Vesper was excited as she drove to Gus’s farm. She was thinking about the things she was planning on doing with her new/used SUV. There were places she had been planning on shooting; she pulled into the driveway that led to the barn and carport where Gus parked his truck and his wife’s SUV. She leaves thirty dollars in the ashtray for gas.

The gas gauge said the truck still had three-quarters of a tank, but when she borrowed the truck. She always leaves Gus, gas money or fills it up before returning the truck. She spots Gus out in the field on his restored tractor. She doesn’t see Stacy, Gus’s wife, anywhere around.

She waves to Gus to grab his attention. She watched as he drove towards her on the tractor. When Gus stops the tractor, she walks up to it.

Gus looked down at Vesper and could see she was happy. “I take it you bought your SUV?”

“Nope, I bought a different one, Gus. Another salesman sold the one I wanted, so Mr. Wells sold me a different one with a fifteen-hundred-dollar discount.”

“Oh? What SUV did you buy from him?” Gus knew Mr. Wells was a good salesman. He has heard a lot of nice things about himself.

“I bought a black 2000 Discovery Range Rover, with fewer miles than the SUV I originally thought about buying. According to Mr. Wells, it was a trade-in, and he was willing to give me the same warranty as his daughter.” Vesper couldn’t wait to show the SUV to Gus.

“That was nice of him. When can you pick it up?” Gus dismounts from the tractor.

“I was planning on picking it up during lunch tomorrow. He said it should be ready by then.” Vesper figures she could catch an Uber from work over to the car lot.

“You should bring it by for me to take a look at it when you get it.” Gus wanted to make sure Vesper wasn’t being taken advantage of.

He knew Vesper trusted people, especially people who were close to her friends. He trusted Mr. Wells to stick to his promise, but he still wanted to check the SUV out.

“I will. So, where is Dorothy hiding?” Vesper was curious where she had gone.

“She went to the grocery store. She’ll be back in a few minutes. Why don’t we sit on the porch and wait for her?”

“Only if I can grab a glass of sweet tea?” Vesper knew Dorothy made the best sweet iced tea.

Gus just smirks as he heads towards the front porch. He sits down on his chair as he watches as Vesper goes into the house to grab them glasses of sweet tea. If he had a daughter, he would want her to come out like Vesper. He and Dorothy knew all about Vesper, and it didn’t bother them.

They did wonder how her genes got so messed up. They have never seen anyone like her at all. She was a unique person, and I wonder if Vesper had children, would they be like her? He leans back in his chair and waits for Vesper to come back out.

Vesper fixes two glasses of sweet tea and heads back out towards the porch. She walks over to Gus and hands him a glass of tea. “Here you go, sir. One glass of iced tea.”

“Thank you, Vesper.” He accepts the glass.

“You’re welcome, kind sir.” Vesper sits down in the other chair.

Gus takes a sip from his glass. He was hot and thirsty from being out in the field. After a few good gulps, he looks at Vesper, “So, do you have any jobs lined up?”

“I have a family rejoin coming up and a wedding. I was planning on going to the antique car show in a few weeks and maybe seeing if the police and fire department wouldn’t mind me taking a few pictures of them for a calendar next year.” Vesper knew most of the people she spoke to about doing calendars didn’t mind, but they wanted part of the proceeds to be donated, which she didn’t mind doing.

“I still have a copy of the most beautiful animals calendar you did,” Gus remembered when Vesper published that calendar.

“It took me almost a year to put that calendar together. Luckily, I can do it a little faster this time around.” Vesper takes a sip from her glass.

“Well, I hope everything works out for you, Vesper.” Gus knew Vesper was going to stay busy to pay her bills.

“I’ll still be coming over for our weekend, work, and meals. I need those more than ever now.” Vesper saw the look on Gus’s face.

“You know Dorothy and I enjoy having you.” A smile appears on Gus’s face.

After a while, Dorothy arrives home. A smile appears on her old motherly face, “Vesper, it's good to see you, dear. Did you get the SUV you wanted?”

Vesper gets up and walks over to help Dorothy with the groceries. “Unfortunately, no, Dorothy. Another salesman sold it, but I did get a good deal on a Discovery Range Rover. I checked the undercarriage like Gus taught me. It drove nicely, and it has four-by-four capability.”

“That’s good, considering where you and Gus go.” Dorothy knew Gus loved teaching Vesper about different birds, flowers, and other things that people take for granted.

“When are you going to get it?” Dorothy leads the way into the house.

“Tomorrow during lunch. As soon as I get off, I’ll bring it here for you and Gus to see it. I trust Gus’s opinion a whole lot, considering what has been happening with my family lately.” Vesper was glad she had Gus and Dorothy in her life.

“Well, dear, you know you are always welcome here.” Dorothy loved having Vesper around. She was like her and Gus’s daughter.

“Thanks, Dorothy.” Vesper places a daughterly kiss on Dorothy’s cheek.

The rest of the afternoon, Vesper helps Gus put away the yard tools and helps Dorothy in the kitchen with dinner. She used to do these things with her own mother, but doing them with Dorothy felt different. She grabs a beer for Gus and hands it to him. Vesper knew when Gus wanted his beer.

After dinner, Vesper sticks around for a while before catching an Uber back to her place. She gives the driver a nice tip and heads upstairs to her place. Since leaving home, she hasn’t had any other interaction with her family. After she brought charges against her brother for stealing her money. The family has cut off all contact with her.

She gets undressed and takes a shower, instead of a bath like she normally does. She so wanted to have her birth defect removed and be able to enter a relationship like a normal girl. Even when she was in high school, she didn’t have many boys who wanted to date her. Sure,
they didn’t mind being her friend and having her hang out with them, but none of them wanted to be serious with her because of her birth defect. One of the queen bees of the school had spread rumors about her birth defect.

If it wasn’t her birth defect that turned boys off, it was how smart and talented she was, or the fact that she had elf-style ears. She was popular with the LARP groups; several of them tried recruiting her for their groups. She puts her sweatpants and old high-t-shirt on and lies down in bed. She had so many things she had to do tomorrow.