“I’m sure you’re terribly sad,” I played along, looking out the window. “I bet you cry yourself to sleep every night.”
“I do. I use my teddy bear to mop up my tears and I also suck on my thumb,” he rambled, not missing a beat.
“Now that,” I couldn’t help laughing, “is something I’d love to see.”
“You can come over anytime,” he grinned. “There’s plenty of room in my bed for an extra snuggle buddy. But you already knew that,” he winked, laughing under his breath.
I had no comeback for that one and he knew it.
We grew quiet as he turned off the highway and drove along. The town soon disappeared, replaced by the country and a dirt road. A wooden fence kept cattle from crossing into the road and trees were everywhere, blanketing the sky around us.
“Where are we going?” I asked, unable to handle the suspense a moment longer.
“To answer your question.”
“I really hate show and tell,” I muttered under my breath. “You better not take me to a whorehouse or something.”
He let out a belly laugh and smiled crookedly. “You’re funny.”
“I was being serious,” I replied.
“I know you were,” he grinned at me, “that’s why it was funny.”
The dirt road narrowed into a driveway and I stared around in awe at all the animals. There were goats, cows, sheep, llamas, and the most beautiful horses I’d ever seen. “Wow,” I breathed, unable to keep myself from uttering the word.
“I know, right,” Jude agreed. “It’s beautiful here. My favorite place in the world.” He whispered the last part.
“I’ve never seen anything like this before,” I admitted, still in awe of the spectacular property.
“You’ve never been on a farm?” He asked, his tone of voice incredulous. “Isn’t that like a prerequisite to live here?”
“My parent’s are pretty citified,” I mumbled. “My mom would’ve complained that she was getting her shoes dirty and my dad wouldn’t have set foot at a place like this. Did you grow up here?” I realized immediately that maybe I shouldn’t have asked the question since our deal was one question a day, but I couldn’t help myself.
He answered anyway, despite my slipup in our plan. “Yes and no.”
“What does that mean?” I asked, my nose crinkling in confusion.
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He shrugged and I let it drop. I didn’t want him prying into my life, so I wouldn’t do the same to him.
The trees pulled away, hanging in a way that they almost framed the two-story white house. A porch wrapped around the front and sides. I could tell the home was old, and in need of a lot of work, but no less beautiful. A large red barn sat behind the house, looking exactly like I’d imagined one to look. If I peered far enough, I could see at least two more barns on the property. In the distance there were rows upon rows of cleared land, ready for the planting season.
Jude killed the engine on his truck and hopped out. I was left to follow.
He bounced up the rickety steps to the front door.
I was much slower, a bit afraid that the steps might cave in.
He opened the door and waved me inside ahead of him.
Like the exterior, the interior was obviously old and in need of repairs. Flowery pink wallpaper in the foyer peeled down and the wood floors needed to be sanded and re-stained. I still thought it was beautiful in a rustic, homey sort of way.
“Pap?” He called out. “Where are you?”
“Back here, boy!” Sounded a gruff voice from the back of the house.
Jude nodded his head for me to follow him.