AN: Hello all! Thanks for the wonderful comments. Yes it is a fic about Dirk. I played ToTT a second time and fell in love with him. It's practically impossible to marry him though so i thought i would write about him instead! This is a longish chapter (i apologize in advance) but worth it i believe! Thanks again and enjoy!
I woke up to Lafayette sitting on my chest, licking my face. I groaned and tried to push him off but he would not budge.
"Lafayette, no! No kisses!" I cried but he didn't listen to me. I picked him off my chest and sat up. Another day has arrived. The mental checklist in my head seemed longer than usual. I stretched my arms and quickly changed into my blue leggings and threw on orange apron. I slid the blue embroidered sweater overtop of my tank top and put on my steel-toed boots. I yawned loudly as I brushed my long brown hair. I looked more tired than usual. My blue eyes seemed a bit blood-shot but nothing that some caffeine would fix. I slid my large red headband into my hair and headed into my field. Luckily so far the summer heat hadn't dried my crops. I gave them all some well-needed water and fertilized my corn stalks. Lafayette and King ran out of the house at 7 to get Betsy and the chickens out into the yard. I wiped some sweat from my forehead. It was still early morning but it was so hot. I quickly milked Betsy and collected the eggs. Today I had to go to Bluebell, no matter how much I wanted to stay away. I had to go see Eileen about the tunnel. We had decided to try and restore it to its former glory but without Rutger or Ina knowing. We had made some progress but we had a long way to go. Having the tunnel operational would make my life much simpler since it took forever to get up and down the mountain.
I hitched the saddle on Byron and hopped on. He neighed happily and broke out into a running start. As much as I loved this horse, he was reckless. He probably should have been a racehorse rather than a farm horse. I pulled him to a slow trot when we reached the shipping bin. I put all my animal products in the bin and got back on Byron.
"Morning Lillian!" I heard Kana behind me. He was brushing Hayate, his prized stallion, "And good morning to you Byron." He stroked Byron's nose and he whinnied happily, "Shhh don't tell the other horses." Kana said softly as he snuck a horse treat out of his pocket and fed it to Byron.
I rolled my eyes at him, "Kana stop spoiling my horse. I'm starting to think he likes you more than me."
"Well that's not very difficult," he laughed, "So I'm dying to know, how was seeing Mr. the-one-who-got-away last night?" Kana leaned against his fence, his tongue practically wagging.
"Apparently I have a superpower where things I talk about appear to me out of nowhere. I'd really like a million dollars!" I looked up at the sky, "Honestly, it was sort of weird. He remembers who I am and when I fell out of that stupid tree…he wouldn't tell me why he left Zephyr Town though. I'm assuming we'll probably discuss it over dinner on Sunday."
"He invited you to dinner? Oh la la! It sounds like love is blooming already!" Kana beamed.
"I'm really starting to regret telling you that story now. Especially since Dirk mentioned that you and Georgia could not stop smiling when he introduced himself! I'm guessing you just had to mention that the farmer living next door was a young woman named Lillian who had been to his hometown before?"
"I had to tell him! This is fate! Also it was mostly Georgia. She practically screamed when he said his name was Dirk. You, my friend, now have Georgia desperate to get you two together. You know Georgia; she won't stop till she has what she wants. You should just marry him now and save us all the trouble!"
I breathed out loudly and covered my face, "You two are impossible!" Byron neighed softly and moved his head towards the mountain path, "Well looks like he wants to go for a run. I'll be back later, and then you and I are going to put down ground rules about interfering! Meanwhile, I'm going to have a nice lecture with your girlfriend."
"Sounds good, just don't mess up her face. I really like her face." He waved me off as I rolled my eyes one last time. Kana was like the annoying older brother I never had. He could tease me endlessly and he wasn't afraid of me at all. He's seen me cut down a pine tree all by myself and he still doesn't believe I can take care of myself. But it felt nice to have someone look out for me. I'm an only child and now an orphan. I have no family to call my own so it's nice to feel accepted here.
The mountain path was eerily quiet but I saw Reina sitting on the grass, studying her rocks as usual. We waved to each other but that's it. I wasn't very close with Reina; she was usually so absorbed in her work, more so than I was which is saying something. The only time I really spoke to her was when I was with Nori and Reina would stop by. Nori seemed to be the only one who could bring Reina out of her shell. I stroked Byron's mane and flicked the reins gently, "Go Byron, go!" With my approval finally given, Byron broke out into a fast run. My hair whipped around my face and my eyes stung but I didn't care. This is when I felt most alive. The wind in my face and the matching heartbeats between Byron and I was like drugs to me. I felt my adrenaline pumping through my veins as Byron stampeded up and down the mountain path. I had to slow Byron down to a slow walk when we reached Bluebell. I slid out of the saddle and guided him with the reins towards Grady's shop. When I rode into town, Grady let me keep Byron with his horses. Georgia usually fed him and gave him a ton of water so he was prepared for the sprint back to Konohana.
"Howdy Lillian!" Georgia waved me over, "Enjoy your night?" She gave me a sly smile.
"Well my dogs almost killed Dirk but other than that, it was dandy." I sighed, "last night wasn't a dream right? You guys didn't put like a drug in my tea or anything right? He's actually the new mailman here? The same Dirk from my childhood?"
"It's really him! You were probably only half as shocked as I was. I almost dragged him over to your place myself. I almost screamed at him to kiss you too. But I'm excited; you two are my new project! You two will be together or I will eat my own boot!"
"Well then tell me how that boot tastes then!" I handed her Byron's reins, "I have to go talk to Eileen and avoid Cam at all costs. I'll see you in a bit." Georgia laughed and guided Byron towards the pasture. I liked Bluebell. The people were friendly and it was always charming. It wasn't that different from Konohana but the emphasis on animals was obvious. They loved animals more that I did. But I really connected with the people here. When I moved, I had only 500g and no equipment and no experience working on a farm. But everyone taught me what I needed to know and Rutger gave me all the farming equipment for free. I owed these people a lot. I felt guilty moving to Konohana but everyone understood, even Rutger who looked like I had betrayed him. I walked to Eileen's combined house and studio and knocked on the door. I heard a grunt from inside and opened the door. Eileen was sitting at her kitchen table; a large coffee cup was sitting on a blueprint she was erasing at furiously. She had two pencils sticking out of her hair and her glasses on top of her head.
"Eileen?"
She looked up from her work in surprise, "Oh Lillian! Hi! Good! I was hoping you'd come to town soon. I know you're avoiding Bluebell after what happened with Cam. Come sit!" She motioned to the free chair beside her.
"How do you even know about Cam and I?" I had only told Georgia, Laney and Nori. Well I guess Kana knows now but still.
"News spreads fast here, especially in a sleepy town like this. The news of a breakup spreads like a wildfire. I heard it from Rose who had heard it from Jessica who overheard Laney and Georgia talking about it. You can't keep a secret here at all! I'm sorry to hear about it though; I thought you two were quite nice to each other. You really brought a smile to Cam's face."
"It just wasn't what we wanted, I guess. It was mutual." I told her.
She wagged her pencil at me, "That's not what I heard. But oh well. So I was looking at the tunnel the other day and I think I know where to continue. I got this amazing new hammer that should really obliterate those huge boulders blocking our path. I just need some lumber to create the support beams."
"I've got it already," I nodded, "I have a ton of lumber in my supply shed back here in Bluebell. Just tell me when and we can blast away those boulders."
Eileen shook her head; "Oh it's too dangerous for you! You may be an independent woman but I wouldn't feel right having you in that tunnel right now. As long as I can get the materials, I can do it myself. I don't want you to get hurt really. This isn't simple stuff."
I nodded, "Fair enough!" I relaxed in the chair, "I'm just happy if that tunnel is almost done. That mountain is a monster to climb."
She went back to her blueprint and scribbled something on the corner "Tell me about it! It's my exercise for the day but still. I feel horrible for you and that new man, Dirk. You both take the path everyday and it just takes up so much time."
"Dirk?" My heart rate sped up even at the mention of his name.
"Yes, the new mail carrier. His name is Dirk." Eileen said absentminded, "He came by this morning to introduce himself. Since he was the only applicant to Rutger and Ina's ads he got both jobs. So he'll be delivering mail everyday to Bluebell and Konohana. It'll be a tough job but he doesn't look like the type to complain. He's got quite the infectious smile. Did you meet him?"
"Yeah, we go way back." I mumbled. So he's delivering mail to both towns. That's ambitious even for him. Why would he want to be that busy? He would be spending most of the day walking up and down the mountain.
"Really? Childhood friend?" Eileen looked at me.
"Something like that." I gave her a smile. She nodded and went back to work; "I'm going to go to Howard's now. Let me know if you need my help soon." I told her. She mumbled something incoherently to me but did not move her eyes away from her blueprint. I loved Eileen but once she got her attention on a project, she would not pull herself away from it until it was over. I walked over to Howard's but I continued to think of Dirk. The Dirk I remembered worked hard but lounge around as well. Why was he planning on working so hard here? My thoughts wandered over to why he had left. Why wasn't he married to that farmer? Maybe she was dead…or married to someone else. Maybe they needed the money so that's why he took both jobs. They're probably in some type of long-distance relationship. I sighed in frustration. Even if he wasn't with her, I was nothing like that farmer. She was beautiful and driven. She brought that bazaar back to life while I'm a Plain Jane who can't even revive my farm. I need to move on. He was just a childhood crush. I'm older and smarter now. I can get over him…I think.