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The one electric light in the place was a hanging bulb with a cord that Noah pulled, lighting the dark room better so I could see where I’d be living for the short time I thought I’d be there.
In the corner was a pot-bellied stove, a small stack of wood next to it, along with newspaper and kindling. One other door, which I assumed led to the bathroom, and the furniture was simple and handmade of branches and logs, a cushioned armchair, two end tables, one by the chair and finally a bed, a double that the other table sat beside. There was an oil lantern on that table.
There were pillows and blankets, all fresh looking. The radio Noah mentioned was on a shelf made of one of the thick pieces of wood that held the walls.
“This is very nice.”
“I come here every couple weeks to keep the stovepipe cleaned out and make sure everything’s working. It’s real peaceful, and, well, I hope you don’t mind me saying it, but you look like you can use some peace.”
So, he’d seen more than I thought. I didn’t know I was wearing my troubles on my face, but there it was, plain and simple. “I… could. Thanks.”
“That door heads into the bathroom. It’s a compost toilet. Ever use one?”
“In the army, yes, sir.”
“Good. Shower is cold, so if you need a warm one, take one at the house. I’ll cook breakfast in the morning. Lunch I’ll likely make you a sandwich or something simple. Then, there’ll be supper at night, and you can bring your food back here, if you’re not in the mood for company. I’ll pay you two hundred a week besides the roof and food. I know that ain’t much for the work I’ll have you do, but I figure it’s probably more ‘an you’ve counted on making right now.”
“It is. Yes, sir.”
“I’m Noah. Savesirfor someone else.”
I couldn’t help but smile, but he left before I could say another word to him. Not that I knew what to say besides to thank him again.
I lay on the bed, the day having beaten me down to a nub, but the comfort of it, the relief, the hidden beauty, peaceful, yeah, all the peacefulness of the place, it hit me then. I wanted to fall asleep, but first, I lit the lantern and went outside to stop the generator. The quiet settled in the second the motor stopped, and all I heard was my breathing.
I don’t remember ever hearing that much… quiet. When my ears adjusted, subtle sounds came to me, the walking of one horse in the corral, hooves padding quietly on soft earth. I heard crickets, but a few, maybe two, off somewhere in the trees.
The breeze blew a little, then stopped, and a scuttling of a mouse or other small rodent could be heard somewhere in the barn.
When I went back into the soddy, I sat on the edge of the bed, getting off my boots, then I stood to get my chaps off, glad to be rid of them. I hadn’t grabbed my duffle from the truck, but I didn’t need a change of clothes. There was no way I wanted a cold shower, so I stripped off my pants and shirt and slipped under the sheet and blanket in my underwear.
Before three that morning, I felt the cold hitting me, and I got up to piss in the compost toilet, reminding me of my days back in the tents where I was stationed. Then I remembered the stove, and I got a fire lit, setting in a couple of pieces of wood that I thought would last until I woke in the morning.
That little stove heated the soddy fast, and I fell back asleep to wake to a nice warm house. I almost felt like I was home in that soddy. I couldn’t get used to that, I knew, but for the moment, it was home enough.
The light was strange, and I knew it was early morning. I reached for the nightstand to get my phone before I remembered I dumped it off that cliff. I laughed when I thought of that, dumping my tech, living in a house that was built probably a hundred years ago.
Thinking of the apartment, the smart house, with the tech in the fridge that told me when we were out of juice, the chip from the thermostat adjusted the temperature to a perfect seventy degrees, how Harvey liked it. I’d gone in a couple days from that, to having to build my own fire and had no phone to check the time.
And I fucking loved it.
I got dressed to head to the truck to get my duffle bag, and on the way, stopped to lean on the fence of the corral.
Those horses were beautiful, all meandering around, in no hurry to move, even toward me to check me out. I continued on to the barn and reached into the back of the truck bed to grab the duffle.
The lights were on in the big house, and I saw the silhouette of Noah through the front windows.
It was long and lean, that silhouette, and he was reading something he held in his hands. The dawn broke over the house. The colors it sent into the sky seemed like a flawless backdrop on the scene I was guiltily witnessing.
I wasn’t hurting anyone, I knew, just watching like that. I remember wondering how it must feel to casually stand in your own house and read something, not worrying about anyone telling you that you’re wasting your time, that there were chores to do.
The quiet, the beauty, it felt so good to be there, that I suddenly had pangs of fear at being forced to leave. I knew that I’d have to one day. I wasn’t fooling myself, but I found I liked it on the ranch.
Of course, I didn’t know if that would last. Noah could be a prick to work for, the weather could set in, and I was never a big fan of snow, but right in that moment, had fallen in love with the place.
I went to the house to knock with that brass knocker, and it wasn’t but a few seconds before Noah was opening the door. “Eli, hey. Hungry?”
“A little, but I’m looking for coffee and my list of things for the day.”
