A Few Days Later

The four hour drive to your Aunt Rita and Uncle David’s farm was relatively comfortable all things considered. Aunt Rita talked to you about a couple of new changes on the farm, about your duties, and the schedule every day. Generally, on every day except Tuesday and Sunday, you were expected to rise at 4, and work until 12. She pointed out that promptness superseded all else, as with many of the tasks it was important to complete them with haste and finish before the sun could begin cooking at a fine mid to high 90’s. She pointed out that other than starting at exactly 4:15 am every morning, everything else was fairly relaxed. Rita promised to cook every meal of the day, offer free board, and pay about 17 an hour for his work. She even pointed out that there was a lack of dress code, specifically mentioning that if you wanted to work naked in order to keep from getting overheated during your work it was absolutely within your rights. You brushed the suggestion off with a blush, even though the idea sounded at least a little interesting.

The arrival went as well as expected. David was overjoyed to have you after hurting his back lifting feed bags, and laughed as he made sure to note that such tasks were probably headed your way. You were at least a bit nervous about the level of physical work required, but knew deep down it wasn’t anything you couldn’t handle.

The house was remarkably small, possessing only two bedrooms, a single hall bathroom, and the bare minimum of a kitchen with a small 4 person table, and a living room with a small flat screen TV Aunt Rita bragged about snagging a hot deal for, and a sofa that had clearly started to approach the later end of its lifespan. But, you felt comfortable enough. With free food, good pay, and a comfortable bed, you really didn’t have much to complain about.

Your first day went pretty awkwardly, given your unfamiliarity with the tasks and duties set before you. Everything you did seemed to involve a fair amount of manual labor, and in some way shape or function pertained to the dozens of cows that grazed the farm's property. By the time you showered, you were pretty much exhausted of all energy, and fell asleep almost immediately after eating your dinner a few hours later. This pattern repeated itself a few more times, with each day sapping less and less energy from you as you grew accustomed to the workload and schedule. It only took five days for you to get into a somewhat normal swing of things, and your Uncle felt comfortable enough after guiding you for a few days to start in on his most recent mid-life crisis venture: running for Town Mayor.

It was like any of the other days on the first Friday that you'd worked. The sun rose early, the work was sweat-inducing, and left you solidly beat by the end of the day's work. You could tell by the high overhead sun in the sky that it was at least close to two o'clock, if not a little amount later in the day. Your work had taken you to the property's edge for fence repair and maintenance, along the modestly calm, yet fast river that ran down the property line for a full mile, before veering off towards south to weave through the town a half hour drive away. The prospect of your ride back made you groan, thinking about walking the full mile down to the spot you'd parked the small ATV in the overbearingly scorching sun made you shudder. All you could think about, was cooling off for a minute, before walking back to the house.

Your eyes drifted to the river. It's sparkling, hauntingly clear form beckoned you, promising the sweet embrace of cold mountain water to wash away sweat and grime, as well as to tame the overbearing heat on your skin. Of course, the biggest issue with this was your lack of a proper bathing suit. You couldn't begin to imagine how bad the chafe would be from trying to walk a mile in wet overalls, and sighed for a moment. But then, another idea came forth. You looked around. Behind you, in the field, was nothing but open field with a small herd of grazing cows competing for space beneath a singular old oak tree placed right atop a hill. To your left was the long, seemingly endless fence that continued past a hill, and on your right was the corner of the fence, and untamed wilderness beyond. In front of you, lay a tauntingly inviting river, a small bit of forestry along the bank, and another fence that ran parallel to the one you'd finished repairing. As far as you knew, you were probably the only one out here for miles. You couldn't see anyone else that would be walking around with the sun roasting the earth as it currently was, and began to truly feel confident in your solitude. Aunt Rita would probably be back at the house, managing the small garden or getting started on some other delicious kitchen concoction you'd never tasted before. Your Uncle David was likely cooped up at the office in town where he was starting a bid for the Mayoral seat, competing with some uptight fellow from out of state you'd already heard a number of insulting opinions about.

And so, you'd hastily hopped the fence, unbuckled your overalls, and slid them down to the ground as you slid down the bank of the river. You set them gently upon a nearby tree branch, following it quickly with your white T-Shirt, and placing the boots at the foot of the tree directly underneath the clothes. Now completely nude, you hastily made your way into the water, the shocking cold briefly causing you to stop for a moment, before you continued to move forward, into the deeper portion of the river. It only took a few short steps before you found yourself neck deep in the water, breathing deeply as the coolness of the water quickly cooled off your overheated body. You closed your eyes for a moment, just enjoying the moment of pure bliss.