Jennifer : 26 - College Days : Summer Job at the Farm (F/F, M/F)

[Soraka]

Jennifer's stories
26 - College Days : Summer Job at the Farm
Story index at the bottom

By Jennifer

Thu Apr 12, 2012 10:04 am

Hello everybody,

It has been quite a while since I last put that line to good use. Some of you might remember me from when I first posted on this board a very long time ago. It has been 2 or 3 years since my last story here. I would have to check to be sure. However, I got several requests from some of the board members and some close friends to see if I would ever consider resuming my writing. I am married now with two wonderful children, one from my husbands first marriage and my first child. They are growing up wonderfully and I have changed from a working woman to a stay at home mom.

Still, this eats up so much of my time that I didn't know if I would ever have time to resume my writing or not. Still, even in my busy life, I managed to find some time to compose something. I am writing from my brother's house. My husband watches the kids on Thursdays. So, I go and visit my brother and he is more than happy to let me use his computer to compose a story. I can also work on it at home and then he will post it here for me using my account information. If you see me post on another day of the week, that is just when I have finished proof reading what I wrote and my brother is putting it up for me.

Anyways, my postings will still be rather limited, I will probably only post a story every couple of weeks, but it's still better than nothing. I am writing this particular series in memory of a good friend. She died rather tragically two years ago, and this is my own special way of remembering her. I hope everyone enjoys the stories.

I apologize up front for what I am about to tell you, this is a rather long story and will have quite a few parts. The first few might or might not have a tie up situation in them, I need to lay some ground work for this story and I will do my best to be concise, but most of you know that is not my style. Well, without further pratel here we go.

It was the second Saturday in May that year. It would be my final one at college for my sophomore year at least. I was 20 or 21 at the time, I cannot remember which, not that it really matters. For those of you not familiar with my past stories, I was a smaller framed young woman at the time. I was just an inch over 5 feet, I had light blue eyes and light brown hair that I kept cut just above shoulder length. At the time of this story, I was wearing a pair of blue jean, white socks, a red t-shirt and my pikachu slippers. I was sitting in the wooden chair that the college had provided for our dorm room in front of my computer. It was an older thing, little more than a glorified typewriter with internet access, still it was better than nothing.

My computer was the only one left in the room. Stephany had already taken hers home for the year along with a good deal of the other stuff in the room. If you looked around, the room was pretty bare. Steph usually slept on a sofa that had a fold out bed, for the last week, she had been in a sleeping bag on the floor, not that I blamed her. It was something I had learned the hard way at the end of my freshman year trying to take all the furniture home during the last day on checkout. We had to call my brother and have him make a 45 minute drive one way to the college to help when everything didn't fit in my mother's van. I had taken most of my stuff home the weekend before. Stephanie was also absent this weekend, in fact, she won't be part of these stories since, they really didn't happen at college.

Ashley way laying on my bed, it was the lower bunk of course. We shared everything in that room. The television was on in the background, Pokemon was playing at it's normal Saturday morning slot, Ashley's favorite show. She was taller than I was by just over half a foot, she had bright green eyes and long blond hair that she let hang down loosely behind her head. She was of a slim build with a good deal of muscle. She was a farm girl from southern Ohio who had grown up knowing hard work and was not studding to become a teacher. Ashley and I had clicked well since we had first met a the previous year as college roommates. She dressed and behaved like she was 10 to 12 years old in appearance, but at the end of the day, she knew how to work hard and accomplish anything she put her mind to. She was taking 3 more credit hours than I was and holding down a 3.9 GPA. So, whatever she was doing, she was doing it correctly.

I felt lucky to be at a 3.2. I was working on finishing a take home exam for one of my classes next week. I was lucky. I had 5 classes and 3 of them had been take home exams and one didn't even have one. Ashley had 1 take home and 5 tests the following week, but it didn't seem to bother her. I had one exam on Wednesday morning plus, I had to finish writing another 4 or 5 pages to finish this take home one.

(I am going to try a new style of writing for dialogue, I see it here all the time and it seems to flow better and be easier to read.)

"Jennifer, you know that paper would probably finish a lot quicker if you didn't check your email every 5 seconds. Also, you could probably type faster without those handcuffs on your wrists." The two comments were flowing from the girl stretched out on my bed watching a cartoon intended for 8 to 12 year old.

She was probably right on both accounts. My hands were cuffed together in front of me with a set of handcuffs. They were just the normal type with the little 3 link chain between the hands. I had already packed up the rest of my tie up stuff and transported it home the previous weekend. Like Stephanie, I was stripping the room down to bare essentials. The cuffs made typing harder without a doubt, but they also kept me on task. I spent a lot of time during my college days with handcuffs on my wrists when I was studying or working on a paper. At least when I was in my dorm room. As silly as that sounds, they kept me better focused on the task at hand. If I went to stretch, they would remind me that I had homework to do. They also kept me from leaving to get a drink of water, getting a breath of fresh air, or anything else the would cause me to procrastinate getting the work done.

I left the keys in the possession of my roommate to prevent me from leaving the room until I completed this task.

I just shrugged as best I could. "What about you? You have 5 tests to study for and here you are watching TV?" I replied.

"Just enjoying the TV while we still have it. My dad is going to be by in a few hours to take some stuff home. He is bringing his pick up truck and taking everything but, my clothes, bedding, books ..."

"and the kitchen sink" I threw in for good measure. I wasn't mad at Ashley over the visit. We just gave each other a hard time. I didn't have too much left either. I had 3 or 4 changes of clothes, my bedding, my computer and it's accessories and two school books. The remainder of my belongings, would fit in my pants pockets. It was that time of year and I was getting ready to go home myself. Ashley drove a smaller car and she really needed her father's pickup truck to move in and out. It was nice that he was coming.

Ashley dropped the subject and went back to her Saturday morning cartoons. I resumed working on my final exam. I wanted it done. I had one test that I would need to study for a few hours for, but that was it. I set myself to my work and over the next 90 minutes or so, I cranked out 4 pages of the 4 and a half that I needed. I was close to finishing and I decided to take a quick break to check my email one more time. I brought up internet explorer and shifted my cuffed hands from the keyboard over to the mouse. It took me about 30 seconds to bring up my yahoo account and get to the inbox. The handcuffs made the whole task more difficult than was necessary, but I was accustomed to working with my wrists joined in front of me.

It was there, on the top subject line of the inbox. I clicked on it and it opened up on the screen in front of me. My eyes read over it slowly taking in the content of the message line by line. It was a little over a paragraph, but it was succinct in getting the point across. I finished reading it and my heart sank. The burst of energy I had working on the final exam faded quickly along with my attitude. This was anything but good news. I looked over at Ashley who was now sitting at the empty desk in our room with the television off and a book cracked on the desk in front of her.

"Ash, I need to get these off." I said looking up at her holding my wrists up in the air.

"Is your paper done Jennifer ? You told me not to let you go until it was finished." She asked.

"Not yet, but this is an emergency, I need to call my mom and I cannot go downstairs like this. Please, I will finish when I get back" I pleaded.

Ashley stopped reading and looked up studying the concern on my face. She reached into her pocket and tossed a small ring of keys my way. I caught it by cupping my cuffed wrists. "It's probably for the best, my dad is going to be here soon and I would have to let you go anyways."

I fumbled around with the ring of keys until I found the one I needed. I released the handcuffs and slid them into the drawer under my desk. I collected my wallet and keys from beside me on the desk and moved darted out of the room with my head held low. I made my way around the corner to the elevator and pushed the down button on it. It arrived a few minutes later and I pushed the button for the ground floor. One of the items that Stephanie had taken home the weekend before was the phone from our room. It hadn't been a big inconvenience, since my parents and I mostly kept in contact by email. However, with this I wanted to hear my mother's voice. I didn't want to sit and wait for another email.

I got off the elevator and fished a prepaid calling card out of my pocket. Then, I made my way over to the pay phone in the dorm lobby. I dialed about 30 numbers and finally it began to ring on the other end. After 3 rings, a familiar voice picked up on the other line.

"Hello, ________ residence." The lady on the other stated.

"It's Jen mom." I replied

"Hi honey, what's up you don't sound too happy?"

"I just got the email, the bank isn't going to have a job for me this summer, what am I going to do?" I replied.

. . . . . . .

The conversation continued for about another 20 minutes. I had worked my summer vacation the previous year as a teller for a local bank. Originally, when I had left at the end of the year, they told me to call them any time and they would have a job for me. I had done just that 4 weeks ago and the manager on the other end told me she wanted me back. She promised to email me the starting date and time. Instead, I had gotten a 8 sentence email that all positions were full and they were very sorry but had no work for me to do. My mother listened to me unload and then taking it in quiet stride took a few minutes to reassure me that the world would keep turning even if I wasn't going to be a bank teller that morning.

She told me not to concern myself with the matter. That there were plenty of other jobs available and she would help me find one. I needed to finish with my school work and we would cross that bridge when we come to it. By the time I was finished half an hour after the conversation began, I wiped the tears from my eyes and composed myself the best that I could. My strength was renewed and I turned my attention and thoughts back to the paper. I hung up the phone and started on my return trip the elevator. I arrived shortly at it's location on the ground floor and was pleasantly surprised to see a familiar face standing there. "Good morning Fred." I stated causally.

Fred was a big man in his mid 40's. I was tall and looked stronger than a bull moose. His demeanor was always casual and easy going. Although his clothes looked like they had gone out of style in the late 70's. He wore big blue overalls, a plaid button down shirt and a wide brimmed straw had covering the top of his head. He shared Ashley’s green eyes, bright blond hair and most importantly her warm smile. He went by Fred, short for Freddy his true first name. Ashley never called him Dad, Father and he preferred not to be referred to by Mr. followed by his last name. When I had met him, he went by Fred and I was told that was how I was to address him from now on.

"Well good morning Jennifer, I almost didn't see you there. Nice to see you as always." He took a moment and studied me.

We had met maybe a dozen times or so up to this point in my life. He came now and again to check on his daughter when he had business up this way. He sometimes would stay for a few hours and even grab a free meal from the student dining hall. Parents ate free on our campus. He looked me up and down quietly. The man had an uncanny ability to read people.

"Why so down Jennifer?" He asked reading the tell tale marks on my face and body language. I gave him the short version of the recent events of the morning while we waited for the elevator to arrive. He listened attentively and nodded here and again.

We boarded the elevator. "I wouldn't worry so much about it Jennifer. There are plenty of jobs to go around and a hard worker like you should have no trouble finding one. Heck, I haven't even filled all the farm hand positions I need for the summer yet. Seems kids these days would rather wear a paper hat and hand out ketchup for a living rather than milk cows." I smiled and almost couldn't help but laugh.

We exited the elevator and made our way down the hallway to my dorm room. Ashley stood up for a moment and offered her father a quick greeting and a warm hug before sitting back down.

"I cannot stay long today princess, I am just here to load up your things and transport them home. Besides, I will see you for the whole summer in a week. You keep up your studies. It only looks like 5 or 6 trips, I will load up the truck and be on my way." He finished giving her a quick kiss on the cheek.

Ashley nodded and made her father promise to spend a few minutes when he was done before he left. He nodded and began collecting the first load of his daughter's belongings to take down to the truck that waited below.

"Do you want some help?" I asked watching the big man get to work.

"If you have the time I won't turn you down." Fred replied.

I grabbed a slightly smaller load and followed him out of the room after changing my slippers for some tennis shoes. I followed the farmer out to the parking lot and made another 3 trips with him to complete the task. The two of us talked back and fourth. I asked him where his farm was located and if it would be OK for me to come out and visit Ashley some time this summer. He gave me his address and when I didn't have an clue about it, he asked for mine. It was a little over a two hour drive. Still, he told me I was welcome any time and that Ashley would certainly appreciate a visit from me. The two of us were close friends and I missed her over the summer.

I told him a little bit about my grandparents farm up in Pennsylvania and some of my childhood memories from it. After we made the third trip, we just stood by the truck and spoke for another 10 minutes. The work helped to clear my head of the whole ordeal. Afterwards we headed upstairs so that Fred could say his goodbyes to his daughter. Ashley was standing by my computer when I walked in looking at something on the screen. I realized that I had left my email open in my hurry and she was probably reading it. I didn't mind, there was nothing secret about my life. She was going to hear about the whole thing sooner or later anyways.

"Hey Jen, I'm sorry." Ashley prompted. She wasn't apologizing for the email, but more showing sympathy to my situation. "I know you wanted that job."

"Thanks Ash, I appreciate that" I replied.

Ashley and her dad exchange some small talk for the next 10 minutes. I vacated the room to afford them some privacy on the matter. Afterward, the two of them emerged and shared a final hug.

Ashley wore a big bright smile on her face when she turned to face me. "Jennifer, how would you like to come work for Fred this Summer?" She asked. "You said you need a job and my dad need somebody to milk cows."

I looked at her like she was crazy. "It's over a two hour drive one way Ashley. It would cost me more in gas than I would probably make."

"You could stay on the farm with us. We could put you up for the whole Summer, it would be great I could see you every day." She replied.

I looked over at Fred. He just rolled his eyes back in his head. I could see he was as crazy about this idea as I was. It just didn't sound practical. Still, I decided to explore it a little further trying to find something to put it out of Ashley's mind politely.

"How much would it pay Ash, and how many hours would I be working a week?" I replied figuring I could work the economics to the point where she would drop it.

Fred jumped in, mostly since I hadn't said no yet. "It would be five bucks an hour plus room and board. I would probably work you anywhere from 28 to 72 hours a week depending on what needed doing and how much you actually wanted to work." It was a rather vague and open ended offer.

"I will think it over and discuss it with my parents." I replied.

Ashley had only the best of intentions in wanting to help me. I figured I could delay my response until this idea worked it's way out of her head then politely turn it down. I didn't want to hurt her feelings, she was a good friend and only trying to help. I left the matter on the back burner and returned to my computer. I wanted to finish my exam and I figured I would email my mother. If I got a reply from her stating how impracticable of an idea this was it would help me in putting the matter to bed. I seated myself and began to type.

This is the end of the first part of this story. I will try to get the next part posted in the next two weeks if time allows. Comments are welcome as always. Thanks for reading.

__________________________________________________________________________
Jennifer's stories

• 01 - My First Time (f/mf)
• 02 - Trying New Things: Breakfast with Mom (Fm/f)
• 03 - A Walk in the Park (mm/f)
• 04 - The Pole and the Dungeon (m/f)
• 05 - A long camping trip (mmf/f)
• 06 - One Rainy Day at Home (m/f)
• 07 - Winter Vacation at Grams (both genders)
• 08 - A Long Weekend tied up (F/f)
• 09 - Shopping with Mom (F/f)
• 10 - My New Friend (m/f)
• 11 - The Bike Trip (m/f)
• 12 - Sharing With Friends (Ffff/fff)
• 13 - New Horizon (Both Genders)
• 14 - A Trip to My Aunts (mFF/f)
• 15 - A Second Christmas Story (mmff/mmf)
• 16 - Mary's Weekend (F/F)
• 17 - The Next Chapter (*/self, f/f)
• 18 - Ropes and Skates (Good Combination?) (MFmf/fff)
• 19 - Hanging With Mary (F/f)
• 20 - College (FFF/FF)
• 21 - College Days : Stephanie's Captive (F/F)
• 22 - College Days : A New Chapter, Ashley Gets Involved (*/self, F/F)
• 23 - College Days : A New Chapter, Ashley Comes Back (F/F)
• 24 - College Days : A New Chapter, Normal is Good (F/F)
• 25 - College Days: Theodore Roosevelt (FF/F)
• 26 - College Days: Summer Job at the Farm (F/F, M/F)
• 27 - Holiday Trip to Grandma's (f/f, f/m, m/fmm)
• 28 - A Long Trip to Alaska (self/f, F/fmm)
• 29 - The Pioneering Experience (mmmm/f)

__________________________________________________________________________
Index of all stories in the "Archive for Everyone" section

[Soraka]

Part 2: It's settled

Hi Everybody, I am continuing with the story that I started a short while ago. This is the second part. Well, see how far it gets. I am not sure whether or not I am going to get into the tie up parts of this series yet or not. Still, I need to cover some background information on this whole set of stories. If there are no tug parts in this one, hopefully it will be the last part that doesn't. There are at least a dozen more pieces to this story to tell. However, some background information might come in handy for what lies ahead. I apologize for taking so long with this. I have been busy lately and this turned into a 7 page mountain of text. Enjoy!

Sunday afternoon dragged by at a slow pace as I waited. We had finished eating over an hour ago as I sat on the sofa in our living room. The television was on in the background, but that was all it really was to me, background noise. My attention was divided between the clock and the window that overlooked our driveway. My stomach was all aflutter, I wasn't sure exactly how I had gotten myself into this mess. I emailed my mother explaining Fred's job offer shortly after he made it. I expected an email back from her that would give me a convenient excuse to dismiss the whole thing from Ashley. I figured I would get a two to three paragraph message telling me that the farm was too far away for the whole summer. I expected that the message would advise me that MC Donalds or a grocery store would be hiring.

However, the email didn't come that day. In fact, it didn't come the next either. It was two days later that the email finally rolled across the screen on my computer. I don't remember the email very well that my mother sent me. Mostly, because it wasn't the first one I got back on the subject. In fact, it was the fourth. The first one was from my Grandmother, she thought it would be great that I would be working on a farm this summer. The second was from my aunt commenting that she was sending me an outfit that would fit that position nicely. The third, actually came through Ashley. Fred sent her an email explaining that he was setting up the guest room above his garage from me when he found out from my mother that I was coming. He wanted her to ask me if I needed anything special.

The one from my mother conveyed a similar message. Apparently, she misconstrued my original message and thought that I wanted to take the job and needed her permission because of the circumstances surrounding it. She assured me that I was old enough to live by myself for a summer. Especially, if I was staying with friends from college and she thought it was an excellent opportunity for me. So much so, that she had emailed half my family sharing the wonderful news, and Fred thanking him for employing her daughter for the Summer. The thing that troubled me the most was how to break it all to Ashley. She was overly excited that I would be spending the Summer on her farm. I let it mull over in my head for two days. At the conclusion of that thinking, I decided not to break it to her. I figured I would go along with it for a week or two and try it out. Then, when I suddenly got homesick or it didn't work out, I would simply call my mother for a ride home.

Ashley was on her way to pick me and my mountain of stuff up at 2:30 that afternoon. I offered to drive myself down, but she insisted. My mother told me to take her up on the offer. I was a good driver, but I could barely find my way to college. She didn't trust my sense of direction with this. Then, it happened, the old dodge pick up truck pulled into the driveway. I came up a ways and parked not far from our front door. Ashley exited the vehicle and made her way up to the front door. Although, I was a little surprised when she came out of the passenger side rather than the driver's side. A moment later, the middle aged farmer climbed out dressed in his familiar blue overalls, plaid shirt, and straw hat.

The pair crossed our sidewalk and knocked on the front door. I walked over, opened it and greeted them warmly. Ashley stood there next to Fred, she looked like a female version of him. Her overalls were pink, she wore green canvas slip on shoes instead of Fred's boots. Also, her hair was untucked and blew freely in the gentle breeze that blew just outside our door.

"Hey Jen, nice to see you again. Are you ready to go?" Fred asked looking towards me.

I nodded pointing at the mountain of luggage I planned to take along.

"Good, I tell you what, why don't you and Ashley go sit in the kitchen and visit for a short spell. I'll load this up for you. " I began to interject, but Fred would have no part of it. So, Ashley and I departed for the kitchen. Fred began trying to play a real life game of tetris to load all my stuff in the back of his truck.

Ashley and I went into the kitchen and had a seat at the table. My mother came over bearing glasses of lemonade. She poured 4 of them, two for us, one for her, and one for her other guest who was busying himself at my expense in the living room.

"It's nice to see your Dad again, Ashley but I thought it was going to just be the two of us?" I commented.

"Yeah, that was my original plan, but he insisted. He was worried that I would get lost all the way up here. Besides, it was a nice day for a drive and the pickup truck would hold 3 of us he said." Ashley explained taking a deep sip of the lemonade.

I nodded, it really didn't matter now one way or the other, Fred was along for the ride. It would have been rude of me to ask him to hitchhike home. Ashley interrupted my thought line.

"By the way Jen, do you want the window seat or the middle? It doesn't matter to me, but I figure we should get that decided and not make a big deal out of it. " Ashley asked. I took a moment and thought it over. I knew what my preference would be of course, but I didn't want to be rude about it either.

"Jennifer can take the middle. That way you can use your car vest, and Ashley could have the normal seat belt." The safety queen of the universe added before I made up my mind.

"That's a great idea Jen, why don't you go get it and I can help you install it while Fred is loading you up." Ashley finished.

I guess it was decided before I had any input in the matter. I got up from the table and headed towards the garage. I shot my mother one of those "thanks Mom" stares and headed out to look for my vest. I knew right where it was of course. It sat on a shelf in the garage, I hadn't taken it to college at all this year since I drove myself on every trip. I pulled it off the shelf and dusted both the mount and the vest off. I took a moment and slipped it on over top of myself. If you are unfamiliar with my car vest and it's history, go look up some of my older stories in the archives on this site. It's the kind of vest made by a company named ez-on pro. They are primarily used on school buses, but they make a family car version as well. I began using one when I was 8 or 9 and had one ever since.

I reached around behind myself and zipped the vest closed in the back. I must have lost a little weight since the last time I had worn it. The back closed with just the shorter of the two zipper extenders in it and I was wearing a light jacket as well. The vest had a strap that went around my waist, two shoulder straps and another strap that wrapped around me a second time at arm pit level in front. The whole thing closed in the back with a zipper. I slipped the crotch straps on the vest between my legs and buckled it snugly in front. The system was rather simple, but very effective. The vest had 4 d-rings 2 on the hips and 2 on the shoulders. These would clip onto a strap that wrapped around behind the seat I was sitting in and secure me to the vehicle.

I threw the seat mount over one shoulder and headed back into the kitchen. The trip was a short one. I turned the corner and saw that my mother had poured Ashley a second glass of lemonade and was working on her second one. Ashley took a big gulp from her glass then slammed it down quickly as she saw me emerge from the garage.

"Wow Jen, so, that is what your car vest looks like. I know you told me about it. But, it really is something else seeing you wearing it." Ashley commented looking me over. I stopped and turned back and fourth a few times showing her how it all connected and went over how it would work in the vehicle. My little fashion show was quietly interrupted.

A tall man in overalls was standing in the doorway to the kitchen holding a large monkey wrench. "Well, that is almost everything. Just give me a second to unhook the kitchen sink and we will be on our way. Good golly, Jennifer, what the heck are you wearing there?" Fred asked with a big smirk on his face in the doorway that quickly turned to a look of confusion.

"It's Jennifer's car thingy. You know the one I told you about when I came home from school that second weekend last year. She is going to ride in the middle, so she wanted to use it since we just have a lap seatbelt there. " Ashley explained.

"Yeah, if that is OK with you sir? Also, I apologize for all the luggage, I am going for the whole summer, I just want to make sure I have everything I need." I continued.

"You're fine on the luggage, you should really see just how much stuff Ash takes to college. I am surprised the three of you can fit in that room. As for that seatbelt thing, if it makes you happy and you can get it to work in my old dodge you are welcome to use it. I really don't care either way." Fred finished. He came over to the table and picked up the glass of lemonade. "This for me?, Thanks" He finished taking a sip.

The big man downed the whole thing in a few gulps and set the glass on the table. My mother went to refill it, but he gestured that one glass was fine.

"Well Jennifer, let's head out and try to figure out how to hook this up in the front seat of my truck so we can be on our way." Fred directed. I nodded without another word to the big burly man. There would be plenty of time for talk on our ride down. I gave my mother a goodbye hug and exchanged a few parting words with her and the rest of my family as I made my way out the front door. Fred and I made the short journey over to his truck and he went to the cab and pulled a switch under the seat. This caused the rear of the seat to fold forward and downward allowing me access to the space behind it.

It took me a good 8 minutes to hook up the seat mount. Mostly because it was difficult to access the center of the trucks cab with the seat turned down. Still, with a little difficulty and Fred lending a long arm, I managed to click the main buckle behind the seat. Then I pulled it tight and we slid the seat back into place. The two of us exchanged a glance of satisfaction and smiles.

"Well, Jennifer if that is everything, I have one favor to ask of you. We have all of your stuff, but I seem to have left one thing of mine in your house. Would you mind going back inside and retrieving Ash before she decides to switch families with you for the summer?" Fred had a wise sense of humor.

I replied with a simple, "OK" and headed back into the kitchen. There, I found our kitchen table with the 4 empty glasses and half filled pitcher sitting there where I had left them. However, I seemed to be missing two people, namely Ashley and my mother. I circled my vision around the room and found them still absent. Here I was given a simple task and I was failing even at that. I decided to go for the most logical conclusion and headed out the rear of the kitchen and turned down the hallway. I figured that Ashley must have asked to use our bathroom and my mother had escorted her to it's location. I was rather surprised when I arrived and found the door open and the chamber empty.

Next, I check my parents room and the room that I had shared with my little sister Amy. My parents room was also vacant and my little sister who was out taking a nap was the only occupant in the other. I rounded back around the corner to the kitchen and found the two women were still absent from it. Finally, I simply called out. "Mom, Ashley, where are you?"

"We're out here Jen." The reply of my mother's voice came quickly and from a direction I didn't expect. They were in the garage.

I followed the direction from where I heard their voice and entered the garage curious to see what had drawn them there. What I found almost made me break out in laughter. Ashley was standing there next to my mother. She had made one significant change to her outfit since I had left.

"It doesn't have the strap between the legs ?" Ashley asked.

"No, it doesn't. That was something I had to special order on the one Jennifer is wearing. They usually only include the crotch straps on the smaller sizes standard. You can get them on the adult sizes, but it has to be custom ordered. This one is a little bit older in model, but it should still work." My mother explained. "I got this one for my eldest son Sean when he was 16. It doesn't get used any more, so you are more than welcome to it. I would rather see it go to use than sit out here and collect dust. Also, I have plenty of the seat mounts and I am sure that Jennifer would be happy to help you install one."

My mother was adjusting a vest similar to mine on my college room mate. It was the vest Sean used close to the time when we first got the harnesses. It took some work, and adjustment, but my mother managed to get it around the girl with a rather snug fit to it. It took some work, but she managed to snug it down around her and zip it in the back. It was identical in design to the one that I was wearing although, it lacked the strap that threaded between the legs to keep it low and snug. My mother had also dug another one of the long mount straps used to connect the vest to the seat of a vehicle.

"I told your mom that I liked the vest thing you were wearing, and that I thought it was a neat idea. She shared some of the background on them with me." Ashley explained.

"Once I got through the story, Ashley asked what happened to the one I got for your brother and I told her I believed it was still out in the garage. Then, well you can see the rest dear." My mother finished.

"What are those there?" Ashley said pointing at something that was resting on the shelf where they had removed the harness from.

"Oh those, here let me show you." My mother picked one up off the shelf and took hold of Ashley's right are by the wrist. She looped what looked like a small loop of seatbelt around her wrist and pulled it snug. She fastened a fatex buckle that rested on a shorter strap which could be tightened to secure it around the wrist. My mother picked up the second one off the shelf and repeated it on Ashley's other hand. Ashley just stood there and cooperated. Next, my mother drew Ashley's right hand back to her waist and fastened a small clip in the strap that encircled her wrist to the d-ring on the waist belt. She then repeated the process with Ashley's remaining arm then stepped back.

"Grrrrr! There just like handcuffs." Ashley commented as she pulled hard against the straps pinning her hands to her sides. We stood there and watched as she worked the vest up and down trying to free herself without any success.

"Precisely, they were perfect for breaking up fights in the back seat when the kids were younger. I think I have something that works for the legs as well if you really don't want to be able to move." My mother explained.

"Yeah go for it." Ashley replied.

My mother grabbed a second set of straps off the shelf. They were similar in construction to the ones that encircled our captive's wrists. However, rather than having clips to connect them to the waist rings on the harness, they simply had a 3rd fatex buckle in the middle. They would clip together like a pair of handcuffs and tie somebody's feet together. My mother handed the straps to me and I knelt down. I could bend over easier than she could at her old age. I clipped them around each of Ashley's ankles and clipped them on.

"Come on, I will clip them together when you're in the car. Your dad sent me and he is still waiting for you outside we really should get going." I explained.

(I should take a moment and note that Ashley had told her father about our tie ups at college. I hadn't ever brought up the subject in his company, but I assumed that he was alright with it since I didn't get any complaints about Ashley from it.)

Fred's reaction upon seeing Ashley was a mixture of disbelief and laughter. He offered a warm grin and helped me pull the seat down one more time to install the second seat mount. I helped Ash step up into the truck. It proved challenging for her with her hands tied to her sides. Once she was in, I connected the vest she was wearing to the 4 attachment points on seat mount and repeated the process on myself. I also took a moment to clip the center clip on her ankle bindings together as well. A few minutes later, I waved goodbye to my mother, father and sister as we pulled away. Fred offered a farewell wave, Ashley shouted goodbye, unable to make the same gesture as the other two of us.

. . . . . . . .. . . . .

The ride down was just over two hours. It was an interesting ride. Ashley spent the majority of it squirming and struggling against the harness and the other restraints. She had a hard time trying to find a comfortable position having to share leg room with me and being tied up at the same time. Still, there was a warm smile on her face and it didn't leave it the whole trip down. I checked on her a few times and even offered to free one of her hands at one point. Well, I couldn't reach her right one from where I was sitting. The vest holds you down very securely in the seat when it's fastened. Still, if I had freed one of her hands she could have released herself the rest of the way easily enough. Yet, my friend declined my invitation. I think she was enjoying it.

Fred kept his mind on the driving and informed me of the things to come. I was being hired to help him milk his cows. He kept a sizable heard on a 400 acre farm in southern Ohio. The farm was not exactly 400 acres, he told me once the actual size, it was someplace between 350 and 500 so 400 is just a guess. I would be working 4 hours a day 7 days a week. The cows needed to be milked once in the morning between the hours of 6 and 8 am and again between the hours of 7 and 9 pm. I was welcome to a day off it I let him know a few days in advance so he could cover the shift. He employed another 9 people besides Ashley, himself and me.

I inquired if that was all that was expected of me, and Fred informed me that if I desired more work he would be happy to find some for me to do. He could work me 100 hours a week if I really desired, but I quickly declined that proposal. I got an ear full of his family's history and the summer operations of his farm. I also go two anecdotes about a certain mischievous girl who sat next to me thrashing about trying to keep her father from telling the stories. After a long drive, we finally pulled onto a gravel driveway and Fred brought the pickup truck to a halt in a large building that I would soon learn to call the old garage.

It wasn't really a garage in the sense that most of you would think. The building was huge. It was at least 100 feet long maybe 150 I forget which, and 2 and a half stories at the center with a down-slanting roof. Anyways, it had 3 full size garage doors. Currently, it housed Fred's truck, two lawnmowers, several ATV vehicles and a large boat on a trailer. This used to be where Fred's family stored the tractors until he built the tool shed about a decade back. It would also be the host to my living arrangements for the next 3 months.

"Come on hop out and I will help you unload and get settled." Fred offered. I nodded and followed him out the driver-side door of the pickup.

"Hey what about me! You cannot just leave me here!" Our third passenger shouted at us.

"Hey, you are the one who wanted to be all strapped in and tied down." Fred commented slamming the door. "Let's leave her there for a little while why I show you around and up to your room."

There was a section of the building that extended past the 3 doors of the garage on both sides. The far side was filled with miscellaneous machines and other old stuff. The side closest to us had a second story built in with a straight stair case that ascended up to it. Underneath, was a workbench set up for a small workshop and another walled off area behind a closed door. Fred began the tour by showing me over to the closed door. Inside was another area used primarily for storage. Across the room, was another small door that had a path cleared to it. Inside was a toilet, sink and a hot water heater. He explained that this will be my bathroom and that I would have to come up to the house for a bath or shower.

With that out of the way, he led me up the stairs. Each of us took a moment to take a trip back over to the truck. We each retrieved a piece of my luggage to save a future trip. After going up the stairs, Fred opened the door and showed me in. The room was basically furnished. There was a long iron framed bed with a mattress and bedding already set up for me against one wall. In the corner of the room on a large wooden box sat the television that Ashley had brought out to college with her. I recognized it almost immediately. There were two seats out of what appeared to a 1988 Chevy van faced aiming at the television. Fred later explained that they were out of a van his employees used to hall stuff around when the pickup truck was unavailable.

The room also contained a small card table with 4 chairs around it. One was a plastic lawn chair, there was a folding chair and two older wooden chairs that didn't match. The room also had a small fridge in the far corner with a microwave set on top of it.

"Alright, to cover the rest of it. Breakfast is at 8:45 or whenever we finish milking the cows. Lunch or a snack are available any time you want to stop by the kitchen. My wife will cook sometimes for the midday meal sometimes not. Dinner is promptly at 6:00 pm. Eat at my table, or go hungry your choice." Fred joked. "You can use the downstairs bathroom in the house if you need a shower or just need to go. You are welcome to use my computer or phone in the house for email or to call your parents. We have satellite up at the house, but out here you are stuck with whatever the rabbit ears pick up. If you get bored, you are welcome to borrow a tape from the house for your enjoyment. Ashley as you know has every episode of that Japanese cartoon on VHS. If you want more work, come see me or my wife and we'll find you some. Any questions?"

"No, but if I think of any I will let you know." I replied.

"OK wonderful, take the rest of the night and get settled. This used to be my office before we built the main barn and tool shed. By the way, there is a gas heater in the corner if you get cold and an air conditioner in the window if you get hot. You are welcome to run either of them when you are here, but I would appreciate it if would turn them off when you depart." He continued.

"Will do." I replied.

"Good, I am going to try and figure out how to untangle Ashley so she can help you move in. Have a good evening." Fred finished as he began to depart. However, he stopped before descending. "Oh, Jennifer by the way, thanks a lot for coming out. I really appreciate it. I have my regulars, but you don't know what it means having the extra body here. You are the difference between my taking a day off once in a while or not at all." He finished before wishing me good luck.

I spent the remainder of the day getting settled. Ashley helped out quite a bit once I freed her from the front cab of the truck. We share dinner with the family that night. Fred, his wife and Ashley were all the family consisted of. However, there were 7 people at his table for the meal. I only made minimum wage working for Fred that Summer. However, given all the food, utilities, and most importantly experience, I got right in quite a few other ways. Besides, Ashley and I had a real blast, but that is still to come.

[Soraka]

Part 3: Down on the Farm

Morning broke early that first Monday over top of the garage on Fred's farm. Well, it didn't really break, the alarm clock went off at a quarter after 5 in the morning. I reached up and hit it casually and almost rolled back under the covers for more sleep. I groggily threw back the covers from my bed and rolled up into a sitting position. The room itself was still very dark. Outside, it was still dark out. The sun had not shown the first glimpse of rising yet. I stood up out of bed and let my slippered feet hit the floor. The full length of the nightgown I had on dropped down below my knees almost to the top of the little pikachu's on my feet.

I lifted my arms and hugged myself tightly, it was very chilly up in the loft of the garage. I shifted a few steps to the left and switched on a lamp. I almost shrank back from the bright light as my eyes began to adjust to it. I crossed the room again and took a look out the window now that I had enough light to see by. I had affixed a thermometer there the night before so that I could get an idea of what the temperature would be without having to go down the steps in my nightwear. It was a whole 42 degrees F. I stepped back and let the shiver run down my back a second time. This was May, we were 2 weeks away from the start of June and it was freezing outside.

Reluctantly, I slipped out of the nightgown and began to get dressed for the day. I was expected up at the barn at 6:00 am and I didn't want to be late for my first day either. I slipped on a pair of white socks, then a light blue sweatshirt with long sleeves. Next, I grabbed a pair of pink overalls and slid them up and over top of me. I added a pair of tennis shoes and then went for my hooded sweatshirt. I had packed the majority of what I thought I needed. After all, it was a summer job and I hadn't counted on it being this cold in the morning. Dressed, I wrapped my arms about myself again and headed out the door to the room and down the steps. I reached the first floor of the garage and opened the smaller entrance door so I could emerge from the building and be on my way. It was about a 5 minute walk to the main milking barn from the garage and I wanted to be on my way. I still had a good 35 to get there, but I was one who always wanted to be early to work, especially on the first day of a new job.

I took my first step out the door and then the wind hit me. It wasn't a particularly strong wind, but it was a good steady breeze. I began walking towards the barn. I got about 40 feet from the exit of the garage when I realized the truth. I was cold. I wasn't just cold as in I needed to run and get my blood pumping, I was really cold. The knowledge that I needed perform well on the first day of this new job took residence over my early haste. Fred and Ashley were counting on me to get the job done this morning. I didn't want to let them down, however if I was too cold to work the whole thing wouldn't matter. Hastily I doubled back.

I went through my options in my head as I made the short journey back from my beginning destination. I knew what I had packed for clothing, and I didn't have anything warmer than what I had on. I had been camping before many times in cold weather and knew my best bet was to add a layer or two. I figured I cold add either some pajama or sweat pants under the overalls and another layer to my top as well. I made my way back up the stairs and turned the light back on as I rounded the corner. I crossed the room quickly and knelt at the end of the bed where my footlocker held the majority of my clothing resided. Reaching down to open it, I suddenly caught sight of the corner of the green army duffel that my mother had hastily thrown into the back of the pickup truck.

Her nagging words came back to me as we had been pulling out. I had packed the remainder of my luggage myself. However, the contents of this bag were unknown to me. Leave it to Mom to think ahead. She had watched me pack everything and told me I might want a warmer coat. I had nagged her and told her that I was fine and was adequately prepared without one. Boy, I was eating those words now. I slipped the duffel from under the bed. I was hoping that my mother had packed a winter coat for me. What did I have to loose. Worst case scenario the back was full of bricks and I would follow my original plans. I drew back the draw string and began digging through the contents of the bag. Getting about a foot down inside of it, my hand made contact with a soft piece of water resistant material.

My spirits rose, at least I had a windbreaker that I could put on over top of my sweatshirt, or maybe a winter coat that I could replace the sweatshirt with. I got a steady hold on the garment and gave a solid tug trying to bring it up to the surface through the rest of the items that filled the bag and clogged the path of it to the top. With a few heavy tugs I began pulling out the sleeve. However, it was a heavy material and had a good solid purchase on the bottom of the bag underneath the other article of clothing that covered it. Rather than continue with a tug of war.

Losing in my struggle, I switched tactics and just upended the contents of the bag onto the bed. I grabbed it like a sack of potatoes and began shaking everything out of it. The process was cumbersome, but successful. A pile of extra shirts, socks and underwear fell out of the bag. The, the way to the outfit I wanted was clear. I reached inside and jerked it loose with a lot less effort than on my first attempt. I had it free in a minute and I immediately recognized it for what it was when I saw the purple exterior. My mom had packed my snowsuit. It was a one piece thing with attached pants and a hood. My mother really did know me better than I knew myself. I abandoned the search of the remainder of the bag and undid the front zipper.

It was cold outside and I wanted to be warm. I slipped the hooded sweatshirt off and slid into the big purple snowsuit. A moment later I did up the front zipper and immediately the chill of the room began to fade. Thank goodness for Mom I thought to myself. I returned the bag to a standing position on the floor next to the bed and began to stuff the remainder of it's original contents back inside. As I sifted through the pile a handful at a time, I found a few other things that I had not noticed on my first attempt. I found a wool knit hat, a long winter scarf and one heavy waterproof winter mitten. They were all purple in color to match the garment I was currently wearing. I took another 5 minutes to search the remainder of the bag for the mitten's partner. With it found, I refilled the bag and added the remainder of my find to my current wardrobe.

I stepped out of the garage again after heading down the stairs to the driveway below. The pant part of the suit made a "swish" sound as I walked towards the barn. The cool weather had little affect on my now that I was protected by my warmer wardrobe. I arrived a few minutes later, still ahead of the official start time, but later than I had originally anticipated. Ashley and the other were already there. Our crew consisted of Ashley, Fred, myself and 3 young men who also worked on the farm. Our task over the next two hours was to bring the entire dairy herd into the barn and milk them. When I first took the job, I figured it was going to be a dozen of us sitting on stools with buckets under the cows. I was about to learn just how wrong I was.

We divided into two groups. Fred took Ashley and myself and began the process of introducing me to the work he intended for us. The whole process was automated. Fred had several milking machines that would be hooked up to the udders under the cow and speed the milk off to a bulk tank elsewhere for storage. The process of doing this is rather complicated in all it's steps, and I truthfully don't remember all of it. Anyways, it has little to do with the story so I am going to omit all the details on this matter. The machine could milk a cow in 3 to 5 minutes once it was hooked up and Fred had enough machines to do quite a few cows at a time. After I got a crash course and did 4 cows correctly, Fred left the hooking up of the machines to Ashley and myself.

Fred and the farm hands set out to rotating the entire herd in and out of the barn for milking. I don't remember the exact number of cows he had, but it was over 150. He had the whole process down to a fine science and Ashley and I were just another link in the chain. This was to be the primary purpose of my employment for the summer. I had expected to catch some comments about my wardrobe, but Fred and two of the boys were out in winter coats and gloves. I ended up having to shed my mittens to aid in the work, but other than that I just kept moving. The whole process took a little under two hours. When we finished, Fred set the 3 boys to using pitch forks to clear out the manure left by the animals, Ashley and I used push brooms for about 20 minute on the other areas of the barn and cleaned it so that it would be ready for the evening milking.

"Alright everyone, nice work today. Go ahead and get cleaned up. Ashley and Jen, breakfast will be ready up at the house shortly if you are hungry. If not I will catch you later today." Fred explained before departing.

Ashley and I headed out to an adjoining room and washed our hands before heading up to the house. Ashley's mother prepared a wonderful hot meal for us that tasted really good after such a long morning full of work. The remainder of the day was mine to do what I wanted with. At least until 7:00 pm that evening when we would repeat the entire process for milking the cows all over again. Dinner would be promptly at 6 and the kitchen was open to me if I wanted to stop in for a sandwich any time during the afternoon for a lunch. Other than that, I had plenty of time on my hands.

"Ashley, why don't you show Jennifer around this morning? That way she will have a better idea of where things are around here." Her mother suggested at the conclusion of the meal.

The two of us agreed that would be a productive use of our time and set out shortly after we were done eating. The sun had risen low in the sky shortly after the time we had finished eating. It's glow warmed the air around the farm reasonably. It had gone from the low 40's into the low 50's in temperature. My outfit was a bit much with the raise in temperature, but I was too lazy to head back to the garage to change. I just deposited my hat and scarf in my pockets and then slid my mittens back on before heading out.

We walked at a comfortable pace as we made our way around the farm. Ashley took me around and showed me quite a few different buildings. We started with the tool shed. It was an interesting place. Fred had a workshop set up complete with equipment for both woodworking, blacksmith and machine shop construction. It was set up neatly and he had quite a collecting of older antique items decorating the walls of the building. Fred had everything from horseshoes to advertising signs on his walls around the place. Much of the items were left over from the previous generations who ran the farm. The tool shed was huge and housed the main crop planting and harvesting equipment along with several other vehicles.

The farm had a collection of around 25 buildings spread out over several acres of land. Many of them were rather old and showed their age from the previous farm owners. For example, there was a very old mill that used to be use to grind wheat into flower during the late 1800's and early part of the 20th century. Now, it was just a oversized storage shed. Ashley pointed it out in the distance but we never got within 50 feet of it. As we walked along, the weather began to warm up slightly as the day wore on and the temperature rose into the low 50's it was a cold day for May. The tour from one building to the next lasted the better part of an hour and a half, maybe a little more or less, I don't remember the exact time. Anyways, we at last came to our final destination.

Ashley opened the door to the final building and switched on the lights. We arrived at the family horse stable. The building itself was almost 100 feet long by 40 feet wide. It was one of the newer structures on the farm. It had been built back in the early 70's. The farm used to stable horses here and it hadn't been until Ashley was 10 years old that they had gotten out of the business. Now, the building just served as an oversized storage shed for extra stuff. The main section of the building was a long hallway about 15 feet wide with someplace between 7 and 9 horse stalls on each side. I don't remember the exact number. There was also an area to the left of the entrance that served as a storage room and had been an office at one point. Above the stables, there was a hay loft that was still used to store the extra hay and straw as an overflow.

Ashley led me down the long stable corridor and told me a story about how they used to house horses here and some of her riding experience when she was really little. The information was interesting and I could really imagine how the place looked with ponies and large gentle stallions being boarded here. We went past the empty stalls one by one as Ashley continued her story. There were saddles, riding gear and even a lasso sitting on the wall still in useable condition. Most of the stalls were being used as store rooms. We finished our short walk and came to the last one.

"Hey Jennifer, do you want to check one of the stalls out? The one on the right here is still empty." Ashley asked looking at me.

I just shrugged and told her sure. We went over to the stall and Ashley lifted a pin out of an eye hook that kept the door shut. There was a small folding piece of metal with a hole in it. It closed over a metal ring in the wall and you could put a long nail in their to secure the door. It was like a lock you might have on a garage side door and use a padlock, except, the nail was used instead since the horse wouldn't be able to open it. She opened the door and gestured for me to go inside. The stall itself was pretty simple. It was about 15 feet long by 20 feet wide. On the far wall, there was a divided bin sitting there one side looked like a v shaped bin that would hold feed. The other side of it was a metal trough that would hold water for the horse to drink from.

The remainder of the room was simply 2 wooden walls, a wooden floor and the door. The door to the room had a hole cut like a window with bars on it about 4 inches apart. About 2 feet to the left of the door, there was a large window that looked into the stall. It also had bars. That way you could see the horse, but the animal couldn't get it's head out. There was a port on the larger barred window that slid upwards making about a foot and a half wide opening if you wanted to open it up to allow access to the animal. Ashley explained that this was used if you wanted to hand the animal an apple or a sugar cube as a treat without having to open the whole stall up. While the floor was bear now, it would have a bed of hay on it for the animal to rest on.

I checked the stall over for a few minutes standing inside of it. My grandparents had a horse barn on their farm in Pennsylvania, but it hadn't been used since 1915. This one was much newer. I was so busy looking around at it, I didn't notice that Ashley slipped out the door to the stall. Well, at least I didn't notice it until I heard the door slam behind her. I was caught off guard by the noise so quickly that I stood there dumbfounded for a few seconds before I realized what had just happened. I heard a quiet "click" sound and then I saw Ashley back away from the door. I rushed over to see what was going on. I arrived at the closed door. I saw Ashley across the hallway with a warm smile on her face. I figured she was just joking around and had closed the door on me and latched it.

I turned sideways and slid one of my arms between the bars on the door and reached downwards. I figured I would lift the nail out and open the door. However, my choice of outfit made doing so rather difficult. However, after 2 minutes of working, my mitten hand closed around where the latch was on the door. I figured I would pull the nail and open it and we could share a good laugh over it. However, when I found the spot where the nail was, I didn't feel a nail there. With mittens on, it was hard to tell, what exactly it was, but I had a good guess. I drew my arm back inside the stall and took hold the bars giving the door a good shake.

"Hey what give let me out of here!" I screamed at Ashley as she stood there.

"Sorry Jen, no can do. I still owe you for leaving me in the truck for 45 minutes after we got here yesterday. Besides, I thought you liked being locked up?" She commented looking over in my general direction.

I gave the bars another good shake and let out a loud yell in frustration at my situation. "Is that a padlock down there? I cannot see it from here." I asked.

"Yup, a standard combination lock, nothing special, but it should keep you in there for a good while. I have a few chores do to, then I'll come back and let out later. Be good, Fred probably wouldn't appreciate you damaging the barn trying to escape." She explained and started walking away. She got about 30 feet before I called out to her again.

"Hey Ash, wait a minute." I shouted at her. She stopped and turned around to face me for a moment. "I know this is gonna sound kind of silly. If you are going to keep me locked up here for a while, maybe you should tie me up too that way I really have no chance of getting out of here while you are gone." I asked.

Ashley stopped for a moment and looked at me. Then she just shrugged and began walking back towards where I was. She went over to the wall and took a lasso off a hook on the wall. The end of the rope had a slip loop tied in it and the remainder of it was at least 50 or 60 feet in length. Then, she turned and faced me.

"Fine, if that is what you really want. But, I am not going inside the stall until your hands are tied behind your back. I don't want you running out the door just because I unlock it. Come over to the front bar window and I will bind you." She explained.

"That's fine, just let me slip out of this snowsuit first. It's not as cold in here and I would probably get too hot tied up in it." I took a moment and slipped out of the snowsuit piling it neatly on the feeding trough off to the one side.

I complied with the request, and Ashley came over to the front of the barred window as well. She lifted up the window allowing the large opening open. She had me turn around and lift my arms out the window onto her side. Ashley crossed my wrists and used about 12 or 13 feet of the rope to tie them horizontally first, then vertically. She tied a short knot at that point in the rope to prevent it from coming undone. Once she was sure my hands were tied securely, she went around to the door and undid the combination lock allowing the door to open. She opened the door slowly and positioned herself between me and it. Ashley was preparing for me to try and run for it, and positioning herself to prevent that action from taking place. However, she found that I was compliant about not trying to escape from the stall while she bound me.

Once she was inside, she use the majority of the remaining rope to bind my arms tightly to my sides. The made about 8 passes around my arms pulling them tightly to my sides before knotting it off. There was still about a dozen feet of rope left or so trailing from my upper bindings down to the floor when she was done. Ashley took hold of one of my shoulders and pushed me gently downward onto the floor. She was slow in the process and allowed me enough time to cooperate. When she was done, I was lying on the floor face down. Ashley then proceeded to use the remainder of the rope to bind my ankles into a hogtie type position. It wasn't a tight one, she left me two and a half feet of rope between my legs and my arms. It was just that she only had one rope to do the tying with and wanted to bind my legs too.

When she was done, she got up and relocked the door on her way out. She explained she would be back to release me in about an hour and a half. She requested that I stay quiet and not try anything stupid until she got back. I assured her that I wouldn't and really couldn't try anything stupid with all this rope. With that, she left me where I was and departed the stables.

I spent the first 20 minutes or so of my captivity trying to struggle against my bonds. When Ashley had first come to college, she was completely taken back by the idea of tying somebody up. However, after sharing a dorm room with me for two years she was actually quite good at it if she wanted to be. I struggled and tugged in a number of different directions. The bonds held despite my best efforts to free myself and I wasn't able to loosen anything. After I came to the rationalization that I couldn't free my limbs, I shifted my priorities. I couldn't free myself, so my new goal was to get as comfortable as I could. I began by rolling myself over a couple of times trying to move towards the far wall of my prison.

The rope connecting my feet was of adequate length that I couldn't straighten my legs completely. However, it wasn't a strict hogtie either. Once I got close to the wall by rolling over and over twice, I set about trying to get myself into more comfortable position. I rolled onto my back then I began working on trying to sit up. It didn't prove all that difficult. After a few attempts, I managed to get myself into a sitting position resting upwards. My feet were flat on the floor in front of me drawn backwards by the connecting rope. I scooted backwards a few feet and I was able to sit resting my back against the rear wall of the stable with my knees drawn up in front of me.

I spent the next half hour or so just sitting there. I looked around and studied my surroundings as best I could. It was a relaxing way to spend a morning. I didn't try any more struggling. I just sat there and enjoyed the way the ropes felt against my body. I had been a little angry at first when Ashley had locked me in the stall here. However, now that I was bound hand and foot as well, I was really starting to enjoy this. There was no clock, and time tends to pass slowly when you are tied up. Still, I have no concrete way to tell how much time had passed. Suddenly, the outer door of the stable opened and I heard somebody enter the building down at the far end. The other person was coming down the hallway in my general direction.

"Ashley, is that you?" I shouted down the hallway expecting it was her returning to release me.

"Jennifer, is that you?" The other person answered. Unless Ashley had a sex change between when she had tied me up and the present, it wasn't her. I just went silent.

The voice trailed down the corridor and echoed off the walls. I couldn't put an identification on it from where I was. The voice called out again and I heard foot steps coming towards me. I began struggling against my bonds anew. Still, it was no good. Ashley knew what she was doing when she bound me and I could not free myself despite my best efforts. I was sitting there trussed up like a hogtied cow at a rodeo and a man was coming down the hallway. What if it was Fred or one of his farm hands. What if they came down here and found me all trussed up like this. I would have some really awkward explaining to do. I renewed my struggles. But it was no use. The voice called out a third time and the steps continued to advance in my direction.

I am going to break this story off here. This is getting to be longer than I set out for it to be and I still have a good ways to go. I will continue the story as another chapter with my next posting. I will break some of the suspense just to set the nature of this story at ease. I don't end up getting hurt, tortured or anything like that. I just end up with a whole lot of embarrassment and some explaining to do.

[Soraka]

Part 4: The Farmer in the Cell

I am finally getting around to working on the 4th part of the story. Here it goes.

"Are you here Jennifer?" The voice shouted again. This time it was drawing closer to where I was.

I decided to stop squirming and try to see if I could evade the situation all together. I stopped my movements all together and drew in a deep breath. I held it steady trying to remain as silent as I could. I hoped that whoever had come looking for me would not locate my current prison and just leave on their way. Ashley would be back for me sooner or later. That was one thing about her, I could always counter on her. If she said she was coming back to release me, she was. The two of us had become close friends since I began my time in college. However, my luck didn't hold out.

I had been divided about how to proceed. There was a clear view of me from the window on the outside of the horse stall. I could move against the far wall and be harder to see, but that would create noise and more likely draw attention to my current situation. However, the other side of the coin left me bound and exposed out in the open. Neither choice was a really good one. I didn't have much time to make a choice, so I just decided to stay put.

"Jennifer? What the hell is going on here? Are you alright? Why are you tied up? Who tied you up? Are they still around? Should I call the police?" The man standing at the window to the horse stall bombarded me with a wave of random questions trying to make sense of what he saw.

I realized who it was when I caught sight of his face. It was a young man who I will call Rick for the purposes of this story. Rick was a young man of average height and build. I had just met him earlier that morning at the first milking. He kept mostly to himself. Outside of a handshake and a brief introduction all I has was his name.

"I'm fine. Ashley tied me up. It's a game we play at college. No, please don't call the police." I responded to his questions somewhat out of order and randomly.

"You're ok? What game, what are you talking about ?" Rick replied still not quite sure what to make of his new found discovery.

You know, I have been asked this question at least 100 times while I was growing up. 'Why do you like to be tied up and what is the nature of these games?' Alternatively, I will often get some other permutation of it. Still, you would think that after all those inquires, that I would be better equipped to answer it. I took a deep breath, my face was probably more red than the shirt Rick was wearing. I spent the next 5 minutes or so giving him the short version of my life story. He stood there looking down at me not quite sure what to make of the whole situation. When I finished, Rick took a deep breath and cleared his mind and throat a few times before responding. I could feel the tension about what his thoughts on the matter were permeating the air. Still, I wasn't going anywhere unaided at the present.

"Fred sent me to find you when you didn't show up with Ashley. He sent her to the far end of the farm. Something about looking at a tree that needs to come down. Anyways, he sent me to look for you. He wanted to know if you wanted some more work for the day." Rick explained.

"Yeah, well as you can see I am a little tied up at the moment. I probably am going to have to decline Fred's invitation unless you get me out of here." I replied, hoping the wise remark would cut some of the tension in the air.

"I can see that clearly now. Look, just hang tight, I will get you out of there." Rick commented.

The young man's heart was in the right place. I wasn't happy about being discovered like this, but I had been tied up over an hour now and getting out of these ropes and more importantly out of this stall sounded pretty good. Rick made his way around to the door. However, he quickly met an obstacle in his quest to free me in the combination lock Ashley had used to ensure my original escape attempt would be foiled.

"Jennifer, the door is locked. You don't happen to know the combination do you" Rick asked.

"No, sorry, the padlock belongs to Ashley you would have to ask her for the combination." I replied.

"She is all the way on the far side of the farm, it would take me an hour to reach her and get back. I am going to go get Fred. Maybe he knows the combination." Rick explained.

Before I could interject to his decision, he was off and bounding away. He was well out of ear shot before I could get the first sentence out. Besides, there really wasn't a darn thing I could do to deter him from his chosen course of action. I decided to try the ropes again while I waited. Hopefully, I could free myself before Fred arrived. That way he would just find me locked in a horse stall, not hogtied like a steer at a rodeo.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Despite my best efforts, the boys returned about 15 minutes later and I was still bound just as tightly as Rick had left me. I heard their first approach coming down the hallway a short distance off. The moved at a steady but not rushed pace. I wasn't going anywhere and they didn't seem to be in too big of a hurry. A minute or two later, I recognized the big farmer's face through the window staring down at me. He let out a huge chuckle followed by a long and solid laughter for a moment. Once he composed himself a little better he addressed me.

"Wow Jennifer, you have yourself in quite a bind there don't you?" Fred ask his face still bearing a big grin. I looked up at him not quite sure how to reply. Rick handled it for me thankfully.

"Do, you think we can get her out of there Fred? I mean do you have the combination to the lock?" Rick asked looking at his boss.

Fred approached the lock and looked it over. He moved outside of my view, but I could hear the lock rattling around.

"Yeah, I have the combination. You two wait right here. I will be right back."

Fred departed down the hallway leaving Rick standing where he was. I was left where I was bound on the floor of the stall obviously. Fred made his way down to a storage room near the entrance of the building. He dug around in there for a few minutes and then made a rather speedy return. The big man came into view. I could clearly see the sledge hammer he was carrying.

"I thought you were going to get the combination Fred?" Rick said staring at him with a puzzled look on his face.

"But I did my dear boy. You see, this lock has a rather simple combination, I am surprised you didn't guess it. It's one." The hammer rose and fell hard against the lock with a loud clang. "Two" Fred continued raising the hammer a second time and bringing it down hard on the lock. "Then Three." The big man finished shouting as the hammer rose and fell a final time. This blow shattered the lock breaking it's shackle free from the main portion of it. Fred reached over and slipped the shackle free of the bracket keeping the door shut. The door slowly opened.

"You see, my dear boy, we farmers are jacks of all trades. I do make a rather effective lock smith." Fred said with a quiet chuckle as he entered the stall.

I just sat there on the floor as the large man I barely new approached me carrying a sledge hammer. I was hogtied on the floor not quite sure what was going to happen next. Rick followed Fred into the room slowly behind. He passed the hammer off to his farm hand and began to approach me. Fred knelt down and began the process of untying my feet from their bonds. It took him the better part of a minute or two to untangle the rope from around my ankles. Once my legs were free, he took hold of the end of the rope and jerked me upwards gently. I did my best to rise up off the floor and into a standing position. I turned my back to Fred to give him better access to my hands. However, his next move surprised me a little. He didn't untie me.

"You alright?" Fred asked. I just nodded. "Good then."

Fred took the end of the rope that now hung down on the floor and wrapped it around my upper body a few more times where it already bound my arms securely to my sides. He didn't do it tightly to further restrain me. He just did it to eat up the tail of the rope to keep it off the ground. The three of us then departed in a line from the horse stalls. Fred led the way and I followed rather confused. Rick brought up the rear of our procession. I felt like a captive prisoner being transferred by two armed guards.

Fred lead the way as the three of us made our way along across the farm. Our destination soon became clear although, I still didn't have an explanation of my continued captivity. I was all aflutter with a whole mix of emotions. I was embarrassed by being found like this. I was confused that I had not been freed. Finally, I was both a little anxious and excited about where this would lead. However, I soon got my answer. We entered the tool shed. It was a large building set apart from several others on the farm. It was at least a hundred and fifty feet long and probably half that distance wide. The building had huge sliding doors and housed most of Fred's larger farm machinery. It also was home to a well stocked machine shop and an impressive collection signs and antiques that dotted the walls.

Fred lead the way across the workshop and took a folding lawn chair from where it rested against the wall. He opened it up and set it down on the floor and beckoned for me to take a seat. I hesitated a moment and then I did as I was instructed. Rick stood there next to us just as confused as I was about where this whole situation was going. Fred took a moment to clear his throat before explaining himself.

"Well, Jen, when you didn't come back with Ashley, I sent Rick to locate you. I was going to see if you wanted to sweep out the tool shed while I worked in here. However, it seems you found another way to occupy your time. So, maybe our good friend Rick here would like the job. It would provide him some more hours and I will have my wife prepare him a place at our lunch table." Fred explained.

"Yeah, I can sweep, but what about Jennifer?" Rick replied.

"Well, Ashley is a strong girl Rick. But, I doubt she could have tied up Jennifer without her consenting." The big man looked over at me and waited until I gave a nod before continuing. " So, it appears she wanted to be tied up. So, it would be a shame to let her go so early. So, you go sweep the barn and I will keep an eye on her. We'll untie her when it's time to go in for lunch. I assume that is agreeable to all parties present here?". Fred finished.

"I guess so." I replied.

"Yeah I will get to work" Rick added before heading off to gather a push broom.

Fred distanced himself from me as well as he made his way over to the large deck of a lawnmower that was leaned up against the wall. The large man picked up a cross wrench off the floor and began turning one of the large nuts that connected one of the blades to the bottom of the mower deck. I just sat there and watched him. I was already tired from the whole ordeal and it just felt good to rest. My hands were still securely bound, but I was much more at ease with my situation than during my initial discovery.

Fred was an interesting person to watch without a doubt. He put himself to completing the task in minimal amount of time as he worked the first bolt loose and then began working on the second. He put forth a solid effort, but the work seemed to take no toll on him. He was like an endless baston of continuing strength with regard to the project.

"Sorry to keep you tied up. But, from the way of things you don't seem to have an objection to the decision. I was really surprised when Ashley told me about everything that was going on at your college dorm room that first night. She ran down stairs and called me on my cell phone at 4 in the morning." He took a deep breath and piled the second blade on top of the first before continuing. "Heck, I was the second youngest of 5 children. Back in the day, we had 3 tv channels and no video games like you kids have today. No internet and computers were something you saw on flash gordon and thought about in space ships. Between all the bailing twine and other stuff on this farm, I don't think a week went by where one of us didn't get tied up." He explained looking over at me.

He finished unscrewing the third bolt and pulled the third blade free from the lawn mower. "Still, Ashley was an only child so she never had the exposure to the whole thing. Still, she is definitely my daughter I can see that now." Fred explained.

He collected the three blades off the floor and carried them over to the work bench. He set them down and took a moment before continuing with his work. Fred lifted a set of plastic wood working goggles off of a nail on the wall by the work bench. You know, the large dorky kind you would often see in a high school chemistry lab. He turned around and crossed the room to where I was sitting holding them in his hand.

"I doubt there would be any chance of a spark getting this far. However, I would rather be safe than sorry if you don't mind. " Fred explained.

"I don't mind at all, better safe than sorry is right. By the way is the grinder really loud?" I asked leaning my head forward. Fred slipped the goggles on and positioned them in front of my eyes.

"Not really, but if your concerned, I could get you some ear muffs if you want." Fred replied.

"Thanks, I would appreciate that since I cannot cover my ears." I explained shrugging my shoulders to indicate that my arms were securely still bound.

Fred cross the room and came back with a set of ear muffs, not the winter kind. They are the kind that look like the overside headphones you would wear when shooting a gun or driving a lawn mower to protect your hearing. He slipped them on over the side of my head covering my ears.

"There is that better?" He asked. I just nodded.

Fred depared leaving me sitting there and returned to his work bench. He slid a pair of goggles on in front of his own eyes and then switched on the bench grinder. The man went to work putting a fresh cutting edge on the blades of the lawn mower. He was a marvel to watch from a far distance. He was slow and methodical in the process making sure he did the job correctly the first time. I just sat there watching him. The safety items were not necessary. No sparks got within 30 feet of me and the ear muffs drowned the sound of the grinder down to a dull hum in the distance. I just sat and watch from my perch waiting for him to finish.

It was an interesting experience for me to say the least. I worked on the ropes one final time to see if I could purchase my freedom without Fred's inevitable help. It was pointless though, I had made some progress at gaining some slack in the ropes, but not nearly enough to slip out of them. It was an interesting perception to have my ears covered by the hearing protection while I was tied up. I had been tied up numerous times and blindfolded. It always made the situation more exciting not being able to see and having to rely on my other senses to figure out what was going on around me. Still, it felt strange to be able to see, but not really hear while I was tied up. The silence separated me from the rest of my surroundings. I felt more detached.

I knew I was watching Fred as he turned off the grinder and then set about remounting the newly sharpened blades to the bottom of the deck. I realized that he was there, but it was more like watching a television show. Fred seem wrapped up completely in his task. He didn't bother to come over and remove the ear muffs and goggles from me. Heck, he didn't even remove his own goggles until the last bolt was tightened down securely into place. When all that was finally done, he slipped them off of his head and hung them up. Then, he crossed the room over to where I was sitting.

The farmer bid me to rise from my seat and circle around me. He finally went about the process of first freeing my arms then untying my wrists. When my hands were finally free, I took a moment an rubbed them before I parted them from each other trying to work the circulation back into them fully. I had been tied up for almost 2 hours. Not the longest time I had ever been bound, but it had been a long one none the less. I took a minute to deposit the goggles and ear muffs back to their home locations before I followed Fred and Rick out of the tool shed.

We ran into Ashley on our way back up to the house from lunch. She was approaching from the direction of the stable. She was rather surprise to see that I had gained my freedom without her intervention. I shared the whole story with her on our walk back. It had been a fun and interesting morning to say the least. Quite the first day on the farm for me. However, it certainly wasn't the last. But, that will have to wait for the next chapter of this story.

Thanks for reading,

Jennifer

[Soraka]

Part 5: Stocking Up

I am writing the introduction to this now that I have a better idea of the length of this story. So, that I can get something posted I am going to break this into two or three parts. However, the first part here doesn't reach the tie up phase of it. Please bare with me. I do need to set some more ground work for this story and the ones that are going to follow. I will post the next part sometime in the near future. Enjoy.

It was a Friday morning the second week I was in the employ of Fred and his family. Breakfast was over and I was helping Fred's wife, who I will refer to from this point on as Mrs. Fred, with the breakfast dishes. The morning meal usually served the 4 of us plus up to another 3 to 5 guests, so it was quite a work load to clean up for one person. I had taken to using half an hour of my time to help her with the process starting last Wednesday. I had also helped Mrs. Fred out by vacuuming the bottom floor of their home and I had even mowed the lawn for her the week before. There were about 7 acres that Fred liked to keep mowed up around the house and other areas on the farm. He usually kept too busy to deal with it himself so it fell to her to do it.

Now, at home I had taken over mowing the lawn around our little lot when Scott has started college. We had a small ride on lawn mower and just over an acre to mow with it. Fred had a diesel powered tractor with a 12 and half foot deck that could mow lawn at around 10 to 15 miles an hour. I took one look at it and offered her the afternoon off to work on her flower beds. I had a lot of fun racing around the property on that thing even though the job took just under 3 hours to complete.

Fred found out about the extra chores that I was doing for his wife and pulled me aside. He said he appreciated my efforts, but he couldn't afford to pay me extra for the added work. He advised me that I was welcome to turn down any request for help from Mrs. Fred and allow her to do her duties around the farm. Any work I would be payed for outside of milking the cows would be solely assigned by him. After all this was his business and he had to budget his labor carefully. I replied that these were extra matters that I was doing for the hospitality that his family was extending me and I didn't require extra pay for them. Fred told me that I was welcome to help out if it suited my tastes, but I wasn't required to do so. My working on the farm was enough to compensate him for my room and board. Still, I continued taking on these tasks as the rest of the summer passed. They had other perks.

For exampled, I brought a duffel bag of my clothes from the week up to the house to wash them on Saturday. Mrs. Fred told me that I could use the washer and dryer since she usually did laundry on a different day of the week. I meant to spend a few hours taking care of it after breakfast. However, Fred drafted me into helping in repairing a barbed wire fence for a few hours. I told Mrs. Fred that I would just leave the duffel bag on the landing and come back and do it after I finished working with her husband. I returned a few hour later for lunch. Afterwards, I went down the basement to do the laundry. Upon opening the duffle bag, I found my clothes already washed and neatly folded back up. Mrs. Fred explained that it had only taken her about 20 minutes of actual work to throw the two loads I had in and fold them. A small token of the 6 hours I had probably freed up for her during the week. Also, when I would come in for lunch, if she was preparing a hot meal for Ashley or Fred, I would find a portion available for myself as well. So, this continued to be an extra arrangement for the duration of the summer.

"So, Mrs. Fred, I was wondering? I don't have a car here, so could I trouble you for a ride into town. I need to pick up some stuff. " I offered the request as I finished drying the last dish.

"Sorry hone, I have a full day here. Go check with Fred." Mrs. Fred replied.

"Yeah, but he is busier than you are. I doubt he is going to drop whatever he is doing today and take me into town for shopping." I explained back to her.

"Jennifer, I am well aware of that. What I meant was you should go ask Fred to borrow a vehicle and drive yourself into town and get what you need. We have insurance on everything we have that covers any driver and I assume you have your own car insurance as well. Just ask to borrow a vehicle and Fred will set you up." She finished as she departed the room. The woman was right, she had a lot to get accomplished that morning and I was on my own. I set out from the house to find Fred.

It wasn't that I didn't have the majority of what I needed. Heck, I had brought nearly half the clothing I currently owned. Still, I was missing a few simple things that would make my time here more pleasant. I needed to pick up a pair of work gloves for one. I had helped Fred the previous week in repairing a barbed wire fence. He had loaned me a pair of leather gloves to protect my hands from the obvious dangers. The problem I had was the smallest pair he had available was two sizes too big. I really needed to get out and purchase something that would fit. I also, wanted to get a new outfit or two. There was nothing wrong with the way I dressed, I just didn't quite fit in here and I didn't want my good clothes to get all tore up working here over the summer. I thought it better to but a few work outfits and use them for that purpose.

Finally, there were several other little things that I didn't need to survive, but I wanted. For exampled, while Fred and his family fed me well. However, they didn't stock any Mountain Dew pop, which had become a college essential for me since I really hated coffee. I needed to stock up on some other things as well. I needed some batteries for my gameboy, snack food, and some extra essentials for my other favorite hobby. I had packed two sets of handcuffs, about 25 feet of rope and a few other essentials. However, I wasn't sure how much my getting tied up would be tolerated by Fred, his family and his other employees. After last week's little incident, I had a better idea now. There was no shortage of rope available on the farm, but it wasn't the type I preferred. The white cotton clothesline I used at home, wasn't as course as hemp rope or as abrasive as bailing twine.

I made my way to the main milking barn. Fred had his new office set up there. He spent most of Tuesday mornings going over paper work and getting caught up so that everyone could get paid for the previous weeks work. I opened the door and there he was all decked out in his plaid shirt and denim overalls. The large man was sitting in front of an open log book. He simply had everyone write their hours down in it and then went about setting up to pay everyone. Fred had a very trusting nature to him, and to the best of my knowledge, it never lead to anyone cheating him. Well, at least not at the number of hours somebody worked.

"Hi Jennifer." He greeted me. "Sorry, but payday is not until Friday. We'll settle up then." Fred explained.

"I know, I wanted to head into town for some shopping. I still need to pick up a pair of work gloves and I want to stock up on some other stuff and get a new outfit or two. Mrs. Fred said you could either give me a ride or hook me up with some wheels. That is if you can spare either some time or a vehicle. I would be grateful." I explained.

"Why certainly." Fred responded standing up from his seat. He crossed the room and went over to a small metal box mounted on the wall about the size of a bathroom medicine chest. Inside were about 40 or 50 hooks all of which had labels and keys hanging on them. Most of them were for tractors, or some of Freds' other toys. Still, he also kept a set of keys there to most of the vehicles he owned and used for farm use.

"Now let's see, Ashley just took the truck. She is heading into town to pick up a load of cow feed. Jason has the van, he is picking up tractor parts. My chevy won't do you any good, I have the engine out of it right now. Mathew is going to overhaul it for me when he gets a chance. (Mathew was the farms mechanic that Fred kept on payroll.) My motorcycle won't haul all that junk you plan to buy. Do you know how to drive stick?" Fred asked me as he went over the row of keys that held the vehicles he owned.

"Yeah, I can, I learned in my brother's car. It's not my first choice, but I can if I need too." I replied.

Fred lifted a set of keys and tossed them to me. "Excellent, then you will be taking the jeep." He reached into his pocket and dropped a 10 dollar bill on the table. "By the way, do me a favor and run it through the car wash while you have it in town. It really needs it. I will run you 12 dollars and some change. All I have is this on me. I will settle up the balance when your pay day comes. Just get me a receipt if you would." Fred instructed.

I nodded and collected the keys and the money off the table. I explained that we could just call it even for the gas I would likely burn up on the trip. Fred had his own gas and diesel pumps on the farm. So, filling the tank wasn't a requisite of this trip. With my items collected and my employer's blessing, I was off on a shopping trip. It was a warm day in the lower 70's. I was wearing blue jeans, white socks, tennis shoes and a short sleeved t-shirt. I crossed the farm again and headed back to the tool shed where I knew Fred stored the jeep that was to serve as my transport for the day. It wasn't really my first choice of transportation, but it was 10 miles to town and I didn't feel like walking.

When I arrived, I found the large sliding door that I needed opened already conveniently ajar. The jeep shared a section of the tool shed with a large tractor. One of the boys was out doing something in the field with it. I honestly don't remember what. There is was, the old 94 jeep. It was painted lime green with pink flames, just in Fred's style. On the street and in the community, Fred was a well respected Christian man with a honorable reputation. Still, in his private life, he had two questionable indulgences. The first was playing poker. Despite everything else, he normally could find a game at least once a week. His other hobby was off road driving. He had 6 acres set aside out view of the main road. They used to be a corn field sectioned off by the surrounding forest. Now, they were a dirt piled high set of roads and jumps.

While the jeep was not nearly as nibble as Fred's dirtbikes or 4 wheeler, it still got out once or twice a month for it's true purpose. I could see now why Fred wanted me to take the jeep through the car wash. It had nearly as much dirt on it as it did paint. If you have ever seen a car on television where somebody would come along and write 'wash me' in the dust on the window with their finger, you know what I am talking about. I came along the left side and opened the driver side door. The jeep had a top that served as a cab that could be taken up or down. Currently, it was up and set in place. I opened the door and stepped inside. This was going to be my first time driving a jeep and it would turn out to be both a trying and interesting experience for me.

I pulled myself up into the driver's seat and began to look the vehicle over. I had driven cars, trucks, and even vans growing up the last few years. However, this was the first time I was in a jeep. They layout was pretty simple and it only took about 2 minutes of looking for me to find where everything was. I shut the door and reached up to fasten my seatbelt. However, I quickly discovered that there wasn't one available. At least no the normal lap shoulder belt I was used to. After half standing up and shifting around, I realized that Fred had removed the standard seatbelts from the jeep not long after he bought it. It was primarily used for offroading. So, I quickly learned that he had replaced the normal seat belts with racing harnesses for safety reasons.

The seat I was on was fitted with a 5 point harness style seat belt. After looking it over, I realized how it worked. The shoulder and lap portions of the belt could be adjusted via a sliding mechanism for a proper fit. It took me about 3 minutes to get the belts tight enough for a good fit. Once I was secured, I took a deep breath and turned the key in the ignition. I put the jeep into first gear and headed out onto driveway and made my way to the road. The whole process proved to be a rather difficult trial and error matter as I worked my way across the farm. I knew how to drive a stick shift vehicle, but it wasn't my forte by any means. There was also the matter of the harness seatbelts I was wearing.

As many of my longer term readers know, I am not a stranger to wearing a harness while riding in a car. However, this was my first time driving while wearing one. I had adjusted it about as snuggly as I could. However, I quickly learned that it rather limited what movements I could make in the front seat. Having two shoulder straps for example makes it impossible to turn yourself around completely to see behind you. It took some getting used to. I had to adjust where I stopped so that I could see the oncoming traffic. I additionally got very familiar with my mirrors rather quickly. Since I couldn't turn all the way around to see behind me. However, despite my shortcomings, by the time I reached the outskirts of this little community I had become comfortable driving under my current constraints.

I had several stops to make, the last of which, would be the car wash. My first destination, was the local Walmart. Now, it wasn't one of those new modern super ones that are basically a public warehouse. Still, it had some food, batteries, and most importantly a clothing section that I intended to make some use of. I parked the jeep way out in the boonies of the parking lot. I was still a little unsure of my ability to drive it. So, I left myself 3 parking spaces on each side of the vehicles even though it added a good 50 feet to my walk into the store. I crossed the parking lot and entered the store.

Right inside the entrance was an older woman in a white shirt and a blue vest who said what else but, "Welcome to Walmart", as she handed me a grocery cart. I took it with a quiet smile and quickly departed into the store. I decided to begin my trip at the food section. I knew what I wanted there and didn't have to spend a lot of time thinking. I grabbed two cubes of pop, some chips and some other items. Nothing was perishable or frozen. It was a warm day outside and I didn't expect to be back for a few hours. After I had my snacks set up for the next few weeks, I decided to make a quick trip down to sporting goods. Namely, I stopped by the gun counter. Now, I don't own and never will have a gun in my name. However, my little tie up experience with Fred had put an interesting idea in my head. The sole thing I bought there was a package that contained about 2 dozen sets of those little foam ear plugs you can wear when you shoot a gun.

I made a short trip over to the gardening and home improvement section. I figured I might find get lucky and be able to knock the hardware store off of my errand list. However, all the work gloves that I found in my size were just simple gardening gloves and not really what I was looking for in terms of quality. Also, I wasn't happy with their selection of rope. However, a short trip through their automotive department yielded some interesting nylon tie down straps that found their way into my cart. With the plastic blue grocery cart reaching near full, I decided that it was time to head over to the clothing department and wind down this little shopping trip.

Now, being a short smaller person has a lot of drawbacks. However, this was one area where I did have an advantage. I could wear the smallest sizes from the women's department, just about anything in the juniors sizes and even some of the larger sized kids stuff. It would all serve a respectable fit if there was something I wanted. I spent the next hour or so moving between the three departments and trying on a couple of different outfits. The main thing I was looking for were a few sets of overalls. I had the ones I had brought, but they seemed to be in fashion around the farm and I only had one set of them. I found two sets of them in blue denim that seemed to fit well, I also found a plus sized pink set in the children's section that had a Strawberry Shortcake character emblem on the front of them. I grabbed them up as well.

I also came across a simple white sundress that I liked. It was about knee length and had two simple straps that wend over the shoulders to keep it up. Finally, I found another dress that I really liked. It was a little more formal. The dress was light blue with a soft floral patter adorning it. It had long sleeves and a peterpan style collar up top. I tried it on and it tied with a light blue sash at the waist that formed a bow in the back and the hem came to rest just a few inches off the ground when I was standing. Best of all, it was marked down to 4 dollars as a clearance item left over from the Easter season. It also found it's way into my cart. My final stop at Walmart was the shoe department.

I had just about everything I needed from this store, but I wanted something to match with the dress. I settled on a closed toe pair of t-strap white leather fisherman style sandals with no heel on them. I also found a pair of white tennis shoes that had an open top and a mary jane strap on them that I couldn't pass on. With everything I had found, I made my way to the front register to check out. It took the woman there a good 10 minutes to scan everything and I ended up spending a fair amount of money on everything. Still, I was employed and it was going be a long summer.

I headed back out to the jeep and loaded everything up inside. It filled most of the back seat and I was off again towards my next destination. I headed about 2 miles down the street to a hardware store. It had come on a recommendation from Mrs. Fred. She and her husband did a lot of business there whenever the farm needed something. It wasn't all that far from the local Walmart. Just a short drive down the main street. I found a place to park the jeep and made sure that I locked it before I got out of the vehicle and headed in.

The store was a small privately owned operation. I went inside and there were maybe two or three other people inside the store besides myself. "Hi, can I help you young lady?" A friendly voice greeted me.

"Hi, I am working for Fred and I need a pair of work gloves. I was told that this was the best place to get a pair in town." I explained dropping Fred's first and last name.

"Ah, so you are the new girl that he hired. Our gloves are right over here let me show you what we have available." The gentleman replied. He was slightly older than Fred. A strong built man with streaks of gray rolling through his thinning hair. Still, he wore a welcoming smile and a friendly disposition.

I followed him over to another section of the store and began looking through a rack that had leather work gloves on it. There were quite a few choices to pick from and a good assortment of sizes. The man stayed with me and waited patiently while I looked through the selections available. Then, something caught my eye that I hadn't expected to find. Down on the bottom of the rack was a pair of leather mittens. I picked them up and looked at them. They were simple leather without lining inside. I slid one of them on over my right hand and tried them out. They were light weight and rather comfortable. However, they still ran larger than I wanted. I looked over at the shop keeper.

"Do, you have any of these available in a smaller size?" I asked.

"I am not sure let me go check the back." The man departed leaving me standing there. He returned a few minutes later holding another pair that was a couple sizes down from the ones that I had initially tried on. I slid this one over my hand again and it was a much better fit.

"Thanks, these will work, I am not to fond of gloves. I generally wear mittens in the winter." I explained.

"Sure, is there anything else I can do for you." The man asked. I replied that there was a few other things I was interested in purchasing.

Since this story is getting long, I will cut this shop down to a shorter explanation. The shop keeper lead me around the store and helped me to find quite I few other things. Once I had what I wanted, I met him up at the large counter where he totaled up my bill and took my money. In addition to the pair of work mittens, I purchased several other things. I bought a set of ear protection muffs similar to the ones I had worn in the last story. I got a set of wood working goggles as well. I also found 200 feet of the white clotheseline I was looking for. I bought a new pocket knife and a cheap cigarette lighter so I would have something to burn the ends of the rope with. The final items I purchased were half a doze small padlocks and some galvanized steel chain. I had the owner cut me a few pieces, a couple of them only a few feet long and one piece that was 10 feet long.

After I finished at the hardware store, I hopped back into the jeep and made a short trip around town. I drove through Mc. Donalds for lunch and ate the small meal while I was waiting for the jeep to make it's way through the automated car wash as Fred had requested before my departing. When it came out the other side, it was clean and looked like a jeep again rather than a rolling mud ball. With my trip into town complete, I saddled up and drove back to the farm. I drove the jeep up to the door of the building where I was boarding. I had wanted to drive it inside to unload, but the only available parking space was already taken by Fred's pickup Truck. I parked the jeep and began the unloading process. It would likely take me 7 or 8 trips to get all of this upstairs. Just then, Ashley rounded the corner.

"Oh, you're finally back. You missed lunch by the way." She explained.

"I drove through. I know Fred wants his jeep back, but I need to unload first." I replied.

"Want a hand?" Ashley offered.

"Sure, thanks." I replied.

Ashley gave me a hand unloading all the stuff from the jeep. It still took both of us 4 trips each to get it all upstairs. We set it on the floor.

"I have the afternoon off, I already unloaded Fred's feed. Do you just want to hang out?" she asked.

I nodded and told her we could just hang out in my loft. However, I needed to return the jeep to Fred first. I told her it was fine if she just waited here. I drove the jeep back to the tool shed and dropped the keys back off in the office as Fred had instructed me to do. He was out working the fields and I didn't feel like taking a mile walk to find him. Besides, I had kept all of my promises. I departed from the tool shed and headed back to the garage to spend the afternoon with Ashley.

When I got upstairs, I found her sitting on the edge of my bed helping herself to one of the cans of pop I had bought. It was no big deal. At college we had an open policy, if you wanted something you were welcome to it. Besides, it was just one can out of 48. I had been gone maybe 15 minutes.

"Jeeze Jennifer, you really went on a shopping spree. I understand the food and the clothes. However, what are you going to do with all of this rope and what do you need those pieces of chain for?" Ashley asked me.

"Oh, I got something in mind." I replied as I stared back at my college room mate.

I am going to end this story here. I know it didn't get as far as I intended. However, it's getting long and I wanted to get something posted. As you can probably guess what my plans are for the extra stuff I bought. It should be updated sometime late next week hopefully. Thanks for reading.

Jennifer

Note from @canuck100 : I did not find the last part of this story in the archives. I'm not even sure Jennifer ever finished the story. If ever you do have the last part, please post it here as a reply

[Cegsummer]

Never saw this series before. Same quality writing and detail in this story covering a very interesting first day on the farm. It is a shame the rest of the story is unavailable; has anyone posted to “Amy” to see if “Jennifer” has the rest of this somewhere?