Duke

Duke is a beast of beasts.

He has got to be one of the largest creatures to ever roam this God-blessed world. Pure muscle. It's fun to watch children see him for the first time and jump backward. Some dare to try to touch him, but he doesn't let them. And he sure is a dirty son of a bitch. Regardless of the terrain, you can always smell him before you see him. But he is sweet and gentle, and easy to love.

Anna veered onto the long, dusty, country road. It's as flat as a flounder in this part of Iowa. Endless cornfields and a few shade trees stretch along the horizon as far as the eye can see. Wearing her big, black sunglasses, her left hand surfed the wind as her hair flapped away. She always laughed when she thought about her city-slicker parents buying that farm out in the middle of nowhere. Two years of work and they had quite a nice little operation with more animals than they knew what to do with. It was a full three-hour drive from her apartment in the city, but she didn't mind. It gave her the chance to see Duke.

The first time Anna laid eyes on Duke, she knew he was special. "Can't find one like that at the livestock auction," was her father's remark. Duke had the unique combination of power and tenderness. Her brave protector. The more she saw him, the more her affection grew for him. Every time she left the farm to head back to the city, she seriously considered moving in with her parents, just to be near him.

As time passed, her affection morphed into something stronger. Countless hours passed each night as she tried to remove the image of Duke from her mind and fall asleep. Or she would wake in the middle of the night longing for him as she grabbed at her heart and tightened her jaw. On a few occasions, she drove all the way out to the farm just to see him and left without even telling her parents she was there. She needed him. She loved her parents, but it was different with Duke. Much different. It evoked the same feelings as her first crush, back in middle school.

Her parents were on to her. She tried to be discreet, and they couldn't have known much. But it's hard to be subtle when your feelings are so overwhelming. They knew enough. She caught them looking at her with gaping mouths a few times when she was around him, and she quickly walked away. She understood. If she were in their shoes, she would be shocked and appalled also. But, she wasn't in their shoes. And she loved Duke. The tension was rising and this visit could just bring things to a head. It disheartened her that she still lives in a world where love can't surpass outdated assumptions.

Anna's parents waved like kids on a bus when she got to the top of the half-mile, gravel driveway. They looked like strangers in their overalls and straw hats. Goats and chickens ran around in the yard. Ducks and geese quacked something awful down by the pond.

"Sweetheart! We're so glad you made it. How was the drive?" Her mom gave her a bear hug, then quickly pulled back. "Oh honey, you're drenched. Are you okay?"

Anna froze. Then felt her back. She came up with, "Oh, the air conditioner isn't working."

Her dad grabbed her bag and led her toward the house. "I'll take a look at it." Walking up the steps to the front porch, he said, "Cucumbers are almost done, but wait 'til you see the tomatoes!" He looked back to notice her stretching her neck and biting her lip as she peered around the side of the house toward the four-foot gate. Her eyes darted back to him. He said, "Don't worry. He's still there."

Anna blushed. "Oh. Yeah? Okay. Um, whatever."

He gave her the disappointed eyes that only a father can give his daughter.

She snatched the bag out of his hand and ran up the stairs, two at a time into the guest bedroom, and slammed the door. She was out of breath and her shirt was soaked. Her nervous fear of seeing Duke produced more bodily responses than she was aware of. She closed her eyes and took some deep breaths. Then wiped her face with a towel, changed her shirt, and gave herself a pep talk in the mirror. "Get it together, woman. What is wrong with you? Calm down. Don't blow it!" She repeatedly smacked her forehead and scolded herself to forget about Duke. But that's the worst strategy for not thinking about something.

Miraculously, dinner arrived without her going to the gate. She wasn't much of a foodie but had to admit that the fresh, grilled vegetables were noticeably better than what she buys at the grocery store in the city. She was just about to take a bite of her lemon chicken when reality sunk in.

"Um, mom, where do you get this chicken?"

Her parents looked at each other. Her mom winced. Her dad laughed. He said, "We live off the land now, honey."

Anna frowned and pushed the plate away and decided to wait for the ice cream. Her dad ruffled her hair and she had to laugh. "Hey, you guys would be grossed out by this a couple of years ago too." They both shrugged their shoulders.

It was an ideal Iowa summer evening so they took a stroll around the pond. They updated her on all the news about the animals and vegetables, all they planned to do in the barn, how terrible the neighbors still were, equipment they still needed for the harvest. A rank smell wafted toward them and Anna's heart skipped a beat as she did everything she could to not look at the gate to see if he was there.

Her dad looked over at her. "You seem preoccupied. You alright?"

"I'm great." She gave her best fake smile.

"So, are you still with what's-his-name?"

"Dad, we broke up six months ago. I've told you that at least five times now."

"Oh yeah. Forgot." He didn't forget. He was disturbed. The timing of the break-up was concurrent with her new unsettling interest. He put his hand on her shoulder. "Well, maybe make another run at him. I always liked that one."

Well, that's a load of bull shit, she thought as she carefully stepped over some large, shimmering brown objects on the path. "You never liked him. All of a sudden you're obsessed with him."

"Speaking of obsession." Her parents stopped walking and looked at each other as her dad took off his straw hat. She knew it was coming. The speech he had obviously rehearsed. "Anna. We're worried about you. You've acted strange ever since we moved here. Well, ever since …" He looked at his wife for reassurance as much as he looked at Anna. "Frankly, it's alarming. I don't even know what to think about it."

They couldn't mention his name. Anna sure wasn't going to help them. She just stared blankly into her dad's eyes as he wriggled and continued.

"Sweetheart, you have got to give this up. Move on. I mean, what are you possibly thinking? You know we would never approve of any romantic relationship with …"

"Duke! It's you!"

The four-foot gate in the fence between the yards slowly creaked open and in stepped Duke. All 6'8" and 280 pounds of him. Pure muscle. A piece of straw hung out of his mouth on his tan, unshaven face. He smiled with that gorgeous, chiseled jaw as he took off his cowboy hat and nodded. "Ma'am."

Anna tried to play it cool, but her gigantic smile betrayed her excitement. "Hi Duke, how've you been?"

"Oh, we're making the best of the slow season. Seems like your parents have really figured out this farming thing though." Another nod toward Anna's parents, "Neighbors."

Anna's parents looked away.

Duke said, "Look, I, uh … I know we haven't gotten off to the best of starts, but my parents want to …"

"Well, we don't." Anna's dad stood on his toes, stuck out his chest, and looked straight up to catch the enormous man's eyes. "I didn't pour out my blood, sweat, and tears on the Iowa football team to end my days next to some godless Buckeyes. Tell your parents to take down that damn Ohio State flag and then we can talk."

"Father!"

"And take a shower now and then. I can smell you from my porch."

Duke laughed at that one. "Yeah, sorry about that. Working with those pigs."

Anna said, "You don't need to apologize to my parents. They need to apologize for their cruelty about something as stupid as a university."

"You are a Hawkeye young lady!"

"With the way you act, I'm embarrassed to be a Hawkeye."

Her mom gasped. Her dad's jaw fell. He stared at the young lady that used to be his baby girl, wearing those Iowa colors and cheering at the TV. He didn't know who she was anymore.

Duke eventually broke the tension. "I'll tell them to take it down. I doubt they listen, but I'll try."

Several awkward seconds later, her dad let out a deep, shaky breath and sniffled. Still staring at Anna and shaking his head, he looked absolutely defeated. Her mom put her arm around him. She said, "Well, I think that's maybe enough for tonight. Anna, can we go have that ice cream now?"

As the three of them turned to head to the house, Anna looked Duke up and down and thought, what a beast. He nodded again and winked, and she waved. A loud bellow rang out from the barn. Anna looked over. "Eww! Disgusting! I still can't believe you guys got that filthy animal. Did you see that big pile of crap back there? How could anyone ever want a bull?"