God only knows what I'd be without you.
God Only Knows by Brian Wilson, Tony Asher
Candy pulled his hat from his head with one hand and wiped a filthy piece of cloth across his face before shoving it back into his pocket. Not that it would make much difference as the sweat would soon be running down into his eyes again. The heat was relentless, but so was Joe. The man had barely stopped for a drink all morning and Candy knew his hands had to be hurting underneath those black leather gloves of his. It wasn't all that long ago that they had been swathed in bandages and Hop Sing's odd smelling ointments. Candy shrugged as he watched his friend at work. He didn't know how long it would take for Joe to work his way clear of the thundercloud that hung over him, but what he did know was that he would be there when the rain burst forth and the cloud finally dissipated. He glanced up into the cloudless blue sky and a smile crossed his face. A thunderstorm would be very welcome right about now.
Candy picked up his sledgehammer and began to swing once more at the heavy wooden post. It slowly sunk its roots into the baked ground below and he watched with satisfaction as the notch he had marked earlier inched below the soil line. He halted his final swing and lowered the hammer to the ground. Further down the fence line, he could see that Joe had two more similar posts standing straight and true. If nothing else, Joe's anger was getting them through their work at a faster pace than they were used to.
Suddenly he felt, rather than saw, Joe sway sideways and he raced across the space between them in time to catch his friend before he fell. Joe's face was flushed and beads of sweat rolled down from under the curls that had greyed even more in recent months.
"Easy, buddy." Candy propped Joe against a tree before hurrying over to grab a water canteen. He pulled the same sweat-soaked cloth from his pocket and poured water over it. Joe's eyes were drooping closed as Candy wiped the cloth over his face.
"I'm sorry," Joe mumbled as Candy poured fresh water onto the cloth and then dribbled water into his mouth.
"What for?"
"Everything!"
Candy settled back on his haunches as he continued trying to cool his friend.
"That's a big list."
Joe reached a hand for the canteen and took a long draw of water before fixing Candy with a stare.
"Why are you still here?"
"Ahh … I work here."
"Not what I mean. You said you could leave anytime. Pa agreed when you signed on. Why're you still here?"
Candy felt a joke rise to his lips, but one look at Joe's face killed it.
"You're my family. Only one I've got. God only knows what I'd be without you."
"Same here. It would have been so easy to just … let go."
Candy could have sworn it was raining.