The Incredible Werekitty changes venues again. Any way this is a story about Ann from the SNES version of Harvest Moon. I'm writing it based on the one save file, I'm playing, with embellishments. You see, my farmer, Jack, marries Ann in my game. The way she reacted when Jack proposed made me think that SHE thought she did not even have a chance with him, hince Ann's tone in this story.
I don't own Harvest Moon, or any of the characters contained therein. I do wish they had given their shopkeepers proper names, though. It would have made for easier referencing. Oh well. I hope you enjoy this bit. Summer, Fall, and Winter will be comming eventually.
It all started on New Year's day. We were all pretty sleepy from having to get up at the crack of dawn to see the first sunrise of the New Year, but you know how traditions go. What's worse, was that there was a new boy coming to town. A guy that was going to take over that old run-down ranch outside of town. I, personally, thought this was cool. He was sure to come to my Dad's shop to pick up any tools he needed, especially since we carry cow brushes, milkers, and paint. Dad and I sometimes make tools for the shop, too. I'm not that good at it yet, but I'll make something great one of these days. Just you wait. So, here we were, groggy from a traditional New Year's celebration, and not exactly at our best to greet our new neighbor, but we had to make a go at it, anyway because he was coming over with the shipper.
The other girls in Neighbor Town were more interested in being courted by the new boy. Gotta have a hobby, I guess, but I know I'm not even in the running. Let's see a tomboyish redhead who loves to mess around with machines. Oh yeah. Real stuff of romance, here. Out of all five available girls in Neighbor Town, I've GOT to come in rock bottom in whatever rankings they may have. Who could possibly be first? Nina, of course. "Sister Pink", as that one carpenter guy calls her, with her pink hair and her pink dress, and her doll-like pink prettiness... Did I mention that she liked pink? You probably got that right off. Anyway, Nina is the florist's daughter, and since the florist is the one who sells the vegetable seeds, the poor rancher is going to see allot of Nina. Whether he wants to or not.
If you haven't been able to tell, I really don't like Nina. She's something of a brat, I think, but then if she hadn't jumped my case about picking those berries in Backhill, I'd be a little more charitable. Little ninny thinks that Backhill is her own little preserve. She goes and picks flowers, that anybody with since can go and get for free, and brings them to her mom, who in turn sells them for 300 G a piece in her shop. What a rip! That's what I get for trying to do Eve a favor.
Eve, by the way, has to be the one that comes in second in whatever rankings that's out there. She's blond, which says allot about her right off. Nothing against blondes, but I hear those carpenter guys make dumb blond jokes all the time. The shipper too. Mind you, Eve's pretty smart, but she tends to act like an airhead, sometimes. She's also pretty curvy, which probably helps attract guys to the bar, where she works. If you've got it, flaunt it, I guess. Probably why she wears that maroon miniskirt, and haltertop. The bartender must be glad to have her, since Eve-watching keeps down the fights. There's also her deft skill with brewing beer, and making that "grape juice". Eve and Ellen and I have been neighbors and fairly good friends for a long time. Ever since Eve came to live with Ellen's uncle, the bartender. And every night Ellen's dad is in the bar getting "juiced up", with Ellen right there, most nights, trying to get him to come home. I asked Ellen, once, just what exactly her mom saw in her dad, but all she could do was shrug. Love's a mystery in many ways. I found that out for myself, but that comes later.
Ellen is the third contender in the race for affection. A kind-hearted animal lover, who got her mom's serious attitude, but can have her daddy's love of fun on festival days. Especially the Fall Egg Hunt. With her brown hair, hazel eyes, and conservative attire she's the perfect foil for Eve and her almost wanton ways. They end up seeing allot of each other, between Eve living with Ellen's uncle, and Ellen having to come and fetch her sot of a father from the bar. Naturally they're best friends. Every now and again all three of us will go to Backhill just to get away, but those times are few and far between. I wish, sometimes, that Ellen and I would skip out on church, and go with Eve to the hot spring in Backhill, but Dad's the one who brings me, so I can't sneak out and worry him. Ellen's there, too, with her mom, usually praying for her dad's health. Dispite his shortcomings, she loves him allot.
Speaking of church, we come to the last available girl in town: Maria, the mayor's daughter. She's a strict churchgoer, and very religious. Practically a part of the church with her sober black dress. Most days she's either in front of the church sweeping the walk, or inside, or playing the organ on Sundays. She's a good person, tranquil, and serene. Kinda annoying, in some ways, but better company than Nina on any day of the week.
Then there's me. Redheaded tomboy inventor by the name of Ann. Not much to me, except that I help my Dad with his shop. I don't remember my mom, much, which is kinda sad. I just wish Dad hadn't fallen for the florist. I don't relish the thought of Nina as a stepsister. What's worse, the florist seems JUST as smitten as my Dad is. Oh brother.
I guess I should be getting back to the story. It was just past seven in the morning, when the shipper drove up with the new boy. I couldn't see him from Dad's store, but I heard the shipper's truck. I was just hanging out in front of the shop, enjoying that fresh spring air, and watching for the rancher guy. I could see Eve standing in front of the Bar's door, probably to tell the guy about the Bar. Ellen's mom was on duty in her restaurant, Ellen's dad was there too, strumming his guitar. I couldn't see Ellen, though. I looked toward the livestock seller's, Ellen's usual hang out, but she wasn't there, either. I guess she had to go and take her dog to the mountain again. Ellen, like I mentioned before, is an animal lover, and she couldn't resist bringing home this cute little puppy she had found. Good thing, too, because she found him in the middle of Winter, and he would have starved, otherwise. Unfortunately, Ellen lives in a restaurant, and it's against health regulations to keep pets inside. Ellen's little birdie, P-Chan is all right because he's confinable, but Fido is another story. I DID see somebody that could only be that new farmer guy, though. He was wearing blue overalls, a blue back-wards turned cap, and a bright red bandanna. I couldn't see much else in the way of details, because he was going into the livestock seller's place. Guess he's going to check out the prices of cows and chickens. That also meant that he was going to be coming here, next. Dad's going to be pleased with that. Nobody's needed anything for cows for a while, and we'll be able to sell some fresh eggs and milk from the new guy's farm. I shrugged, and continued hanging out in front of the store. I was thinking about my machine, and what else it needed to make it work. An auto harvester would be a pretty good machine for the farmer guy to look into, if I could get it running properly.
Suddenly, I was snapped out of my plans. Somebody had just tapped me on the shoulder. I turned; sure it was Ellen back with her dog, because I could still see Eve standing by the Bar. Why she was staring over here, I could not understand, until I finished turning around and found myself looking into the kindest pair of brown eyes I had ever seen. I couldn't help but gulp, as I took in this guy's looks while I was trying to get my wits together to say a proper hello. He was dressed to work, as any fool could see, in his dusty boots, white T-shirt, and of course the overalls and cap I had noticed earlier. Those beautiful brown eyes were part of a face that was as handsome as even Nina could hope, and were enhanced by his tousled brown hair. I couldn't help it, I blushed a bit, suddenly very aware of the fact I was wearing a plain shirt, worn brown jacket, blue jeans, and my hair in its usual messy ponytail.
"Uhm . . . "I finally uttered, as I nervously smoothed down a sleeve. "You're that new rancher, right?"
"That's right," he replied in a nice kind of voice. It wasn't deep, or anything, but still nice enough to listen to. Then he smiled, which just lit up his whole face. I, in the meantime, was wondering how it had gotten so hot all of the sudden.
"I'm Ann," I said with little smile, offering a hand. "Nice to meet you." And believe me, it certainly WAS nice to meet him. May not be in the running, but the sidelines should be interesting with this handsome hunk in the game.
"I'm Jack, and the feeling's mutual," he said taking my hand and giving it a gentle squeeze. Why, oh why, did he seem so reluctant to let go of my hand, just then? He even sounded kinda sad, when he said: "Wish I could stay and talk a little longer, but I've got to finish checking things out, here. I start work, tomorrow, so I've got to know where everything is."
"I can see that," I said, nodding. "Hope you come here, often. We always have good tools, Dad, and I." Jack smiled his hand on the door.
"I'll be sure to do so," he said, before going in to talk to Dad. I watched as the door closed behind him, and took a deep breath to, hopefully, cool me off.
"Hey, Ann!" I heard Eve shout from her post at the Bar. I turned, and waved, noticing that Eve was jumping up and down in a way that would make guys drool in a ten-mile radius. "That was him, wasn't it? He is SO cute!"
"He looks even better up close," I quipped, grinning. Eve laughed, then grinned at me, in a playful way.
"I think he likes you," she called, grinning at this bit of information. "The way he was looking at you said it all."
"Oh go ON! He's probably never seen a girl in a funky old brown jacket before," I laughed. "You're next on the tour, so he's sure to have the typical reaction." Eve just laughed, knowing what the "typical reaction" usually was. The shop door opened, and Jack stepped out, promising that he would return for any tools he needed. He turned to me, and smiled in a way that raised the temperature several degrees before heading over to the restaurant. There we could see him talking to Ellen's mom, and dad. He sampled what dishes she would allow him to for free, and checked out the cake she sells as a special. Apparently he didn't have much in the way of money to play around with, because Jack left, the cake unbought, and the shopkeeper looking rather disappointed.
From there I watched him head over to Eve. Of course, she fawned over him, telling him how disappointed that she was that the bar was closed, and all that. Naturally she told him when the bar was open so he could stop by and visit, to get to know some of the locals. The Bar is the usual gathering place for some of the men of the town, and sometimes the fortune-teller goes there for a glass of juice. I've tasted Eve's grape juice, once, and it nearly sent me to orbit. Maybe he should be warned about it . . . Then again maybe not, since he's sure to find out for himself, tonight.
It wasn't until late the next day, that I saw Ellen, again. She told me that she had met Jack, that morning, when Fido had run off. He had gone to the ranch, where Jack was just coming out of his house to start working on that poor old place. Fido ran right up to him, wagging his tail. Since the dog seemed to like Jack so much Ellen had asked him to keep Fido, and take care of him. Jack agreed rather quickly. I guess it's kind of lonely on that ranch out there. On Wednesday the three of us gathered in front of the restaurant to talk about the new rancher.
"He seemed so tired, when he came into the bar, last night," Eve said shaking her head. "He must be working very hard."
"I heard that that place was covered in rocks, and weeds," I added. "He's probably got a lot to do to get that place in shape." Just then Ellen's mother came out and handed us a cake.
"There you are girls," she said cheerfully. "A good snack to share while you talk." With that, she went back in, to tend her restaurant.
"It's probably about to go stale. That's the only time Mom ever gives cake away. Except Thanksgiving," Ellen said, breaking the cake into three pieces.
"Hey, free cake is free cake," I said, taking my piece.
"I'm glad he liked Fido, though," Ellen said after taking a bite. "He should help keep wild dogs off his ranch." Eve and I murmured agreement around our mouthfuls of cake. Unfortunately Eve was first to swallow.
"Ann and I saw Jack the first day he was here. I think he sorta likes Ann," Eve offered with a sly grin.
"He does NOT," I shot back. "Bet he got one good look at you, Eve, and forgot all about me."
"Jack likes you, Ann?" Ellen asked, smiling.
"You should have seen the way he held her hand," Eve gushed, "and the way he looked at her."
"You're imagining things, Eve. Anyway, I've got to go. I've got a machine that I need to get working for Dad's shop." I said my good-byes and went home to work. Jack liking me in the way they think is impossibility. According to my Dad, I don't even act like a proper girl. Wonder what he means by that, anyway?
The days of Spring passed quickly, with life in town not changing much. Ellen reported that Jack had bought a chicken from the livestock seller, one day, and Nina had smugly told us that she had been spoken to by Jack after he had seen her mother for some vegitable and grass seed. Don't know why she was so smug, though. He's even spoken to Maria, and practically every other person in town. Even that peddler guy who comes on the weekends. Maria, unlike Nina, was not smug about being spoken to by the most available bacheler in Neighbor Town, though. She reported to Ellen and me, one Sunday after church, that he was most courtious. Which means his mama raised him right, and Nina had no right to be so stuck-up about Jack being nice. Eve told us about his visiting the bar at night, usually so tired he could barely stand. He talkes to the patrons, and gets their advice, before heading to Backhill's hot spring. There were even a couple of times that Jack had brought her wild grapes from the mountain, and Ellen once recieved an egg from our fave farmer dude. Then about a week before the Flower Festival, Jack came into the store.
"Hello, sir," he said, closing the door behind him, and walking over to where I was tinkering with my auto harvester.
"Morning, Jack," Dad said smiling. "You finially save enough to get a cow?"
"Yes, Sir. I'll be buying a cow brush, today. After I make my delivery."
"Delivery?" Dad asked. "You mean that cake?" Cake? I looked up, and Dad was right. He was standing by my machine, one of the resteraunt's cakes in his hands.
"Yup," Jack laughed, then turned to me, and handed me the cake. "I hear you like these, so I thought I would bring one over."
"Uh... Thank you," I finially managed, taking the cake from his hands. "It looks delicious." Jack smiled, seeming to light up the whole shop.
"You're welcome, Ann," he said, looking at me in a way that made me quivver inside like a geletian mold. "See you at the festival, next week."
"Uh... Yeah," I stammered, as he went over to the shelf to pick out his cow brush. I decided to take a break to eat. Those cakes don't last long, and they're not as good half-stale. I could not help but wonder what prompted Jack to give me a gift. Around here, when a boy gives a girl a gift, it means that he likes her, but he couldn't like me like that . . . Could he?
The days passed, me keeping up with my usual routine, as the whole town prepaired for the Flower Festival. Nina and her mom gathered different kinds of flowers for the traditional perfume that is to be sold during the main party. Guys are supposed to pick the perfume that the girl he's interested in would like the best. There was a problem, though: the flourist had a rule about selling more than one bottle of a particular flower scent to one person., and both Ellen and Eve liked rose perfume. Me? I like violet, not that I'm going to get any. The Flower Festival usual for me, it would seem. Except for one day, when Jack brought me a flower. He did not buy anything from Dad, either. He had made the trip just to bring the flower to me, and that was perplexing. What was he up to?
The day of the Flower Festival, everybody gathered in the public square. The mayor brought his victrola to play the dancing music, and everybody admired the decorating job that Maria and Nina had done on the square. Flowers flowers everywhere. Ellen was looking kind of pained, with all the perfume. It was probabally giving her one mother of a headache. When Jack finially showed up, all eyes went to him. He was brushing some hay off his pants, and dusting himself off, as he walked up. He then went around, greeting everybody in that polite way he has.
"He's looking at you," Ellen whispered.
"No he's not. He's looking at Eve," I whispered back.
"How can you tell? We're standing right next to each other," Eve said, as she watched Jack go to the perfume counter. He bought one of each kind of perfume, which had to be expensive, and bought them over to where Eve, Ellen, and I were standing.
"Hello, ladies," he said with a kind smile. "How are you this wonderful day."
"I'm fine," Eve said with a grin.
"Me too. Ellen's not so hot, though," I supplied. He looked over at Ellen, his face a little worried.
"There's just too much perfume, today," Ellen sighed. "It's giving me a headache." Jack made a sympathetic sound, but could do nothing else, his hands full of bottles. He then turned to me, holding out a purple bottle.
"For you, Ann," he said with a warm smile. I was so stunned, as I reached up to take the bottle. The glass felt cool on my palms, and Jack's hand felt so warm when he rested it on mine oh so briefly. I could see Eve and Ellen smirking at me, from behind Jack's back, and they only managed to look reletively normal when he turned to them. He gave the other two bottles to them, before going to talk to the mayor. I was sure I was beet red, and my hands shook when I unstoppered the bottle. Violet. As if a purple bottle would have anything else.
"He gave me lillac," Ellen sighed. Not her favorite fragrance in the world, to be honest.
"It's the thought that counds, Ellie," Eve said, sniffing her rose scent. "And you were right, anyway. He WAS looking at Annie."
"Yeah yeah, and you'll be prooven wrong, when he asks you to dance, Eveie," I said. She knows I hate it when she calles me "Annie". The three of us went to put our bottles down on a nearby bench, so they wouldn't get broken during the dancing. Not that I was going to be doing-
"Ann? Would you like to dance?" Jack asked. I nearly dropped my perfume. Jack grabbed my hands, which still had the bottle in them, saving me from being drenched in scent. He took the bottle from me, and set it on the bench. I could see both Eve and Ellen grinning at me, and I glared at them.
"Not. A. Word," I mouthed to them.
"Ann?" Jack asked, snapping my attention back to him.
"Huh? Yes?"
"Would you like to dance?" he asked again.
"Uh . . . Sure," I managed. He then led me out to the square, acting like a true gentleman. By the benches, I could see those two giggling together about this devolopment. Then Eve did something silly. Apparantly she asked Ellen to dance, because she bowed rather comically. Ellen got into the act, fluttering her hands to her boosum, and offering Eve her hand. When the music started, I danced with Jack, every now and again glancing over at Eve and Ellen's dancing antics. They seemd to be having quite alot of fun. So was I to tell you the truth. Jack was a wonderful dancer, and that helped allot since I'm not a very good dancer at all. When the dancing stopped, I could see Ellen and Eve laughing and telling Maria that they were just fooling around when they danced together.
"It was all this perfume, honest," I heard Ellen say. Maria just smiled, and said something I didn't hear.
"Well that was the point wasn't it?" Eve asked. "I'm glad we entertained everybody." Maria chuckled, and went back to her father and mother. Those two grinned, then whispered together, odviously plotting more mischief. I snickered, wondering what they were up to, when Jack took my hand, bringing my attention back to him.
"I hate to leave," he said his thumbs rubbing over the backs of my hands. "But I've got to get to work, early, tomorrow."
"That's okay. Nobody expects you to help with the clean-up, with all you've got to do," I said, with a slight shrug.
"Thanks for understanding," he murmured, before bringing one of my hands up to his lips, and kissing it. Gulp! I was not going to hear the end of it. That was for sure. He let go of my hands, and started toward the road out of town, casting a glance back to me, before he started to jog back to his ranch. I stood there, staring after him, my mind confused, but feeling kind of tingly-good all over.
I don't own Harvest Moon, or any of the characters contained therein. I do wish they had given their shopkeepers proper names, though. It would have made for easier referencing. Oh well. I hope you enjoy this bit. Summer, Fall, and Winter will be comming eventually.
It all started on New Year's day. We were all pretty sleepy from having to get up at the crack of dawn to see the first sunrise of the New Year, but you know how traditions go. What's worse, was that there was a new boy coming to town. A guy that was going to take over that old run-down ranch outside of town. I, personally, thought this was cool. He was sure to come to my Dad's shop to pick up any tools he needed, especially since we carry cow brushes, milkers, and paint. Dad and I sometimes make tools for the shop, too. I'm not that good at it yet, but I'll make something great one of these days. Just you wait. So, here we were, groggy from a traditional New Year's celebration, and not exactly at our best to greet our new neighbor, but we had to make a go at it, anyway because he was coming over with the shipper.
The other girls in Neighbor Town were more interested in being courted by the new boy. Gotta have a hobby, I guess, but I know I'm not even in the running. Let's see a tomboyish redhead who loves to mess around with machines. Oh yeah. Real stuff of romance, here. Out of all five available girls in Neighbor Town, I've GOT to come in rock bottom in whatever rankings they may have. Who could possibly be first? Nina, of course. "Sister Pink", as that one carpenter guy calls her, with her pink hair and her pink dress, and her doll-like pink prettiness... Did I mention that she liked pink? You probably got that right off. Anyway, Nina is the florist's daughter, and since the florist is the one who sells the vegetable seeds, the poor rancher is going to see allot of Nina. Whether he wants to or not.
If you haven't been able to tell, I really don't like Nina. She's something of a brat, I think, but then if she hadn't jumped my case about picking those berries in Backhill, I'd be a little more charitable. Little ninny thinks that Backhill is her own little preserve. She goes and picks flowers, that anybody with since can go and get for free, and brings them to her mom, who in turn sells them for 300 G a piece in her shop. What a rip! That's what I get for trying to do Eve a favor.
Eve, by the way, has to be the one that comes in second in whatever rankings that's out there. She's blond, which says allot about her right off. Nothing against blondes, but I hear those carpenter guys make dumb blond jokes all the time. The shipper too. Mind you, Eve's pretty smart, but she tends to act like an airhead, sometimes. She's also pretty curvy, which probably helps attract guys to the bar, where she works. If you've got it, flaunt it, I guess. Probably why she wears that maroon miniskirt, and haltertop. The bartender must be glad to have her, since Eve-watching keeps down the fights. There's also her deft skill with brewing beer, and making that "grape juice". Eve and Ellen and I have been neighbors and fairly good friends for a long time. Ever since Eve came to live with Ellen's uncle, the bartender. And every night Ellen's dad is in the bar getting "juiced up", with Ellen right there, most nights, trying to get him to come home. I asked Ellen, once, just what exactly her mom saw in her dad, but all she could do was shrug. Love's a mystery in many ways. I found that out for myself, but that comes later.
Ellen is the third contender in the race for affection. A kind-hearted animal lover, who got her mom's serious attitude, but can have her daddy's love of fun on festival days. Especially the Fall Egg Hunt. With her brown hair, hazel eyes, and conservative attire she's the perfect foil for Eve and her almost wanton ways. They end up seeing allot of each other, between Eve living with Ellen's uncle, and Ellen having to come and fetch her sot of a father from the bar. Naturally they're best friends. Every now and again all three of us will go to Backhill just to get away, but those times are few and far between. I wish, sometimes, that Ellen and I would skip out on church, and go with Eve to the hot spring in Backhill, but Dad's the one who brings me, so I can't sneak out and worry him. Ellen's there, too, with her mom, usually praying for her dad's health. Dispite his shortcomings, she loves him allot.
Speaking of church, we come to the last available girl in town: Maria, the mayor's daughter. She's a strict churchgoer, and very religious. Practically a part of the church with her sober black dress. Most days she's either in front of the church sweeping the walk, or inside, or playing the organ on Sundays. She's a good person, tranquil, and serene. Kinda annoying, in some ways, but better company than Nina on any day of the week.
Then there's me. Redheaded tomboy inventor by the name of Ann. Not much to me, except that I help my Dad with his shop. I don't remember my mom, much, which is kinda sad. I just wish Dad hadn't fallen for the florist. I don't relish the thought of Nina as a stepsister. What's worse, the florist seems JUST as smitten as my Dad is. Oh brother.
I guess I should be getting back to the story. It was just past seven in the morning, when the shipper drove up with the new boy. I couldn't see him from Dad's store, but I heard the shipper's truck. I was just hanging out in front of the shop, enjoying that fresh spring air, and watching for the rancher guy. I could see Eve standing in front of the Bar's door, probably to tell the guy about the Bar. Ellen's mom was on duty in her restaurant, Ellen's dad was there too, strumming his guitar. I couldn't see Ellen, though. I looked toward the livestock seller's, Ellen's usual hang out, but she wasn't there, either. I guess she had to go and take her dog to the mountain again. Ellen, like I mentioned before, is an animal lover, and she couldn't resist bringing home this cute little puppy she had found. Good thing, too, because she found him in the middle of Winter, and he would have starved, otherwise. Unfortunately, Ellen lives in a restaurant, and it's against health regulations to keep pets inside. Ellen's little birdie, P-Chan is all right because he's confinable, but Fido is another story. I DID see somebody that could only be that new farmer guy, though. He was wearing blue overalls, a blue back-wards turned cap, and a bright red bandanna. I couldn't see much else in the way of details, because he was going into the livestock seller's place. Guess he's going to check out the prices of cows and chickens. That also meant that he was going to be coming here, next. Dad's going to be pleased with that. Nobody's needed anything for cows for a while, and we'll be able to sell some fresh eggs and milk from the new guy's farm. I shrugged, and continued hanging out in front of the store. I was thinking about my machine, and what else it needed to make it work. An auto harvester would be a pretty good machine for the farmer guy to look into, if I could get it running properly.
Suddenly, I was snapped out of my plans. Somebody had just tapped me on the shoulder. I turned; sure it was Ellen back with her dog, because I could still see Eve standing by the Bar. Why she was staring over here, I could not understand, until I finished turning around and found myself looking into the kindest pair of brown eyes I had ever seen. I couldn't help but gulp, as I took in this guy's looks while I was trying to get my wits together to say a proper hello. He was dressed to work, as any fool could see, in his dusty boots, white T-shirt, and of course the overalls and cap I had noticed earlier. Those beautiful brown eyes were part of a face that was as handsome as even Nina could hope, and were enhanced by his tousled brown hair. I couldn't help it, I blushed a bit, suddenly very aware of the fact I was wearing a plain shirt, worn brown jacket, blue jeans, and my hair in its usual messy ponytail.
"Uhm . . . "I finally uttered, as I nervously smoothed down a sleeve. "You're that new rancher, right?"
"That's right," he replied in a nice kind of voice. It wasn't deep, or anything, but still nice enough to listen to. Then he smiled, which just lit up his whole face. I, in the meantime, was wondering how it had gotten so hot all of the sudden.
"I'm Ann," I said with little smile, offering a hand. "Nice to meet you." And believe me, it certainly WAS nice to meet him. May not be in the running, but the sidelines should be interesting with this handsome hunk in the game.
"I'm Jack, and the feeling's mutual," he said taking my hand and giving it a gentle squeeze. Why, oh why, did he seem so reluctant to let go of my hand, just then? He even sounded kinda sad, when he said: "Wish I could stay and talk a little longer, but I've got to finish checking things out, here. I start work, tomorrow, so I've got to know where everything is."
"I can see that," I said, nodding. "Hope you come here, often. We always have good tools, Dad, and I." Jack smiled his hand on the door.
"I'll be sure to do so," he said, before going in to talk to Dad. I watched as the door closed behind him, and took a deep breath to, hopefully, cool me off.
"Hey, Ann!" I heard Eve shout from her post at the Bar. I turned, and waved, noticing that Eve was jumping up and down in a way that would make guys drool in a ten-mile radius. "That was him, wasn't it? He is SO cute!"
"He looks even better up close," I quipped, grinning. Eve laughed, then grinned at me, in a playful way.
"I think he likes you," she called, grinning at this bit of information. "The way he was looking at you said it all."
"Oh go ON! He's probably never seen a girl in a funky old brown jacket before," I laughed. "You're next on the tour, so he's sure to have the typical reaction." Eve just laughed, knowing what the "typical reaction" usually was. The shop door opened, and Jack stepped out, promising that he would return for any tools he needed. He turned to me, and smiled in a way that raised the temperature several degrees before heading over to the restaurant. There we could see him talking to Ellen's mom, and dad. He sampled what dishes she would allow him to for free, and checked out the cake she sells as a special. Apparently he didn't have much in the way of money to play around with, because Jack left, the cake unbought, and the shopkeeper looking rather disappointed.
From there I watched him head over to Eve. Of course, she fawned over him, telling him how disappointed that she was that the bar was closed, and all that. Naturally she told him when the bar was open so he could stop by and visit, to get to know some of the locals. The Bar is the usual gathering place for some of the men of the town, and sometimes the fortune-teller goes there for a glass of juice. I've tasted Eve's grape juice, once, and it nearly sent me to orbit. Maybe he should be warned about it . . . Then again maybe not, since he's sure to find out for himself, tonight.
It wasn't until late the next day, that I saw Ellen, again. She told me that she had met Jack, that morning, when Fido had run off. He had gone to the ranch, where Jack was just coming out of his house to start working on that poor old place. Fido ran right up to him, wagging his tail. Since the dog seemed to like Jack so much Ellen had asked him to keep Fido, and take care of him. Jack agreed rather quickly. I guess it's kind of lonely on that ranch out there. On Wednesday the three of us gathered in front of the restaurant to talk about the new rancher.
"He seemed so tired, when he came into the bar, last night," Eve said shaking her head. "He must be working very hard."
"I heard that that place was covered in rocks, and weeds," I added. "He's probably got a lot to do to get that place in shape." Just then Ellen's mother came out and handed us a cake.
"There you are girls," she said cheerfully. "A good snack to share while you talk." With that, she went back in, to tend her restaurant.
"It's probably about to go stale. That's the only time Mom ever gives cake away. Except Thanksgiving," Ellen said, breaking the cake into three pieces.
"Hey, free cake is free cake," I said, taking my piece.
"I'm glad he liked Fido, though," Ellen said after taking a bite. "He should help keep wild dogs off his ranch." Eve and I murmured agreement around our mouthfuls of cake. Unfortunately Eve was first to swallow.
"Ann and I saw Jack the first day he was here. I think he sorta likes Ann," Eve offered with a sly grin.
"He does NOT," I shot back. "Bet he got one good look at you, Eve, and forgot all about me."
"Jack likes you, Ann?" Ellen asked, smiling.
"You should have seen the way he held her hand," Eve gushed, "and the way he looked at her."
"You're imagining things, Eve. Anyway, I've got to go. I've got a machine that I need to get working for Dad's shop." I said my good-byes and went home to work. Jack liking me in the way they think is impossibility. According to my Dad, I don't even act like a proper girl. Wonder what he means by that, anyway?
The days of Spring passed quickly, with life in town not changing much. Ellen reported that Jack had bought a chicken from the livestock seller, one day, and Nina had smugly told us that she had been spoken to by Jack after he had seen her mother for some vegitable and grass seed. Don't know why she was so smug, though. He's even spoken to Maria, and practically every other person in town. Even that peddler guy who comes on the weekends. Maria, unlike Nina, was not smug about being spoken to by the most available bacheler in Neighbor Town, though. She reported to Ellen and me, one Sunday after church, that he was most courtious. Which means his mama raised him right, and Nina had no right to be so stuck-up about Jack being nice. Eve told us about his visiting the bar at night, usually so tired he could barely stand. He talkes to the patrons, and gets their advice, before heading to Backhill's hot spring. There were even a couple of times that Jack had brought her wild grapes from the mountain, and Ellen once recieved an egg from our fave farmer dude. Then about a week before the Flower Festival, Jack came into the store.
"Hello, sir," he said, closing the door behind him, and walking over to where I was tinkering with my auto harvester.
"Morning, Jack," Dad said smiling. "You finially save enough to get a cow?"
"Yes, Sir. I'll be buying a cow brush, today. After I make my delivery."
"Delivery?" Dad asked. "You mean that cake?" Cake? I looked up, and Dad was right. He was standing by my machine, one of the resteraunt's cakes in his hands.
"Yup," Jack laughed, then turned to me, and handed me the cake. "I hear you like these, so I thought I would bring one over."
"Uh... Thank you," I finially managed, taking the cake from his hands. "It looks delicious." Jack smiled, seeming to light up the whole shop.
"You're welcome, Ann," he said, looking at me in a way that made me quivver inside like a geletian mold. "See you at the festival, next week."
"Uh... Yeah," I stammered, as he went over to the shelf to pick out his cow brush. I decided to take a break to eat. Those cakes don't last long, and they're not as good half-stale. I could not help but wonder what prompted Jack to give me a gift. Around here, when a boy gives a girl a gift, it means that he likes her, but he couldn't like me like that . . . Could he?
The days passed, me keeping up with my usual routine, as the whole town prepaired for the Flower Festival. Nina and her mom gathered different kinds of flowers for the traditional perfume that is to be sold during the main party. Guys are supposed to pick the perfume that the girl he's interested in would like the best. There was a problem, though: the flourist had a rule about selling more than one bottle of a particular flower scent to one person., and both Ellen and Eve liked rose perfume. Me? I like violet, not that I'm going to get any. The Flower Festival usual for me, it would seem. Except for one day, when Jack brought me a flower. He did not buy anything from Dad, either. He had made the trip just to bring the flower to me, and that was perplexing. What was he up to?
The day of the Flower Festival, everybody gathered in the public square. The mayor brought his victrola to play the dancing music, and everybody admired the decorating job that Maria and Nina had done on the square. Flowers flowers everywhere. Ellen was looking kind of pained, with all the perfume. It was probabally giving her one mother of a headache. When Jack finially showed up, all eyes went to him. He was brushing some hay off his pants, and dusting himself off, as he walked up. He then went around, greeting everybody in that polite way he has.
"He's looking at you," Ellen whispered.
"No he's not. He's looking at Eve," I whispered back.
"How can you tell? We're standing right next to each other," Eve said, as she watched Jack go to the perfume counter. He bought one of each kind of perfume, which had to be expensive, and bought them over to where Eve, Ellen, and I were standing.
"Hello, ladies," he said with a kind smile. "How are you this wonderful day."
"I'm fine," Eve said with a grin.
"Me too. Ellen's not so hot, though," I supplied. He looked over at Ellen, his face a little worried.
"There's just too much perfume, today," Ellen sighed. "It's giving me a headache." Jack made a sympathetic sound, but could do nothing else, his hands full of bottles. He then turned to me, holding out a purple bottle.
"For you, Ann," he said with a warm smile. I was so stunned, as I reached up to take the bottle. The glass felt cool on my palms, and Jack's hand felt so warm when he rested it on mine oh so briefly. I could see Eve and Ellen smirking at me, from behind Jack's back, and they only managed to look reletively normal when he turned to them. He gave the other two bottles to them, before going to talk to the mayor. I was sure I was beet red, and my hands shook when I unstoppered the bottle. Violet. As if a purple bottle would have anything else.
"He gave me lillac," Ellen sighed. Not her favorite fragrance in the world, to be honest.
"It's the thought that counds, Ellie," Eve said, sniffing her rose scent. "And you were right, anyway. He WAS looking at Annie."
"Yeah yeah, and you'll be prooven wrong, when he asks you to dance, Eveie," I said. She knows I hate it when she calles me "Annie". The three of us went to put our bottles down on a nearby bench, so they wouldn't get broken during the dancing. Not that I was going to be doing-
"Ann? Would you like to dance?" Jack asked. I nearly dropped my perfume. Jack grabbed my hands, which still had the bottle in them, saving me from being drenched in scent. He took the bottle from me, and set it on the bench. I could see both Eve and Ellen grinning at me, and I glared at them.
"Not. A. Word," I mouthed to them.
"Ann?" Jack asked, snapping my attention back to him.
"Huh? Yes?"
"Would you like to dance?" he asked again.
"Uh . . . Sure," I managed. He then led me out to the square, acting like a true gentleman. By the benches, I could see those two giggling together about this devolopment. Then Eve did something silly. Apparantly she asked Ellen to dance, because she bowed rather comically. Ellen got into the act, fluttering her hands to her boosum, and offering Eve her hand. When the music started, I danced with Jack, every now and again glancing over at Eve and Ellen's dancing antics. They seemd to be having quite alot of fun. So was I to tell you the truth. Jack was a wonderful dancer, and that helped allot since I'm not a very good dancer at all. When the dancing stopped, I could see Ellen and Eve laughing and telling Maria that they were just fooling around when they danced together.
"It was all this perfume, honest," I heard Ellen say. Maria just smiled, and said something I didn't hear.
"Well that was the point wasn't it?" Eve asked. "I'm glad we entertained everybody." Maria chuckled, and went back to her father and mother. Those two grinned, then whispered together, odviously plotting more mischief. I snickered, wondering what they were up to, when Jack took my hand, bringing my attention back to him.
"I hate to leave," he said his thumbs rubbing over the backs of my hands. "But I've got to get to work, early, tomorrow."
"That's okay. Nobody expects you to help with the clean-up, with all you've got to do," I said, with a slight shrug.
"Thanks for understanding," he murmured, before bringing one of my hands up to his lips, and kissing it. Gulp! I was not going to hear the end of it. That was for sure. He let go of my hands, and started toward the road out of town, casting a glance back to me, before he started to jog back to his ranch. I stood there, staring after him, my mind confused, but feeling kind of tingly-good all over.