The Old Barn

“Don’t touch that!” Yelled Danton.

Eric gave him an incredulous look, “what do you mean don’t touch that?”

“It’s not yours!”

“And what, you think it’s yours?”

“It’s Paw-Paws.” Stated Danton with an air of, DUH!

“Paw-Paw’s dead.”

Danton got red in the face and pointed his finger at Eric, “You are THE most ungrateful, disrespectful...”

“Here we go again” said Eric as he kicked a small pile of dirt in the old barn.

“Yeah, here we go again because you’re still the same self-centered spoiled brat you were when you left here!”

“When I left? Or when Paw Paw kicked me out, let’s be real.” Said Eric.

Now Danton’s face went purple, “He did not kick you out, he gave you a choice.”

“Yeah, a choice to be who he wanted me to be, or to figure out who I actually was.”

“The way I remember it, he offered to teach you how to run the farm and you turned your nose up at him and went off to find yourself or somethin’.” Said Danton.

“Exactly, that’s what I said. He wanted me to be a farmer and I. DID. NOT. I think you’re also forgettin’ the part where he told me I was”, Eric counted off on his fingers, “one, afraid to work, two, would never amount to nothin’, and oh yeah, three, I should take myself and get gone?”

“That don’t mean he kicked you out, he didn’t mean gone forever.”

“Yeah, well that’s what I heard. I also heard it every time I had a birthday, Christmas, or when Beth died. I heard it loud and clear. “Said Eric.

“It’s not like your fingers were broken, you coulda called too you know.” Said Danton, but his ire was fading.

“Why call, I was gettin’ his messages loud and clear, I was gettin’ yours too come to think of it!” Eric said with a scoff.

“I…was sorry to hear about Beth.” Said Danton, as he looked at the ground.

“Gee, thanks” said Eric sarcastically, “you’re about a year too late on that one.”

“Look, I’m sorry.”

“Yeah, I’m sure.” Eric rolled his eyes.

“What do you want me to say? You want me say I shoulda called, okay, I shoulda called.” Said Danton.

Eric chuckled, “What do I want you to say? I wanted you to BE there dammit! I wanted my big brother to be there when my world fell apart, she was my wife, and she was just gone.” Said Eric.

“Suzie sent a card and some flowers” said Danton hesitantly.

Eric laughed, “Oh, a card AND some flowers, wow yeah, that helped me so much Danton. You were really THERE for me, thank you” Eric said as he tapped his fist over his heart, turned, and started walking towards the house.

“Eric wait”, Danton called after him, sounding exhausted.

“I’m through waitin’ Danton, I’m so done waitin’ on this family to remember that I’m a part of it too…I don’t even know why I came back here.” Eric quickened his steps.

As Danton jogged to catch up to Eric he said “Then why did you come back? It’s not like anyone was expecting you to. Hell, I don’t even know how you found out that Paw-Paw died.”

Eric stopped walking, “What do you mean you don’t know how I found out? I found out when that guy came to my door and told me, the guy that you sent!” Eric smirked, “I guess you were too busy to come yourself to tell me that the man who raised me was dead.”

“I didn’t send no one Eric, what guy?” Asked Danton.

“That old guy with the hat and the black suit, sounded foreign….oh come on stop lookin’ at me like that, you know what guy I’m talkin’ about, YOU sent him!”

“For the last time, I didn’t send anyone; I didn’t even know where you were. I tried to send you a birth announcement last year and it got returned, but I guess you were too busy off livin’ your life to update your family on your new address.” Said Danton with disgust.

“After Beth died…” Eric took a deep breath and started again. “After Beth died, I wasn’t in a good place all right. I couldn’t live in that house without her.”

“Fair enough, but where did you go?”

“I stayed on some friends couches for a while, then a buddy of mine offered me his cabin on the lake, that he didn’t use much. That’s where I’ve been ever since. I couldn’t really”, Eric searched for the word…”function there for a while.” Eric scoffed, “you could say I needed some me time, and I got it.”

“What? What about your job?”

“I don’t have a job.” Said Eric with a shrug.

“How do you not have a job, you have to need money for somethin’; food, rent, porn…somethin’.”

“Well, my buddy didn’t charge me rent for the cabin, I have enough money for food, and porn isn’t really somethin’ I’ve been in the mood to watch lately”.

Danton couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “What have you been doin’?”

“I’ve been"…Eric took a deep breath in, and slowly released it..."I’ve been thinkin’.”

“About?”

“About, everything. Anything. Nothin’…I don’t know. I get up, some days I even shower. I walk, I try to remember that the world didn’t end when Beth did, and I live…sort of.”

“That doesn’t sound like livin’ man, who do you talk to?”

Eric laughed, “Well, I talk to Beth a lot. I talk to fish and ask why they won’t take my bait.” Eric smiled, “I talk to leaves about why they’re so crunchy because they really screw up my huntin’ by being so loud…”

Danton interrupted, “People Eric, what people, REAL people, do you talk to?”

“You know what Danton, talkin’ to people, real people, as you say, it’s really overrated. I’ve been doin’ much better at talkin’ to the fish. I don’t expect them to stay, and they don’t ask me to leave, and that’s about the best I can hope for right now.”

“Eric, I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t be Danton, I’m fine, a little broken but I’m getting’ better. Anyway, I’ll see you around.” Eric turned to head towards the house, and his car.”

“What y’all been doin’ in that old barn”, asked Suzie in her charming southern twang as she walked out on the back porch of the farmhouse.

Eric waived, while he continued walking, “Hey Suzie, how ya been?”

“Can’t complain, how about you Eric?”

“Oh you know, same ‘ol same ‘ol. I’ve got to be headin’ out, we’ll catch up another time, say hi to the rugrats for me.” Eric walked past Suzie towards his car.

Suzie looked at her husband and then back at Eric and yelled, “Eric Ezra Cole you get back here this instant!”

Eric turned around. Danton said “Stay out of it Suzie”.

“Oh you boys, both of you, I will NOT stay out of it. I am tired of seeing my husband hurtin’ and you Eric, I didn’t know Beth well, but I’m sure she wouldn’t want this for you. Now you boys are the last kin you got and you WILL act like the brothers you are and not the idiots you are being. Come with me!” Suzie marched, there was no other word for it, towards the old barn.

Danton looked at Eric who shrugged and started walking after Suzie, Danton followed.

When all three arrived at the barn Suzie pointed to the hay loft and asked, “Eric, what happened in that spot?” Eric looked at Danton and started smiling. Danton returned the smile.

“Um, you sure you wanna know Suzie?” Eric was openly laughing at this point.

“You are such a MAN! What happened there when you were eight Eric?”

“Oh, um, Danton fell.” Eric wasn't laughing anymore.

“Yes, he fell, and what did you do Eric?”

“I went to get paw paw but he had gone into town, so I went down to the Jensen farm and got ‘Ol Red to come help.”

“You walked 4 miles to get your brother help, seems like a lot of effort to put into a man you won’t spend five minutes talkin’ to now.”

“And Danton, what happened over there?” Suzie pointed to the corner of the barn near the now empty rotting stalls.

Danton swallowed hard, “That’s where Eric got kicked by the wild mare and nearly died.”

“Right, and what did you do?” asked Suzie.

“I stayed with him and I held his hand until Paw Paw could find help.” Danton stared at the now dilapidated corner and was transported back in time.

“Right, you stayed with him because he was scared, and that’s what big brothers do. They hold their little brothers’ hands and they tell them that everything is gonna be all right.”

Both men were staring at each other as Suzie continued, “You once were thick as thieves, wasn’t nothin’ that could tear you apart, and you let that old man come between you.”

Danton objected, “Now Suzie, that’s not fair.”

“No Danton, I know it’s not polite to speak ill of the dead but I will say my peace, Beth would have wanted me to say my peace. That old man was stuck in his ways, in Eric’s case it really was his way or the highway, for you Danton it was get in line or get out. You toed that line, but no more. I will not have it! You will remember who you are, you will remember who you were, and you will by God get over whatever you think the other one did!”

Both brothers said in unison “But he…”

Suzie yelled “I. DON’T. GIVE. A. RATS. ASS. WHAT. YOU. THINK. HE. DID! You WILL get over it!” Suzie pointed at Eric, “You WILL get to know your niece and nephew”, she pointed at Danton, “And you WILL hold your brothers hand in what has to be the hardest time of his life!”

Suzie looked at Eric and smiled, and calmly said, “Eric, your old bedroom has been made up for you, that’s where you’ll be sleepin’ tonight, supper is in 10 minutes. I suggest you boys get washed up and come inside.” With that she walked towards the house without so much as a backward glance.

Eric said “I forgot she could be so…”

“Chose your next words wisely boy” said Danton.

“Forceful, I forgot she could be so forceful.”

Both men smiled and then began to laugh, Danton finally said, “So, you stayin’?”

“Honestly, Danton, I’m kinda scared of your wife” he laughed.

“Yeah, she can have that affect on some, but I think in this case she has the right of it. We, or at least I, need to move past Paw Paw and his ways. How about you stay the night and we can talk again tomorrow.”

“That sounds fair, besides, if I try to leave now I think she might throw a fryin’ pan at my head again.”

“Man, that was ONE time, and you had it comin’.” Danton smiled, Eric smiled, and they walked towards the house together.

TO BE CONTINUED....

Dear Reader, this story will continue in the second summer challenge called Death by Chocolate, stay tuned, and please remember the like button is free to use, until next time ; - )