"A Summer in the farm" by yourcaretakerart. Part I Chapter 1 (Patreon)

     “This time my dad´s crossed the line”, Kyle thought looking through the window from his seat on the train, “I had planned to spend the summer with my friends, and here I am … on my way to bumblefuck to work on a farm, while he and my mom are in Hawaii …”. The boy complained, with a visible air of sulkiness as he rested his elbow on the window sill and his cheek on his fist. The young passenger watched planes passing by while repeatedly hitting the floor with his heel at a quickening pace, stirring those thoughts up in his head.

     There were more than two hours of travel left so he suddenly stood up, like pushed by a strong gust, to grab his handled gaming console and earbuds from his carry-on. The bag was high on the rack, but he didn´t need to stand on tiptoe, as Kyle's slender figure of long proportions was taller than most boys his age. Kyle was a blond boy in his early 20s. Locks of his wheat-colored hair shaded his forehead like the manes of a wild horse. His eyes highlighted under his straight eyebrows with an intense electric blue color, from which it would seem that intermittently flew sparkles; the reflection of his lively vibrant personality and fast bearing. A nose sprouted from his long face that, despite his large dimensions, looked perfectly sculpted - and it was complimented by his wide mouth of noticeable and perfectly aligned teeth, like the white keys of an organ.

     The train finally arrived at the village in which the boy had to get off. As the farm stood in one of its hamlets, he took a cab there at the station. He observed through the car window the almost empty streets and the little buildings of that place; some might find that tiny town peaceful, beautiful, and picturesque. However, Kyle had the impression that time stood still in that village; definitively not a place for a fun-loving boy from a big city like him, always on the move like a whirlwind that enjoys being surrounded by people thanks to his attractive trail of dynamism. Then, they drove through a large area covered with trees for more than fifteen minutes, which made the boy feel uneasy,

     Kyle looked at the taxi driver, “Hey, man! Is there a lot?”

     “Garrison´s farm is far away, another fifteen minutes”

     The boy dropped his head back against the seat, sighing in protest, and thought, “Oh, man, this is worst than I expected! At least, it will only be for summer” he concluded trying not to lose his usual bright view of life.

     The cab finally got to Kyle´s destination. The boy got off at the farm entrance, took his luggage from the boot, and paid the cab driver. After the taxi drove away, there, the only sounds to be heard were the bird songs from the trees and the animals at the farm. Kyle opened the fence and walked towards the house at the back of the yard. The squeak of the latch alerted a golden retriever of his presence, which ran towards the boy barking and wagging its tail as a way of saying welcome.

     Kyle squatted to caress the dog, “Hey, buddy! Can you tell me where your daddy is?”

     An old man came from the home and noted, “Gus likes you”

     The boy stood up as the owner got closer, “Hi! You´re Mr. Garrison, right?”, then he reached out to shake hands while smiling politely.

     “Hi. Yeah, boy. I take it you´re Kyle” the farmer answered with a calm voice, shaking the boy´s hand.

     The young man nodded his head, “Yeah, Mr. Garrison. Good to meet you!”

     The old man smiled warmly, “Likewise, just call me Alfred. Tired from your trip? Come in and rest” the farmer invited him pointing at the house.

     “Not really, but thanks!” The boy answered. Then he took his carry-on luggage and walked toward the farmer´s home next to him.

     Alfred´s look matched his nice treat, chill manners, and constant murmuring tone of voice; a slight smile seemed to be the natural position of his mouth and under his always frowned eyebrows, his green eyes looked in continuous happiness.

     As they got closer to the house entrance, the boy perceived how the air got more and more pervaded with the smell of delicious cooking, so dense that the lad had the sensation that he was able to taste with his nose the food from which it emanated.

     Kyle closed his eyes, took a deep breath in, and then he released a heavy sigh of pleasure, “Wow! It smells so good!”

     Alfred explained in his serene ways, “Hehe, yeah, my wife’s preparing your dinner”. The old man opened the door and invited Kyle in tapping his back, “Come in, child! Bertha, the boy´s already here!” Then, they entered the kitchen.

     “Hi, sweety!” said Alfred´s wife stepping towards Kyle while she wiped her fingers on her apron, “So you´re Kyle, right?” She asked shaking hands with both hands, “Nice to meet you! I´m Bertha and don´t ever call me Mrs. Garrison, just call me Bertha, Bertha is fine, ok?”

     “Yeah, Gotcha!” Kyle assented with a radiant grin on his face, totally glad for such a nice welcome from that talkative old woman.

     Then she said, “Oh but leave that suitcase anywhere, I´m about to serve your dinner. Surely you´re hungry, aren´t you, child?”

     “I am, especially when it smells so good, ooooff! Kyle admitted rubbing his stomach under his shirt and locking his eyes on the gas stove, eager to try the food.

     “That´s roasted chicken”, Alfred´s wife said to answer the question that was running through the boy´s mind, “You´re gonna love it. It has a special gravy I made with garlic and spice. Go and wash your hands, while I take them out!”

     Bertha looked like an old baby, not only for her tender personality but also for her physiognomy; small in stature, with a round face like the moon on a big head of ample forehead and restless brown eyes over a tiny nose and squeezed lips.

     When Kyle came back from the bathroom and sat at the table, Bertha placed a big tray full of several chicken pieces (breasts, thighs, etc) and a large bowl full of fries in front of him. The golden look of those potato strips and the reddish toast texture on the chicken, impregned generously on that dense gravy, made Kyle even more hungry.

     “Wow! It looks so delicious! Where’s my plate?” The boy asked looking anxiously here and there at the table.

     Alfred answered, “No need for a plate; all that is for you, boy!”

     Kyle immediately gazed at Bertha with an air of confusion, ”Oh, really?”

     Bertha confirmed her husband's words, “Of course! Besides, we’ve already had dinner, but we’re gonna have a cup of tea to keep you accompany, child”

     Kyle looked with his mouth half-open at that abundant chicken and fries, and thought, “fuck, this is too much food, I´m not sure if I´m gonna be able to eat it all up … but they’re so nice to me that I feel bad if I say ‘no’. Oooof!”

     Before Kyle could say a word, Alfred nudged the tray in Kyle’s direction, “Don´t be shy, boy, begin!”

     Feeling unable to refuse, the boy grabbed one of the thighs with both hands and took a bite, “Yummmmmm!” Kyle let out a long moan of pleasure; that chicken tasted so much more delicious than anything else the city boy had tried before and his worries about the amount of food started to dissipate at every chew

     Bertha asked smiling, “It tastes so good, doesn´t it?”

     Kyle answered, “Oh, yeah!” and took another bite before swallowing the current one, letting out more satisfaction moans.

     Bertha handed the bowl to Kyle, “Try the fries, they´re tasty too!” She insisted while the boy was still chewing a big mouthful. Kyle forced a heavy gulp so as not to make the old woman wait anymore as he pricked a big amount of them with his fork and shoved them right away into his mouth.

     Bertha asked him, “How about those fries? Do you like them?”

     Kyle answered with his voice muffled by his overloaded cheeks, “Oh yeah!”, nodding his head repeatedly and giving thumbs up.

     After taking a sip of his tea, Alfred said, “Boy, it’s such a joy watching you eat. What an appetite!”

     Kyle fleshed with his puffed-out cheeks a distorted smile tors the old man and kept on eating.

     Alfred patted Kyle´s shoulder, “That´s it, eat it all up, boy; tomorrow you start your work and we need you strong”

     “Have some water, child, that chicken tastes delicious but it´s also very spicy ” Bertha said while she took a jug to pour cool water into the young man´s glass, “By the way, Kyle. How is it that a city boy like you looked for a job like this in the country; I mean, you come from Detroit, don´t you? That´s what the employment agency told us”

     “Oh yeah. Well, you see, this was my dad´s idea,“ Kyle explained around mouthfuls, ”I didn´t do so well with my grades last year so he thought that this kind of job would encourage me to keep studying and get a college degree”

     “Oh dear, then you didn´t wanna come here, right?” Bertha asked while she stirred her cup of tea after adding one sugar lump.

     “Not really!” Kyle confirmed as he grabbed one of the last chicken pieces, “I had every intention of having fun with my friends this summer, you know: some road trip, trying some new sport …”, and when he was about to take a bite he was quick to say, “But I won´t cause you any trouble, I promise!!”

     Bertha answered, “I know, honey, I guess you just had a hard time with school; you look like a smart hardworking boy”.

     Alfred drank his tea up and concluded after placing his cup on its little plate, “So, straight-talking, this is a ‘horrible punishment’ for you, boy”, the old man said looking at Kyle with a smirk on his face.

     Kyle shrugged with a sad smile and said glancing at Alfred, “Basically yeah …” and after two seconds of silence staring at each other, all three burst out laughing due to Alfred´s truthful words and Kyle’s sincere reaction and after eating the last bites of chicken and fries, the city boy added, “Anyway, Bertha, if you keep cooking like this, I think the ‘punishment’ is gonna be very rewarding, haha!”

     “Haha, oh dear!” The old woman said laughing and feeling flattered.

     Then the boy leaned back to show through his T-shirt the curvature of his stuffed stomach while slapping it and smiling at the couple with satisfaction as if he wanted to illustrate with his body his last sentence and said after a sigh of pleasure, “wow! I ate a lot!”.

     Alfred added, ”that´s it, boy, well done; you do love that chicken! You have left no single crumb!

     “Of course, he hasn’t!” His wife said, “He´s a very tall boy, he needs all those thighs and fries! You must be around twenty-five, aren´t you?”

     Kyle answered with a proud grin on his face, “I´m just twenty-one”

     Bertha exclaimed widening her eyes and taking her hand to his cheek, “Oh my God! Just twenty-one and so tall!

     “Yup! haha, 6’ 3”, I´ve always been the tallest guy in my class” and then he leaned back, as he put his hands behind his head flaring his elbows trying to find a comfortable position to bear his fullness, “even taller than older guys than me”

     Then Bertha said, “So tall and still growing! Then that chicken and those fries are not enough!” She explained as she stood up and walked over to a big cupboard.

     Kyle’s eyes followed the old woman afraid of too much extra food; his worries got confirmed when Bertha picked up a big bunch of large sausages. In an attempt to avoid that second course to his already satiated stomach, he hurriedly said, “Mrs … I mean … Bertha, I don´t wanna give you any trouble, I´m already fine with-”

     “Oh, it´s no bother at all, child!” The old woman interrupted as she walked towards the gas stove. “I don´t want your parents to worry about anything; their son is gonna be well-fed here”, she concluded, with such a resolute tone of voice that there was no room for refusals.

     While Bertha was stirring those sausages on the skillet as they crackled, Alfred made a quick review of the farm tasks for Kyle, and when a couple of minutes had passed, the old woman was piling up them on a plate, which she plopped down on the front of the boy.

     Kyle was thinking of the nicest way to refuse. However, to his surprise, the smell and the look of those steamy juicy sausages started to revive his appetite.

     The old man insisted gesturing with his head tors the plate, “You don´t wanna miss that, boy!”

     Kyle picked up the tiniest one, still somewhat worried, and took a small bite, “yum!” then he took a bigger bite, “yummm!”, and with a third one, he polished that sausage off.

     Alfred said, “Haha, those sausages don't taste like the ones from supermarkets, huh?”

     “Mmmm … just delicious … not at all, wow, much better!” Kyle answered as he kept pushing down one more with big mouthfuls”

     Bertha refilled the boy´s glass, “Eat, child! You still have to grow more!”

     However, Kyle was enjoying those sausages so much that he forgot to drink some liquid, so when he ate them up he felt the need to wash them down with a big glass of water that he drank up in one go. As soon as his last gulp was heard, he leaned back letting out a long groan of satisfaction that he unwillingly topped off with a strong burb, “BUUUURP! … Oops!” he said suddenly shrugging and tapping his mouth with his fist, looking at Bertha and Alfred with an embarrassed smiled.

     The old man said to rest drama with a gesture of unconcern, “All good, boy, here in Countrybumpkinland that’s ok, haha”

     Kyle burst out laughing, “Ha ha ha! It´s good to hear that I´m integrating myself so well. Ooof! I´m so full! Hehe”, the boy said rubbing his stuffed stomach, crossing his hand close to his jeans button as if he was tempted to unfasten his tight pants to relieve his growing fullness.

     When he thought that he was at last done, Bertha stood up, “Well, I’m gonna bring your dessert”

     “Dessert?” the boy asked with a puzzled look on his face, letting out a moan of fullness.

     “Of course!” The old woman answered, “Every meal worth its salt needs a good dessert.

     Kyle watched in disbelief how Bertha took out from the fridge a hearty apple pie. The stuffed boy was trying to figure out the best way to refuse without looking rude. Meanwhile, Bertha took a knife and started cutting it up into four pieces. However, Kyle’s usually quick mind wasn’t able to work properly under such blunting food fullness, or perhaps, unconsciously, he was just giving himself up to Bertha and Alfred`s admiration and desire of making him eat. In addition to that, Kyle wondered how a dessert, cooked by such a great cook, would taste.

     Bertha stepped toward the boy to hand him a big portion on a paper napkin. Kyle locked his drowsy eyes on the cream-dripping piece of cake for a few seconds and said almost murmuring, “That’s a big chunk!”

     The old woman, aware of that could be a slight objection, said, “When it comes to a big boy like you this is small” She finished her sentence gesturing with her sight tors the piece she was still holding in his hand close to Kyle´s face.

     Alfred reinforced his wife’s encouragement, “Yeah, boy. Besides, that’s nothing compared to all you’ve already eaten” assuring that way that he did have some more room in his stomach.

     Kyle grabbed the portion and took one big bite tilting his head lazily, getting more than half into his mouth. When he closed his jaw and chewed that large mouthful it released more dense creamy sauce than he expected; Kyle squeezed his lips so as not to spill any single drop, puffing out his cheeks to the max. As soon as he recovered some space after a couple of noisy gulps, he shoved the rest of that portion into his mouth with a moan, and said with his voice distorted due to his massive mouthful, “Mmmm … delicious!”, looking at Bertha and Alfred expecting more flattering words from them.

     Bertha exclaimed, “Jesus, Boy! To think you said that that piece was big and you made it disappear in seconds! What a way of eating! Is apple pie your favorite dessert?”

     “Oh no,” Kyle answered, “my favorite one is cheesecake, but this is the most tasteful dessert I have ever tried … mmmm”, he concluded interrupting his sentence several times to lick his fingers.

     Alfred patted Kyle´s side, “Well done, boy. keep eating like that and you’ll have grown some more inches by the end of summer, hehe”

     Kyle looked down at his stuffed stomach and he couldn’t help lifting his Tshirt up for a couple of seconds as if he wanted to check that that protruding bulge was actually his belly, and after pulling his Tshirt down he leaned back rubbing his stomach with one hand while pulling down the waistband of his jeans with the other one to avoid for a few seconds the pinching sensation some inches below his bellybutton. Then, he said with a sleepy smile as he dropped his head to the side with delightful abandon, “Oooooh! I´ve never eaten that much. Bertha, do you cook this good every day?”

     Alfred commented, “You´re eager to try the whole menu, aren´t you, boy? Haha,”

     The boy replied with a charming expression of somewhat mock embarrassment, “To be honest … yeah I do, hehe”

     Bertha answered, “Yeah, my child, I do, every day every meal” then she winked at her husband, “Alfred, I´m afraid that this boy will have no interest in passing any exam next year”

     The old woman’s joke made Kyle laugh languidly with half-closed eyes due to the overcoming sensation of that intense pleasure of absolute satiety in his stomach; a totally new experience for him since he never tried such exceptional country-homemade food in his life.

     Bertha stood up and stepped toward the boy, “You look tired, sweety, you better brush your teeth and go to bed” she said caressing Kyle´s hair, “tomorrow you start your work here so you need to rest”

     Kyle answered with his voice attenuated by his sleepiness infused by the food overblown in his belly, “Yeah, auntie … Oh, sorry, I mean, Bertha!”

     The old woman smiled at him, still crossing her fingers through Kyle´s blond locks, “You can call me auntie, honey”

     “And you can call me uncle, my boy” Alfred added.

     Bertha explained, “We’re gonna be living under the same roof the whole summer, so just make yourself at home”

                                                             ***

     When Kyle was left alone in his room, he sat on the bedside and plopped down his body backward with a loud moan. Then, straight away, he rolled up his t-shirt and sucked in his full belly briefly enough to unfasten his jeans button while grunting, “Phew! … They were so tight … I needed it … much better”, the boy said feeling the swell of his gut as he relaxed his abs letting out sighs of relief, then, he raised his head and widened his eyes as he checked out again the size of his swollen on food belly, studying every curve with his hands, testing its tightness with his fingers, amazed by its capacity to hold in there such a huge amount of food, “What the hell happened to me? I usually have a good appetite, but this is crazy, I thought I couldn't eat that whole tray of chicken and all the fries and ended up packing away even all those fat sausages and that big chunk of cake!”

     Kyle dropped his head down and after a couple of seconds reached over to pick up his phone. He checked the chats. His father texted him some time ago: “Did you get there?”. Kyle, after briefly chatting with his friends, messaged his father, “Yeah, all good” and tossed his phone aside.

     The boy closed his eyes. The sun had already gone out behind the horizon leaving its purplish veil on the ambient and the room was slowly darkening as Kyle ponder the last events, “Bertha and Alfred are the nicest people I could ever hope to meet … what a funny couple! … they even have a sense of humor … ‘Here in Countrybumpkinland that´s ok’ hehe … and Bertha is amazing at cooking … Are they gonna make me eat like this the whole summer? … my friend told me that tons of that hearty food are the best to bulk up at the gym … those meals were so delicious … Oooooh! I´m so full …”

     In between those thoughts and others, Kyle provided lazy rubs across the fullness of his stomach with one hand as he let out soft moans and aspirated the fresh air of the summer night that came through the wide opened window, full of pervasive fragrances from nature. The boy caressed his belly slower and slower, at the same time his last moans became so faint that they got confounded with the buzzing of the first nocturnal insects. With his senses immersed in that relaxing ambient, the sweetest doze of his whole life overcame him and Kyle finally fell asleep.

To be continued