he is a peach farmer from rural south carolina

rugged voice, gnarled hands from working the ground for fifty years

we sit and drink shitty coffee, talking of army worms destroying crops, tying bow ties, and just how fucked up the news is these days

he began wearing bow ties because the lady at the counter was gorgeous

he was smitten

she spent two hours teaching him to do it properly, he bought three on the spot

as he spoke i added details, how it was love at first tie, that she and he still worked the same land together

a herd of children, now grandchildren, helping during the summer

kids with dreams far away from peaches and wheat, to big cities in bigger states

one day he would retire and the kids would fight over eight hundred acres of prime land in johnston county

litigation

relationships destroyed

turns out she was a great sales lady and he never saw her again

we laughed together over the hard lessons it takes for a man to learn

too dark coffee, light conversation, just the fool and a peach farmer sharing breakfast