“What are you looking at?”
“Sorry, it’s just Facebook. I wanted to check on, wait, what?!” Kelly gasped.
“What is it?” I picked up my steaming mug and my phone and walked into the living room. I settled into the recliner seat, an old ratty thing but worn in and comfortable and set my tea down on the end table, my phone in my lap. I imagined my father spent many nights in this chair and I wondered what he was like and why he never wanted to meet me. Now it was too late
“This website! It’s calledMountain Matesand it’s for anyone looking for a mountain man. It mentions Appleridge.” Kelly explained, excitement in her voice.
“A website for mountain men? Are you serious?”
“Yes. You just need to make a profile and then you can search for people or swipe through profiles. I bet you’ll find someone who knows about apple orchards. There has to be, especially from this area where there’s a million of them.”
“Wait a second, slow down.” I lifted my mug to my lips and took a sip of tea, the liquid scalding my tongue.Ouch.“ThisMountain Mateswebsite. Is it a dating site?”
“Well, yes, but it’s for other things too. You could probably meet people for all sorts of reasons.”
I eyed her suspiciously. I needed to see this website for myself. I swiped my finger across my phone screen, moving out of the FaceTime call and into a blank website. I brought upGoogleand typed inMountain Mates.The website appeared at the top and I clicked it.
“Are you looking at it now?
“Yep. It’s most definitely for dating.‘Find your love match today!’“ I read from the main page.
Kelly waved. a hand at me. “Who cares? Put a profile that says you’re specifically looking for farmhand help on an orchard. And mention you’re not looking for love in the ad. That way you don’t lead anyone on.”
“Kels, I hardly doubt I’ll be leading anyone on. I doubt these young studs want an old lady like me.”
“You…I mean,we, are not old. Late thirties are the new early twenties.” Kelly winked into the camera, and I laughed before picking up my mug and sipping on my tea.
“Ha! Far from it. If I felt like I did in my early twenties, I’d whip this orchard into shape.”
“Okay, but honestly, just try it. What’s the worst that can happen? Someone messages you for a date and you tell them sorry I’m not interested in dating. Just apple farming. No biggie.”
“I’ll think about it. I’m sure there are other ways to find help around here.”
“Maybe so. But not as good as mine.”
The clocked tickedten o’clock pm. I flicked off the TV, turned off the lamp, and double checked I locked the house before heading upstairs to bed. After brushing my teeth and washing my face, I climbed into bed, turned the bedroom TV on low, and picked up my laptop resting on my nightstand.
It was a stupid idea, but I couldn’t get it out of my head. Not after seeing how hot some of those mountain men were on the website. They caught my attention as soon as I landed on there.
But I wasn’t looking for love. That ship had sailed long ago.
I clicked on the web browser and typed in Mountain Mates. The website loaded a few seconds later. Looking around, I discovered more like how to add a profile and how to search for a specific location. It was all based around love, friendships, and dating.
My thoughts ran wild. I shouldn’t, but why not, but no it should be fine, but no it wasn’t right to use the website for another purpose, but then why not? Fuck it.
I was making a profile. I clicked on the buttonJoin Today!and filled out my profile. I was very clear what I needed and also asked if there was a better place to find this sort of help, I’d love to be pointed in the right direction. I included a few pictures of the orchard to add to it and hit submit.
The next morning, my inbox was empty.
Not one response.
Over the next few days, I forgot about it as I dealt with paperwork from my father’s estate and lawyer meetings. I made a list of everything I wanted to fix in the house with guesstimates of prices. After doing some research about apple orchards, I bought some supplies online. I needed to start somewhere.
Kelly: Find any help yet??
Me: Not yet!
Her text reminded me to check the Mountain Mates inbox. Two new responses were waiting for me. One was a spammy ad about winning the lottery, but the other was an actual guy.
