I woke up alone in Adam's bed. It seemed odd to be in his bed, in his room, Li's room. I reflected on the night before. Memories were a bit hazy at first, but it became clear quickly enough. The night unfolded in my mind, and the events of the whole day played out in my foggy head.
I felt closer to Adam than I ever had. I knew that I had never met anyone like him, nor had I felt about anybody the way I did about him. I was still confused though. I had to wonder, "Who am I? What sort of person am I becoming? Am I such a progressive and sophisticated person that I can have this liberated relationship? Or, am I just a pervert, doing it because it feels good?"
I crawled out of Adam's bed and found him in the kitchen. Heather must have heard me coming. She had a fresh cup of coffee ready for me. She seemed exceptionally bubbly that morning. She greeted me with a hot cup of coffee and a warm, sweet kiss.
Adam placed his breakfast dishes in the sink without a word. He didn't even make eye contact with me. I was hurt. I looked at Heather. She just shrugged and kissed my cheek. She served me a plate of eggs, biscuits and gravy. The wooden, screen door slammed behind Adam as he walked out back.
I wolfed down my breakfast and hurried to catch up with Adam. I found him in the tool shed, standing in the spot we had shared the day before. He was wiping down a hoe. He had been gathering tools for working in the garden. It wasn't the vegetable garden that we were to be working in that day. I had a nearly a half acre field of marijuana growing down by the river. It was time for weeding and pruning.
We gathered our tools and buckets for water in near silence. I filled two buckets with well water and mixed in some plant food, attached the buckets to a pole that I carried across my shoulders, like a yoke. As we walked down the path to the pot patch, Adam began to whistle. I was glad that he was cheering up. We laughed and joked as we worked. I was feeling very good by mid morning.
I knew that I couldn't get high from the smell of those plants but there was a special aroma to marijuana as it grew that had always lifted my spirits. We plucked the yellowing leaves from the bottoms of the plants, trimmed the tops, dug some weeds, uprooted the last of the male plants and spread the plant food all around. Adam sung to the plants and I gave them a rousing pep talk.
Adam and I had our lunch as Annie ate her brunch of fruit, granola and yogurt. After lunch Adam took out his guitar and tuned it while I found enough dry material in the trimmings we'd gathered to roll a joint. It was a little harsh, but not terrible; a mild mid-day buzz.
Adam started playing "Rock Me on the Water". I joined in on the chorus and by the last refrain Annie had joined in. I had forgotten what a fine voice she had. She had sung in the church choir as a kid, but was sort of shy about her singing. Her voice was high and sweet; a mezzo soprano, I guess; delicate and almost fragile. I had been really pleased at how well my voice blended with Adam's. Annie's voice was the icing on that cake. We found a natural three part harmony.
When the song finished I had chills all over me. Annie was smiling sweetly. Heather, who stood in the parlor door, had a tear in her eye and Adam was obviously pleased.
"Damn, I wish I had a piano," Adam eventual said, as the last sound of the final chord had faded. "That song sounds so much better on piano."
"I want a piano too. I've always wanted a piano," Annie said. " Can you teach me to play? Let's get a piano."
"I can teach you, yeah," replied Adam. I could see that he was getting excited. "When do you want to get one?"
"Now."
"Right now?" he asked, "Today?"
"Yes. Right now. Get dressed and we'll go "
I pulled the tarp off of Annie's Mustang that was parked out in the barn and brought it around in front of the house. Less than an hour later, she and Adam were off to the city to buy a piano.
I sat on the front porch and watched them drive away. I sat and collected my thoughts for a while and decided to give Katie's little sister, Nicole a call. She was still living with her mom and Kate was staying there. I figured if Kate answered the phone, I would tell her I missed her and wondered when she was coming back to the farm. If their mom answered, I would ask for Katie. If Nikki answered, I would simply ask her to meet me at the train station. That is where we always met.
Nikki answered to my relief. "Hey you," I began, "What are you up to?"
"Hey yourself, stranger. Haven't heard from you in a while."
