The ride into the city only took an hour.
May's stomach churned as they pulled off the long, highway stretch that led away from Stardew Valley's asphalt roads. Thick slaps of cement led them between tall skyscrapers and small side walk businesses. In May's head, she drew a map, which led her back to her home with her aunt Marie and nephew Shamus; she was never to return there again.
"I don't know the city too well." Started Alex, his eyes anxiously darting up the sky high buildings, staring at them as if they would collapse any second. "How do we get to this amusement park?"
"Well, you're gonna want to take the third right coming up." She started, pointing ahead; Alex drove along the streets, following her directions. "Alright, now take a left, and then the next right, or we'll be stuck in traffic."
"You sure know your way around." Alex said cheerfully, a wide grin on his face. "It's like I have my own little tour guide. Did you always live out here?"
Memories of her younger life with aunt Marie flashed before her eyes; May tried to ignore the sadness that twisted her stomach. "Since I was around 9, we lived on the west end, but all the good stuff is on the east side of the city."
"Such as?"
"There's a lot of restaurants and coffee shops... They built a lot of bars after they opened Zuzu University... They have the biggest shopping center in the Ferngill Republic if you go more north, and Kaiser Market too."
"Kaiser?"
"It's a kind of bun or something; they got lots of bakeries on that strip, but a lot of nice boutiques as well. Also, just south of that is the grid ball stadium, you've been there, right?"
Alex nodded. "I try to get out here at least twice a year."
"Make another right, and follow the signs." Said May, watching the passing scenery. They drove by a local market, tons of people flooded through, searching in every stand. May felt the sad familiarity of her old home and her old life; a small part of her wished she was in the streets with the crowd, instead of the car beside Alex.
"I guess you feel right at home around here, huh?" Alex said, glancing over at her. His wide smile remained on his lips.
May shrugged, turning her attention back to him. "I just lived out here a really long time."
May shot up out of her small mattress on the floor; only after pulling out her phone from beneath her pillow, and ignoring her text messages, did she realize it was 8:00. Her bedroom was wrapped in darkness, instinctively, she opened her curtains, surprised to see no sunset filtering in through her window. She would be late for work again.
She sprung out of bed in a panic, and turned on her lamp. Her bedroom came to life; posters and pictures cluttered two walls, the other two a very dull green. May had no bed, only a single mattress on her floor, with a milk box and a lamp as a night stand. A basket held all of her laundry, and a second pile sat in the middle of the floor. May rummaged through the pile, tossing every yellow polo on the bed, along with a black skater skirt and a pair of black knee socks. Swiftly, she pulled them on her calves and over her knees, then continued to smell through the shirts, pulling on the cleanest one. After grabbing her work shoes and zipping up her skirt, she quickly darted out of her small bedroom.
"Sleeping all day again?" A mean, gruff voice called from the living room. May bit down on her tongue, not saying a word as she made her way to the kitchen. She crossed behind her uncle, who sat in a dirty lazy boy chair in the living room. The sharp scent of liquor crept up her nose. "Hey, I'm talking to you, kid." He said, sharply, not bothering to turn his head.
May kept quiet, quickly digging through the nearly empty cupboards in the kitchen. She grabbed a box of granola bars, and took two, deciding to buy her cousin a new box, and maybe a better snack for school.
"I bought those for Shamus! Not you!" He shouted from his chair. She kept her small breakfast in hand, her shoes in the other and continued to the door. "Stupid fucking kid." He muttered as May opened the door; she slammed it behind her, not caring if the other tenants were disturbed.
"You haven't paid for a fucking thing since Shamus was born." She whispered, harshly to herself. As she entered the elevator, she pushed the main floors button, and took a seat on the floor to pull on her shoes.
May watched Alex sprint back from the ticket booths, waving their two tickets in his right hand. He smiled as he caught up to her, and handed her one. "Where to now?" He asked. May grabbed his hand, leading him toward the front gates; 3 of five of them were open, and people flooded the entry way, waiting their turns to get in. As Alex and May started to head towards the end of the shortest line, he squeezed her hand. "So, what's the best part of this place, Miss Flowers?"
May pondered as they reached their place in line, nearly sixty people were ahead of them. "Either the drop off, the twister, or the beast." She said, following the rest of the line that slowly moved forward.
"And those are?"
"The drop off is that roller coaster." Started May, pointing to the large, blue rails that climbed into the clouds. "It's suppose to be the fourth biggest one in the city. The other three are at the other park on the west end. The twister is like the tea cups, only you're strapped in... And it's kind of high, and there isn't a floor. Also it flings you upside down."
"So, nothing like the tea cups."
"They both spin."
Alex chuckled, rubbing May's hand with his thumb. "You're funny. So, what's the beast? A dangerous merry-go-round."
"The beast is now a surprise." She said, poking him in the stomach.
As they reached the front gates, Alex and May let their few belongings get searched while they got their hand stamps. The man who searched May's purse made note of the importance of using the smoking pits before they took off; May desperately wished he hadn't said anything. They walked along the bricked paths, which widened to a large circle, filled with concession stands, shops, bathrooms, and other small buildings. May watched the hundreds of people that flooded the pathways, venturing off to the rides.
"What should we do first?" Asked May, glancing at each path way. She hoped that her and Alex could ride as many rides as they could, play as many games as they could, and eat as much gross, junk food they could before they had to leave and return to the valley. May was determined to have a good time today.
Alex stood behind her, taking her hand. "The Beast?" He challenged.
May turned her head, raising an eyebrow at him, and giving him a playful smile. She leaned against him, whispering back. "You're not ready yet."
"Angry tea cups?" He suggested, and May agreed; keeping their hands twined, May led him along the brick road, following the flow of people. Voices murmured and laughed around them, though no one walked too close to one another. May listed the rides to Alex as they passed each one. "I take it you've came here a lot?" He asked, staring at the high climbing rides.
May nodded, smiling in return as they walked. "The park's open 24 hours a day, so sometimes my work-friend, Michael, and I would come here for a pick-me-up after a late shift."
"Isn't that a little expensive?" He asked, a little concerned. "It costed nearly 1000 G for us both to get in."
May glanced around; only after seeing no security nearby, she whispered to Alex. "We use to sneak in."
"Really?" He asked, shocked.
May nodded again, feeling guilty. "Michael stole a bunch of the old stampers that they threw out, when they got worn and stuff. But it's normally the same pattern, and we figured out what the stamp colours and symbols would be at the beginning of the month." She looked around again, hoping no invading ears heard her secret.
"You must be some kind of spy, miss Flowers." He said quietly, a grin plastered on his face.
May stopped, thankful to finally be at the ride, and no long having to explain her small experience in criminality. "That's the twister." She said, pointing up to the large mechanism.
It had three large claws, each one holding 4 seats on it's finger; twelve in total. It spun quickly, the machine kept pace, rotating the other way. Suddenly, the claws flung up, high into the sky, and slowly dropped back down, still spinning, only to plummet, making it's passengers scream.
"Those are nothing like the tea cups, May."
"Scared?" May challenged finally, digging her elbow into his side.
Alex swallowed, and shot May a nervous smile. "Have a little faith, May."
"May~!" Called Michael, standing behind long marble counter, tying his long dreadlocks back with a black string to keep them form his face. He wore a bright yellow polo and black shorts; he was short, dark, and had a thick, southern Fern Islands accent, He picked up his plate of eggs and sausage. "You're just in time for breakfast!" He exclaimed happily.
May normally enjoyed their small jokes of working at 'Mac's All Day Breakfast', but today, she rolled her eyes. After tying her hair up, she walked behind the counter, grabbing her apron and wrapping it around her waist. The scent of bacon, eggs and burning toast wafted in the air, it had a small, comforting affect on May, though she still felt bitter from leaving her house; she poured herself a coffee in a to-go cup.
"Come on May-bell, lighten up, eat something." He said, shaking a small breakfast sausage on a fork towards her. She ignored him again, sluggishly grabbing the cream from the fridge, and pouring a little bit in her drink. "Maybelline. Mayfly! Mayonnaise." Michael called her every pet name he could think of, shaking his fork, until she finally spoke.
"Michael. Shut up." She said firmly, taking a deep drink from her cup.
"See? You can't ignore me, I'm too awesome." He said with a grin, taking a bite off of the sausage on his fork.
"Too annoying." She replied, sighing. Slowly, she made her way to the Michael's cashier stool, and took a seat, holding the cup between her hands.
"Alright, so what happened at home?" He asked, bringing his plate to May, along with a clean fork, and setting it in front of her. "And eat some of this, I know you only had fruit cup for breakfast."
May grabbed the fork, and stabbed one of the fluffy eggs. "Two granola bars."
"That's not true breakfast, May-hem." He replied, and pushed the plate closer to her. He watched, bewildered, as May devour the plate before her. "So, I'm guessing it was Chuck?" May nodded, washing down the last her eggs with another deep drink of coffee. "Being a dick head?" May nodded again, starting in on one of the breakfast sausages. Michael stabbed one with a fork for himself." "Why doesn't he just lay off?"
"Because he's a dick head." She said with a full mouth.
"A wonderfully detailed explanation from my dear May-den Flowers, as well as tasty."
She swallowed, and glared at him, her irritation skyrocketing. "Shut up."
"Why doesn't aunt Marie just leave him?" He asked, for the millionth time.
May let her anger boil over. "Because Marie fucked up, and then got pregnant, and thought 'Hey! You know, maybe this kid will stop Chuck from drinking so much!' But nope! Now all he does is sit in that chair, and drink, and shout at everyone, and aunt Marie still has hope, and thinks that 'he's a good man', meanwhile he cheats on her all the time. I love Shamus to death, I really do, but some days, I just wish he wasn't around, so aunt Marie and I could just... leave."
"People can change, May." Michael said gently, resting his hand on her shoulder. "They just need a chance."
May knew that Michael wasn't talking about chuck anymore. "This better not be about Jordan." She said, firmly. For once, Michael stayed quiet. "Oh, Yoba, come on Mike, don't even go there." She groaned. "I forbid this."
"He's not a bad guy, May. He said it was an accident."
"An accident?" She asked, nearly livid. "How do you accidentally cheat on someone? What, did he fall on her and just slip inside?" A shamed look spread across Michael's face, while May's rant was cut short by the front bells jingling. Two gentleman walked in, taking their seats. May shot him a look, which said 'we're not done with this', before grabbing two menus, and rushing to her customers.
Alex and May stood in another line up, heading towards a large, slowly turning Ferris wheel. May rubbed Alex's back, who still looked green and embarrassed. "Are you sure you're okay?"
"Yeah, I just didn't think we were gonna ride it two more times."
May looked at the twister in the distance, listening to the riders' shrills and screams. "It was fun!"
"Maybe the first time." He responded, staring up the Ferris wheel.
May gently removed her hand, and took his in her own. She squeezed it, staring up at him. "You don't have to push yourself to impress me, Alex." She said, quietly. "I just wanted to spend the day with you."
He nodded, his mind seemed to be somewhere else. "You know," He finally said, squeezing her hand back. "This is only my second time at an amusement park."
May's face was astonished. "Really?" She asked, staring up at him.
"Yeah, there wasn't really anyone who could take me." He started, his eyes still staring at the Ferris wheel. "Gramps' is in his chair, so he couldn't drive me, and gran's really sweet, but I couldn't ask her to drive me out here and walk around so I could ride a few rides. And when I got older, and finally could use the truck, no one wanted to go; my gridball friends said it was just a waste of money, and Haley hated rides. I didn't want to be just some kid hanging around the park alone, like a loser, so I never came back.
Embarrassment washed over May; she recalled all of the days she had spent alone in the park. Quietly, she asked, "Who took you the first time?"
"My mom, that's when I was, like, seven though." A fond smile crept along his face, his eyes turning to the ground. "I wasn't big enough for any of the other rides, but we spent most of the day at those kiddie areas, with the small rides. Our favourite was the swings, we rode them so many times that day, it was nice just sitting with her, and watching the world spin around us."
May desperately wanted to ask about his mother; this was the first he had ever mentioned about her, but she already knew the end of the story. His face dropped a little, and she thought better than to push for more. "well, I don't know a whole lot about kiddie parks." She said, squeezing Alex's hand, trying to grab his attention. "But I do know a few that are exciting."
"Like the twister?" He asked, sarcastically.
It was May's turn to bring him into her arms, while she lied her head against his chest, hearing his heart beat. "No more angry tea cups." She promised, and looked up to shoot him a smile. "We'll do whatever you want to."
Alex wrapped his arms around her, a small smile on his face. "Start with this?" He asked, nodding his head towards the large, spinning wheel. The line had barely moved an inch.
She looked up at him, a playful smirk against her lips. "You just want to kiss me when we get to the top."
"You said, we'll do whatever I wanna do. Besides," His chin tilted her head up more, his green eyes burning into hers. "I might not be able to wait."
May's lip quivered in anticipation, and she slowly closed her eyes. Her stomach slowly churned as he leaned in, and her heart raced as their lips met. Alex's hand held the side of her face, his other arm dropping to her waist. He pulled away, his cheeks were bright red, as well as May's. She beamed at him, before burying her face into her chest, a wide smile on her face; Alex began to twine his fingers in her hair. It was the first time that neither knew what to say.
"He's not a bad guy, May-tor." Michael said, walking behind May down Kaiser Market, still in their work uniforms.
The normally busy street was quiet, and in the dead of night were well known for muggings. Many others had scurried along the dimly lit streets, peaking over their shoulder, trusting no one. May, on the other hand, paid no mind to the emptiness, and stormed along the sidewalks, as though she owned them, leading Michael towards the eastern amusement park; it would take the two at least 45 minutes to walk there.
"I said I forbid this." She announced.
"Why don't they run buses at night anymore?" Asked Michael, struggling to keep up with May.
"Don't even try to change the subject, Michael."
"It'll be fine, May." He said, softly. "I believe that he's sorry, and that he won't do it again. I love him."
"And what happened the last time you believed him?" She cut in; Michael held his tongue while slowing down. May stopped in her tracks and turned, a frown pressed against her lips while his eyes stayed glued to the sidewalk. "Mike, come on," She slowly began to walk back to him. "Why would you want to be with someone like this?"
Michael just gave a small shrug. "Because he's not always like this; he's sweet and funny and kind and-"
"And a cheater." She said, harshly, cutting his words short. As she approached him, she placed her hands on his shoulders, and stared into his eyes. "Mikey, I love you, I just don't want to see you end up like aunt Marie. Do you want to end up like aunt Marie?" He shook his head'no', make shook his shoulders. "No, you do not. You, Michael Coorie, will not end up like aunt Marie. It is forbidden. Jordan is forbidden. You are an independent man."
"You just get off on forbidding things."
"A little." She ceased her shaking, keeping her hands on his shoulders. "I will forbid everyone if it keeps you safe."
"Thanks mom," He replied, shrugging her hands off his shoulders.
"I don't need your sass." She responded; the two started making their way back up the empty market. May wrapped her arm around his shoulder, pulling him close. "And you don't need Jordan. All you need is mother May, a couple rides on the beast, and some coffee from 'Parrots'."
Michael smiled a little, wrapping his arm around May's upper waist as the two made their way down the street."In that order?"
May shook her head, smiling. "The last two are interchangeable."
"Then lets go to Parrots." He stated, leading may by her waist.
May and Alex sat side by side in the brightly lit booth, both holding water guns in their hands. The two tried their bests to keep their aim straight, hitting the clowns mouth, filling the balloons on the tops of their heads. May's was the first to explode. "Yes!" She exclaimed, jumping from her seat. She grinned widely at Alex, who chuckled himself. May felt a little embarrassed, but smiled widely. "I normally suck at this game."
"You could have fooled me." Replied Alex, rising as well. He wrapped his arms around May, and asked, "So, what's your prize."
May's eyes glanced along the stuffed animals that hung near the lights in the boots. "Can I get the octopus?" She asked the man who ran the booth, who happily obliged. He handed her the green, eight armed creature, and she hugged him into her chest.
Alex led her along the dimly lit paths of the park; many of the people had cleared out, though the pathways still had the odd family or small group walking through. Large lamp posts led along the path, but more of the light came from the booths, and blinking rides.
"An octopus?" He asked, a smile on his face as he stared down at his date.
May nodded, a smile spread on her face. "My favourite animal." She replied. "What's yours?"
"Dogs." He responded.
"That's very original.
He raised an eyebrow at her. "Are you giving me sass, May?" May stared up at him, watching his face light up different colours of red, green, yellow and blue.
"Maybe."
Alex gently kissed her forehead; May could feel a smile against his lips as he did so. "Your sass is cute." He muttered, staring down at her.
"It's only cute for, like, two months." She warned, though a wide smile stay plastered on her face. "Do you think we got time for one more ride before we go?" She asked.
Alex nodded. "Sure, what is it?"
"A surprise." She replied, taking Alex's arm off her shoulder. She grabbed his hand, and quickly ran along the bricked path, only to stop in front of a large carousel with long chains that held seats. It rose nearly 6 feet off the ground, and spun slowly.
May watched Alex's face turn from excited to somber. "The swings." He said, quietly.
"They don't just have them in the kiddie zone." Replied May, staring up at her date, a small smile spread on her face.
His eyes turned towards her, letting go of her hand. "Not trying to be rude but," he started, his voice soft and gentle while his eyes drifting back to the swings. "would you mind if I went on by myself?"
May expected him to say this, and nodded. "Not at all." She said with a smile.
May made her way to a bench as Alex headed to the end of short line; families and couples chatted and laughed as they waited their turn, while Alex's eyes remained on the swings. As the first ride ended, and Alex's turn approached, he followed the rest of the line up, and made his way to a two person swing; no one sat beside him. The ride started, and they rose off the ground, the carousal spinning. Alex's eyes stared blankly at his surroundings. May waved, though he didn't seem to notice.
"Are you okay?" She asked when they were face to face once more.
Alex had tears in the corners of his eyes, though he nodded. "Yeah," he said, looking anywhere but at her. He rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand. "There's dust and small bugs and stuff up there. Anyways, it's a long drive back to the valley, should we grab a coffee first?" He gently took her hand once more.
May squeezed his, nodding. "I know just the place
"Mayday!" A man with a deep, fern islands accent announced as Alex and May entered Parrots. May's eyes shot to the counter, watching a short man with thin, long dreadlocks jump over the counter, and quickly sprint towards her. He wrapped his arms tightly around her waist, nearly knocking her off her feet. She felt twenty pairs of eyes fall on her, including Alex's. "Yoba it's good to see you again. Where've you been? And who's your arm candy?"
"Get back over here, Coorie!" Shouted a barista behind the counter.
"I'll be seeing you soon." He said quietly with a wink, and started to walk back to the counter.
May's face was a deep red; everyone's attention turned elsewhere, except Alex. He stared down at her, the plain look of concern on his lips. "Who's that?"
` "A lunatic." Replied May, who looked down at her shoes, following the slow moving line forward. She glimpsed upwards at Alex, briefly, seeing his expression unchanged. "That's Michael." She responded.
"Did you two date or-" Before Alex could finish his sentence, May burst into laughter. "What's so funny?" He asked defensively.
"Me and Michael." She breathed; the whole scenario she walked into made her incredibly uncomfortable, that she couldn't help but laugh. "Michael wouldn't date me even if I begged him to." Her voice calmed to a chuckle, but Alex stood their, left out of the joke.
"Is he gay?"
May thought about it, and responded. "I'd say he's very comfortable about his fondness of men. Besides," May brought her arms around Alex's waist; his expression softened, and a small smile crept along his mouth. "I like you."
Alex pulled her close against him, and pressed his lips against the top of her head. "I like you too, Mayday."
She looked up at him, giving him a small frown. "Please don't call me that."
"Is that only Michael's name for you?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.
May sighed, reluctantly leaving his arms; her eyes stared blankly out one of the cafe windows. "May-something, more like it." Alex's expression didn't change. "Like... Mayday, Mayfly, May-den..."
"Mayflower?" He asked.
May felt a flash of anger overwhelm her; before she could speak, and ask him not to call her that, Michael interjected. "Don't say that to her, man. She's literally punched me in the face for it." He had a wide grin on, and stuck out his hand. "Michael Coorie. And you are?"
Alex shook his hand. "Alex Mullner." He replied.
Michael's eyes glimpsed down to May, who's annoyance made a quick change to embarrassment. "May, I didn't know you had such a cute boyfriend."
"We're on a date." She said, quickly; both of their faces tinged on red, staring at their shoes.
"I see, and now that we have that sorted." He grabbed a wet cloth from the back counter, and threw it at May. "Where the hell have you been? I've been worried sick for about six months!"
"Coorie!" Shouted the barista, warning him again. "One more outburst and you're out of here!"
` "Sorry!" Michael said, flinching as May hurled the cloth back at him. "Okay, orders, then you tell me where you've been." After ordering a medium tea and a large coffee with two espressos, Michael shouted the order out to the barista, and turned his attention to May. "Alright, enough screwing around. I've been asking everyone about you, and everyone keeps telling me this crazy rumour that you live out in Stardew as a farmer now."
May shrugged, staring at him. "I do."
"You're fucking kidding me." He breathed, quietly, his eyes flicking to the distracted woman and back to May. "May Flowers, a farmer. Who'd a thunk it. And, you're actually on a date. What a world we live in." He said, amazed.
Alex chuckled while May's face grew a brighter red. "What happened to sincerity and niceness?" She asked.
"Sincerity died a long time ago after you gave me shit about Jordan."
"And how'd that go?" She replied, while Michael grabbed their drinks, a sigh escaping his throat.
"We broke up."
"I forbade it for reasons." She responded, taking her drinks.
"Those are on the house; there's your sincerity." He said with a smile. "Now, you kids have a good night, and May, you better text me." May's face dropped a little more, her eyes glued to the floor. "You deleted everyones number?"
She nodded. "Yeah."
"I knew it, you didn't text me back."
"That was you?"
"Yes, now I'll talk to you later. You're holding the line up!" He said, waving May and Alex to the side. "I'll message you later. It was nice to meet you Alex. Goodbye, friends!" He shouted as they reached the door. The two waved before closing the door behind them.
"Your friends seem energetic." Said Alex as they walked through the parking lot, returning to the truck.
"Annoying is more like it." Sighed May, though a smile stayed on her face. "He was one of my closest friends while I was out here, like... I could tell him things I wouldn't have told my best friend."
Alex nodded, staring down at her; slowly, he wrapped his arm around his shoulder. "You could tell me those things too."
"Well, yeah." She replied, smiling up at him as they reached the truck. "I tell you nearly everything too, but I didn't know you when I lived in the city. You ready for the long drive back to the valley?"
Alex leaned down, and pressed his lips against hers once more. May wrapped her arms around him, feeling as though she was melting in his arms. "Almost." He whispered against her lips.
