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I loved seeing the flicker of fear he tried to disguise in those magnetic gray eyes lined in darker gray eyeliner. They were stormy eyes, and I knew from the fleeting time around Theo that they reflected his mind and maybe even his spirit.
He was a mystery to me. Sure, a rich, spoiled brat, but there was more to learn. No one on the planet was all one story. That brat was only a tiny piece of him.
“Maybe I have one too.”
“Maybe I should take it from you if you do have one. I don’t think you do, in any case. I’m sure you’d have shown it to me already, thinking it would intimidate me.”
His eyes narrowed into slits as he glared at me with all the hatred he could muster. “Stop messing with me.”
“I’ve yet to start messing with you.”
He went to the stove and peeked into the pan. “These are vile.”
“They’re food. Eat, don’t eat.”
“I’ll get Door Dash.”
I chuckled and took my empty bowl to the sink. “By all means.”
I watched him sit at the round, metal table on a chair with cracked cushioning, and he started swiping. He thumbed in some words as he went, then swiped the screen again. “What the living fuck?”
“I’ll give you one hint. We’re in the middle of nowhere.”
“This is unacceptable!”
I couldn’t help but laugh, which just managed to piss him off, and he came up right to me. I turned away from the stained sink and looked down at him. Then, the little fucker lifted on his tiptoes and screamed right into my face, “You are fired! Get out!”
There were a few things in my life that I didn’t take, wouldn’t take, and that was one. The only thing he could have done to anger me more would have been to spit in my face. I smiled pleasantly and asked, “Please don’t scream in my face. I’ll give you one warning.”
No words came, but he rose another inch and screamed, “AHHHHHH!”
That was enough for me. I grabbed Theo and threw him over my shoulder. The entire time, his screaming got worse. I didn’t care after that. Then he started to pound his fists on my back and tried to kick, but I had his legs pretty confined in my one arm.
It came to me quickly. See, at first, I was going just to throw Theo on his leave, but another idea bloomed, making me incredibly happy. I walked outside and headed east, right to the pigpens.
“Put me down immediately! You’re fired! Do you even understand English? What’s wrong with you?”
On and on, he went with his pitiful protests, but I’d already had enough of him. That didn’t take long.
Over the rocky path, around stands of sunflowers and tall grasses, through a well-worn trail, I took him and knew his little fists might give me a bruise or two. I’d had much worse injuries than he could inflict with those tiny fists.
The sound of the pigs got louder the closer we got, and Theo finally figured out what I was planning. “Keep me away from those pigs! If you get me anywhere near them, I’ll have you killed! My family won’t put up with this! They’ll hunt you to the ends of the earth!”
I rolled my eyes at that, but my heart went to him after finding out his family cared so little for him. But he also had to be taught a lesson.
I didn’t want to endanger him when we got to the animals. I knew pigs could be vicious, and there were several pens, all filled with the creatures. They all backed up to a sectioned enclosure for their shelter.
I chose a pen that had only three modestly sized sows. There weren’t many pigs, like in some other pens, but the ground was nice and muddy. The sows watched me as I brought Theo around to the front of me, and before he could finish his threat to have me killed again, I quickly tossed the guy over the fence and right into the middle of a puddle.
He screeched like he’d been shot, stabbed both, and scrambled to get to his feet as the sows backed away from the noisy man. Of course, I was ready to jump over and rescue him if they got too near, not wishing Theo actual harm.
The scene was possibly the funniest thing I’d ever watched. Slipping around in the very slick mud and pig shit, Theo had a tough time getting to his feet, and the two times he did, he fell face-first right back into the mud.
The yelling stopped; however, after he slipped back into the mud the first time, he’d gotten a mouthful of the stuff. The pigs were starting to wander around, so I climbed over, helped him to his feet, then lifted him back over the fence before climbing back out myself.
He didn’t say a word as he stormed back to the house, stomping across the porch and slamming the door behind him after he entered. I saw the mud on the porch, then as I went inside the house, I saw muddy footprints all through the hall, up the stairs, and I was sure all the way to the bedroom and bathroom. Soon, the voice I was getting used to screamed, “This shower is disgusting!”
I laughed but went to the utility area of the mud porch that was off the backdoor near the kitchen and found a mop and bucket. As I filled the pail with soapy water, I listened, hearing nothing.
