It actually was fun. It was almost a month into their trip before her mom even started showing more signs, getting fatigue and such. Carol wanted to keep going, but Foster convinced her to stop for a time. For her sake, they stopped in Nevada in a small town and rented a vacation house. It was bigger than they needed, but the views couldn’t be beat and Carol found herself wanting to leave less and less as her health started to deteriorate.
Carol got to watch the horses from the ranch next door and Foster got some quiet time to spend with her mother. It was a win, win, but when she started to get sicker, Foster knew that it might be the last leg of her journey. After another couple of months, she was starting to see Cross Junction as her home too. The house rental was affordable because it was not in the big city and Foster didn’t want to take her mother away from a place where she had found so much peace.
She didn’t have to move her though, her mother died in half the time that they had given her. Foster tried to see it as going to a better place, but the selfish side of her wished that she could have stayed longer. There was no feeling of sorrow beyond her being gone. Everything was said that needed to be said and Foster would always be thankful for that.
Foster went to the house after the cremation was done and she didn’t want to leave. When she was there, it was like a part of her mother was there as well. It gave her peace and she wasn’t ready to give that up yet. Cross Junction had become her home and Foster went into the summer months trying to find a job where she was. With no experience in animals or the western lifestyle, she found a job cooking at one of the only restaurants in the small town. It wasn’t her first choice, but she had worked in enough restaurants to pick it up quick enough.
She was on her own path then, her own adventure, trying to figure out what it was that she needed to do. With no family left, Foster did not have a focus or even a direction or where she wanted to be. She liked to watch the horses in the morning though and the sunset that came up on a sky that was bigger than life. Foster wasn’t sure what she was going to do, but she knew that she had to stay where she was.
The restaurant gig got old quickly and Foster knew she had to get into something else for work. When she saw a sign in town that the local veterinarian shop needed to hire help, Foster went in there thinking that she could help. Her mind was still thinking puppies and kittens when she went in. There was no application to fill out, just an older woman by the name of Karen that asked her some questions. When it became clear that she really knew nothing about animals, Foster figured she had wasted her time. “Sorry to bother you Karen. I don’t know what I was thinking coming in here with no experience. I just thought I might be able to learn something and be a help.”
The older woman smiled and urged her back into the straight-back seat. “There is no need for experience here. Every day is something new anyways, so the most important part is to want to help. I think you fit the bill and as long as you can pick up and learn, I think I have a place for you here.”
Foster was beaming. It was the first goal that she had set that she had found herself able to complete. She had known that she was going to need to find a better job and in such a small town there hadn’t been that many options. It was one of those things that she had wanted to do when she was younger and now she was going to be able to.
They talked for a while longer about when she would start and then more details about what she should wear. “We will be on location most of the time, so make sure to just wear some jeans and some good boots. You will regret wearing anything pretty.”
Foster laughed a little, still thinking about cats and dogs, but she didn’t ask what working on location meant. She didn’t care. She had a new job that paid better and would allow her to stay in the house that she had come to love. There was nervousness in her about starting something new, but Foster was ready for the challenge.
***
What she wasn’t ready for was the actual job. Her mind had conjure up cute kittens that needed help, but by noon she was almost knee deep in manure and a whatever else was on the bottom of the stalls. Her kitten was actually a cow and then a couple of horses. One minute she was helping deliver a calf and the next moment she was across town helping another rancher with a horse that was walking different after a fall. Karen had been right, it was always something different.
Foster was exhausted about halfway through the day. She was starting to wonder if she was going to make it in her new line of work. There was the question in her mind of if she could get back her cooking job if it all went belly up. She didn’t want to think about failure, but it was harder than she had thought.
After a lunch eaten at the very diner she had just quit, Karen asked her how she liked it so far. “Be honest, what do you think?”
Foster smiled and wondered how honest she really wanted her to be. Since she had never been one to gauge that very well, she figured it was best to just be completely honest. “I don’t know how you do it Karen. I like it, but I am worried about keeping up is all. I feel like every muscle in my body is screaming at me to just stop. You look like it is not even bothering you.”
She nodded with understanding. “It will get better, I promise. The first week is always the worst, but then your body will get used to it. You have definitely been a big help today. I hope you decide to stick it out. I’ve been looking for a good assistant for a long time. Everyone here works for the ranches, but someone has to keep all the animals healthy.”
“I am going to try Karen. It makes me feel a little inadequate that you are running circles around me.”
Her weathered face grinned back at her and she patted her on the hand, trying to assure her that she was doing fine. Foster wasn’t so sure, but she was thankful that she cared enough to lie to her.