37 First Visit in the Stream Ranch
1586 Words
“Are you ready?” Noah said to his two-year-old nephew, who roamed his tiny head around the airport, looking bewildered at sight before him.
“Evan?” he called again when Evan didn’t respond. Then, Noah knelt down and gently turned his small face to him, “We’re going now,” said Noah, a smile playing on his lips.
The child held his hand as they walked toward the seat to the waiting area. His face reflected in Noah's bright irises. Then, his tiny moved into a timid nod.
“Go,” said Evan.
Mary squealed behind Noah. She elongated her arms, spreading them wide to enclose Evan in an embrace. When she finally pulled the boy within her grasp, she cradled him like a newborn child.
“You’re too cute!” she squeezed him another time. “And you smell like fresh soap!”
It's been two years since Elijah and his wife had blessed them with their first nephew, and of course, to his parent's delight, their first grandchild.
“Are you hungry, baby?” his mother called to Evan while sitting on Mary’s lap.
Evan shook his head no.
Noah initially planned to bring everyone together in the trip to his Stream Ranch, but Elijah and his wife back-out a month before they’re flight.
When Noah asked for the reason, Elijah reiterated that he'd been promoted as team leader for the software they're currently developing. An infamous company had explicitly requested the system of goods, so their CEO had been quite ecstatic about the results. Of course, Elijah's company couldn't refuse the offer since they dealt with a profile client. With that, Elijah offered that Noah takes his wife and son with him on the said trip. Unfortunately, Elijah’s wife also couldn’t make it due to her busy schedule as a Marketing Strategist. Busy schedules and hectic deadlines, they asked Noah to take their son on the trip, instead.
"Alright you two," Mary's fiancé waltzed toward where they were. She met him a year ago when she quit teaching. The guy had been eyeing her ever since they were working together. But he didn’t have the opportunity to get to know each other because Mary resigned immediately after Noah had her and his mother work on their flower shop.
“Oh, there’s Calvin,” Mary took Evan’s hand and waved it toward a smiling Calvin.
Calvin strode to their seat, “How’s everyone around here?”
“We’ll be boarding the plane, sooner than expected,” Noah called from the other end of the seat.
He can’t wait to bring them all in his Stream Ranch.
“Good morning, everyone,” said Wynn from the driver’s seat. Noah had him use his newly bought twelve-seater vehicle. With all the luggage they brought, Noah doubts they’d fit inside his wrangle all together.
His mother cradled a sleeping Evan in her shoulder. “How are you, Wynn? It’s been a long flight, and I feel like my back would break.”
Wynn smiled from the rearview mirror, “Quite good, ma’am! We’re all excited for you to experience the Stream Ranch.”
From the backseat, Noah’s father yelled, “You bet!”
Noah had never seen him this excited in his entire life. It felt as if he had been pulled back to his youth.
“Dad!” Mary shouted, her cheeks flushing, “You’re way too excited about this.”
Their father’s brow creased in confusion, “Aren’t you?”
Mary had her lips in a thin, “Of course, I am.”
“Come on, Mary!” Their father patted her in the shoulder, and she shrieked a little from the impact. “There would be horses, ranches, riding gears—”
By this time, Noah observed his father's eyes had practically shone like diamonds. He was probably too excited during the plane ride that he hadn't had a single wink of sleep for hours.
“Alright you two,” their mother warned, “If Evan accidentally wakes up, I’d have you shift diaper duties at night.”
His father immediately nodded in enthusiasm. “I will seat here and mind my own business.”
Despite the promise of threat in his mother’s tone, their father just reclined his chair and sat back like the good old dad.
When the car parked, their father immediately leaped out from his chair, pulling the van’s door open and jumping on the soil underneath him.
“Come on, you slowpokes!” he waved his hand in the air, “we can’t waste time!”
Calvin and Mary followed suit with Calvin shielding her head from the arc on the van’s door.
“We’re finally here!” Mary said, her smile as bright as the sunlight that peered beneath them.
Noah sighed as he flattened his shirt, "Welcome," he said as he gestured toward the gate.
His father practically tailed him like a giddy child, while Mary, Calvin, and their mother, who still cradled Evan in her arms, took their time walking on the fertile soil.
Their heads moved around the whole place.
Their father’s head moved in an angle that would give him a stiff neck. He cleared his throat when Wynn walked beside him. The lad explained what was inside the barns, the things they do inside it, the hays they stack for the animals, and many more to which their father responded positively.
“I’d like to go there later on,” he mumbled to himself as Noah looped his right arm on his shoulder.
“Sure, you would, Dad,” he smiled. “But please sleep and have dinner.”
He pushed the door open for a lot of them.
Nancy and Thomas greeted them warmly, Wynn offering to have their luggage delivered after dinner.
Thomas shook their hands, and when he saw the sleeping Evan cradled in Noah’s mother’s arms, his face lightened into a glow Noah had never seen before.
“Whose child is that?” he inquired, the curiosity all over his face.
Don’t tell me…he likes children?
Noah caressed Evan’s face with his thumb, “He’s my nephew. His parents couldn’t make it to the trip, so we had to take him here all by himself.”
“I see,” Thomas said. “If you would like, I can also take care of him when you’re busy roaming the ranch.”
Noah’s mother huffed, “That would be good. Or you can help take care of him as he joins us with touring Noah’s Stream Ranch.” She gave the older man a gentle smile, “Do you happen to like children?”
Thomas cleared his throat, his hand roaming behind his neck. His cheeks flushed red as his eyes darted toward a snickering Noah and a Wynn watching on the kitchen’s arc, a smile plastered on his lips.
"Well…" Thomas turned, his eyes fleeting from Noah, Wynn, then back at Evan, who's slowly waking up now.
“I do like them… and I hope Wynn here would give me my first grandchild.” Thomas said it as honestly as he can, and for that, Noah had been proud of him. The older man had been slowly opening his heart to them for the past years.
“Dad…!” Wynn shouted from the other end of the room.
His eyes widened—he couldn’t believe his father had been thinking about such things.
“Oh, God, now I am the one getting embarrassed.” He let out a nervous chuckle.
Noah strode to where he was, “Lighten up, buddy!” he patted the lad’s back. “No one’s pressuring you.”
“Though the sooner the better,” Thomas teased without sparing his son a look.
Wynn’s mouth dropped open, and Noah burst out laughing.
His mother had a half-smile on her lips, and later on, Noah caught her yawning.
“Why don’t we have dinner and proceed to the tour, afterwards?”
“Good idea!” his father jogged to where he was, “Son, if you’d allow me, maybe Thomas can accompany me to…” he trailed off, the embarrassment showing on his pink cheeks, “…the, uhm, you know—”
Noah laughed a bit as his hand moved up and down his father’s shoulders, “I could arrange that. I’m sure Thomas would be delighted to accompany you.”
“I didn’t expect this farmhouse to be this big!”
“Well, I often have large groups visiting the place. And I thought about you and my friends when I made the floor plan.”
Mary raised her thumb at him, “I like it here.”
Calvin brushed his arm to her, “She’d like to see your dogs.”
Mary nodded, “You know I’m fond of them!”
“I figure,” Noah answered with a grin.
Mary had been asking him for pictures of Ginger now and then.
Soon, Nancy peaked from the space near the kitchen, her smile widening as she said, “Dinner’s ready!”
They ate with a jolly conversation that tackled the things Noah had in his Stream Ranch.
Of course, Noah noted his father had been the most excited about it.
When they were done eating, Mary and Calvin volunteered to take care of Evan while his mother and father make a tour around the Stream Ranch.
“Great idea,” his father said when he stood outside Noah’s porch.
“Okay, Dad.” Noah knew he couldn’t wait any longer. “Come on.”
And so he led his father into the stables, and it was the first time he saw the older man grasp at his arm for support when Bean moved his head in acknowledgment of their presence.
Noah confirmed his father did a passion for horses. Noah had arranged the saddle on Night and Bean. And when he opened the gates of their cubicles, his father shrieked with joy.
“Oh, do we ride them? Do we ride them?”
Noah handed him the reins. “Yes. And you’re taking the Friesian horse.”
Bean nodded his head. Then, he jerked a movement toward his back.
“Oh, you want Dad to ride with you?”
Bean nodded, and his father almost fell on the floor from his excitement.
The rest of the tour flew by without any problems. Noah's parents spent their entire days either riding horses or planting crops for the winter. Together with Wynn and Nancy, Mary and Calvin toured the east side of Noah’s Stream Ranch. Soon, Noah saw the three of them handling the sheep and dogs, Mary playing with the Ginger most of the time.
- Writer
