I slip my hand into his as we walk, threading our fingers together, and he squeezes it tight. The morning is calm and carries a bit of a bite now that we’re into September, with soft fog hovering over the field beside us, catching the first rays of sunlight as it rises. It looks like the entire surface of the field is glowing, and I pull in a deep breath as I just take it all in. Everything is still, quiet, beautiful, and perfect.
“Morning!” Papa calls from his seat on the porch of my grandparents’ house as we approach.
“Morning,” I say, and Levi just lifts his coffee in greeting as he yawns.
Papa chuckles, picking up his own mug as steam curls up from the top.
The door opens, and Mama steps out in her housecoat and slippers, with two paper bags in her hands. “Hi, boys.”
“Hi, Mama.” I walk up the steps, and Levi follows as Winston bounds ahead of us with his tail wagging a mile a minute.
Mama hands a bag each to me and Levi with a smile, then reaches into her housecoat pocket to pull out a treat for Winston. He immediately sits and lifts his paw, holding it out for her like he does every morning.
“What’s the plan for today?” Papa asks from his chair.
I shift my gaze over the farm. “Harvesting for the west field begins tomorrow, so I’m doing some maintenance around the farm today.”
“Fixing the fan in the storage shed first?” he asks.
I narrow my eyes at him, letting my gaze drop to his plaid housecoat, slippers, and coffee mug. “Just when I think you’re actually taking the steps to retire.”
Papa gives me a confused look. “Silas, how many times do I have to tell you? I’ve been retired for years.”
I roll my eyes as Mama chuckles and swats his shoulder.
Papa shifts his gaze to Levi next to me, who is halfway through another yawn.
“And you?” Papa asks.
Levi blinks a few times and looks between us. “What?”
“What’s your plan today?” Papa asks, lifting his mug to his lips with a chuckle.
“Oh.” Levi nods. “I’m working on optimizing storage ventilation and outbound logistics scheduling. Trying to line up airflow consistency with shipment timing so we’re reducing loss and holding quality longer.”
The words float over my head, and I try to hold on to them to make sense of it. But I just let them go and don’t even bother, watching as Levi yawns yet again. Even half asleep, he’s brilliant.
“Sounds easy enough,” Papa says with a smirk, reaching down to scratch Winston as he leans against his legs.
I huff out a laugh and slip my hand around the back of Levi’s neck, giving him a small shake as he looks like he’s about to fall asleep standing up. “Let’s go.”
Mama kisses both of us on the cheek before we head back down the steps and towards the farm, Winston leading the way, stopping every few feet to investigate something only he finds interesting.
When we reach the yard, we head right for the storage shed where I had already left my tools to start working on the fan.Andnotbecause Papasuggestedit.
The inside of the storage shed is filled with long, sloped piles of potatoes, with each variety held in its own bay between wooden dividers. We walk towards the middle of the long shed, stopping in front of the massive pile of russet potatoes and one of the large ventilation fans mounted high along the wall. It isn’t pushing air the way it should, so airflow is uneven acrossthis pile of potatoes. And with this much product sitting here, it won’t take long for that to turn into a problem.
Levi drops onto the concrete near my toolbox and pulls out both fried egg sandwiches Mama made, handing one to me. Winston plants himself between us, and his eyes quickly dart between our hands as he waits for something to fall.
I take a bite, then set mine down on the paper bag out of Winston’s reach before opening my toolbox and pulling out a screwdriver.
“At least sit and eat first,” Levi says, watching me with a smirk as he chews.
“I am eating. And basically sitting,” I say around a mouthful, pointing to my mouth, and then gesturing to my crouched position.
He rolls his eyes and takes another bite, but continues to smile at me.
“Hey, boys.”
