Universal

Chapter 3

It was Monday before Troy finally made it to the farm. It had been three days since their first meeting. The days spent alone with his thoughts had caused Judson to begin questioning the plan. He had been told that this mission for salvation was the only hope for the 7 planets and the nations inhabiting them, yet he hadn't been given anything to go on other than the name of some scrawny, po-dunk kid. What did the creator see in Troy? What made him so special that in a planet having almost 3 billion people, he was the only one capable of joining the team? Time was ticking and  Judson had grown anxious, but the Creator had assured him that everything was on schedule. The Creator didn’t speak, in open voice, directly to Judson. Instead He showed Himself in visions or dreams. He had manipulated things, like the menu, to send Judson messages and could be heard as a fatherly voice of reason in Judson’s head.

   The day before Troy’s first visit, Judson had taken a pencil and a pad of paper around his farm to survey the work needed. The shack he called home was first on the list. It did it’s job by providing a roof and four walls, but Judson feared that the first summer rain storm would send it all crumbling down. There weren’t animals on the farm, besides two beautiful brown quarter horses whom Judson had named Sally and Colombo. Their corral and small barn needed work as well. That would be enough to start with. Judson hoped the list wouldn’t need to be added to before he could get Troy to accept his mission. 

  It was hot, again, when Troy arrived, but the young man never complained. He used the handkerchief that could always be found shoved into his back pocket to wipe away the sweat. He hummed little tunes and sang to himself, Judson noticed. He liked the kid, for sure. He was hard working and eager to please... but would that be enough? Inwardly, Judson pushed the doubts from his mind and decided it was time to get to know Troy Rogers.  

   “So tell me about Patricia.” Judson said with a sideways glance in Troy’s direction. They were hauling wood from the back of Judson’s pickup to put in a pile by the old shack. Luckily Judson had been given the funds to facilitate his mission and had purchased the materials that he would need for the farm the day before. 

    “Prettiest girl I ever saw.” Troy said. “Very first time I saw her, I told my brother I was gonna marry her.” 

   Judson laughed. “And what did he say about that?” 

   “He laughed at me.” Troy was laughing too, but Judson could tell that the young man meant what he said. “It don’t bother me if he laughs. He didn’t feel what I did when I laid eyes of her. Hit me like a ton of bricks!” He put his hands to his heart. “I knew right then that she had been created just for me.” 

   “Do you believe that?” Judson asked. “That people were created for a purpose?” 

   Troy nodded. “Of course I do. Everything else has a purpose, so why wouldn’t we? Water, fire, grass, bugs.... heck! Even snakes have a purpose and I hate snakes. Sounds silly that out of everything on this planet we would be the only things here without something to do or a reason for doing it.” 

    “And what’s your purpose, Troy?” Judson asked. 

    “Far as I can tell it’s to be a good man. Take care of my family, help my neighbors.... and marry Patricia Stanfield.” He added with a wink. They both laughed as they finished unloading the truck. 

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Troy worked at the furniture plant on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, but every other day he could be found waiting on the dilapidated front porch of Judson's house when he came outside with his first cup of coffee. As expected, when Thursday morning rolled around, he was there....this time sporting dark circles under his eyes that hung like black bags filled with cement. 

"Morning, Boss." Troy said as he stood. 

"What's wrong with you?" Judson asked. 

Troy rubbed his eyes and shook out his shoulders. "I'm just fine, Mr. Camp. Just a little tired's all." He tried assuring the older man. 

"Did you sleep?"

"Ah, a little. Production's behind at the plant, and Daddy's in charge of the crew. If we don't get the orders out by the end of the week the big boss'll have Daddy's head." They were walking now, towards the pile of lumber and tools that had been stowed under a canvas tarp a few feet from the house. "We stayed late the past two nights to try and catch up. When we got home we had to do all the chores at the farm and it musta been half past three this morning when we finally hit the hay." 

Judson looked at the watch on his wrist, it wasn't even 7am yet. He widened his eyes and passed Troy the cup of coffee in his other hand. "Drink this. " He said, " you need it more than me!"

Troy downed the hot black liquid like his life depended on it, and let out out a "Bluck".

"Problem?"

"No sir. I just like my coffee like I like my women...warm and sweet."

"Sorry i didn't dress my coffee in a pretty pink dress." Judson said with a chuckle. 

As they worked the conversation flowed between them. Judson felt like he was beginning to get to know Troy, but was eager to get past the superficial and down to the root of why the Creator might have chosen him. When they broke for lunch of sandwiches and lemonade under the pecan tree Judson decided to dig a little deeper. "Why do you work so hard?" Judson asked him. 

Troy looked at Judson with true confusion in his eyes. 

"I'm not saying I don't appreciate it," he continued. "I'm just curious as to what keeps you going when you look dead on your feet."

Troy shifted and pushed his black Stetson back on his head. "I guess cause my Daddy does. He works most hours of the day  to make sure we got everything we need. I never hear him complain. Even with all the work he does, we struggle. Heck," He said, "We don't even have proper floors in our house." Troy was looking into the distance as he spoke. "I decided when I was a boy that when I became a man, I would take some of the burden off of my Daddy's shoulders. It don't seem right for me to lazy about when he works his tail off all day. Besides," he continued, "I want my brothers and whatever the new baby's gonna be to have everything that Mama and Daddy couldn't give me. I don't want them to worry about where dinner's coming from or having to quit school cause they gotta go to work. I'll do that part. I want them to be whatever they wanna be."

"What do you want to be, Troy?" asked Judson. 

"Happy." The young man said. "I want to be happy. I want to marry a woman who loves me and I want us to raise a family, and build a life that we can be proud of. And I want to teach my kids to do the same. I imagine having a piece of land to call my own with a big red barn, my own pond so I can fish whenever I want and a house that can hold a table so big I can fit all my babies and grand babies around it." He waited a second before he finished. "That would be a perfect life for me."

Tears stung Judson's eyes, and he was thankful that Troy wasn't looking his way. He rubbed his handkerchief over his face in a way that he hoped looked like he was clearing away sweat. "You are a good boy." Judson finally choked the words out. 

"Thank you, Mr. Camp." 

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With every conversation, Judson understood more and more why the Creator had chosen Troy. While he may have quit proper schooling when he was 8, the kid was going places in life; but not in the same manner as other people on Earth. While most people worked to build a future for themselves, Troy worked to make life better for everyone around him. It was exhausting to watch him. Every second of the kid's day was spent doing something for someone. Judson wanted to break that habit for once. 

     When Troy arrived for work on that second Friday Troy was waiting on the front porch for him, and he was holding two cane fishing poles and a container of bait. 

Confused, Troy looked at his boss. "Aren't we working today?" He asked. 

"Today we work on catching lunch, and if we're real lucky," Judson said, "dinner!" 

Judson took him to the creek that he had found on the back side of his property. It was shady and the water was cool as they stepped barefoot onto the slick pebbles that lined the bottom of the muddy water source. They made their perch, on opposite sides of the creek, with feet in the water and butts on the ground. Judson had stopped by the diner the night before and had Patricia pack them a special basket of lunch for the afternoon. When the basket for fish had been filled to the rim Judson pointed to another that was sitting by a nearby tree. "Hungry?" He asked. 

"I thought we were having fish for lunch." Troy said. 

"Ah, maybe tomorrow. It sure would be a shame to waste a lunch specially made by Bethlehem's prettiest waitress, wouldn't it?" Judson teased. 

Troy beamed anytime Patricia was mentioned. He eagerly stood from his perch near the water and made his way to the basket. "She made banana puddin!" He said, throwing back the lid of the wicker tote. "Oh, Mr. Camp! You are in for a treat! Patricia Stanfield makes the best banana pudding in the state!"

The kid didn't lie. Together, under the afternoon beams from the sun, they enjoyed the greatest culinary creation to ever touch the tongue of Judson Camp.

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The next three weeks yielded big results on the farm. Between the two of them they had replaced the roof on the shack and framed in the new walls. They still had to add new siding, but the rain was coming and Judson was confident that the old house would still be standing there when the sun came out again. 

   The roar of thunder signaled quitting time. 

    “Let me buy you dinner.” Judson said as he removed his hat to wipe the sweat from his head. 

    Mirroring his boss’s actions, Troy wiped his own brow. “Thanks, Mr. Camp. I’d like that!” 

    “Now, I don’t know how I feel about this whole ‘Mr. Camp’ thing. When I think about it, you have probably lived more life than I have. It makes me feel like I should be calling you mister. Why don’t you just call me Jud?” 

   Troy nodded with that ever present grin. “Alright, Jud.”