"Let's be together forever, sweetie. I can't imagine life without you by my side."

He had spoken those words to her since the day they were married, and he meant it, too. The farmer girl was his complete life…he had meant it when he'd said that he'd finally found something more important than money. At first this sweet 'growing old together' statement pleased her. It was a quick glimpse of Gill's sensitive side. It was very cute the way he tried to act like she had no effect on him when really she made his insides puddle into mush.

One day she'd spent way too long in the mines and finally dragged herself into the small hillside house around three in the morning. She was awake enough to realize that Gill was still awake, an untouched mug of coffee coldly sitting on the table in front of her. At first he had exploded with the 'where have you been?!'s and the 'do you know how worried I was about you?!'s and, of course, 'you could have been killed!' She'd mumbled the obligatory apologies and created the expected reproachful glare, and their combined effort brought poor Gill out of his rant to kneel in front of her.

"I'm sorry, sweetie…I just can't imagine life without you."

And then everything would be all better and forgotten…at least until the next time she stayed out too late.

They had a happy year. The farm was thriving, the fields were healthy, a steady stream of cash was trickling into their pockets, and the young couple doted on each other. Some people wondered why they'd ended up together figuring Gill would have pursued a wife with a more stable economic situation—many a farmer had ended up poor. But they brushed aside the gossiping town's comments and cheerfully lived on their cute little ranch.

Chase moved to town one day. He made delicious meals with heart put into them, and he was always ready with a sarcastic comment. He was fun, different and new, and the farmer girl found herself drawn to him. They were friends, nothing more. It was nice for her to have a change of scene, change of people.

Gill was not as encouraging about this new relationship. He found his wife and Chase sitting on opposite benches outside Town Hall, arguing about restaurant food quality, and jealousy surged through him. He confronted his wife about it, who understandably wondered what his problem was. Gill seemed to realize his mistake and hung his head down.

"I didn't mean it, sweetie. I just want to be with you forever…"

They had a happy summer, too. Tomatoes and honeydew bloomed cheerfully in the fields outside their home, making Gill salivate at the very thought of them. His wife would often spend hours in the field, humming a happy tune while she weeded, pruned and watered the crops.

Toby often walked by the fields on his way to the river. He was dreamy, laid-back and insouciant, someone Gill's bride was not at all interested in romantically. But he made a good friend, and she soon realized that while she was waiting for the crops to grow, she needed another source of income. Fishing with Toby was a great pastime, both socially and economically.

Jealous Gill did not approve of these outings, though one would think he'd be supportive of extra cash. Again he ranted and raved at his wife about it, who told him he was being silly. And again he would seem to come to, and apologize to her again.

"I just can't imagine being without you, sweetie…"

And so time and time again, the farmer girl would make a new friend, boy or girl, and Gill was pierced with jealousy. And time and time again, they would be having the same conversation, one with her wishing he would get a grip and with him sinking into a chair in front of her, apologizing and saying the same thing.

"Let's be together forever, sweetie. I can't imagine life without you by my side."

Those words, no matter how often they were spoken, never ceased to warm her heart.

Fall passed in such a matter, and winter started out being relatively uneventful. The first two weeks had gone without any of Gill's insecurities rising up, and it seemed that the unlikely couple had finally solved things. However, on the thirteenth of winter, his wife decided to go out with a bunch of her friends. Toby would be supplying the food, Chase would be cooking it, and Elli, Phoebe, Luke, Luna and Gill's wife would eat it. She had barely been out of the house for fifteen minutes when the jealousy that had been building inside of him for nearly two years finally broke free.

Maybe they were talking about him, making fun of him. He'd gone to school with some of that crowd, and they weren't exactly saints…He couldn't count on his wife defending him, since she was out with them in the first place…Maybe some of the guys were flirting with her. Maybe she was flirting with them.

Each unlikely situation bore itself into the backs of Gill's eyelids so that he could see his personal horror films every time he blinked. He would give her fifteen more minutes to come back, even though it had only been that long since she'd left. He'd give her ten minutes…five…

Unable to control himself any longer, Gill sprinted out of the house and into Sundae Inn. What he saw before him was innocent enough; a group of friends laughing and joking, inviting him to join them when they caught sight of him, but to Gill it was the same thing as if they were all burning kittens, egged on by his wife. Feeling horrified for no reason, he turned to the side as if hoping she would somehow appear right next to him, where she'd been for the last two years as he'd asked for. But of course she wasn't there; she was sitting with her friends…

Almost in a daze, he walked over to the small kitchen in the back of the inn and selected a large chef's knife from Chase's impressive collection. He dimly heard his wife asking what he was doing and heard chairs screech as their wooden legs scraped against wooden floors. In slow motion, he moved the knife forwards until it pierced his heart with a warm, almost welcome pain. He heard his wife scream and felt his knees buckle under him as the whole party rushed forward to catch him, as if that would stop him from dying.

Gill tilted his head towards his wife who was paralyzed with horror, a gloved hand over her disbelieving mouth. He managed a smile and grabbed her free arm and brought her close to him.

"I can't imagine life without you by my side."

. . .

8D

Of course I don't really think nor want Gill to go through something like this, ah ha hah! I married him, and I love his arrogant platinum-blond behind [s]almost as much as I love Chase[/s].I just had this random idea…like, I realized that if a guy you know says something like that to you every day, something creepy is about to happen, right? So I hopped off the Wii and onto the computer in a sleep-deprived daze…which explains why it is poorly edited and not very developed (why is nobody awake to edit my stuff when I need them?). Therefore, reviews telling me to develop the idea more thoroughly and make it less clear will be perfectly acceptable and shall be pondered, and I might manage to move my lazy behind to do something about it.

Thank you for reading, and again, reviews make the Harvest Goddess smile.