RIDE THE TIDE

Chapter 8-Home Farm:

The ride towards Ripon was beautiful and peaceful. The rolling hills, Tom told her, were the Yorkshire Dales.  Everything was so green, so fresh-looking. Brilliant colors came to Penny’s mind. Back in South Carolina the August heat would have taken its toll by now. The grass would be parched except where constant sprinklers ran, water mostly evaporating before it hit the ground. They drove through Ripon and on toward Pateley Bridge. Penny’s head was turning sideways, front and back trying to see everything.  There was a low stacked-stone fence that ran alongside the roadway and, coming to its end, Tom turned down a single lane, unpaved road.  She could see the stacked-stone fences like outlines of a quilt patch covering the hill sides. As they turned off the main road, Penny asked, "Where does this road lead?" 

"Home," Tom replied, his voice quiet.

Penny began to feel the old nervousness in her stomach. She began to think of the house, the

staff and his mother. She had never been a girlfriend before and was not sure where she fit with his family. Davey was no problem, she had met Daveys before. Penny’s only experience here was from movies she had seen where everybody was proper and people knew their place. Did she have a place? On which side of the salt would she sit be seated? She had begun to twist the sleeve of Jess’s sweater when Tom reached out and took her hand. He always seemed to know when she needed his strength.

Tom could feel her growing anxiety when he told her they were home. Coming around a curve in the road, he stopped the car, got out and walked over to the stacked fence. "Come look, Penny.”

She got out of the car and joined him. Tom pointed out a long stone house nestled at the base of the hill.  “That’s where we are going.  See it’s not a castle, not some big country estate. It’s an English farmhouse, maybe a little larger than your Terry’s farm house, but it’s the same thing in a different place. Off to the right there are outbuildings, like Terry’s barn and probably his woodshed, although I’m glad I never saw that. Everything you see here, the land and the sheep up high on that hill, belongs to my family. It’s a working farm that pays for itself, but that’s all. We are not a rich family, no old money to fall back on, only what I make from my work and what is produced here. We eat our meals in the kitchen, Penny.”

“Thank you, Tom. I feel rather silly now. It’s beautiful, almost a bird’s eye view from here. How many people live in this house?”

“Just my Mum and Dad and me when I’m here.  You can’t see it from here but there is another house over behind that hill just to the left and Janey and Peter have a home there. This road will fork ahead and if you follow it straight it will take you to another house. That’s where the Akkers family live. They have been with us forever. Akkers' mother, and don’t ask me why we call her Akkers, was with my grandparents. She keeps house and cooks.  Her husband, Donnie, takes care of the sheep. Mum and Dad run the farm. So there you have it. Shall we go see what’s cooking?”

“Why didn’t Davey stay here, Tom?”

“Because we only run white sheep.” Tom smiled at that. What a line, he might just use that some time.

Penny couldn’t figure the layout of the house when they parked in the yard.  There was a two story main part of the house with three doors that opened into the yard. Connected to one end was a long one story part with several doors that also opened into the yard.  Having sold real estate for eight years, she could usually figure it out before she unlocked a door. This was all new and she couldn’t wait to explore.

Akkers was standing in the kitchen door. Penny immediately thought of an apple dumpling.  She was about Penny’s height but round and with a great shelf of a bust. Her hair was salt and pepper and she had those bright blue eyes Penny had noticed in Johnny. She had a pinny attached to her bosom and a large ladle in her hand.

“Ah, Tommy, 'tis good to see ya!” She came out, ladle and all, and hugged Tom. “'Tis good ye come home and sorry I am for the reason. Come in, come in! Ye must be Penny. Our Davey said ye were a luvly gurl.”

Tom shook his head. “Davey called already? We just left there.  I guess he couldn’t wait to spread some gossip.”

“Aye, he did and all. And about our Johnny.” She gave him a reproachful look. "Left him, ya did at ‘eathrow, aye. An wot’s he to do then? He’s not been seen?”

“Johnny’s a resourceful fellow, he’ll turn up. And, Akkers, when he does and if his hair is still blue…send him back. I just know he hasn’t been mucking out stables or been around Mum’s pigs with that lot. I just know it. You wouldn’t allow that' would you, Akkers, knowing how sensitive Mum’s pigs are?  And the hens. He wouldn’t be around the hens blue hair and all, would he? What kind of eggs do you think we’ll have? Eh?”

“Wal, Tommy, ‘e gits ‘is self up when he goes out, ‘e does. Hard worker is our Johnny. Ye canna fault ‘im for that. Donnie an me, we try to talk to ‘im but ‘e just laughs, ‘e does. Donnie won’t see ‘im at pub.” Akkers had dropped head and was twisting the ladle.

Tom put his arm around her. "I'll see to Johnny. Now what’s that ladle for?  Is it soup?"

"Aye, it was. Now go find your Mum and we’ll set table."

Tom, dismissed, asked, "Do you know where Mum is?" 

Akkers replied, "This time of day she'll be at pigs."

Tom took Penny’s hand. "We'll have a bit of a walk ahead of us." 

He led her across the yard, past the outbuildings, and around the base of the hill. Out of sight of the house the land sloped down and they followed the path to the pig pens.  Large wooden pens joined a stone wall and were half covered with a tiled roof. The pigpen smelled homey, like one Terry used to have.  Tom spotted his mother and ran ahead.

Penny watched her walking up by the pens.  She was a tall woman with long gray hair pulled back in a ponytail and was dressed in a man's plaid shirt with old corduroy pants stuffed into rubber boots. She and Tom were embracing and she was wiping her eyes. Tom pulled her back and they stood talking for a minute then he turned and brought his mother to Penny.

Penny was amazed when she looked into her face. It was Tom’s face, only softer. And there was that azure gaze. Some of her hair had come loose from the clip and was hanging in waves around her face. Penny thought she was beautiful. She put out her hand when introduced. “Hello, Mrs. Cox,” she said.

“Oh, no, luv! I’ve been at pigs and I’m just Mum.”

Penny told her how happy she was to finally meet her. The three of them walked slowly back to the house talking of his dad, whose name was John Thomas Cox. His mother was Anna. Penny felt comfortable with Anna.  After all, she was just a country woman, too. Penny told her she had met Davey and was looking forward to meeting Janey and Peter.

"Ah, Davey, yes," she smiled. Anna was very curious about Penny.  Tom had never brought anybody home to meet her. The Spanish girl he married never made it to Yorkshire. This was a pleasant surprise. She thought Penny’s accent was lovely. Anna excused herself to clean up, telling them to go ahead and bring their things in and get settled.  She would tell Akkers to set table.

Tom and Penny unloaded the car and he headed for the single story end.  Penny followed, wondering about the layout.  He opened the door into a large sitting room, complete with TV, stereo equipment and comfortable, worn furniture. The old polished tile floors were strewn about with faded Turkish rugs. There was a large fireplace on the end that connected to the

two-story house. Deep casement windows on both sides of the room admitted light, one side looking out onto the yard and the other over the dales. The walls had a cream lime wash and were hung with oil paintings of the dales and farm animals.

He passed through a door in the middle of the wall into another room.  This must be where he works, thought Penny. A large desk ,complete with computer and telephone, was set against

one of the windows overlooking the dales. Stacks of books covered most of the surface.  Penny thought it looked like the one in Mt. Pleasant, only larger. There were bookcases on either side of the doorways, and comfortable leather chairs. Two guitars were leaning against the wall.

"What happened to the guitar in Mt. Pleasant?" she asked. 

"It's still there.  Came with the house."

Through the next door and they were in Tom’s bedroom. Each room opened to the other and each had a door to the yard. What a good idea, thought Penny. Tom’s room was a study in dark reds. She wondered who had decorated it for him.  There were dark red Turkish carpets on the tile floors, deep crimson velvet pelmets over the casement windows. The large four poster bed was covered in a paisley coverlet. The furniture was a mismatch of woods and periods. An old tapestry-covered sofa sat under one window.  The walls were the same cream lime wash. One wall had been bumped out at the end of the building to house a bathroom.

Tom dumped the bags on the floor and turned to Penny.  “Well, here it is, all three rooms of it. All mod cons,” he said as he turned on the bathroom light, watching to see her reaction.

Penny sat her duffel bag on the floor and walked over to the open window that looked out on the green rolling hills.  It was beautiful, so warm, so homey and someone had placed flowers in each room as if they knew she were coming.  She walked over and smelled the roses placed on the round table by the bed. “Lovely, Tom, comfortable and very special. Just like you.”

“Comfortable, am I, like an old shoe? Come here, wench.”

Akkers had set table.  There were steaming bowls of vegetable soup, small individual loaves of fresh baked bread and butter. Sliced tomatoes for salad and apple pie with custard for pudding. Drink was bottled lager and glasses of water. Penny thought it a feast. She couldn’t remember when she had last eaten a proper meal. Tom ate like a man starved.

Anna had bathed and dressed in gray slacks and a blue silk shirt.  Her hair was slicked back in the pony tail with a silver clip. She had just talked with Janey, who was on her way to the hospital, and thought after the meal she would go, too.

"We'll take you," Tom offered.

They arrived at the hospital the same time as Davey. He gave his Mum a kiss and a hug and they all walked in together. The tiny room was filling up. Janey and Peter were there with their two children, Petey and Laura.  Penny was introduced in hushed tones by Anna. Janey nodded and gave her a little smile.  Anna went to John’s side and took his hand. Davey moved to the other side of the bed and Tom was at the foot with Penny. Janey and Peter were with Davey and their children at their grandmother’s side.

The old man slowly opened his eyes and looked at Anna. Then he looked at each of his family members and lastly at Penny. He could not talk, but Penny answered him in her mind. 'I will love him and care for him,' she said silently. She had heard his plea as if he had spoken. He tried to take a breath and seemed in some difficulty. Peter slipped out of the room and down the hall where he met a nurse on her way to the room. The old man had taken his last breath. Penny felt the tears run down her face.

Tom moved to Anna and took her in his arms where she wept silently. Janey was holding onto Davey and they both were weeping. Peter had taken the children down the hall and sat with them in a small waiting room. Penny walked out in the hallway and leaned against the wall. She wished she could have known him, the man who raised Tom. She wondered about his family, all arriving here at about the same time.  They were all there for him in the end. She realized they must have all known, somehow.

They were coming out of the room now. Janey down the hall to Peter and her children. Tom came over to Penny and put his arms around her. His eyes were red, his face wet. Davey had his arm around his mother. She had dried her eyes; Davey had not.

“Let’s all go home,” Anna said, lifting her chin and taking Davey’s hand. She walked with him down the hall to tell Janey. They made a caravan along the winding roads to the farm. Davey had taken his mother with him, Tom and Penny followed.

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