Ch. 17, Pt.3: Katherine grinned and gave his hand a good pump.
Katherine grinned and gave his hand a good pump. But then, all of a sudden, it felt more like holding hands, especially as Bennett was no longer smiling at her. Katherine felt a rush of confusion: attraction, fear, embarrassment. Don’t tell me I’m falling for this guy, she thought. Not that again. She took her hand away and looking down, said “We’d better go back. It’s almost dark.”
The next day that Katherine went to Greenvale, Noodle came with her. Chess and Bingo got up when she drove in, their tails wagging in greeting. When she let Noodle out of the car, they gave a bark and approached him, their heads down, noses casting from side to side for his scent. Noodle’s tail went between his legs, he gave a squawk and huddled down. The adult dogs lifted their heads in surprise and smelled him all over. Noodle stood up bravely but trembled as they inspected him from nose to rear end. When they had learned all they could from this activity, they sat down and looked at him. He immediately crouched into his play bow, inviting them to treat him as a friend. Chess, the male, remained aloof, but the female, Bingo, cautiously approached Noodle. The puppy dashed away in terror a short distance, but then turned and invited pursuit. Soon Bingo and Noodle were tearing around the yard while Chess stood near, tail wagging.
Katherine relaxed and noticed that Bennett had come near to see the excitement. “Looks like they’ll be friends,” she said.
“Oh yeah. Nothing to worry about from my dogs. They’re friendly. We’re all friendly at Greenvale!”
“That sounds like a new motto for the farm,” she said with a smile. She worked through the morning, preparing for the weekend workshop. Noodle stayed outside the shed but never strayed far from her. When Bingo and Chess lost interest and returned to the shade of the verandah, Noodle lay near the shed door. At lunchtime she joined Bennett in the house.They had formed a routine of sharing Bennett’s soup and beverages, and Katherine’s sandwiches.
“Tell me. How did this farm come to be called Greenvale?”
“I thought it was the best, shortest description of the place.”
“You mean you named it?”
“Yeah,” he nodded and took a bite of thick sandwich.
“How did you and the Lodges get to name your properties?”
“What do you mean? Anyone can name their property anything.”
“Really. Just like that? Without any registration or anything? And people will start to call it by that name?”
“Sure, if you do. Put a sign at the road, use it in your mailing address, and there you are.”
“You mean I could give my property a name?” Katherine was surprised at the thought.
“Of course. What name would you like to give it?”
“I haven’t really thought about it,” she said, feeling flustered.
“It’s a great idea. What comes to mind when you think of it?”
“The house. The beautiful fieldstone on the house. The Stone House, I suppose. But that’s pretty dull.”
“You could call it Fieldstones.”
“That’s better. Much better.”
“But that’s just a building material. Not poetic enough.” Bennett was thoughtful.
“Is it worth being poetic about?” Katherine smiled.
“Something more descriptive of the whole property,” he mused.
“How did you refer to it the other night? Rocky Ground? Then how about Stone Meadows?”
“That’s good. Or Stonyfields. Something like that. See, it’ll come to you. You have to think about it a while.”
“Stonyfields,” Katherine repeated softly. “I really like that. It’s simple, and one word, like Greenvale and Sunrise. Hey, if my friends can give their farms a name, why can’t I? Stonyfields!”
“No reason not to. To Stonyfields then, if you like.” Bennett held up his glass of juice.
“To Stonyfields,” said Katherine, touching his glass with hers.
Late one Sunday morning, Katherine was waiting for Bennett to visit. She was looking forward to seeing him, although she had just been at Greenvale yesterday for a workshop on alternatives to pecticides. It had not been a sell-out, but Bennett had told her that she couldn’t expect this consistently; it would be like expecting a 100 per cent grade in a course. Anyway, he wasn’t coming over to talk about work. He had made that clear a few days ago. She had been working at home on future workshops when he called.
“I was wondering if I might come over again sometime.” His voice sounded slightly higher than usual. “Maybe we could look over your land again. Maybe start thinking about growing some vegetables there. If you’re interested.”