Page 49 of Omega’s Fold

“Let the man drink his coffee.”

Eddie shuts up. Roy looks at me. The older man looks into his cup.

Then Halsey says, “My old man’s south quarter’s down to six feet on the shallow well.”

“Yeah,” the older man says. “Mine’s worse.”

“County says it’s the drought.”

“County says a lot of things.”

“Wyatt. Your south well still putting out?”

“No,” I say. “South well’s done.”

They all look at me. None of them look surprised.

“How long,” Roy says.

“Since April.”

Roy whistles soft through his teeth. “How’s the house well?”

“Dropping.”

“Fuck, Wyatt.”

“Yeah.”

The older man shakes his head. “They offer you a number?”

“A while back.”

“You tell them no.”

“Yeah. It wasn’t enough even if I wanted to take it and I did not.”

“Good,” Eddie says. “Good for you. Don’t you take their money, Wyatt Briggs. Don’t you take a nickel.”

I don’t say anything. I drink the coffee.

Caleb comes back with the mineral tub under one arm and sets it on the floor by the counter. He looks at me across the store and he sees my face, and he turns to Mr. Halsey and says, “Two bags of the ten percent, half bag of the crumble for the chickens, and I need to grab a new bulb for the barn.”

“Ten percent,” Mr. Halsey says. “We got the new mix in. Little cheaper.”

“Okay.”

Caleb goes down the aisle to the bulbs. I stand at the counter with my back to the coffee pot. Mr. Halsey writes the order on his pad without looking up.

“Put it on the account,” he says.

“Cash is fine.”

“Account, Wyatt.”

I don’t argue with him. I put my wallet away.

Caleb loads the truck. I stand by the driver’s door and watch him do it and I do not help. He shuts the tailgate and comes around and gets in on the passenger side. The older man from the coffee pot has come out onto the loading yard to stand with his hands in his pockets and watch us go. When I lift my hand he lifts his.