A/N: Ah, plot bunnies. They breed like plot bunnies. It took me about three days to write this chapter, which, let me tell you, is really quick for me.

I like how it turned out. And I really don't have much else to say about it, other than "Enjoy!"

And, of course, R&R. ;)

Sarah was steaming. Nazz could see it from her second story window, the rabidity that was not unique to Sarah but to all adolescent girls in a state of lust. It wasn't an unusual sight. Nazz had reason to believe that the younger girl wore that expression while she brushed her teeth, so it didn't bother her to see her wearing it as she knocked at her door. No, what bothered Nazz was that Sarah was knocking at her door at all on a Thursday afternoon in November.

"Where's the fire?" she said apprehensively when she answered.

The urgency in Sarah's eyes was a thing of terror. "What are you doing?" she shrieked, grabbing Nazz's shoulders and shaking her like a coma patient. "We're all waiting!"

Nazz steadied herself, trying not to throw up. "For me? What, waiting for me? Why?"

"Um, duh. The note said that he couldn't start until all of the girls were gathered in his yard. You might be in loooove with your boyfriend, but that doesn't mean you can skimp out on helping me get a dreamboat of my own!"

"Sarah . . . Sarah! I have no idea what you're talking about."

Sarah pulled at her own hair with hands so red they nearly blended in. "Tell me you got the note," she said. "Didn't Rolf give you a –"

Nazz interrupted her. "Rolf?"

"Oh, yeah," said Sarah. A lecherous glint flashed past the upset in her eyes. "But he said he's not coming out of his house until everyone's there. Wait, where are you going?"

"I'll be right back! I just need to get my jacket!" said Nazz as she bolted upstairs and into her room. Her blue jacket was ready for her, laid out over the foot of her bed. She had barely picked it up, however, before she remembered the grass stain on the sleeve and the chocolate sauce over the breast and the – oh, God, that's what that was – yes, the drool on the inside of the hood. Rolf had seen her wear it before – in fact, there was a fifty-fifty chance the drool was his. But she couldn't put it on now. If this was such a special event, she would have to dress more . . .

More classy? No, that wasn't the word. When Nazz rushed to her closet, and when the first thing to catch her eye was her pink velveteen sweater, the one she was too self-conscious to wear to school, she knew what style she was aiming for.

She had to be sexy.

She wriggled into the tight sweater, spritzed apple perfume under the crook of her neck, and reapplied her peachiest lip gloss. She was in her bathroom, reaching for her straightening iron, when a screech of "Come on!" echoed through her house.

"I'm on my way!" Nazz replied. Reluctantly, she picked up a barrette and slipped it over the frizz behind her ear. She stole one last look in the mirror to make sure her boobs really stood out, and started to head back to the stairs. But then she remembered – she was going to see Rolf. There was one more thing she needed to bring.

Luckily, Sarah didn't ask why Nazz was so protectively keeping her hand in her pocket. She spent the duration of their walk to Rolf's place gushing about the young farmer and how badly she wanted to see him shirtless again because the last time, she'd been too young to appreciate how awesome it was. She told Nazz she thought he was "the hottest." Just weeks before, she'd said the same thing about Double-D. And even with two boys already holding the claim, the phrase still applied to Jonny 2x4 and some actor from Canada. Once, Sarah had even announced that Kevin had a very favorable spot on her list – with apologies to Nazz, of course.

Sarah had enough hormones to go around, but behind her constant fantasies was an unfulfilled heart – Nazz was sure of that much. It would never be enough just to imagine the world as a Chippendale revue with a rotating cast. Sarah's excitability only meant that she'd never been in love, had never felt the gravity, the euphoria. Nazz felt every extreme of romance just by reaching into her pocket.

She'd found it the day before, resting on her second story windowsill. There was no note of explanation; there was no identification – it was a simple gift, that was all. And yet, it was a gem: crisp, symmetrical, shaped like a heart and carefully embellished, with an outer shell that glistened by the dim light.

It was a garlic bulb with a loop of twine hot-glued to the bottom. So fondling it made her hands stink – Nazz didn't care. There was no denying it was the most flawless garlic bulb Rolf (it had to be from Rolf) had ever grown, and for God-knows-why, he wanted her to have it. The purpose of the twine was still a mystery, but she would ask him when she told him she'd received it, which was what she was on her way to do. He deserved to know that she'd received it well, and just how much she appreciated it, and him . . .

"Look who finally figured out she'll never be too good for us, girls! It's the Human Bicycle!"

"But Lee, that means everyone gets a ride. And she's got a boyfriend, don't she, Marie?"

"She does, you numbskull. But you know he's thinking about his motorbike every time they screw."

The Kankers burst into a cacophonous harmony of laughter. May, who was sitting atop the fence, kicked her legs so hard that she nearly fell backwards. Her sisters caught her before she hit the ground, making sure she stayed on Rolf's property. Nazz's ears began to burn, but then she realized that this wasn't mere heckling. The Kankers wouldn't have hopped the fence if they were just there to observe. They were there by invitation, and they meant business.

Nazz was reasonable enough not to respond. Sarah was not. "Quit ragging on Nazz! She came here even though she has that boyfriend, just so the rest of us could get to see Rolf . . . " She let out an artificial sigh.

Lee smirked at her sisters and traipsed across the lawn. "Well, ain't that cute. The kid thinks Farm Boy wants to sweep her off her feet." She raised a bunch of scarlet curls off her forehead to give Sarah a good, hard look in the eye. "Listen, sweetpea, we all got boyfriends," she said, gesturing to her sisters. "And we came anyway. That hick wouldn't know romance if it smacked him on the ass. He only needs us girls to do all the washing and cooking for him while his Ma's in the hospital with a busted leg."

Sarah squealed indignantly. "That's a lie!"

"Oh, I'd say it's a solid bet."

"How – how do you even know if his Mom's leg is broken?"

May and Marie began to chortle wildly. "That's my bad!" shouted May.

"And mine too," added Lee, eying Sarah smugly. She leaned down and flicked the younger girl on the forehead, and so the tussle began.

Nazz couldn't bother watching the two redheads push each other around. The scrape would be over as soon as one of them got bored, and that wouldn't concern her. Lee had already lost. Rolf was by far the most romantic guy in the neighborhood. He was just good enough to keep it a secret.

Nazz tiptoed away and tapped lightly on the high kitchen window. The blinds were drawn, as they always were, but if he couldn't see outside, how was he supposed to know she'd arrived? She stood with a ready and obedient smile on her face and her garlic cupped between her hands, hidden from the other girls but on display for the eyes that came to peer out the window.

Unfortunately, they weren't Rolf's eyes and they disappeared as soon as they caught sight of her. Nazz sighed and slipped the vegetable back into her pocket, only to hear the porch door slide open moments later. She knew exactly what was happening from Lee and Sarah's synchronized gasps. A familiar voice called "Gather, females of the cul-de-sac!" and Nazz responded eagerly.

And there he was: the yeoman farmer, tall and steadfast even through the Autumn chill. He wore nothing but linen overalls. Over his shoulder, he wielded a shepherd's staff – as he always did, of course, but this one was darker in color, longer, thicker, and engraved at the bottom. He used it to pull Marie towards him so he could kiss her on the mouth, and preceded to do so to every girl as he went down the line. In his other hand, he held what seemed to be a horn hollowed out from an animal's bone. When he reached Nazz, who had been waiting in guilty anticipation at the end of the line, she realized with some shock that it was actually a tobacco pipe. Still, not even the awful, choking taste could stop her from leaning into the crook of his staff and trying to push her tongue past his lips.

Rolf broke away much too soon. He marched back to the porch, accompanied by the sound of Sarah's giggles, and stood before the girls with his staff planted on the ground. For several moments, he was silent. The girls all tapped their feet in anticipation as he surveyed them. Finally, he spoke:

"On this day of much elation, Rolf celebrates the completion of eighteen years of life and thus, it has been named the day of his Entrance into Manhood! He was kept home from the edifice of education in order to go through all the customary Manhood Rituals – behold Rolf's clean-shaven arms! The new hair that will grow in its place will bring with it twice the strength than that which I had before.

"And behold, the Ewe-Thigh Pipe! A man must work for a respectable lung capacity, and today Rolf was tested! I could not come out from under the table until I had smoked without choking for ten straight minutes." He paused to cough, as if he were reliving the experience. "The pipe was carved by my Great Nano himself, and has been handed down along with this – the Walnut-Branch Staff!

"The staff is the most important piece of all. It serves no practical use, as Rolf already owned a child's staff. But, having this is my possession shows that I am no longer the son of a shepherd, but a shepherd in my own right."

"But you don't have any sheep, Rolf!" shouted May.

"It's a metaphor thing, May," said Marie before punching her sister in the arm. "Jeez! Hey, Rolfie, you wanna get to the point? What are we doing here?"

Rolf's expression changed from nostalgically proud to solemn. He bowed his head as if on his way to the guillotine as he walked down the steps and said, "Rolf was nearly to that part, thank you. Devil's-Child Kanker-girl, and other females of the cul-de-sac, you are the very reason that I was forced to wait so long. Were we in the Old Country, I would have already gone through the Entrance into Manhood at age twelve." He stopped in front of Marie. "But American mores do not allow children of that age to marry."

Every trace of smugness dissipated from Marie's face and she grabbed May's hand. "What?"

"One of you is to marry me."

For the first time in their lives, all three Kankers were silent at the same time. Then May squeezed Marie's hand harder and grabbed Lee's as well, and all three Kankers began to squeal.

Rolf flashed each of them a cold smile. "No, I will be asking one of you to marry me . . . I understand, not every one of you would willingly marry Rolf, so if she refuses, it will be no skin off her nose." He stopped and smiled at Sarah. "Only Rolf's."

"You don't have to worry about that!" replied Sarah, perhaps a bit too loudly.

"Good, then. Now, Rolf is not going to reveal his choice now –"

Four girls let out an audible sigh of disappointment, which made Rolf chuckle humorlessly.

Nazz laughed along with him, though she didn't find it all that funny. It was a cathartic laugh, the first noise she'd made in nearly ten minutes. If she were to open her mouth again, the only thing that would come out would be marry, marry, marry. Four times he'd said it already. Marry. The boy – man – she loved was talking about marriage, and oh God, now he was standing right in front of her while he talked about it. Her hand went instinctively into her pocket.

He was going to have to choose one of the horndogs standing to her right, right? He couldn't pick her. As far as anyone else in the neighborhood was concerned, Kevin was her steady, one-and-only boyfriend, and if anything happened to suggest that that wasn't the case . . . what a mess that would cause.

She let his dark eyes meet hers straight on as he finished his speech. If only . . .

"I won't tell you now," said Rolf, "but you must believe this." He was no longer smiling, but his eye contact with Nazz remained intense. "You will all find out soon enough. Whoever she is, she will know."

He stood staring silently for a long time, during which Nazz felt like her eyes might explode or her throat might go unquenchably dry. When he finally stepped back, bowed and whispered "Thank you, girls," it was nothing less than a relief. While Sarah and the Kankers were practically hyperventilating, Nazz was doubling over trying to breathe in just once.

"We're finally getting married, guys!" screamed May as soon as Rolf was back inside his house.

"One of us is getting married, scatterbrain, but nice try!" said Marie, joining hands with May to join her in jumping around like cuckoo birds.

Sarah's shouts were earsplitting and pretty much unintelligible. But the way she was shaking her head at Lee said it all – she was gloating.

Lee had only one thing to say in response. "So you were right after all, kid," she said. "It's too bad your knight in grimy armor is gonna have to step right over you. I heard that guys from his country have to marry the girl who takes his virginity." She beamed. "Also known as yours truly."

The girls were so caught up in the celebration that they didn't notice Nazz running away. She hopped over the fence, tearing her tight velveteen sweater without a care, and bolted to go lock herself up in her room. All the while, her hand was in her pocket and her fourth finger was slipping in and out of the loop of twine glued to the bottom of the garlic bulb. Finally, she realized its purpose: the garlic was a gem of its own class, but of course, an American woman would never recognize its meaning if they didn't put a ring on it.

Rolf's choice would find out "soon enough?" That was quite the understatement. No – he'd already proposed.

A/N: I will admit that some of that got the teensiest bit wish-fulfillmenty. I do have a slightly unhealthy obsession with Rolf, and that might have manifested itself in the form of all of the girls' sudden insane crushes on him. Sarah and the Kankers also have crushes on all the other guys, though, so I'm blaming the phenomenon partly on the fact that no other guys appear in this chapter.

Hey, I wrote it quickly. I tried my best.

But anyway, I hope you enjoyed it. Reviews are appreciated, and know that there will be more!