HARVEST MOON
By Gary Val Tenuta
John sauntered into the kitchen and leaned against the pantry door. “I dunno, Sara-Jean. I just don’t know.”
Sara reached up to the top shelf and took down a box of baking powder. “What don’t you know, John?”
“We been farmin’ this nine-hundred acres of moon dust for seven years now and what’s it got us? Nothin’ but an achin’ back and a bill from them crooks at the Galactic Farm Loan Company that we’ll never get paid off. That’s what.”
Sara adjusted the temperature control on the AtomRange. It was the one modern appliance she had left after hocking the Solarator to pay the repair bill for the MoonLegume machine. “Where else could we have gotten the money, John?”
“I dunno. Nowhere, I guess. But if we hadn’t taken over this useless farm we wouldn’t have needed the money.”
“But we didn’t know it was going to go bad, John. My own father worked this farm for all his life and it always done real good for him. And it done good for his father and for his father’s…”
“But not for me.”
“John…”
“No, Sara-Jean. I shoulda stayed in school back on EarthTwin. I had a future planned out. Deep space architecture. EarthTwin-Two and Three were in the planning stages and there woulda been plenty of jobs. Good payin’ ones too. I coulda done it, Sara-Jean. I shoulda done it. Dammit.”
Sara gave a deep sigh. She really didn’t want to continue the present topic of conversation. “By the way,” she said, reaching into the pocket of her apron. She pulled out a small black cartridge and held it up for John to see. “We got a HoloGram from John, Jr. this morning.”
John, Jr., whom they’d always simply referred to as Junior, was in his mid-20s, living away from home.
“Seen it yet?” John asked.
“Soon as I got it. He looks fine, John. Just real fine, I’d say.”
“What’s he doin’?”
“He’s still at Steven Hawking University on EarthTwin-Two. Says he’s been marching for clone’s rights.”
“Damn clonies.”
“John…”
“Can’t help it, Sara-Jean. They got their freedom from slavery…what…a hundred years ago? Hell, they been declared citizens for at least fifty years. Now they want more education. Shoot, they ain’t got the brains to warrant an education! I tell you, Sara-Jean, we’re gonna wake up one of these morning and find them clonies are takin’ over the galaxy.”
“Seems to me that’s a mighty big step for a bunch of folks what ain’t got enough brains to be educated, John.”
“Don’t ride me, Sara-Jean. You know what I mean.”
“No, John. That’s a side of you I have never understood. Thank goodness our son never picked it up. Anyway, that’s not the big news.”
“What do you mean?”
She slipped the cartridge into the old HoloGram player and set the digital sequence indicator ahead to avoid the part about the marches and the demonstrations with all the people chanting, “C…L…M! C…L…M!”.
Their HoloGram player was old but the full color, life sized, 3-D moving image of their son was as clear as any new-fangled model could produce. The machine projected a beam toward the middle of the room where Junior’s image suddenly appeared as if he were standing right there, as real as could be. Just one problem. His mouth was moving but they couldn’t hear him.
John grumbled as he started to remove the back plate from the player. “Damned sound board. Time we got us a new machine. If we could afford it, that is.”
“You might try the volume, dear.”
“What?”
“Here,” she said, pointing to the volume control. “It’s on mute.”
“Damned old machine,” he grumbled some more. “New machines don’t make you have to fool with all the little stuff.”
“I know dear.”
He set the volume control to 3.5 and their son’s voice came in loud and clear:
“So, if things go right, S. H. U. will be the first university to accept clone students!”
“Damn clonies.”
“John, shush. Listen.”
“But mom, dad… I’ve saved the best for last.”
Junior’s image faded into a column of shimmering colors. In a moment another image began shimmering into view. It was a beautiful young lady whose smile immediately captured the attention of John, Sr. Sara noticed the sudden spark in her husband’s eyes.
Their son’s voice continued:
“I want you to meet Anna.”
“Hello,” the girl said. “Nice to meet you. Your son has told me so much about you.”
The young lady’s eyes sparkled and her smile was truly beautiful. Again the image faded into a column of shimmering colors and the image of Junior reappeared.
“Anna and I are going to be married. I hope it isn’t too much of a shock for you. I’ve known her for over a year now. I would have informed you sooner but we’ve been so busy, Anna and I, with the demonstrations and all.”
John, Sr. turned to Sara. “Well,” he said, “I can’t say much for his politics but he sure has an eye for beauty.”
“Got that from you, John,” Sara said with a wink and a grin.
“Well, what do you think? Isn’t she gorgeous? And dad, she’s really interested in agriculture and she has some terrific ideas for new farming techniques. Anyway, I told her about your LunarFarm and we were wondering if, sometime in the not too distant future, we could come to live on the farm and help you turn it into something you can really be proud of.”
“Shootin’ star!” said John, Sr.. “I’d be proud just have that daughter-in-law around here even if she didn’t know a dust tractor from a moon rake!”
“Well, I see I’m running out of memory on this disk so I’d better say goodbye and, oh… by the way! I almost forgot to tell you about Anna! She’s a…”
Sara quickly switched off the machine and ejected the cartridge.
John, Sr. looked surprised. “She’s a what?” he asked. “Why’d you do that, Sara-Jean? The boy wasn’t done talkin’ yet.”
Sara fumbled with the cartridge and tucked it back into her apron pocket. “Oh, I’m sorry, John. Didn’t mean to snap it out so quickly.”
He shot her a skeptical look. “She’s a what, Sara-Jean?”
Sara couldn’t bear to tell him the truth. “Oh, nothing, really. She’s a student at the university. That’s all.” At least, Sara thought, she will be if some people come to their senses.
Her husband seemed satisfied with the answer. For the first time in a long time Sara actually saw her husband enthused about something.
“The boy done good, Sara-Jean. Real good! Beautiful girl he got for himself there, don’t ya think?”
Sara nodded. “Very beautiful, John.”
“And smart too!” John said with a gleam in his eye. “New farmin’ ideas! Techniques and all that! Did you hear him say that, Sara-Jean?”
“Yes dear, I did.”
“Can’t figure why a smart young gal like that would want to spend her time marchin’ for them clonies, though.”
“I’m sure she has her reasons, dear.”
“Well, anyways, it looks like we raised our boy right after all, didn’t we, Sara-Jean?”
Sara switched off the AtomRange and brought her husband’s breakfast to the table. “Yes, dear,” she said. “We certainly did.”
John picked up his fork, took a bite of Sara’s homemade mooncakes. He glanced out the window at their nine hundred acres of moondust. “Got a feelin’ there’s gonna be some real changes ‘round this ol’ farm once they come home,” he said. “Real changes.”
Sara sat down at the table and smoothed her apron. “Yes, dear,” she said, trying to suppress a grin. “I suspect there will be.” She placed a napkin on her lap. “Pass the syrup, please.”
“Damn clonies,” John muttered under his breath as he passed the syrup.”
“What’s that, dear?”
“Hmm? Oh, nothin’.”
Sara nodded. “That’s what I thought.”
“What’s that?”
“Oh, nothing.”
John nodded, took a bite of his MoonCake and stared thoughtfully out the window. “Changes,” he mumbled with his mouth full. “Real changes. You wait and see.”
Sara just smiled.
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