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cows. By the end, Kyle was actually hoping to feel the calf move inside its mother’s body. It was surreal. To know a life was about to be born out of that body… Kyle was no stranger to the facts of life, but to experience it like this was blowing his mind.
    They trudged back to the barn with the buckets full of milk. Walt showed him how to manually pour the milk into the filtration system and what buttons to push to get the system started. It was now past ten, and Kyle felt like it should be more like six in the evening.
    “Having help puts me ahead of schedule there, Kyle. Thank you. Once Sam gets home, we may have all the milking done in no time.”
    Kyle tried to scrape the muck off his shoes using the side of the concrete slab in the barn. “It was certainly a learning experience.”
    “Here.” Walt handed Kyle a small, pointed shovel-looking tool. “Try this to get it off.” Walt poked his head into the office, coming back out with an old towel. “Then use this. Clean off the best you can; we’ll get them washed tonight, and tomorrow you’ll have appropriate boots for the job.”
    “I hate being a bother.” Kyle got most of the muck off with the small shovel, then took the towel to his shoes, making them acceptable.
    “As I said, you’re not a burden. Just take them off before you go inside. Glenda’ll have a fit if we track into her kitchen.”
    “Okay.”
    “All right, then. Let’s go check on the vegetable garden before lunch. I’ll show you how to set up the sprinkler system. If there’s no rain like it has been, we water every day. Glenda’s known for her tomatoes; she usually takes first place at the county fair.”
    Kyle looked up at him. “County fair? Is that like a neighborhood block party? Grilling hotdogs and hamburgers, having one of those balloon houses to jump in?”
    “Not quite. There’s a balloon house, but I can almost guarantee the food’s much better than hotdogs and hamburgers. Although you can find those at the fair, I’d recommend at least going for the corn dogs and elephant ears.”
    “ Elephant ears? You have elephants here? Come on, they’re only in Africa and India.”
    Walt laughed. Kyle was getting used to hearing laughter by now. He welcomed the sound.
    “Elephant ears are basically fried flour batter with cinnamon sugar on them. Or powdered sugar. They are huge and round, like an elephant’s ear.”
    “Oh.”
    “Don’t worry, Kyle, you’ll get used to the language sooner or later. As for the fair, they also have contests, best cow, best pig, biggest pumpkin, tastiest pie. It’s a big contest wrapped up with food and rides.”
    “When is it?”
    “Usually first part of August. So you’ll still be here to experience it. Something else to write home about.” Walt headed out the side door of the barn. “Come on, gotta tend to the garden so Glenda can add to her blue ribbons.”

Five

     
     
    T WO more hours out in the sun left Kyle with a splitting headache. Although, he did learn the difference between a weed and an actual shoot of something edible. And he learned there were more vegetables in the world other than tomatoes, lettuce, broccoli, and green beans. He had no clue what okra was or that there were many different varieties of squash. He’d assumed the green zucchini squash was all there was to the vegetable world. Man, if his local grocery store could see what they could actually offer… although, truth be told he had no clue what these new and mysterious vegetables tasted like, so maybe he shouldn’t be all that excited to expand his palate.
    They stopped at noon for lunch. Kyle had lost all apprehension about eating by now. He was ravenous after just a few hours’ work. Glenda set down sandwiches in front of him.
    “I hope you like ham and turkey. I made both, didn’t know if you preferred one or the other or both together.”
    “Either is fine. But um, do you have a couple of aspirin? I don’t think I’m as used to the sun as