Chapter Eleven: The Commune Gets a New Neighbor

     "And now Luna Lagoon, looked beyond the commune, only to find neighbor trouble..."

Harry was a crested gecko that lived in an old aquarium Ken kept in his room, right in the spot that the pot plant had occupied.  As lizards went, he was a fairly harmless creature.  He stayed in his aquarium and didn't cause problems.  Ken fed him bugs that he collected from around the farmhouses.

This was now the quiet season.  The folks at the farm were starting to enjoy the lull in the business.  They began to figure out how to do stuff that they had only talked and thought about during the busy season.  One of the things Luna decided to do was invite Peter, their frequent customer and helpful neighbor, to dinner.  They had passed him some free produce now and then but had been too busy to actually have a leisurely meal with him.

Everyone was excited that he was coming, since he was the only neighbor they knew.  The neighbor on the other side of the farm was very quiet and pretty much kept to herself, and the property across the street seemed deserted.

Peter turned out to be a lawyer who traveled to Montpelier for his practice every day.  "Oh boy, it's good to have you folks here," he said as someone passed him the tempeh.  "You bring some life to this area.  Agatha, on the other side of you, is a recluse.  Tim down the road is another farmer but he sells his stuff to some corporation and only speaks in one word sentences.  I originally moved here because of the quiet.  Now I've started thinking that it's been much too quiet around here for me."

"Do you know who owns the place across the road from us?" Dan asked him.

"It's funny you should mention that.  The place has been for sale for a couple of years now.  I only found out yesterday that somebody's buying it.  Rumors are that it's this rural Republican right-wing wingnut."

"Oh, great," Luna said.  "I'd better take down our commune sign.  I can't imagine he's going to be excited having us for a neighbor."

"I can't imagine that you're going to be excited about having her as a neighbor either," Peter said.  "You know, it might get a lot less quiet around here pretty soon."

"Do you know the name of this person?" Viv asked.

"Sure do."  Peter grinned.  "Her name's Hillary Reagon.  She's a life-long Republican and on the boards of the Project for the New American Universe, the Wealthy Heritage Foundation, and Americans for Corporate Prosperity.  She knows Dick and Donald personally and is friends with the Kitsch Brothers."

"Why on earth is she buying land up here?" Marge asked.

"It's kind of busy down there in DC, I hear.  She grew up and raised a family in Idaho.  Maybe she wants to get away from it all again."

Just then Nancy brought out a black raspberry walnut pie and everyone grew quiet.  For a few minutes the only sounds were from satisfied eaters nibbling and noshing.

Finally Luna sat back.  "You sure about this Hillary person?"

"That's what I hear, anyway."  Peter used his napkin to wipe black raspberry off his face.  "The story is that she hasn't bought the place yet, but she's already put down a downpayment.  That's according to the rumors, anyway.  And supposedly, the bank seems satisfied.  I also hear that she's bringing her son, Alec, with her and according to everyone I've spoken with, he makes her seem like a flaming liberal."

"Well, there goes the neighborhood," said Cat.


   "Their neighbor it seems, had dangerous schemes..."

Several days later, as they were getting a late start at the produce stand, one of the customers asked if they had any maple syrup.

"No, we don't," said Sal.  She brushed some tatsoi off of Dan.  "We don't carry it."

"All the other farmstands do," the customer said. "Why don't you?"

"Maybe it's because all the other farmstands do," Sal said.

"You can get some at the general store down the road," Dan added, "and also at the gas station across the street from it, and I've heard that even the dentist a half a mile beyond there sells some.  You know, it's really hard to find places around here that don't offer maple syrup.  We just didn't think it made sense to be one more place that carried the stuff.  Sorry."

Meanwhile, helpful neighbor Peter had stopped by the "Chthonic Baked Goods and Yggdrasil Cupcakes" stand to pick up some pastries before he headed out to work.

"Mmm," he said. "These whole wheat donuts look good.  I'll take a half dozen of the maple ones."

"We'll throw in a couple of extra for you, no charge," Nancy said.

"Thanks.  And speaking of maple, I have some news for you about your new neighbors."

"Is it official?" Cat asked.

"Oh, yes," said Peter.  "They passed papers yesterday.  And Ms Reagon put out a press release this morning explaining why she is buying the property."

"Do tell," said Nancy.

"It seems that she believes that this area is the most sin-filled and liberal-ridden region of the country.  She said she plans to clean this place up."

"What does any of that have to do with anything maple?" Cat asked.

"Ah, yes," said Peter.  "She also announced that her first step is going to be to consolidate the whole maple sugar industry.  I hear that her son is planning to do the legal work and financing."

"But there really isn't a maple sugar industry," said Cat.

"Yeah, well, that's true, but unfortunately, I think there's going be a big one when she gets through, and, believe me, Hillary Reagon fully intends that she and her son will be the ones who will own it, lock, stock, and fifty-five gallon barrel of syrup."

Chapter Ten: Ken Brings a Surprise

     "He said, 'Luna I've brought some grass'..."

Ken came back from his parents home a few days later, carrying in a ton of books, plants, dishes, and pots and pans for the commune.  His mom helped him bring in boxes and boxes of stuff and took time to sample some of Nancy's Apple Zucchini Bread while she was around.  She praised the commune (especially the food) and said how good living there was for Ken. Then she gave him a hug and waved goodbye to everyone else.

After she left, Ken began unpacking boxes, bringing stuff to his room, stuff to the kitchen, and stuff to the den. Various folks passing by would move a box or three as they went.

Luna was having lunch but decided to eat by Ken while he opened more boxes. She felt she hadn't had a chance to get to know Ken and thought this could be an opportunity.

"Where do you think we should put all these plants?" he asked Luna.  He pointed out spiderplants, and coleuses, and jade plants, and a Boston fern.

Luna wasn't paying attention to the plants Ken was pointing to.  Her attention had been grabbed by a little plant Ken had stuck near the corner of the room.

"Is that what I think it is?" she asked.

Ken nodded.  "Do you think it will be a problem?  I like growing things and my mother didn't mind it.  I was hoping it would be okay here."

"Well, if the sheriff comes back to see how you're doing or if we've gotten any more runaways, I don't think he'd be happy to see it.  And I don't want to find any of us, including you, in jail over that plant.  We can't afford to get into trouble at this point in our growth.  I want to see the commune last a year here at the very least.  Hopefully a lot more."

"I was going to keep it up in my room.  Look, nobody's gonna see it up there. I'll make sure to keep it out of sight.  I promise."

Luna sighed.  "I don't know, Ken, but it's not my decision.  I think we're gonna need to talk about this in the commune meeting."


    "Luna said, 'Ken, we'll need to pass, and we'd better, we'd better, get rid of it as soon as we're able.'"

Sal was the facilitator for the next commune meeting.  There were a lot of items on the agenda but the one that ended up getting the most time and attention was Ken's little pot plant.

"I don't mind a little smoke now and then," said Marge, "but I don't want there to be any excuse for the sheriff to shut this place down."

"I agree," said Nancy.  "The sheriff and deputies were very nice while they were here and they seem fine with us running a commune in their county, but I don't know how fine they'd be if they saw that growing here."

"Yeah," said Cat.  "I just don't want trouble."

Sal asked, "Is there anybody that thinks that it would be a good idea for there to be grass growing up in Ken's room?"

"I do," said Ken.

Viv said, "I don't see why he can't keep it if it's kept up in his room.  The sheriff isn't going to be going up to people's rooms, is he?"

"I hope not," Dan said.  "But if he got a complaint about this place and came with a search warrant, he could go through people's rooms."

"Well, let's make sure that no one complains about us," said Ken.
 
"It's not that easy," Dan said.  "He could be looking for anything, including runaways, but if he saw that it could cause lots of problems."

"Unfortunately, I agree," said Luna.  "We've put too much work into this farm to jeopardize it for one plant."

Viv looked at Ken.  Ken sat and looked thoughtful.  No one said anything for a few minutes.

"Alright," Ken said finally.  "I'll have my mom come by and pick it up.  Soon."

"I'm sorry," Luna said.  "Maybe we're worried over nothing, but I just don't want to take a chance."

"That's okay," Ken said.  "I'll trade it for my lizard.  I miss him.  His name's Harry."

Chapter Nine: Followed by Another Departure

     "The arrival it seemed, of the man of his dreams..."

Toward the end of September things began to slow down a little.

There was still some stuff in the fields, but not as much.  Dan had gotten himself out from under the rutabagas, much to Sal's relief.  Of course, the produce slow down didn't stop the baking from happening, but the lines at the farm stands had gotten shorter and there were far fewer out of state plates coming by.

Ken went home for a while to visit his folks but said he'd be back.  And one night, Cat and Viv and Marge and Darren had a former housemates/present communemates meeting.

"How's it going?" Cat asked the gang, being the old timer in the group.

"Well, I've been here a while," Viv said.  "It kinda feels like home now."

"I'm still getting used to it," Marge said.  "I still wake up at night wondering why I can't hear any planes landing."

"I think I'm used to it," Darren said, "but, I don't know, I'm feeling kind of restless.  I guess you can take the boy out of the city.  I'm not sure if you can take the city out of the boy."

"Are you thinking of leaving us?"  Viv asked, looking at him.

"Not really," Darren said.  "I'm just not thinking of staying."

A couple of days later, a lavender VW microbus pulled up the drive.  An athletic looking young man came to the door and asked for Stan.

"Stan ain't here no more," said Marge.

"Why are you looking for him?" asked Darren.

"He had a notice up about wanting a ride to the fairy fest," the young man answered.  "I'm running kind of late to get there and I didn't check in before I came here, but I was passing this way anyway and figured it wouldn't hurt to drop by in case Stan got stuck for a ride."

"You're right," said Darren.  "It doesn't hurt.  You want to come in and get a bite to eat while you're here?  You've got a way to go yet and I thought you might be hungry."

"That's very nice," the newcomer said.  "My name is Chuck."

"I'm Darren," said Darren and led him into the kitchen.



     "And so one day Darren ran off with this other guy..."

A couple of hours later, as Chuck and Darren were lying in Darren's bed, Darren pointed out, "This is all very lovely, but I think you're going to be a bit late getting to the festival."

Chuck lay there, not speaking for a little while.  "That's okay.  I'm not in a hurry. As far as I'm concerned, the best part is the end of the festival, anyway, and so that's all I'm really going for.  It's not like I can afford to go to the whole thing."

He took Darren's hand and slowly looked into his eyes.  "I really like you," he said.  "What would you think of the idea of coming along to the fairy fest with me?"

Darren's eyes opened wide.  He didn't say anything, but just nodded.  He took a minute to get himself together, up and out of bed, but got himself dressed and packed in record time.  He then spent the next twenty minutes saying goodbye to everyone.

He found Luna inspecting the fields, Sal in the produce stand, Dan under the kale, and Nancy slicing her new Apple Zucchini Bread in the kitchen, and gave them all hugs.

Hardest of all for him was saying goodbye to Marge, Viv, and Cat.  He couldn't stop hugging them.  "I'll be back," he promised. "I just gotta see where this goes."

Finally Chuck dragged Darren into the microbus.  "Goodbye, everyone," Darren yelled out the window frantically waving his arms.

Work on the farm came to a standstill as everyone stopped what they were doing to see Darren off.  Dan still had kale leaves clinging to his shirt.  The gang all stood in a clump waving back at Darren.

Chuck kept trying to get the engine to turn over.  Meanwhile there was more waving.  Darren blew kisses from his seat. The little lavender bus took some time to actually get started but the engine eventually caught and it finally chugged off in a cloud of exhaust.

The rest of the commune looked at each other.  "Is everyone else good?" Luna asked.  "Is there anyone else who's thinking of leaving?"

There was a long period of silence, before people started speaking up.

Someone said, "No," and suddenly everyone was saying no or shaking their heads, or doing both.

"I think we're all good," said Dan.

Luna took a deep breath.  "Well, okay..." she said, and went back to her work in the fields.

Chapter Eight: Stan Moves On

   "...Stan, old boy, this is a showdown..."

Things at the farm were a little less busy with new members to take up the slack.  And maybe there was just a little too much slack in some places.

It was Wednesday night, time for the regular commune meeting.

Dinner had been cleaned up and the dishes had been put away. The dining room had been swept and the kitchen floor had been mopped.  Now both rooms were empty.

Everyone was gathered in the living room of the middle farm house, which, at this point, was packed with people.  Fairly upset people.

Ed and Ralph were visiting and simply sat in, not saying anything, while new members Marge, Darren, and Ken watched the meeting quietly, still trying to figure out how this commune thing worked.  Cat was facilitating.  And everyone was looking at Stan.

Stan was sitting with his back against the wall looking up at the ceiling.  His hands were fidgeting in his lap.  His legs looked like they wanted to move of their own accord.

"We've given you several chances to clean up your act," Luna said.

"Yeah, and I don't think you're good at cleaning up anything," Sal added.  She turned her gaze to Nancy.

Nancy didn't say anything but shifted in her seat.  She in turn, turned toward the facilitator.

Cat looked bewildered for a moment.  "I... I really don't know what to say to you, Stan.  I've seen everyone else working away and nobody had the least idea where you were."

"I know where Stan was, at least where he was sometimes," Dan said.  He seemed ready to explode.  He sat and took a deep breath before he spoke again.  "I've found him in his room napping while the rest of us were working."  Dan stared at Stan.

Stan looked at Dan.  He started to speak but stopped.  He looked around the room.  Everyone looked back.  He looked back up at the ceiling as if he might find some comfort there.

The meeting got very quiet.  Cat sat down and stopped facilitating.  The new folks seemed to be holding their collective breaths.  Luna looked like she wanted to say something more but sat on her hands instead.  There were a couple of minutes of rather uncomfortable silence before Stan finally spoke.

"I forgot to tell you!  There's a fairy festival happening out west!  I'm going!  Tomorrow!"


   "But Stan he got caught, he left in a shot..."

Breakfast was quieter than usual the next morning.

Things were still busy enough that soon Cat and Nancy were baking away, Marge and Darren were setting up the baked goods stand, Sal was setting up the produce stand while Dan was trying to make his way from under the spaghetti squash, Ralph and Ed were bringing vegetables in, Ken was transporting goodies from the kitchen, and Luna and Viv were out in the fields, harvesting.  Stan was in his room, packing.  And no one said an unnecessary word.

Lunch seemed even quieter than breakfast, if that was possible.  Stan walked to the room in around the middle of the meal, but no one spoke with him.  The silence was disturbed only by the clinking of silverware and the occasional request to pass the pepper.  Everyone seemed to be eating in slow motion.  Eventually people got up and began bringing their dishes into the kitchen to be washed.

As the last dishes were being stacked and the table was being wiped down, Stan looked out the farmhouse window for the umpteenth time and this time he saw what he had been looking out that window to see.  He announced to everyone, "My ride to the fairy fest is here!  I'm leaving!" and, dropping the dish that he had been holding, he ran up to his room to get his belongings.

A purple station wagon with a giant pink rubber raft strapped to the roof was pulling up the drive.  Moments later, two bearded men in long colorful dresses got out.  They stood there for a couple of minutes just looking at the place before Stan came barreling out the door with two suitcases and a large box of his stuff.  The two guys hugged Stan and then spent a several minutes contemplating his things.  Then they looked back at the packed station wagon and gave an audible collective sigh.

It took them a while but somehow they managed to shove all of Stan's stuff into the already very crowded vehicle.  Then it took another couple of minutes for them to create enough room for Stan to squeeze himself into a space he made for himself in the back seat.  Once that happened the guys stood outside, leaning on the wagon, while they stared at a paper full of directions and slowly figured out where they could get on the interstate and where they would be headed to next.

When they finally got back in the car and were able to start the station wagon engine again, Stan rolled down his window and waved at all the people that were gathering.

In spite of all the harsh words of the night before, most of the commune had come out to wish Stan a fond farewell.  Dan had a couple of pieces of chard coming out of one of his pockets.  Luna seemed to be holding her breath.  Cat was jumping up and down.  Ed looked amused.  Viv looked confused.  Several people waved back at Stan and a few folks shook their fists.  As the station wagon left the drive and drove onto the road, Sal yelled out those familiar words: "And if we ever see your sorry..."


    "...and Luna collapsed with relief and laughter."

Chapter Seven: More Members Arrive

    "The sheriff came in, talking of Ken..."

Stan looked at Luna and Dan.  They looked at each other and nodded to Stan.

The sheriff and his deputies walked slowly into the gathering.  They seemed hesitant about coming into the building, acting as if this place was a strange, new territory for them.

The sheriff stood in the dining room and looked around the place.  He stuck his hands on his hips.  The deputies stayed by the door as if they weren't sure what to do with themselves.

"Sorry to bother you, ladies and gentlemen," the sheriff began.  "This is a commune, right?"  He looked somewhat embarrassed after he said it.  It struck Luna as a bit silly since the green "Commune!" sign was still stuck on the fence by the road.

"Yes it is," Cat and Sal said together, almost as if they rehearsed it.  They stared at each other for a moment afterwards.

The sheriff paused, as if he wasn't sure what to say next.  "Well, it seems like these communes are a bit of a magnet for runaways."  He stopped and looked around at everyone, as if he was looking for someone in particular.

When he didn't seem to see who he was looking for, he continued.  "We have a report of a young man, thin, dark brown hair, tends to be a bit nervous, who ran away from home a few hours south of here.  His name is Kenneth and his parents are worried about him.  You haven't seen him, have you?"

Several people shook their heads.

"No, we really haven't," said Nancy.

"Well, we'd be very obliged if you'd call us or his parents if you do see him."  While the sheriff was talking, one of the deputies handed Stan a piece of paper with some phone numbers on it.  Stan handed it to Dan.  "Sorry to trouble you folks."

"Can we offer you some pie while you're here?" Nancy asked.

The sheriff looked at his deputies.  They looked at the pie.  "Thank you, ma'am.  That's hard to turn down."

They sat at the table for a few minutes, talking with some of the commune members about crime in the county and the recent weather.  Everyone relaxed a bit.  Wine was passed around but the sheriff and deputies declined.  One of the deputies looked like she actually wanted some.

Then the sheriff pushed back his plate.  "This was lovely but we need to go.  Once again, please let us know if you see Ken or hear anything about him.  His parents have been calling us daily."

The sheriff and deputies got up and, after shaking hands with several people, left.

Clean up continued.  Soon everyone headed for bed.

The next few days were rather busy.  Business was still going strong.


   "... who proceeded to sit at their table..."

Two nights later, just as dinner was being served, there was another knock on the door.  A thin young guy with short, dark brown hair stood there.  He looked around at everyone rather anxiously. "Is this really a commune?"

Viv grabbed Nancy who looked at Luna. Luna gave a faint nod.  Nancy said, "Sure is.  Come on in, you're just in time for dinner."

As they ate, the young man introduced himself as 'ElmTree' and said that he always wanted to live in a commune.  No one questioned him as they ate and people told various stories about life on the farm.

After dinner, Sal suggested that they all sit together and talk.

"So," said Nancy after they were seated, "we were visited by the sheriff a couple of days ago.  They were looking for someone named Kenneth.  And the description the sheriff gave..."

"Okay, okay," ElmTree said.  "It's me."

"He said your parents are worried about you," Luna added.  "We can use new members, but you need to call them first.  Let them see the place.  Maybe they'll let you stay."

ElmTree, who now decided his name was Ken, looked quickly around at all the friendly faces.  "Alright," he said.  "I'll call them.  Maybe if they see the place..."

Ken had been doubtful but when his mother came, she was actually impressed with the commune.  It probably helped that Viv and Dan had just scrubbed down the dining room the day before.  And Nancy offering some of her Raspberry Maple Walnut Bread might have helped as well.  Ken's mom had two slices and sighed afterwards.

"Okay," she said to Ken finally.  "As long as you're happy here.  I can talk with your father.  He and I will be by with some of your things in a few days."  She gave him a big hug.  "And don't forget to call us regularly," she said as she left.  She gave Nancy a big smile as she walked out the door.  "I want that recipe," she said to her.

She started down the drive but had to wait a minute while a green van moved over to give her space.  When Viv and Cat spotted the van, they went running out.

The van parked in the space left by Ken's mother.  Darren and Marge emerged from it and were immediately grabbed by Cat and Viv.  Cat and Viv were glad to see their friends, but Darren and Marge seemed especially glad to see Cat and Viv.

"We brought your stuff, Viv," Marge said.

"And our stuff, too," added Darren.

"Can you still use people?" Marge asked Cat.  "A plane nearly landed on our street the other day and they evacuated the neighborhood for six hours.  We decided it was time to get out of there."

Chapter Six: They Sell Food

     "Luna burst in and grinning a grin, she said, Danny boy, we've got a business..."

With two farm stands, things really took off.  The farm was now officially in its busy season.

Nancy and Cat kept the "Chthonic Baked Goods and Yggdrasil Cupcakes" stand flowing with breads and pastries, Sal and Dan began selling produce from the other stand, and Luna and Viv worked out in the farm's fields, doing the sowing and reaping.  Stan was helping out with a little of everything.  Often no one knew what he was doing.

"Wait," said one of Cat's customers, eyeing some of the sweet treats in front of her. "What do you mean there's no wheat or dairy or soy or sugar in the cupcakes?  What's in them?"

"It's a secret," Cat said.

"You can't tell me?" the woman asked.

"If I told you, I'd have to..." The customer gasped and Nancy stopped moving as Cat's voice dropped to a hoarse whisper. "...make you work here."

Dan was drowning in kale and collards and spinach and zucchini and peppers and onions and carrots and tomato and basil and several leafy greens that he couldn't identify.  Every so often Sal would have to pull him out from under a mound of various vegetables.

Even though they had done next to no publicity, the line of cars for the two stands now snaked down the road, backing up to the gas station and general store.  Fortunately one of their neighbors was also a regular customer.  He let them use the area at the end of his property as overflow parking.

"I come here everyday," one guy said, almost every day that he came there.

"It's one stop shopping," another of their happy customers proclaimed as she loaded up on baked goods and veggies.

Several customers wanted the recipe for Nancy's Raspberry Maple Walnut Bread.  "We should write a commune cookbook," she said to Cat.  "When we have any time..."  Cat didn't have a chance to reply because two young men were squabbling over the last of the carob mint cupcakes.

At night Luna and Dan counted up the money from the two stands.  "Hey," Luna said, "even including our food, water, and heating bills, and the electricity and the mortgage, we're still making enough money to give everybody a small allowance."

Everyone thought the allowance was a good idea, but no one had a chance to spend it. Each day, it was more crops, more vegetables, more baked goods, more sales, and more money. And lots and lots of work.

"Do you get a vacation when you work at a commune?" Cat asked Nancy as they were sweating in the kitchen, baking on a warm summer morning.

"Sure," said Nancy, wiping her brow.  "But I think we won't have time to have time off until October."


     "And we'll do better, even better, as soon as we're able..."

When Ralph and Ed turned up, a week later, on one of their periodic visits, they got pressed into service, carting vegetables from the fields to the farm stand.

"Where's Dan?"  Ed asked Sal when they got to the stand.

"I know I left him around here someplace," she said.  She looked around and saw a pile of eggplant moving ever so slightly.  She and Ralph reached in and extracted Dan from the pile.

"And where's Stan?" Ralph asked.

"Now that's a very good question," Sal said.

Viv and Luna were checking on the progress of some of the squashes.  None of them were quite mature but there were a lot of them on the way.

"I can't believe how fertile the soil here is," Viv said.

"I attribute it all to prayer--and horse manure from a riding ranch in the next town," Luna said.  "It's sort of the way that they did it at Hornfind in Scotland."

Just then Ed and Ralph came back with their carts.

"You got some more for us?" Ed asked.

"I think that's it for now," Luna said.

"Dan said we need more carrots and peppers.  He said they're about sold out."

"Sorry, but nothing else is ready."

"We're going to have to grow even more stuff next year," Viv said.

"Yeah," said Luna.  "Absolutely."  She pointed out to Viv and Ralph and Ed where she hoped the commune would have another field for vegetables, and where she planned to put in the apple, peach, walnut, and hazelnut trees, along with the strawberries, and raspberries, and high bush blueberries, and...

Dinner that night was real quiet.  Everyone, including Ralph and Ed, seemed to be too exhausted to talk.

Afterwards, when the meal was being cleared up and sleeping arrangements for the night were being figured out, there was a knock on the door.

Stan opened it.  Outside were the county sheriff and two deputies.

"Can we come in?"  the sheriff asked.

Chapter Five: The Farm Has Visitors

   "The visitors checked out, leaving no doubt, to help with the commune's survival..."

Sal grew up in Ithaca (town motto: 'Ten square miles, surrounded by reality').  Nancy, on the other hand, grew up in the rural south.  Her best friend as a child had been a girl who lived down the road, Amanda Cody.  Nancy was astounded when she received a call from her old friend one day when she was working in the kitchen.

"Amanda's coming here," she said to Sal a little later.  "I haven't seen her since I was twelve."

"Do you think she's changed much?" asked Sal.

"I'll know soon."

Luna also got a call.  From her mother.

"Mom wants to see the place," she said to Dan.  "I told her she could stay here for a few days if she wanted.  I think she just needs to get away from my dad for a while."

"I can't see that will be a problem. We haven't had very many visitors here.  It will be a nice change to have some different folks around."

Amanda took the bus north.  Nancy picked her up at a terminal in the state capital.  Nancy barely recognized Amanda.  Her skinny little childhood chum was now tall and full figured.  Her eyes looked bloodshot and her hair was an shiny shade of bleached blonde with very dark brown roots.

"You haven't changed a bit," Nancy said.

"You neither," Amanda replied.  She turned her head as she coughed a couple of times and then said, "Northern living must agree with you."

Nancy put Amanda's two suitcases in the trunk and they drove back to the farm.  Amanda barely said a word to her on the drive, just fiddling with her purse as they rode along.

When they got to the commune, Amanda excused herself for a few minutes.  Nancy spotted her behind the left farmhouse, puffing on a cigarette.

Amanda saw that Nancy had seen her.  "Don't start," she said.  "I hear it enough from my sisters."

Luna's mother arrived a half hour after Nancy drove in with Amanda.

"Doesn't this look nice," she said to Luna.  "And who are all your friends here?"

Luna introduced her mother to Sal and Nancy and Amanda and Dan and Stan and Cat.  Sal and Nancy excused themselves to get dinner on the table.   Shortly after that, everyone sat down to the meal together.  They were almost done eating when Ralph and Ed arrived.

"Did we come at a bad time?" Ed asked.

"No," said Luna.  "Not at all.  I've been wondering what it would be like with a lot of people here."

"Well, you're in luck," said Cat.  "I have four friends from Eastie on the way over."


     "Cat said, Luna come meet the gang..."

Sure enough, less than an hour later, a green van pulled up next to the Rabbit.

Four folks got out.  The introductions took up the next twenty minutes.

Darren, Vivian, Marge, and Steve had lived downstairs from Cat in a triple decker a quarter mile from the airport.

"Wow," said Marge.  "I've been here a half hour now and I haven't heard any planes land yet."

Soon there were all sorts of conversations going on.  It turned out that Ed and Stan knew Darren from fairy gatherings and Vivian had always wanted to live at Old Corn.

At one point, Luna realized that Steve had disappeared.  Amanda didn't seem to be around either.  When she wandered around the property, she spied them both behind the farmhouses, smoking. Together.

The dinner kept being extended to feed folks as they arrived, but fortunately, clean up was easy with so many people.  Everyone was getting along but Luna's big worry was that there wouldn't be enough rooms for them all to sleep in.  She needn't have fretted.

Luna ended up sleeping with Marge, Dan slept with Stan, Amanda slept with Steve, Darren and Ralph and Ed all slept together, and Vivian, Sal, and Nancy all slept together.  Luna's mother slept by herself and Cat also slept alone.

The next day everyone pitched in with chores.  Luna's mom helped with the baking, Vivian and Darren helped Luna in the fields, Marge helped Dan and Sal build a new farm stand for the produce, and Amanda and Steve seemed to be helping Stan with something, although no one else had a clue what it was.  Things at the commune never seemed so productive.

The meal that night was a feast.  Produce was starting to come in and there were baked goods galore on the table.

"I like it here," said vivacious Viv.

"Hey," said Dan, "we can sure use more people.  Welcome aboard."

"You did a great job working with me," Luna said.  "And I think we really do need more help with farming in the fields."

"Well, good," Viv said, "I don't have much stuff.  Marge and Darren can bring most of what I own the next time they visit."

The sleeping arrangements that night were pretty much the same as the ones the night before except Luna slept with Stan and Dan slept with Marge.

The next morning was a busy breakfast. Most of the folks were leaving soon after.

"I'll tell your father that you're still alive," Luna's mother said.  "For some reason, he thinks the commune is going to kill you, but I'm just glad you're having a good time."   She hugged her daughter and drove off.

Lots of other people were hugging, too.  Slowly the visitors got into their vehicles.  Marge and Darren drove back to Boston.  Ralph and Ed yelled, "We'll be back," before they drove off.

And Steve and Amanda were getting in a last cigarette before Nancy quickly herded them into her car and took them to the bus station.  Anyone not paying close attention might have thought that they disappeared in a puff of smoke.

And life on the commune began to settle down again.