I’ve never liked going into the cornfield behind my house. Maybe I’ve seen too many horror movies or maybe I’m afraid I’ll get lost in it. Either way, I’ve tried to stay clear of going in. My dad on the other hand loves our corn field, I think that was the main reason why he bought this house.
The house is unmemorable to say the least. White siding, black door, no features made it stand out. Even the inside was particularly run-down and outdated, cabinets were falling off the hinges, the wood floors had more scratches and scuffs than I could count, and the walls had random partially patched-up holes. It was a fixer-upper, and I just couldn’t believe my dad wanted to buy it. He just divorced my mom a couple of months ago and I decided to live with him. My mom obviously didn’t take it well, but I got along with him so much better while my mom was the polar opposite of me. For me, it was a no-brainer, but she didn’t see it that way.
While I wasn’t too thrilled of the house he bought, I was at least happy that I could live with him. Now that I think about it, he probably bought this fixer-upper because he needs to keep his mind off her (he didn’t ask for the divorce) and with the thousands of changes this house needs, it gives him something to occupy his mind with.
He’d spend hours fixing the place, especially during the winter. We moved in October, so he spent the whole winter and early spring fixing the inside of the house. Practically every day as he renovated the inside of the house, he talked about how excited he was to get outside in the summer.
A few months later, I heard slight knocking on our screen front door and saw a short lady with bright white hair staring back at me. I propped the door halfway and looked down at her hands which held a plate of cookies. I smiled as she said, “These are for you, honey.”
“Oh, thank you.” I took the plate from her and ushered her inside, seeing as it was bitterly cold outside.
“I’m Lucy, I wanted to introduce myself. I would’ve sooner but I figured it would take a bit to settle in. We haven’t gotten a new neighbor in a while, so I wanted to check in and see how the move is going.”
I sighed, thinking about how much work was put into this house over the last few months.
“Was the house a fixer-upper?” She smiled.
I nodded and replied, “Sure was. We’ve spent hundreds of hours fixing the inside.”
“I’m not too surprised by that, the family that lived here before you were raising hellions.” She winked. “But it looks like you all have done a fine job fixing it up.” She took a look around before heading towards the door.
“Well, thanks for bringing those cookies.”
“No problem! I take it it’s just you two then?”
“Yeah, just us two.” I exhaled and held the door open for her.
“Oh, before I go, I’ve been meaning to ask, will you and your dad make a corn maze this year?”
“A corn maze?”
“Yeah, a maze. Previous owners here used to make one every year for the fall. Just a thought. Anyway, remember to save a few for him, I’ll see you around.”
My dad came home a few hours later and I relayed the message back to him.
“One of our neighbors stopped by and introduced herself to me.”
My dad put the newspaper down. “I was wondering where the plate of cookies came from. Lord knows you have the same baking skills as your mother.” He winced at his own statement before saying, “So, what did she say?”
“She lives a few houses down and was talking about if we were going to make a corn maze this year.”
He narrowed his eyes, “A corn maze?”
“That’s what I thought too. Apparently, the previous owners did, and she was wondering if we were going to keep up the tradition.”
My dad looked a little shocked at this point and muttered, “I don’t even have any equipment to do it this year.” He continued grumbling under his breath, nervousness rising in him before I suggested, “We could do it next year, they should give us a grace period since we just moved in.” My dad’s nervousness dissipated as he nodded at that idea.
Over the next few months my dad was committed to learning how to create a corn maze. He first started by buying a tractor (a large one at that) and tried to figure out how to use it. Then he decided to draw out what he wanted the corn maze to look like. Since it was his first attempt, he decided to make it small, and he bought a drone to make sure he mapped it out correctly so people could get out.
He spent every hour after work and on the weekends to create the best corn maze, to the delight of our neighbors. Lucy brought her grandkids for Halloween that year and they absolutely loved it, which sparked my dad to go bigger and better the next year.
With the success of the first one, the local TV station (we live in a small town) followed my dad’s story throughout the summer while he was making the new maze. He was always so nervous to do the interviews, but he kept getting press for the field. Before it was even open, we would get teenagers and families asking for a sneak peek, which my dad denied as he didn’t want to give anyone an “advantage” of knowing parts of the field.
The second year we had a huge crowd, bigger than we could’ve ever expected. Kids in various costumes would run around the maze and my dad was the happiest I have ever seen him, well, that is until my mother showed up. She seemed to have a habit of showing up at the worst possible moments, and that day was no different. I saw her first, awkwardly standing off by herself, sticking out like a sore thumb as the only person without a costume. I reluctantly walked up to her and took her over to our front porch, hoping I could convince her to leave before my dad saw her.
“What are you doing here?”
“Is that any way to greet your mom?” She scolded me, infamously putting her hand on her hip as she always did when we fought.
“Haven’t seen you in over six months, I think that’s a warranted reaction.”
She rolled her eyes and replied, “Everybody has been sending me videos and articles about this little maze your father has made so I thought I’d check it out myself.”
“You really think that’s a good idea? After all you’ve put him through?”
She frowned. “I’m not sure what you mean.”
“Are you serious?” She gave me a blank look and in that moment I realized she truly didn’t understand the weight of her actions or was just being hurtful. “Stay inside until everyone leaves, alright? No sense in riling him up now.” She almost objected until I shot her a look and she stayed silent and headed inside. My dad came in a few hours later after our neighbors and other families had left. He flung open the door and had the biggest grin on his face before he looked up and saw my mother sitting on the couch beside me.
“Lori…” He paused; his eyes shot towards me before meeting hers again.
“Hey, Dylan.”
He took off his coat and placed it on the kitchen table before walking over to sit down in his beat-up recliner. “Been a while, Lori.”
“Heard about your maze and had to come see it for myself.” He nodded, lips pursed in a tight line, his face reddening as he tried to keep his composure.
“Was that the only reason?” He asked. Even after all of the hurt she has caused, I could still tell he cared for her more than he wanted to. While my mom certainly didn’t see what he was trying to ask, I knew my dad was hoping there was something still between them.
But that question was quickly answered when she replied, “Haven’t seen my daughter in a while, figured it was about time to pay a visit and check in to see how you two were doing.”
“We’re managing just fine.” He cleared his throat and glanced over at me. “Maggie, sweetie, would you mind going to your room while I talk to your mom?” I nodded and headed towards my room, knowing it was best to leave them to hash it out. Which they did, as their raised voices carried down the hallway every once in a while. The next morning, I woke up and my dad was already watching the news, sipping on a cup of coffee, looking more exhausted than I had ever seen him.
“Sleep okay?” He asked.
“Looks like I should be asking you that.” He chuckled and took a long sip from his steaming cup.
“Long night.” He finally replied. I sat down on the couch next to him and he turned down the volume of the TV.
“Mom didn’t spend the night?” Even though my dad was still rightfully furious at my mom, I knew she most likely weaseled her way into letting her stay the night to avoid wasting money on a cheap nearby hotel.
“Nope, she left a while after you went to bed.”
“So, like usual I’m not getting a goodbye from mom?”
“Doesn’t seem like it.”
His eyes drooped slightly, almost spilling his cup of coffee before I asked, “Did you enjoy last night?”
His face lit up, the previous exhausted look on his face gone as he excitedly replied, “I sure did. Been thinking of buying more land, make it even bigger next year.”
“You should, everybody enjoyed it last night, including me.” His smile widened.
“Are you liking it here? I know we moved suddenly, but I guess I’ve never really asked you.”
“Yeah, I do.” He narrowed his eyes. “I’m not just saying that, dad. I promise. Now, why don’t you go back and get some sleep? Clearly the coffee isn’t doing much for you.” He chuckled and agreed, shuffling back to his room while I decided to clean up the maze. I figured there would be dozens of scattered candy wrappers and solo cups lying around, and if I didn’t clean it up, they would probably stay there until my dad made his next maze. Besides, I needed to distract myself from the phone call I knew my mom was going to make, apologizing for leaving without telling me.
I threw my coat on and headed out there, the chilly breeze on my skin made me determined to pick the trash up as fast as possible. The corn was tall, and after getting through what I assumed to be halfway through the maze, I realized I probably should’ve brought my dad’s map from inside so I wouldn’t get lost. I have never been good at mazes, and after circling the same route twice, I don’t know why I thought going in was a smart idea. Finally, after what had to be nearly half an hour, I followed the muddy footprints and found a route I hadn’t taken yet.
Surprisingly, I still hadn’t heard from my mother, even though I’d felt a few phantom buzzes. By now, I’m guessing she decided to go with the more impersonal route and is debating on crafting a subpar text. At this point, I knew my dad was worried about where I was, so I rushed through grabbing the rest of the trash. I reached down to grab a Twix wrapper when I saw some freshly shoveled mud hidden within the corn stalks. I narrowed my eyes and inched closer and saw something bright blue poking out of the dirt. I picked it up and brushed off the dirt and realized it was a shattered phone, more specifically my mothers.