Country Lovin': Chapter Three

Jessie leaned back in the old wicker chair on his back porch. He sighed and took a sip of his orange juice. His cowboy boots were propped up on the railing of the porch. His land looked so beautiful. He wished that everyone could see how beautiful the Earth's land was and didn't destory it. It was such a shame.

The sky would become blue in a few hours or so, Jessie thought as he took another drink from the orange juice bottle. He'd have to take the cows out to pasture and let the horses go to their pasture. The pigs would need some new slop and he'd check the hens for eggs and make sure that they, plus the rooster, was fed.

He had to go into town and buy some nails and a few fence posts. Them stupid kids, Jessie thought angrily as he leaned his chair back to the floor and stood up. He had finished his orange juice. He removed his Stetson as he walked into the house. He laid it onto the table and placed his orange juice bottle onto the counter and walked into the living room.

A picture grabbed Jessie's attention. It was of him, as a eight year old boy, and his father sitting on the large farm tractor. Even then, he was wearing his cowboy hats and boots. Today, people call him The Lost Cowboy. When he felt like it, he'd ride his horse into town and tie it to the fence posts of some of the buildings. He wore boots, worn jeans, white t-shirts, and the black Stetson.

He couldn't help the way he dressed, he grew up living in Texas and on a farm since the day he was born. He wasn't born in a hospital either. He had been born in a his mother's spare bedroom bed. His mother had called the local doctor and he had helped with the delivery, as well as with his younger sister, Ashley.

Ashley was a reproduction of their mother. She had the curly blonde hair and large blue eyes. She had her mother's small, slender figure. She was five one and her mother was five two.

Jessie was just like his father. He was six two, broad shouldered, chocolate brown hair and brown eyes. He had a nice farm tan and good muscular figure, but that was from working on the from from six in the morning until almost seven at night.

He hardly had enough time to go to a excercise facility and work out. Hell, he hardly had enough time to go on a date, or visit his sister, or even his parents which lived seventy miles away in Country Golden Acres.

It was almost seven thirty when he went out to his old truck and climbed into it. The bottom of the driver side door was rust ridden. The axles of the truck were in perfect shape, he had made sure of that. Until they rusted and fell apart, he wouldn't have to worry about stopping on the brakes suddenly, and having the wheels stop while the entire cab goes flying forward. That hurt just thinking about it.

He plopped his black Stetson on top of his head and he turned his truck on and drove down the long dirt driveway. He turned left on the old back road and headed towards the great town of Almira. He lived thirty miles outside of town. Something that he liked. He didn't like living in the town. He loved the great outdoors. It suited him just fine.

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She couldn't believe this was happening to her. Not now. She was just out of town. It would take awhile, on foot, to get back there. She still had almost forty miles to go before she was right there at her Aunt Kitty's front door. She had put her hair back into a low ponytail. She was outside of her car, looking down at the flat tire.

She groaned. She hoped that her cell phone would work. This wasn't supposed to happen. Not on her vacation. She would call her aunt first, then see if there was a tow truck service in this area. She hoped so. She hadn't been in Almira, Texas since the family reunion when she was four years old and again when she was six.

She sighed and leaned against the hood of her car. She turned on her cell phone and dialed her aunt's number. Her voice wouldn't work. Out of fustration she dialed again, but again, the phone told her that she was too far out of service. She didn't bother to turn off the phone, she tossed it into the ditch. She stuck her hands into her back pockets and paced in front of her car.

She went to the front door and opened it. She pulled out her purse and yanked out a ciggarette. So much for trying to quit. She had thought about what Nadine had said and hadn't had a smoke since she left New York. Well, that plan hadn't turned out the way she had expected.

She pulled out her lighter and lit up. She took a drag off the ciggarette then slowly released the smoke. She, again, leaned against the hood of her car and thought about what to do. She was in the middle of nowhere and the most obvious thing to do was to walk back into town.

So, that is what she did. She began to walk into town, with her Nike sneakers, jeans, and sun yellow t-shirt. Half-way from her car, she was glad she had brought her sunglasses, but wished she had brought a hat. The heat was doing her in.

Valene was about to give up and just go back to her car, when she heard a vehicle coming from behind her. She turned and saw a rusty white truck rumbling up the road. She held out her hands and the truck came to a stop. He pulled over on the side of the road.

She saw a man with a black Stetson and cowboy boots climb out of the truck. He walked over to her and placed his hands on his hips. "That your car back there?" He asked.

"Yeah." She replied. She waved a hand by her head, hoping it would cool her down some. It wasn't helping.

"From the city, it looks." He grumbled.

"What does that have to do with anything?" She asked.

"A lot. You would've known to stay by your car." He replied.

She raised an eye brow. "And did what? I would've fried no matter what I did. My damn cell phone wouldn't work so I'm going into town." She retorted.

"Well, you want a ride into town?" He asked.

"You sure? I don't want to contaminate your truck's seats. I mean, that is, if they can hold me." She said looking at the car which could've been made back in the late fifties, early sixties.

"It suits me better than a mustang, sorry that disappoints you." He replied as he turned around and headed back towards the truck.

"It's not that it isn't a mustang that disappoints me. It's that your car is older than I am and probably has more miles on the thing that there are miles of road in this entire state." She replied. "And, I don't want to fall through the bottom and have my head ripped off. If that's a problem to you." She replied as she followed him.

"It won't fall and rip your head off, though it might cause some minor satisfaction for me." He remarked with a smirk.

She rolled her eyes as she yanked hard on the passenger side door. When it wouldn't budge, she knocked on the window and waited for the man to open the door from the inside. "Thank you." She replied as she carefull slid into the seat.

"Wow, a city woman has manners. Guess I learn things everyday." He said as he started up the truck.

"What is it with you and people from the city? You allergic to them or something?" She asked as she removed her glasses. She reached for her purse, which had been hanging at her side, and pulled out a ciggarette and her lighter.

"No and don't smoke in my truck." He demanded as he eyed her.

"Why? This stupid truck smokes." She retorted as she unwillingly placed her ciggarettes and lighter back into her purse.

"That's different. I can breathe the smoke this truck makes, but not ciggarette smoke. I don't like to pollute my body, thank you." He replied.

He pulled into the parking lot of Dave's Auto Repair. "Wait here and don't go anywhere." He demanded as he climbed out. She watched as he climbed from the truck and walked to the front of the building. She sighed and looked out the passenger side window. There was a small diner. She looked back to see that the man had gone inside the auto repair shop. She opened her door and climbed out. She walked inside the diner.

A smell of bacon, eggs, and french toast greeted her. She closed her eyes. Yummy. She took a booth by the window. She didn't care what that country boy thought of her. She couldn't help the way she was.

A waitress came over to her. She looked to be in her late thirties. She was holding a pad and a pen in her hands. "Can I get you something?" She asked.

"How about some bacon, eggs, and some french toast?" She asked. She watched as the woman nodded and wrote down her order. "And some orange juice? Can you squeeze it?" She asked.

"Of course." The waitress nodded. "I'll be back in a few minutes with your order."

Valene smiled as she relaxed in her booth. She figured this would be a time when she could steal a smoke. She flipped over the ash tray and lit up a ciggarette. When she inhaled, she felt herself loosen. She was feeling better.

Then she thought of her aunt. "Oh dear." She mumbled as she climbed away from the booth and ran to the pay phone by the door. She put in a quarter and dialed her Aunt Kitty's phone number.

After she hung up, she saw that the waitress was standing by her booth. She also saw that the man who had brought her here was sitting there too. She sighed, rolled her eyes, and walked over to her booth.

"I thought I told you to sit back in the truck. Don't you city girls ever listen?" He asked. She noticed he had removed his Stetson.

"Are you going to call me city girl? You know, I do have a name. It is Valene Zimmerman. Would you like me to continue to call you country boy?" She replied as she smiled at the waitress and pulled her breakfast in front of her. It smelled really good.

"If you have to know, it's Jessie." He replied as he looked to the waitress. "A good cup of coffee, Wanda." He smiled genuinly and watched as the woman walked away.

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He watched as Valene cut a piece of her french toast, smelling in the aroma, then placed it in her mouth. The way her face contorted to the way she was feeling, the way her eyes became half closed, it almost looked as though she was making love to the piece of french toast she had cut.

"What are you doing here in Texas anyhow? You heading out to California and get lost?" He asked as he folded his hands on the table.

She raised an eye brow as she swallowed what was in her mouth. "No. I'm visiting my Aunt." She replied.

"Who's your aunt?"

"Her name is Kathy Lukus, but everyone calls her Kitty." She replied as he picked up a piece of bacon and bit off one end.

"You're a relative of Kitty? Oh dear Lord." He placed his face in his hands.

"Well, I guess you didn't put two and two together, did we? When I said she was my aunt, I meant it. Us city girls don't lie, thank you." She smirked as she popped in a piece of her egg.

"She is totally different from you, you know that? She isn't rude or inconsiderate. She always does what she is told..." He looked up at her saw the look on her face. "What?"

"You think Aunt Kitty does what she is told? Are you serious? You obviously don't know who my Aunt Kitty is." She replied. She picked up her glass of orange juice and swallowed some.

"I know exactly who she is. How the hell would you know who she is? I've never seen you around here before in my life." He retorted. It had been true. He had never seen this woman here in Almira before in his life. He had an excellent memory. If he had seen her at least once, he would remember her.

"I've been here twice. Once when I was four and again when I was six. You don't believe me, then ask Aunt Kitty." She replied, acting smug.

He raised his eye brow but lowered them when Wanda returned with his coffee. He thanked her and when she left, he raised his eye brows again. This woman was going to be a problem, he thought dryly.

"Plus, for your information, I lived in Oaklahoma for the first five years of my life. The only reason we moved to the city was because my father wanted something better for us. So, you know, you should make sure you know what you're talking about before you go and criticize me, country boy." She took another sip of her orange juice. He sighed and looked out the large window pane. Jessie lifted his coffee cup and lifted it to his lips. The coffee was warm and it was fresh, they had obviously just made it.

"Because you lived in Oaklahoma for five years, that that makes you some kind of country girl? The city lies with its big advertisements saying that they're the lands of opportunities, okay? Because, they aren't." He spat back. He despised cities, they were the opposite of everything they represented.

"What are you talking about? Have you ever lived in a city before?" She put the last piece of french toast in her mouth. "You know, I never thought I'd say this to a country boy such as yourself, but you disgust me. I've seen plenty of country boys around here with cell phones, top of the line Chevy trucks. They talk about how the city corrupts, yet, they go out and buy all of this new stuff." She shrugged her shoulders and picked up a piece of bacon, biting into one end.

"You don't even know what you're talking about. Yes, that happens, but there are different reasons for each action they make." He replied dryly. She thought she was all big and mighty, just because she came from the city? Who the hell did she think she was? "You are one pathetic woman, you know that? You act as though the city is some great place. The country is truly the land of opportunity, but your minds are corrupted into beliving that you can't live without televisions or computers or cellphones or a friggen McDonalds." He added. It had silented her up and he took that opportunity to finish his coffee leave a tip and pay for his coffee. "I'll see you in the car." He muttered as he walked out of the diner.

He had placed his Stetson back on the top of his head. He heard someone behind him and saw it was the woman, Valene. He walked into the auto repair shop and saw Dave. He was working on a car but was taking a break, drinking some lemonade.

He looked over and smiled at Jessie when he entered. "Hey, Jess. Who's the woman?" He asked as he set down his glass on a dust and tool ridden counter.

Jessie rolled his eyes. "Don't know. I found her on the side of the road. She's from the city, from what I gather."

"Damn city folk. Can't leave us the hell alone. Why is all the way out here? Get lost?" Dave asked.

"No, I guess she's visiting her aunt." Jessie paused, looking at Dave before he spoke, "Kitty Lukus, Dave. She's the niece to Kitty." Jessie said, still not believing it.

"Really? I didn't think Kitty had any family left. She's getting up there, isn't she?" Dave asked as he picked up his glass.

"Yeah." He replied. He knew Kitty. He brought her wood and plowed her driveway for her. She was the sweet old lady a few miles away from his house.

"She's mighty purty." Dave said suddenly. It brought Jessie back from his thoughts.

"Who?"

"That woman your with. They breed 'em good in the city, looks like." Dave finished his lemonade with a smirk and looked past Jessie when he heard something.

They both turned around and saw that Valene was leaning against the garage door casing. "Um, country boy? I have to meet my aunt, today. If it won't inconvenience you, I'd like to leave...now." She demanded. Her sunglasses were hanging on the verge of her nose and Jessie got to see the blues of her eyes. Her arms were crossed over her chest and her purse strap hanging between them.

"Well, Jessie, I think you got yourself a live one there. You'd better do what she says. It's mighty hot out there. Wouldn't want to tick of a pissed off rattlesnake, now would ya?" Dave said as he laid his empty cup down on the counter and picked up a wrench.

Jessie glared over at Dave, who he found wasn't helping him any, then looked over at Valene, who had straightened herself, but was still looking at the both of them.

He walked out past Valene who then followed him to the truck. They seperated and went to their own doors. "Thought I'd have to bring in that tow truck and drag you along there." She said with a smirk.

"You think you're funny, don't you?" He remarked, sighing as he clenched the driving wheel.

"I can be. It's just fun to notice that someone can be so damn irritated. What is your problem anyway? Is because I'm from the city, is it because I'm visiting my Aunt Kitty, or is it because I'm a woman? You a feminist?" She demanded.

Jessie sighed. This woman got what she wanted. What she said, though, was about to make him choke on laughter. "A feminist?" He let out a hearty laughter, and smacked the wheel with his hand. "Hot dog, never thought I'd hear that from a city woman. You'd aught to meet a feminist out in the city, than out here in the country, there ma'am." He let out a few more chuckles before he found that his sides hurt. "Thanks. I haven't had a good laugh like that in ages."

"Country Lovin': Chapter Four"