I spend the first couple of hours trimming, hoping to get more instructions on the ones that are completely dead.People get attached to interesting things, and I can’t put a tree back together once it’s been cut down.
A car comes down the dusty road and turns into the long driveway. I’m too far away to see the make and model, but maybe it’ll be the people who live here and can give a definitive answer on the trees.
Terry and Brenda have been helping carry away the branches I cut, putting them into the dumpster. It makes it nice that we don’t have large piles of branches sitting around. I can move the ladder without issue.
“I’m going to see what to do about these old trees,” I say, pointing to the two dead ones.
They nod and wipe their foreheads, sitting down on an already fallen log.
I’m tired too, and yet it’s only eleven o’clock, not even time for a lunch break yet. Between Connie and Laney, my body is getting in workouts it’s never seen before.
Okay, that’s not true. I’ve done plenty of yard work in my life. It’s just been a long time since I’ve done more than mow my next-door neighbor’s lawn.
The property is a lot bigger than I originally thought, and I’m out of breath once again by the time I get around the front to the driveway.
The car that’s parked causes me to freeze. I just worked on that car this past week.
What is Laney doing here?
She’s not in the car now, and I don’t see anyone in the garage, so I walk over to the front door and knock. I wait for several seconds before I ring the bell, hoping to figure out the connection.
There are plenty of pens for animals around back. Could this be her grandparents’ farm?
I chuckle at the thought before walking around the side of the house again. There are still plenty of limbs to trim. Maybe we’ll get an answer later.
I glance over at the animal pens, expecting to see people in the bright neon yellow vests we’re all wearing from the service company.
Instead, I see a familiar high, messy bun bouncing as she throws out what looks like chicken feed.
It takes some maneuvering, but I’m able to walk over without her seeing me. Is she able to handle being surprised? I feel like that’s an interesting attribute to know. There was the deer’s body in her apartment, but I wasn’t there when she initially found it.
“Hey! What—” I blurt out, but something hard hits me in the leg. I turn to find a goat using its head to butt my knee, making it hard to stay completely balanced. Glancing up, it’s too late to move when Laney turns around with her fist balled up and swings, knocking me square in the nose.
Blood streams down my face, and I lean over, letting it drain away from my clothing.
“Burton?” she says with a gasp.
I look up at her with a weak smile and say, “Yep, it’s me, Burton.”
“I’m so sorry. So, so sorry. Let me run in and get a rag for you. Actually, it would be better if you just came in so I can clean you up.”
She waves for me to follow, guiding me gently with her hand on my elbow.
“What are you doing here?” she asks.
One hand is below my nose so I don’t leave a trail of red spots along the older linoleum flooring, while the other gestures to the yellow vest.
“My sister signed me up for a service project. What are you doing here?” I’m pretty sure I already know the answer, but I don’t need to look like a stalker.
“This is my grandparents’ home. The little farm I grew up on? This is it,” she says, leaving me standing over the sink. She grabs a rag and gets it wet, squeezing out the excess water before lifting it to my nose. “Pinch the bridge there. Yeah, that’ll help slow it down a bit.”
“Are you sure you don’t want to use tissues or something? Paper towels? I don’t want to ruin your stuff.”
Laney grins at me and says, “My grandma doesn’t use paper towels or napkins. It’s all cloth here.”
I frown a bit and pull the rag away just enough to ask, “Toilet paper?”
She laughs and says, “Oh, yeah, well, they buy that.”
