Rural Arcadia

(Author's note: This is a sequel to "The Revelation of Joan", but the Revelation story needn't be read first. The important thing from that story is that Luke and Grace are now in on Joan's secret and have agreed to go on divine missions themselves. This story is set about a month later.)

(Disclaimer: I have no rights to the Joan of Arcadia story or characters. My only motive in writing this story is to have fun and maybe share it.)

Chapter 1 What am I doing here?

Grace looked outside the farmhouse window as a woman on horseback herded the cattle into the barn, churning up dust. Some people might have found the scene charming or romantic. Grace could only think of how much dirt there was down there, and worse, compared to her neighborhood in Arcadia.

"Hi, Grace," came a voice, and she turned around to see her boyfriend standing in the door. "Settling in?"

"Physically, yes; mentally, no. Luke, what are we DOING here on a farm?"

Luke glanced down the hallway to make sure they were not being overheard, then stepped in the room and lowered his voice. "Because Cute Boy God asked us to visit my Cavalo cousins on their farm."

Grace knew that perfectly well. "But did he say why?"

"No. Joan says the missions always make sense after the fact, seldom before."

"I so understand Joan much better nowadays. All those assignments from God that she couldn't explain. We're be lucky if we don't all end up in Crazy Camp."

"You could have turned down the hint. The Boy said we always have free will."

"Yeah, well, I owed him a favor for rescuing my Mom. Next time I may notbe as cooperative."

They glanced out the window again. The horsewoman had closed the barn door and was riding away.

"Why did your cousins let me come?" went on Grace. "I'm no relation to them. They know we're not sleeping together, because we asked for separate rooms. Do they just want another hand to help with shoveling up all the crap out there?"

"Chill, Grace," said Luke in sudden annoyance.

"What did you say?"

"I said, chill. Look, I know you have a jaundiced view of the world, and I know that it often turns out to be right. But you have to accept that some people, like my cousins, simply want to be nice to you."

With anybody else, Grace might have continued the argument. But she loved Luke and knew that he was in the right at the moment. "I'm sorry, Luke. But you're in a bad mood too."

"Yeah. Figuring out what the Boy wants is mystifying me, and I hate not knowing what's going on. If I can find a secluded spot, I'll call Joan on my cell phone and see if she has any ideas. After all, she's been doing this for two years."

"If you do find a secluded spot, mark it. We may need a substitute 'biology closet' down here."

Luke laughed, and the two kissed.

Grace looked out the window one more time before going down to dinner. The sun was setting. In Arcadia the view of the setting sun was always blocked by the house of the neighbor across the street, but here she could see it glowing on the horizon. She had to admit the effect was beautiful, something that Adam or Mrs. Girardi would love and try to encompass in their art. But it was unlikely that God had sent her down South just for a moment of beauty.

At dinner she met the entire Cavalo family. Though they were Mrs. Girardi's cousins, they encouraged Luke to call them Uncle Jonathan and Aunt Jean, and let Grace do the same though they were no relation to her. They had one kid of Luke's age, named Brian, who seemed vigorous but quiet. Most of the talk was inquiring about other relatives: whether Joan was completely recovered from last summer's illness, whether Aunt Olive had recovered the use of her legs after her stroke, and what Kevin's new wife was like. Grace was amused at Luke's attempts to convey the essence of Sister Lily. She herself said little: she had to be careful not to say anything snarky, and she couldn't think of anything else. Brian Cavalo asked where "Diana" was, and from his tone Grace gathered that he had rather a crush on Diana. His parents replied that she had gone to town to get some feed for the horses, and would probably eat there.

Around 9:00 Grace retreated to the extra room the family had assigned her. Fifteen minutes later a young woman entered, whom Grace recognized as the horsewoman from the barn. Close up, she was a blonde of impressive height and vigor. "Hi. I'm Diana Bauer. I work for the Cavalos"

"Grace Polk."

"I understand that we'll be sharing the room during your visit."

Grace looked at the room's one bed with some concern, but Diana seemed to read her mind. "Don't worry about your space. I'll use a sleeping bag and sleep on the floor."

"I don't want--"

"Don't worry, I do it all the time. So. Tomorrow I'll show you around the farm. Ever ridden a horse before?"

"No. I'm a city girl. If you consider Arcadia a city."

"Even cities have riding stables and parks."

"I was never interested. I mean, cars were invented a hundred years ago. Horses are just expensive toys." Oops, that was snarky. But Grace somehow wasn't thrilled at the idea of placing her butt on some animal's back.

"Do you think cars will still be around a hundred years from now?"

That question threw Grace for a loop. "Huh?"

"Cars need oil. It took millions of years for oil to develop, and look how much we've depleted in a few decades. Do you think it will last?"

"Um, no. How did you--?"

Diana laughed. "Do you think I'm a country bumpkin just because I don't live in a big city like Arcadia?" She pointed out a laptop in one corner of the room, something Grace had taken for granted. "I can surf the Internet as well as anybody else, and subscribe to science magazines."

"Sorry. So you think people will give up cars and go back to horses?"

"Not entirely. Not enough horses to go around, and if they did, can you imagine how much manure that would involve? But maybe society will allocate horses to those who need them, and the rest will learn to make do."

"I don't know about that."

Grace found herself enjoying the conversation immensely. Not because Diana agreed with her on many subjects, but because she made arguing fun. None of Grace's close friends -- Luke, Adam, Joan -- ever talked to her that way. Luke always wanted to avoid conflict and mollify her, while Joan and Adam were wrapped inside their own little worlds.

Somehow the topic got around to origins. "My ancestors were Polish Jews," Grace explained. "They were driven out by the czars around 1900."

"Like FIDDLER ON THE ROOF?"

"I guess. I don't know the details."

"Polk doesn't sound like a very ethnic name."

"Um, no. The original name was Polonski. We changed it to fit better in America."

"That's not a fashionable attitude nowadays. Everybody talks about roots."

This was getting awkward. The fact was that her parents had decided to go back to the original name about five years ago, and Grace, who had been angry at the time over her mother's alcoholism, refused to cooperate. It seemed so petty now, but "Polk" was in all the school records and would be hard to get changed. Grace changed the subject.

The chatter continued until she got sleepy. Grace couldn't remember all the subjects they talked about, but she was careful to avoid two: her mother's drinking problem (now safely in the past, according to Cute Boy God) and her meetings with God himself.

Diana's last comment from the sleeping back was "Fine. Tomorrow we'll get you up on a horse."

Grace's last two thoughts were: I don't remember agreeing to that. And: Sorry I haven't done your will yet, God, but I still haven't figured out what the hell it is.

(TO BE CONTINUED)