Thor's Child ©
by K Pelle
Chapter 1
Tor was convinced he couldn't say anything about what had happened earlier that day to anyone, because what had happened was simply too strange to be credible. Honestly, he wasn't certain how anything he'd observed and experienced could have been possible, so how could he convince others that he was telling the truth.
He was wishing he was back home, because back there he had a friend he could talk to about anything and no matter what he said or did Sunny wouldn't criticize. Actually he knew that she would be open minded enough to listen as he explained what had happened, then offer him ideas that might help him solve his conundrum. Unfortunately right then he couldn't talk to her because she was still living in Gopher Creek, Saskatchewan and about a thousand miles away from him, since he was now living near Eagles Bluff, BC. He certainly wasn't going to call her on the telephone to talk about it, so it would be almost a month until he would be able to speak to her, face to face.
Sunny wasn't a member of his family and although she was his closest friend, he wouldn't have called her his girlfriend, instead she was his best buddy. Sunny was four months younger than he was and had been fostered by Mr. and Mrs. Enright almost nine years before, when she was only four years old. Since Sunny and Tor were nearly the same age and had been neighbours for many years, they grew to be best buddies, but their friendship seemed natural – after all, their parents had always been close friends.
However earlier that year, both Tor's parents and the Enrights were approached by a large mining company about selling their farms. It seemed that during a seismic survey of the area it was found that the two neighbouring farms were central to a huge deposit of potash, many, many million tons of potash. So for a while it seemed as if the long running friendship between the neighbours would be broken up by the machinations of the mining company, who were trying to play one farmer against the other to buy the land for less than it was worth.
After a long distance phone call to his brother Nils, Ollie Eklund got on the phone to Charlie Enright and they agreed to work together – if they were to sell, then both had to sell, or it was no deal. Then the two of them set out to do their homework. They researched local land prices, then contacted other farmers who had sold their land just before the mining company had developed other mines. After that Charlie Enright called his brother, who just happened to be a lawyer and Ollie Eklund again called his brother Nils, who happened to have worked for years in the mining and oil exploration industry.
After making certain they had gathered as much information as possible, the four of them arranged to meet the mining company officials in Regina. Byron Enright was the spokesman that day and his first action was to drop a signed letter of agreement between Charlie Enright and Ollie Eklund on the table stating their mutual agreement to an 'all or nothing' sale. That was followed by a roughly sketched relief map of the area which showed a secondary outline of the underlying potash deposit. That map also included a 'best estimate' of the optimum site for the mine shaft, which just happened to be on the shared border of the two farms.
"Where did you get that map? This appears to be industrial espionage," one of the company officials shouted.
"No, not really!" Byron Enright frowned deeply. "When that seismic survey was done, Nils Eklund was working under contract to the seismic company who had contracted to an oil company to survey the area. He was an independent contractor, who bossed his crew and also manned the recorder truck. He drew the original sketch from the information he saw registered by his recorders during the survey, which by the way, was done almost twenty years ago."
"That's still insider information!" the same guy screamed.
"Perhaps, for the seismic company he worked for at the time, but that seismic company went bankrupt, so Nils and his crew were never paid for their last few months work," Byron continued. "Instead of crying over his loss of wages and the money he had paid his crew, Nils convinced his brother that they should buy land in this area, gambling that what he remembered would be worth money someday. Later, he moved on, selling his share of the farm to his brother, who knew nothing of Nils' original reason for buying the property.
"Now here are the pertinent facts of this case in a nutshell. The Eklund's property was purchased over fifteen years ago and 640 acres of that land includes the mineral rights. The Enright property has been in the family since it was homesteaded and includes all of the mineral rights. Your company had absolutely nothing to do with the original survey. You didn't pay anything for the information which you are now planning to use, instead you discovered a set of old drawings in the provincial archives and appropriated them. Since Nils Eklund was never paid for that work, his original contract with the seismic company was, and is, null and void. Thus he owns discovery rights on all the mineral formations displayed on those survey drawings. In effect you stole those drawings from Nils Eklund, since he is still owed money for the work originally done on that contract. I am fully convinced that should you use the information on that survey, a court would find that at a minimum he is owed discovery rights – as well as twenty years of compound interest on the funds he invested during his original contract work. All of this was brought to my attention because of your attempt to purchase the land and mineral rights from Ollie Eklund and Charles Enright at an underinflated price.
"Now, I dislike the word 'swindle,' however in this case should you continue down your present path, I foresee an extended visit to a courtroom in your future. Otherwise gentlemen, if you decided to continue negotiations toward a more forthright and equitable solution for all those involved, you can contact me at the number on my card," with that, Byron Enright paused and smiled maliciously, then signalled to the other three men in the party and they walked out of the meeting without saying another word.
As a result of that meeting the mining company bought out both families' farms for almost half again the price which the property would have brought if sold as farmland. After the sale, when Olga and Ollie Eklund were discussing the sale with Mr. and Mrs. Enright they'd all agreed on one thing, they all still wanted to farm, but not on the prairies. On top of that they were extremely good friends and thought they'd see if they could buy new farms that were close to each other.
Tor wasn't sure of all the why's and wherefores, but in the long-run his dad and Mr. Enright made a trip out to Eagles Bluff, BC, to see Uncle Nils about buying farms near him. Actually since Tor's mom and dad had been born near the mountains in Sweden, and since his Uncle Nils and Aunt Hanna had a farm in a mountain valley in BC, Tor felt there was some nostalgia involved. Whatever the reasons they had for buying the land they did, his dad and Mr. Enright bought neighbouring farms.
Mr. Enright found the farm he wanted to buy on the first day they went looking, luckily he had seen it while they were on the way to look over a farm Tor's father was interested in buying. Mr. Enright happened to notice a man fastening a 'For Sale by Owner' sign to the fence of a farm and suggested they should stop in, so Tor's father pulled over. They found that the farm had everything the Enright family were looking for in the way of a new place to live. It had a relatively modern house, decent farm buildings and hundreds of acres of grass that would be perfect for raising horses. The farm took up the majority of a small valley, more than seven hundred acres of grass and fruit trees, and was owned by the Dupré family who were desperate to sell out and move to Vancouver. Mrs. Dupré was gravely ill, so they'd had to be away from the farm whenever she needed treatment. That had happened so frequently during the last year that they'd had to sell their farm animals because they were seldom home to care for them. In fact they'd contemplated selling the farm for over a year, so Mr. Enright's offer to buy their place had been the answer to a prayer.
Only a mile further down the road, the farm Tor's dad was interested in buying was an old homestead with a huge older house, a big barn, some decent sheds and almost a thousand acres of land. That farm was in another small valley and was owned by an elderly couple whose children had all decided to move to the city and find jobs there. Since their family had moved away and they were having a hard time looking after the farm because of their age, the old folks were selling out and retiring. Except for the contents of the house, they sold almost everything on the farm to Tor's family in an 'as is - where is' arrangement.
That arrangement was actually the reason Tor was living in the Eagles Bluff area with his aunt and uncle. When the old couple moved out for good in late July it would be his job to stay in the old house and care for the chickens, goats and cattle that were still on the farm until his family arrived. Tor's father had decided he was old enough to be responsible for the care of the new farm for a week or two and offered him the job. Tor jumped at the chance, because he thought it was going to be a lot less work to look after the new farm than the job his older siblings would be doing. His two older brothers and sister were going to stay home to help his mom and dad pack up what farm goods and personal items they were bringing out to BC. First though they would be sorting through everything on the farm and in the house, deciding what they would keep and what would be sold at an auction. Once the sorting was done, the auction held and the salvaged items loaded, they'd drive out to BC in several trucks, probably in a convoy with the Enright family. They were planning to arrive at the new farm sometime in the first week of August.
For the time being Tor was helping his Uncle Nils for three days of the week, then going over to help the old couple on his family's new farm for the next three days, at least he was able to rest on Sunday.
Since Tor had been in the area for over a week, he'd already met Mr. and Mrs. Armstrong, the old folks who had sold his father their farm. They were both in their early eighties, so they really didn't do a lot of work around the place, but they had a wealth of information that they were eager to share with him. In fact he spent more time listening to them talk than he did working while he'd been over there the previous week from Thursday morning until Saturday evening. He'd listened carefully as they explained how and why they did things around the farm, but as well he was learning the history of the area from people who had lived there all their lives. He found it fascinating to listen to the old couple as they told stories about themselves, their family, their friends and their neighbours.
They had taken over the farm in 1920 after Mr. Armstrong had returned from fighting in World War One. Originally the farm had belonged to Mrs. Armstrong's grandfather. Her grandparents had been the people who had first settled there and had built a farm in what had been a wilderness valley. The Armstrongs were slightly upset by the fact that their children and grandchildren weren't interested in farming, but for some reason having his father send Tor to learn from them pleased them greatly. Tor thought they felt that they could keep some continuity in the place by teaching him its history and he was actually looking forward to spending more time with them.
Just thinking about Sunny, the Enrights, his family and even the Armstrongs had calmed him down somewhat, but then he noticed a pong in the air, a noticable odour of B.O. Well, he'd been working rather hard when they had been digging up that darn stump, so he decided he needed a shower. He thought about Aunt Hanna's order to 'relax and take it easy until supper' and decided that a shower was relaxing, so he couldn't see how having a shower would annoy her.
It was after he'd had his shower and was drying off that he happened to glance in the mirror and gave a start of surprise. His body was changing far more than it had in a while, filling out more than he would have expected and it looked as if most of the weight he was adding was muscle. But then, he was eating like a horse and working quite hard while he was helping Uncle Nils. He was still thin, but if he was noticing a change, he had to be filling out exceptionally fast . Then he remembered having seen his brothers and his sister change when they went through puberty and recalled that they'd all grown very quickly, especially his brothers.
"Just what I needed, more change in my life," Tor sighed softly, then went back to the bedroom to dress in clean clothing and relax until suppertime.
When Tor went downstairs to eat that evening, he was feeling rather tentative about what he could do or say while still retaining a feeling of safety. He knew that Uncle Nils and Aunt Hanna wouldn't intentionally cause him any harm, but if he said the wrong thing about what had happened they might be astonished and worse, they might repeat it. He just couldn't let that happen, but he really didn't want to lie to them, because lying went completely against everything he believed. So, he was stuck between a rock and a hard place, but he screwed up his courage and forced himself to try to act normally when he walked into the kitchen.
Aunt Hanna was dishing out the food and looked up at him with a smile as he came through the door.
"I didn't think I'd need to call you for supper," she grinned. "Teenage boys must have a sixth sense when it comes to food."
"Nope," he managed to smile, despite her use of the words 'sixth sense.' "When you're the one doing the cooking, all I need is a sense of smell. Anything you cook smells wonderful, so I've been lying up there drooling for the last half hour."
That brought an appreciative laugh and she pointed toward the big table in the kitchen where the family always ate. "Take this bowl of spuds and sit down, you starving scoundrel. I'm glad you seem to be feeling well enough to be hungry after the scare you gave us."
"Well, I had a shower and changed clothes too, which helped me feel more relaxed, but I feel a little guilty about not helping Uncle Nils with the chores."
"Don't be silly. He's been doing all the chores for a while anyway since the boys are gone off to work on the boats, besides you're only here to help for a few weeks. When you folks get here you'll be living on your new farm anyway, but a week or so after that, our boys will be back home for a while."
"Have you heard from them?"
"Oh, yes. Arne called two nights ago, but it was after you were in bed and sleeping. He's working on Gunter Torvalsson's boat and they had just come in from their first opening, after filling their quota with Springs. They did very well, but he didn't think the boat Kai was on did quite as well. Still, he thinks if they save their money they should both have enough for university this winter. I'm proud of those two. They don't have to work, you know. We would have paid their way, but no, they're like their father, so independent it hurts," she smiled as she set a plate of pork chops on the table. "Now you just sit down and relax for a minute. Nils won't be long. He might be big, but when there's a meal on the table, he doesn't waste much time washing up."
"I heard dat, Voman, and vhen it comes to yer cookin' I do rush a lidtle. After all, it is yer cookin' dat has made me as big as I am," Uncle Nils came into the kitchen and patted Aunt Hanna on the bottom as he walked past her, then his eyes sought Tor's. "And how are ya feeling now, Tor? Ya givedt me qvite da skeer today."
"I'm sorry about that, Uncle Nils. I really don't know what happened to make me flake out like that."
"Vell, just vhat do ya remember?"
"Nils, just wait until you've at least sat down at the table before you begin to grill the boy." Aunt Hanna said sharply.
Uncle Nils looked at him and winked, but he did sit down and didn't say anything until everyone had served themselves, then he looked at Tor and sighed softly. "So, Tor, do ya haf any idea vhy ya fadedt out on me dis afternoon?"
"I don't know for sure," he fibbed. "I remember hooking up the chain to the stump and I remember you starting to move the tractor. I was standing on the tractor draw-bar, then I think you grunted, almost as if you lifted something heavy – only we weren't near the tractor then, but I don't understand how we moved. After that it's like I told Aunt Hanna, things got fuzzy. The next thing I remember for sure was when I was waking up, only by then I was upstairs and lying in bed."
"Ya say ya heardt me grunt like I vas liftin sometin heavy?"
"Yeah, or like you got poked in the gut. I don't know, that part was sort of fuzzy and I'm not sure about the grunt. Maybe I just imagined that."
"Oh yaah, I musta gruntedt for sure," Nils chuckled. "It vouldt be a vonder I didn't svear a blue streak, because I felledt back on my big fat bottom."
"You fell off the tractor?" Tor tried to look as if he was surprised. "Did you knock me down or something?"
"Nay, nay, nay, nay!" he shook his head violently. "Vhen I pulledt aheadt wit' de tractor da chain around da big stump broke. Somehow you and me, vee vent flying truu de air like little birdies and vee came down bout tventy, maybe tirty feet avay. Ya landedt on yer feet, but I landedt on mine ol butt and maybe dat was da grunt ya heard, 'cause I comedt down pretty dern hardt. It still hurts. Anyvay, ya vas standting dere looking at da tractor, den ya falledt over like ya hadt bin clobberedt vit a club, so I checkedt to see if ya'dt been hurt. Ya openedt yer eyes and lookedt at me fer a secondt, den yer eyes rolledt up until all I couldt see was da vhites andt ya slumpedt as if ya vere deadt. Dat scared da dtickens out of me, so I pickedt ya up and put ya in da trailer, den hookedt it to da tractor and brought ya ta da house."
"But, how could we get thrown off the tractor?" Tor frowned at him.
"I don't know. If it vas a horse I'd say vee got buckedt off, but tractors don't buck like dat," Uncle Nils said very quietly. "Maybe it yust vasn't our time to die."
"What do you mean?"
"Vell, vhen dat chain bustedt, it snappedt back tovards da tractor an' rippedt da seat apart. Hellavetus, it even bent da steerin' vheel. If vee hadt still been vhere vee vas, vee vouldt bott be deadt as doornails. Vhen I drove us home I hadt to standt on da floorboardts 'cause dere vasn't nuttin' to sit down on."
"Holy Cow!" Tor stared at him. "I guess I should say thank you very much then."
"Vell, I guess yer velcome, but vhat for?" he frowned.
"For saving my life," Tor answered instantly. "Since I had blacked out, I sure as heck couldn't have done anything, so you must have really had to move quickly to get us out of there. I don't even know what you did, but since I'm not hurt I don't really care either. I'm just thankful that neither one of us was killed nor hurt, well except that you're sitting down a bit carefully now."
Tor saw that his Uncle Nils didn't know what to say to that. Okay, maybe what he'd done was a bit unfair, but he really did want to throw his uncle Nils off so he'd stop looking at him with any hint of suspicion. Tor thought Aunt Hanna saw what he was doing and may have sympathized with him a little bit, because she brought up another subject. Then she made Tor's day by suggesting that he should get some fresh air after supper. While he was outside, she hinted that he might check on the horses in the upper pasture and see if they needed anything. Since he wanted to get out of the house and be off on his own for a while, he agreed with that little chore instantly and ten minutes later he was hurrying along the trail to the upper pasture.
As he was walking along that rough trail he was trying to find some way to duplicate any of the three different effects that he'd felt earlier. At the same time he was trying to find an explanation for them happening to him.
Well, the reason for getting away from the tractor was a no-brainer – he'd simply been frightened that he and his uncle Nils were going to be badly hurt or even killed by that flying chunk of broken chain. Now how he managed to move both of them away from danger was a completely different kettle of fish. He had no clues about that, none at all. Okay, that's a lie. He had read several science fiction and comic books that described teleportation, so he had to assume that was what he'd accidentally done. However the mechanics of the situation remained as clear as mud – in other words although he tried, he couldn't duplicate the effect which had saved their skins.
When he thought deeply about the 'x-ray' vision thing and even 'hearing and translating' his uncle and aunt's whispers, those seemed like very wild abilities. Perhaps he was actually asleep and just dreaming that he could do things of that sort. After all, the whole day had seemed rather fuzzy from the point that the chain broke until he'd been fully awake and talking to Aunt Hanna.
Over the next two days he wasted hours and hours trying to get a grip on the various things which had happened that day, but he got nowhere. Finally he just decided that it was a one time thing and that he'd never be able to repeat it. Besides he was going over to stay with the Armstrongs for the next three days and he was looking forward to seeing them and learning more about the farm and it's history.
Tor soon discovered that life has a way of complicating matters though.
Aunt Hanna drove him to the Armstrong's farm that Thursday morning and was going to visit them for a while, but just as Tor knocked on the door they heard a loud cry, then an even louder crash. Tor didn't wait for anyone to open the door, but burst into the kitchen to see what was wrong. Mrs. Armstrong was lying on the floor and her left arm was twisted unnaturally, so he knew it was broken. Mr. Armstrong was staring at her from his seat at the kitchen table and looked rather grey, which made Tor think he'd suffered a fright.
"I was just changing the lightbulb," Mrs. Armstrong said quietly. "Then I heard your knock on the door. I suppose I turned the wrong way on the chair. Anyway I fell and now my arm hurts."
"Do you hurt anywhere else?" Aunt Hanna asked instantly.
"Only my bottom, but I think that's just a bruise. Conrad might need a pill though. He has a heart problem and doesn't look good right now."
"Tor, see if you can help Mr. Armstrong. I'm going to get a blanket for Mrs. Armstrong and I'll call for an ambulance. We can't let either of them go into shock at their age."
Tor knew Mr. Armstrong had suffered from heart problems before, and he knew the old timer carried a little vial of nitroglycerine tablets with him at all times, so he made certain the old man took one. Then he was simply an extra pair of hands for Aunt Hanna. The half hour until the ambulance and volunteer fire truck arrived had to be one of the longest periods of time he had ever spent in his life.
If you consider the situation, Mr. and Mrs. Armstrong were extremely calm about the whole thing. Between their quiet acceptance and Aunt Hanna calmly taking charge, Tor wasn't worried either. Well, he wasn't worried until the ambulance and fire truck left with the old couple and Aunt Hanna followed them to Eagles Bluff, wanting to be certain they were both okay, then he felt a bit flustered. Tor was left to look after the place and do the morning chores. The local rumour mill must have been working overtime that day though. By the time he had gathered the morning's eggs from the chickens, then fed them and the three old cows, one of the neighbours had arrived to see if anything needed to be done and if he could help.
That's how Tor met one of the neighbours, Sam Clemens, who laughed when Tor asked him if he had written any good books lately. Instead of being annoyed, he told Tor that he was just another farmer from up the road. They had time for a short chat as Tor explained that his parents had bought the Armstrong's farm and that he was there to help the Armstrongs until they moved. He'd barely managed to explain that and tell about the accident before another pickup truck drove into the yard.
Mr. and Mrs. Baker arrived then, telling him they were related to the Armstrong family. Bert and Muriel Baker proceeded to explain that their father was the man who had done much of the grafting on the apple trees that stood in a little orchard on one of the hillsides of the farm. Bert even offered to show Tor how grafting was done when the proper season came around, so he was quick to accept the offer.
Those three folks weren't the last to arrive either, in fact over the day about twelve different couples as well as five other people came to see if they could help or came to meet the new kid in the neighbourhood. That day he met young people, middle-aged people, older people and even babes in arms, but try as he might he couldn't remember all their names, at least not yet. However the one thing he soon decided was that his family were moving into a very friendly community and he felt extremely welcome.
Some of the visitors even brought food, probably expecting that a thirteen-year-old kid couldn't possibly cook for himself. Tor had to chuckle about that – in his family everyone could cook. Actually it was a family tradition that once they were twelve each child had to take a turn in the kitchen once a month, even their dad took a turn, and when their turn came they had to prepare a full meal. So, although he wasn't stupid enough to turn down the food, he made certain that he wrote down where each and every dish came from. That way he could return the empty dishes to the right people and thank them properly. (His mother would have tanned his hide otherwise. Actually he found that some of those dishes were so good that he wheedled the recipes from the various people so he could impress his family on his days as chief cook and bottle washer.)
Although he tried to keep busy that day, he really couldn't accomplish much. He did get the grass around the house cut with the old mower and he did weed part of the garden, but other than that the day was a bust. He was too darn busy greeting visitors, so when Aunt Hanna and Uncle Nils showed up that evening he was quite relieved.
What absolutely astounded him was the fact that they'd packed up and brought all his clothing. They passed on the news that Mr. and Mrs. Armstrong weren't going to be coming back to the farm because their family had put their oar in the water.
"The old folks will be fine, but Mrs. Armstrong dislocated her shoulder and broke a bone in her lower arm, so she'll be in a cast for a while. Mr. Armstrong had a minor heart attack, but nothing exceptionally serious. However, you should have heard their oldest son, Arthur, when I explained what had happened," Aunt Hanna grinned at Tor. "After he found out that both his parents were going to be okay and then asked what had happened, he exploded. You would have thought I'd jabbed him with a cattle prod. The idea of his mother standing on a chair to change a light bulb was just too much for him to take and the fact that the old man had another minor heart attack set him off again. Since I told him you would be staying here to look after the place, he refuses to let them come back here for any length of time. He'd already bought the house next to his and has it all ready for the old folks to move in, so he and some of the family will be out here this weekend to pack up everything and take it to the city. He said they're going to clean house and take all his parents' favourite things."
"Wow, I guess I will need my sleeping bag then," Tor laughed.
"No, they're going to leave you a bed and the bedding for it, In fact, they'll be leaving at least three of the beds behind since the new house is smaller," she laughed. "They're going to leave the stove and fridge too, because the old folks have all new appliances in their new house. Nils and I called your Mom and Dad, but your Dad was quite emphatic that he trusts you to be able to look after the place. You know our telephone number though, so I want you to call me if anything goes wrong and you need help, okay?"
"Sure," he grinned. "I doubt if I'll be lonely either, not if the neighbours keep dropping in like they did today."
"Oh, did you have visitors today?"
"Oh, only twenty-five or thirty folks," Tor chuckled. "Some of them came over to help, but I'm certain some of them came over to meet the new kid in the neighbourhood. Heck some of them even brought over food, so I'll be eating well."
"Oh, before I forget, Olga said to tell you that if any of the old hens go broody, she wants you to set a few eggs."
"Aha, I knew it and I've got a head start on her," he laughed. "There was a broody hen this morning and she's setting on ten eggs already."
"Vel, you are vun up on yer mama and dat is doin' goodt, not many people out guess dat voman," Uncle Nils laughed. "Tomorrow I vill bring over Kai's old bicycle andt vun of de old mares dat vee haf pensionedt off, den if you need to go somevere you vill haf a vay to get dere."
"Thanks Uncle Nils. That would be great, even if I don't know where I'd want to go."
"Vell, vun or dee udder of us vill try to drop by every day or two undt like Hanna saidt, you haf our phone nomber. Ve vill bote be here on Saturday, yust in case de Armstrong boys needt a handt vit anyting."
"I'll be over tomorrow, maybe with one of the neighbours to help and we'll pack up Emma's china and ornaments so none of it gets broken," Aunt Hanna announced firmly. "While we're here, we'll probably pack her unmentionables too."
"Unmentionables?" Tor questioned.
"Mrs. Armstrong's underclothing," Aunt Hanna grinned. "In her day they weren't spoken of by name, but you're young enough that you've been corrupted by modern day advertising. Now I see you've been working on her garden, do you think that little patch is worth your time?"
"Well, it's small, but we will get a few fresh vegetables from it," he shrugged. "There are other things I'd like to do too, but I guess I should talk to Dad about them first."
"Vell, vee could call him tonight and vee could ask about vhat you tink you shouldt do."
So everyone walked over to the barn and he showed Uncle Nils how he'd like to change a few pens around and pointed to one of the stalls and showed him some boards that needed changing. After that they went outside and he pointed out a few weak points in a fence and other things of that sort. Nothing he pointed out was major, but anything he pointed out seemed to draw a nod from his uncle.
"Ya got yerself goodt eyes fer a farmer, boy," he rested a hand on Tor's shoulders. "You go aheadt vit any of doze tings andt don't vorry, yer Papa vouldt be proud dat you even seen dem."
They didn't stay long after that, because Uncle Nils still had chores to do and so did Tor. There really wasn't a lot to do though, so in half an hour he was inside using the microwave to reheat one of the pre-made meals that had been dropped off that day. He wrote himself a note to ask the lady who had brought the fried chicken for her recipe. Once he'd warmed it in the microwave he found that it was extremely tasty!
After eating, he made himself a small pot of coffee and sat out on the front porch for a while. That was a family habit and it actually made him feel homesick and a little bit overwhelmed that he'd suddenly become responsible for the whole darn farm. He needed to remind himself that although he was only thirteen, he had been born and raised on a farm which was not only larger than this one, but was also much more complicated. He'd actually had more responsibility when he was back on the farm in Saskatchewan and he knew he had help available if anything came up that he felt he couldn't handle. Somehow the strange things that had happened a few days before just didn't seem as important right then. He sat outside and watched the sun set behind the mountains to the west of the new farm, then closed up and went to bed.
Surprisingly it didn't take long to doze off.