Published: 05 Dec 2016

During the time that Dane and Colt were in Washington, the boys on the Farm were busy trying to hold everything together on their own without adult supervision.

Bob and Christine left on Sunday afternoon to take their younger children to grandma’s house while Bob was being evaluated at Mayo Clinic. Jason was still a bit disgruntled about not being allowed to stay to help his brother and the older guys on the farm, but he didn’t pout in front of Dave and Dustin lest it make him look like a baby.

Sunday night’s dinner was easy to prepare because Christine had left a big bowl of her famous spaghetti sauce in the fridge for the boys to heat up. There was also a fresh loaf of homemade French bread with garlic butter and a couple of packages of salad greens. All the guys had to do to finish dinner was to cook the spaghetti and put things on the table.

When it got close to bedtime, Jared grew uneasy – like he had something he wanted to say, but wasn’t sure how to go about it. Finally, he screwed up his courage and plunged in.

“Uh, would it be okay if I slept in the other bed in the trailer with you guys? Otherwise I might not wake up in time for chores on my own.” he said.

Dustin and Dane exchanged brief glances. They were pretty sure that the young teen didn’t want to stay in the big farmhouse alone. He was probably a little frightened at the prospect, but didn’t want to admit it. He was a good kid and a hard worker and they weren’t going to embarrass him by prodding for the real reason he wanted to stay with them.

“It’s okay with me,” Dustin said. “Are you fine with it, Dave?”

“Sure, as long as you wash your own sheets at the end of the week so we don’t have extra housework. It does make sense to stay under one roof so we can all get ready at the same time. Besides, if it gets hot enough to run the AC, it would be a waste to cool that whole big house for one skinny-assed kid.”

Jared giggled at Dave’s comments and relaxed once the arrangements had been agreed to. He went upstairs to get his toothbrush and clothes for the next morning as well as a pair of boxers for sleepwear (or at least for putting on if he had to get up in the night to go to the bathroom).

Monday came early enough to remind the guys that they were responsible for the operation of the farm, but it wasn’t a physically taxing day. A lot of the fieldwork had been done the week before when Brent and Mike were there to help. Since their day was light, the three boys walked around the barnyard with paper and pencil to make a list of projects that needed doing. After that, they made some repairs on the roof of the chicken coop, replacing the shingles on the south side where the sun had caused them to deteriorate rather badly.

Christine had left them a beef roast to put in the oven for an evening meal and this seemed like the ideal day to fix it since they could knock off of work early enough to cook it. It was big enough to provide leftovers for a couple more meals as well.

As they worked together in the farmhouse kitchen, Jared became more talkative than he had been all day. The older guys had become accustomed to how Jared’s mind worked. He would be silent, mulling things over, and then suddenly become animated in his conversation once he had settled things in his head.

“Um, would you guys teach me some stuff about sex?” he blurted out blushing furiously.

“Uh, what exactly do you want to know? Dustin asked. “We aren’t going to give you any “hands-on” lessons, if that’s what you mean.”

“Jeez! I didn’t mean it like that!” Jared exclaimed turning an even brighter shade of red. “I don’t have an older brother and I’m gonna be in high school next year and I don’t want to look stupid like if someone says something I don’t understand. You know. Could you teach me the words that mean stuff like jacking off and stuff?”

“Oh, it’s a vocabulary lesson you want,” Dave laughed. “I don’t think any of those terms are going to come up in LA 9. Miss Boes would probably die if she even heard them!”

“Do you think your youth leader from church would accuse us of putting you on the path to Hell if we did that?” Dustin pondered. “How would your dad react? We don’t want to jeopardize our jobs.”

“I know dad won’t care,” Jared smiled. “He’s tried to talk to me about stuff like that, but I don’t feel comfortable talking to him, you know. And I don’t care what Mr. Seitz thinks. He says bad things about gays and I know you guys are okay.”

And so began Jared’s informal sex education over dinner. Before dessert, he had learned six new terms including “wanking” and “choking the chicken.” The guys showed him how to access the Urban Slang Dictionary on the web and he learned several more euphemisms from that site before the other two guys had the kitchen cleaned up. He actually found one that they hadn’t heard. Jared was quiet after they returned to the trailer. He was evidently assimilating the information he had gained or perhaps he was planning to delve into some other subject in the near future. Only time would tell.

Sometime after midnight, the weather-alert radio came on in Dave and Dustin’s room. At first, they thought it was morning, but after a couple of seconds to clear the fog from their brains, they realized there was a tornado warning.

They threw on shorts and went to awaken Jared. He climbed out of bed naked in his haste. Dave handed him his jeans to put on as the three grabbed a couple of flashlights, the battery operated radio and a blanket each on their way to the root cellar.

Like many old farms, the Manson’s place had a bricked cellar a few yards from the kitchen door. In former days, it was the place where butter, cheese, and milk were kept to prevent spoilage. In modern times, it served as a haven from severe weather.

The first drops of rain were descending just as they reached the old cellar. The sounds of falling rain and the nip in the air triggered Jared’s urge to empty his bladder so he unzipped and went right there on the ground. The other guys imitated his actions knowing it might be a few hours before they had the luxury of pissing when they needed to.

Although it was chilly and a bit musty, the cellar seemed like a welcoming and friendly place in comparison to what was coming their way. It was outfitted with a few folding lawn chairs, five army cots (all bundled up), and a lantern to provide light in extended emergencies. The family had huddled there for several hours a few years ago on the night that the devastating tornado hit Bentonville, the children attempting to sleep on the cots while their parents sat up listening to the radio.

After Jared got the Coleman gas lantern going, the place took on a cozier air. Since it gave off as much heat as light, the lantern began to dispel the chill and mustiness along with the gloom.

Despite its being the wee hours of the morning, no one wanted to try to sleep. There was too much adrenalin in their systems. The radio updated information every few minutes. From the sound of things, the center of the storm was moving rapidly in their direction.

First came the thunder and lightning followed by a cloudburst of rain and the howling of a fierce wind. Next came the sound of hail pelting on the metal roof of the machine shed. Dustin’s first thought (after being thankful for their personal safety) was that he was glad he had stored his pickup in that shed to spare it damage. There were a number of ominous crashing noises, but nothing that sounded like a freight train (that being the sound that people often associate with a tornado).

After a half hour or so, the storm quieted down to a steady, heavy downpour of rain. The radio weatherman said there had been damaging straight-line winds, but no reports thus far of any funnel clouds touching down. No more severe weather was expected that night, but people were advised to watch for flash flooding in low areas.

Given the torrential rain that was still falling, the teens decided to stay put for the rest of the night. They unfolded three of the cots in an effort to get comfortable enough to catch some shut-eye before daybreak. Each curled up in a blanket and went to sleep more rapidly than he would have thought possible.

Dave awoke with a start at the sound of cows bellowing. The plaintiff cry was a familiar one. As he looked as his watch, he realized that the milking process should have begun a half hour ago and that “Bossy” (the nickname of the Manson’s dominant cow) was raising Hell at having to wait.

After Dave awakened the two other guys, they all stretched and yawned in an attempt to clear the cobwebs from their tired brains.

As they exited their safe haven, they were aware that there had been damage from the storm. The roof of the chicken coop they’d repaired the previous day lay in pieces that looked like a small shipwreck. An old cottonwood tree was uprooted and shoved up against the house and there were other signs of destruction which were mostly minor.

But their first mission was to take care of the milking. On their way to the barn, they stopped at the trailer to put on other clothes and their boots. Fortunately, everything there seemed to be intact. However, the electrical power was off.

“Looks like we’ll be milking by hand,” Dustin groaned.

“Not if I can get the generator going,” Jared grinned.

It took a bit of coaxing, but after wheezing a bit, the gas generator eventually began to purr and there was sufficient voltage to run the milking machines. Jared checked the temperature of the milk storage tanks and found it to be in the safe range. The cool conditions that accompanied the storm had at least kept the milk from spoiling.

When the guys had the cows taken care of, they checked on the chickens. All but one seemed to have survived. They picked up the dead fowl to bury later. The most immediate need at this point was food!

While Dave and Dustin began breakfast in the farmhouse kitchen, Jared ran up to assess the damage to the upper story. He came back down wide-eyed.

“Do you guys believe in miracles?” he asked breathlessly.

“Uh, yeah, I believe in the possibility,” Dave replied.

“Me too,” Dustin seconded.

“Well, if I hadn’t stayed with you guys, I would probably be road-kill!” Jared exclaimed. “Part of the tree came through the window of my bedroom and there is a branch stuck in the middle of the mattress where I would have been sleeping!”

Then Jared got a perplexed look on his face. The other two knew that his brain was processing something, likely something deep.

“Do you think that God was trying to get me for thinking about sex?” he blurted out.

“The God I believe in doesn’t operate that way,” Dustin offered. “God knows we’re going to think about sex. He made us that way. If everyone who was horny and curious as a teenager got killed, there would be no one left to reproduce!”

“Wow, you believe in God?” Jared asked.

“Sure. Why wouldn’t I?”

“But, you’re gay!”

“So, do you think gay guys are necessarily atheists?” Dave questioned.

“Well, no, I mean. Oh shit, I AM just a stupid skinny-assed kid!”

“Hey,” Dave exclaimed. “I only called you skinny-assed to tease you. I didn’t mean anything by it. And, you’re certainly not stupid. You know how to operate a Coleman lantern, a generator, and lots of things that Dustin and I don’t know.”

“Yeah, and Dave was a skinny-assed kid himself just a year or two ago!” Dustin laughed as he pinched his lover’s butt.

Jared grinned in the realization that the older guys were trying to make him feel less awkward. He really liked them. They were becoming like big brothers. He nearly had tears in his eyes when they squeezed his shoulders in a gesture of friendship.

Breakfast was nearly over when Dustin’s cell phone began to vibrate. On the other end was Joel. He was calling to see how they had come through the storm because he had heard on the news that it was bad out in the country.

Dustin updated him on their adventure and the damage. Joel said he and Alex would be out to help shortly. Alex’s dad had a chainsaw and all they needed was directions on how to get to the farm. Joel had no kids to tutor that day and Alex was home because the football camp had been cancelled for the next few days. The field resembled a small lake and the school had no electricity.

Before tackling any of the cleanup work, Jared called his parents’ insurance agent to report the damage. Sam Ellsworth, their State Farm guy, said he would be out within the hour to inspect the place.

In the meantime, the guys took photos of the damage and started to pick up debris.

Mr. Ellsworth arrived at the same time Joel and Alex did. He also took a lot of pictures before giving the guys the go-ahead to work on cutting up the fallen tree.

The Manson’s owned a chainsaw too, so the guys got both saws going to hasten the job. Even so, it took hours to get the bigger part of it done. They had to go slowly, cutting the upper branches that had come through the window first, so they wouldn’t cause further damaged to the house. The inside of the tree was pretty well hollow at the base from rot and insect activity. It was a wonder it hadn’t come down earlier.

It was getting close to lunch, so Dave suggested they stop to rummage through the fridge to find something to sustain them. He was very happy when Joel produced four large, uncooked pizzas from a cooler in his SUV. He and Alex had picked them up on the way. The kitchen range operated on propane, so there would be no problem cooking the pizzas. In any event, the electricity came back on around noon. Jared breathed a sigh of relief. He went out to turn off the generator and to switch the milk storage cooler back to regular power.

The guys had just finished eating when an old pickup came into the yard. Earl Boots climbed down from the cab with effort. He walked up to the back door with a gait which suggested he had suffered a stroke or other brain injury.

“Howdy, Boys,” he called out as he entered the kitchen without knocking. “Looks like you’re getting’ things set to right. Wilma threatened not to feed me supper if I didn’t check on you.”

Being a mannerly young man, Jared made introductions all around. Earl shook each young man’s hand with a firm grip that assured them he was a tough old geezer.

Then Jared started the coffee pot so he could play host as his parents did when a visitor dropped in. It was the neighborly thing to do.

Mr. Boots knew Bob and Christine were gone and he was making sure the young teen was not overwhelmed by the extra responsibility that had been thrust upon him by the storm.

“I’m too old and decrepit to be much help here,” Earl continued. “But I can go out and check on the crops. There wasn’t much damage to the fields by the road. Those winds last night stayed further above the ground level than usual around here. But, I ‘spect the rain done its damage in low areas. Most of the corn is young enough it’ll pull itself back upright before harvest. Won’t likely have hurt the beans much…”

The boys, who had grown up in towns (or in Joel’s case cities) were fascinated by the talk about how crops could recover. Jared’s eyes shone as he carried on an animated conversation with the older man. He really got into it when he spoke of his father’s dream about expanding their organic farming operation.

“What stands in our way is that we need more land and I don’t know how we’re ever going to manage that.” Jared said sadly. “We were almost there from the money standpoint ’til dad’s accident.”

After finishing his coffee and telling Jared that he was “much obliged,” Earl trudged out to his ancient pickup to drive to the more distant fields. He said he would return as soon as possible to give a report on their conditions.

When he came back, as promised, he pronounced that the rest of the fields were in good to fine shape.

“Once they dry out a little, no one will ever know there was a storm,” he assured them.

The five guys worked for the rest of the afternoon getting the majority of the old cottonwood tree cut up into pieces that could be stacked for firewood. Of course, the larger ones would have to be split, but that could wait until next year when it had seasoned enough to be good for burning. Nothing on the farm went to waste!

When milking time came around again, Joel and Alex stayed to watch and to help where they could. Dave invited them to stay for leftovers from the roast beef, but Alex said his mother was expecting them for dinner and they needed to be on their way. However, he promised to come back the following morning to finish cleaning up the debris.

“Keep track of the hours you’ve spent,” Jared said. “Dad will want to pay you for your work.”

“No way, Little Bud!” Joel responded. “This is our good deed for the week. As naughty as we’ve been, we’re gonna need all the good deeds we can claim when we get to the “Pearly Gates” or St. Peter is gonna keep us out for sure!”

Joel and Alex had barely left when the phone rang in the kitchen of the farmhouse. This time it was Bob Manson calling. He and Christine had been at the clinic all day and hadn’t heard about the bad weather in Iowa until the evening news came on. Jared told him that there wasn’t much crop damage and that all was being taken care of. He withheld the information about the tree because he didn’t want his father to worry.

“I’m relieved you’re all safe!” Bob exclaimed. “That takes a load off of my mind. Now, I have some news for you. The doctors here have found that some of my tendons have a lot of scar tissue on them. They’re going to do surgery tomorrow to scrape the bad stuff away and they’re convinced that I will, with therapy, be as good as new in a couple of months. I’m really excited to get this done!”

After he visited with his son for a few more minutes, Bob asked to talk to Dave and Dustin. They held the phone between them so they could both hear at the same time. Dave gave a glowing report about how Jared led them to the old cellar and how he had gotten the generator going in the morning to make sure the milk didn’t spoil. The boys could hear Bob’s pride in his voice. They could almost see his smile beaming through the wires which connected them.

If you are enjoying this story, let David know: david.lee@castleroland.net