Merriton

Roasters fell silent when Randy walked in. Angie, Curly, Tank and a couple of other people that Randy didn’t know yet were crowding Elvis. The old cowboy was sitting in front of a large laptop. They all looked so happy for one second, looking at the computer, but the second they saw Randy, it went quiet. Angie wiped her hands on her apron and walked behind the counter. Curly patted Elvis on the shoulder. “Gotta get cooking.” Curly walked past Angie into the kitchen. The rest of the people went back to their tables, but Tank stayed with Elvis. Randy walked right up to them.

“That science boy came and took samples of all my males. Tried to tell him that he didn’t need to take samples from all ‘o ‘em. I have the genealogy records, but he just went ahead and took ‘em all.” Randy sat down at Elvis’ table. “It doesn’t matter. They charge me the same no matter how many samples they take. Apparently, this sort of thing happens all the time.” Elvis’ forehead crinkled. “Not on my farm, they don’t. I keep track so I don’t have to deal with this kinda nonsense. He said you paid ‘em a thousand dollars, boy! I only asked for a 200 hundred fee!”

Randy looked at the paper menu. It was printed on newsprint paper and was nearly falling apart from the many hands that had touched it. “This isn’t about money, Elvis. This is about my reputation. You said I snuck my goat over and stole your goat semen. I have to prove that I didn’t do that. If it turns out that Mary got out of the pen and is pregnant from one of your males, then I’ll pay, but you need to know that I would never steal from you.”

Randy glanced to his right and left. Everyone in Roasters was listening, eyes on the two of them. Tank squirmed uncomfortably in his chair. Elvis leaned back in his seat. “Goats get outta their pens all the time.” Randy shook his head. “Not Mary. Sierra has watched that animal like a mother. She doesn’t have much else to do around here except study. She would never let Mary out of her pen to wander. She’s too scared of her eating something poisonous. I don’t quite understand it, but she lost her goats when she was little, so she’s attached to this one. I don’t think you could have done a better thing for her than give us Mary.”

Everyone in the room let out a breath of air. Elvis ran his fingers through his messy hair. “Just paying for your computer services.” Randy smiled. “Well if it turns out that somehow Mary was romanced by one of your goats, then I’ll gladly pay your fee.” Angie approached the table and Randy pointed at his selection. “So, Elvis, is that your computer?” Tank stood up and let Randy sit next to Elvis.

“Yeah, I got me a computer. Decided I was sicka usin’ hand-me-downs.” Randy’s eyes squinted and he threw a cold glance at Tank, who was already blushing. “What do you have on it?” Elvis pushed the computer toward Randy. “I got the best they had with the most o’ everything they could give me. I figure I only buy these things every 20 years, so this one needs ta last me.” Randy fiddled and looked at the computer’s specs. Elvis had gotten the fastest processor available and there was a huge hard drive in it. “Wow! Looks like you bought a good one! What are you using to keep track of your flock?”

Elvis pointed at Tank, “We don’t know yet. The guy at the store said I should use Quicken, but it looks like it’s just for checks and stuff.” Randy laughed, “Yeah, Quicken will keep track of your money, but not much else.” Randy looked at Tank. “So what do you think?” Angie brought Randy his food while Tank spoke, “Well, that old database my brother wrote works pretty well for him, so I was going to try to port it over. Databases aren’t really my strong point, though.”

Randy stuffed a fork full of eggs into his mouth, but his eyes lit up so brightly that everyone in the room was blinded for a moment. “I’ve got something to show the both of you!”