As May's eyes slowly fluttered open, a feeling of dread spread through her chest and rushed to her mind. The distant memory of death filled her thoughts; her mother's final scream, her grandmother's heartbroken eyes' quick change to fear as the transport truck hit the front of their car, and the two of them crashing through the windshield, neither one wearing their seat belts, and everything fell to black.
While lying in bed, the murky white ceiling hypnotized her, sending her back to waking from her coma as a child. She could hear the patter of nurses feet down the long corridors, and the smell of crisp, white sheets and cleaning products filled her nostrils. Everything she saw was white, bare and clean, no speck of dirt anywhere. The only thing of interest were the vase of flowers, sent by her aunt. The fuzzy noise of an older man spoke to her, asking her name, age, and where she lived; she refused to answer.
A loud knock sent her back to reality and away from the distant memory. She watched her ceiling fade from a blinding white, becoming water stained and murky once more. The man had stopped talking, returning to her imagination, and the foot steps down the hallways ceased, along with the rest of her memory. She was back in her small, one bedroom home. Slowly, she rolled out of bed.
Opening her front door, she was surprised to see Alex, wearing an old pair of work boots, slightly stained jeans and a crisp white t-shirt. "Hey May, I'm here to-" His words fell short as he stared at her; firstly his eyes were drawn to her soft pink hair, following the stray hairs that crept in front of her eyes; his hand gently reached towards her face, brushing away a tear that crept along her cheek. "Are you alright?" His voice turned gentle and soothing. "What's wrong?"
May rubbed her other eye with her palm, and stifled a yawn. "I'm alright." She lied. "Just waking up. Why are you here so early? Wait, what time is it?"
Alex pulled his phone out to check the time. "6:05. Did I wake you?" He asked, pushing the phone back into his pocket.
She shook her head. "No, I should be up by now anyway." She leaned on the doorway, rubbing her other eye with her palm once more, pushing the tears back in. "What's up?"
"Well," Alex said, drawing his hand back once more. "I was up early this morning, and I thought, what would be better to do this morning than helping sweet May on her farm?" He grinned at her happily.
May tried on a smile, though the past feeling of dread still squeezed her chest, though her heart fluttered at his words 'sweet May'. Regardless, she accepted his offer, as her hand grabbed his. "I'd like that, a lot. Just let me get dressed." She invited Alex into her home to wait.
He followed her inside, kicking his boots off at the door, and he stood by the fridge, leaning against it. May dug through her dresser drawers, pulling out her own jeans, a grey t-shirt, and carefully shoved her undergarments underneath them, and pulled out a pair of socks. "Did you eat yet?" He asked, watching her gather her things. May looked back at him, shaking her head. "Well, I'm a great cook, I hope you know." He said with a wide smile. "Mind if I make us something to eat?"
"Yeah, that'd be great." Replied May with a soft smile. While Alex began to dig through the fridge, Slowly, she paced towards her bathroom. Stepping inside, she shut the door, and turned on the tap to full blast, and took a seat on the toilet seat.
She buried her face in her hands, and sobbed quietly. Her nightmare was still fresh in her mind, the terrible crash that she caused. She thought about her mother and grandmother, who's faces she couldn't remember without a photograph. She thought about the last time she saw her grandfather, who's footsteps she felt she could never fill, now that she lived on the farm. She thought about the hospital she was stuck in for an additional two weeks, all the tests they took to make sure there was nothing wrong, and how hard she fought to not let them do their job right.
She quickly wiped her tears away, and splashed the cool water from the sink against her cheeks and eyes. She dressed slowly, taking her time, trying to let the sadness dissolve before she left the tiny bathroom. After kicking her laundry into the basket, she pulled her hair up, and slowly put eye shadow and eyeliner on her now-dry eyes, along with filling in her eyebrows.
Leaving the bathroom, her small living quarters smelled of hash browns, eggs, toast, pancakes and coffee. Alex sped around the kitchen, dodging between the fridge and stove, and towards the counters, chopping vegetables and tossing them in with the eggs in the pan. May stared, amused, watching his swift movements, until Alex's eyes were drawn to hers.
"Hey there," He said with a smile, quickly stirring the hash browns, and glancing between his food that was cooking. "Don't you look a little dressed up for farming?"
May smiled, blushing slightly. "I normally look terrible, but I didn't realize I'd have guests this morning. I didn't know you could cook."
Alex smiled, stirring the scrambled eggs and vegetables, and quickly turned to flip their pancakes. "Gran forced me to learn. She said I wasn't allowed to end up like..." His words slowly dropped; he stared focused at the stove, and turned back towards the fridge. "Doesn't matter. Do you want anything for your coffee?"
"Cream, need a hand setting the table?" Asked May.
Alex shook his head. "I forgot to mention, you had mail in your mailbox if you want to go grab it."
When May returned inside, three slips of mail in her hand, the table was set with a complete breakfast for two, along with a bottle of syrup and two mugs of coffee on the table. The two ate quietly, while May flipped through her mail, another letter from her father, and two delivery orders. She bitterly chewed her food, not enjoying the taste, while she read the letter from her father.
Hey there Mayflower!
I heard that you're farm is going well. I found some money from your mom she left for you, it's not much but I hope it helps! Give your old man a call sometime, will ya? Love you
-Dad
May chewed her food angrily, rereading the letter. Anger swelled through her, replacing the sadness that once filled her chest. Call your old man? She thought to herself. Where was that attitude years ago? I don't even know why he bothers to write me, and what money would mom have left with him? She hasn't seen him since I was small.
Alex stared at her, raising his eyebrow, watching her shovel food into her mouth, and quickly chew it, he himself quietly chewed, looking at the meal before the two of them, before his eyes were drawn back to her. "You alright May?" He asked, setting his fork down, and placing his hands together.
May tore her eyes away from the letter and looked up at Alex. She swallowed her food, and mumbled. "I'm alright." Taking the 250 G that was in the envelope, she shoved it in her pocket, and figured there was more, that he took some of the money from it, before sending the letter. "It's just a letter from my dad." She crushed the letter in her fist, and tossed it in the garbage, missing the basket. She didn't bother to pick the letter up off the floor.
"I guess you two aren't close?" He asked, grabbing his fork again, and taking another bite from his pancakes.
"He left us when I was a kid." May admitted, staring into the syrup that covered the bottom of her plate, seeping into her remaining eggs and toast.
"What happened?"
She remembered going through her mom's belongings at the end of her funeral. There were boxes of letters, many of them were from her father, stating his love for her, that he'd always be by her side. As a child, May felt love for him, only to read the last one, with no postage stamp or address on it; she assumed it was left on the table the night that he left. She read it, and started to cry; the letter read that he was leaving, that raising a child and being a husband was too much for him, and that he would not be returning.
She remembered living at her grandmother's house, and some nights, she could hear her mother crying from the living room, and walking out to here. "Momma, why are you crying?" She asked. She never remembered her mother's answer, only sitting on her lap, and crying with her, hating to see her mom so heart broken.
May shook her head, the memory still fond in her mind. "He said that being part of our family was too much for him. I was around four or five or something, so I don't remember him much of him anyway. When I was eight, he sent me a wedding invitation for him and his new wife. I didn't go."
"That sucks," Alex replied, staring down at his near empty plate. "Dad's suck anyway." He said, giving her a small, cheeky smile.
"The part that bugs me the most is that he sends me letters all the time now, like he's trying to make up the fact that he abandoned us." She said, taking a bite of her syrup soaked eggs.
Alex shrugged, taking his plate to the sink. "At least he's trying something."
Shortly after breakfast, and reading the two delivery letters, one coffee for Sebastian and some hot peppers for Shane, May and Alex began working on the farm. All of the feeling that rushed through May, her sadness for her mother, her anger for her fathers abandonment, and his pitiful attempts to make up for it, were taken out in her work. She hoed the land with vigor, quickly turning up the dirt, not noticing the sweat that poured along her face and back. Alex watered the crops for her, and began picking the produce, while she went into her chicken coop, accepting cuddles from her four chickens, Charlene, Mimi, Nu, and the nameless one she promised for Michael. They gave her a small amount of comfort during her misery.
"Damn, May," Alex shouted, picking the last of her blueberry bushes. He stared around the farm, admiring all the finished work. "I have no idea how the hell you do this everyday."
May shrugged, tucking her tools into her backpack, and made her way towards Alex, carrying a basket of fresh produce in her arms. "You helped me out a lot, normally this would take twice as long." She wiped her forehead sweat with the back of her hand, and grabbed her own basket, filled with peppers, wheat, corn, radishes and red cabbage Her lower back began to ache. "We're not even done yet."
Alex's face dropped a little. "We're not?" He asked.
May nodded, trying to ignore the reaction on his face, and started walking towards the drop off box, Alex walked beside her. "It's only 10:00, so we gotta head to the store, get some seeds, plant them and then we got deliveries in the south for Shane and up the mountain, and up in the mountains for Sebastian."
Alex chuckled. "I feel like I'm not going to need to work out today."
May smiled at him. "Yeah, it's a lot of work."
Alex shrugged in response. "I'm not opposed to work."
While May sorted through her produce, deciding on what to keep, what to sell, and which peppers to keep for Shane, Alex filled up a metal thermos of coffee, and handed it to May. After tucking her food in her backpack, and running her personal food inside, they set off to the store. On the way, she spotted Shane, and sprinted ahead of Alex, catching Shane off guard. He stared bitterly at her, until she reached into her bag, and pulled out frehs hot peppers. His mood escalated swiftly; he paid her for his produce, and turned on his heel, munching on them on his way to work.
May caught her breath while Alex walked, catching up. "There," She said, breathing deeply. "Now we don't have to go south to deliver the peppers." She smiled at Alex, who smiled in return. Slowly, his hand found hers, bringing May's face into a soft scarlet.
"This okay?" He asked, blushing himself?
May nodded. "Yeah, it's okay."
The two walked hand-in-hand to the shop, feeling the townsfolks eyes in on them. Their fingers stayed intertwined while May ordered new seeds; melons, wheat, raddish and red cabbage were all running low. They only separated to tuck her seeds into her backpack. As she turned, she caught both Haley and Abigail staring at the two of them, she glanced at Haley first.
Her stare was bitter, her blue eyes focused only on May, and not on Alex. Her arms were crossed tightly, and she chewed on her bottom lip. May could feel her anger swelling from her, until her eyes drifted to Alex, and back to May. May averted her eyes quickly, and turned her attention to Abigail, who had a sly grin on, her green eyes glittering, mouthing the words 'are you on a date?'. May shrugged a little, unsure how to answer. Abigail marched towards the two.
"Hey there May," She turned her head to Alex. "Alex." She said, nodding, and resumed her attention on May. "I forgot to give you something yesterday. Mind if I steal your friend for a moment, Alex?" She asked, turning her attention to him once more. "It'll only take a second."
Alex shrugged. "Sure," He said, turning his attention to Haley for a moment, and back again. "I'll wait. Want me to hold your backpack?" May nodded, shrugging it off her shoulder.
"Great!" Replied Abigail.
Alex let go of May's hand, and quickly planted a kiss on her cheek, before Abigail grabbed May's and led her into foyer, outside of the shop. Quickly, she looked around, glancing to see if anyone was nearby, and whispered "You two seem to be having fun. Public displays of affection show that you two are really dating."
May's face lit up red. "Is that what you brought me back here for?"
"That, and I forgot to give you some conditioner, it keeps your hair from fading." She said with a grin. Quickly, she ran into her room, returning outside with a large bottle of cream conditioner. "There's a bit of the dye in there too, to help keep the colour."
"Thanks."
"That kiss on the cheek looked a little forced." She admitted.
May sighed to herself, knowing it was true. "Yeah, I think it has something to do with Haley being there."
"I think she's jealous, and I think Alex wants her to be." She said, speaking her mind.
May nodded, agreeing. "I hope that's not all this is." She sighed. After thanking Abigail once more for the conditioner, and returned to the store, Abigail following close by.
"What's in the bottle?" Asked Alex, who waited by the door.
May glanced around the store, seeing no sign of Haley anymore. "Just conditioner for my hair." She took her backpack off Alex, put the bottle in, and re-shouldered the bag. The two of them began to head out of the store.
"Yeah, I was meaning to ask about it," He said, holding the door open for May. In the distance, May could see Haley b-lining home quickly, walking rigid and angrily. "Why'd you dye it?"
May decided to finish off her deliveries first, and led Alex along the mountain trail, their hands once more intertwined. "I promised Abigail I'd let her, and I haven't dyed my hair in a long time. I'm still getting use to it."
"Yeah, I only saw you the other day, and all of it's so... pink now."
May shrugged, smiling still. "Yeah, we had a good time though."
"More fun than you have with me?" He asked, gently nudging her with his shoulder.
May nudged back. "Maybe I did." She said, playfully.
They chatted all the way to the carpentry shop, May trying to keep her spirits high and her mind off of her morning. She wished she could tell Alex about her nightmare, of her guilt, but inside, she knew it was too much to lie on a new relationship, if that's what they were. The letter from her father ate at her insides, leaving her wanting to go home, to finish her work, to give her something to do other than think of how awful her morning felt.
"Hey Robin, is Sebastian in?" She asked.
Robin smiled at the two of them, and nodded. "Yeah, just hang on a second." She rose from her shop, and ran down the basement stairs, calling Sebastian's pet name loudly. "Sebby! May's here to see you!"
Sebastian wasn't up for talking today, he glanced between the two of them, and gave them a small nod, handing May her total for the coffee. "It's suppose to be a rainy month." He said, before returning to his basement, and shutting the door.
"What's up with Sebastian?" Asked Alex, walking May back down the mountain trail.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, he's kind of a weirdo. He's really quiet, wears black all the time, he's always in the basement, his friends are weird, and what was that comment about 'it's a raining month?'" May stared at him in disbelief. "What?"
"He's my friend too." She replied, continuing to walk. "And he likes the rain."
Alex stayed silent, following May down the mountain trail. The only noise was the sounds of their footsteps, which were cut off, by Alex's apology. "I'm sorry." He finally muttered, walking over the the tunnel that lead out of the valley. "I shouldn't of said that."
"It was really rude." May said, entering the farm. She reached into her backpack, and grabbed her new seeds, and started to toss them into the tilled soil, which she'd water shortly after.
"I'm sorry May, please." He grabbed May by the shoulders, stopping her. "I shouldn't of said that, and I know it was being rude. I didn't realize you were so close." May stopped her seed tossing, and sighed. "Please May, I didn't mean to make you angry."
May turned and stared into his green eyes. He looked, solemn, nervous, scared. She tried to look away but was drawn back in. She bit the inside of her cheek, and stared at her shoes. "Just don't be a dick, okay?" She said, shrugging his hands off his shoulders. "You should at least give him a chance, him, and my friends are 'weirdos'."
Alex nodded, and grabbed May's hand. "Maybe sometime, we could all hangout?" He suggested. "If we're gonna be dating, I want to get to know your friends too."
"I'd like that." May replied, looking back up at him.
"Alright, I should probably go for now though." He said gently, tucking a stray, pink hair behind her ear. He tilted her chin up towards her, and smiled softly at her. "Aside from that small tiff, I had fun today. I have no idea how you even do this every day."
May couldn't help but smile at him. "It's a living, I guess. I had fun too though."
His hand dropped away, and wrapped around her waist, gently pressing his forehead against hers. "Listen, my birthday's on the 13th, and I was wondering if you wanted to come?"
May smiled, wrapping her arms around Alex's shoulders, and stared up at him. "Sure, sounds fun, what time?"
"6:00. It's just going to be dinner with my grandparents."
"Alright, I'm in."
Alex smiled widely, and dipped his head down, meeting May's lips once more. His arms wrapped tightly around her waist, holding her close; she could feel Alex's chest muscles again her. May's hands ran slowly through Alex's hair, along his scalp. She smiled against his lips, and gently, he pulled awa, keeping his forehead pressed against hers.
"The thirteenth," He breathed. "Don't forget, okay?"
"I won't," she said, breathlessly.
He kissed her once more before he left. As Alex walked down the road, whistling as he walked, May continued to her work, planting the last of her seeds, and began to water them. As the feeling of his kiss fluttered away from her chest, her mind ran back to what she said about Sebastian, He's kind of a weirdo... and slowly, she grew angry once more. As the last of her seeds were water, she stormed into her house, and sat on her bed. Staring at the floor, she could see her father's letter, crumpled up, sitting near the trash can. May ended up burying her head into her hands, angry and confused.