Chapter 1 #2
When he looked at his gas gauge, he had an eighth of a tank left and it was the wee hours of the morning. Avery had been watching for something, anything, that looked promising, but he’d seen nothing. Stopping at a gas station in northeastern Texas to refill, he looked at the bulletin board there and just as he was turning away, thinking there was nothing of any interest to him, he spotted something. It was a hand-written note.
For sale: One farm. About 200 acres, give or take a few. I’ve raised tobacco on it, and corn and soybeans. Got some cows too. Tell me what you’ll give me for it and we can dicker.
Something flew through Avery’s mind and he tore off a strip with the phone number, then went back to the counter and asked the clerk, “Is there a motel somewhere around here?”
“Yeah, there’s one back over there across the interstate,” the young girl told him, pointing to the exit’s overpass, “but it ain’t very nice. It’s cheap though.”
“Thanks.” Heading out to his truck, he hopped in and drove across to The Tucker City Inn. Original name , he snickered to himself. There was a “VACANCY” sign blinking out front, and sure enough, he got a room for a little over thirty dollars.
The door opened to a tiny little space with a full-size bed. It was dingy and run down, but it was clean, though it smelled of mildew and old cigarette smoke. Avery brushed his teeth and stripped down, then crawled under the sheet and blanket and fell asleep almost immediately.
When he woke at sunrise―the curtains did little to keep the sunlight out―he thought of the note from the night before and rummaged around in his pockets until he found the little scrap of paper. His hands were shaking as he dialed the number, and it was answered with a croaky, “Hello?”
“Hello. My name is Avery and I saw your note on the bulletin board at the gas station last night. Is your farm still for sale?”
There was a chuckle on the other end before the voice wheezed out, “Why yes, son, it is.”
Something stirred inside Avery’s chest, and he recognized it even though he hadn’t felt it in years. It was excitement. He might be about to make a huge mistake, but it would be his mistake, not one someone else forced on him. “So how much do you want for the farm?”
“Well, I don’t rightly know. Why don’t you come on out here and look around? Then you can decide what you think it’s worth.”
“Yes, sir! I can do that. If you’ll give me some idea where it is, I’ll come right on out,” he said, grabbing a notepad and a pen from the desk in the little motel room. He jotted down the things the man told him and when he had it all down, he said, “Now it may take me a bit to find it, but I’ll be there. Don’t sell it before I have a chance to look at it. Please?”
The voice on the other end laughed. “Son, I put that note up there four months ago and you’re the first person who’s called about it! I think it’ll keep.”
“Yes, sir! Thank you, sir!” Avery almost sang out. A farm! His grandparents had lived on a farm when he was a child and he remembered visiting there, helping his grandmother feed the chickens and his grandfather slop the hogs. Then they’d gotten older and sold the farm, and he’d been sad when it wasn’t there to run to anymore in rough times. Ben had never cared about it, but Avery had loved it.
He punched the address he’d been given into his GPS and drove for what seemed like too long, checking mailboxes and looking around, until he found what the man had told him to look for—a mailbox with the number “14396” on it, the post set into an old milk can. Avery turned right into the drive and stepped down on the gas.
The drive turned out to be long enough to be considered a road, at least to Avery, and a poor one at that. It was rutted and showed signs that it had been almost impassable in the rainy season. It took everything Avery had to keep the truck from bottoming out or running off the edge. Worse yet, it seemed to go on forever. How far back in here is this place? he wondered. The little path cut through a thicket of trees and when he came out on the other side, Avery gasped.
There, in a clearing, stood a turn-of-the-century farmhouse, complete with wrap-around porch and gingerbread trim. Avery’s jaw dropped. It was a bit run-down and in dire need of paint, but it was still quaint and charming. An old truck from the thirties or so sat in the yard, weeds growing up around it, and a steam-powered tractor sat rusting beside an old barn about one hundred yards away. The entire scene looked like something in a painting, and Avery’s heart started to pound.
He wanted this, this escape, the green grass and big trees and old porch swing. It called to him like nothing had in a long time, and he wondered if he could make anything happen with the land. As he sat in the truck and stared, the screen door on the front opened and a tiny, stooped man shuffled out onto the porch. He glanced up and lifted a hand in greeting, so Avery shut off the truck’s engine and opened the door. “Hello!” he called out toward the old man.
“Howdy there, son, how are ya?” the little gentleman called back, so Avery made his way to the porch. “You the one what called about the farm?”
“Yes, sir, I am. Name’s AveryHolcomb.” Avery extended his hand toward the old gent.
The fellow took it and shook it heartily. “Nice to meet ya. I’m SirusKinsey. So you’re wantin’ to buy you a farm, are ya?”
Avery shrugged. “I think I want to buy this farm. Can you tell me a little bit about it?”
The old man gestured toward the porch. “Come on up and have a seat and I’ll tell ya how I got this here place.” Avery stepped up onto the porch and noticed that, for all its rag-tag appearance, the porch floor was solid, not spongy. When he’d taken a seat, Sirus sat down in an adjacent chair and mopped his forehead with a faded bandana. “Well, I got this farm here from my granddaddy. His daddy bought it just after the Civil War ended. The wife and I raised four kids here, three boys and a girl. Didn’t none of ’em want the place. They all moved off to the city. You from the city, son?”
Avery nodded. “Yeah, pretty much. Well, I mean, I grew up in Tennessee, outside Nashville, but we lived in the city. Clarksville.”
“Purdy place. I been there. So you’re no stranger to country ways then.”
“No, sir, I’m not.”
“Whatcha been doin’ since you got outta school?” Sirus asked. “I mean, you ain’t no little kid.”
“No, sir, I’m not. I’m thirty-six. My family owns a business in Clarksville, but some things happened and I really don’t want to be there anymore.”
Sirus fixed two dim eyes on Avery. “So you cain’t get along with your family then?”
“It’s not that. It’s… well, my wife divorced me to marry my brother.” Avery hadn’t expected the words to sting so much, but they did. He supposed they always would.
“Divorced you to marry your brother! Why, son, I don’t blame you for getting outta there. That’s pretty low if you ask me,” Sirus belted out, surprising Avery with the strength in his words. “That’s damn low, and I don’t use cuss words lightly.”
“Yes. It’s pretty low. And my mother thought it was all just fine.”
Sirus let out a low whistle and shook his head. “That’s awful. Boy, I think you need a new family!”
Avery chuckled. “I think you’re right.”
“So let’s talk about this here farm. Wanna get in your truck and let me show you around?”
“Sure!” Avery headed out to the truck and opened the door for Sirus. The old man climbed right in and away they went. As Avery drove, Sirus pointed out the ponds, barns, different fields and the crops that had been planted there, and other features of the land. It was beautiful and green, and Avery was completely enthralled with it.
When they got back to the house, Avery parked the truck and turned to Sirus. “I thought you said there were two hundred acres here.”
“Yeah, give or take a few.”
Avery looked out at Sirus from under his brow, his forehead dipping into a deep V. “Mr.Kinsey…”
“That’s Sirus to you, son.”
“Sirus,” Avery tried again, “there’s got to be at least a thousand acres here.”
“Yeah, well, two hundred, give or take a few,” Sirus said again, a big smile stretching across his face.
“So how much do you want for this place?”
Sirus sat and stroked his chin. “Whaddya gimme for it?”
Avery shrugged. He had no idea what a piece of property like that would cost. The only thing he’d ever owned was that house Shannon had wanted in the country club subdivision, and that was pitifully overpriced. “Can you give me some idea? I mean, I really don’t know what to offer you. I don’t want to shoot myself in the foot, but I also don’t want to screw you.”
“Son,” Sirus said, shaking his head, “this place didn’t cost me a penny, so anything you give me will be profit on my part.” He sat for another minute, then finally said, “How ’bout a hundred dollars an acre?”
Avery shook his head in disbelief. No way was he about to screw the old guy over. “No. How about five hundred dollars an acre?”
Sirus’s eyes went wide. “Oh, lordy! How ’bout three hundred dollars an acre?”
Avery chuckled. “I have to say, I’ve never had a seller negotiate down on a price with me.”
Sirus cut his eyes at Avery. “You planning on cutting this place up and making one-a them subdivisions out of it?”
“NO! Absolutely not! I want to learn to farm it, you know, and live here in the peace and quiet.”
Sirus snickered. “Then two hundred and fifty an acre.”
Avery threw up his hands and laughed. “You drive a hard bargain! Okay, I’ll give you three hundred an acre and not one penny less!”
Sirus let out a belly laugh. “You know what I’m-a doin’ with the money?” Still laughing, Avery shook his head. “I’m-a goin’ to the Bahamas! I ain’t never been there and I hear there’s lots of purdy girls there! And I wanna see a few afore I die.”
“Good for you! I’ll give you cash, if that’s okay.”
Sirus nodded. “I think that’ll be fine. And find you a lawyer to draw up a deed.”
“I sure will.”
Sirus slipped down from the cab of the truck and stood in the open door. “Well, come on in and see your new home.”
Avery followed Sirus in and looked around the house. It might’ve been old, but it was solid. The stairs creaked a little as they climbed them, but the banister was sturdy. Upstairs there were four bedrooms, and Avery realized one of them could very easily be turned into a bathroom and closet for the master bedroom. And there was even a balcony over the back porch at the rear of the master bedroom, and big French doors that led out to it. When he stepped out and looked across the land, Avery felt something he’d never felt before.
He felt at home. Even though he knew absolutely nothing about farming, he knew deep down inside that it was the right thing to do, to buy that place and connect with the land. “Whaddya think, son?” Sirus asked, leaning on the balcony railing.
“I think it’s beautiful. I feel very lucky right now,” Avery said, almost choking up. “I hope I can do your great-grandpa proud.”
Sirus clapped him on the back. “I’m sure you can, son. I’m sure you can.”
* * *
The title work had been quick and painless, and Avery drove out to the farm to find Sirus packing up some things. “You leaving so soon? Can I help you?”
“Nah, but thanks. I’m not taking much. You can have the furniture and stuff. I’m just taking my personal things and going to the city. I’ll rent a place there until I can get my passport ready and get some travel plans made.” Sirus was throwing things into boxes and Avery wasn’t sure how he even knew what he was doing, but he seemed to be happy about moving out.
“Aren’t you going to miss this place?” Avery asked.
“Yeah, I will. But I worked it my entire life. It’s time to play!” the old man said, laughing.
In an hour, Sirus had packed up and loaded up everything he wanted to take, then said his goodbyes to Avery and drove away. The house was silent when Avery finally whispered to himself, “I own this. I just bought myself a farm.” Then he started to laugh hysterically. “What the hell have I done? I don’t know shit about farming!” he cackled to no one. “I’ve lost my mind!” And he laughed all the way to bed.
* * *
Avery got up the next morning and made some coffee before going outside. He looked around at the stuff in the yard and decided maybe he’d start selling some of it off. It wasn’t needed, and then he could mow the grass and make the place look nice.
He went into town and hired a crew to come and work on the house, with a promise that they’d get to work in two days. They’d come highly recommended by the attorney who’d done the title work, so he took it that they hadn’t been sued for not doing work properly.
His next stop was at the county extension office. They set up meetings with him and an agricultural expert who could help him understand what would need to be done and get a partnership set up with some other farmers who would be willing to help him. Avery left that office feeling more hopeful than he had in a long time.
Six weeks had passed and he was starting to get a handle on what it would take to run the farm. It was too late in the season to plant anything that year, but he did have the cattle that Sirus had left behind, and he knew he could have them slaughtered in the fall and sell the meat to make some money. Plus he had plenty of money left from his trust fund and he could skate by for the fall and winter months. The house was coming along nicely, and he’d bought a few more furnishings that made it look very homey. Some days he’d go into town for something and couldn’t wait to get back home.
Home. It felt like a home to him, even though he was there alone. The town only had one bar, and he went there a couple of times. Some of the local guys asked him to play pool with them, and he’d had fun. One had invited Avery to his house for dinner, and another asked him about going to a ball game. He was making friends. That didn’t surprise him. He’d never had trouble in that way. Sure, the people in the little northeast Texas town of Tucker City were different than his friends in Tennessee, but not in a bad way. Things were going pretty good for him and he was feeling better about himself than he had in awhile.