6. Winnie
“ O kay, okay, show me Crate and Barrel and then I’m done, I swear.”
“Winnie, you promise?”
“I promise, just them…and Milk.”
“Milks been dead for three years.”
“God rest his soul, little goat Milk.”
Lottie choked a laugh on my screen where I had us Face timing before I opened up the roll up window of my truck. “Winnieee…come on, I’ve got stuff to do.”
“Okay, fine. Just Crate and Barrel. That’s it.”
Typically I tried my best to refrain from seeing anything on the farm. I avoided pictures, social media- which was a waste land for me anyway, and never asked my family for more than the plain ‘How’s everyone doing?’ It was easier that way, so I wasn’t constantly reminded of what I left behind.
But now that I was going to do my best to make it back home, now that I actually had a shot, I planned to be Face timing every single one of my family members and forcing them to show me updates on the place I would soon call home again.
Lottie turned her camera around, her voice dripped of sweet southern charm that I desperately missed up here. “Crate! Barrel!” She called out to our two Watusi cows.
Before I left, her parents bought them and put them in the center field, not too far off from the main house. We were obsessed with Crate and Barrel, the store- not the cows, and considering we didn’t have one anywhere near us, we took our love and transformed it into those beautiful calf’s. At night we’d climb to the highest loft and look out at the field where you could make out the large, curved horns in the distance. Then there was our beloved goat, Milk. Who we named Milk because our Nana would tell us to go ‘milk the goat’. It stuck pretty easily.
Sure enough, two big bulls came around the corner, sniffing Lottie and waiting for some food, considering she still fed them for me while I was away. They technically were all hers, but she insisted I ‘keep’ one. She claimed it would bring me back home one day, I guess in a way it was.
“Look how big you two are!” I squealed. “What handsome boys, my goodness.”
“Smart too, they’ve been getting bigger and better daily I swear. Although we run out of food easier too, they eat more than the entire left field combined.”
I snorted a laugh, imagining my cousin Knox in front of the field behind his house, yelling at the cows that he ‘had to save enough for the Watusi’s.’
“I can’t wait to see them in person.”
“I can’t wait to see you in person.” Lottie smiled as she turned the camera back to herself. “It’s been too long.”
“Way too long,” I agreed. “But I had to make sure I had everything…wrapped up before coming back.” My life toss up years ago had taken this long to truly come back to somewhat normal enough for me to feel open to even calling.
She lifted a hand in defense. “I’m not blaming you, you know I don’t care as long as Marshall is out and Winnie is in.”
“Well, Marshall is certainly out.” Saying his name out loud made my whole body cringe in vibrant shivers. “Alright, I’ve got to get there’s people outside, love you, miss you!”
“See you soon, Winnie Girl.” Lottie cheered and right before she hung up I heard, “Crate, leave Barrel’s ball alone!”
My smile only picked up more. I was so ready to see them. Not just the cows of course, but everyone. All of my cousins, aunts, uncles, and of course my grandparents. But they were the hardest call, so I saved them for my strongest days.
A knock rattled outside my order window, a woman’s voice following. “Excuse me, are you open?”
I sat up straight and set my phone to the side near the register, before lifting my hands to open the window. “So sorry, I was just-” the words coming out of my mouth paused entirely, floating out into the air around a man and woman right outside my window.
Something was…off about this.
The man has a very artificial looking mustache, black strands in a little too perfectly groomed design. Sunglasses and a hoodie pulled up, staring at the ground and kicking lose gravel at his feet. I lifted my eyes just across the way and saw a certain rival of mine and his food truck to be missing entirely. My eyes went back to the mustached man and I squinted.
Crew. It was Crew. With a mustache. A horribly fake one. Besides him was a woman who wore a terrible excuse for a wig, streaks of blonde peeking out of the short black bob. She also wore sunglasses- pink ones with daisies on them- and a nude trench coat.
I’d seen her before, ordering food from Crew and hanging out with him and his brothers outside the truck. If she were to be his girlfriend, or any kind of love interest, then I felt bad for her. Not just for putting up with him, a full time job in itself I was sure, but because I caught him looking at my boobs on the regular. I normally never minded, especially when his gaze was so…heated. I wasn’t blind, I knew what he was thinking when he looked at me. Other than my down fall, anyway. But the thought of him ogling me and then seeing another woman made me want to shout at her to run for the hills. Red flag dodged on my end.
A slow smile pulled at the corners of my lips as my gaze bounces between the two.
“How can I help you?”
Crew cleared his throat, lowering his baritone to something reminiscent of a man who’d been chain smoking for the last fifty years. “Yes, my honey and I would like to-”
“Honey?” The woman next to him pulled back and gave him a disgruntled look. “No, no, no. My name is Autumn Rainfire. Autumn Rainfire belongs to no man.” She attempted to brush back her hair, but her fingers tugged the black bob wig, exposing her blonde roots. She didn’t move to fix it. “Her priority is to the wind itself.”
Crew groaned and his sunglass covered eyes lifted to the menu above me. “Yes, well Autumn and I would like to order one of everything.”
I smiled sweetly enough to give them both a cavity.
One of everything. It took all of my strength not to smirk. This man had come here for some thieving of his own, that little hypocrite. Acting like he was so much higher than me with all his morals. Well, if it was ideas he was coming to steal, I was going to make the best of this.
“Of course,” I answered in my every day southern tone, determined to let this cheater assume I had no idea what he would look like under a mustache and colored brows. “Give me just a little bit and I’ll call out your order Mr…”
“Dick!” Autumn spoke up and Crew elbowed her arm.
“I prefer Richard.” He cleared his throat.
“Yes, well, don’t we all?” I pulled back and got to work, smiling to myself the whole time.