31: NEW NEIGHBOR

Back to Emma’s day on the farm…

Emma had made it back out to the barn after lunch. She needed to get her chickens set up in their roosts and set out some feed. The little chickens flocked to her as she approached. “Hello, my little babies. Are you hungry?” Emma babied her chickens. She found that the sweeter you talked to them and the more attention you paid them, they tended to produce more eggs.

Emma was on her way back down to the house to fetch more bags of feed, when she noticed a car in the driveway. Then she spotted a woman about her age standing on the front porch.

“Hello, Can I help you?” Emma questioned the stranger causing her to jump. Emma had snuck up behind her not meaning to startle her.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I wasn’t expecting you to be outside. My name is Ginger. We live just right up the road at the next farm. I saw the moving trucks coming and going the last few days and I wanted to see who had bought the old Tackett’s farm.” Ginger seemed very sweet. Emma couldn’t tell if she was a city/country girl or maybe like her a country girl that moved to the city. Her clothing made her think she was from here. She wore designer jeans, a big cowgirl belt. Her boots were way fancier than Emma’s. They had beautiful turquoise embroidery all over them. Emma was the epidemy of the simple country girl. She wore tattered old jeans, a large t-shirt that hung awkwardly, and her boots were so worn you couldn’t even tell that at one time they had a design on them.

Emma held out her hand to introduce herself to Ginger, “Well, hello there Ginger. My name is Emma. My husband Jackson and I just moved in.”

Ginger smiled, “Do I detect some southern twang to your voice? You are a real country girl. Unlike me, I am an imposter.” Ginger and Emma both laughed and Emma confirmed she was correct.

“I am confused though. I thought that one of the multi-million-dollar Smith brothers had purchased this property?” Ginger looked at Emma with a questioning face.

Emma didn’t know how to address this question. Does she be completely truthful and scare this poor girl off or maybe stretch the truth a little? “Well, that is correct. Brayden the younger Smith brother purchased this. He and his brother Brent are cousins of my husband Jackson, we moved here from down south to live with him and so Jackson could go to work for their business” Ginger looked at her still in confusion. Emma decided she was going to take a chance and tell her the truth. “Brayden, Jackson, and I have a different relationship.”

Ginger’s eyes widened. “Oh my, so you three are a couple?” Emma braced herself for the scrutiny that most likely came next, but she was wrong when Ginger continued speaking, “No freaking way! I have heard about people in these types of relationships, but I have never actually met anyone.” Ginger was astonished and excited. “So, it does work for you three then?”

“Yes, it has taken us some big changes and difficult decisions but so far it has been the best decision of our lives. It might not work for some, but it works for us.” Emma said proudly. She was excited to finally tell someone other than her family and Ginger didn’t judge them at all. If anything, she might have seemed envious.

“Hey, you want to come inside and talk? It’s hot and I need some sweet tea. Would you like some?” Emma offered to Ginger, and she quickly accepted.

Walking inside Ginger’s face was etched with wonder as she looked around the open floor plan of the home. “Wow, Emma you guys have made a lot of improvements to this house. It is beautiful. Makes me want to update mine.”

“Thank you so much. Brayden hired an interior designer. She called me and asked a few questions about things I liked or disliked and then ran with it. She did an amazing job.” Emma’s voice was full of pride as she continued to show her through to the kitchen where she had sweet tea chilling in the fridge. Emma poured them both a glass and sat at the island. “So, Ginger tell me about yourself?”

Ginger sat back thinking where to begin her life’s story. “Well let’s see, I have lived in this area all my life. My parents owned a racehorse farm where we bred, raised, trained, and prepared the racehorses for competitions. That is where my husband and I live now. We continued the family legacy after my parents retired. I also met my husband Tye through the racehorse family.”

“That is so amazing!” Emma said with excitement. “I love animals. I have several and I always wanted to add horses to the mix, but never have. Tell me more about your farm.”

Ginger smiled with appreciation towards Emma, not many people around here understood what they did. “Well, our farm isn’t the fanciest around, but it gets the job done. Most of our money is invested in the facilities for the horses. They are extensive and cater to their needs with large stalls. We own around 150 acres of pastures for them to graze in, and we have an area set up for their training. I do love it there and I’m so glad I met Tye who shares my passions. His mom and dad were veterinarians who would tend to our horse’s health.”

“Awe, y’all have a beautiful love story.” Emma gushed. “So do you have any children?”

“No, we just haven’t had time to focus on children at this point in our marriage. We are 35 now, and I honestly don’t know if I even want children anymore. I hate to not have anyone to pass this tradition down to, but we stay so busy, I feel like we wouldn’t be able to give them the attention they needed.” Ginger seemed sincere about the decisions she and Tye had made. “So, what about you three?”

Emma sighed as she said, “No, unfortunately Jackson and I found out in the beginning that neither of us could have children. Brayden and his brother Brent made their business their child. They have never settled down or found the right woman, so they have passed on the notion. At one point in my life, I was upset over the situation, but now that we have Brayden, children would have kept us from exploring this relationship.” The women both sipped on their tea continuing their conversations about each other’s life until the sun was starting to set.

“Well, Emma I thoroughly enjoyed our afternoon. We should do this again sometime soon.” Ginger smiled at Emma.

“I agree, Ginger. Hey, I was wondering if we could go shopping sometime. I would love some clothing like the ones you have.” Emma exclaimed.

“Yes, I would love that, Emma. We can plan a trip to the city, and I will show you all my faves.” Ginger gave Emma a hug and out the door, she went to head back to her home. It had been a long time since Emma had any girlfriends. She liked Ginger a lot. Maybe they could see each other again soon.