Chapter Text
Her rucksack was shaped like a chicken.
Of all the things Shane’s eyes could catch of the new farmer, it was that rucksack. Its round white body, black, beady eyes, and smiling beak. The outside looked soft, as if it were made of cashmere. Not very helpful in the rain, but an attractive little pack that surely held the wearer’s personality (along with perhaps a season’s worth of assorted seeds).
That’s what he saw. And then farmer girl was gone, back towards the bus stop.
Shane peeked at his watch. He had to pick up his pace if he wanted to make it to work on time, the chicken distraction costing him his extra couple minutes. He grumbled to himself.
What he wouldn’t give for a pack like that. Soft, so he could pet it when he felt down. A nice rucksack like that.
꧁ ꧂
“Oi, Gus! Another pint of your strongest!”
The rumble of Pam’s inebriated calling bounced off the walls of the Stardrop Saloon, not particularly bothering anyone with the noise. Anyone who’d lived in Pelican Town for a length of time and visited the Saloon was very aware of Pam and her soirees. Ever since she lost her job, it was a nightly occurrence as commonplace as checking one’s mailbox. Just another bar guest.
Shane watched her from the other end of the counter, gulping his own beer. He’d grown concerned as to how quickly he could pound these down lately. What was changing, exactly? His job? No. Same old Joja Co., dismal as ever. His living situation? He couldn’t think of any reason why he’d be more sensitive to living with his aunt Marnie and Jas than before. It wasn’t the ritz or anything, but it was a home, and it was a family. Then what? Shane huffed and shook his head. Another swig of the good stuff. He’d contemplate it when he crawled into bed later.
For the moment, he was drawn out of his haze by an interesting development.
A personal sized pizza was nudged his way, by a hand with baby pink nails. Shane made a confused hum in his throat and glanced past the full plate. His eyes narrowed.
“Oh… you’re the new farmer.”
The young girl nodded with a small smile. Her blonde hair was falling out of the braids she had done up, giving away the hard work she’d put into the field all morning. And she still had her rucksack. It was deflated compared to before, all the contents having been taken out during her planting. Her cheeks were red. Being a busy city girl and not getting much sunlight, sunscreen must have been as foreign as this whole town was for her.
After giving her a once over, Shane set his beer down and crossed his arms.
“Look, I’ve had a long day. I’d like to enjoy my drink here. Alone.”
The farmer nodded sympathetically.
“I understand. That’s for you, by the way.” She gestured to the pizza. “My name is Eden. It’s nice to meet you.”
As Eden hopped from her bar stool and over to Gus to pay her bill for the evening, Shane’s jaw remained open, and his eyes couldn’t muster the energy to blink. A… gift? From someone he’d never spoken to before? And not only that, but she also bought him dinner and he’d given her the equivalent of a middle finger in return. Fantastic.
Shane chewed his bottom lip as he thought. He felt an unpleasant warmth in his head. He couldn’t have been drunk already; it was only seven o’clock. He held his cheeks in his hands until he decided to give up and sighed heavily in defeat.
He reached out for a slice of his pizza, only to be met with a gentle slap on the wrist from the barmaid.
“Shane,” Emily scolded. “I saw what you just did.”
Shane rolled his eyes. “And?”
“She’s brand new to town. She doesn’t have that much money to her name. She spent a lot on that pizza for you, and you chased her away. That’s not very nice.”
“She didn’t say it was for me when she came over, first of all,” Shane pushed himself away from the counter as he spoke. “And I’m not in a good mood. Even if I could show my appreciation, I don’t want the company right now. I’d only hurt her feelings, at best.”
He held a fist in front of his mouth, as if he was going to start coughing. When Emily looked over, she could have sworn that his cheeks were turning pink. She frowned. “I’ll get you a to-go box for that.”
꧁ ꧂
Every day bled into the next. Same walk to work, same shelf stocking, same cold ale at the same Stardrop Saloon.
Shane figured out weeks ago that it was probably the monotony killing him almost as much as the alcohol. Luckily, he had a small twist in his schedule caused by a certain farmer girl.
Eden sat at a table close to the jukebox, chatting with Leah and Elliott. From what Shane could see, they were enjoying their conversation. He felt his face contort so he hid his expression by pinching his nose until it relaxed. He could hardly enjoy the beer that Eden had so graciously covered for him because he was still embarrassed that he’d lashed out at her again. And, just like the first time she’d spoken to him, his abrasiveness didn’t seem to bother her. Emily got on his case for that one as well.
“You’re so brittle to her, Shane.” Emily chastised.
“Why won’t you leave me alone? My social life is none of your business.” Shane glared at the barmaid. “You’re not my mom.”
Emily burst into a giggle. “No, but I’m sure Marnie has had many a conversation with you about being a good person to others!”
Dammit.
Emily watched Shane slouch over onto a barstool. She removed his glass to refill it at the tapper and slid him the frothy beer. He almost didn’t catch it. Emily took a sip of her water in pause.
“Hey! It’s your birthday tomorrow, isn’t it?” She piped up, her wild red eyes gleeful. “What do you say we throw you a little party?”
Despite the gruff sound he gave, Shane’s shoulders relaxed, and his expression softened. “I mean… do people our age still get birthday parties?”
“We’re both turning thirty this year, that’s not old at all! And we’re never too old to celebrate another great year ahead, anyway.” Emily grinned at her prickly friend. “Who knows? Maybe thirty is your year.”
“My year, huh…”
That night, under the covers, with the moonlight in his eyes and questions in his head, Shane found it very difficult to sleep.
꧁ ꧂
“Happy birthday, Uncle Shane!”
Blinding sunbeams and the face of a child high on excitement dragged Shane out of his rest. He blubbered and shook the sleep away, bringing Jas in for a tight hug as he straightened up in his bed. He chuckled into her hair.
“Aw, thanks, Jas. It’s already a good morning thanks to you.”
Jas practically glimmered. “Aunt Marnie and I have a surprise for you! Hurry up and get dressed!”
The little girl made a mad dash for the kitchen and shut the door just as quickly when she left. Shane rubbed the back of his neck. He didn’t want to get stuck in another bout of brain fog and keep his goddaughter waiting, so instead he opted for yanking himself out of bed and throwing on the outfit closest to him. It wasn’t necessarily what he’d consider “special birthday boy” attire, but it wasn’t sloppy either. A simple olive colored long-sleeve shirt and black cargo shorts.
Well, at least Marnie seemed pleased with him.
“Good morning, Shane!” She chirped, holding out a loosely wrapped box. “Happy birthday!”
Shane felt the corners of his mouth turn up at the gift. “Come on. You guys didn’t have to.”
“It was my idea!” Jas bounced around her godfather. “Open it up, please!”
“Let him sit down first, Jas! I’ll get you some coffee while you have at it.” Marnie gave Shane a pat on the shoulder before she began situating the coffee maker.
Shane set the present down on the dining room table. He eyed it curiously. What could they have possibly gotten him that he couldn’t buy for himself? He was a simple guy. There wasn’t much that he wanted. Feeling Jas’s big blue eyes locked onto him, he decided to stop guessing and start ripping some wrapping paper. When he got to the box underneath, Jas inched close enough to rest her chin on the table. Shane dipped his thumbs into the flaps of the box and slowly pulled them apart.
His breath caught in his throat.
In the gift box was a white baby chick. It was so small, so fluffy, it couldn’t have been more than a couple weeks old. Admittedly, compared to the chicks Shane had seen Marnie raise in their coop, this one looked almost like a runt. He smiled down at it as it peeped at him.
“She’s so cute… she’s really mine?”
Jas nodded vigorously. “She’s yours! She has her own little bed in the coop and everything!”
Marnie placed a nice big mug of coffee next to her nephew. She rubbed the chick’s tiny head with a finger. “Do you want to name her?”
“I’m on the spot already?” Shane laughed. “You know… I think I’ll name her Charlie.”
“Charlie,” Marnie nodded. “I’ll bring her to the yard to stretch her legs in a bit. You have one more present, though.”
“Oh?” Shane had already gotten distracted holding his new buddy. Jas brought him another box, this one a very light pink with a card on top. The card read simply, ‘Happy birthday Shane; made with care. From Broken Brook Farm’.
Broken Brook… Shane flushed. Eden? He couldn’t imagine when she’d dropped this off, considering her packed farming schedule. He nudged the folding lid up. Inside was a dark chocolate cake, absolutely flooded with fudge icing. It had cherries placed around the edges, and on top was the image of a hot pepper drawn in more icing. The blush on his cheeks exploded red. He could almost feel the steam puffing from his ears.
“Ah, so it was a cake? She didn’t tell me what was in it, just that I should put it in the fridge until today!” Marnie eyed the cake over Shane’s shoulder. “Eden made that for you. Maybe if she’s at your party later, you can thank her.”
“That was so nice of her.” His voice was almost inaudible. “After all that I…”
“What was that, Shane?”
“Nothing, nothing. I’ll thank her when I see her. Save the cake for later so she sees me eating it, okay?”
꧁ ꧂
The party started around five, in the front yard of Marnie’s Ranch. Quite a few of the townspeople came out that evening to Shane’s surprise. Only Emily and Leah brought gifts, but that wasn’t a bother. No one else knew Shane that well aside from enjoying a beer and a pizza.
Emily gave him an older video game that he’d been after for ages but couldn’t ever find. The look on his face when he unwrapped the cartridge was as priceless as Emily had hoped.
“How did you find this? You have to tell me your secrets!”
Emily giggled. “I’ll send you the website link later. They had a lot that you’d be interested in, actually.”
Leah’s gift had Shane flushed again, mostly because it just seemed so fancy. A little wrapped wicker basket with a bottle of homemade plum wine, cake bites, and organic pepper poppers.
“I hope you like it, Shane! Elliot chipped in with the wine as well, though he couldn’t come out tonight because-“
“He’s busy writing. Whoever sees him first can tell him no worries.” Shane and Leah exchanged a laugh and wandered over to the dock by the lake.
The water was still chilly, not quite warmed up enough from winter. Shane pulled off his sandals and dipped his feet in anyway.
“Thanks for coming, Leah.” He smiled at her as she sat beside him. “It’s nice to see you. Y’know, when we’re not at the saloon.”
Leah nodded. “I thought it would be fun. I see you almost every night, but I don’t know you as well as I should by now. That’s what I feel, anyway.”
“That’s… really nice of you. I’m surprised that you wanted to get to know me at all considering how I stick to my little corner in the shadows.”
“Everyone is a different kind of nut to crack.” Leah tapped the surface of the water with her fingers, sending little ripples over to Shane’s legs and out into the lake until they disappeared. She paused for a moment, then pushed herself up to stand. “You have your reasons for keeping to yourself. But in the future, if you wanted to of course, you’re always welcome to visit me.”
“Sure. Thanks again for coming.”
Shane watched as Leah made her way down the lake’s edge, back towards her cabin. He let out a relieved sigh when she was out of sight. Not that he didn’t enjoy himself, and the company, but it all became exhausting after a while. He wasn’t used to it.
He popped open one of the beers that had been nestled in his sweater pocket. The cool spring air ruffled his hair with the sway of the trees. He felt a little guilty about leaving the party, but he reasoned that it was past eight in the evening and his friends would be heading home soon anyway. For now, he needed that moment of calm before he crashed for the night.
“There you are… can I join you?”
Shane nearly launched himself from the dock with how high he jumped. He didn’t expect anyone to have followed him, but this wasn’t someone that he saw at the party.
Eden crouched at his side. Her smile was serene. Even so, Shane had the initial instinct to yell at her, question why she was so close, and demand she leave him be. He felt a shift instead and cracked a small smile in return.
“Hi, Eden. You’re here late, aren’t you?”
The farmer hummed in her throat. She adjusted herself to sit and dunk her bare feet into the water, making an annoyed sound when she realized that she hadn’t rolled her overalls up beforehand. “I’ve been here the whole time, actually. I was helping Marnie in the kitchen.”
The whole time? He hadn’t seen her at all, with the party being outside. Shane’s jaw dropped again, and he groaned in embarrassment. Now he really felt like a fool. An insensitive fool.
“You’ve been so… nice to me. And I’ve acted so badly in return. I’m in a really terrible spot, but I shouldn’t have said or done all the things I did.”
Eden hesitated before placing a hand on Shane’s back. She patted gently while she spoke. “I never took any of it to heart. You always look sad, so I was just trying to help take your mind off whatever’s bothering you. I hope I didn’t cross any boundaries.”
That hit Shane in a horribly soft spot. He bit his lip, hoping that Eden couldn’t see. In a moment of uncertainty about how to handle this foreign feeling, he reached back into his pocket for a second beer and held it out to the farmer. She took it and opened it without a word, gulping it down. Shane chuckled.
“Hey, hey. You’re not on death row or anything.” He nudged the can away from Eden’s lips. “It’s cute that you wanna chug it like a champ, but it’s still a terrible habit.”
Shane sighed deeply. Looking at Eden up close, even with the minimal light of the moon and fireflies, he could see such childlike joy and ambition on her face. He remembered hearing that she was an office administrator at Joja Co., clearly his superior. But more than that, she understood the monotony. The day after day grind in that titan of a corporation. He couldn’t imagine what she felt like knowing there was a branch in Pelican Town. Did it upset her that Shane, too, was stuck in that cycle? That he couldn’t escape as easily as she did? Shane didn’t know. And he found himself too nervous and tongue-tied to ask, as if bringing up Eden’s old life was off limits. Regardless, he cleared his throat and brought his gaze down to the water.
“There’s a lot that bothers me, Eden.” He murmured. “I feel like I’m not going anywhere. Like I won’t ever be able to make anything of myself. I’m getting older now, and I don’t have much to show for it. I know 30 isn’t that old but… it still feels like all the time I have is slipping away and I’m stuck in place watching it.”
Eden kept her hand where it was on Shane’s back. She didn’t feel like she should say anything, and instead rubbed small circles to comfort him while he vented.
“But you? Look at you. I think I was jealous when I heard about you. I still am, if I’m being honest. You’re young and have this whole farm to work on and improve. You HAVE something. I want something like that. Something to be proud of.”
“You have to understand that you have plenty of time, Shane.” Eden finally spoke up. Her tone was a tad distressed. “Without my grandfather leaving me this land, I’d still be working under Joja. Living with my parents, and not going anywhere. You’ll have your break too.”
Shane’s eyes widened. His mouth tried to push out something coherent, but nothing came. There was a smidge of Eden’s character that was illuminated for him in that moment. She was kind to everyone now because she’d suffered, she’d known what struggling was like, and couldn’t let it happen to anyone else. He felt confused. Guilty. His face wrinkled, and he stood from the dock. His knees cracked as he rose. He coughed in embarrassment and hoped that Eden didn’t notice.
“Thank you for talking with me, Eden.” Shane held out a hand to lift the young farmer with him. “I’ve been a real jerk to you.”
Eden smiled. A soft, glowing smile that made Shane flush red. “I understand. And I forgive you.”
Looking down to avoid her eyes, Shane caught her still holding her beer. He chuckled, a twinge of sadness in his throat. “Hey, kid. I know I let you have that tonight, but please don’t make a habit out of it. Okay?”
Eden’s smile only grew, and she let her hand slip from Shane’s as she trotted away into the dark.
Shane could still feel her warm hand in his own even after she disappeared from his sight. He hadn’t meant to keep her there. That thought only made him blush more. What was this feeling? He assumed that they were somewhat acquaintances now, after such a soul-bearing conversation. It felt… nice. Eden seemed to care for him a lot, for some reason that he couldn’t grasp yet.
The fireflies around him were the only thing giving away his red cheeks. It made him happy to know someone else was there for him. It would take him a while to adjust, for sure. Especially after being brittle for so long. But he knew that as much as he was afraid and unprepared for change, Eden started the ball rolling for a wonderful and necessary renewal in Shane’s life.
He gazed out at the lake for a few minutes more before turning around and making his way back home.