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Dawn felt as though they were getting the hang of farming at last. After they worked up the nerve to ask their uncle, Frank, for help, they could then manage to keep their potatoes alive long enough to harvest. However, several issues remained, and they all stemmed from one source: money, or perhaps a lack thereof. She could not expand her home to add a kitchen without it, she couldn't afford a cow to put in her barn, and having to buy more seeds usually put a bigger hole in her wallet than she'd like. Even dining at the Garden Grill with her new peers felt like a luxury.
Uncle Frank, out of concern, would invite Dawn over to eat to make sure they were getting enough meals during the day. Dawn would often help with preparing the dish to repay him, something he would normally not ask her to do. Overall, this was fine, as it helped Dawn practice for when she could finally get her own kitchen, and she'd rather it not get out that she'd otherwise be going hungry. Because that would be embarrassing.
One thing Dawn would soon learn was that word traveled fast around Westown.
She ventured into Westown one day to buy more seeds, and as she walked in the Straw Market door, Miranda smiled as usual... but something about it felt almost sympathetic.
"Aw, Dawn! Hiya!" she beamed. "Here to buy seeds again?"
"Yes'm," Dawn answered. "Could I get three packs of radish seeds?"
"Comin' right up!" Miranda answered, reaching for the seeds on a shelf behind her. Putting them in a bag, she handed it to Dawn. "That'll be 600G, dear!"
Dawn paid the total, waved, and was out on her way, but something stopped her as she was going through the door. First looking in her bag, she then turned to Miranda. "Um... Miranda, there's been a mistake..."
"Now, whatever do ya mean?" she asked.
"Well... there's four packs of seeds in here."
"Oops! Silly me," she replied with a giggle. "Just consider that one a bonus for bein' such a good customer."
"Oh... well, thank you very much," Dawn smiled.
"Anytime, dear!" Miranda said with a smile that felt too knowing.
Dawn felt strange about it, but she tried to convince herself that perhaps she was simply overthinking things. Sometimes you get things extra on accident, right? This is a thing that just happens sometimes, right? Next on her to-do list was paying a visit to the town doctor, Ford. For a part-time job, he needed someone to test a medicine he was working on, and as always with this type of job, Dawn felt she had nothing to lose. The familiar ring of the bell as Dawn opened the door alerted Ford, and he looked up from his desk.
"Ah, you're here for the test."
"Yup!"
"I implore you to take off your boots," he added. This was not a normal request he made. Dawn had trod through his office one too many times in muddy shoes, and he had to establish this rule for her specifically. She didn't even argue, leaving her boots outside the door and walking to the desk.
"So," she began, "what we got today?"
Ford pursed his lips at Dawn's loose grasp of grammar, then took out three small bottles, all of them slightly different from one another. "These are what I currently have safe to test. Pick one, if you please."
Dawn looked at the three, and their hand hovered towards one with a dark blue cap. They unscrewed the lid and downed the contents... and felt much more tired than when they first walked in.
"How do you feel?" Ford inquired.
"Exhausted..."
"I see," Ford said to himself, writing in a notebook. "So this particular mixture cut through your stamina significantly. My apologies, but I at least have this knowledge for the future." He made the finishing touches on his notes, left in a bookmark, and set it aside. He then reached for his wallet. "Thank you for your assistance, Dawn." Ford then set a bill in her hand. "This will be your pay for today."
Dawn looked at the bill, wide-eyed. "5....5000G? Did you, uh, grab the wrong bill?"
"No," he retorted. "It is correct."
"B-but last time I only got 1200... Ford, this seems like a bit much...."
Ford shook his head. "Do not read into it. This is valuable work that needs to be compensated. There's also the matter of this being the only type of bill I was carrying today."
"Well.... okay, makes sense to me!" Dawn smiled, though it did not at all to her. Nonetheless, she nodded and went to grab her abandoned muddy boots. "Thank you, Ford!"
"I hope to work with you again in the future."
"If I get paid like that, of course you will!" she laughed, exiting the building.
Ford only shook his head. As the farmer left, his shoulders slouched. He had been convinced Dawn would see right through his explanation, but perhaps she was as dense as he thought…
After doing a few deliveries, Dawn found she was in much worse shape than she thought. As she sat on the Westown steps to take a breath, it occurred to her that she had forgotten breakfast, and making the deliveries for Miranda and Wayne made the time pass more than she thought. Darn it , they cursed to themself. Late afternoon? Well, I guess I can see if Uncle Frank is home... They went to stand up, stumbling slightly, when they heard an angelic voice.
"Oh, goodness! There you are, Dawn!" exclaimed Carrie, hurriedly walking towards them.
Dawn turned to find Carrie, who quickly grabbed their hands to steady them. "Goodness, Dawn," Carrie began, "have you eaten at all today?"
"Oh, uh..."
" Oh Uh certainly ain't a yes," Carrie lectured. "Come now, why don't you sit for a bit in the restaurant and get out of this heat?" Dawn wanted to refuse, but Carrie's eyes told a story, and that story was the only place you're going is inside . Dawn acquiesced and followed her into the Garden Grill.
As she took a seat, she heard a call from the bar. "Hey, Dawn!" cheered Carrie's husband Brad, the restaurant chef. "What'll it be this evening?"
Dawn scrambled for the menu and looked for something, but the thought that swirled in her brain was how much everything cost. When she didn't give any sort of verbal acknowledgment, Brad asked again, snapping Dawn out of her stupor. "Um..... could I get today's special?"
"Good choice! Comin' right up!"
The special of the day was an omelette, but since it was cooked by a professional, it was certainly special. Dawn tried to enjoy it as she listened to Carrie chattering away, but all she could think of was the inevitability of the bill. With the payment from Ford, she knew she could pay for it, but she silently lamented being unable to get a cow.
Brad came over to check on the two of them after Dawn finished their meal. "Everything good over here, Dawn?"
"Absolutely," she answered. "It was really good, thank you!" They dug in their bag to get their wallet, but when she took it out, Brad waved his hand to dismiss it.
"Oh, no, don't worry about it," he said with a grin.
Dawn squinted. "What do you mean?"
Brad subconsciously squinted in response, not understanding Dawn's confusion. "It's on the house, Dawn! Since you've been working so hard."
Dawn could shake off most things that had happened today, but not this one. "No, Brad," she countered, taking the bill from her wallet and holding it out to him. "You provide a service, and I'm gonna pay you for it. Please, take this."
"The meal isn't 5000G, Dawn," he said, gently pushing Dawn's hand with the bill away.
"Well, you can break it, can't you???"
"There's no need," Brad insisted. "You're trying to buy that cow, right? Worry about that right now."
Something about that explanation made sense, but at the same time, not at all. Then, something in Dawn's brain finally clicked. Soberly, she looked at her bill, then back at the chef.
"I never told you that."
Brad faltered. "I... I didn't know it was a secret...."
"Who could have told you?" Dawn countered, despite knowing the response.
"Oh, that's right. Uh... your uncle told us." It had never occurred to Brad or Carrie that this would be an issue, but it became very evident when Dawn suddenly got out of her seat, smacking the bill onto the table.
"Keep the change," Dawn muttered, trying not to get upset. She then bolted from the door, and as it so turned out, she was very upset after all. She ran down all the steps in a huff to find her uncle, who would soon be found in the southern area of Westown. Sitting outside on his front porch playing guitar, the man grinned upon seeing her, and that grin quickly faded when he saw the distressed look on her face.
Frank set his guitar aside and stood up. "D-Dawn? What's the matter?"
"You told!!!! "
"Huh?!"
Throwing her hands down, she reiterated, "You told them I was broke !!!! You told them I couldn't even afford a cow !!"
Frank, awkwardly, added "Well, I didn't use the word even ..."
"WHY?!" Dawn demanded, nearing tears. "This is so embarrassing! Everyone is looking at me now like I'm pathetic! They pity me!"
"Now, that's not true..."
"Yes it is! And if my goddamn dad finds out everyone here is giving me stuff, he's gonna think I'm not capable---"
At that moment, Frank cupped his hands against Dawn's cheeks. "Dawn, that ain't it all." When the farmer finally stopped trying to argue, he let go of her face. "The folks here in Westown want t' help ya, but they ain’t pityin’ ya. Almost everyone here has been in yer place before."
"They... have...?"
"Sure have. Not everyone starts out havin' it all figured out."
"Not even Miranda...?"
"Nope, not even Miranda," Frank replied. "Or Ford, or Wayne, Lisette, Megan, or Brad... well, maybe Brad a little. But regardless, everyone here wants ta help ya, because that's what a good neighbor an’ friend does. It comes from a place of understandin', not pity."
Dawn mulled it over and then pulled her straw hat over her eyes.
"Now now, ain't no need ta do that," Frank assured. "What was it ya said the other day when you leapt away to rescue Wayne?"
"...I'm a part of that something."
"Right! This is just them lettin’ ya know yer indeed part of that somethin'." Frank tilted Dawn's hat upwards, sporting a frown when he saw Dawn's sad eyes. "Although... I do need ta apologize to ya. Intentional or not, I shoulda asked ya first before I talked about it. I never wanted t' embarrass ya..."
Dawn moved their hat away from their eyes. "I'm still a little upset, but I know you were coming from a good place, so I won't be upset long. And it took me so long to ask you for help because I thought my dad would find out..."
"I don't have ta tell my brother anythin'. Even then, yer just startin' out, an’ I don't think he'd penalize ya fer needin' help." Frank gave his big smile again, ruffling Dawn's hat on her head. "From now on, though, I'll only start runnin' my mouth if ya give me the okay. Okay?"
Dawn, wiping her eyes, was able to give a genuine smile of relief. "Okay."