"Today we have a scorching 108 degrees her in Miami, Flo-"
I turned off my ignition to my pickup truck and slid out of the passenger seat. The sign had been up for over 2 weeks and no one had claimed the job. Old Farmer Dawson needed some help on his 52 acre farm and no one was willing to help the poor man. For 45 years, he had worked on the farm with his 2 brothers and his father. Once his father passed away due to a heat stroke, both of his brothers moved away up North to pursue a desperate dairy business and had offered Dawson a 3 way partnership. But the stubborn old man thought he couldn't let his deceased father down, and tried running the farm all to himself. Now all he had was himself and his son, which wasn't enough. He needed 2 extra hands that were strong and able to work till the sun went down. I, Austin Moon was the perfect guy for the job.
I walked up to the screen door with an extra white door closing in behind the first screen door.
"Here goes nothing..."
I knocked aggressively against the white door and stepped back, waiting for the sound of footsteps to signal someone was coming to the door.
"I'll get it!" screeched a tiny, faint voice inside the house. Soon to follow, small footsteps moving fast to answer the door. The white door swung open to reveal a small girl in a pink cowboy hat staring up at me.
"Who are you?" she asked placing a hand on her hip and tapping her scuffed boots against the wooden hardwood floor.
"Um," I cleared my throat, "I Austin Moon. I came here to apply for the helping job on this farm."
"Oh, I'll be right back, mister Austin"
She ran back down the hallway and into a room at the end. I tried to listen what she was saying.
"Daddy, some man wants to apply for the farm job."
"Alright. Be there is a second."
I saw the girl appear from the room and walk back toward me, soon to follow a tall muscular man. When he approached, he looked me up and down before speaking.
"My daughter here tells me you would like to apply for the extra hand on my farm?"
"Em...yes."
He motioned for the little girl to scurry along and motioned for me to come inside. I quickly followed him in and took in the smell of pork roast and mashed potatoes with a faint cinnamon smell of apple cobbler to wrap the meal up like a bow. He led me into a large room that was obviously a kitchen. The "L" shaped counter wrapped around corner to a fridge and a sink cleared of dirty dishes and an oven, turned on and baking the apple cobbler I smelled earlier. We approached a wooden dining table with 6 seats equally spaced out. He pulled out the chair at the end of the table and motioned for me to sit.
"So, tell me a little about yourself mister...uh-"
"Austin-Austin Moon."
"Nice to meet you, Austin. I'm Lester Dawson. So, can I ask you a few questions?"
I nodded and placed my forearms on the table, trying to impress.
"Have you ever worked on a farm?"
"My grandpa used to own a farm, and when he died my older brother took over. I used to help him out everyday, but I didn't get any pay. Now that I am out of high school, money could surely come in handy."
"How old are you, son?"
"19, sir."
"And, are you willing to work from Monday to Friday, sun up to sundown?"
"Thats why I came here, sir"
"Well, Austin. How about you come tomorrow, and show me what skills you have. Then, if you can prove to me that you have the extra hands I need, then you got yourself the job."
"Lester!" Footsteps patted down the stairs and into where we were sitting. An older woman appeared in the doorway, looking flustered. Her messy brown hair cascaded half way past her shoulders, springing every which way in spiral curls. Lester smiled and stood up.
"Austin, this is my wife Penny. Penny, this is Austin. He is interested in the job here on the farm."
He held out her hand and I accepted and shook it lightly. He was so small and looked so fragile. I was scared I was going to break her.
"Nice to meet you, Austin. We were just about to have dinner. Why don't you join us?"
I thought for a moment. I mean I just met them, but they seemed like nice people. And then again, if I get the job I will see them a lot. So why not?
"Sure, I would love to."
Penny smiled and dusted her small hands on the front of her purple apron.
"Why don't you take a seat and rest your feet while I go get dinner started?"
I smiled at her and relaxed a bit. My feet were aching and my stomach had began to eat itself for the lack of food that I had today. The last meal I recalled was my turkey sandwich I made myself back at home at 12:30 this afternoon. It was now almost 7 o'clock, and my turkey sandwich fillings had moved on and made room for more food.
"Kids! Wash up and get ready for dinner!" Penny called from the sink. She was chopping up a cucumber into small even pieces and placing them on a glass plate.
"I hope you like vegetables. Me and my daughters picked them this morning from the garden."
Daughters? I knew she had one because she had answered the door for me earlier. But there must be one more.
"Coming, mama!" I heard the same little girl yell from down the hall. Seconds later, she appeared at the door way and walked over to wash her hands.
"Austin, this is our younger daughter Abby."
She grinned at me, showing she was missing both of her top front teeth. Her cowboy hat had been removed and her now long braided pigtails were exposed.
"Mom!" yelled another voice down the hall. This time it wasn't a female's voice, it was a males. Marching through the door, came a tall, young, muscular man. He was about my height, maybe a bit shorter. And his worn, tan cowboy hat covered his face.
"Alex, I told you to take that hat off when you're inside if the house." Penny walked over and snatched the hat off the boys head and went back to chopping cucumbers.
"Mister Austin, this is my older brother Alex."
I placed my hand out in front of Alex and shook it firmly.
"I guess you're the guy thats gonna help me and my dad on our farm."
"I guess so."
Abby hopped down from her seat and sat in an open chair next to me.
"Have you met my sister yet, Mister Austin?"
"No I ha-"
And thats when it happened.
A girl walked up to the doorframe and leaned against the wall. Her face was sweaty and had a streak of mud running down the left cheek. The jean overalls reached her mid thigh and hung off of one shoulder, exposing parts of her black bra. Brown curls fell down in ringlets around her face from her messy ponytail and stuck to her face with sweat. Her cowgirl boots were covered in mud and were scuffed on the toe. I had never seen a more beautiful girl in my life.
"Austin, I would like you to meet my daughter Ally."
