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“Louis! It’s been a while!”
The sound of his name was startling. His hand twitched and he managed to singe his fingertips with the soldering iron. Despite doing this once a month, the pain was still unbearable. Louis popped his fingers into his mouth, momentarily forgetting how dirty they were. He turned in his seat and his heart filled with joy at the person calling out to him.
“Toy,” Louis said with warmth. “You’re a sight for sore eyes.”
He stood and reached out to shake Toy’s hand. Toy scoffed and pulled Louis into a tight hug. The familiarity of the action only served to warm Louis even further. He wrapped his arms tightly around Toy to try and squeeze him even harder. With how much more muscle mass he had than him, Louis certainly couldn’t come close.
Toy patted his back as he stepped away. “How’ve you been, man? When Lyla wrote to me that you were here, I almost thought she was lyin’.” He looked Louis up and down, tugging at his tie. “But, you’re here and you’re in one piece! You’re even still wearin’ this dumb tie.”
“Ha ha,” Louis laughed, removing his tie from his friend’s grip. “Yes, I am still in one piece.”
It had been years since Louis had last seen Toy. The last time they had seen each other had been when they packed everything and moved out of Leaf Valley. The valley was safe and wouldn’t be destroyed to build a Funland in its place. However, nature needed to thrive and officials thought it was best if no one lived there while it happened. They had all agreed with heavy hearts and scattered like dandelions in the wind. It surprised Louis when so many of his former friends ended up in Flowerbud Village.
Toy was the only exception. He didn’t know that Lyla was still in contact with him.
It was a shame. Louis had enjoyed Toy’s company back then. He wondered if his crush on him would have remained if they exchanged letters back and forth. Would things have developed between them if they did?
Such a silly thought was quickly discarded. There was no sense in dwelling on the past.
Louis rubbed his hands on his pants. “So, what brings you here, Toy?”
“Oh! Right—wait here a moment,” Toy answered.
He quickly ran out of the backroom of the Tools Shop. In moments, he returned carrying a large box. To Louis, it looked heavy but he was sure it weighed almost nothing to Toy.
“I’m getting married in a couple of months so I thought I would clear out my old shed,” Toy said. He completely ignored Louis’ dropped jaw as he placed it on the table. “I found a few things from when we took down Funland. Since you’re still inventing, I figured you might find some use for it.”
Louis turned his attention to the box. When he left Leaf Valley, there were a few things that he couldn’t take with him. His bigger inventions were dismantled and scrapped for a bit of extra cash. As much as it hurt to get rid of his favorite inventions, he needed money to survive. He did what he needed to. So, having a bit of his past come in this small box meant a lot to him. It meant a lot more than he could properly put into words for Toy to understand.
He stepped forward to open the box. Once he moved two of the flaps, Louis had to swallow down a scream at what he saw.
It was a horse’s head.
It only took Louis a few moments to realize it was robotic and things clicked in his head about where it came from.
“Was this from one of Funland’s machines?” Louis asked. He scooped the head out of the box and held it to his chest. It wasn’t as heavy as he thought it would be. “From their…which was it again? When they attempted to sabotage the horse races?”
“That’s it!” Toy rapped his knuckles against the metal head. “I thought it was a good way to annoy them by mounting the heads on my wall.”
Louis’ glasses slipped down the bridge of his nose. “You…you mounted them?”
“I did!”
Louis could only stare as Toy laughed loudly. He never thought someone he had known for so long could have such a sadistic side.
Toy’s laughter died down. “Anyway, I don’t think my husband would appreciate me having them around so…I figured you might have a better use of it.”
It touched Louis that, after all this time, Toy still thought of him. He never knew what happened to him when they all scattered. When he was doing odd jobs in the city, he occasionally thought of Toy and what he was up to. Knowing that he was doing well and that he was on his way to a happy life? Louis was happy about that.
“Thank you. This…It means a lot to me,” Louis said softly. He placed the robotic head down on the table and cleared his throat. “Well, what are you up to next? Do you have time to spare?”
“Well, I—”
“Louis!”
A crash came from the front of the Tool Shop. It managed to startle Toy but Louis? He had grown accustomed to such sounds since he first started working for the owner.
Louis willed his heart to still as the source of the sound stumbled into the back. Her ginger hair was sticking out in places, there were smudges of dirt on her clothes and face, and there appeared to be a hole in her shirt. In her arms were various ores that were even dirtier than her.
Even like this, Ann looked beautiful to him.
She stumbled to her workbench, placing the ores on top of it. “I had such a great day in the mines! I saw Amanda and Tim there and they helped me get deeper than I have ever been. Of course, I couldn’t carry all that I wanted since my bag was full. Amanda said she’d bring some by herself so we’ll have plenty to work with—oh. Who’s this?”
Louis had barely registered what she asked. He had been so focused in her rambling, clinging on to every word she said. Whenever Ann spoke of the mines or every project they worked on, she always had this sparkle in her eyes that he was drawn to. It was hard for Louis to look away and focus.
Toy cleared his throat. “Uh, Louis?”
It was only when Toy called his name that Louis snapped out of his reverie. He looked at one of his oldest friends and found that he had a mischievous grin on his face. This was a look he had worn often whenever Joe looked at Katie or whenever Gina looked at Dia.
If he was looking at Louis like that, it wasn’t a good sign.
“S-s-sorry, Ann,” Louis said. “This is Toy, he was the farmer from my old valley—”
“You’re from Leaf Valley?!” Ann asked excitedly. She stepped closer to Toy and took hold of his hand, shaking it enthusiastically. “It’s great to meet the farmer who helped save the valley. As disappointing as it is that you had to leave it, I’m glad it brought Louis to Flowerbud Village. He’s been a big help with my inventions and work. What are you doing out here?”
Toy glanced at Louis. “I’m here to visit a few old friends—and to drop off some of the old inventions Funland had made to try and stop us.”
One would think someone’s eyes couldn’t shine so brightly. But Ann’s eyes did when Toy mentioned the old inventions. “Really? Like what?”
Afraid that she would react in horror instead of excitement, Louis covered the robotic horse's head with his body. “N-n-nothing important! J-just some old—”
“Two robot horse heads among a few other things,” Toy answered for him.
“Really?!”
Ann released Toy’s hand and strutted to the box he brought. She peered inside and, there it was—that same sparkle in her eyes whenever she started a new project. Louis always adored seeing it whenever she was talking about what they should do next. He could vividly see it whenever he closed his eyes. He only hoped that one day that same sparkle would be towards him instead of the pieces of machinery they were soldering together.
She pulled out one of the robotic crows that Toy and Louis had taken down. Ann tugged at its loose wings, turning it upside down to look at all the mechanics that were used to create it. Louis stood by nervously and toyed with the end of his tie. Even though she had expressed genuine excitement, he was worried that she wouldn’t like it. She had never shown any disinterest in the stories and old blueprints he had shown her before. Ann always listened intently whenever he spoke about those days.
“Do you think we can get it to work again?” Ann asked. She turned to Louis, her eyes bright and shining. “What do you think we can recreate it to do?”
Louis felt his glasses dip down his nose. He stared at the blurry shapes of Ann and Toy, knowing fully well that his friend was still grinning. “I’m…I’m not sure how we can repurpose it. Do you…have any ideas?”
He always enjoyed giving Ann the floor on what they should do next. She was more eager than he was to share her ideas. Louis didn’t mind working beside her, but he was still working on showing her his inventions instead of simply talking about them.
Ann pursed her lip as she mulled the thought over. It was one of her cute little quirks that Louis found he adored. Toy cleared his throat and Louis pushed his glasses up to look at him. That same grin from before was on his face. It felt like he was in on a secret that he stumbled upon one day.
“I’m going to bother Gwen,” Toy announced. “I hear that she’s working at the Inn with her uncle, right? Time to see what she’s been up to all this time.”
Louis fumbled over his words. “O-oh, do you want me to t-take you—”
“Nah,” he said, waving his hand. “I’ll find my way to the Inn. It can’t be too hard.”
“I-if you’re sure…”
Ann was so lost in her thoughts that it was clear she hadn’t realized what was going on around her. Toy glanced at her and then back to Louis, his grin growing even wider. It spoke volumes even though Toy said nothing. Louis watched him with owlish eyes as he left the back room, waving a hand over his shoulder.
He prayed to the Harvest Goddess that he didn’t need to discuss the awkward topic with him. He prayed that Toy would leave before it happened.
“I got it!” Ann exclaimed.
Louis jumped from her suddenness. It nearly knocked his glasses completely off his face. He caught them in time and slipped them back on. Ann was beaming, holding the crow close to her chest.
“O-oh? What do you have in mind?” Louis asked.
Ann quickly moved over to her box of blueprints. She moved aside different ones that were not her target. Her hand gripped one that looked older than the others. Louis wondered if it was something she had worked on before he arrived in Flowerbud. He also wondered why she never brought it up before. It was a thought he quickly rid himself of. Ann had no obligation to show any of her old experiments—especially since he couldn’t do the same for her.
Tabling such a thought, Louis stepped closer to Ann when she started to spread out the blueprint she pulled. He frowned as he looked it over. It appeared to be a scarecrow with nothing else special about it. The longer he looked, though, the more he realized it was quite similar to a design he invented back in Leaf Valley. Louis was sure that he had never told Ann about it before. Even if he had, this blueprint looked to be much older than his length of time being in Flowerbud Village.
It amazed him how much alike they thought.
“Crows aren’t that big of a problem in Flowerbud, but they do tend to cause mischief in the Fall,” Ann explained. “Nina and Liz do what they can but they’re hard to deal with. Even Gwen tried to help but it hasn’t worked well.” She put the robotic crow down onto the blueprint. “Maybe we can build a scarecrow that can help deter crows in another way?”
Louis hummed. “It’s…possible. I must admit, I’ve come up with a similar idea back in Leaf Valley, but it was used to deter Funland’s robotic crows like that one…”
“Really?!” Ann gripped Louis’ arm tightly. “How come you never told me?! You never talk or show me any of your old inventions!”
He knew this and, now that Ann was bringing it up, it embarrassed him. “I just…didn’t want you to lose focus on your inventions…”
Ann blew a loud raspberry at that. “I don’t care, Louis! We’re a team—you should always be comfortable with showing me something you made.”
His heart skipped a beat. Even though Ann had said it before, it was always in the middle of her ramblings for her inventions. It would be brought up and then the conversation would go back to talking about what they were doing. Louis never saw it as anything malicious. Ann was an enthusiastic and passionate young woman in her field. He knew she couldn’t stop herself when she was in the zone, so to speak.
But when Ann said it this time, he believed it was indeed time for him to show her what he used to work on.
Louis took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I…think I have a few blueprints somewhere…”
Ann squealed. “Let me know the moment you find them! This is so exciting. We’re going to make such wonderful things together!”
He pushed his glasses back up his nose. Ann had already started talking animatedly about what they would create together. Seeing her talk so passionately warmed his heart. She was so eager to work with him. In Leaf Valley, he never had someone so interested in the process of his inventions. Toy would try to understand but there was always a dull look in his eyes. He tried and Louis appreciated him for it.
But Ann was a breath of fresh air. She enjoyed listening to the intricate details while he was soldering something together. Sometimes she would even bring up something that might improve it.
Ann was…
“…amazing,” Louis muttered.
Ann stopped and stared at him with wide eyes. There was a faint tint of pink on her cheeks.
He stared down at the floor. His scientific mind tried to come up with some sort of reasoning for it. Louis tried to pretend that he hadn’t called Ann amazing out loud.
But he did.
And she heard.
“Louis—”
“I have to go!”
Ann called after him, but Louis was already in the shop and heading out the door. What he had said bounced around in his head. Embarrassment trickled into his stomach and twisted it into knots. It made him feel sick and, when he reached Blue Sky Ranch, he feared he would vomit over the dirt path. He swallowed it down and bent over with his hands on his knees. Louis took in large gulps of breath. His saliva tasted sweet and he feared he would still throw up despite not wanting to.
The feeling passed and Louis forced himself to stand. He knew that when he returned to the shop, Ann would want to talk about this. When she did, he knew he wouldn’t be able to avoid any admission of his feelings. It wouldn’t have been the way Louis would have wanted to admit his attraction to her in such a way but it couldn’t be helped.
When Louis did return to the shop with his blueprints, Ann didn’t bring it up.
Three weeks had passed since that day. For the first few days, he expected Ann to bring it up. She never did and they worked together like nothing had happened. Ann still spoke enthusiastically about their robotic scarecrow. Louis didn’t feel like he was being treated any differently by her after he said she was amazing. Maybe she hadn’t heard him and was only asking him to repeat himself.
The nervous feeling ebbed away until it was barely a blip on his radar. Louis was content to be by Ann’s side, working on their inventions while manning the shop.
Louis pushed his welding mask up. “The Star Festival?”
He turned his attention to Ann. She was holding onto the next piece for him to weld onto their scarecrow. It was almost done and they had shown Liz and Nina the progress they had made. Both ladies were excited to use it when it was completed. Louis only hoped that things would go well when they started their testing.
With Ann’s question, it was throwing a wrench in their perfectly crafted schedule.
Ann tapped her finger against the metal. “Dad doesn’t want me to be in the house during it. He says I need some fresh air and the festival is the best time for it.” Her lips twisted into a frown. Louis could tell that she was having a hard time talking about this. “Everyone else is going with someone else so…”
Louis knew that wasn’t entirely correct. He knew that Bob and Blue weren’t going. A new calf was born and they needed to take care of it. If Ann asked, he suspected that either one of the men would agree to go with her. It was understandable why Louis had a hard time understanding her reasoning.
Shutting off his torch, he stood tall. “Well…we aren’t behind in our work, but going to the festival would result in that.”
“Not by much,” Ann said. “Even if we take the entire day off, it’ll only set us back by two days at the most. I don’t think Liz or Nina expect us to rush the work and make a crummy product.”
Louis smiled softly as he ran his hand idly over the torch. “No—you wouldn’t produce anything remotely crummy…”
There he went again—sticking his foot in his fat mouth, saying things he shouldn’t have. Louis could feel embarrassment settle into his stomach once again.
But Ann held her chin up with pride. “You’re right—I couldn’t.” Her ego deflated slowly and she lowered her chin to look at Louis head-on. “Well? Would you like to go with me?”
Louis’ heart fluttered, his throat became dry, and his stomach did a somersault. He could consider this a date. Anyone else Ann asked would have considered it as such. But Louis didn’t feel like he should since it didn’t seem right to make such an assumption.
But he couldn’t say no to her.
“I would be honored to go with you, Ann,” Louis answered.
There it was again—that sparkle in her eyes that could rival all the stars in the sky. She was so pretty to him.
“Then we should keep working so we’re not too behind schedule!” Ann held the piece of metal out to him. “Ready to get back to work?”
Louis smiled as he took the metal sheet. He was absolutely in love with her.
He had felt sick all afternoon.
Louis stood in front of the mirror, staring at his frazzled appearance. For the last ten minutes, he had been trying to decide if he wanted to wear his tie to the festival or not. This wasn’t a date so it didn’t matter if he wore it. Ann had seen him plenty of times with and without it. Wearing it wouldn’t have mattered much to her. She probably wouldn’t have noticed if he had it on or not. He tossed the tie into the sink, letting out a frustrated growl.
What was he even doing? This wasn’t a date. There was no logical reason for him to put so much effort into his appearance. Louis was a friend going with another friend to a festival because the friend’s father wanted her to get out of the house.
It didn’t matter what he wore.
It. Didn’t. Matter.
Taking a deep breath, Louis looked at his watch. Ann had left earlier to drop something off to Eve. She told him that they would be meeting in the square when it was time. He didn’t understand why she wouldn’t come back to the shop. They could walk together to the river and launch their boat. After that, they could have returned to the shop and continued working.
Louis didn’t think it was right for him to point that out.
He sighed. It was time.
Pulling himself away from the mirror and any more negative thoughts, Louis trudged through the shop and out the door. The roads were empty but noise drifted from the river. Families and couples were along the riverbank, setting their wishes down the stream. He wondered what they would wish for, wondered if they would lean into their partners and whisper to each other what they were. Louis also wondered if perhaps Michael was wishing for Ann’s happiness or for a chance to speak to his wife again.
Feeling the weight of his thoughts, Louis took the short walk to the square quickly. He expected Ann to be there waiting for him but she wasn’t around. He frowned as he looked at his watch. This was the right time they decided they would meet each other.
Did something happen when Ann went to Eve’s? If something was wrong, he would have known by now.
He took in a deep breath. Louis stilled the negative thoughts that ran through his head. Ann was okay— everything was okay.
“Sorry I’m late.”
Relief washed over Louis. He knew there was nothing to worry about.
“It’s fine, Ann. I’m glad—”
Turning around to see Ann, Louis froze. She stood there, rubbing the toes of her sneakers together. Her nervousness startled him. Looking her up and down, Louis noticed that her clothes weren’t dirty. There were no noticeable holes in her clothes and he remembered her having one before she left the shop. Even her hair wasn’t streaked with dirt and brushed into a neat ponytail. And was she wearing eyeliner?
Ann looked beautiful; she always did to Louis. He didn’t understand why she had gone through this effort for him.
She tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. “Is…something wrong?”
How long had he been staring at her?
Louis cleared his throat. “S-sorry. …You look nice.”
Ann blew a raspberry. “Come on. Don’t be silly. Are you ready to go?”
He bit the inside of his cheek. Louis wondered if she was deflecting the compliment or thought he didn’t notice the subtle change. They had worked beside each other for a long time. Any change that Ann did, no matter how slight, was always noticed by him.
“Let’s go,” Louis answered.
Ann led the way to the river, taking the most direct path to it. Louis didn’t expect anything else. He did not, however, expect how quickly she would walk there. Even though she was shorter than him, her strides were long and he found it difficult to keep up with her. Perhaps she was eager to get the festival done so that they could get back to work. He admired her desire to keep working on their project. Ann was, after all, the most excited for it.
At the river, the other townspeople had started to dissipate. Louis could see some of the young couples talking quietly amongst themselves. His heart clenched when he spotted Michael, walking alone away from the river. It didn’t seem that Ann had noticed since she ran up to the small display in the grass. The stand and all the bamboo boats were beautifully crafted by Woody and his apprentices. They worked hard to make sure everyone had a boat to make their wish on.
“Are you excited?” Ann asked. She held out a boat to Louis. “Do you know what you want to wish for?”
Louis took the boat gently in his hands. He hadn’t thought of a wish. Even though there were plenty of things he could want or need, he didn’t think any of them were good enough to wish for. Hard work was how he planned on getting those things. Wishing for them seemed silly and unnecessary.
But there wasn’t a rule that he couldn’t make a wish for someone else.
He followed Ann to the river. Louis clutched his boat tightly to his chest as she carefully moved down the muddy riverbank to land on the small pier. He watched as she held her boat close, her eyes closing as she made her wish. She crouched to place her boat carefully in the water and he resisted the urge to hover close to keep her from falling in. Ann released her boat, the object catching the river’s flow and moving downstream. They both watched it float away, bobbing with the curves of the riverbank.
“There we go,” Ann announced, standing up. She wiped her wet hands on the front of her shorts, darkening the blue fabric. “Ready for your turn?”
Louis held his hand out to Ann. Before he made his wish, he wanted to make sure she was on dry, solid ground first. She took it, using him as an anchor to climb back up the steep bank. Her shoes were dirty again like they always were and Louis smiled. Even though she had cleaned them for tonight, she didn’t seem to think ahead of how messy they could get again. He adored that quirk of hers where she only saw the path ahead if she was working on her inventions.
Taking the spot on the pier, Louis stared at his bamboo boat. He didn’t want to wish for himself; he had no reason to make any wishes that would benefit him. But he wanted to make a wish for the one person he cared the most about.
Closing his eyes, he made his wish, pressing the boat to his chest.
With his wish firmly set in place. Louis crouched and placed his boat in the water. The flow caught the boat quickly and it drifted down the river to join the others. He carefully made his way up the riverbank. His foot was caught in a patch of mud that nearly had him sliding down into the river. He caught himself in time and he felt a hand gripping his shoulder.
“Are you okay?” Ann asked with her voice in a panic.
Louis tried not to let embarrassment overtake him. Having Ann worry about him felt nice, though. He pushed himself up the bank until he could stand. His palms were dirty and he wiped them on his pants. Ann was circling him as though trying to see if he was hurt.
“Ann, I’m okay,” Louis assured.
“Are you sure?” Ann asked again. “I didn’t notice how muddy the ground was.”
He smiled. “You didn’t? Look at your sneakers.”
She looked down at her feet, twisting them to see the mud that now dirtied the once-clean surface. Ann laughed, tossing her ponytail back over her shoulder. “Yeah. It is kinda silly that I didn’t notice it then, ha ha!”
Louis didn’t know what compelled him to reach out to her. He tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear. His fingers gently cupped her ear, his thumb moving over the shell of it. Ann’s lips parted and a small gasp escaped her.
“Louis—” Ann started.
He pulled his hand away quickly. Clearing his throat, he gestured down the road. “We should…head back home. Your father must be wondering where we are.”
Ann pouted, which was a gesture that Louis found cute on her. However, she didn’t fight him back on her decision. She sharply turned on her heel and started down the road leading back to the shop. Louis followed behind her with his head down. He didn’t understand why he had done that. Ann didn’t say that he could and she certainly wouldn’t have wanted someone like him to do that to her. Louis felt stupid. He wanted to crawl into a mole’s hole and disappear forever.
When they got back to the shop, Louis intended to hide in his small room. He would crawl under his blanket praying that all of this was some terrible dream.
“What did you wish for?”
Ann’s voice pulled him out of his thoughts, soft like he was being woken up from a deep sleep. Looking ahead, he could see that Ann had slowed down. She still didn’t look back at him, her gaze trained forward like she was staring at something in the distance.
Louis smiled softly. “I don’t think I’m allowed to tell you what my wish was.”
She giggled, light and bubbly. “I think if it’s between friends it’s okay.” When she looked at Louis over her shoulder, grinning with a mischievous glint in her eye. “Besides, when have we ever done anything the ‘normal’ way?"
Ann was right. They had always done things outside of the norm. It had gotten them in trouble plenty of times in the shop. Michael scolded them whenever they added something extra to an item that wasn’t needed. She would always defend their artistic choice, always fighting for their right to be creative. Ann was a force not to be reckoned with.
Louis took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I…made a wish for your benefit.” He stopped walking. Shoving his hands into his pockets, he continued to speak, “I wished that you would keep that spirit—that fire you have for your craft. You’re…passionate in everything you do, Ann. I enjoy walking into the back room of the shop to see you eagerly talking about what you want to work on. It’s— you’re amazing.”
His heart hammered in his chest. He had never said these thoughts out loud. Louis wouldn’t understand what compelled him to say them. They had bubbled up to the surface the moment his small bamboo boat floated down the river. Now that they were out in the air, there was no sense in stopping.
“When the time comes and you marry a wonderful man—or woman—I hope that passion and fire remain,” Louis continued. “It would pain me to see it go out.”
Ann’s back was still to him. Even though she was only a few feet away, it felt like they were a mile apart. His words hung in the air, no longer weighing Louis down. He knew that one day some lucky person in the village would sweep Ann off her feet. It hurt that it would never be him, but all Louis wanted was for her to be happy.
The minutes dragged while he waited for her to react. Louis needed Ann to say something— anything
When Ann turned to face him, he hadn’t expected there to be tears in her eyes. Her cheeks were dusted with the lightest pink and her mouth was agape. Louis curled his hands until his nails bit into his balms. He hadn’t meant to make her cry. That would always be the last thing he would have wanted for Ann.
She wiped at her eyes with the back of her hand. When she took a step towards him, Louis had to fight the urge to step away from her. His fight or flight instincts were kicking in and he couldn’t understand why. He wasn’t sure if he had upset her or not. If he did, he would immediately apologize and beg Ann to forgive him.
Ann was a few steps away from him when she spoke. “I…I wished that you would always stay in Flowerbud Village.” She chewed on her lip. “No one…no one in the village really gets me when I talk about my projects. They get this dead stare in their eyes as I prattle on, but you?” Ann’s smile was the brightest Louis had ever seen. “You listen to me. You provide insight on how to make them better. …I know my father cares but he doesn’t listen to me the way that you do.”
With each word from Ann, his breathing grew heavier. He'd never known how much she'd taken to his company, and his words to heart. Out of everyone in Flowerbud Village, he was the only one who understood her. He was only one or two years older than Ann but he understood how alone she must have felt before he arrived. Louis had felt the same way when he lived in Leaf Valley. There were certainly plenty of people to talk to about what he was working on but no one understood him.
Ann was the first one who did and he appreciated her so much for her presence in his life.
She stepped closer to him and Louis sucked in a much-needed breath. Her hands found the front of his shirt, fingers digging into the soft fabric. Now, Louis knew that she was strong. He had seen her carry heavy boxes of ore and metal without needing help.
Louis never suspected she would ever need to use such strength on him, though.
Ann pulled him down closer to her until they were face to face. Louis’ heart started beating in overtime as she grinned up at him. That sparkle in her eye was shining brighter than ever. She leaned into him and he closed his eyes. He felt her breath ghost over his face, her lips trailing along his cheek. The kiss Ann placed there was soft but he felt so much more from it. She released him and he was slow to stand up straight.
Louis stared at her as she hid her hands behind her back. Her cheeks were dusted pink, her smile ever growing. His cheek felt warm and he couldn’t help but put a hand to it to find it warm to the touch.
“Come on—let’s go home,” Ann said. “Dad’s probably worried about us and we should tell him the good news.”
She turned quickly on her heel before running down the road. Louis stood there in shocked silence until Ann’s words caught up to him.
“A-A-Ann! W-what’s the good news?!”