Page 65 of Talk to Me

Dad shrugged. “Never heard of it, but if Evie’s yammering on about it, it must be something special and trendy.”

“Why does Evie have Peepers?” I asked. “I’ve been wondering that for the last few days.”

“God only knows,” Dad said as we exited the barn. “I let your mom deal with her phone usage. Grab those doors, would you, Theo?”

Dad kept walking, so I set the propane tank down and turned to help Theo close the doors to the barn. He seemed to have no clue how to close a door if it was attached to a barn, so I figured some help would be welcome. Once the barn was closed, I grabbed the tank and dashed after Dad, Theo jogging to keep up.

“Buster’s getting up at butt-early-thirty to make sure the turkeys are smoked,” Dad explained as we trudged back across the yard. “Then he’s gonna come over here and help me do the frying. I’ll need to get to the store later to exchange tanks. Your Mom says she needs your help in the kitchen, so you gotta deal with the women this year.”

“Oh, gee,” I said playfully, “I don’t get to risk getting blown up with the men this time?”

Dad shoulder checked me and laughed as we stopped outside the house. He set the fryer down a few yards from the back door and I set the empty propane tank next to it. Dad leaned back and stretched, reaching to the sky with both arms. His back audibly cracked and then he popped his neck.

“Getting old is for shit,” he said, then held his hand out. “Nice to meet you, Theo.”

Theo took his hand and gave it a shake.

“So, you boys in the same classes?” he asked.

“Some,” Theo said. “Um, American Literature and Economics of Information.”

“I know what one of those things is,” Dad said. “You dating my son?”

Theo gulped. Laughing, I waved Dad off.

“He’s here because I didn’t think it was right that he ate turkey sandwiches in the dining hall alone for the rest of the week,” I said. “Stop it.”

Dad shrugged. “Reasonable question. You’re gay. He’s gay. Both handsome boys. He came home with you. Gotta ask.”

“Thank you?” Theo managed.

“It’s nothing like that,” I said. “Theo’s already put up with Mom and Evie. Give him a break.”

Dad thought for a moment.

“That’s fair,” he said. “I’ll tone it down. Sorry, Theo.”

Theo squeaked out, “It’s fine.”

As if she’d been summoned by my mentioning her name, the backdoor flung open and Evie practically flew down the stairs. Before she could be stopped, she’d sidled up to Theo and grabbed his right hand with both of hers. Staring up at him adoringly, all Theo could do was look down at her and smile back.

“What do you want?” I asked her.

“Mom said lunch is ready and she’s tired of waiting on you,” Evie said, not taking her eyes off of Theo’s.

“Then we better get in there,” Dad announced, clapping his hands together.

Evie pulled Theo towards the steps, still staring up at him like she’d never seen another person before.

“I got ringworm from playing with the chickens,” she said suddenly.

As they started up the steps, Theo shot a horrified look at me over his shoulder. Dad and I laughed loudly as the four of us made our way inside for lunch.

Somehow, we made it through lunch without Theo running away. I half expected him to scream for mercy and dash from the house hollering about crazy farm people, but he handled my family fairly well. As the day went by, helping Mom get things ready for Thanksgiving, putting the leaves in the dining room table, setting up the kids’ table in the living room, and doing some last-minute cleaning, Theo loosened up. It occurred to me that he finally realized my family simply had no filter. They weren’t dangerous, simply uncouth.

We helped Dad with some of his chores and I took Theo out to meet the chickens and collected the eggs that had been laid since the morning check. Fascinated by farm life, I watched as Theo took pictures and videos of practically everything we did. When Dad sent us out to saw down the yearly Christmas tree, Theo was beside himself with awe.

Explaining to Theo that we were cutting down the tree before Thanksgiving, he had nothing but questions. I explained that cutting it down now and standing it up in a bucket of water in the barn allowed it to get nice and hydrated, and some of the loose needles could fall off outside instead of in the house. When Dad set it up in the house the day after Thanksgiving, it would last longer after the long soak and de-needling in the barn. The whole process helped to ensure that it would last through the season.