Seeded: Day 6

Word Count: 36,052

Summary of Events:

Lark went to discard the paper plates and other used, disposable products she and those with her at her table had used for their supper and was startled to find Brandt right behind her, he introduced himself and they chatted for a bit before going their separate ways. Brandt hung around to participate in the young adult volleyball tournament after supper, deliberately making sure that he and Lark ended up on the same team together. After they won their first game, they sat down with their teammates to rest and watch two of the other teams face off…

Excerpt of the Day:

“I was just thinking about this,” Brandt said. “Since your parents have only girls, is one of you taking over the farm?”

“I don’t really think so,” Lark replied.

“I guess you did say your oldest sister was off in Saskatchewan,” Brandt said.

“And my other sister and one of our cousins are looking to rent a place in Strathmore now that they’ve graduated college,” Lark said.

“Did they take the same thing?” Brandt asked.

“Yes,” Lark replied. “They’re best friends, and they both love music and singing, so they got degrees in music and want to be close to Calgary to get involved in the music business.”

Brandt nodded. “What about you?”

Lark sighed. “I don’t know.”

“Are you graduated?” Brandt asked.

“From high school, yes,” Lark replied. “But I haven’t gone to college.”
“Oh,” Brandt said. “Why not?”

“I don’t know what to take,” Lark replied. “So there’s no real point in going to college if I don’t know what to take there. It’d be a waste of money then.”

“True,” Brandt said. “Like, what are you interested in?”

“I don’t mind helping people like my oldest sister, and I also don’t mind singing and music like my other sister, but I also like agriculture too, but not enough to run a farm,” Lark replied. “My cousin Cameron is really interested in taking over the farm, and he and his wife are already really getting involved in it.”

“Well, you should know as well as I do that agriculture is a pretty broad spectrum,” Brandt said. “So, what specific parts of agriculture are you interested in?”

“I don’t mind helping out with milking and taking care of cows and calves,” Lark replied. “I don’t drive any harvest equipment, we don’t farm enough land to need the extra help, Dad, Uncle Tom, Grandpa, Cam, Tristan, and Iden can handle it pretty well, and if they need help, we have relatives and neighbours with class ones, and even equipment of their own who can come help us out, but we don’t need that necessarily all that often. I feel like I just enjoy being available to help, but still having ample free time to do other things, such as helping with the garden. Basically I like doing what I’m doing right now, and I don’t really need to go to college to learn how to do it.”

“Hm,” Brandt said, giving a small nod.

“I guess maybe what I’d like to be is a farm wife,” Lark said. “But I don’t have a husband.”

“Nor any prospect of one, I would presume,” Brandt said. “If you’re single.”

“No, not really,” Lark replied.

“Not really?” Brandt asked.

“I mean, there’s a lot of options,” Lark said, gesturing at the young people around them. “A lot of these guys are farmers or intend to remain in agriculture, but…”

“There’s no spark?” Brandt asked.

“No, there isn’t,” Lark replied. “These guys are just friends, I’ve never really seen them as anything more. I had crushes on a couple in the past, but now the feelings have changed, not in the sense that I hate them, but, I just don’t feel that any of them are right for me.”