been a part of our family for years, all forty-five feet of him,” Mrs. McClafferty remarked, “He’s a bear to put up every October but he increases our sales by a good forty percent. I say, if the car dealers can do it with King Kong, we can surely do it with the Pumpkin King!”
“Nice touch,” Joel said, a slight shiver that he would never own up to running down his spine.
“Thank you, dearie,” Mrs. McClafferty giggled, “won’t you come in?” She led him back to her office. Mrs. McClafferty was a short, round woman with round glasses perched on her nose. Her gray hair was tied up in an elaborate bun on the top of her head. Joel wasn’t sure, but it looked like there was a stripe of magenta in the center of her bun.
“Well, Joel,” she began, regarding him over her spectacles, “your application here looks fine.”
“Yes ma’am,” Joel replied.
“And you were a prior employee of Mr. Grisson, is that right?”
“Yes ma’am, and even though we can’t work until we’re fifteen, Mr. Grisson never minded bending the rules a little so we could earn some money and learn the value of hard work,” Joel said.
“Yes, there is a value to hard work, isn’t there?” Mrs. McClafferty replied.
“Yes ma’am.”
“I like your attitude,” the woman smiled, “and you’re very respectful. Your parents must be very proud of you.”
“Yes ma’am,” Joel said.
“Well, I’ll tell you what,” she said, “why don’t you spend an hour or so in the patch with the boys and let’s see if this kind of work really does suit you. We run a bit more of a robust operation here than Mr. Grisson did, but there are reasons for that.”
She rose to her feet and so did Joel. There was a pounding sound from beneath them in the cellar. ”Must be some more of the pumpkins settling in storage,” Mrs. McClafferty smiled, almost nervously, Joel thought. “Well Joel, thanks for your time.” She smiled, extending her small gloved hand. “I’d like to hire you back.”
“Thank you ma’am,” he said, surprised at his good fortune.
“Don’t mention it,” she said, directing him to the mud room. “You’ve worked here before, you know what we do here on a pumpkin farm. It’s really a no-brainer. Why don’t you take a look at our fields this year?”
“Yes ma’am,” he said. “Oh, but,” Joel remembered, “I’ll still be able to get back to town by three, won’t I? I’ve got to pick up my little brother from school.”
“Why of course, this is just a trial is all, Joel, to see if you’ve got the chops for what we do out here,” Mrs. McClafferty said. “You’ll want to get on pair of boots. It can get pretty messy out there, but you know that, don’t you?” she said, motioning him toward some worn boots in the corner. “Gloves are hanging right above you on that hook.”
Joel quickly got into the old boots he remembered so well and reached for the gloves. He followed Mrs. McClafferty onto the back porch overlooking the expansive pumpkin patch that comprised the back side of the Grisson, er, the McClafferty farm. Joel saw several boys already in the patch.
“Aaron,” Mrs. McClafferty called out to one of the bigger boys, who looked up at her, “this here’s Joel! He’s applied for the field hand position. Show him what we do here. He’s got to leave by two thirty though … has a little brother to pick up from school.”
“Yes, Ma,” Aaron replied and motioned Joel to join them.
“Thanks again.” Joel nodded to Mrs. McClafferty and headed out to the patch.
“Don’t mention it.” Mrs. McClafferty eyed him with a curious smile. As Joel made his way out into the field, the round woman turned back to the front room of the farm where another boy stood, holding the Help Wanted sign from the front window. The sounds from the cellar had gotten even louder.
“I’m here about the job,” the boy said.
“I’m sorry dearie,” Mrs. McClafferty replied, snatching the cardboard sign from him, “but I’m afraid you’re too late … the job’s just been filled.”
“Aww,” the boy said.
“But do have a candied apple,” Mrs. McClafferty handed him a waiting fruit, “on the house. Sorry you made the trip all this way.” As the boy left, Mrs. McClafferty stomped on the floorboards through which the sounds had been emerging.
“Be still, you!” she muttered under her breath.
Aaron was the hairiest boy that Joel had ever met. He couldn’t have been much older than Joel but he was at least a head taller and his long brown hair trickled down his back in a long ponytail. His arms were also covered in hair all the way down to his knuckles. He had a strong grip, and Joel noticed that the palms of his hands were also covered with hair.
“Sorry about my hairy hands,” Aaron said, noting what must have been surprise on Joel’s face, “we’ve tried everything. Mom says it’s genetic.”
“No worries,” Joel returned.
“I’m Aaron and these are my brothers Ezekial and Hezekiah,” he said, nodding to the other boys who nodded in return. “We really appreciate you coming to help us out,” Aaron said, putting on his gloves. “We’re harvesting the pumpkins, Joel, and taking them into town for people to buy. This year the field’s pretty full of them.”
Joel looked around and saw that indeed the patch was all orange and yellow and green.
“They can be pretty heavy to move,” Aaron said, “so you’ve got to be pretty strong.”
“I’m a green belt in tae kwon do,” Joel said. “I guess that makes me pretty strong.”
“Mom’s supplying the pies for the big Harvest Carnival on Halloween,” Aaron went on. “So far the order is for a cool five hundred pies.”
“That’s a lot of pies,” Joel said.
“More like a lot of pumpkins to move,” Hezekiah cut in.
“But we’ve got to get it done,” Aaron said. “Halloween’s real important this year.”
“Hey,” the boy named Ezekial suddenly and gruffly cut in, “are we hauling or jawing here? Didn’t Ma say that Joe here needs to leave by half past?”
“It’s Joel,” he smiled. Ezekial was stouter than Aaron, with thick bushy black hair and eyebrows that were just as dark and also came together as one over his eyes. His long, dark sideburns came down to his lips.
“Don’t mind him, Joel,” Aaron said, “he gets a little excited is all. But he’s right, we’d better get to it.”
It didn’t take long for Joel to work up a sweat helping the boys load the pumpkins into the backs of waiting trucks lining the corner of the patch. They are really strong guys, Joel thought; they seemed to load those pumpkins as if they were nothing. He
