The Quiet Man

To her surprise, the meal was on the table at precisely noon and was delicious. They ate more than either of them normally would, then cleaned up the mess. Tom said, "Why don't we sit outside again and let this settle. After they had been sitting for a few minutes Tom said, "How would you like to walk down to the river? I either have to move or I'm going to go to sleep."

Chrystal laughed and said, "Me too. Aren't we a fine pair? Without thinking she stood, held her hand out toward Tom and said, "Well, come on."

Tom took her hand and they headed off. They were almost all the way across the yard when they both seemed to realize at the same time they were holding hands. Tom looked over at Chrystal almost at the same time she looked down toward where their hands were joined. They let go of each other's hand and moved a few inches farther apart as they continued on their walk.

Before they were to the river Chrystal felt something brush her side and looked over to see Tom walking closely beside her. Once again, without thinking, she smiled and took his hand. Tom looked down at their once again joined hands then up at Chrystal's face. He gently squeezed her hand and this time, left them joined. Before they reached the river Chrystal was leaning slightly into Tom as they walked hip to hip.

When they reached the river they sat on a rock in a mowed grassy area. The rock was just the right height to serve as a fine seat. They sat and talked for a while as they watched the river flow and an occasional boat move past. Finally Chrystal stood and said, "Tom, I've had a lot of fun but I really need to get home. I want to can the tomatoes today and I have to get back to work on that damn manuscript before I get into a bind."

Tom stood, and this time he took Chrystal's hand as they turned and walked back up the trail to his house. They walked straight to Chrystal's truck and stood almost nose-to-nose for a moment.

With a sigh, Chrystal stepped back and opened her truck door. She looked Tom in the face and said, "Thanks again for today, Tom. You'll have to come to my place next time. Now, I've really got to go."

Tom stood and watched until Chrystal was out of sight then he returned to his house. When he went inside he saw her pan and the remaining rolls on the cabinet. He went to the bathroom then decided to take the pan and rolls back so she would have them for her breakfast the next morning.

Within 30 minutes of her leaving, Tom was walking up on Chrystal's back porch. He stood in the screen door looking into her kitchen and saw her already blanching tomatoes in preparation of peeling and coring them before she canned them. Chrystal jumped when she heard Tom knock on her door and say, "You forgot your pan and rolls so I brought them over, Chrystal."

Chrystal looked at Tom, smiled and quickly dried off her hands. She said, "Well, come on in. Just put them on the table."

Tom looked at the boxes of tomatoes and said, "Let me help you, Chrystal. I don't have anything I have to do and you don't need to do all this by yourself."

"Oh, I couldn't do that. Why don't you just sit and talk while I finish up here."

Tom snorted and said, "It doesn't look to me like you've much more than started. You're nowhere near finishing. Why don't you blanch and I'll peel and core. We'll be done in no time."

Tom grabbed the knife from the cabinet beside Chrystal, took the pan of already blanched tomatoes then moved to the side. He looked around and said, "Where are the jars you were going to put these in? I can cut them and put them into the jars when I peel them."

"They're still in the dishwasher. I ran it while I was at your place."

Tom moved to the dishwasher and pulled the jars from it. He placed them on the cabinet beside where he was going to work and began peeling tomatoes, quartering them and placing them in the quart canning jars. Chrystal continued blanching the tomatoes so the skins would slip off with just a touch making the peeling much easier.

By the time she had all of the tomatoes blanched, Tom had 14 quarts in jars. Chrystal quickly wiped off the tops of seven jars and placed lids on them before putting them in her pressure canner on the stove. As it was building up pressure, she began helping Tom peel and jar the remaining tomatoes. By the time the first pressure canner load was ready to take out the two friends had all the tomatoes in jars ready to pressure can. They had 39 quarts of tomatoes, total.

Tom stayed until the canning was done. While the canner was building up and letting off pressure, they cleaned the kitchen and pots and pans used in canning. When the job was done the cabinet was covered in freshly canned jars of beautiful red and yellow tomatoes.

Tom walked over to the table and pulled a chair out. He sat in the chair and let out a whoosh then said, "Whew that was a job! I haven't canned anything since before Mom died. I love home canned green beans and tomatoes, but I haven't taken the time to do it since I moved out here. I just freeze a little corn and buy most of my other things. I think I'll buy a canner and some more jars and can some tomatoes and beans this year."

Chrystal smiled at Tom and said, "Yeah, it's a little work but the food is so much better it's worth it." She opened the refrigerator, grabbed the tea pitcher and poured them each a glass. She handed Tom his and headed for the door. As she pushed open the screen door she turned to Tom and said, "Come on, let's sit on the porch where its cooler to drink our tea."

Chrystal looked at an old clock on the porch wall and smiled. She turned to Tom and said, "Thanks so much for your help. I can't believe we're already done. It's just barely after seven and I thought I would be working until ten or eleven before I got done. You don't know how much I appreciate this, Tom."

"You're welcome and yes, I think I do know how much you appreciate this. I used to help Mom, and I remember how tiring canning days were. Well, any day we froze, canned or preserved things. I hated it then, but I sort of enjoyed helping you today."

They visited a few minutes then Tom's stomach growled. Chrystal looked over at Tom and said, "Oh, I'm sorry. You must be starved. I know I am. Let me go see what I have to eat. I think all I have that is quick will be sandwiches and chips or I can heat up a can of soup."

"Yeah, I am hungry but there's no reason for you to make a meal. I know you're exhausted. Why don't we go back to my place and we'll eat the leftovers from lunch?"

"I couldn't do that Tom. It wouldn't be right. Come on in. I'll find something."

"Nope, not gonna happen. Come on. It's no bother and we both need a good meal." Tom reached out and grabbed Chrystal's hand. He pulled gently until she sighed and stood. He kept her hand and pulled her down the steps and toward the path to his place.

When they got to Tom's house, he went straight to the refrigerator and began pulling containers of lunch leftovers out. The items in pans he put on the stove and turned on the burners under them. The other items, he loosened the covers on and placed in the microwave for heating. While he was doing that, Chrystal moved to the cabinet and set the table. Within ten minutes they were sitting at the table eating. Almost the only noise heard was the clinking of eating utensils against china. When she was almost done, Chrystal looked over at Tom and said, "This is just as good now as it was at noon. Thank you for letting me eat here. I'm not sure I even had the strength to heat a can of soup. I would probably only have had a sandwich for supper."

"No problem, Chrys. I enjoy having you and it was the least I could do for you."

"Chrys?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, Chrystal. I didn't mean to upset you. That just slipped out."

"No, that's okay. No one's ever called me Chrys before. They just usually call me Chrissie or by my full name. And as to the meal, what do you mean it's the least you could do for me? You didn't owe me anything. If anything, I owe you for helping me this afternoon."

"Well, I kept you from your work after lunch and I was the one that saddled you with all those tomatoes. I just felt as if I should help get rid of them."

After the meal Chrystal helped clean up once again and then headed for the door. She said, "Tom, I hate to eat and run but I really need to go. I'm exhausted and I really have to get up early tomorrow and work on that manuscript. I'd love to sit and talk some more but it's almost 8:30 PM. I'll see you later. I'll bring the peelings and trash from the tomatoes over tomorrow for the livestock."

Tom started toward the door and flipped on the yard light that was on a switch instead of an electric eye. He followed Chrystal out and walked beside her as she started toward her home. She said, "Tom, you don't have to walk me home you know. I'll be fine."

"Well, maybe I don't have to walk you home but I'm going to. That way I'll know you're all right." When they got to Chrystal's house, Tom didn't go inside. He waited until she had some lights on and he heard the door lock then turned and returned to his house.

The next morning Tom was in his shower when he heard a vehicle in his drive. He rushed through his morning ablutions and dressed. When he went outside he found Chrystal on the porch. She smiled when she saw him and stood.

"Chrystal! What are you doing here? I thought you had to work on your manuscript this morning."

"I did. I do, but I was putting the tomatoes away before I started on it and decided since you grew them and helped can them you should have some of them, so I brought some of them and some of the corn down for you and I brought the garbage for the animals at the same time. Besides, there's no way I can eat all those tomatoes and the corn by myself. Now, where do you want them? And will you help me unload so I can get to work?"

"You didn't have to do that."

"Maybe not, but I did. Now, where do you want them?''

"Uh, inside I guess. The freezer is in the utility room I built on behind the house and I'll put the tomatoes in one of the cabinets in the kitchen."

They quickly brought the food inside and set it on the table until Tom could make room for it. He looked at the jars and packages on his table and said, "You brought half of what we canned. Why did you do that?"

"I told you. Fair's fair. Well, I gotta go. Work's calling. See ya later." Chrystal took off out the door, jumped in her truck and roared down the driveway. All at once she stopped and backed up. Tom looked at her in surprise when she jumped out of the truck and reached into the bed. She said, "I almost forgot the garbage for the animals. Is it alright if I just leave the bucket with you and you can bring it back later?"

Tom spent a little over 30 minutes rearranging his cabinets to hold the canned tomatoes, threw the corn in the freezer, then poured his first cup of coffee and made his way to his front porch. He needed to feed his animals, then he would work in the garden. He was behind on the garden work and it seemed to be the highest priority. After a second cup of coffee Tom made a quick breakfast and headed off for his day's work.

When he got to the garden, Tom began using his hoe to weed the rows of vegetables. As he worked down the bean row he stopped in disgust. The damn beans needed to be picked and he already knew there would be way more than he could eat before they went bad. Fuck.

Tom made a quick trip to the barn for buckets to pick beans in. By the time he was done he had fifteen gallons, one and a half bushels, of beans. Tom trudged back to his house with the beans, set them on the porch and went inside for the obligatory glass of ice tea. He came back outside and sat in a chair to begin tailing enough beans for his next couple of meals. While he worked, he tried to decide what to do with the beans. He really didn't have room to keep them cool and in good shape until Saturday when he went to the farmer's market. He perked up when he thought about yesterday. He could borrow Chrystal's pressure canner and can them! He would have green beans all winter. Problem solved.

Tom continued to tail and snap the beans until they were all done. He jumped into his truck and took off for Chrystal's to see if he could borrow her canner. It was almost noon when he knocked on her door. Chrystal came to the door dressed in shorts and a loose top, her breasts wobbling from side to side. Tom stared at her chest for a moment. He could hardly take his eyes off the little tents in her thin top.

Chrystal said, "Tom? What are you doing here?" She saw where his eyes were focused and stepped back blushing.

When Chrystal moved it brought Tom back to the present and he said, "Oh, sorry to bother you while you were working, Chrystal, but I need to borrow your canner if I can. I was working in the garden and had to pick the beans. I have way too many to eat and I can't keep them fresh until Saturday, so I decided to can them since we were talking about it yesterday. And, if you have a book on how long to pressure them and what pressure to use, I would appreciate it, too. If you don't I can look it up on the net."

"Oh, sure. Come on in and I'll get it. I can come help if you need me to."

"No, that's fine Chrys. I know you're busy and I've got most of the hard part done. I already have them cleaned and snapped and I have jars in the dishwasher being washed now. All I have to do is put them in the jars and run them through the canner. I've done it several times with Mom and last night with you, so I'm sure I can handle it."

"Well, if you're sure."

"Yep, I'm sure, "Tom said as he picked up the canner and turned to leave. He turned his back to the screen door to push it open as he left. "Thanks again. I'll let you get back to work now. Sorry I bothered you. See ya."

"Bye, Tom."

Chrystal watched Tom place the caner in his truck and start the engine then she returned to her comfy chair and waiting laptop. Every few minutes throughout the afternoon she would stop and wonder how Tom was getting along. Finally, just before 6 PM. she closed her laptop and said to herself, "That's enough. I've had it."

Chrystal walked into the kitchen, refilled her insulated tea glass and walked out the kitchen door and across the yard toward the path to Tom's. When she came into sight of the house she saw him sitting on his porch with a glass of ice tea.

Tom smiled and stood up when Chrystal stepped onto his porch. "Hi, Chrys," he said. "How's the work going?"

"Pardon the expression, but it's a stone cold bitch. I'll be so glad when I'm done with this one. I decided a few minutes ago I was done for the day, so I decided to come over and see how you were doing." As she was talking, Chrystal moved to the other chair on the porch and sat down.

Tom looked over at her, smiled and said, "I'm about like you. I just quit for the day, also. I canned 14 quarts and 20 pints of green beans today, and I don't mind telling you I'm whipped. Kept six quarts fresh to cook and eat now, plus three of the pints, and one quart didn't seal so I have them to eat, also. Can I send some home with you when you go? I think I'm done canning beans for the summer. I just hope I can find something to do with the rest of the crop that I can't eat."

"I'm sure you can find something. Next time, wait and pick them so you can take them to market or put a sign out on the road to sell them. In fact, you should put a sign out now for all your produce. Heck, you might not even have to go to Chattanooga. There's a lot of folks that don't grow a garden any longer or don't grow as much as they want. They might buy your produce straight from the farm. You should put a sign out about your honey, too."

"Good idea. I'll do that tomorrow."

Tom noticed Chrystal drained her glass and said, "You want more tea? I just made a fresh pot."

She smiled and said, "Thanks." Tom started to get up but she put her hand on his arm and said, "No, stay in your chair. I can get it."

When Chrystal returned she said, "Boy, those beans sure are pretty. When you get more I may have to buy some and can me some. I remember how great home canned beans used to taste. Beats those store bought ones all hollow."

The two friends visited for a few more minutes and Chrystal stood before saying, "I need to go, Tom. I'm beat and I'm sure you are, too. See ya around." Tom stood and watched her as she walked across his yard and down his driveway heading for her home.

After his canning day, Tom found he needed more table salt so decided to go to Drucker's since he only needed a couple of things. Besides, he needed to pick up his mail since he hadn't gotten it in a couple of days. He really needed to get rid of his post office box and put out a mailbox on the road so the rural carrier could deliver for him.

This time he walked to the store again. When he stepped up on the porch the usual crew was sitting and watching the grass dry up. Tom smiled at the men and said, "Good morning."

Sam stood and after the rest of the men greeted Tom said, "Morning, Tom. Haven't seen ya in a while. What can I do for you today?"

"Morning, Sam. I've been busy as a one-armed paperhanger or a one legged man at an ass kicking contest. If I don't do something I'm going to have to hire help or cut back. I have honey and garden truck coming out my ears. I bottled honey most of last week then picked a bunch of stuff Friday, took it to the farmer's market Saturday, then Sunday Chrys and I canned tomatoes. Yesterday I picked and canned green beans and ran myself out of salt and a couple of other things, so I'm here to stock back up."

"Well we can fix ya right up, Tom. Come on in."

Tom followed Sam into the store and began picking up the few things he needed. When he walked past the shelf the honey was on he saw there was only two jars left. He put his purchases down on the counter and while Sam rang them up Tom asked, "You need more honey Sam? I see you only have two jars left and I've got 750 pounds or so out at the place. I need to go back to the farmer's market Saturday, and I'll take most of it to sell then."

Sam thought a moment and said, "Well, I recon I could use another half dozen jars whenever you get time to bring them in. That'll be $9.37 today, Tom."

"Okay. Thanks. Her ya are, Sam. Well, I best be on my way. I have to get the mail and get back to work. See ya in a day or two."

Tom worked around his place the rest of the week. He spent most of the day Friday picking vegetables to take to the market Saturday and loading the honey into his truck. Friday evening about dusk Chrystal showed up again. After the greeting, she said, "What time are we leaving tomorrow, Tom?"

"I was planning to leave about the same time as before. I want to be set up by 7:30 or so. I didn't know you planned to go, though."

Chrystal looked hurt and said, "Oh. I'm sorry. I just thought we were going to go together." She turned and started back home when she felt Tom's hand on her arm. She stopped and turned back toward him. He saw a hint of tear trickles on her cheeks.

"Chrystal, where are you going? I didn't mean I didn't want you to go with me. I was just surprised. I hadn't thought about you going. I mean, I know you are busy with the manuscript and all, and I just thought you would be busy. I'd love to have you if you have time to go but I have to warn you I expect to pay you."

"Tom, I thought we went over this already. You're not paying me. I enjoy it and I can work on my manuscript during slow times like I did before. If you insist on paying me I'll just stay home."

"Oh, okay, if you insist the pay will be the same as last week. You have to come over Sunday for lunch."

Chrystal smiled and moved to 'her' chair on the porch. She said, "I can do that. Hey, ya got any tea made up?"