Chapter Two:

A little more than a week later, Jack found himself walking towards the town square, a couple ears of corn in hand. If he was being honest with himself, he would admit he was hoping to run into Cliff. The man had not been seen since he'd gulped down Jack's eggs. But he was not being honest and so instead he was telling himself that he'd been living at the farm for several months and he needed to start talking to people or else they'd think he was weird. Then again, they probably thought that anyway.

The mayor and his wife seemed pleased that he'd finally shown up, and Ann expressed her enthusiasm quite openly - she flung her arms around his neck and squeezed. It was a little overwhelming so he just smiled and patted her back with one hand. A couple feet away, Gray was scowling at them openly. Ann saw him looking elsewhere, followed his gaze, and then laughed. "Don't worry about Gray. Ever since our mom died, he's really gotten into the overprotective brother role. " Ann linked her arm through Jack's and pulled him over to a table where the pink-haired girl stood. "This is Popuri," she introduced, sliding her arm out of his and clapping her hands together with joy. "Now we can all be friends." Ann reached up and scratched underneath her red braid, looking around. "Oh look, there's Karen! And corn!" Without another word, she dashed off, leaving Jack alone with Popuri.

"I see you brought corn we sold you," she said, looking at his labeled vegetable. "It looks great." She reached up and twirled a strand of her hair around her finger. "I brought some flower soup." He just looked at her, not knowing what to say. He had never heard of this soup but did not want to volunteer tasting it. Popuri did not seem to mind his silence; she only smiled and said, "Well, I hope you plant some flowers. That would make your farm beautiful!" With that, she waved the hand that had formerly played with her hair and left.

Jack had barely turned around when Ann once again accosted him, dragging him over to a table with an older guy and a girl. He recognized the female as the mayor's daughter. She carried the shy look so well - cheeks rosy with a blush, hair and clothes modest but not boring. He was similarly bashful, arms crossed and head somewhat bowed. "This is Harris, the town's mailman, and Maria. She runs the library. They just got married last Sunday! Aren't they the cutest couple ever? I only hope one day I meet a man like that. Of course, I never will if Gray has anything to say about it." She glared over her shoulder at her brother and then walked off once again. This really was not the most pleasant way to meet people, but it was how he spent the entire afternoon, shuffling between couples and elders and kids on Ann's arm. He put up with it, even when someone called him "Ann's little boyfriend."

As the sun drifted downward on the horizon, a dance began. He expected Ann to ask him and was thinking of polite ways to refuse - surely she was too exuberant to be graceful - when she spun away from him and, after a few moments of flirtatious coaxing, began dancing with Cliff. Jack had not even noticed he was present but did not have long to dwell on this fact. Popuri asked him to dance and he accepted. It was fun but a little unnerving with the way she never took her wide eyes off him. Her hair hit him a little in the face when he spun her.

After the dance, they announced the winner - an old man who ran a medicine store and had been friends with his grandpa. He certainly deserved it. After that, Jack wasted no time saying goodbye to Popuri and hurrying down the steps. The day had been fun and he had certainly fulfilled his goal of meeting people, thanks to Ann. The problem was he'd gotten nothing done besides the minimal task of feeding his chickens. It made him antsy to go to sleep and wake up and be able to work his ass off. He missed the feeling of sweat drops rolling down his face, the recently-earned muscles in his arms straining as his axe thunked against wood.

The arm in question was grabbed as Jack passed by the Flower Shop. He stopped and turned his head a little, expecting a redhead jokingly angry about his lack of farewell. Instead, he saw Cliff, a little breathless as if he had been running. The hand dropped and ran through spiky brown bangs. "You left fast," he said. Jack didn't know exactly what to say. Had Cliff chased after him? That seemed the most likely explanation, and the most illogical.

"I think I met enough people for a lifetime," he said, finally, aware that he'd taken much too long to reply. The townspeople were starting to trickle down the stairs, still laughing and calling over their shoulders.

"You didn't have fun."

"The dance was fun, I guess."

"Yeah, maybe for you. I don't think my feet will ever recover." Cliff spoke neither whiny or joking and it was an extremely awkward conversation. The normal thing for Jack to do would be to make an excuse and leave. Instead, he stuck his hands in his pockets and said:

"I got a filly the day after you stopped by. Want to see her?" When Cliff merely rose his eyebrows, Jack felt obligated to add, "Well, you seem like you love animals, with Cain and all. Never mind. It was - "

"Shut up," Cliff said, and now he was joking. He smiled a little and jerked his head towards the farm. "After you." Except they actually walked side by side, each man silent. Jack simultaneously kicked himself for prolonging this encounter and thought of things he wanted to ask. The life of a wanderer was extremely unfamiliar to Jack. He'd been raised in the same house from birth to 18 and now he was the farm, which he intended to have for as long as he possible.

When they reached the farm, Jack whistled and was pleased that after just a week the horse responded to it. He rubbed between her ears as she sniffed at Cliff, who watched her for a moment before putting tentative fingers on the side of her neck. "She's big," he said. Jack looked at him and they stared at each other for a second before breaking into laughter. "Alright. Sorry."

"Big for her age, anyway. And she'll just get bigger." Jack clapped a hand on her back and she snorted, then turn to the side and trotted away. They watched her and then Jack leaned against his house, folding his arms across his chest.

"You don't keep her locked up?" Cliff asked, following suit so the two were no longer looking at each other directly.

"Nah. She hasn't messed with my crops yet." There was silence and Jack felt the incredibly strong urge to look at the other man but resisted, for one reason or another. It was so late and he was going to be very tired in the morning but his longing to work had faded, or at least been replaced with the longing to talk to Cliff. No, wrong word. He was just enjoying conversation...but this was hardly enjoyable. It was stiff and awkward and quiet but nothing he wanted to stop. There was no explanation for it. "Where do you sleep?" He blurted the question out, a little loud.

"The cave, usually," Cliff said. His tone was subdued. "Sometimes the construction guys let me sleep in their shop. Nothing there to steal so they don't care."

"You're not a thief," Jack said.

"No but there are enough to make wariness a good idea." Cliff turned his head to look away and the movement stirred in Jack's peripheral vision. "I should go now."

"No, wait. You know, you can sleep with me," Jack said, then realized his slip and amended, "In my house."

"No."

"At least in the barn. It's clean because I don't have animals yet."

"No," Cliff said again, sounding more than a little irritated. "I can provide for myself perfectly well." He stepped away from the wall of the house and turned towards the road to the town. He did not walk away though, just stood with his back to Jack. "Your horse is nice," he said. "I'm not really an animal lover. If I was, I could never watch Cain eat rabbits and squirrels." He sped away then. Jack didn't have a chance to respond but was not sure what he'd say if he could. He went inside and went straight to sleep instead of thinking about the night.

The next day he returned to his usual watering, feeding, chopping, harvesting, and other farmer-friendly duties. The joy he'd experienced in the past was gone. As he made his nightly rounds to check on the animals, he realized what was wrong. He was worried Cliff was mad at him. But why would that matter? Really, he was just a bum that Jack had talked to twice. That was all. Predictably, no amount of self-delusion could convince him. Maybe Jack had some sort of hidden complex about helping people or maybe he was nosy. No, that didn't work either. The real truth was Cliff had something that he liked - that would make a good friend. Sure, that was it.

The satisfaction of this answer enabled Jack to work happily for a couple weeks. During this time, Ann fell into the habit of stopping by at night for tea. He put up with her visits despite her rambunctiousness because she was overall nice and there was no good to come from offending her. She ended up naming both his dog and his horse, Melvin and Jenny respectively. He found them weird names but could think of no better alternative. Another routine he picked up on was seeing Popuri every time he went to harvest wild plants. She was always by the spring, a smile on her face and her hair almost glowing in the sun. He started bringing her flowers at Ann's suggestion, and every time she blushed and thanked him. He saw the least of Cliff, who dropped by twice, once when Cain needed a splint for his wing and once when it was raining.

The evening of the Firefly festival, Ann dragged him down to the beach. Of course Popuri was there, and the three stood in a ring, talking. Well, Ann and Popuri talked while Jack stared off at the water. He couldn't help but wonder if the lights actually drew the dead or not. Was his grandpa floating around his head? Was he proud of the work Jack had done on the farm?

"Oh, look!" Ann squealed, pointing behind Jack's shoulder. He turned and saw Cliff shuffling down the beach, Cain perched on his shoulder. The guy looked so uncomfortable that Jack felt a little sorry for him, knowing how persuasive (controlling?) Ann could be. The circle opened up for him, sandwiching Jack between the two girls. Cliff smiled at Jack and Jack smiled back, feeling more than a little surprised. Ann seemed to notice this and said, "Do you two know each other? Well then, in that case, Jack, please convince Cliff to get rid of this mean old bird. All he does is eat little defenseless creatures and shed feathers-"

"He doesn't shed. He molts," Cliff muttered. Popuri giggled.

"-and smell. I told Cliff he's cute enough without an animal," Ann finished. Hearing Ann talking about Cliff gave him a strange, almost painful feeling in his stomach because he realized she liked him. Clearly this meant he and Popuri were a couple, and he knew what he was doing when he gave her flowers, but he had not thought it progressed to double dates, or dates at all. But he tried to recover from the shock of these revelations and respond to Ann.

"Cain is a nice bird," Jack said. It was hard to see because the sun had gone down but the white of Cliff's grin was evident.

"Yes, and strong."

"Boys are so weird," Ann said, wrinkling her nose. She put her arm across the circle and pulled the pink-haired girl forward. "We'll leave you two to your weird things." And leave they did. Silence descended but Jack no longer felt as uncomfortable as he previously had. Ann was probably rubbing off on him.

"I don't want festivals to be the only time we talk," Jack said. He had no idea why he said it, other than it was true. His only social company were girls and it was driving him crazy. That's what he told himself, ignoring his earlier revelation.

"Okay," Cliff said. "Stop pitying me." Jack shrugged his left shoulder. He didn't pity Cliff. He wanted to help him because - he wanted to - and that was the problem. He could not even assemble his reasons and thoughts instead his own head, nonetheless speak them and have them make sense. "How's your filly?"

"Good. She's about ready to start riding." Cliff nodded, sliding his eyes off Jack and onto the ocean. Everyone had gone to the edge of the beach and were pushing their Fireflies into the water. The currents took their sweet time pulling the lit flowers off the coast. Ann and Popuri were talking to Karen and Elli. Popuri, seeing Jack was looking, smiled and lifted a hand in a discreet wave.

"So, you like Popuri?" The question brought Jack's attention back to Cliff, who was staring at him with a serious expression. "Ann thinks you two are going to get married."

"I didn't even know we were exclusive," Jack said, a little miserably. "I just talk to her and give her flowers."

"That's a step below a proposal for Popuri."

"What about for Ann?" As soon as he spoke the words, he felt his throat caving in on itself, his heart beat increasing. He really didn't want to know the answer to that question.

"We're friends, for now. If I decide on this town, I'm sure we'll get married," said Cliff, casually, uncaring, lifting up his hands and lacing them behind his head. Jack didn't see how he could not care. He knew people here married young but still...it was marriage. It was choosing to be with one person forever. Jack knew he wasn't ready - no matter what Popuri said.

When the Fireflies were nothing more than specks on the horizon, Ann and Popuri came back. "Cliff, want to walk me home? Popuri and Jack are going to stay on the beach."

"No," Cliff said. "Jack and I are going to the bar." He inclined his head towards Ann in some sort of bow and then motioned towards Jack, who had no desire to do anything except follow.