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It had been difficult at first. The farm they bought was nothing more than bricks stacked on top of each other, with a roof that was half gone. It was all they could afford after their hastened leave. However, it was nothing some supplies, two pairs of strong hands and pure determination could not fix. Both men worked hard on their dream, the sweat pouring down their faces and backs as they build their home and made a dream reality. Together they slept under the stars on their stretch of land and together they went through the days, just like before, until a third man joined them.
Candy, though old and physically disabled, did his fair share of work. Now with two sharp minds to plot and three men at work their pace sped up, if only by a little. And one night, after some heavy arguing between George and Candy fueled by Lennie's high picked shrieks of panic, a set of extra hands were hired to lessen the strain.
Once the trio had a roof above their head and a door to knock on, they found Crooks at their doorstep with what seemed to be reluctance written on his face. The man of colour was met with an equal emotion at his arrival except for Lennie, who ignored his aloof behaviour and promptly insisted on showing him around their shared home. As time passed the group slowly warmed up to each other, learning and tolerating. And at last sharing, a room at night became less of an issue. Though they still had a long way to go.
Many months later. Now the four men, each limited in their own way, found themselves comfortably living together under one roof, each with a room to call their own. And despite having a frightened Lennie shuffle his way to George's bedside every single night -only to be brusquely sent away- the smaller man knew that his bigger companion was happy. Though, the latter had not stopped pestering him about the rabbits. The pasture and shack had been completed a while ago so it was about high time.
And that's why two of the men went into town the next morning. To Lennie, their destination was a mystery and he wanted nothing more than to go with George or at least know where they were going and when they were coming back. George thought he saw a glimmer of fear in his friend's eye but he decided not to dwell on it. They would be back in the afternoon anyway. It was not like he would just leave and abandon Lennie here. Even though he damn right could, George thought briefly.
Later, an old pick-up truck sputtered over the hill to their farm. George had not driven a vehicle in years, nor did he have the papers - yes, he would work on that- but he still knew how to safely get their fluffy cargo to their new home. George was pretty sure he saw tears in his friend's eyes when he spotted the tiny mammals.
He picked up one of the calmer rabbits and instructed Lennie to sit down in the pasture while they transported the other ones to their new home. The rabbits weren't as colourful as George had described in his story but they had all kinds of patterns and Lennie seemed too happy to care. Kneeling, George placed a male albino on Lennie's lap. "You gonna take good care of 'em, you understand?"
Lennie, who was first too occupied with his new fluffy friend eventually glanced up and said," Thank you, George."