It had taken two hours to work through the mess that her mom had left last night. It wasn't just the usual dirty dishes and piles of beer-stained clothing, either. Pam had evidently hit the booze pretty hard last night, and hadn't quite been able to keep all of her dinner from spilling out. As she scrubbed the lounge tiles clean of her mom's vomit, Penny grimaced as she recognized chunks of the chicken casserole she'd cooked the night before. Just across the room, Pam was passed out on the sofa, her hand still half-clutching a can of Joja Light Brew.
After a few minutes, Penny had managed to lift most of the stains off the tiles. Well, the big stains that you could see, at least. She sighed to herself at the sight of her unconscious mom, and began moving the detergent and scrubbing brush back under the kitchen sink.
There was a thick, guttural noise from the sofa, followed by her mom's thick, rum-stained voice. "You cleanin'?"
"Just tidying up a few things, mom." Penny replied softly, trying not to help wake her up. She'd already decided that it would be best if she could slip out without confronting her.
"Don't forget the dishes."
"I know, mom." Penny tried desperately to contain the tone of annoyance in her voice.
"Good girl." There was the sound of the sofa squeaking and creaking as Pam rolled over.
"Mom…" Penny swallowed. "You'd vomited again."
There was a short, painful silence.
"So what?" Pam grunted.
"Mom, you know that drinking this much is really bad for y-"
"Don't you talk to me like that."
"Forget it, mom."
"I mean it."
"I know, please forget it, mom."
A great, enveloping sadness washed over Penny. In recent years her mom's drinking problem had gotten much, much worse. To the point that being passed out seemed like her default state. Clearly, though, Pam wasn't too concerned about it, as she'd soon gone back to snoring thickly.
Penny glanced around the trailer. She'd always been ashamed to live in such a thing, especially as they were the only ones in Pelican Town. Probably the only ones in Stardew Valley, for that matter. Still, that shame had renewed her desire to give Jas and Vincent the best education she could. No one else in the valley was prepared to; there wasn't even a school. And without a proper education, they might not be able to afford a future beyond a trailer. She shuddered at the thought.
With a hesitant glance at her mom, Penny grabbed her book off the table and made her way outside. She had a little time to herself before she was teaching Jas and Vincent, and her favorite way to pass the time was to find a nice, quiet spot to read her book. Preferably away from her mom. First, though, she needed to stop by Pierre's general store. Once again, her mom had somehow finished off all of their bread. Probably to soak up the booze, Penny thought.
Stardew Valley was in the midst of a blooming Spring. Flowers were blossoming all across the valley, and the air was thick with the smell of freshly cut grass and the gentle hubbub of distant, friendly voices. As she made her way across the yard towards Pierre's, Penny clipped back her copper-red hair with a small yellow clasp, trying to hold on to her book at the same time. Whilst she was struggling, she managed to walk straight into someone's back, her book dropping to the ground.
"Oh, I'm so sorry." Penny reached down to pick up her book. She stood back up to see Sam, smiling back at her. Immediately, she felt nervous. Sam had always been really kind to her, and even though she struggled with most people to be herself, she felt more herself around him than anyone else. But with his bright blonde hair, charming smile and admirably laid-back attitude, Penny couldn't deny the warm, fuzzy feelings she felt towards him. It ended up meaning that Penny felt both more herself and yet more nervous around Sam than with anyone else. Queasy. A little bit lovesick.
"That's okay, Penny! Lost in your book again I see."
Penny blushed. "No, actually, I wasn't, I was-"
"Don't worry about it! Hey, check out my new trick."
When Penny glanced at his feet, she realized he was standing on a skateboard. How she hadn't managed to knock him off, she wasn't sure. She nodded meekly at Sam and stood back a few paces, clutching her book to her chest and watching his board. This was more often than not her response to being cut off; going quiet. Which was fine by her, she had never quite got the hang of socializing, anyway. At least not comfortably.
Sam did a small jump and flipped his board over completely before landing on it again. With a huge grin on his face, he leapt off the board.
"What do you think?"
Penny smiled, and offered her usual compliment. "It's really cool, Sam."
"Thanks Penny, you're awesome." Penny's blush resurfaced. "Oh hey, Abby, check this out!"
Before anything more could be said, Sam had mounted his skateboard again and began riding over towards the town square, where Abigail was passing by. In that moment, Penny felt a pang of jealousy, and a little bit of contempt for Abigail. Which was completely unfair, she knew that. Abigail had always been kind to her, and Sam was just excited to show everyone his trick. That's all. Still, she didn't have to smile and laugh that much.
Shifting her thoughts to the back of her mind, she kept walking towards Pierre's. With a quick glance at the town calendar to see if anything was coming up, Penny slipped inside the store. It was definitely busier than usual. Most of the time, Penny only ever found Pierre at his counter and an otherwise empty store. Sometimes Mayor Lewis would be there pondering over the best fertilizer to use for his front garden, or Emily would be browsing the fresh fruits and herbs, or Marnie might pop in to stock up on groceries. But this time, there were at least five people in the store. As far as Penny could tell, one of them was a complete stranger. It took her a few seconds before it clicked, but she realized that the stranger must be the new farmer that was moving in to the valley. He'd been the topic of the town for a week or so now, and everyone was pretty excited to have a new face moving in. Somehow, he looked a lot younger than she'd imagined. In her head, a farmer was an old to middle aged man with a pitchfork, dirty overalls and maybe a smoky pipe and tweed cap. The only bit she'd gotten right was the cap.
Pierre was behind the counter as usual, but this time he was leaning forward with a big grin on his face, pushing his glasses further up his nose and joining in with the group's conversation. On the other side of his counter stood Robin, Demetrius, Evelyn and the man she didn't recognize.
Robin was the town carpenter. She offered her services around to everyone, whether it was just fixing a leaky roof or building a brand new shed, she was happy to help. She looked even more happy than usual though, and if Penny had to guess, it would be because the new farmer would need a lot of construction done. Demetrius was Robin's husband, and although Penny had never really talked to him one-on-one, he seemed like a nice man. In thinking about it though, she realized that she had no idea what he did for a living other than that he was some sort of scientist. Evelyn, on the other hand, had talked to Penny a great deal. She was a very kindly old lady, who spent most of her time looking after her husband George, who was, as of recent years, wheelchair-bound. At every social event that Stardew Valley held, if Evelyn was there she made a point of talking to Penny, even if she really didn't have much to say. Although she seemed to do that with everybody. Her wispy grey hair was always kept perfectly, and Penny struggled to remember if she'd ever seen Evelyn when she wasn't smiling.
Before anyone could really notice her coming in, Penny slipped into an aisle on her right and began browsing. She was painfully aware that the bread she wanted was right next to where everyone was standing, and she'd probably have to ask Demetrius if he could move so she could get to it. But instead of going over to do that, Penny waited a while in the canned goods aisle.
"You should come around and meet George, dear," said Evelyn, "I'll make you some cookies, have you ever made cookies, John?"
John. That must be the farmer.
"No, never, Mrs. Mullner," came a strong, warm voice.
"Oh well I'll have to teach you my recipe!" The excitement in Evelyn's voice grew. She was always sharing her cookie recipe, almost as if she was determined not to let it die with her. "And you can call me 'Granny' if you'd like, dear."
"Okay, Granny." John laughed.
Penny shuffled over to her right and peered through a gap in the shelves.
"John, we're just about to head off," said Demetrius, clasping a box of detergent he'd just bought. "Listen, if you're interested, swing by the house some time, I'll show you some of the soil samples I took a few weeks ago from your farm."
"That'd be great." John smiled and shook Demetrius' hand as he and Robin made their way towards the door. "Nice to meet you!"
"You too!" Demetrius chimed back.
Penny made sure to duck away in case being spotted led to being introduced to John. She knew it was inevitable, but it didn't have to be now, did it?
It was a little while before Evelyn left too, doddering creakily towards the exit and slowly, weakly, pulling the door open to leave. Penny hadn't really been listening after Evelyn left, but was vaguely aware that John and Pierre's conversation had covered a range of topics, from Joja Mart to the beauty of the valley. She only tuned in when she realized Pierre was directing John straight to her.
"John, by the way," said Pierre, clearing his throat, "if you're looking for more seeds, I've got some in the aisle over there."
Penny didn't need to see where Pierre was pointing to know that he was pointing towards her aisle. She was close enough to touch the seeds. Before she could move, someone rounded the corner of the small aisle and was walking towards her. She turned away, pretending to be extremely interested in the assorted vegetables in front of her.
"Hi there," said a voice from behind her. It was John. "I've just moved in to the farm up the way. I'm John."
Penny swallowed hard. She turned gingerly to face him. He wasn't even dressed how she'd imagined a farmer. He was wearing some sort of black work shirt with the sleeves rolled up and some very dirty looking jeans. She'd guessed the dirt part correctly, at least. He had a head of short, messy earthy-brown hair and facial hair that was somewhere between stubble and a small beard. Suddenly, it dawned on her that she hadn't actually said anything yet, and she was just looking at him, silently.
"…Hi." She said, finally, feeling an enormous sense of relief from just getting a single word out. "I'm Penny."
"It's nice to meet you, Penny." John smiled warmly and extended his hand. She grabbed it gently and shook it, before quickly turning her attention back to the vegetables. After a few moments, she realized that John was still paying her attention.
"I'm sorry, did you want something?"
"Oh, no," John reddened slightly and turned away to face the seeds, "I'm just introducing myself to the town, is all."
Penny cringed internally. She didn't mean to come across as rude or unwelcoming, but somehow she always sounded cold when she met new people. It was all just so awkward, how did people do it so often, and so easily? It baffled her. It was one of the reasons she loved Stardew Valley so much; everyone that she'd encounter on a daily basis was someone she'd already met. She often didn't need to deal with new people at all. So, suddenly dealing with one now was tricky. She just hoped he didn't think she was rude or curt with him.
Realizing that no one was by the bread, Penny moved over to that corner of the shop and grabbed some multigrain bread. She left the right amount of coins on the counter for Pierre, who gave her a warm "thanks, Penny" and a smile, before moving over to deposit the cash in the register. Bread in one hand and book in the other, Penny left the shop, trying desperately not to catch John's eye on the way out, for fear that she'd see him looking at her as if she'd insulted him. But she was out now, and knew exactly where she was headed. The bread didn't need to be taken home straight away, so instead of heading left, she crossed the small town square in front of her.
Just down the street was her favorite spot, on a soft patch of grass next to a gorgeous grand oak tree. Putting the bread down, she sat down cross-legged on the grass, ensuring to smooth out her skirt, and opened her book. It didn't take long for Penny to escape the awkwardness of what had just happened, or the worries of what her mom was up to, or the never-ending stream of thoughts about how she could help her mom, or her consuming desire to move out of the trailer, or her desperate pleading with herself to be more sociable. All of that slipped away.
Instead, her mind was transported elsewhere, to a world where none of that even threatened to exist. Books, and the universes within them, were her ultimate refuge.
Tuesday, Spring 2nd, Year 1.
For this story, we'll be jumping through Penny's timeline, each chapter is a new and meaningful interaction between Penny and John as their relationship grows and develops.
Please let me know what you think and thank you very much for reading!