The Hansons’ never-ending harvest finally finished on Friday afternoon. They could barely believe they were really done. They’d spent the last three days racing against the rain in the forecast to get to the north end of the soybean field before it got too wet.
“I never thought we’d finish this year,” Jeff told his wife Elaine. For the past 2-1/2 months, it seemed like every time the sun came out long enough to dry up the fields, either the combine broke down or something needed replacing on one of the grain trucks.
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As the days got shorter and cooler, the Hansons’ tempers got shorter and hotter. Falling prices and poor-quality grain added to everyone’s stress levels. For the last few weeks, all of the Hansons had been on edge. Of course none of their disagreements had actually come to blows, but there had been a lot of emotional debates about the best way to replace the strawchopper belt and fix the feeder chain slot, and more than once, one or another of them had stormed away from the combine in a huff.
“It’s great working with my family, don’t get me wrong,” Jeff said. “But if this harvest had gone on for one more day, at least one of us would have been arrested for homicide.”
As soon as the last soybean was unloaded, Jeff’s grandfather Ed climbed down from the combine cab and limped toward his truck.
“I’m headed south,” he announced. “I’ll stop off in Weyburn long enough to pick up Helen and some clean underwear, then we’re on our way to Yuma. It’s good working with you people, but it’ll be even better not to see you for the next six months.”
Jeff and his father Dale watched Ed speed out of the yard. “Can’t say I blame him,” Dale said. “Enough is enough. Donna and I are heading out first thing in the morning too. We’ll drive to Yorkton and spend a day or two with Donna’s family.” Then it started to spit, so they rushed to get the combine into the shed before supper.
Jeff and his wife Elaine were looking forward to a weekend alone on the farm.
“Even your sister won’t be here,” Elaine said as she and Jeff cleaned up the kitchen after supper.
Jeff’s sister Trina had driven home from Calgary almost every weekend since she’d started dating a local farmer. Her boyfriend lived on his parents’ farm and often worked weekends at the machinery dealership, so Trina was spending a lot of time at “home” on the Hanson farm. “Not that I haven’t loved having so much time to get to know her this summer,” Elaine said quickly. “But it will be nice for the four of us to have a weekend on our own.”
“You’ve got that right,” Jeff said, looking over to where their one- and four-year-old kids were chasing each other in the living room.
“We’d better get these two to bed soon,” Elaine said. “Connor has hockey practice first thing in the morning.”
Jeff was quick to volunteer. It was his turn. “I’ll take him in. You could use a break.”
“I’ll come along,” Elaine said. “We’ll have the rest of the weekend at home.”
Jeff and Elaine packed the kids and Connor’s hockey gear into the SUV and got on the road before 9 the next morning. The rain had turned to snow while they ate breakfast.
“It’s terrible!” Elaine complained. “There wasn’t bad weather in the forecast.”
“The worst storms never are,” Jeff said. “Especially this time of year.”
By the time they got halfway to town Jeff could barely see the road. “Turn on the wipers,” Connor piped up from his car seat in the back. “Faster, Daddy!”
Slowed down by the slippery highway, Jeff and Elaine got to the rink just in time to wedge Connor into all his hockey gear before practice. Then they drank hot chocolate and gossiped with the other parents while Jenny played in the bleachers until it was time to go home.
But when they stepped out of the windowless rink, they realized the weather had gone downhill. “Take my hand, Connor,” Jeff said. “Let’s see if we can find the car.”
Finding the road was the next challenge. The slush on the ground had turned to ice, and swirling snow was thick in the air.
“Next year I’m putting the winter tires on at Halloween,” Jeff said, as they drove to McDonald’s for lunch instead of risking the drive back to the farm. With any luck, the storm would be over by the time the kids finished their Happy Meals.
“So much for our weekend home alone,” Elaine said.
The weather didn’t improve. They wandered the aisles of Canadian Tire until Jenny started crying.
“These kids need naps,” Elaine said.
Jeff looked at the ring of keys he was carrying. One was for his grandfather’s condo in town. “We can take refuge at Grandpa’s place,” Jeff said. “The kids can nap. We’ll watch movies. There’s not a lot of space at the condo, but there’s room for the four of us.”
“OK,” Elaine agreed. “I’m sure the weather will clear up by late afternoon.”
It took Jeff 20 minutes to make the five-minute drive across town.
“Power’s out,” Jeff muttered, trying to figure out when it was his turn to skid through the intersection without the traffic lights.
“Guess we won’t be watching movies,” Elaine said.
“We should’ve stayed home today,” Jeff said. “The generator would’ve kicked in.”
“At least we have a place to go,” Elaine said.
Finally Jeff parked in front of Ed’s condo. The four of them piled out of the car and into the building. When they got to Ed’s door, Jeff got his key ready, but the door wasn’t locked. They could hear voices from inside the condo.
“Do you think someone broke in?” Elaine whispered.
“Hello?” Jeff called in to the room, hoping he was imagining the voices and the dark condo was empty.
“Geez. It’s a damn reunion,” they heard Grandpa Ed shout from the living room. “Brought the whole family, Jeff?”
As their eyes adjusted to the dark condo, Jeff and Elaine looked around, confused.
Trina was on the couch. “I decided to come home from Calgary after all,” she said. “But this was as far as I got.”
“We’re stranded too,” said Dale.
“It was too nasty to drive to Yorkton or even get home,” Donna called out from the kitchen, where she was sitting at the table with Helen.
“We’ll appreciate Yuma even more after this,” said Ed’s girlfriend Helen.
“At least we’re all safe here,” Donna said. “There’s no power, but we can order a pizza. Take off your coats.”
The Hansons settled in to play cards, eat pizza and watch Jeff and Elaine’s kids. It was mid-afternoon on Sunday before the power came back on and the snow cleared enough for everyone to venture back onto the roads.
“See you in the spring, Grandpa,” Jeff said to Ed as they left the condo.
“Yep,” Ed said. “It’ll sure be quiet, down in Yuma.”
Leeann Minogue is the editor of Grainews, a playwright and part of a family grain farm in southeastern Saskatchewan.
