I was jerked about in the ox cart on the way home and had trouble with the oxen. They’d go a few feet and then stop. I had time to think about what Charlie said as I sat and waited for the oxen to walk again. I pulled on the reins and yanked on the wheels and thought about the hooves he talked about. I could only think of the obsessive part, I admitted, I’m obsessive.

I got home and saw Lira’s car parked in front of the house. When I jumped out of the ox cart and released the oxen, I tried pulling the cart on my own, impossible. It weighed a ton and tended to begin to roll like a bobsled if provoked. I let the idea go, saying to no one near, “That’ll never happen.”

I came in the house and Lira was on the couch with her rabbit on her lap. She was watching television and reached out her hand for me to join her. We sat on the couch a while without talking. The brown rabbit is growing a thick fur from the approaching winter cold. He sits so serenely in Lira’s arms. She began to talk about her day, as did I, and I told her I was ready to return to work. She stared at me searching for words and said, “It looks like it might rain.”

The cows have eaten the backyard lawn so the ground is patchy dirt and lawn. The oxen have busted the fence and the animals have been going in the garage at night so they don’t stray. The ox cart is too wide for the driveway so you have to climb in from the back. The upkeep of the animals is not as much work as Lira thought but now that I look around with a sober eye I never thought the cows would shred the place. Obviously we were not ready to be a farm. I got out of bed and watched Lira outside throwing bird seed out on the ground and refilling the trays hanging from the garage. I took the bike down from the rack and went on a long ride even though my leg still ached from the triathlon.