Everyone—including Ginny—froze in stunned silence. It was a cow. A large, muddy, yellow cow.
Ginny blinked, as if hoping she had misheard me. “Tom… what did you just call that animal?”
I didn’t even acknowledge her. Instead, I leaned down and gently kissed the cow’s face.
“What would you and our daughter like to eat tonight?”
“Tom!” Ginny’s voice was practically a snarl. “I sent you to the ranch to heal for a month—and this is what I get in return? You pretend to be crazy and call a beast your wife to disgust me?!”
Under her furious gaze, I calmly filled a basin with warm water and knelt beside the cow, tenderly washing its feet.
“You've been working in the fields all day. You're covered in mud. If I don’t get you clean, you’ll dirty the bed again tonight.”
A collective gasp rippled through the crowd of relatives and friends.
“Ginny,” one of them whispered, “I think something’s really wrong with Tom. This doesn’t look like an act…”
Ginny took a deep breath, trying to steady herself. “Tom, stop it. If something’s wrong with your health, I’ll take you to the doctor right now.”
The moment the word doctor was mentioned, Steve stepped forward to block her.
“Let’s not rush into that, Ginny. Tom’s been eating fresh dairy, organic vegetables, breathing clean air and living in total peace and quiet here at the ranch.”
“Sure, he’s been a little isolated. But it’s only been a month. Tom… don’t act out like this anymore. If you keep going, people will only laugh at you—and at Ginny.”
Ginny nodded in agreement with Steve. “Exactly. It’s only been a month. I don’t believe anything could happen in such a short time that would drive someone completely insane—especially not here. This place is like paradise, untouched and peaceful.”
But even as she spoke, her expression darkened, inch by inch. “Tom, I’m giving you one last chance. If you insist on clinging to this madness, then fine. Stay here. Stay at this ranch forever—with that animal.”
And at her words, Steve—hidden from everyone’s view—flashed me a triumphant smirk, his lips twitching upward with satisfaction. But I didn’t react. I didn’t even look at him.
Ginny quickly lost what little patience she had left.