I'm so so so sorry that it took so so so long to post this chapter. I hope that it will be worth it! Yes my dears, the SECRET is indeed to be revealed today…the excitement builds… Thank you to all who reviewed. Once again, cookies for all!

Sarah303: Thank you! You get a peanut butter cookie.

Kelley28: How about 310? No, no, no….. you get a snickerdoodle cookie.

Moonlit Dreaming: Yes it is. Maybe I'll make a random one shot about her yelling at him. Anyways, you get a chocolate chip cookie.

Chicken Yuki: ………yes. No, I'm just kidding. Thank you for reviewing! I love it when new people review! You get an oatmeal cookie.

Tamaranian girl: Thank you! Now go read! You get a sugar cookie.

Now eat your cookies and read. Thanks!

Starry

888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888

CHAPTER NINE: Deep Secrets

May was shocked to see us walk through her bedroom door. Her face was flushed with the fever, and a glass of water was perched on her bedside table. She turned over sleepily, mumbling.

"Grampa…do you think……Popuri…Kai!" She screamed, with a huge grin lighting up her face. She sat up quickly, knocking a stack of books off of her bed. "What are you guys doing here? And together?"

Another demonstration of May's ability to sense exactly what is going on. Kai laughed quietly beside me. I sat on the side of her bed.

"Well…just go with it, okay?" The girl obediently nodded her head.

"So, May, is there anything we can do for you?" Kai asked, picking up some scattered socks. She shook her head lazily.

"Nope. You know, if you guys stay in here, you're going to get sick. Then we can't hang out when I get better." She pointed out. We agreed, but stayed a few minutes longer so May could tell Kai about Stu's pet bird, Mr. Peepers. The tiny baby had grown to a handsome sparrow. It flew around with Stu wherever he went, and could be quite a nuisance.

After we left the sleepy May, Kai turned to go to Claire's farm. He explained that Claire might not remember that his shop existed. I nodded and skipped home myself, with my feet as light as my daydreams. Summer had returned to Mineral Town, warming my very spirit. So what if Rick didn't talk to me for a week? Pooh, I didn't care.

True to my guess, old Rick sulked for a week and a half. Mom invited Kai over to our house for dinner one Wednesday night. I…let's say "persuaded" my brother to eat with us by threatening to tell Karen to cook for him. That shut his face quickly. During the dinner, Kai made a joke about chickens, and Rick actually smiled! He smiled! Kai and I exchanged triumphant glances. Maybe the blonde could be persuaded to our side yet.

I was surprised when Karen came parading smugly into my room one day near the end of summer, waving a blue feather in her hand. So Rick had proposed. The wedding was to be in a week. Personally, I thought that they made a terrible couple, but they were so happy, I couldn't help but be happy for them. Conversation was all wedding, wedding, cake, decorations, wedding, and more wedding. Women came to donate fabric, congratulate Rick, gossip about the plans, and ask me when I planned on tying the knot. They were inescapable! Finally I was driven to the Hot Springs with Kai, to unwind for an afternoon.

We sat by the Goddess Pond, with our feet in the crisp water, just talking. That's the day when something surprising, but not unwelcome happened.

"Karen came in and threw this pattern down on the table. I looked at it and asked, 'What is this, a small slip to go under your dress?' and she replied, 'No, stupid, this is my wedding dress.' Kai, it's tiny! I thought that it was an undergarment. The veil takes twice the fabric the dress does." I looked over at the boy, hoping to find the same proper horror as I had felt. He just smiled and leaned back.

"What color is it?" he asked, amusement ringing.

"Bright, bright, bright white. The worst part is, she told Rick to wear the same color. He'll look like a wraith in white." It was true; Rick looked, for lack of a better word, dead in pale colors. I swirled my feet in the pond. "I guess that you'll be leaving in a few days, right?"

"Well, we still have the fireworks festival, but yes, I'll be leaving after that." He suddenly pulled his legs out of the water and turned to face me, sitting Indian-style. I did the same, seeing a twinkle in the black holes that were his eyes. He spoke again. "Say, Puri, how would you like to travel with me someday?" I grinned.

"That sounds great!"

"So you'd like that?"

"Of course."

"And you'd like to go to far-off towns?"

"Sure."

"Maybe not return for a while?"

"I wouldn't mind, Kai. Not if I'm with you."

"So I guess you'd also like this?" He reached into a pocket, drew out an object and sat it on the grass between us. The sun shined on the fuzzy feather, a bright blue. I gazed at it shrewdly, and then slowly reached out a trembling hand to pick it up. The feather was tucked behind my ear, and I sat back.

"Yeah, I think I'll take it. Just don't make me wear Karen's dress." He laughed a merry, relieved laugh and kissed my cheek.

"Oh Puri, you'd look pretty in anything." I smiled coyly.

"Even Karen's dress?" He pretended to think until I scowled playfully.

"Yes, yes. Even Karen's dress."

Gosh I love that man.

We decided to set our wedding date for winter, and not tell the town until then. Karen and Rick needed their limelight. The secret was kept until the night before my brother's wedding, at dinner. Kai had been invited, of course, by my coaxing Rick with my taking care of his chickens during his honeymoon week. I would have done that anyway, but he didn't need to know that, did he? So there we were at the table, Mom, Rick, Karen, Kai and I, eating dinner. Conversation was breezy until I started the topic.

"Guys, I have something to tell you. I haven't told you until now because I didn't want to distract you from your plans." Karen's eyes widened in excitement. The girl loved secrets of all kinds.

"What? What do you have to say?" The family questioned me. I took a deep breath and blushed lightly.

"Well…Kai and I are getting married this winter." Instantly both Karen's and Mom's faces lit up, while Rick's blanched, turning about the color of his horrible tux.

"I'm so proud, dear. I couldn't have picked a better man for you than Kai!" Mom was thrilled.

"That's fabulous. You two are so cute together. I knew this would happen, I knew it, I knew it, I knew it!" Karen looked both exhilarated and vindicated. Kai and I glowed at being accepted so easily. They began to ask about the date and such, to which he responded by explaining how he would leave that fall and return in winter for the ceremony. Everyone was chattering elatedly…except Rick. But that was only to be expected. When I gently questioned him about it later, he just smiled wanly and gave me a hug. His mind was on another place, another day…in the past.

The next morning, at the wedding, he still looked thunderstruck, while Karen remained victorious. Her tiny little dress did look fabulous on her, but I was just not into that style. My brother on the other hand, reminded me of…I dunno a candle or something. All white and then a splash of orange. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed both Claire and Gray giggling softly. That was strange. I've never seen Gray laugh before. Maybe he and Claire will work out after all.

It was a bittersweet day, the fireworks festival that year. I had a great time with Kai as we both tried to say stupid tongue twisters quickly in between the times the fireworks lifted off and exploded. I kept baying things sackward. Ann ran over to us and announced that Gray had given Claire…of all things…a blue feather. Good grief! Marriage in this town is odd. Years ago, our parents all got married within the same year. Then they all had children around the same time, which is why all of us "tweenagers" are about the same age. Now we're doing the same thing, getting married one after another. I guess you could call it tradition. I just felt sorry for poor old Mary! She has no one.

Watching the fireworks was the sweet part. Then came the bitter. Manna came to our house the next morning, bearing news of a death, the first death I had really ever known. Sweet Ellen breathed no more on this earth. Mom gasped and immediately ran to the kitchen. Karen, (who was living with us now) offered to help her. Mom didn't know what to say, so she accepted the offer. When I entered the house again after picking a large bouquet from my garden, the air was filled with a terrible burnt smell. Rick's new wife strode out of the kitchen carrying a pan of shriveled up scorched…things. Mom tried to take the pan from her.

"Karen, honey, we can't take those to them…" Karen made an obstinate face.

"Why ever not?"

"Because, they don't look very edible. They're burnt, dear."

"Nonsense. They look delicious to me. Here, Rick will eat one, won't you, baby?" Rick, who was helping me stuff the flowers into a vase, gulped.

"Sure…Karen." He took one reluctantly and pretended to bite into it, dropping blackened crumbs on the floor. "Ah…" He managed a smile. "It's delicious." Mom scowled at her grimacing son, and then turned to her daughter-in-law.

"Fine. We'll take the…scones, or whatever they are. But you carry them." Karen nodded triumphantly and motioned for me to open the door for her, which I did. All four of us, Karen with her scones, me with the vase, Mom looking grim and Rick wrinkling his nose, paraded up the street.

The scene was somber when we entered. Elli was sitting in a chair, perhaps emotionless, or perhaps with too many emotions to tell. Stu was curled up sobbing in her lap, with May sitting beside the two, staring miserably at her chum. Tim was nowhere to be seen. I watched Karen set the scorched pastries on the countertop next to Anna, who eyed them disdainfully. When Karen walked away to join her husband, Anna quietly disposed of the ashy triangles in a wastebasket. The sight almost made me smile.

Tim poked his head out of a door and signaled for Elli to join him. She nodded and looked pointedly at me. I gently lifted Stu up and held him tightly, as Elli wiped her eyes and entered the other room. I sat down, smoothing Stu's hair over with my hand. His eyes opened, red and bleary, and blinked sadly. His little face was tear streaked.

"Popuri…why did she die?" I tilted my head slightly, considering the question.

"Well, Stu, she had lived a long, happy life. I guess it was just her time." He sniffed and wiped his nose with the back of his hand.

"She didn't wake me up this morning. I woke up myself and wondered where she was. She wasn't in the living room, so I went into her room…and…and…she was just there, just there…not breathing…or anything. That's when I called sis, 'cause Tim's a doctor. I thought for sure he could wake her up." Tears rolled down from the corners of his eyes again. I wrapped my arms around his small frame and just held him. Poor baby.

The funeral was a few days later. Ellen's coffin was made of shiny, dark wood. Bunches of flowers, including mine, were piled on top of it. How hard it was to imagine that such a life-filled woman's body lay inside! Barley set the church laughing with silly tales of Ellen's childhood and how she had met her husband. Life really seemed to hit home…that could be my mother inside that casket. I shivered unconsciously.

Fall was a silent season for the most part. Kai departed, and once again I watched him sail away, feeling empty. Stu eventually began to laugh and play once more, but was never the same carefree child that he had been. Elli concerned him daily, and he was always monitoring her health. Have I forgotten to mention that Elli had been pregnant for quite some time now? She was, and expected the baby somewhere around the beginning of winter. Neither Stu nor May understood this, so I steered out conversations away from such volatile grounds.

Claire and Gray's wedding broke the ice of depression over the town. On a chilly day at the very end of fall, two were united, Gray looking totally hott in black and Claire an angel in white. I went with Mom to present the new bride a present. It was a cook book, compiled by the women of Mineral Town during a meeting in which Karen was mysteriously uninvited. Claire was thrilled. As the wedding was ending, Gray ran over to Claire and scooped her up into his arms, and then carried her down the hill to their farm. Halfway down the hill it began to pour down rain, so he hurried to their house, entered and they were lost to the world.

I thought that that was adorable. Gray was sweet, but had always been too quiet for me. Ann swaggered over to me and said proudly,

"Told you they would make it." And so they had. Carter shepherded us into the church and out of the rain, and I felt a tap on my shoulder. It was Elli, carrying a tiny bundle in her arms. I saw it and gasped! Was this her baby? She seemed to read my thoughts.

"Yes, Popuri, this is little Casey! He was premature, but is still healthy." I took the boy in my arms and stared into his face. This was a strange moment, for I didn't know that my mom had held Elli in the exact same way. The child reached out a pudgy hand and touched my nose gently. I giggled and brushed his petal-soft cheek slowly. He cooed happily and smiled a toothless smile. Oh, I already loved Casey! It was plain we were going to be buddies.

Fall ended, and when Kai was due the next day, I paced the floor anxiously, wearing on both my mother and brother's nerves. They were calculating the profit in egg sales for the past five years, a weighty and stressful task because Rick kept misreading the receipts.

"Popuri, please stop pacing." I scowled, stopped and leaned against the couch.

"Don't tap your foot either." I scowled harder. Minutes passed.

"Could you stop humming, possibly?"

"Well what am I supposed to do?" I asked irritably, unable to scowl any harder.

"Be still and stop distracting us." This was the heartless answer. They could be so touchy! A knock thumped on the door, so I answered it. The two irritable egg-counters weren't moving anytime soon. When I opened the door, who should be there but Mary? I let her in instantly. Her black braid was disheveled, her eyes were red and her lips were trembling.

We wordlessly trooped up the stairs to my room and sat down on my bed, upon which she burst into tears. I understood, patting her back and letting her lean on my shoulder. Mary had never cried about Gray in public, and had held herself together very well at his wedding. When she had quieted down finally, she sat back, rubbed her eyes with a tissue, and then began to talk.

"Thank you Popuri. I-I didn't know where else to go! Ann is Claire's best friend, Claire hates my guts, Karen's too…Karen-y, and Elli was busy with Casey. I guess I'm just having a hard time letting go. I've loved Gray ever since he came to Mineral Town, dark, surly and adorable. We were good friends…and then he had to fall in love with that…that blonde! Everything I did seemed to make it worse, like the moon-watching night. He had promised to take me last year, and I thought that maybe if he went with me, he'd forget Claire. All that happened was that he fell deeper in love with her and less with me. Another example was the time we were reading books in the Inn in winter. I knew he loved that book and was simply trying to be his friend. Not his girlfriend, his friend. But she walked in and Gray dropped me like a red-hot stone. Now he's married and I'll never have another chance at him."

I sat back silently. The thought had never occurred to me that Mary was honestly trying to be his friend; I had bought into Claire's whole boyfriend-stealing view of her. Boy had I been wrong! The thing about poor Mary's circumstance was that there was absolutely nothing she could do about it. Gray was gone, married. What she needed now was something to distract her. A new friend might do the trick nicely.

"Say, Mary, one book I've always loved was Little Women. I'm sure you have that one…why don't I come up to your library, and maybe we can read it together?" She looked up incredulously.

"Do you mean it?" She asked. When I nodded, she smiled broadly. "That would be wonderful!" and a much happier Mary walked out the front door and turned to go to her small library to start the first chapter. How funny it was that I had never seen how much she needed and could be, a friend. Later that night, the idea occurred to me that she could always push Claire off the side of Mother's hill as a solution to her problem…but I doubt she would appreciate the plan.

Kai was on time the next day, a cold, snowy day. The townsfolk were wondering why he was back, so we went ahead and announced the wedding; set in two weeks. Two weeks that I thought I could never endure! Little did I know that those two weeks would end in a night so horrific that I would wish they had never happened.

As with Karen's wedding, women milled in and out of the house, gossiping, bringing gifts and putting in their unwanted opinions about decorations. My dress was to be fluffy-skirted with princess sleeves. A huge bow somehow found its way onto the front, much to my disgust. A week passed, hectic and tiring. Mary was over almost every day, helping me with the plans and offering suggestions. Kai was busy making his own plans, I guess for our honeymoon, but tried to visit at least once a day as well. He hugged me and kissed the top of my head as I tried to calculate how many guests there would be in total. I playfully pushed him away, saying,

"Oh, stop bothering me, Kai!" He just stood there, a soft light in his eyes. I refused to let him see the dress, keeping to the old tradition. Another tradition that I wanted to follow, but was unable to, was a good old bachelorette party. No, I never got around to it, because:

Karen burnt the cake……three times

Manna started talking and didn't notice that she was spreading glue on my dress, instead of place cards.

Kai dropped the ring in a vat of chicken feed. It took 5 ½ hours to find.

I tell you, next time I plan a wedding, I am going to shut myself up in a room where no one can interrupt.

The night after we found the ring in that stupid vat of feed, something happened that I never anticipated. What I heard…would completely change my life. I…well…just listen.

I was in my room, fingering the delicate lace on my wedding dress's sleeves. The beautiful gown was embroidered in minute designs of circles, all different colors, yellow circles, blue circles, green circles, pink circles, orange circles and purple. It fit perfectly, and I twirled around in front of the mirror, swishing my skirts from side to side.

My door was knocked upon. I gasped and flew to the door, hoping it wasn't Kai. The door was opened a crack, just enough to allow me to peer out at the visitor. It wasn't Kai, but Rick, looking miserable and guilty. He was admitted, and I sat on my bed. He sat beside me, ill at ease. I watched him curiously, and finally asked,

"Alright, what did you do? You look like you murdered someone." He just looked at me with a haunted shine in his eyes.

"Poppy." That's all he said, but that one word held more emotion than a million words. I squirmed uncomfortably.

"What?" He just sat there. I started getting annoyed.

"Will you tell me already? I need to go to bed. The wedding is tomorrow evening." He turned to me and took my hands.

"Poppy, you can't marry Kai!" I gave him the most withering glare I could muster.

"I can and I will. If you are going to give me this whole 'dangerous' speech again, then you can get out." He shook my hands up and down.

"No, no, no you don't understand! You can not marry Kai!"

"Why can't I this time?" I asked boredly. My brother just would not drop this subject! What a terrible thing to do, go telling me that I can't marry my fiancé right before my wedding. He never had any couth, Rick.

"Because…no…I shouldn't." He looked at the floor. Thinking of Karen, I leaned into his face.

"Tell me. Tell me NOW." He gulped and sat silently, shaking.

"You can't marry him…because…………oh, Poppy, Kai's a father!"

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!

Ha ha ha ha ha!

Ha ha ha.

Ha.

What?

88888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888

What did I tell you? Shocking, huh? I'll explain it next chapter, I promise. R&R please!