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Shane had never been a fan of holidays. Save for the Egg Festival, he never looked forward to attending Pelican Town's annual festivals (why were there so many?), but he knew it made Marnie and Jas happy, so every year, he pulled himself out of bed at a respectable hour and walked, sober, to the town square. The Feast of the Winter Star was no different. He didn't mind celebrating at home, where he didn't have to worry about talking to people any more than he had to, but now, Mayor Lewis had had one of his "innovative" ideas to "bring the town together." Secret gift-giving. Really??
It wasn't that Shane was bad at giving gifts. Every year, he made the girls a pumpkin pie (eggs from Charlie, of course) and grew different-colored Fairy Roses for Jas to make crowns out of. But planning a gift for anyone else? Buh, he might as well give up now.
When the 18th of Winter rolled around, Shane trudged over to his mailbox to see who Mayor Lewis had assigned to him.
"Dear Shane,
I would like to give you some information about an upcoming event: the Feast of the Winter Star. It's a time for the community to come together and think back on all the good fortune we've had this year.
A brand new tradition is the "secret gift exchange", where everyone in town is randomly assigned to someone else. On the day of the festival, everyone brings a gift for their secret friend and surprises them with something special!This year, your secret friend is—"
As Shane finished reading the letter, he let out a comically long sigh of exasperation. He couldn't believe his luck, or rather, lack thereof.
Of all the people in Pelican Town, Shane had to plan a gift for the farmer. He shook his head in frustration. It couldn't have been anyone else? At least he knew something about everyone else: what Demetrius did for work, what colors Vincent liked, the baked goods Evelyn always seemed to be enjoying. But the new farmer? He hadn't the slightest clue of what she might like, other than pestering him at the saloon when she came in late, smelling like salty seawater with dirt on her face and scuffs on her boots. Sometimes she would slide a beer his way, grinning much too madly for someone who had to wake up by 6 AM every morning if she hoped to finish all her farm work. Despite the numerous times he had shrugged her off, asking what she could possibly want with the likes of him, she still seemed to take some sick joy in flashing one of her cruel, sparkling grins his way. He would never understand that farmer girl.
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The week seemed to hurry by, reminding Shane of his unfortunate assignment. He almost considered skipping the festival altogether, but he knew that it wouldn't be fair for the farmer to go through all the work of organizing a gift for someone else (somehow, Shane knew that pesky girl would find the perfect thing to give her recipient) and not get something in return. So, he woke up extra early the morning of the 25th, and set his gift into a cardboard box, folding the flaps over each other to keep it closed. Better this than nothing, he thought to himself. He paced around the kitchen a little while longer, too nervous to eat, running his hands through his hair as he waited for Marnie and Jas to wake.
Finally, the three of them began to make their way to the town square, which had somehow been decorated with candy canes, garlands, and a ginormous Tree of the Winter Star overnight. Had Lewis even slept? The man and his "bonding activities" certainly annoyed Shane, but he had to admit that the dedication was admirable.
Shane held his unassuming little box in front of his chest as he walked towards the tree, staring at it intently as though it might break if shaken too hard. He set it deftly down at the back of the tree, hoping it would attract less attention there. It certainly looked disappointing next to all the other gifts, which were wrapped neatly in colorful paper and adorned with matching ribbons. Too late to change it now.
He meandered over to the massive red tables, scooping himself a portion of Crab Cake and pouring a hefty glass of Ginger Ale. He gulped it down nervously, wondering how he could possibly summon the courage to approach the farmer and give her that lazy little box.
As Shane shoveled bites of Crab Cake into his mouth, his eyes darted around in search of his unlucky recipient. Maybe she wouldn't come at all, he considered momentarily. Maybe she was so worried about giving a bad gift that she was too scared to show up at all. He shook his head, knowing that she probably wasn't capable of giving a gift that was less than perfect. Maybe she forgot the feast was today. That was possible. It was only her first year in Pelican Town, after all.
His hopes were promptly defeated as he saw her run into the square, overalls stained with red and sweat beading on her forehead as she stuck a little blue box beneath the tree. What an odd girl.
An hour had passed, and Shane still hadn't mustered the guts to go up to that poor girl and get it over with. Luckily for him, the farmer had been darting around the festival, as though she was determined to strike up a conversation with every villager. Well, every villager except for Shane, it seemed. After another hour of stress-eating and watching the farmer talk to every single person about what they were hoping for or what their favorite food was, Shane had begun to wonder if the farmer was ignoring him. Was he really so awful that she would ignore him and only him? No, no, that didn't make sense. She had never been shy to talk to him at the bar before. Did she know that he was her secret gift-giver? Had she caught a glimpse of what he had brought and decided she didn't want to get it?
Shane stood back up, walking to where the drinks were to pour himself another glass, when he felt a gentle tap on his shoulder. The touch was almost feather-light, but he nearly jumped out of his skin. Looking back, Shane felt his heart drop as he turned to face none other than the farmer herself.
"Oh! Sorry, wow, I didn't mean to frighten you," she blurted, cheeks pink, eyebrows knitted together in concern. "I didn't mean to bother you! If you're, uh—" she glanced at his full glass, "—if you're busy, we don't have to talk."
Shane scratched the back of his neck, taking a swig from his glass. "No, it's okay, I was just... distracted. I was actually hoping you would come—"
"Okay, thank goodness," the farmer interjected, her words moving faster than Shane could process. "Because I actually did want to talk to you, and I've been waiting, trying to figure out when would be a good time, and, well, I don't really know how I'm supposed to do this, so I guess I'll just get it over with." The farmer gulped, tilted her head, and procured the little blue box from behind her back. "This, um, this is for you..." she said softly, ushering the gift into his free hand. "I know it's not much. I wasn't really sure what I was supposed to get you for this." Of course, she would be his gift-giver, too. And of course, she was the one brave enough to give hers first.
Silently, Shane set his glass back down on the table and gently lifted the lid of the box to reveal a platter of green, red, and yellow. Pepper Poppers. "What?" was all the man could muster.
"Oh goodness, I'm sorry, I should've given them to you earlier while they were still warm, but I was so nervous! I practiced making them all week, but I only had time for one batch this morning, so I hope they're alright..."
Shane was still speechless, looking the poor girl up and down as she waited for some sort of response. He took in the stains on her denim, which he realized now were undoubtedly from the hot peppers she had been cooking up just this morning. For him. For him?
"Or, if you don't like them, that's okay, I could run back and grab something else for you? I just thought..."
Abruptly, Shane jolted back to reality, recognizing the concern in the farmer's face. "No, it's not that. It's just... how... how did you know? That Pepper Poppers are my favorite?"
"Oh! Well, whenever you get pizza at the Stardrop, you always ask Gus if he has hot peppers to add. So I just figured, if you like them on your pizza, then the poppers might be a good gift!" She smiled sheepishly as Shane took one between his fingers, examined it, and took a bite. A good gift? Shane couldn't picture anything better to receive on this holiday.
"They're really good," he replied after taking another bite. "Really, really good. That was thoughtful of you, y'know. I didn't know you paid so much attention to me," Shane added as he nudged her shoulder playfully. Yoba, what was he doing? "I guess now's as good a time as any for this," he said solemnly, replacing the lid on his box and leading the farmer back to the tree. She looked on expectantly, as if curious as to why he would be bringing her over to the tree.
"I, uh, I got you too," he said with a half-smile. "Funny coincidence, I guess." Thankfully, Shane didn't notice Marnie and Lewis watching the pair excitedly from the other side of the tree.
"Oh, wow!" the farmer exclaimed, "I didn't know that could happen. That is funny."
He picked up his cardboard box, more ashamed than he had been before to be giving it to her. "Yeah... well, ignore the holes on the side. They're for... well, you'll see."
The farmer didn't seem to mind at all. She unfolded the flaps of the box before peeking inside and letting out a yelp. She peered down inside before looking back to Shane, her eyes wide and bottom lip stuck out in a pout. Setting the box down on the ground, the farmer scooped her gift up off the little bed of hay at the bottom of the box. "For me?" she asked excitedly.
"Well, yeah," Shane replied, a little confused. "I hope it's alright. I know there's no beating those Pepper Poppers."
"This is..." the farmer stared at the little ball of blue feathers in her hands. "The cutest thing I have ever seen in my entire life. I didn't even know chickens could be blue!"
Shane let out a short breath, relieved. "No one really knows I have them, and I don't exactly know where they come from. But I figured, you're on a farm, you've certainly got some chickens, but I doubt you've seen one like this before. The eggs are the same, really; it isn't that special."
She shook her head in disbelief, nuzzling the little chick, who had clearly grown restless waiting for her inside the box. "Isn't that special? She is the most adorable chick in the world, isn't that right, baby?" The term of endearment froze Shane in place for a split second, until he realized that she was no longer looking at him and that it had obviously been meant for the chicken.
"I'm glad you like it."
"Thank you, Shane, really! This is so sweet. I love her already." The farmer was grinning now, ear to ear, and looking at Shane with wide eyes. "I guess you'll have to stop by now and then. To come check on her, of course," the farmer added slyly, leaning in to give Shane a peck on the cheek before skipping away to show the children her gift.
Just with that brief brush of contact of her lips on his skin that heated his insides more than any Pepper Popper, Shane knew that, yes, it certainly couldn't have been anyone else. And he was looking forward (very, very much) to understanding the crazy mind of that odd, dazzling, uncannily thoughtful farmer girl.