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“Either way,” Mina huffs, “It was embarrassing.”
“Well, maybe you’ll have your own kids someday to embarrass,” I say, mainly to defend my actions.
“Anyway, I think it might be kind of cool to live in the middle of nowhere. We’ve lived in apartments my entire life. Plus, having you around a little more would be nice,” she says.
Mina’s confirmation, more than anything Grandpa Bob said, makes me ready to pack my bags.
As hard as it is to find the right man in the city, I doubt I’ll ever find one out there. Not that I’m looking, of course. Whoa! Where in the world did that thought come from? I haven’t even been entertaining the thought of dating. Actually, I haven’t seen any gorgeous guy to interest me. Not among the stuffy suits I work with, anyway.
“At least then I know I won’t die from eating moldy casserole,” Mina says, interrupting my reverie and grabbing her phone from my hands as she flounces off to her room.
I roll my eyes. Teenagers.
***
As I suspect, the deposition of the primary investigator lasts almost all day. I make it a point to leave on time, but not until after a long tirade from my boss about ‘being a good teammate’ and ‘appropriate work attire’ that really boils down to, ‘don’t leave before your bosses, and don’t wear another turtleneck.’ Somehow it makes me smile to walk away while he’s still ranting.
After I escape, I input the address into my phone and make the drive out to the new farm.
Grandpa and Mina are already there when I finally pull up.
He’s standing proudly with his arms crossed, surveilling his land, and my daughter’s snuggling with quite possibly the largest dog I’ve ever seen. They’re both wearing big smiles I haven’t seen on either of them in a while. Grandpa and Mina. Not the dog.
“What is that?” I ask her, after getting closer.
“He is called Boris. He’s a Great Dane,” Mina says, squeezing the dog even closer.
“He comes with the place,” Grandpa Bob says.
“Wonderful,” I say sarcastically. Ever since Mina was a little girl, she’s begged me for a dog, but I’ve never been an animal person, and the idea of a pet coming into my house and messing it all up is more than I can handle. The thought of walking a dog three times a day is also not something I planned on for my immediate or long-term future. I suppose on a farm with as much space as this one, neither is an issue. It probably runs around wherever it pleases.
“Well?” Grandpa asks.
“I mean, it is beautiful.” The farm is beautiful. Even more beautiful than the pictures. The land is green and gold, with the occasional clump of trees. It looks like a postcard. “It’s just a lot,” I say. “How are the three of us going to handle all of this?”
“We can always hire farmhands to help us.” I’m beginning to think that Grandpa Bob has been thinking about this for much longer than he is leading Mina and me to believe.
I give him a funny look. “We’ll need to figure out a way to make money to provide for ourselves before we can start thinking about that,” I interject.
“True,” Grandpa admits. “But I have faith we’ll discover something very soon.”
I hope he’s right.
“You haven’t even seen the best part, Mom. Well, other than this gigantic sweetheart…” Mina ruffles Boris’s floppy ears again. “Come with us.”
Mina leads us to a red building that looks like a barn. She opens the doors and, for a moment, I think I’m on Noah’s Ark. Initially I see sheep, goats, a few cats, and several bunnies hopping all over.
I only have a moment to take in the animals crowding the building before I notice the chicken… which is flying directly at my face. I actually didn’t think chickens could fly, but I am obviously very wrong. It appears that my antics to swat the bird away was the afternoon entertainment for Mina and Grandpa who both stood, bent at their waists, sobbing in laughter. “Some help here?” I scream, to little avail.
What has Grandpa Bob gotten us into?
Chapter three
Dean The Lost Deal
“I’ve had my eyes on this land for months,” I tell my son, Dylan. We’re driving down a two-lane road in the middle of Sonoma County, surrounded by gentle slopping hills and green land. It’s beautiful and has the kind of views people pay millions of dollars to have as they retire.
As the ‘Son’ of Cornel and Son Development Group I’m working on a major project. The countryside north of San Francisco is lush and the perfect place to plant a new condominium. My blood is hot and I’m driving fast just thinking about the deal ahead that I’m just about to close. I’m pretty sure my son Dylan is not so enamored with this foray into Sonoma today.
