Dinner For One

On cold days when the stock is gathered near the tanks and the steam rises from the water and mixes with their breath in the air, She thinks of him in that far away place and wonders if he ever thinks of her... Then she spreads the feed, scatters the hay and talks to the horses, Going on with this life she was born to and chooses to stay with. But, sometimes in the dusk, as she drives back to the barn, she hears his voice saying he would give it all up just for her, if only she would say the word. She supposes the word she said was not the correct one. She cannot give up the land. It will not let her. It demands her attention. And he is jealous, but unwilling to fight for her love. So, she hangs up her coat, kicks off her boots, fixes dinner for one and watches the evening Ag. reports. Before sleep she will write in the farm journals kept up for generations and now her responsibility... “Bred heifers looking well, no sign of sickness, water cleared of ice, pump still working after repair.” She puts down her pen, tucks herself in for the night, and as she drifts to sleep, she thinks of him; And she wonders, does he ever, think of her...