Five Cows and One Plate of Pie

Cody nodded. He did not argue.

“I’m not going to,” Lyle said. “On one condition.”

You could hear a pin drop. You could hear the auctioneer through the wall, selling heifers now, and a calf bawling somewhere far back in the pens.

“Those were old cows,” Lyle said. “I’d have shipped them next fall anyhow. But the barn took its commission and its yardage out of that check, and I’d have gotten more for them in the spring with some flesh on them. That’s money I’m out because of you.”

“Yes sir.”

“So next fall you’ll haul my calves,” Lyle said. “Every load, to this barn, free. You’ll show up when I call and you’ll show up sober and you’ll have that gooseneck washed out. You do that, and we’re square, and I’ll tell Dale so.”

Cody’s face did something I will not forget. He looked down at his cap, and his shoulders came down an inch, and he said, “Yes sir. I will. Every load.”

“I know you will,” Lyle said. “You fed those cows a whole winter for me when I couldn’t stand up. I haven’t forgotten that either.”

Then he turned around and walked back up the counter, and he squeezed Arlene’s shoulder once more on his way by, and he went out the glass door to finish sorting his neighbor’s calves.

Pie

Jan had been standing there the whole time with her pad. She cleared her throat and leaned in toward Arlene.

“Arlene, I’ve only got the one piece of sour cream raisin left,” she said. “I’ve got apple. I’ve got cherry, but it’s from yesterday.”

“Then bring the sour cream raisin,” Arlene said, “and two forks.”

Jan brought it. One plate, one big wedge of sour cream raisin pie with the meringue standing up tall and browned on the peaks, and two forks laid side by side next to it.

Arlene pushed the plate halfway between us and handed me a fork. “Eat, honey. You look like you haven’t since Friday.”

I hadn’t. I took a bite, and it was the best pie I have ever eaten in my life, and I started crying after all, right there at the counter, quietly, into a piece of sour cream raisin pie.

Arlene did not say a thing about it. She just kept her hand where it was and took a bite herself and said to Jan, “That’s good pie, Jan,” and Jan said, “I know it,” and the talk along the counter slowly came back up to normal.