Asher
Mr. Laurier sits at my kitchen table giving me a lecture about hooking up with his daughter Samantha.
“You really need to take charge here, Asher. Time's a wastin. You’ll never get her if you don’t go after her now.”
I wait for the coffee to finish brewing before I make any comments. Mr. Laurier came over at the crack of dawn, waking me up from a heavenly sleep. Consequently, I am not thrilled that he is here in my kitchen.
“Women are like cattle; you can shepherd them into doing anything, but you have to take the lead. You have to push them through the chute so to speak. That coffee done yet, boy?”
“Yes Mr. Laurier, it just finished brewing.”
I cross over from the kitchen to the table where Mr. Laurier is sitting. I hand him a mug of coffee. He lets me know that he drinks his coffee like a real man: black.
I chuckle as I put in lots of sugar and cream in my coffee. I guess I’m nowhere near a “real” man.
“Boy, I expect you to be courting my daughter by the end of summer and who knows, we might just have us a Christmas wedding. What do you say?”
I swallow my coffee and try to think of the best answer I can give Mr. Laurier but nothing comes to mind. I just grin like an idiot and continue to drink my coffee.
“This is an excellent coffee boy, I ought to get one of these machines.”
I sip on my coffee some more and pray that Mr. Laurier gets tired of talking and leaves. For twenty minutes I listen to the many reasons a union with his daughter would pay off for me. I don’t like the way he speaks of his daughter like she’s a prize heifer that is up for grabs.
“Well, boy, I better be going. Daylight is burning. Don’t know why you’re here talking to me.”
“Goodbye Mr. Laurier, thanks for dropping by.”
Mr. Laurier leaves and I finish the last drop of my coffee. Does Laurier know what his daughter is like? She’s crazy when it comes to sex. I’ve never been with someone who is so wild and bold.
She is so out of my league. I usually date sweet girls who love to bake and keep a kitchen garden. I date these girls on purpose because I don’t want any stress in my life.
Keeping this ranch running is about all the stress I can take. Now, it is true that if I hook up with Samantha and we get married, I’ll have the wealth of her property in my hands. I wouldn’t have to worry so much about making a profit.
But I feel terrible about going out with Samantha because I want something. If I am going to be with a woman, I want it to be because I love and care about her. It’s not going to be because she’s got acreage and livestock that I envy.
Now Samantha is easy on the eyes with her long blonde hair and her legs that go on forever. I could get used to seeing her every day, that’s no problem. She makes me nervous, but she is also a kindred spirit.
She understands the land and what it means to a Texan- even though she’s been living in New York City for years now. You can’t teach someone how to love the land, you have to be born with that trait. You’ve got to know that the land comes first and everything else is second.
Samantha would understand how hard I need to work to make things happen around here. I don’t think she’d mind that I get up at the crack of dawn and sometimes work until the dead of night. And, at the end of a long day, it would be awesome to get in bed with a warm sexy body like hers.
Still and all, she stresses me out. I reach for my smartphone and look for her number in my contacts. I find her name and click to dial her number. I feel a lump in my throat from anxiety. It rings five times and I’m getting ready to hang up when she finally picks up.
“Hi Samantha, it’s Asher. How are things?” I ask.
“They’re simply fine. Thanks for asking.”
I swallow that lump and gather my courage.
“Would you like to go out tonight? I know it’s short notice so I will understand if you can’t make it.”
“Oh no, I’d be really happy to go out with you tonight. Where shall we go? You’ve absolutely got to let me know so that I can pick out something smart to wear.”
“I thought maybe we’d go dancing or catch a movie.”
There is silence on the phone for a couple of minutes. I think that maybe she is going to cancel our date.
“What about going to the movies? We could go see anything that you want to see. I don’t even mind if it’s a chick flick,” I say.