The cool liquid slid down my throat, but it didn’t quite hit the spot. Just as I was wondering where my weekly grocery delivery was, I heard the faint sound of tires rolling over dirt and gravel.
Over the rim of my cowboy hat, I lifted my chin and noticed Mike, my delivery driver, pulling up on my property. I always looked forward to Mike's visits. Out here in the middle of nowhere, he was one of my only pals, even if he was a human. I didn't hold that against him, though. He was a good guy.
I stood from the chair and tipped my hat to him in greeting as he stepped out of the van and slid the back door open to where the waiting groceries were.
“Afternoon, Jake,” he acknowledged.
“How’s life treating you?” I asked in a similar southern drawl to Mike’s.
“Oh, you know.” Mike chuckled as he began reaching for bags inside the van. “Same as usual.”
“Aw, c'mon, gimme some juicy gossip. You’re my lifeline to the outside world, you know."
Mike gave me an empathetic smile. “You could always come and visit the town, you know.”
I shoved my hands into the pockets of my blue jeans and shrugged, gazing around the perimeter of my property. “Nah. Got too much to do around here.”
“Your spring foals finding their legs yet?"
I grinned. "Took 'em some time, but they're finally lookin' like real horses instead of toothpicks."
Mike chuckled and began to hook the grocery bags around his arms to carry them up to my porch.
“I’ll get the rest,” I said, noticing the much needed bottles of cola in one of the last bags. When I lifted it, they clanked together. My parched throat itched to glug one down.
Water was great and all—and I knew it was important to stay hydrated out in the desert—but damn, if I didn't love my sweet fizzy drinks. That was one thing humans did right. Cola and sweet tea and lemonade... You couldn't beat that stuff.
When we were finished gathering the bags, I pointed to the straw welcome mat on the threshold over the front door. “You can leave everything there. I’ll take care of it.”
“We have this argument every time, Jake," Mike said with a grin. "It's my job to carry it inside."
"Naw. Don't strain yourself, brother."
He finally relented. Mike was older than me and had a family so I didn't want him to pull a muscle or something.
I reached for my wallet in my back pocket, took out a tip for Mike and handed it over to him. Mike’s eyes always widened at the unexpectedly large tip, which I figured he’d get already be accustomed to receiving by this point.
“Thanks, Jake, I really appreciate that,” Mike said sincerely.
I nodded, then grabbed a clean toothpick to chew on. “Where you headed now?”
“Home. Your place was the last stop on my route today.”
I smiled at the mental image of Mike at home with his husband and three kids. "Family's waiting, huh?"
I felt a bit guilty for bugging him—poor Mike was probably in a hurry to get home—but I was feeling particularly lonely this afternoon and wasn’t too eager to get rid of my company.
"Yup. Kids are gettin' bigger every day." Mike’s face beamed with pride. “My youngest son's in the baseball league. He’s the star pitcher.”
I grinned, imagining a miniature version of Mike handling the bat. “That’s awesome, man.”
Mike tapped his phone screen to awaken it and held out a picture of a boy who looked about ten with freckled cheeks and curly auburn hair. He was grinning from ear to ear and was decked out in a baseball uniform and baseball hat, perched in position with a bat as if he were getting ready to knock a ball out of the park.
“Cute little fella,” I mentioned, pushing down the twinge of envy in my gut.
“Thanks.” Mike tossed a curious glance beyond my shoulder, to my closed front door. “What about you? Still no family?”
“Nah.” I shook my head, readjusted my cowboy hat on my head. “No family for me.” I tossed a glance at the groceries. “Although it probably seems like I eat enough to feed an entire family.”
