Chapter 14: A Girls-Only Outing

Saturday, January 17

The thorny rafflesia didn't return, but I went back to my daily weeding to keep a regular one from showing up too. Getting back to work helped me work through my troubles, as well as pay off another stage of my mortgage. That got me to what Nook called the largest floor size, which was indeed a major increase in space. It also expanded my kitchen area to include a small eating area. I still had to find a suitable table and chairs for that area, but it was nice to have.

And then Monique and Friga mentioned again their plans to go up to Chime City for an afternoon out. They were mainly interested in checking out the salon, but I mentioned the theatre and how it might be nice to go see a show there. Then we decided to invite Patty and Deena along to make it a girls' outing. That's how the five of us ended up at the train station early one Saturday morning to go visit the city.

Thursday, May 22

Chime City

The sunny weather in Chime was warm to those of us who were coming in from a winter town, although a number of animals around us were wearing light jackets and long sleeves. Being sensitive to any kind of heat, Friga had come prepared with a lightweight blouse, a loose skirt, and a paper fan. The rest of us just put away our coats and other winter gear.

"I've always loved Chime City," Patty said, grinning as we walked to the fountain plaza. "There's always something going on, how now. Oh, and it looks like we came at a great time!"

"Are they having the flower festival?" Deena asked, curious.

And indeed, that's exactly what was going on. The circular plaza was crowded with vibrant and lively displays of all kinds of flowers. People were wearing fancy and elegant clothes with flowers for accessories. On every building, there were greenery garlands and flower wreaths. Even in the fountain, there were water lilies on display.

"How lovely," Friga said, glancing at her orchid print fan. "Too bad we weren't warned or we could have come up with appropriate attire."

The cow clapped her hands. "Well we are going to the salon anyhow, and I'm sure they'll have flower print dresses on sale for the occasion. It's still early; let's go!"

Given that most of the places actually on the plaza were rather expensive, we went to a department store called Nookingtons a short ways down a side street. It must have been part of the Nook family network, but it was way more extravagant than Tom's current Nookway. It had colorful tile floors, beautiful wooden display tables, large advertisement screens, and several tanuki workers in classy blue suits. "Welcome to Nookingtons!" the one near the door said to us as we came in. "We have our special Flower Festival Sale going on now, so all seed packets, flower-themed items, and other specially selected merchandise are on a limited time discount."

"Told you so," Patty said. "Do you have a clothing department, Mr. Nook?"

He nodded. "Of course, of course. Head on into the room in back, ladies."

Their clothing department was well kept, with a row of fitting booths in back. That struck me as a little odd at first, as with how clothes changing worked here, no one was embarrassed to switch clothes out in the open. But it seemed that the booths also had large mirrors inside for viewing, so perhaps it was to cut out any reflection glares. There were also plenty of flower themed clothes and accessories to choose from. For a while, we had a great time in just trying out different clothes. Especially Patty, who had no qualms about taking the loudest and gaudiest shirts in the store to try on, with wacky accessories to boot.

Then Monique found a pair of lovely kimonos, white background with pink cherry blossoms, then with red ribbons as trim. I had never worn a kimono before, but I had heard that real ones took some work to get on right. These ones went on as simple as any others, just turning the pattern into our clothes. As we both loved the kimonos, we decided to buy those and match each other for the day. While she couldn't match the gold tree choker I had, we were able to find flower crowns of cherry blossoms to match the kimonos.

Deena had found a cute rose sky shirt and had turned it into a sun dress, but the other two were still looking for something to buy. So Monique, Deena, and I went to look around the rest of Nookingtons to see if there were any interesting deals around. There were some pretty flower shaped tables with matching chairs, like the daffodil set that was bright yellow. But then I found something of more interest to me, a small black camera.

"Oh, that's a nice model, sugarbill," Deena said. "Is it on sale too?"

"Looks like it," I said. "This would be really nice to have today. I was thinking that it was unfortunate that Rodeo would miss out on the city's flower festival, but if we can take pictures, that might make up for it."

"That would be good," Monique said. "Maybe we can find a special rose around too, as he did lose several to the rafflesia."

The duck smiled. "Yes, but we might want to check out the flower breeders later on. They'll have flowers that you couldn't buy in a Nook store."

Just then, a young tanuki came up to us. "Good morning, ladies. Is there something I can help you with?"

"Yeah, I was wondering how to print photos in this realm," I said. "I'd like to buy this camera, but I also want to use it for today's festival."

He smiled. "Oh yes, that's a grand idea. In order to do that, you need to buy an album with your camera. Once the two items are linked, then any photo you take with the camera will appear in the album. You can erase photos from there, or print them for a fee of one bell. They'll automatically come with a plain photo frame that can be stood on a table or hung on a wall."

Considering the sale price on the camera, that sounded like a good deal. The albums were not discounted, but they were still a good deal; I picked out one that held a hundred and twenty-eight photos. Then we met with Patty and Friga back downstairs. The latter had found a water lily blouse and a brown skirt which was quite a refined look even on the large penguin. On the other hand, Patty had picked out a dress with bright yellow roses printed on it, as well as an oversized straw hat that had a mound of silk flowers covering it. It seemed a bit much, but she was acting like she was having a grand time, so I wouldn't ruin her fun.

From there, we went back to the plaza to reach the salon Friga liked. Called the Elegant Poodle Parlor, it was a very pretty place. They had vases of pink and white flowers for the festival, but they seemed fairly quiet. The air smelled of lavender, with faint undertones of the beauty supplies they used for their customers.

We were greeted by a girl who looked like a Scottish terrier. "Good morning, ladies, welcome to the Elegant Poodle Parlor," she said cheerily. "You came at a good time, as we're packed with reservations later on today."

"That's wonderful," Friga said. "Would you be able to handle all five of us?"

"Sure, sure," she said, going over to a desk. "A makeover session is three thousand bells and that includes all of the services listed on the board here. We also have spa sessions, but those are reservation only."

"Three thousand each?" Deena asked, a bit stunned. "That's quite a lot."

"It's a bargain deal, though," Friga said. "These girls are trained to pull off any fashion or style with anyone. They'll make you look and feel your best."

"Certainly," the terrier said, smiling to have a customer's support.

We went ahead and paid for it, and the terrier figured out who should help us. I got paired up with a poodle who had curly pink fur. "Oh, good morning, sugar," she said, putting a brush into one of her apron pockets. "My name is Harriet."

I shook hands with her. "Good morning. I'm Nadia."

"My, this should be interesting," she said, touching my hand. "I've never worked on a human before." Then she chuckled. "It should be obvious, of course. But you look quite nice; I should be able to work with you well. And I love your hair; with this kind of hair, we can do a lot of different styles. What do you like?"

"I like hairstyles that are not too much fuss," I said. "Although sometimes it is fun to look nice."

Harriet chuckled. "Of course. Well if you take off your flower crown, I can start on the shampoo and conditioning. Your hair seems like a fine sort; we can see if we can make it look fuller. Would you like the hair color changed today?"

I considered it while taking off the crown and reverting it to a leaf to put away. "What kind of hair color can you do?"

"Just about anything you can imagine," she replied. She pulled out a large chart from somewhere and showed it to me. "I can also highlight areas or do a fringe dye. These are the most common colors, I find."

On the chart, there were various animals who, like Monique and Rodeo, had a head layer of hair over their fur, feathers, or whatever. And there were all sorts of odd colors, like blue, green, and pink. Some others were more natural, like blonds, blacks, or even white. "I think I'll just stay with my dark brown," I told her. "But if you could put in some lighter highlights so that it doesn't look so flat, that would be good."

"Oh, certainly," she said.

At the end of my session, I ended up with my brown hair tied up into a bun at the back of my head. Harriet also demonstrated some lighter makeup that good if I didn't want to be obviously wearing it, but wanted to smooth out my skin's appearance. I met up with the other girls then; they were a whole range of styles from Deena who hadn't made things too obvious like me to Monique who was wearing bold red lipstick and glitter blue eye shadow (the latter of which worked well with her amber orange eyes). Now that we looked more festive, we went out to check out the flower festival going on.

There was a lot to do, a lot to see, and a lot to buy around the plaza and other streets where booths had been set up. Many of the displays were of flower breeders or arrangers, showing off their skills with colorful and elegant displays. I found one vase that included a gold rose with some greenery and baby's breath flowers. And like my friend had told me, this rose seemed to be made of solid gold, from the petals to the stem. Next to that particular vase, there was a notice saying that the arrangement was not for sale.

I got the attention of the cardinal woman who had made all the arrangements. "Excuse me, m'am, but how do you get this gold rose to grow?"

She chuckled. "I'm sorry, hon, but I can't tell you that. It's a trade secret. You have to become really good at the art of flowers to be able to acquire a gold rose."

"But it's for a friend of ours, how now," Patty said. "He's really into flowers."

"Well if he's ready to get one, he should be able to figure it out," she told us.

We left that booth then, with Patty scowling. "Oh, how rude! We just asked about it."

"I suppose the gold rose is a sign of accomplishment," Deena said. "So maybe they don't talk about it because of that."

"Wait," a vice from the crowd called. Several people looked, but the short blue and red bird came up to us. "Patty?"

"Robin?" She cheered, shaking hands with her old friend. "Oh my gosh, it's so good to see you again! Look, I'm really sorry about last time. It was a stupid argument and I shouldn't have been so stubborn."

Robin smiled. "It's okay, dear. I want to apologize too. It really was dumb. What are you doing here?"

"Oh just visiting with the girls in my town," she replied, then pointed to us. "These are two friends of mine now, Deena and the anchor Nadia. Monique and Friga are around her somewhere too."

"How fun," she replied.

"What about you?"

"Well, I live and work here now, at the library. But I took the day off for the festival. There's going to be a singing contest this afternoon." She clapped her wings together. "Hey, do you want to enter too? The sign-ups are going on right now."

Patty hopped u a bit. "Really? That's awesome! Hey Deena, want to sing with us too?"

"Oh sure, if that's all right," the duck said shyly. "Will they let a trio in?"

"I believe so," Robin said. "What about you, Nadia?"

I shook my head. "Sorry, I'm not that good of a singer. But I'd love to come and watch."

The three of them went off to decide on a song, sign up, and then practice, so I found the other two and stayed with them. We were discussing where we would want to eat lunch at when we walked in front of a store with dark purple curtains in the windows, behind a display of occult objects. Unlike the other stores, this one appeared to have no name, simply a sign that read, 'Fortunes told and mystical charms sold inside. Come inside and wait in the foyer to be called.' A second sign that had a white lily attached stated, 'Love fortunes and some charms discounted for the flower festival. Please inquire within.'

"Oh, a fortune teller," Monique said. "I saw a program about one not that long ago. Some are good and some are just cheaters. Is this one all right, do you know?"

"Katrina?" Friga asked, putting a fin to her beak. "From what I've heard, she is really good. Although if she's offering a discount, it probably wouldn't hurt to give it a try."

"What, do you want to?" Monique asked.

"Do you?"

I chuckled. "Well if you want to test her, we could try having her read my love fortune. It could be fun to get yours done too. That is, if you don't mind going in together."

Monique smiled and swished her tail slowly. "Well I can trust both of you, I know."

"How true," Friga said. "All right then, let's see what this lady is capable of."

Entering the shop, we came to a small room with plush white couches around. Silver stars were hung from the ceiling, while soft lighting and a scented candle gave the foyer a feeling of otherworldliness. We have just entered when a female voice beyond the next silk curtained door called out, "Enter, if you please."

The next room was large but dim, lit by several flickering candles. There were several odd scrolls n the wall, showing astrology charts and other odd things. In the center of the room, there was a large round table with five chairs. At the other end, there was a black cat wearing a beaded headdress and a silk gypsy-styled dress. She had a slightly bluish crystal ball in front of her.

"Hello, Miss Katrina," Friga said. "We came in to see about your love fortunes."

She nodded. "Certainly, if you think your friendship is strong enough to trust each other. Today, love fortunes are forty bells. Will you take that price?"

"Sure," Friga said, while us other two nodded.

After looking each of us over, the cat put her paws on her crystal ball. "Then quiet your minds so that we may call upon the spirit world to see what love may hold in store for you." She looked into the ball and softly chanted strange words. The 'ke ho ma ta ra,' or something like that, didn't sound like any words I knew of. And then something seemed to electrify the air, causing the hairs on the back of my neck to stand on end. Monique was twitching her whiskers and Friga looked momentarily spooked before regaining her normal composure.

"Three different girls," Katrina said, looking at some strange motions in the ball. "Three different ways. Petals on a steam, a pale rose bud, a tulip in the snow." Then she looked to me. "You have lost your love to no fault of your own, or his. There is no chance of reconnection; it was until death do you part, which has happened."

"That's true," I said softly. She had to be an authentic fortune teller, I thought.

She trailed a finger across the ball, not using her claw. "The break is a burden to you both, one which you will both have to learn to deal with. And yet, there is a way to make contact. But just once. Write a letter that speaks the truth of your heart and set it upon a plant that reaches across both worlds. It will only cross once your way, but may cross other times his way if his heart grows strong. Think it over carefully."

Only once? I would have to consider that carefully, so as to encourage him. "All right, I will. Thank you."

She nodded once, then turned to Monique. "As for you, young cat, romance may lie close in your future. Or not. It will be at a delicate stage where one misstep will cut off that chance before it blossoms. Be willing to forgive the faults in others, and yourself, if you hope to see that happen."

At that, my friend blushed. "Oh, really? I could try that."

"It couldn't hurt to try," Friga said, patting her arm.

"Of course," Katrina agreed. "As for you… romance is not for everyone. You seem to feel this way. There is nothing wrong with that, as a person can be happy with many friends, but no significant other. If you seek romantic love anyhow, be willing to put your pride in check; your standards are unnecessarily high and you would find no one if you kept being picky."

"Perhaps," Friga said, shrugging.

"That is what the spirits show me of you three," Katrina said. "That will be a hundred and twenty bells for the three of you."

We paid her and thanked her for her insight (at least I did), and we left the fortune shop.

A few hours later, we came to the coffeeshop on the plaza. There were a few groups in the competition, with a lot of solo acts. Patty, Deena, and Robin all sung a song called 'Off to Adventure', which was about a group a friends who decided to find an adventure in their own town, to make things more exciting. They looked like they were having great fun. And they did well enough that they won, getting a thirty thousand bell prize to split as well as a small trophy for each. I decided to buy them a dessert of their choice from a nearby bakery to celebrate.

After that, we had to leave to get back to Verdant before the sun set there. While Patty and Deena were saying goodbye to Robin, Monique, Friga and I went back to one of the breeder booths to buy a new rose for Rodeo. The breeder was offering all kinds of hybrid colors for sale (although not gold), but we agreed that he would rather grow his own. Instead, we bought a peach colored climbing rose which would climb up the side of a house if well cared for. I did make sure to ask if it would be okay to bring into a winter season; the breeder said that it should be fine if placed by a warm house. We also picked up some peaches to plant, as they were at a good price in one booth.

Saturday, January 17

Verdant

Back home, we walked over to Rodeo's place with the climbing rose, still chatting and laughing from our conversations on the train ride back. It hadn't actually snowed for a few days, but with as cold as it had been, the snow cover crunched hard under our feet and paws. The river still ran clear, but apparently rivers and small ponds rarely froze.

But on our way to his house, we found Rodeo in his garden. Despite the cold and snow, he was asleep there. We smiled, trying not to laugh and wake him up. "My goodness, how can he stand sleeping outside?" Deena asked, concerned. "He might get sick."

"Guys can do the craziest things without thinking," Friga said. "What should we do about the rose?"

"I don't want to leave it out here," I said. "But, maybe if we put it by his gyroid, it'll be okay until he plants it where he wants."

No one had any better ideas to make sure that he got it, so I went over and told his gyroid that the rose was a gift to him. The weird statue agreed to alert him to it when he came back.

Later that evening, I put together a quick batch of no-bake cookies, then brought them to the weekly gathering at The Roost. I was still wearing my kimono, and so was Monique even though we helped to set up the decorations with Goose. As I was upstairs tying balloons to the sign, I noticed Pike and Fang come in. "Hello," I called over. "Are you coming to the party?"

"Sure," Fang said. "And I dragged him along too."

I smiled. "That's good. I think this is the first one you've been too, right Pike?"

"Hmph," he replied. "I wasn't really interested."

The white wolf grinned toothily. "Yeah, but I lured him here with my famed flaming chow mix."

Glancing at the blue bowl he was carrying, I said, "That seems like a cereal mix; I like those."

"Yeah, but this has Tabasco sauce and a dozen other secret spicy ingredients," Fang said, as they headed downstairs. "Don't say I didn't warn you."

Fortunately, Deena had brought a yogurt salad, which could easily counter the spiciness of Fang's mix.

I don't know when Pike left, but I'm fairly sure that he didn't stay at the party long. Fang didn't mind and kept daring the other guys to eating contests of the flaming chow mix. There wasn't much of it, but as eating just a few pieces had been enough to make my eyes water, it was quite a test of fortitude. Eventually, he got Bob and Goose to join him. The rooster, who hadn't tried any yet, was out soon with his face showing pink under his white feathers. That was after he had eaten a full handful without knowing better. "Man, you named this stuff right!" he said, going after Deena's yogurt salad quickly.

"I love it," Fang replied, eating another handful.

"I can manage it," Bob boasted, trying to continue. But after the third handful, he stopped, blinking.

"That clear your sinuses?" Fang asked teasingly.

"For the rest of winter," the purple cat replied. "Man, I don't think I'll be able to taste anything for the rest of the evening."

At that point, Rodeo came down the stairs. "S-sorry I'm late," he said as he came in. "But, the most amazing thing happened! I woke up and found an awesome climbing rose at my doorstep. It's a gift from the forest fairies!"

The other guys looked blankly at him while us girls giggled. "The fairies, really?" Monique asked.

The bull nodded. "Yeah, I know about fairies. They leave stuff for me to find sometimes, but I never actually see them."

"Actually, that was us," I said. "When we went to Chime City, they were holding a flower festival. We picked that up for you after the rafflesia incident."

He looked briefly bummed out. "Aw, I missed their flower festival?" But then he smiled. "Well, thanks for thinking of me, girls. I brought it inside for tonight, but I'll plant it tomorrow and it'll be looking great on my outer wall."

I pulled my new album out of my bag. "And I brought pictures of it too. Some of it is of us, but I made sure to take pictures of nice flower arrangements and gardens."

"Nice, I'd like to see that." So I spent a while showing off the pictures of the event to the rest, at least those that were also interested.

A bit of filler, but also a scattering of plot points.