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Tales from WannaBea Farm
It was harvest time in Nebraska and Irene was helping the neighbors feed the threshing crew. Threshing wheat was back-breaking, hot work and when the crew came in to lunch they were ravenous and looking forward to the homecooked meal they knew was waiting for them. This was a time when fast food was unknown. Irene stood at the window, watching one man in particular while he was washing up from one of the many pans of water that was laid out on a bench outside near the well. She had caught him looking at her several times also, but he always turned his eyes away quickly as soon as their eyes met. She wished that there was some way that she could really get his attention, make him really notice her. Sighing, she finished filling the tumblers with ice and carried them into the dining room where she distributed them around the table before pouring the tea. Just in time, too, as the men started piling in and seating themselves around the table. Passing the bowls around the table, telling jokes and shoveling food into their mouths, they were a happy, relaxed bunch. Tony ate slowly, watching Irene as she passed around the table, filling tea glasses and passing out platters of hot, fresh rolls. “How”, he wondered, “could I get her attention?” He was just an ordinary man, not nearly as good looking as so many of the other single men sitting around the table. “Oh well, she probably wouldn’t be interested in me anyway”, he thought as the ladies started clearing the dishes from the table before bringing out the coffee and desserts. “Would you like coffee?” he heard her say, and looking up he saw that she was standing right beside him. At first he was so shy that he couldn’t even answer, but then he heard himself saying, “Yes, please, but I only want a half cup.” And then, from out of nowhere he found himself specifying, “And I only want the top half, I don’t like the bottom of the cup.” The other men, overhearing him, laughed, wondering what she would say. But she said nothing as she stood there looking at him for a moment while he cringed inside, feeling like the worst kind of fool, before she turned and went to the kitchen. “There you are, a half cup of coffee, the top half, just like you ordered.” She said, sitting down the cup in front of him and continuing on around the table with more cups as the other men watched. Tony smiled, oblivious to the other men, he grabbed the sugar bowl and dumped in two spoons of sugar. Looking up, he saw her watching him and he felt good because apparently she had noticed him. Maybe his stupid wisecrack hadn’t been so bad after all. He added a little cream to his coffee, started to stir and realized there was something besides coffee in his cup. The rest of the table went wild with laughter as Tony, stirring, pulled out a dish rag! As he looked up at Irene, she smiled and said, “Well, I had to have something in the bottom”. Yep, they had definitely caught each others’ attention. HYPERLINK "mailto:jdstark18@yahoo. com" jdstark18@yahoo.com Look online for the rest of my stories at HYPERLINK "http://www.leoncountytoday. com" www.leoncountytoday. com. |
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