Fern
"Yoohoo granddaughter"!
She looked out the window to see a heavyset lady waving her hands. She realized she slept all of yesterday afternoon and a bit of morning. Getting out of bed she felt a sudden chill that hurt her nose and toes. Not having unpacked most of her cold whether things she dug in her bag pulling on a hoodie, found her fluffy boots and walked out to meet the yelling lady.
"Hi I'm Marnie, I live down there," She pointed down the road. "I'm sorry I don't know your name honey."
Holding back a yawn "Fern Farmer and I know the irony of it".
She gave her a bright smile a smile way, too cheerful for this early in the morning. "You look a bit like your mom, did you know I knew your mom?" Fern shook her head pushing her glasses up a bit.
"She came here all the time in the summer to help out your grandfather."
"I don't remember meeting him."
"Oh I think you would of liked him. He was always kind, loved the land, took good care of his animals, if you needed an egg to bake a cake he would always give you one, refusing to charge."
Fern forced a smile "not many people like that anymore huh?"
"Well everybody in town is pretty friendly and we all take care of each other".
"Where did you say you lived again?"
"Down the road near the woods, if you get to the woods though you gone to far. I sell animals and supplies. Leah lives not to far away, she's about your age, nice girl, an artist. We're pretty much your closest neighbors. Well us and my nephew Shane and his goddaughter Jas, you will probably run into them soon."
Fern nodded sleepily.
"Well I just wanted to say hi and introduce myself, I know how it is to be the new person even though it's been many of years since I first moved here".
"It was nice to meet you".
With a nod she watched her carefully navigate a path back to the direction of where she lived. Fern stomach growled and she realized she hadn't ate anything since the bus. She thought she might have a bag of chips left in one of her bags if only she could find it in the mess of all her stuff deposited on the floor from last night.
After getting her things slightly more organized than last night she decided to wander. She walked with her now empty backpack slung over a shoulder to town. She had a basic idea of the layout around her farm thanks to Robin and Marnie so she knew the quickest way to town was east pass the bus stop. She figured she would get some food so she wouldn't end up eating crackers and jerky for a week that she brought as the gas station.
It was so quiet all she could hear were birds and the occasional bees. She took a moment to take it all in. It was never like this back in the city. It even seemed like the air was different not to mention the smell of trees and fireplaces. Even after walking for a few minutes she wasn't out of breath like she would normally be walking to work.
She was never an outdoorsy person her family never went camping so this was a novelty to her. Everything from the wood fence line to the cobblestone on the streets, it was all like something out of a movie. She wondered if Lewis also doubled as the town's mailman and law enforcement along with his mayoral duties.
Seeing a building up ahead and knew she was going the right way. Next to a hospital clinic was the store Lewis told her about. She thought it was charming in that 'mom and pop' kind of way. Something like this in the city would just feel like they're trying too hard. As she opened the door, a little jingle announced her presence and she could smell a combination of earthy and food smells as she walked in.
"Ah you're the new farmer." a bespectacled man leaned over the counter "I'm Pierre." Somebody coughed. He pointed to the other occupants of the store "That's Gus, he runs the bar."
Gus nodded in a warm and friendly voice "Nice to see somebody living there again."
Pointing to another man in glasses "That's Doctor Harvey," The doctor looked up from the newspaper he was reading made eye contact then went back to reading "and this is my daughter Abigail." A purple haired girl a bit younger than Fern appeared from behind the shelf.
"Hi. I guess I can't go exploring now that somebody lives there."
Pierre gave his daughter a stern look. "You should not be trespassing on people's property even if nobody lives there."
Fern saw the girl roll her eyes and mumbled something she couldn't make out.
She gave a small wave to everybody feeling awkward being put in the spotlight.
"My name is Fern. Hopefully I'll remember all of your names."
Somebody, she thought Gus laughed, "There's not many of us."
She chatted with everybody. It seemed like everybody wanted to get to know her, well everybody except the doctor. He hung back reading his paper looking at her in a way she couldn't translate. He was tall and had an imposing look on his face, the same look that her doctors in the city had. Silently judging her for eating too many donuts, not keeping up with her prescriptions, not making appointments. His eyes turned to her for a second then pulling back to his paper.
Abigail leaned forward from her spot at the floor hungry for information "So your from the city? Whats it like?"
"Well so far the same as here just bigger."
Suddenly the doctor straightened up, placed money on the counter turning to her "Well, come to the clinic so I can access your health soon" glaring at her behind his glasses and walked out.
She blinked surprised the only words he spoke to her were to "come to the clinic".
Abigail nudged her leg from her spot on the floor "Don't mind him. He's like that with everybody. I just think he needs a girlfriend... or a boyfriend to loosen him up."
Pierre dropped his hands on the counter looking at the door making sure the doctor was gone. "Abigail!"
"Well it's true."
He shook his head "Sometimes I don't know what to do with you."
She went back to stocking shelves obviously not wanting to start an argument in front of a stranger with her dad.
She decided to change the subject, pulled out her bag and asked "So what do you have food wise?"
Dragging her purchases home, she realized she was lost. She wondered where she overshot it. Getting into town was so easy but she didn't remember passing by the bus stop this way. She passed by a house with some cows and wondered if this was where Marnie lived. The cows seemed friendly enough, almost asking for affection like a dog. She wandered over to pet them having never petted a cow before. She was surprised to find how soft their fur was.
"Hey you! What are you doing?"
She looked and saw a man slightly older than her getting off from a crate holding a cigarette in his hand.
"I'm just petting it don't worry, anyways I know the lady who lives here."
"Well the lady who lives here is my Aunt and I've never seen you around before."
She remembered Marnie mentioning a nephew living with her but she was expecting somebody younger.
She pointed vaguely to the direction where she thought her farm was "I live over there. I just moved and your Aunt came over and introduced herself."
He let out a huff like he didn't believe her.
Marnie appeared in the door
"Hi Fern, would you like some dinner?"
"I don't want to impose."
"Oh honey you're not, anyways I don't think you would have much food at your house anyway, come on in".
She turned to glare at her nephew "Are you being nice Shane?"
"Yeah sure."
She looked at Fern for confirmation.
"Yeah he is."
The small kitchen was full with Fern, Marnie, Shane, and for some odd reason Mayor Lewis.
He gave her a warm smile motioning for her to sit. "How was your first night?"
"Ok I guess a bit noisy."
Marnie looked at Lewis "spring is always bad with the wind."
Mayor Lewis brought a spoonful of eggs to his mouth and swallowed "not as bad as winter though, even worse when you live by the forest". A small girl walked into the room grabbing a chair.
"Oh this is Jas, say hello Jas".
Jas scrunched up her face looking at Fern "You smell like dirt".
Shane gave a soft chuckle Marnie however looked horrified. Mayor Lewis thankfully changed the subject. "So besides Marnie, Jas, Me, and Robin have you met anybody else. I can give you a list."
"Umm I met the guy who runs the store and his daughter, Gus who runs the bar and the Doctor."
Mayor Lewis nodded approvingly. He looked up at Marnie "I better get going, town wont run by itself, thank you for lunch Marnie."
"Welcome Lewis" Fern swore she saw a hint of familiarity behind Marnie's eyes.
Shane just snorted pushed his chair in and went to a room adjacent to the kitchen.
Marnie gave a tired sigh then realizing she had company put a smile on her face. "Let me show you my animals".
Walking home, pointed in the correct direction this time, she briefly thought about the people she had met that day. Marnie, Gus, Pierre, Abigail. All seemed friendly, all of them welcomed her with open arms. A few even knew her mother. She wondered what it would be like if she grew up here with Abigail and the ones she haven't met. How different would her life be.
In the back of her brain she was surprised this place even existed her mother describing it like a painting. It seemed to good to be true. Years she waited for her and her mother to have enough money to move. Wiggle room her mother called it. Apartment after apartment her mother never seemed to be able to save enough or if she did the car would break down, or the rent would be raised. Then back to square one. "We'll get there someday Fern" became a mantra and made Fern promise not to tell anybody about the farm. Now she was here, alone wanting to be ten and have her mother with her.
Harvey
His internal clock woke him up on Monday at five and he sleepily got dressed. Making himself some coffee and toast, he wandered downstairs to the clinic to made sure everything was in order for the week. Satisfied he grabbed a canvas bag and his wallet and he went next door to Pierre's General store hoping to catch up on news and buy whatever he needed that week.
It was unusually chatty for a Monday. Gus the bartender's voice standing out above the others.
"I'm just saying we haven't had anybody new in a few years."
Abigail Pierre's daughter chimed in from behind a shelf "What about Shane and Jas they moved here not to long ago?"
Harvey peered so he could see her. She was sitting in the middle of a pile of boxes pricing things and gave a small wave.
"Hiya Doc. Guess you don't know the news since you weren't at the bar on Friday. We're getting a new resident in the old farm west of here."
Harvey nodded and strolled up to the counter, Pierre already pulling out a newspaper for him.
He pulled out his list of things he needed for the week and slid it over to him.
Abigail continued "I mean just the fact somebody would visit this place is exciting".
"Abigail what have I told you before?"
She rolled her eyes shoving her purple hair out of her face. "Stop talking about people in town, it's bad for business". She mumbled lower under her breath loud enough Harvey could hear "It not like anything else exciting happens here anyway."
Pierre scratched his chin "Lewis said her mom came here all the time to help on the Travis farm."
Harvey opened the paper scanning the articles "the old abandoned place?"
Tilting his head Pierre thought back "Now that I think about it I remember her short girl blond hair some name that started with an A. Sometimes she hung out with Marnie when she first moved here."
"Audrey" Gus chimed in "Audrey Travis-Farmer let's see that was twenty five-ish- thirty-ish years ago."
Pierre shook his head "time flys by so fast, didn't even know she had a kid let alone one old enough to be living on her own".
Despite buried in the paper Harvey listened to the conversation knowing that this was the most excitement that happened in awhile. He had no idea who this Audrey and her daughter was, he didn't live here then so he felt out of place putting his input.
Snorting Gus carried his items to the counter "I take pity on her that farm's a mess."
From behind the shelf "I give it six months tops no way she's going to make it through the year. Even when I go wander I never even got to the house because of all the weeds and rocks." Pierre gave Abigail another stern look before turning his attention back to Gus.
Abigail dropped the pricing gun on the tile with a loud clash making him look up.
"Oh shit, I think that's her!"
The girl walked in backpack hung around an arm looking around taking everything in. Looking a bit tired and overwhelmed by everything. Harvey raised his eyebrows from behind the paper studying her. Dusty colored hair in between blond and brown, pink half rimmed glasses, boots, overalls and a purple shirt. She sure was cute, too young for him but cute. He was sure one of the boys in town would be all over her in a heartbeat.
Pierre introduced everybody and Harvey lifted his eyes from his paper at her when he pointed him out.
She looked around to each one of them nervously. "My name is Fern nice to meet you all. Hopefully I'll remember all of your names."
Gus laughed, "There's not many of us."
Harvey was never big on introductions; well he was never big on talking to people period. He went back to reading as everybody chatted with her. He mentally reminded himself to make a file for her and make an appointment for a check up.
The clock chimed the hour and he realized he spend more time than he wanted to and he paid for his paper completely forgetting what he came there for.
Turning to the girl who easily was a foot and a half shorter than him he had to look down. "Come to the clinic so I can access your health soon." He meant it to sound cheerful and relaxed but interacting with new people always left him bit flustered and it came out not what he expected. As he went out the door, he mentally chastised himself, 'Way to start off on the right foot Harvey'. Shaking his head at himself, if he is getting that lonely he's crushing on a high schooler maybe he needed a dog for company that or a trip to his therapist.
Maru, his assistant, stopped by even though it was her day off and chatted about the new girl. Apparently she was all the town could talk about.
She handed him his daily coffee from Gus holding her insulated thermos with the chemical component for caffeine etched on it with gloved hands.
"Mom said she's nice pretty quiet."
Harvey looked up from his paperwork.
"She seemed quiet but I only interacted with her briefly. That could be because she's new and doesn't know everybody yet."
Spinning around in her chair, she said, "I'll make her know everybody. In no time she will feel like this is home."
Maru was always like that, able to walk into a room full of strangers and come out with friends while Harvey on the other hand lived here for years and never connected with anybody.
"I recommended for her to come into the clinic whenever she has a moment free so she might be in soon."
Maru nodded "Hey you could make a friend."
Harvey shook his head "Just what I need a friend half my age. I have no idea what we could talk about."
"I don't know, just talk about stuff that me and you talk about."
"I hardly think she keeps up with the DSM."
Maru grinned at him "hey you never know".
At the end of the day he climbed the steps glad to relax. Sticking a tv dinner in the microwave he wondered how he should spend his evening. He could start his new airplane or watch tv. Grabbing his dinner he decided to unwind and listen to some music while he read. He turned on his radio and the Chet Baker tape he listened to last time he had the radio on started. Not wanting to get up and look for another tape he let it play.
He closed his eyes his tv tray balanced on his stomach one hand holding it steady another holding a book as he moved his foot to the music.
Simple pleasures kept him going. A good cup of coffee, an interesting book, music. Getting lost in the music, he let his mind wander. He was just at the right angle he could see out the window to the west, if he squinted he could see a light possibly the farm. At least he wasn't the only one who was up at this hour. He went back focusing on his book eventually falling aseep on his couch.
During the week he caught glimpses of the farmer hurrying from one place to another. Her green striped hoodie becoming a familiar sight in the corners of his eyes as he went through his day to day life. Every time the door jingled he half expected for it to be her coming in for her consultation exam.
She apparently was the most interesting thing that happened in the small town and everybody had their opinion on her it seemed. Despite not talking to her he began to pick up different tidbits of information. By the end of the week he knew she had inherited the farm from her grandpa, she moved from the city, and she didn't know much about farming.
Running into George and Evelyn he dutifully listen to George go on about how big of a waste it was and the girl would run the farm into the ground destroying everything her grandfather worked for. Evelyn giving her husband 'be quiet' eyes clearly having to hear it home. Placing her arm gently on his shoulder.
"Alright Eveey I'm done but don't blame me when the girl fails, she may be A Travis but I doubt she's anything like her grandfather".
Evelyn leaned over and kissed George on his forehead "come on honey I need to make dinner for our grandson".
"Woman he can make his own dinner he's not a little boy". She shook her head saying something to George that made him laugh.
He smiled at the two a little bit, envious. He always hoped he would find somebody like that somebody to love him and stay by his side as he got old but for him it wasn't meant to be he guessed. He gave a sigh to himself, sometimes people are meant to be alone. Still sometimes it would be nice to have somebody to go home to other than an empty apartment. Turning around to go home he saw the farmer in her green hoodie again running down the path to the bridge by the library arms full of something. He pushed his glasses up and watched her for a moment before shaking his head and forcing his feet to move.
