generator, and then he threw the switch. I heard the vacuum pumps kick in and in a few seconds the disinfectant spewed out of the stainless tanks, we were in business.

Tally opened the door to the cow barn and the beasts slowly moved through the door and headed for the sound of the pumps. I was amazed that they knew what was going to happen; they seemed conditioned to be milked.

I slid in the milk shed between two cows and walked down the line. Jim motioned me over and showed me how the suction cups were applied; there were four for each cow. He pointed at the chain around the cow's leg.

"Don't enter the pen unless the cow has the chain on, she might crush you against the bars. When the milk stops flowing you switch the cups to the cow across the railing. I'll stay here with you, give it a try." His smile was encouraging so I bent over and applied the cups to the cow's udder.

The cow looked back at me and I could swear she was smiling. But milk was flowing from her teats into the lines and I could see the white liquid there in a clear cup where they all came together.

"She doesn't look very full," Jim said. "You can see her udder isn't hanging with much weight. I imagine we'll have a whole lot less milk this morning after that storm disturbed their sleep."

Ten minutes later she was dry and I shut off the valve. The suction eased and the cups slid off easily. I passed them back to Jim in the other pen.

"Now ease on out of there and take the chain off her leg. Stand back because she'll want out and cows don't back up very well."

I unsnapped the chain and moved behind the gate, sure enough the cow moved back and turned towards the door, another cow was waiting right outside. It was all pretty simple, but it took concentration. One bad move and a cow could crush the bones in my foot, or push me against the bars.

As Jim had predicted, the milking time was shorter this morning. Most of the cows had wandered back out to pasture when they were done so I set up the steam hose. Jim waved at me as the last cow left the shed and I turned on the steam. Tally wasn't there so I went ahead and started.

The water swirled down the central drain and I remembered Tally saying it went into a holding tank. Manure made good fertilizer and they had to pump the tank out once a week, I was not looking forward to that smelly chore. Tally came in just as I was finishing up.

"Good job, Evan ... now we have a messier one."

The cow barn was little more than a long low shed with one end open to the elements. The cows could come and go as they pleased; unfortunately they didn't leave the shed to do their business. The storm must have aggravated the situation, the ground inside was covered in cow poop. Making it worse was the layer of straw that hid the little gems; it was like walking in a minefield.

I could see the large yellow and white trucks of the power company over by the corn cribs, at least that was being taken care of. With the milking done, Jim had unhooked the tractor and now Tally had a straight blade affixed to the back. He was going to scrape out the cow barn.

Just stirring up the mess brought the smell of cow to a whole new level of repugnance, it just plain stank. The tractor wheels skidded in the cow poop but the blade pulled it all outside in a matter of minutes, now I figured we had to shovel it up.

The manure pile was around behind the barn, out of sight but never out of mind, the smell wouldn't allow that. An hour later I couldn't smell anything else, the odor clung to my clothes. And just as I thought we were done I fell, slipping in the manure and landing on my butt in the mess.

Tally looked down at me with concern, and then broke up laughing. OK, to him it was funny, I was pissed. Of all things, I was tired as hell and now covered in cow shit ... how much worse could it get?

"Come on, let's hose you down," Tally said, stifling his laugh.

"Fuck ... this sucks," I said.

"We've all done it, manure is slippery, just be glad you didn't go in head first."

Tally led me back to the milking shed and hosed me down at the outside faucet; there was no way the smell was going to go away.

"Now go change ... I'm sorry I laughed at you," Tally said.

"That's OK, I suppose it's funny if it isn't happening to you."

Granny didn't bat an eyelash as I walked in the kitchen door in my boxers, I'm sure she could smell the reason I was half naked.

"Evan, the Reverend called when we didn't show up for church, I invited him and his family over for supper. Would you like to help?" Granny asked.

"Yes Ma'am ... I think I've had enough farming for one day."

"It gets like that I'm afraid, you're doin a fine job. Go take a shower, then we'll talk about the supper."

It was Sunday, I had almost forgotten. I knew the family didn't usually work this hard on the Lord's Day, but events had pushed them into it. I stood under the hot water and soaped myself twice before realizing the stink was in my head. I could deal with the stench of a manure pile; it was an expected part of the job. I just wasn't ready to get covered in the shit.

I came back downstairs in clean clothes and Granny had a small glass sitting on the table.

"Drink that right down, it will make you forget the smell," She said.

I downed the amber liquid and gasped as the liquor hit my throat, this was stronger than what Jim had offered me. But Granny was right, the smell of manure in my head was gone, now all I had to do was remember to breathe.

"Lord, that's powerful," I said, with tears in my eyes.

"It's medicinal, my husband used to make it in small amounts and I have some hidden away just in case?" Granny said, and then she laughed. "Don't you be telling anyone I gave it to you."

"No ma'am I won't," I replied. "OK, what about this dinner?"

She had a box out on the table and she opened it, it was full of cards, the wealth of her recipes. "I'm just not sure what to make, we'll have to feed fifteen people and I dread the thought of cooking for so many."

"Sounds like we ought to set up a buffet, that will make life easier," I said.

"Oh, that's just so smart, I knew I could count on you," Granny said.

"I think we ought to make a large casserole, maybe two and let the rest be biscuits and fresh sliced vegetables. Lots of food, little cooking," I said.

We settled on a ham and bean casserole, another of potatoes with cheese and tomatoes, the rest would come straight from the garden. Planning a meal like this with her was a delight and it gave me a chance to show off my skills. I had watched Granny prepare those sumptuous home cooked meals for us, now it was my turn.

The secret was that I had helped my mother put together dozens of church socials, laying out buffet lines to feed a hundred people. That's where I had first begun to think my career path lay in the food industry, I enjoyed the challenge. Maybe I would get back to it someday, but now my life had new meaning, I couldn't do anything that didn't involve Tally.

I peeled and sliced, chopped and prepared a sauce. Leftover ham was put to good use, the potatoes, corn and tomatoes from Granny's well stocked larder. At two o'clock we ended by putting the casseroles in the oven for a slow bake. Then Granny and I took a basket out to her garden to select the vegetables.

Her garden would be the envy of any super market in town; she had just about everything I could imagine growing here. The raised beds of herbs, the rows of tomatoes, beans, peppers, onions, carrots, eggplant, celery, squash ... and the melons, I was in love with this place.

Off to one side there was a flower garden, a stone bench and two dogwood trees ... the perfect place for Granny to rest as she worked in her garden. She saw me look that the flowers.

"My husband built that garden for me, rest his soul. He planted the trees after we got married, one for each of us, it was such a sweet gesture of his love. I can still feel his presence in this place, his memory lingers on."

I nodded. "I see his hand in everything about this farm, Granny. He built it to last, just like his family."

She smiled and patted my shoulder. "I think he would have liked you very much, Evan. He was a thinking man and I learned a lot from him in the thirty-six years we were married. I think he would have understood what you share with Tally, at least as well as any man could. I think it takes the instinct of a mother to know what you bring to Tally's life."

We sat on the bench and gazed out that the profusion of color the flowers presented. I remained silent; Granny wasn't done with her thoughts.

"Jessie always knew he wanted this farm to live on after he died, Jim has done a fine job keeping it up. I was just a girl when we came here, we got married when I was seventeen ... we had to. It was a disgrace to get pregnant before marriage in those days. Jessie did the right thing and Jim came along six months later."

"I don't know what Tally wants in life, Granny. I just want to give him anything he needs," I said.

"And you will, he's too young to make those decisions yet," She said. "Right now all he can think about is making you happy because he has that need. Down the road apiece things will settle down for the both of you. You came here to be with him and that's the grandest gesture of love you could give him.

"Someday you both will leave here and look back on this time together as the beginning of something wonderful. I look back on the time I had with Jessie and know there will never be another love like him. We all ought to be able to say that in our lives. Tally will grow up to be a fine young man because of you."

"I just ... I don't know what we'll do together, I just want it to be something grand," I said.

"It will, you both have so much talent. But you need to do some growing too, Evan. You have to plan ten years down the road and strive for it. I'll help you; I hope that's something you know by now."

"And that's why I want you to take better care of yourself, Granny. You need to let the doctors do whatever they have to do for you to stay healthy. I can't pull this off by myself, Tally and I both need you," I said.

Granny laid her hand on mine and smiled. "We'll do this together, don't you worry. The Lord knows I'm needed here a while longer, he won't be callin me to heaven any time soon. I have two boys who need my advice, because sure as the sun is shining today there will be some rain in your lives tomorrow."

She stood up and walked into the garden, leaning down here and there to pick out the freshest ripe tomatoes. I watched her movements, aware that I really loved this woman and the way she felt about me. Her expressions about the future had touched my heart, she was going to make sure that Tally and I had a good and lasting future together. I would do anything to make sure she was there until the end, her life was suddenly very important to me.

The supper that night was a great success, the Reverend and his family were very nice people. Tally sat on the floor and played with the two younger children, paying complete attention to the needs of the little ones. I watched him from my seat in the corner, amazed at him and realizing he was still a child at heart.

For there would be no children from Tally to join the family roster, and in that there was some sadness. At one point he looked up at me with a grin and I smiled back. He would be a good father, a caring father ... something that would never happen for him or me either. It was the price we paid for loving one another, a price that I was willing to pay. Joining his life to mine meant the world to me, and like Granny's Jessie, I would leave this earth a happy man knowing I had shared Tally's love.

The week before Tally's birthday was filled with activity. On Tuesday morning I took Granny in town for her doctor's appointment which lasted several hours. I had no idea what went on behind that closed door but she emerged smiling, and very tired.

"He's such a nice man," Granny said.

"Did he tell you anything?" I asked.

"He won't get the test results back for another ten days, and then he wants to see me again. But he says I'm healthy for my age, he didn't think those pills were of much use in my condition."

"That's what I mean, what condition?" I asked.

"I have an irregular heartbeat, that's what makes me lightheaded sometimes. He says he can treat me with medicine for a while but if my heart shows any further signs of weakness then he'll recommend I get a pacemaker. That sounds expensive and it means surgery," Granny said.

"So you take the medicine for now, at least it's a start. One of the judges at work with my dad has a pacemaker and he plays tennis every week, it must do something good." I said.

"Yes, he told me not to worry so much; he was going to keep me going for a long time. Does that make you happy?"

I threw my arms around her and gave her a hug; she firmly pushed me away but had a smile on her face.

"Now none of that, this is a public place. I guess you're happy."

"You have no idea ... let me buy you lunch," I said.

"Yes, let's do that ... thank you, Evan. Thank you for being here with me."

"You want me to hug you again? Let's both be happy you're doing the right thing."

I took her to Olivetti's, a place my family often ate. They had a huge salad bar and lots of entrees. Granny looked around as we sat waiting for someone to bring us a menu.

"A grand restaurant, so is this what you want to do? Would you like to own a restaurant like this? Granny asked.

"Yes, but this is a franchise. Their menu is set by someone in a corporate office and is based upon some accountant's idea of what's popular. I want the freedom to design my own menu and change it weekly if that's what the customers want. The food here is prepared well but it's just not special, I think I could do better."

Granny smiled. "And maybe you will, never give up on your dreams, Evan."

"I won't, but I have a different one at the moment. I'm watching Tally grow up."

We had lunch and walked back down the street towards my Jeep, but before we got there we ran into Stan.

"Hey Evan ... who's your lady friend?"

"This is Tally's Grandmother, Mrs. Winslow to you egghead."

"I'm sorry if I was rude, Stanley Beale, Mrs. Winslow."

"Yes, Evan mentioned your name, you went to high school together," Granny said.

"Yes, Ma'am, we did, but I'm forbidden to tell anyone those stories."

Granny laughed. "You ought to be a comedian."

"He is a clown, I've known that for years, "I said. "Oh Stan, where did you buy me that shirt, the blue one with the stars?"

"What, you ruined it already?" Stan asked.

"No, it looks better on Tally, sorry."

"Yeah, I imagine it does. I bought it at Meyers up the street. I hope Tally takes care of it, they ain't cheap," Stan said.

"He's worn it once, but I thought I might find him another," I said.

"Meyers probably still has them. I have to go meet my dad; I'm forced into a haircut so they can take a family photo ... figures he'd find a way to get me to cut it."

"I think your hair looks nice," Granny said.

"Thank you, Mrs. Winslow ... care to tell my dad that?"

"No, you have to respect your parent's wishes if you live under their roof," Granny said.

"Goodness, now you even sound like him. Nice to meet you Mrs. Winslow ... later Evan."

"Bye, Stan."

Granny smiled as Stan walked away. "He seems nice."

"My oldest and dearest friend, he's a fine person. You wouldn't know it but he graduated at the top of our class."

"And what place were you, Evan?" Granny asked.

I smiled, she had me again. "I came in second, right after Stan."

"I just knew you were going to say that, good for you ... always knew you were smart," Granny said. "So what's this about buying Tally a shirt, the one you gave him looks just fine."

"I just want him to look special," I said.

"He does, Evan ... especially when he looks at you."

We spent fifteen minutes in the Meyers store and I bought Tally two shirts and picked up a few other items. Granny was looking in the electronics case and had to ask me what things were. She had bought Tally a pair of Nike shoes for his present, but the boy didn't own anything to play music. I finally talked her into getting him an iPod, we could download music somehow. I had to get Granny to upgrade the server at the house; they needed faster access for the iPod to do us any good.

I spent the ride home explaining personal computers to her, and after a while we decided that if Tally learned enough about the technology from me that he would get a laptop for Christmas. I had her hooked when I explained that a vast resource of farm knowledge existed on the internet, I had yet to show Jim what was out there in cyberspace.

Wednesday, Thursday, Friday all passed by, marked only by the sameness of the chores we performed each and every day. Saturday would dawn and Tally would be fifteen, although by necessity we would wait until Sunday to celebrate ... well some if us would.

I was lucky enough to awake before him that morning, a bright and sunny Saturday, a special day for Tally, and another day of work for us all. I leaned over and blew in his ear; he was used to waking like that now.

"Happy Birthday, Tally," I said. I reached over and turned on the bedside lamp and he squinted, still half asleep. Then my words took effect.

"Wow, I'm fifteen ... I love you," Tally said.

I smiled. "Thank you, but where did that come from?"

"I just knew I had to say it, I'm fifteen and I love you, they both make me happy."

"Such a romantic, I love you too."

"Today I get presents, tomorrow I get dinner and a cake, that's like having two birthdays."

Now he was awake, and full of sunshine. A knock on the door. "Happy Birthday, Tally," Sam said as she made her way downstairs. Another knock. "Happy Birthday, Tally," His father said. The knock was repeated as each of the brothers went past and each of them wished him a Happy Birthday.

Tally smiled and I laughed. "Let me guess, a tradition."

"Yeah, Brad gets his next month ... pretty sweet, huh?" Tally said.

"Yeah, and so are you," I said.

I gave him a hug and a big kiss, but we rolled out of bed before anything else might get started. Work first, and then maybe we could find time to play ... I sure hoped so. Jim was paying attention to the weather, and not just in case he had to continue watering the corn, he wanted to start cutting hay.

The crop had been growing since late March and was first cut a month ago. It was explained to me that this was the prime cut before the seeds matured. This second cut was less valued as feed material, but the stalks were long enough again to provide nutrition and bedding material. I couldn't tell the difference, I had to take Jim's word on all that. But that meant on Monday they would they would move the tractor and mower out to the fields.

The hay was a mix of timothy and rye, good fodder for the cows that would have less pasture grass during the winter. But it needed drying time, and thus Jim looked at the forecast. After several days Tally would run the small tractor over the fields and turn the grass before raking it into rows. Then the bailer would come along and turn it into giant rolls, it all sounded easy, that only meant something could go wrong.

The mower had been serviced; the green tractor ready to go, now all we had to do was wait. By late afternoon Jim knew Tally was climbing the walls and sent him back to the house. All day long he'd been kidded about growing old, Paulo and Miguel giving him the worst teasing. But it had all been good natured and after a while Tally joked back.

I finished up in the milking shed and followed Tally into the house. He was sitting in the kitchen watching Granny put the finishing touches on his birthday cake, fudge marble as promised.

"OK, so now I have two dirty boys in my kitchen, go on now, get cleaned up," Granny said. "Your daddy will want help with the hamburgers and hot dogs, I already made a ton of potato salad and slaw, so git."

We left the kitchen and Tally stopped to stare at the wrapped gifts sitting on the dining room table, there were at least a dozen.

"Which one is yours?" Tally asked.

"That flat box wrapped in the Sunday comic pages," I said. "Don't go shaking it."

"Why, what's in it?" Tally asked.

"After supper, that's the deal ... but I have a little idea you might like to help me with first," I said.

We went up stairs and I dug in the dresser for the small bag of stuff I'd bought at Meyers, I handed it to over to Tally. He opened the bag and gave me a funny look.

"You're giving me Kool-Aid?"

"No, its revenge," I said. "I expect Rick won't be expecting anything to happen today, that's when we strike." I went on to detail my plan and Tally's smile grew by the minute.

"Awesome ... when did you think that up?" Tally asked.

"When I saw Stan the other day, he did it to me once and I wanted to kill him."

"Jeez, this is gonna be so funny ... so how do we pull it off?"

"It's all a matter of timing," I said.

We both took a shower, unfortunately not together this time, we had to hurry. I had explained the process of my plan and he agreed to carry it out, I was to be the diversion. We were both dressed and sitting in front of my computer when Rick and Barry came upstairs to clean up. I called Rick in the room and Tally left to have a chat with Barry.

I was online and began showing Rick some of the cool sites I knew, about five minutes later Tally came back in the room and nodded.

"So I really need to show some of this stuff to your Dad, Rick. He ought to start using the computer more, then you can have access too," I said.

"That's pretty cool. Yeah, I'd like to have a computer," Rick said, then he turned to Tally. "Is Barry in the shower?"

"Nope, said he was goin after you," Tally replied.

"Good, see ya." And Rick left the room. Tally scrambled to his parent's bedroom for the camera, I went downstairs to tell Granny what we were doing. If things turned out the way I expected there would be a lot of noise happening very shortly. Granny laughed, she enjoyed a good joke too.

Tally was waiting in the upstairs hallway and Barry was leaning against the door, his ear pressed to the wooden panel. I knew we'd hear something in a few seconds and then the fun would begin. We heard the shower curtain close and the sound of water ... then the screaming began.

We all died laughing and Barry opened the door. Rick was behind the shower curtain screaming his head off when Barry pulled it open and Tally snapped the picture.

"Jesus ... .fuck," Rick screamed and then he saw Tally snap the photo. "Tally ... I am so gonna kill you ... "

And we all ran, laughing so hard I almost fell down the stairs. Sam, Jim and Brad were standing in the kitchen looking up at the ceiling, and Rick was still yelling "Fuck" and "Jesus" in the same sentence. Granny shook her head.

"Not right the boy should be using the Lord's name like that ... and that filthy word too."

Jim looked puzzled. "Ma said you guys were going to play a joke on him, what did you do?"

I bowed to Tally. "Would you care to explain, Mr. Winslow?"

"I believe I would, Mr. Parsons." And we both laughed at the formality, then Tally explained, handing his mother the camera.

"First, you better hide that until the film is developed, I have the evidence in there. Rick dumped that bucket of ice on Evan and me in the tub last week; we've just been waiting for the right moment to get even.

"Evan bought some cherry Kool-Aid at the store a few days ago and told me what to do with it. So while he was showing Rick something on the computer I snuck in the bathroom and unscrewed the shower head. I filled it with the Kool-Aid and put it back on, and then Rick came in for his shower. Do you know how much cherry Kool-Aid looks like blood? I think it stains too."

We were all laughing when Rick came downstairs with only a towel around his waist. That did it, we all went nuts. It seems Kool-Aid does stain and skin works quite well as a blotter. Rick's face and neck, shoulders and torso were splashed in red food coloring from the Kool-Aid; I could only imagine what his crotch looked like.

"Tally ... you jerk, look what it did to me ... what is it?"

"Don't you like Kool-Aid?" Sam asked.

And Rick knew he was defeated right then and there. "It'll wear off in a few days, now we're even," Tally said.

"I suggest you boys sign a truce right now," Jim said. "I don't want this going any further."

"Yes sir," Rick said, glaring at Tally. He went back upstairs to get dressed.

"I suppose it was Evan's idea?" Granny asked.

"Harmless, just like the ice, but I like the effect better," I said.

Jim went out to cook the hamburgers while Granny and I threw the rest together. Every once and a while she would stop and chuckle, then she finally had to let it out.

"Good thing he doesn't have a girlfriend at the moment, can you imagine explaining that?"

I laughed. "Yeah, and the picture ought to be interesting too."

From that night on Rick was called Red whenever someone wanted to put him in his place, but the night wasn't over yet. We all sat in the parlor as Sam brought Tally his gifts one by one to keep him from shredding paper all over the place.

Tally received shorts and shirts, a cowboy hat, all from his brothers. There was a pair of very nice boots from his dad and of course an envelope from his mother with a hundred dollars inside. The iPod from Granny was a big hit and so were the Nike shoes. The two shirts I gave him were a surprise and he showed them off around the room, but he kept looking at that small flat box.

"OK, one more, Mr. Birthday Boy, and this one is from Evan too."

Tally smiled and took the box from her hands, tearing off the paper and sliding the box open. He looked down and then back up at me, lifting the latex gloves in his hand. Then he picked the comic books up out of the box, Superman was right there on top. Now he held up the gloves.

"Gloves? What is all this?" Tally asked.

"Tell me the number printed on the cover Tally," I said.

"Um ... number 108, this looks really old."

"It is, printed in 1956. Issue 108 is worth about six hundred dollars right now."

"Oh wow ... they're all old," Tally said.

By now everyone was leaning in to take a look so I had to explain. "I've been collecting comics since I was a kid. My uncle got me started and then then he died, leaving me his collection, I have about eight hundred of them now." I would not mention their value; it didn't need to be said.

"But if you remove them from their covers then you take a chance of damaging them and they lose value, that's why I gave you the gloves. In all you have a very valuable piece of comic book history in your hands; take care of it and the value will go up."

"Superman, Batman ... Spiderman, you gave me comics to match my posters," Tally said.

"Yes, I did. Granny says she will keep them safe for you. I just wanted you to have something meaningful today, something you will always remember," I said.

Tally lay the comics back in the box and then came over to give me a hug. I watched the eyes around the room, wondering what they all thought at this moment. If Tally kissed me it would all be over, but that would come later.

As birthdays go fifteen isn't such a grand moment, but to Tally it was a milestone. He understood that what I had given him was a piece of myself, something I valued. I could tell the gesture wasn't lost on the rest of the family, I could see it in their eyes. Tonight I could hug him affectionately because this was his day, he deserved the moment we shared.

I saw something else in Granny's eyes, she was remembering. Whether it was the boy in my arms as a child or her own husband Jessie I would never know. I just knew that her heart was with me that evening, as only she could recognize the love that Tally was giving me. It felt warm, it felt right, and it took all my effort not to cry with the joy of this feeling I had inside.

Tomorrow we would move on, and someday, not too far down the road, Tally would be sixteen. That would be another milestone. For with each and every birthday he came closer to being mine. Granny understood that goal in my head, it was something we shared.

On to Chapter Eleven

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