alarmed as I felt, because he laughed at me.
“I’m just kidding. Don’t panic. A couple of women come from Albuquerque. They do the shearing and then spin the fibers for local craft stores and specialty weavers.”
“Good to know.”
“You should see your face.”
“I’ll look when I shave next.”
We came to a sort of lean-to with three big bins beneath it. He was proud of his composting system and rightly so, I guessed. I felt a little bit of his enthusiasm when I dumped the horseshit and pellets into the bin. Even just hovering my hand over the pile, I could feel the heat coming off it. “Wow.”
“See? It gets hot because of all the bacterial activity. Everything breaks down, and eventually it turns into a pile of brown gold.”
“If you say so.”
When I’d emptied the wheelbarrow and turned to go back, he stopped me. “I know what it’s like to have your past or your family history follow you around, but if you’re a good worker, Speed will be fair with you. He’s a great boss. He looks past a man’s baggage and sees into his heart.”
“Thank you.” I said. “All I need is a chance to prove myself.”
“You’ll get that here. Good luck.” His smile warmed me almost all the way through before he left with Threep at his heels. Crispin was a really nice guy. Kind of out there. Was he a good match for a cautious, taciturn man like Speed Malloy?
Probably.
I worked the rest of the stalls, wondering how they’d met and how much trouble being a couple was causing them with the locals. My dad’s old cronies would boycott the J-Bar if they knew. Maybe they’d even cancel contracts for feed and seed and goods.
They might have done worse when my dad was with them, chumming the waters with his nutty conspiracy theories. It wasn’t just immigrants my dad hated, it was anyone who wasn’t white, wasn’t blue collar, wasn’t
him
.
Another reason to be glad my dad was locked away.
“Looks good, but you’re going kinda slow.” Uneven footfalls alerted me to Lucho’s presence behind me. “By now you should be done with all this.”
“The work will go faster next time, when I know where things are.”
“We usually start at five in the morning. Are you going to be able to make that if you have to drive over from your mother’s place every day?” He was stubborn, that’s for sure.
“I’m an early riser.”
He muttered a curse. “Didn’t the army teach you how to program computers or something? ’Cause if shoveling shit is how you’re going to be all that you can be—”
“The army taught me lots of things.” I put the pitchfork aside to heft the handles of the wheelbarrow. “One thing that comes in handy is not letting some trash-talking asshole keep me from doing my job to the best of my ability.”
“Come again?” He blocked my way, arms folded across his chest as if he could actually fight me in the condition he was in.
“You heard me. I’m not getting into this with you while I’m working. If you want to have words later, that’s fine. I’ll pencil you in. We can even exchange a few blows.” I looked at his leg. “If you can catch me.”
“What the hell, man? You think I’m some kind of a joke? An annoyance you can brush off? Your father and his pals burned down my
abuelo
’s restaurant. They broke his spirit, and I’ll be damned if—” He stopped to gain control. I thought he was probably having some kind of dizzy spell.
“Whoa, there.” I took his upper arm to steady him. “Steady.”
He jerked away from me. “So now you come along, and you think what? That you can take my job?”
“Sit down before you fall down,” I begged. “Please.”
“So polite.” He limped over to a hay bale and sat.
“I’ve got manners.” I was reluctant to leave him there until he got some color back in his face, but I had to dump the last of the manure. The job won out. I got almost to the door before he spoke again.
“What’d your father teach you?”
I
“I’m just kidding. Don’t panic. A couple of women come from Albuquerque. They do the shearing and then spin the fibers for local craft stores and specialty weavers.”
“Good to know.”
“You should see your face.”
“I’ll look when I shave next.”
We came to a sort of lean-to with three big bins beneath it. He was proud of his composting system and rightly so, I guessed. I felt a little bit of his enthusiasm when I dumped the horseshit and pellets into the bin. Even just hovering my hand over the pile, I could feel the heat coming off it. “Wow.”
“See? It gets hot because of all the bacterial activity. Everything breaks down, and eventually it turns into a pile of brown gold.”
“If you say so.”
When I’d emptied the wheelbarrow and turned to go back, he stopped me. “I know what it’s like to have your past or your family history follow you around, but if you’re a good worker, Speed will be fair with you. He’s a great boss. He looks past a man’s baggage and sees into his heart.”
“Thank you.” I said. “All I need is a chance to prove myself.”
“You’ll get that here. Good luck.” His smile warmed me almost all the way through before he left with Threep at his heels. Crispin was a really nice guy. Kind of out there. Was he a good match for a cautious, taciturn man like Speed Malloy?
Probably.
I worked the rest of the stalls, wondering how they’d met and how much trouble being a couple was causing them with the locals. My dad’s old cronies would boycott the J-Bar if they knew. Maybe they’d even cancel contracts for feed and seed and goods.
They might have done worse when my dad was with them, chumming the waters with his nutty conspiracy theories. It wasn’t just immigrants my dad hated, it was anyone who wasn’t white, wasn’t blue collar, wasn’t
him
.
Another reason to be glad my dad was locked away.
“Looks good, but you’re going kinda slow.” Uneven footfalls alerted me to Lucho’s presence behind me. “By now you should be done with all this.”
“The work will go faster next time, when I know where things are.”
“We usually start at five in the morning. Are you going to be able to make that if you have to drive over from your mother’s place every day?” He was stubborn, that’s for sure.
“I’m an early riser.”
He muttered a curse. “Didn’t the army teach you how to program computers or something? ’Cause if shoveling shit is how you’re going to be all that you can be—”
“The army taught me lots of things.” I put the pitchfork aside to heft the handles of the wheelbarrow. “One thing that comes in handy is not letting some trash-talking asshole keep me from doing my job to the best of my ability.”
“Come again?” He blocked my way, arms folded across his chest as if he could actually fight me in the condition he was in.
“You heard me. I’m not getting into this with you while I’m working. If you want to have words later, that’s fine. I’ll pencil you in. We can even exchange a few blows.” I looked at his leg. “If you can catch me.”
“What the hell, man? You think I’m some kind of a joke? An annoyance you can brush off? Your father and his pals burned down my
abuelo
’s restaurant. They broke his spirit, and I’ll be damned if—” He stopped to gain control. I thought he was probably having some kind of dizzy spell.
“Whoa, there.” I took his upper arm to steady him. “Steady.”
He jerked away from me. “So now you come along, and you think what? That you can take my job?”
“Sit down before you fall down,” I begged. “Please.”
“So polite.” He limped over to a hay bale and sat.
“I’ve got manners.” I was reluctant to leave him there until he got some color back in his face, but I had to dump the last of the manure. The job won out. I got almost to the door before he spoke again.
“What’d your father teach you?”
I
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