“They take good care of things around here,” he said, nodding approvingly.
“Everything is so... Americana! It’s very cute.” Her mother was charmed. “And they have so much storage with these two-car garages. We could have an entire extra refrigerator and freezer with space like this. Their Costcos must be gigantic. Can you imagine that, Tony?”
“Yeah, hon.” Mary’s father agreed with his wife no matter what.
Mary parked the Jeep outside the house and helped her dad get the bags out of the back of the compact SUV.
“Who lives here? Ted Kennedy?” her dad said, rolling his eyes at the Lopez-Stone signs in the yard as he carried the suitcases up the sidewalk.
“Don’t start, Dad.”
“What! I didn’t say anything!” he said.
“Yes, you did. Not another word,” Christine said. His wife wasn’t going to let politics get their weekend off to a bad start. Mary always suspected her mom was a little more liberal than she let on.
“Fine. But don’t come crying to me when everything goes to hell if they win. I was watchingThe Fiveand Greg Gutfeld was saying...”
“Dad!”
“Sorry, sweetie. I’ll stop.”
“Thank you.”
“But I’m right.”
“Tony!” Mary playfully pushed him down the hallway. “Come on. Your room is this way.”
Tony and Christine complimented the place and noted their daughter had thoughtfully put water bottles and a little chocolate piece on the bedside tables. Their little girl was growing up.
“I’m so glad you came.” Mary had her hand on the doorknob before giving them a moment to unpack and freshen up. “We’re going to have the best time.”
Mary prayed that would be true.
Chapter 49
First time in Wisconsin, Tony?” Joe Taylor asked while he manned the grill in the front yard of the farmhouse. The smell and sizzle of hamburgers and hot dogs filled the air.
“Yep. With my construction business, I haven’t traveled much. But me and Christine—we’ve been to Chicago. Now that’s my kind of town, if you know what I mean.”
“I know what you mean. We love Chicago, too,” Joe said. He’d already taken a liking to Tony.
“Well then we’re going to get along just fine,” Tony said, and clinked his beer bottle with Joe’s and they both took a sip to mark their new friendship. The sun was shining, and the humidity was low for late July. “Beautiful place. Been in your family for a long time?”
“Oh yes. My ancestors got this farm around 1850. They were some of the founders of Cedar Falls,” Joe said. He gave Tony a bit of the farm’s history.
“Well, you’ve done a great job,” Tony said, gesturing around the place. “I’m sure your folks are looking down on you with a lot of pride.”
“I hope so, Tony. But I worry, especially for my boys.” Joe motioned toward his sons. “Things are changing a little too fast for my comfort.”
“How so?”
“Well, for one thing, we’re under pressure to sell for some big corporate development plan. Some sort of AI energy thing, I guess. That’s how the state and federal government are trying to sell it to the public. Been holding them off but it’s getting tougher. The government is now threatening us—that if we don’t sell, they could take it over for what they call the ‘common good.’ As if a farm that produces food for everyone isn’t a part of the common good. It’s all a bit of a mess.”
“Sounds like it,” Tony said.
“But I have to tell you, Mary’s been very helpful to us. She even talked to one of the partners back in New York on the legal front,” Joe said. “She’s a real firecracker. We’ve enjoyed getting to know her.”
Tony looked over to where Mary and Christine had joined Grace to set up the side dishes on the buffet table.