Chapter Fourteen – Calm at the Farm

He’d been foolish to think that life would be better. It was only a matter of time before he went back to school and things returned to normal. Still, it was good to be home. Certainly much better than the night he spent in the hospital. The policewoman was very kind. But did she know what happened when adults weren’t around? Matt had no doubt that Rooster and his mates would be after him just as soon as they could.

The muffled sounds of Jed talking to Bill seeped through the closed door. Matt waited for Jed to finish being polite, he did not want to get up. Dylan was about to arrive too, he was taking Matt and Jed to the farm. But for the first time Matt did not want to go. The bubble had been burst. What would Gary think? Gary wouldn’t have been beaten up, Dylan wouldn’t have been beaten up. Matt was not one of them and never would be, there was no hiding from this now.

Jed stepped through the door. “Hey, man. Good?”

“Yep,” mumbled Matt through sore lips.

Matt felt his phone vibrate and flipped it over. “Dylan’s nearly here,” he said, “wanna wait out the front?”

Matt waved to Bill as they passed the kitchen window. Bill smiled and waved back. He stood at the window and watched Matt and Jed walk down the drive. Matt was walking slowly, looking down, the spring in his step was gone. Bill felt a pang in his chest.

The two boys waited in silence. Jed wanted to say something but didn’t know what to say. He’d never seen Matt sad when it was just the two of them. Art’s car rolled around the corner. As it pulled up Jude leaned out of the window, she smiled and waved. “Morning, gentlemen wanna ride?”

“Sure, let’s go do some doughnuts,” laughed Jed as he ran around the other side of the car.

Matt got in without speaking. Dylan turned around and put his hand on Matt’s knee. “Morning, buddy, it’s good to see you up and about.”

Matt nodded and leaned back in his seat. Dylan kept the conversation rolling without saying anything which required Matt to speak. Not that there was a need for Matt to say anything, Jed was on fire. He was very excited to be heading to Gary’s farm and to be part of the team. When they arrived at the farm Bess came tearing out and barked at each car door. Matt took some joy in watching Jed hesitate to get out as he remembered how he’d felt on his first day. “Don’t worry, she won’t eat much,” said Matt quietly.

Dylan turned to face Matt, smiled and pointed his finger at Matt. Matt tried to smile back to acknowledge that yes, he was stealing Dylan’s joke. Matt knelt on one knee and let Bess make a huge fuss of him, just like she always did. Jed carefully squatted down next to Matt and tentatively held out his hand to Bess.

“If you’re really lucky she’ll bite you on the ass,” said Matt.

“Whaaaaat! No way, man,” laughed Jed.

“Oh yes, man. When you run she jumps up and bites your ass,” said Matt.

“I’ll just run faster,” laughed Jed, while rubbing Bess with growing confidence.

“Yep, you will run faster,” replied Matt.

“See you two out the back when you’re ready,” called Dylan as he and Jude walked to the house. Matt nodded and pulled Bess over onto her back between his knees. Bess bit Matt on the arm, holding on just tightly enough that he could not easily pull it free. She looked up at him while swishing her tail in the gravel.

“Whoa! Does that hurt?” asked Jed.

“Not much, it’s part of the game,” replied Matt. “Let’s go meet the others.” Bess carefully ran in front of Matt, almost but not quite tripping him up as she tried to get a few more scratches. Jed held his hand out to Bess but she ignored him, she was devoted to getting Matt’s attention and she was very good at it.

Gary stood up and walked to meet Matt and Jed. “Good morning, boys,” he said. Gary shook Jed’s hand, then wrapped his arms around Matt and gently pulled him in close. It was a long, soft hug. Gary put one hand on the back of Matt’s head, pushing it into his chest. Gary held Matt close for a bit longer than usual. It was, Matt knew, a way to show that he cared and understood. Nothing needed to be said.

“Come and get some morning tea,” said Gary.

“Jed, meet Heather, Sandra and Allicia.”

“Hi,” said Jed, looking a little awkward and hesitant.

“Now,” began Gary, “Matt said you don’t eat much, but let’s see what you can do with this.” Gary picked up Jed’s plate and began piling on food. Jed looked at his plate when Gary finally put it down in front of him, then looked at Matt.

“Whoa,” he said with a grin. “I’ll see what I can do.”

“How many brothers and sisters do you have, Jed?” asked Gary.

“One older sister and brother, one younger brother,” replied Jed.

“Great, you will understand competitive eating. Get into it,” said Gary.

Sandra put her hand up to get Jed’s attention. “Around here we have to compete with Dad and the animals, so it’s pretty fierce competition.”

“Funny,” said Gary, “that’s what the animals said about Sandra!”

Jed laughed loudly and everyone joined in laughing with him. Matt watched Jed and thought about his own introduction. How awkward he had felt and how much a part of the family he felt now. He could see that Jed was going to fit in much more quickly. Matt was quiet during lunch. Mostly because it hurt to eat and also because everyone else was so chatty it was easy for him to stay in the background. When Heather stood up and started collecting the plates Gary turned to Matt. “Matt, would you like to show Jed around the farm?”

“Sure,” replied Matt softly.

“Great, there’s no rush, lunch will be two hours away. Are you okay with moving Dexter to the tree paddock?”

“Sure.”

“Great, pick some fruit on the way there and feed him first,” suggested Gary.

“Awesome,” exclaimed Jed, “can’t wait to play with Dexter!”

Gary winked at Matt and Matt smiled back, well as good as he could with fat lips. They both knew that playing with Dexter was fun, but a bit intimidating the first time. Matt slapped the side of his leg. “C’mon Bess, let’s go,” he called.

“Hey, Matt,” Gary called, “take Jed to the shed and get him some boots.” Matt gave Gary a thumbs up and continued walking with Jed. Gary walked inside where the others were doing the dishes and talking amongst themselves.

“Dad, he looks terrible,” said Sandra in a sad voice. “Not just his face, but he looks so sad. I just want to hug him.”

“Then hug him, baby, he won’t mind. He needs hugs,” replied Gary.

“I hope you bashed that prick, Dylan,” said Sandra. “Or do I need to go do it myself,” she added while doing a mock kick to Dylan’s groin.

Dylan looked at Gary and raised his eyebrows. Gary put his hand up. “The police are involved now, we need to step back and let things take their course. It’ll be sorted, Sandra. Matt will be safe.”

“Honestly, I nearly cried,” said Heather, looking like she might cry now. “Matt was starting to look so much more confident, now he looks crushed.”

“He is crushed, honey, but his confidence will be back,” replied Gary, “he’s got two weeks off training and heavy exercise. Once we get back to training he’ll be fine. In the meantime, we need to wrap ourselves around him and make sure there are no more incidents.” Gary put his hands on his head with elbows spread wide and looked up. “The big issue to crack is his home life. I reckon his father’s on board, but what’s the story with his mother? Did your friends come up with anything, Heather?”

Heather folded her arms and leaned back against the kitchen bench. “No, it seems that Jane has dropped out of her friend groups and spends nearly all her time at home.”

Gary looked at Dylan. “Anything to add?”

Dylan shook his head. “Matt has not mentioned his mum once, not a peep. Jed hasn’t even been in the house. It has to be a mental health issue.”

“Was she like this before Simon died?” asked Gary.

“No,” replied Dylan, “she was always a bit quiet and shy, but we talked.”

Gary walked out of the kitchen. “Let’s sit in the lounge,” he said. He sat on a sofa and held out an arm, inviting Heather to sit next to him. He drummed his fingers on the side of the lounge while thinking. “So, Matt lives in a sleep-out attached to the carport and hardly goes inside. Is that right?”

Dylan nodded. “Seems to be the case.”

Gary nodded slowly. “And we don’t know anyone who knows Jane to get a better handle on things?”

“Seems so,” said Heather.

“I’ll have to talk to Bill,” said Gary, “I was hoping not to do that.”

“Why not?” asked Sandra.

Gary thought for a moment. “Because I’m just building trust with Bill. From his perspective, I’m already interfering with Matt.”

There were a few moments of silence before Dylan spoke. “I could try talking to him.”

“Would he give you the time, or listen to you?” asked Gary.

“Not usually, but maybe now,” replied Dylan, “things are a bit shaken up at present.”

Gary nodded. “Okay, if you’re happy to try I’m good with that.” Gary slapped his leg. “Right, that’s a plan. I’m going to check on those boys and see where Dexter’s escaped to.”

“He better not be eating my roses,” exclaimed Heather with mock fury.

Gary winked at Dylan. “You better come and help me.”

Matt encouraged Bess to scout for rabbits as they passed the tanks and sheds. Bess of course obliged by tearing around and around as if she was on the cusp of catching one. Jed laughed and ran with her. “We can collect the eggs on the way back,” said Matt.

“Man, this place is awesome,” said Jed, “ if there’s a zombie apocalypse I’m coming here.”

The boys filled their pockets with fruit and headed to get Dexter. Dexter wagged his tail as Matt approached. He got very excited when Matt put his hand into his pocket and pulled out a feijoa. Matt showed Jed how to feed Dexter and they took turns feeding him and rubbing his neck.

“Man,” said Jed, “look at those horns, imagine them getting rammed up your backside.”

“You may not need to imagine it,” said Matt, “I’m going to unclip him and we are going to walk over to those trees.”

“Whaaat, not those ones way over there?” asked Jed.

“Yep,” replied Matt, “and he’s going to run.”

Matt fed Dexter some more fruit as they started to walk, hoping it would keep him calm. Feeding Dexter did keep him calm, for nearly ten whole seconds. Dexter started to pull on the leash raising his head up and down. He turned sideways and did some small jumps. Matt knew what this meant, Dexter wanted to play. Dexter stopped walking and faced Matt, he did a couple of small hops and reared up on his back legs.

“Whoa, Matt! Look out!” called Jed with delight.

Matt stepped forward as Gary had shown him and put up his hand close to Dexter’s head. Dexter put his head on Matt’s hand and pushed down hard. Matt used his hand to guide Dexter’s head onto his belly and pushed as hard as he could. Dexter’s tail wagged furiously as he pushed Matt backwards through the grass. Bess started barking and jumping at Dexter. Jed was laughing loudly. Dexter backed off Matt before running hard at Bess with his head down low. Bess ran off as fast as she could, before turning around and barking from a safer distance. Dexter faced Matt again and reared up on his back legs. Again and again Dexter pushed Matt through the grass. Jed was laughing so hard he could barely stand. Without warning, Dexter tore off across the paddock.

“Run, Jed. Run,” yelled Matt as he ran after Dexter clinging to the leash. Matt knew from experience that if he stood still Dexter would pull him over. Fortunately Dexter ran toward the trees. Matt just focused on staying on his feet.

“Wait,” yelled Jed.

But Matt could not wait, he would need to run until Dexter stopped.

“Arhhhhh,” Jed yelled, “Bess bit me on the arse.”

Matt started laughing. “Of course Bess bit you on the arse,” he thought, “that’s just what Bess does.”

“Did you see that?” asked Gary. “I think Bess just bit Jed on the backside.”

Dylan and Jude were both laughing. “Sure did,” replied Dylan, “that’s just marvellous. Two boys, a goat and a dog that bites your backside whenever you’re not looking. Farm life at its best.”

“I had no idea farming was so much fun,” added Jude.

Matt started to run at an angle to Dexter to try and steer him toward the gate. Dexter started running sideways, which he was remarkably good at before stopping to face Matt. Matt quickly reached into his pocket to get a piece of fruit to show Dexter. Dexter saw the fruit, started wagging his tail and walked to Matt. “Good boy,” said Matt while holding out his hand. Bess came tearing past, followed by Jed.

“Man,” said Jed loudly, “she bites really hard.”

“Only if you’re tasty,” said Matt, recycling one of Gary’s jokes. Dexter seemed to know where they were heading and walked purposely to the gate. Matt opened the gate and unclipped Dexter. Dexter walked toward some weeds and after sniffing a few started to browse.

“Let’s sit in the shade,” said Matt.

“Yeah, I need a rest,” replied Jed. Bess headed off amongst the trees with her nose to the ground, zig-zagging back and forth.

Satisfied that the boys had successfully made it to the tree paddock Gary headed back inside.

 

Matt listened to Jed’s panting. It made him realise just how much fitter he was now. He would have struggled to run across the paddock when he first got to the farm, but now it felt easy. Matt looked across the farm and down the valley. He felt peaceful, the farm was his safe place. “I love being on the farm,” he said.

“Yeah, it’s awesome,” replied Jed.

“Dexter is crazy, imagine if we took him to school!”

“Bess might be easier,” replied Matt.

“Yeah, but no one would mess with Dexter,” laughed Jed, “imagine him ramming Rooster.” 

Matt smiled and lay back on the grass with his eyes closed. Dexter chasing Rooster was a lovely thought indeed. He heard Bess’s footsteps, then felt her breath as she sniffed his face. He put out his arm and scratched her neck, there was a small thump as she fell against him.

“Can’t believe Bess bit my arse,” said Jed quietly as he stretched out.

“She’s a funny, funny dog,” Matt replied, “but you get used to it.” The two boys lay in silence. The leaves rustled gently as puffs of breeze came through. Occasionally they could hear the clump of Dexter’s hoofs, or the tearing of weeds as he browsed. Eventually, Dexter also sat down and made himself comfortable.

Jed sat up. “Maybe we should wander back?”

“Sure,” replied Matt, “come and watch Dexter first. I wanna show you something.” Matt walked over and sat next to Dexter and gently stroked his neck. “Watch his throat, the food goes up and down.”

Jed sat down in front of Dexter. “What do you mean, up and down?”

“Just watch here,” suggested Matt while pointing to the front of Dexter’s neck. “You’ll see it once he has swallowed the bit he’s chewing.” Sure enough Dexter swallowed his mouthful, and a bulge ran up his neck to his mouth and he started chewing again.

“Wow!” exclaimed Jed.

“He chews his food more than once, up and down it goes,” explained Matt.

“Imagine if you could do that in class,” laughed Jed.

“Yeah,” laughed Matt, “the whole class would be doing it.” Matt stood up slowly and stretched. “Let’s go get the eggs and head back.”

Jed gave Dexter one last rub on the head and stood up. Matt slapped his leg. “C’mon Bess, let’s go. Just walk and she won’t nip you.”

Heather watched the two boys walking back with the egg basket. They were chatting and looked happy, as two boys on a farm should. She smiled to herself. “Hi boys. How did you go?”

“All good,” replied Matt holding up the egg basket.

Gary called from inside the house. “I hope you two haven’t been training my dog to bite people on the backside!”

Jed laughed loudly. “Too late, someone’s already done it,” he called back.

Gary got up from the couch and walked outside to meet them. “Lunch is not far away, let’s have a seat,” he said. “Now, we’ve been chatting while you two were out and about. How about the three of us, plus Dylan and Jude head out on the boat tomorrow?” asked Gary.

Jed looked at Matt for approval. “Yeah,” he said excitedly, “that would be awesome.”

“Great,” said Gary, “the last thing before lunch is to show Jed the dojo.”

Jed looked ready to jump in the air. “Cool!”

Gary stood up. “Matt, would you please show Jed the entrance and showers. I’ll meet you there.”

Jed was suitably impressed when he saw Matt’s name on a locker. He chatted excitedly as they cleaned their feet before walking into the dojo. Matt could hear Dylan and Jude talking inside. “Follow me and do what I do,” instructed Matt.

The boys bowed and walked onto the mats. Jed jumped up and down, feeling the spongy mats with his feet. “These are really cool,” he said.

“You will think they are really, really, extra-specially cool when you land on your head,” replied Dylan as he walked to the back of the dojo and picked up a pad. “Here hold this,” he said as he threw the pad to Jed. “Put your arms around the pad like this and pull it to your chest.”

“Ready?” asked Dylan.

“For what?” asked Jed, laughing.

“I’m going to kick you in the guts,” replied Dylan as he lifted his knees up and down to warm up.

“Whaaaat?”

“Don’t worry, I will start gently and I promise not to hurt myself,” replied Dylan. Dylan very gently kicked the bag. Jed massively overreacted as he was expecting something much more violent. “I will slowly up the contact, but you must tell when it’s hard enough. Okay?”

“Okay,” replied Jed cautiously.

Dylan slowly kicked the bag, then a bit harder and a bit harder still. “That looks like enough I think,” said Dylan.

“Yeah, that’s enough,” laughed Jed.

“Well done.” It was Gary, he’d been watching from the front of the dojo. Gary bowed and walked onto the mats. “Pass that pad please, Jed. Now stand next to me and pay attention to the impact. Ready?” he asked while looking at Jed. He turned to Dylan, “Just kick it as hard as you’ve been kicking Jed.” Dylan nodded and kicked the bag. “Couple more.” Dylan tapped the bag two more times. “Righto, Jed. Have you got a feel for that?”

“Yeah,” replied Jed in a nervous voice.

Gary nodded at Dylan. “Okay, crank it up over five.”

“Hai,” said Dylan, looking much more serious. Dylan bounced a couple of times to settle his stance and started kicking the bag. Each time moving more quickly and finally BOOM, hitting the bag as hard as he could.

“Whoa,” said Jed excitedly, “that’s massive!” Gary looked at Matt and winked. Matt was smiling. He’d told Jed about Dylan and Gary, but seeing them was another thing.

“Well,” said Jude, “I will let you guys beat each other up while I help Heather.” 

“Jed and Matt,” said Gary, “if you don’t mind, could you please show me exactly what happened the other day.” Matt felt a nervous pang in his stomach. But before he could say anything Jed started talking. “Well, they were waiting for us on a side street. We didn’t even see them before Rooster threw some mud at Matt.” Jed walked behind Matt. “We tried to ignore them and walk away, but Rooster came up behind Matt and kicked his leg like this.” Jed did a slow-motion kick to Matt’s leg. “And Matt fell down.”

“Where was Rooster’s brother?” asked Gary.

“He was standing behind Matt,” replied Jed. “When Matt got up Rooster came around in front of him and tried to push him over, but Matt was too quick.”

Gary looked at Matt. “Did you slip him, Matt?” Matt nodded. Gary walked over and put his hand on Matt’s shoulder. “Excellent. Now you wouldn’t have done that before starting training, would you?” Matt shook his head. “Well done, Matt. I’m proud of you,” said Gary as he rubbed Matt’s shoulder. “Well done.”

“Then,” began Jed, “Rooster went like this, he did it again. But Matt pushed him over.”

“You pushed him over?” asked Gary. “How did you do that?”

“I stepped to the side and pushed across his stance,” replied Matt.

“Like this?” asked Gary. “Push me please, Jed.” Jed stepped forward to push Gary, but before his foot touched the ground Gary stepped around and pushed him to the ground. Jed started laughing.

“That was it,” said Jed as he stood up. “It was awesome.”

“Matt, that’s incredible,” said Gary, “I’m very impressed. To do that the first time you are under pressure is fantastic. Then what?”

“Well,” said Matt, “I was getting ready to kick him as he came forward.”

“Which kick?” asked Gary.

“Front kick.”

“Perfect, Matt,” said Gary, “that’s the perfect kick to stop a charge.”

Jed put his hand up and blurted loudly, “But Rooster’s brother smashed Matt from behind, like this.”

Jed demonstrated a big swinging arm. “He smashed Matt in the head and Matt went FLYING.” Jed did a big, theatrical dive to the ground. He was now very excited. “Rooster kicked him and punched him in the face when he was getting up,” said Jed as he demonstrated a monster kick and punch.

Gary walked over to Matt and put his arm around his neck. He spoke slowly and softly. “Matt, two on one would be a handful for any of us. Especially when one is twice our size and attacking from behind. You did very well and I have decided to give you something today that you have earned. Now you would have got this in a few weeks, but you deserve it now. Wait here.”

Gary walked to the edge of the mats, bowed and walked into the house. Matt looked at Dylan for a hint about what was happening, but Dylan just smiled and gave Matt a thumbs up. When Gary returned he was carrying a small bag. He walked over to Matt. “That little old lady who helped you was once married to a man called Barry. Barry was in the military and used to box. He was my boxing instructor when I was young. Barry was a tough nut, he was called ‘the psychologist’ due to his enthusiasm for assisting people with changing their behaviour. Now, that lady assures me that you were doing just fine one on one. You have put what you have learned into practice when under pressure. No one can ask for more than that. So here’s your first gi.” Gary held out his hand and shook Matt’s hand firmly. “Matt, look me in the eyes.” Matt looked up and Gary leaned forward. “I am proud of you. You have earned this. Your first grading will be in three weeks. That should give you time to get back on your feet.”

Matt smiled, it hurt, but he didn’t care. Dylan stepped forward and shook Matt’s hand. Matt looked up at Dylan and was pretty sure he saw tears in Dylan’s eyes. Dylan put his arms around Matt and hugged him. “Good effort, buddy, good effort,” he said.

“Jed, you better shake his hand too,” said Gary. As Jed and Matt shook hands Gary stepped forward and put a hand on each of their shoulders. “Friendship is important. Looking after each other is important. I know that if I ever needed it Dylan would have my back and he knows that I would be there for him no matter what. The two of you need to look after each other and you need to know how to look after each other. Jed, I think you ought to consider starting karate too.”

Jed looked at Matt with his mouth wide open and his eyebrows raised as high as they would go. Gary stepped back and looked at Jed. “First talk to Matt and make sure you know what you’re in for, think about it then let me know.”

“Yep”, replied Jed, “I sure will.”