I could practically hear the dying breath of the suspension on Ashe's truck as we pulled up the patch of barren rocky soil that would need to be revitalized into a fertile field.
Hopping out of the truck, my feet hit the earth and kicked up a heavy cloud of dust. "Are you sure this is the best field?"
"I know it may not look like it, but yes. It's right in a valley, so we won't have to worry about nutrient runoff in the short term, but it does mean we need to be careful about water pooling," Ashe explained as she got out as well and moved towards the truck bed, "That means we're gonna have to till this soil to increase infiltration."
As Ashe spoke, I felt my farming skill kick, sending a stream of relevant information directly into my brain, "Would that break up the soil even more and expose the field to wind erosion?"
Ashe glanced at me as she lowered the tailgate, "In the long run, yes, but right now we just soil that isn't turning into sandstone. After tilling, we'll focus on restoring the soil profile with compost and other organic matter."
"Makes sense," I nodded in agreement before joining Ashe at the back of the truck as she pulled out two draw hoes and tossed one to me.
"You know how to use one of these?"
I caught the farm tool and nodded, "Seems simple enough."
"Simple, yes, but unfortunately it ain't easy." Ashe grunted as she grabbed her own hoe and pointed at the field, "All of this needs to be broken up into something that at least resembles soil."
"So we're basically breaking up rocks all day?" I clarified only for Ashe to shake her head, "Not all day, this needs to be done by noon. If we're still tilling by the time the sun is above us, the heat is gonna be the death of us. And we can't do anything else until this whole field is broken up, so let's stop talking and get to hoeing!"
Ashe punctuated her sentence by walking over to the field, slamming the blade down, biting into the earth, then ripping it out and repeating the motion.
Not wanting to be seen as slacking off, I quickly followed Ashe's example. Or at least I tried, but when I drove my hoe into the ground, the blade disappeared, making it nearly impossible to pull out.
Ashe looked over at me and clicked her tongue in disappointment, "We only got one spare, so try not to break them, alright?"
"Got it," I grunted as I carefully extricated my hoe from the ground.
"Don't use all your strength on the first swing; you want to chip away at it. Breaking it up into smaller pieces," Ashe instructed while demonstrating with her swings.
I watched her for a few seconds, noting how her arms would shift up and down along the shaft for leverage between swinging and pulling, before attempting to replicate it myself.
Fortunately, it didn't take long before I felt the motion become second nature, and I fell into a rhythm.
--[Ashe]--
I drained my second waterbottle of the morning while staring at the living machine, still hard at work, not even a hint of sweat across his body.
'What the fuck is this guy made of?'
To be brutally honest, I expected Ramon to give up by the halfway mark, dead on his feet and bleary-eyed. But he hadn't stopped once or even slowed down, and it wasn't just his physical stamina that impressed me.
When I looked, there was an almost vacant look in Ramon's eyes, like he was moving on autopilot without any conscious thought.
It was a little unnerving, but by now I was used to a bit of mysticism from the man who, time and time again, seemed to make the impossible happen.
'Just shows up out of nowhere and promises to fix my life like soul-crushing debt was nothing to scoff at. And then gives me twenty thousand on top of that, in blind trust.'
As much as I wanted to call him a naive fool, I knew Ramon was neither of those things, 'He may be a big dreamer, but he's got a good head on his shoulders.'
My thoughts stilled for a second as I stared at Ramon's broad back and imagined the rippling muscles that moved like thick vines under his olive skin.
Shaking my head, I let out a disgruntled sigh, "Goddamnit, Elizabeth, get a grip. Fucking him now is only gonna make things complicated. Save it for when you're not up to your eyes in debt."
After calming myself with a long sigh, I tossed the water bottle back in the truck before picking up my hoe, ready to get back to work.
--[Lois]--
My heart was shockingly calm as I opened the front door and stepped into my living room.
I expected to find someone waiting for me, but the room was empty. I had been gone for two days, only leaving Peter a voicemail to tell him I had gotten a hotel room and needed some time to myself.
He hadn't responded, making me think that Brian had told him everything about my affair and the pregnancy. Surprisingly, that thought only brought me relief, knowing that things were finally coming to an end.
Making my way upstairs, I walked to my bedroom only to find the door ajar.
Stepping inside, I paused for a moment before chuckling darkly at what I saw, "Of course, what else should I have expected?"
Peter was sprawled on the bed, fully clothed and stinking of beer, a sight that I had seen plenty of times. But this time, I was determined it would be the last.
Walking over to Peter's unconscious body, I was ready to knudge him awake, only to pause when I spotted his phone on the floor.
Picking it up, I turned it on and found my message unread and ignored.
"Unbelievable, I'm gone for two days, and he doesn't bat an eye, doesn't call, just gets blacked out drunk!"
For a moment, my rage almost boiled over before I paused and realized that it wasn't worth it; he wasn't worth it.
And just like that, all my turbulent emotions melted away.
Tossing Peter's phone on the bed next to him, I walked into the bathroom only to return a second later with a cup of ice-cold water.
I stared at him for a second, taking in his slothful, drunken form one last time before throwing the cup of water on his face, "Wake up!"
"Argh!" Peter spluttered as he snapped awake and sat up with a groan, "What the hell?!"
"Rise and shine," I answered in a sickeningly sweet voice as I fixed Peter with a vicious glare, "Did you enjoy your little nap?"
Peter groaned and grabbed his head, "Ugh, my head is pounding, w-what day is it?"
"Saturday, Peter, it's Saturday. I sent you a message telling you that I would be out for two days, that you would need to be the adult in charge, and I found you passed out on our bed!"
"Y-you were gone?" Peter asked groggily, "W-who was taking care of the kids then?"
"I hope you would, but I guess that was too much to ask!" I shouted not with anger but with years of exhaustion, "Thank god chris is old enough to take care of himself, and Brian probably took over and looked out for Stewie."
"Oh, good, everything is alright then, phew, that was a close one," Peter let out a sigh, and I could see his eyes start to drift closed.
"No, Peter, everything is not alright, in fact, things have never been worse!" I stressed before exhaling, and saying the words I had thought so many times but never dared to utter, "I want a divorce."
Peter froze for a second before his eyes went wide, "What?!"
"You heard me!" I repeated and crossed my arms, "I want a divorce."
"W-what, why now? Where is this coming from, Lois?" Peter pleaded as he stood up in a panic.
I scoffed, "The fact that you even have to ask me that proves exactly my point. You never pay attention to what's going on! Or maybe it's just that you're too stupid to realize what's happening. Either is enough of a reason for anyone to rid themselves of you!"
"Lois, don't do this!" Peter barked as he reached out to grab my arm, but I just batted his hand away, "You can't tell me what to do any longer. I'm done wasting all my time and life managing your antics and foolishness. I thought I could change you or that you would take so much responsibility and mature as we got older, but now I know for certain that you'll never change if you always have someone there waiting with a net to catch you!"
"You can't leave!" Peter shouted, and for a moment I thought he was going to grab me.
"Yes, I can, Peter. And I'm going to, we are done!"