Short little drabble that wouldn't leave me alone and I thought was far too cute not to post.
"What are you doing here again, kid? Don't you have a farm to run?" Craig asks as Akari enters the shop. Despite the tone, she smiles, and he finds himself pleased to see it. Akari is a sweet girl and she usually came by every day to speak with them, even if she didn't always buy something.
"Good evening, Craig, Ruth," she says cheerfully, a bounce in her step.
"You seem especially happy today," Ruth comments from behind the counter. Even her lips tug upward at the girl's cheerful demeanor.
"Oh well, thing is, I just harvested today, and well..." she trails off, leaning over to pull something out of her rucksack. Craig and Ruth are both pleased to see a shining eggplant.
"Well done!" Ruth exclaims, a rare smile coming to her face.
"See kid, knew you could do it," Craig says, actually beaming at Akari. There's pride here, he realizes. While neither Anissa nor Taylor have turned from their farming roots, neither has embraced them. Anissa is far more interested in medicine, in that doctor that lives in the town and all that he does. Sure, she left to help the farm, but that was because it had to do with family, not because she was actually that interested in farming. Taylor likes the competitive world of business, and Craig is almost afraid that he'll move elsewhere to get a bigger thrill out of it.
Akari may not be his child, exactly, but she's come to the shop for advice, talked to them about farming often enough- with passion and enthusiasm despite a lack of experience- that perhaps, Craig thinks... perhaps she is another child of his. He claps her on the shoulder and he swears she's actually smiling harder than before, which he's pretty sure is impossible.
"Well, I was thinking, that it might be more... uh... I mean, that it would be..." Akari is tumbling over her words and blushing before she finally gives in and simply hands the eggplant to Craig, who grabs hold of it instinctually. "I think you should have it, as a thank you," she finally manages.
He feels his expression slip to stunned, and he doesn't need to see his wife to know she feels the same.
"It's my first shining crop, and I just feel that it's right for me to give it to you. You've both helped me so much, I don't think I'd have gotten so far without the two of you. So I want you to have it," she continues, "to show I really am grateful for what you've done for me."
"You don't need to do this kid," he mutters, even as he looks at her blushing and determined face. He can feel Ruth coming up behind him.
"I want to. Without the two of you-" she shakes her head, smiling again. "It feels right," she repeats.
"Then we will accept your thanks," Ruth says, carefully taking the eggplant from Craig, "we'll eat it tonight. Did you know, Akari, that Craig is very fond of eggplant?"
"No, I didn't," Akari answers. She looks a lot more pleased.
"Don't get smug, kid," he warns. Akari giggles at him. He feels Ruth dig an elbow into his side and bites back irritation. What, did Ruth think he forgot? "And... thanks, kid. It's appreciated."
"You're welcome," she says, bowing. She checks her watch and frowns. "Oh, I need to go. I still have to visit the carpenter's. But I'll see you guys tomorrow, okay?"
"Yeah, kid. See you tomorrow," Craig grumbles.
"Good evening, Akari," Ruth says. They both watch her leave, standing next to each other for a moment. Then Ruth sniffs, giving her husband a pointed look. "And you didn't think the newcomer would do any good for this island."
"Some kid who didn't know a damn thing about farming sounded like a good idea to you?" Craig asks, a little irritated. Ruth puts the eggplant in their kitchen, leaving it in the sink to be washed.
"She learned fast," Ruth says, returning to where she was, standing next to Craig.
"Yeah, she did," Craig agrees. There's silence between the two of them for a moment more. Then, in the quiet, Ruth leans her head on Craig's shoulder, and Craig wraps an arm around her waist. They feel warm, a feeling of pride mixed with love coming to the surface that they have not quite felt in a while.
"She's a good kid," Ruth says at length. "We should invite her over for dinner, now that Anissa's come back. They don't really know each other yet."
"We'll make Taylor track her down," Craig says, not quite agreeing. "Not like the kid is as busy as he pretends." Ruth makes a hmm sound, closing her eyes. They stay like that for a little bit longer, not noticing Anissa coming into the kitchen from the back. Anissa pauses, glimpsing the eggplant and smiling, knowing it's one of her father's favorites. She's about to head out the front door when she sees her parents, leaning on each other, eyes closed. It's rare, she thinks as she sneaks back to the bedrooms, to see her parents let their guard down like that. They're loving in their own way, and don't usually succumb to such open affection.
Anissa gives a sad smile. She wishes that she could have done something more for her family while she was away, but she's glad to be home now. She's glad to see her parents happy again, even if they don't seem to show it well. She just wishes she could have done more to help her family than simply come home.