Page 14 of Why We Break

“Well, I haven’t gotten the full extent of the details yet, but I do know there’ve been about fifty water balloons sitting in a bucket by the back door since I got home from Maracas last night,” she says with a laugh.

“Oh my gosh, that man,” I reply, giggling along with her at her fiancé’s antics. “Well, I need a full play by play.”

“Don’t you worry, I’ll send you and Margaret all the details,” she responds before turning to get in her car. Once she settles in the seat, she studies me again before saying, “You know I’m always here for you, right Han?”

I smile, feeling some of the weight I was feeling earlier start to lift off my shoulders before nodding. “I know. And I couldn’t love you more for it.”

“Love you back, babes,” she says with a wink before pulling out of the parking lot, and for a moment I allow myself to relax and trust that everything really will be okay.

“Guys,she’s totally gonna hear us if you keep that shit up.”

I’m finally curling up with my Kindle and a glass of wine after taking care of all the farm chores and getting Ruby situated for the night, when I hear the sound of giggling outside followed by the deep voice of who I’m pretty sure is Ralph from my second period class. I shake my head and fight the urge to laugh at their failed attempt to be quiet before standing and sneaking toward the window.

From my new position, I can see a group of about twenty students moving stealthily through the yard and throwing rolls of toilet paper at my trees. I pull out my phone, firing off a text to our group chat as I continue watching their antics.

HANNAH: They’re here. Did they come for y’all yet Caroline?

CAROLINE: Yep. A group just left here about ten minutes ago. I thought Theo was gonna have a fit when he walked outside and saw the winter wonderland that they left for us.

HANNAH: What happened? I thought he had big plans and lots of water balloons.

CAROLINE: Bless his heart, man was trying to move the bucket to hide by the bushes, and he managed to knock the whole damn thing over. The kids obviously saw him, stole the water balloons, and turned on him. And then they rolled the house.

MARGARET: NO WAY. Please tell me you got a video…

CAROLINE: Unfortunately no…but don’t worry. The kids will make sure everyone knows how clumsy the fire chief is.

I can’t hold back the laugh that titters out of me as I read her message, before turning my attention back out the window where my students are stringing rolls of toilet paper through my trees and bushes. I’ve just decided to make my way outside when I hear a few girls screaming. Alarmed, I rush outside, regardless of the fact that I’m in my pajamas and barefoot to see what’s wrong. I swear to fuck if Leroy slipped his cage again, I’m gonna come unglued.

But by the time I’ve made it outside, I have to fight my racing heart, only to realize that the girls are squealing as they look into the cattle trailer I have parked beside the house. As they notice my arrival, a few of the boys start to sprint down the driveway, but the girls are obviously too enamored by my calf to make a run for it.

“Um, Miss Hannah, why didn’t you tell us that you have the cutest little calf in the world?” Riley, one of the girls from the squad, asks.

“Yeah, can you bring it to school and make it a class pet?” Jenny, another of my cheerleaders, asks.

I let out another laugh at the absurdity of the evening before responding, “Well, I’m not sure that’s the best idea. This is Ruby and she’s only a few days old.”

The girls continue to coo and call to the calf through the bars of the cattle trailer, and I make my way over to them. “Don’t crowd her too much, okay, girls? She’s really sweet, but I don’t want to stress her too much.”

They immediately take a few steps back, and I unlatch the door to pet my newest calf. “I just finished feeding her a few minutes before y’all got here, so she’s probably pretty sleepy.”

“We love her,” Jenny says, her eyes full of adoration as she looks at the small animal. “When will she—” she starts but stops when we hear a loud sploosh sound on the other side of the trailer.

“What was that?” one of the other girls asks, but I’m already moving to lock the door of the trailer, and blowing out a groan of frustration.

“LEROY! You better get your butt back in your pen and stop trying to show off for our guests!” I bellow, as my students look at me in confusion.

“Umm, Miss Hannah, who’s Leroy?” Riley asks as a few of the boys pull their trucks into the drive, presumably to pick up the girls they left behind when they made a run for it to wherever they parked. As the truck pulls in, the headlights illuminate the side of my drive where my pig is happily rolling in a puddle of mud.

“Leroy! I swear, the digging has to stop! You’ve slipped your gate three times this month!” I say in exasperation, pausing when I notice that a piece of toilet paper is trailing from his hoof. “God, you’re such a mess,” I tell him with a laugh.

“Miss Hannah, that’s a pig,” one of the boys says as he makes his way over.

“Great observation, Trent,” one of the other boys teases, while the girls walk over to the puddle.

“Oh my gosh, he’s huge!” Jenny says with a laugh. “But he’s also really cute.”

“Yeah, I didn’t know you had so many animals,” Riley adds.

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