CHRIS
A plate with two fried eggs appears in front of me. It looks appealing, yet my stomach churns from the nerves.
"You need to eat. Otherwise, you will have a rumbling stomach during your interview. They will think I don't feed you enough."
I look at my sister and give her a small smile. After taking a sip of my coffee, I grab a fork and move the food around the plate.
"Chris, are you okay?"
Amy's face shows concern. Those sad eyes fill my conscience with guilt and break my heart. Our parents never gave a shit about us, but Amy has always been there for me. Even at the times when I didn't deserve it.
"I'm scared, that is all," I shrug.
My sister is the only person in the world to whom I would share my true feelings about anything.
"The Marshalls are good people, kind and fair. Have faith," she holds my hand.
"What if it happens again? When they find out about my past, they won't want me anymore."
"Huritt knows you served a sentence, and he must have told his brothers by now. If they had a problem with it, we would have heard about it already. Be honest during the interview, it's the best you can do."
I nod and eat my food. I don't know what to expect. Amy is in love with the place, the people and the work she does there. I have no studies or work experience, unless selling drugs, getting into fights and knowing my way around weapons counts.
After breakfast, the ride to the ranch is pleasant. It's the end of May, and the flowers are in bloom and the trees are at their greenest. The road winds down, and then I see a wooden arch with the words Gray Wolf Ranch in iron letters mounted on it. Amy parks her car, and as we get out, she greets people in the distance with a wave.
"This is the parking area only for employees. The Marshalls seem to have thought about everything to make our work pleasant. The employee lounge is on the first floor of that large building, and I work on the ground floor. If you get hired, the stables and the farm are past the pool building over there."
"What about the brother who manages the farm? What's he like?"
"I've only seen Kitchi a handful of times. He has a wild look about him and is always dirty and sweaty. No surprise there. You know well how things go with farm work."
I nod at my sister and then take in the place. The scattered wooden houses are painted in ochre, teal, and burgundy with a white trim. Even though it is the end of spring, they remind me of a beautiful day in the fall. In the middle of the clusters of houses are playgrounds and a few kids in pajamas, wearing rubber rain boots, go down the slides. It's quite a sweet image and I understand why Amy feels so happy working with them.
As we pass the cozy lobby, Amy introduces me to a lady called Olivia who works at the first aid post. Upstairs, the room opens into a small office featuring two wooden desks with hand-carved details. The walls that aren't occupied by wooden cupboards have Native American paintings. A group of people chats in an adjacent room while drinking coffee and eating pastries. Amy greets them, and I get a warm welcome when she introduces me as her brother.
"Morning, Amy!"
I turn around to find a guy with a gentle face and light green eyes, brushing pastry flakes off his gray shirt.
"Hi there Huritt, this is my brother Chris," she says, and we shake hands.
"Pleased to meet you. Do you want coffee before we head to meet with my brothers?"
"No, thanks."
"Let me steal another pastry before Nadine comes to clear them. Damned delicious things. Can't get enough. Amy, I will see you at the club later."
I follow Huritt to a small closed room where two guys look at something on a laptop screen. Are they really brothers? They look little alike. One is tall, with straight black hair neatly combed to the side. The other man has longish hair, a broad nose and thick-rimmed glasses.
"What are you looking at?" Huritt asks.
"An outdoor lamp supplier," the tall one says. "I felt worried after what happened to Istu last night. We need to get the paths better illuminated. What we have now is obviously not working, especially in bad weather. I wouldn't go for a street lamp as that would bother the hell out of the people when trying to sleep, but something about knee high should be okay."
"Guys, this is Chris Holt, Amy's brother."
"Good morning," I greet them as they shake my hand.
"Richard Marshall, but call me Rowtag," the tall brother says and smiles at me.
"And I'm Isaac, well, Istu."
Huritt invites me to sit down and I don't feel nervous anymore. They don't look like the bosses of my previous interviews; on the contrary, they look laid back but still professional.
"Chris, we understand from Amy that you have been looking for a job, but get turned down due to your record," Rowtag says, and I nod. "Can you tell us more?"
"I didn't do well after we moved to the city when I was 17 years old. When my father was going through one of his moods, I couldn't escape to the fields like I used to and ended up hanging with a group that used illegal substances and eventually ended up selling them. Amy feared for my life and convinced me to stay with her, and for a while, my life was relatively peaceful. With two mouths to feed, money was tight, so I dealt again on the side and lied to her, saying I had a job. One night, I came out of a bar with a friend and somebody shot at us from a car. The guy I was with was not even a dealer or a user, just a college boy with tons of dreams and hopes I had met while trying to find a real job. He died in my arms, and when the police arrived, one of them recognized me as I was on a list of wanted dealers and got arrested. I had material on me and that got me sent straight to jail without a day in court. I was in shock and when I had time to reflect in the cell on what happened, I felt horrified; it could have been Amy. I got sentenced to 14 years in jail, but they let me go after five for good behavior."
"A difficult experience," Istu says and his brothers nod.
"I brought it on myself. There are better ways to cope with change, but I took the destruction path. I want to repay Amy for all she has done for me because I know she fears I will go back to bad habits to achieve that."
"It's a noble gesture. And have you ever done farm work?" Rowtag asks.
"I'm a country boy. We used to have a farm until my parents sold it. I even lent myself to other properties to muck out stables as a summer job."
"Kitchi will be glad to hear that," Huritt smiles.
"Chris, hiring you is a risk for us and our reputation. If word gets out, guests won't feel at ease knowing there is an ex-convict on the complex," Istu says. I feel my heart drop to my feet. "But we want to help you. The only thing we ask of you is that you share as little information as possible about your past with the surrounding people. Begin with a clean slate, and just say you are Amy's brother."
"You want to hire me?" I feel my mouth drop open.
"Yes, we do," Rowtag smiles and pushes a contract towards me.
"There is only one thing you need to know," Huritt says, and I brace myself over whatever it could be. "Kitchi is our youngest brother. If my calculations are right, you must be around the same age. He is in charge of the stables, the farm and leads the trail rides. He is an amazing guy, and I'm sure you two will get along great, but he needs special help with many things."
"The four of us had an accident when we were kids, and Kitchi still suffers the consequences of a brain injury," Istu adds. "He has association, concentration and memory problems. We write everything for him in the notebook he carries around. Sometimes when he talks to you, he goes blank or gets stuck trying to remember a word. He can describe what he means, but his brain won't come up with the word. We have visual aids for him in his work area, and we will be grateful if you can assist him, without making it too obvious. It tires him and frustrates him often, so he can also have angry outbursts. Don't take it personally."
"Okay, I will try my best," I say and hope I don't regret agreeing to this.
"Take your time to read the contract and sign it, and welcome to Gray Wolf Ranch," Huritt pats my shoulder.
The salary is fair and I sign immediately. I receive a stack of farm overalls and change into my new uniform to start right away. I walk together with Rowtag towards the stables while we make small talk. Let this be the start of my new peaceful life.