Episode 20: Strong Love
Wednesday, 1st Of Summer, 2001
I opened my eyes, sat up in my bed and yawned. Popuri woke up seconds after I did. "Good morning, Honey." She gave me a soft kiss which left me feeling all warm and fuzzy all over my body, and I kissed her back, on her forehead. "How are you feeling, sweetie?" I asked her after kissing her. She grinned at me. "Hungry." A few minutes later, Popuri was cooking scrambled eggs for herself and me.
She cracked the three eggs individually on the edge of the frying pan and opened up the broken shells so the yolk can fall in the grease covered frying pan. She then added some oil into the oven so that the fire can intensify, cooking the yolk more effectively, Popuri placed the pan on one of the circle shaped things, then she turned on the oven, using my spatula to scramble the cooking yolk. Minutes later, she came back to me at the dinner table with two plates of scrambled eggs and a 6 foot piece of bread that I broke in half- half for me and the other half for Popuri.
"Breakfast is ready, Honey." Popuri beamed pridefully at her cooking. "Mmmm, looks great for your first time, Honey." I said. She placed my plate in front of me then she sat down with her plate. "Eat up, Honey." Popuri urged me. As soon as I got a taste of the scrambled eggs with the strawberry jam filled piece of bread that I have... oh man, the taste buds on my tongue were so pleased, I felt like I went to Heaven just by eating this wonderful breakfast. I ate up my breakfast 3 seconds faster than Popuri did, even though she is hungry because she's pregnant.
"Wow... You must think my cooking is great because of the way you eat. All in one bite." Popuri said. "Well, you are a great cook." I complimented her. "Oh, stop!" Popuri blushed, turning her head from directly facing me like she's extremely flattered. "Oh! Pete! Today is Opening Day! Are you ready to go swimming with Kai and the others?" Popuri asked me. I gasped in surprise. "Of course! I forgot all about this day! I better go get my swimming trunks!"
Popuri and I stayed at home for hours until 10:00, that's when we left Redwood Farm and headed for Mineral Beach. By the time we got there, pretty much almost everyone I know, including Greg, were here. Karen is the first to greet us. "Hey! If it isn't the lovebirds!" Karen smiled. "Hi, Karen!" Popuri smiled. "What's going on, Karen?" I said.
Karen took a drink of some wine before replying. "Not much. Just enjoying the summer breeze while drinking the winery's best wine. Oh, Pete, good luck today. I hope you finish first this time. I have a feeling you will, anyway." Karen said. "Gee, thanks, Karen." I scratched the back of my head, grinning a little. "I know my sweetie will win, Karen! Bye!" Popuri said.
"Okay, bye!" Karen walked off with her bottle of wine. Whew... What is it with Karen and alcohol? Anyway, we headed over to Kai, who was doing sit-ups and other body stretching exercises. "Kai. Ready for a rematch?" I challenged. Kai stopped exercising. "Oh, yes, Pete. I've been looking forward to swimming against you, Gray, The Doctor, Harris, and Jeff. But you know me. The Man of the Sea will always come out on top... No hard feelings." Kai said with a sly grin. "We'll see, we'll see." I nodded.
"Don't get too arrogant, Kai." Rick sneered. "Hey! Patrick!" Kai teased. Rick looked like he is about to blow the top of his head, and his arms were trembling in a rage. "My name... is not Patrick...!" He said through gritted teeth as he angrily advanced towards Kai, but I blocked him. "Easy, Rick. Cool the magma." I encouraged him. Rick eventually calmed down. "I'm fine now. But Pete, do me a favor... Humiliate him. Win the race so that smug look on his face can be wiped off." Rick said.
I couldn't help but chuckle. I thought Rick would have me do something extreme to Kai. "All right. Just enjoy the show." I assured Rick. Seconds after Kai and Rick gone their separate ways, Cliff and Harris came up to me. "Hey, Pete! Think you can beat Kai this time?" Cliff asked me. "Ehh... I have confidence in my abilities." I shrugged. "That's good to know. You'll never win if you don't believe in yourself." Cliff nodded. "Cliff does have a point." Popuri agreed. "Hey, Pete, I hate to break it to you, but you won't beat me very easily." Harris said to me. "And why is that?" I asked.
"I've been practicing a new swimming technique that will surely guarantee me victory... But because of my frequent patrol duties, I barely had time to perfect it." Harris said gloomily when he mentioned that he didn't perfect his new move. "Well, whether I win or lose, I wish you the best of luck." I said. Harris smiled. "Thanks Pete... Oh! Thanks for the puppy."
Harris said before walking off to change into his swimming suit. "I better go get changed." I told Popuri. "Okay, Honey. Good luck." Popuri gave me a sweet kiss. I kissed her back then headed for Kai's shack to get changed into my swimming trunks. "Pete sure is full of pep today." Cliff said, standing next to Popuri. "Mm-hmm," Popuri nodded in agreement.
Soon I came out of the shack with Harris, Kai, Gray, The Doc and Jeff, and we walked toward the rising and falling ocean tide at the edge of the beach. It felt good feeling the sun baked sand with my bare feet for a few seconds then feeling the soggy, wet sand from the rising and falling tides the next. "All right, everyone. Allow me to go over the rules. The goal is to swim to the large rock near the end of the pier." Mayor Thomas said. Ahead of the edge of the pier, a few feet northwest from it, Rick stood on a large rock island, holding a red flag, just like last year. And like last year, I was standing between Gray and Kai.
"Everyone, get on your marks." Thomas instructed us. We edged closer to the ocean until we felt the cool ocean water covering our feet to our knees. (Oooh, this water feels cold but good...) I thought to myself. "On your marks, get set..." Thomas said, then... *POW!* As soon as we heard the POW sound of Thomas' pop gun, we immediately belly flopped into the ocean.
As soon as I felt the cool, blue blanket of water around my body, I quickly began moving my arms and legs, paddling wildly as I turned my head left and right to get quick breaths of air. As always, I saw that Kai managed to get ahead of me, but I saw that Gray and the others were keeping up as well with me. (Guess I better up my game a bit!) I thought to myself.
"Come on, Honey! You can do it!" I heard Popuri shout out, even though my ears were constantly in and out of the water, and it can be pretty hard to hear if your ears are in water, unless the person is shouting. I came up with a new plan. I decided to use the breaststroke to reach Kai and get to the finish before he does. It worked perfectly, even thought I couldn't lift my face up from the cool water for a second to suck up some air. If I stop for air, Harris and Gray will definitely catch up. 6 seconds later, I couldn't take it anymore. My lungs were screaming for air. "BWAAAH!" I popped my head out of the water, stopping to get a few seconds of air, then I continued swimming as fast as I could, only I didn't use the breaststroke again.
But it did get me up to Kai almost. Harris is gaining on me, Jeff is falling behind, and Gray and The Doc are doing okay in catching up with me. I had to keep going. "Come on! You're almost there!" Mary shouted. "You can do it! Show everybody what you're made of!" Ann cheered. Somehow, I found that I had more than enough strength inside me to win. I don't know how I found it, but once I realized I had it, I didn't hesitate to use it. Using all my strength, I swam as hard as I could until I caught up with Kai.
We were only 8 feet way from the rock island where Rick is, so I better pick up the pace and fast! (Come on... Come on... I can do it... I can do it... I can do it...!) I coached myself in my mind. Surprising everyone, I managed to pass Kai a few inches seconds before I felt shallow ground below my feet and I found myself standing up near the rock island, the water up to my knees. I had a funny feeling inside my nose and I made myself sneeze some water out of my nostrils. I finished first! 2 seconds before Kai did! Harris came 2nd, Gray came 3rd, The Doc came 4th and Jeff came 5th.
When we returned back to the beach, after we got dressed back into our normal clothes, everybody cheered for me as I moved towards Thomas. Everyone stood behind me to witness Mayor Thomas give me my prize. I felt great. Last year, I finished 2nd. Today, I finished 1st. I can't believe I made it! I can't believe it, but here I am, about to receive me prize!
"Congratulations, Pete. This is the prize for the winner." Mayor Thomas handed me... a Power Berry! Wasting no time, I immediately ate it. Food prizes are better off in your stomach instead of a icebox anyway. Everyone began clapping and cheering for my great accomplishment. "Every single one of you are all cordially invited to take part next year, too." Thomas said to everybody.
"Great job, Honey! It looked like you've been practicing swimming for years." Popuri said. "Years? That's stretching it a bit..." I grinned sheepishly. "Humph, you're a pretty good swimmer. Gray didn't do well at all." Saibara said. Cliff then came up to us. "Hey, you made it. Help me if I start to drown, okay?" Cliff smiled. I laughed. "Sure. It's a deal." I smiled, shaking his hand. "Wow, Pete, you're awesome!" Stu said. "You're sooo fast! Teach me how to swim like that, okay? Starting with how to breathe." May said. "Uhhh..." I had no idea how to reply to May. I'm not good at teaching anything. I then saw Kai approaching me. He had a dumbfounded look, and I knew why. It is because for the first time in his life, he lost.
"I... I lost? The Man of the Sea lost?" Kai asked me in disbelief. I had to fight the urge to grin at him, to rub my victory in his face, and I succeeded. "I'm... adaptable. Let's just put it that way." I replied. Kai put his hands in his pockets and sighed, looking up at the blue sky and sighed. "What a letdown... Ahhh, it's no big deal." Kai pouted. I'm glad he's not mad or sad. He's just surprised. Anyway, towards the end of the day, Popuri and I went swimming at the beach later that evening. I wore blue swimming trunks this time, and Popuri wore a white colored, pink polka dotted swimsuit. Then at 6:15, we returned home and got a well deserved rest. My muscles are aching, but not in a bad way.
Thursday, 2nd Of Summer
Later that morning, I'm standing next to Popuri, watching her prepare omelette for breakfast. She took a large stirring bowl, cracked two eggs and let the yolk spill out into the bowl. "Okay, add the milk next." I told Popuri. She took a jug of milk, opened the lid and poured out a few tablespoons of milk, then she grabbed a large wooden stirring spoon and began stirring up the yolk and milk. "Do you enjoy cooking, Honey?" I asked her. "Yes, I do." She nodded. "Why?" I asked. She stopped stirring and turned around at me. "Why? Why? Because I enjoy cooking for you, Honey." She gave me a smooch, then she went back to stirring the milk and yolk then emptied them into the frying pan.
While she was pouring oil into the oven from the oil canister, I chuckled. "When our baby comes out of your gut you'll have to cook for me and the baby too. Not that I don't have any confidence in you, but can you handle that?" I asked her. After Popuri turned on the oven, letting the milk mixed yolk fry in the pan, she turned around at me with her cute face smirking. "Pete... Honey, I'll do all I can for you and our soon to be born baby." She said coolly as she advanced towards me, our bodies coming in close, personal contact. I smiled. "One of the reasons why I love you is because you have confidence in yourself." "And one of the reasons why I love you is because you're such a honest, dependable person." Popuri replied. We started kissing each other for about 8 seconds.
As we were kissing, I was thinking about whether it is a good idea for Popuri to keep her black corset on now that she's pregnant. Is it safe for her to keep it on? When her belly starts expanding, won't her corset get in the way? I mean, I'm worried that her corset will be so tight around her stomach when it grows out, causing her pain and giving her a hard time breathing, or in the least worst case scenario, cause the strings that hold her corset together to break apart. I decided to keep those thoughts to myself for now, since its too early to be thinking about that. After the omelette got done cooking, we went to the breakfast table and ate our food. To tell you the truth, omelette tastes a little better than scrambled eggs. We watched the weather channel as we ate our food. It'll still remain sunny tomorrow.
After finishing my farm work, planting the 3 pineapple seeds Won gave me yesterday for free as an apology, feeding and nurturing my cows and sheep and milking Moona and Dairee (Mai is still too young to be milked), I headed into the woods with my wheelbarrow to cut some lumber while Popuri takes care of my hens, as usual. Oh, yesterday, I bought a harvesting basket for Popuri, that way she can carry eggs and stuff like that, since she doesn't have anything like my rucksack to carry more than one object. In the forest, I chopped up a dozen tree stumps with my golden axe and came back home with 55 pieces of lumber in my wheelbarrow and stored them up in the wood shed.
Later, at 12:06, I went to the Supermarket to buy some 3 bags of corn seeds, 3 bags of potato seeds, and 2 canisters of oil. I came back home and planted all the corn and tomato seeds I had. I had my pineapple seeds growing at the far left row. I have 27 pineapple seeds growing on the 1st row to the left, 27 corn seeds growing in the 2nd row to the left, and 27 tomato seeds growing in the 3rd row, near the center of the rows of tilled soil I made. The rest of the tilled soil are empty. I plan on planting onions and more pineapples there, but I'm not sure. At 3:10, I headed over to the harvest sprite hut, and hired Nappy to harvest my crops whenever they are ready, for about a week.
"Okay, budum! Tomorrow, I'll come to your farm to play... *ahem*, I mean to work, budum!" Nappy promised me. "Sure, Nappy." I nodded, smiling. He always thinks about playing. I hired Hoggy to take care of my animals for a week. He is afraid of oversleeping, but he accepted the job. I hired Timid to take care of my animals with Hoggy. One thing that concerns me about Timid is that he is so absentminded, when you call out his name, he gets easily startled. No wonder his name is "Timid". Bold, however, he seemed more optimistic.
"Hi, Pete, budum." "Hey, Bold. How would you like to water my crops?" I asked. "How many days will this work take, budum?" "One week." "Okay! I'll be there tomorrow, budum! Count on me!" Bold said adamantly. I hired Staid and Aqua to water my crops as well. I don't think Bold can do the job on his own. I even hired Chef to take care of my animals. After that, I headed home to play with King and chat, smooch and play with Popuri. Our lives have gotten much more happier since the day we found out we'll have a baby. I wonder how he or she will look? Well, we got a long way to go before Popuri is ready to deliver.
Friday, 3rd Of Summer
At 7:30, Popuri and I were up bright and early today, eating omelettes, biscuits with strawberry jam for breakfast. "Honey, starting today, for the entire week, we don't have to work." I told her. "Really, Honey? Why?" She asked, looking into my eyes after swallowing a pice of the omelette from her plate. "Remember our little friends?" I asked her. "The Harvest Sprites? I do. Why?" "I asked them a special favor, and they agreed. They'll take care of our jobs for one week. So, for one week, you and I can walk into the forest, hang out with anyone in town, we have a week long day off from our farm chores now!" I said with a perky, extravagant voice tone.
"Honey... Are you serious?" Popuri asked me in surprise and disbelief. "Yes, Honey, I am. Think of this as an extended celebration for your pregnancy." I told her. Popuri blushed. "Gee... Wow, Honey... Thank you." She kissed me. Her lips felt so warm and soft against my own lips, I almost lost myself in the moment. When she was done, I felt myself quickly drifting back to reality. "So, uh, where do you want to go?" I asked her. "How about the forest? We'll head into town at 12:00. How is that?" Popuri suggested. I nodded. "That would be great." I agreed.
We said our goodbyes to our hardworking Harvest Sprite friends before we left Redwood Farm, heading into the forest, holding hands. We passed by Ann along the way. "Hi, Pete, Popuri! You two are looking good, as usual!" Ann complimented us when we met up with her. She came from the trail leading to Gotz's house. "Oh, thank you, Ann!" I smiled. "Thank you for the compliment, Ann!" Popuri smiled happily, wrapping her arms around my left arm. "So, Popuri, how does it feel being pregnant? Do you have any strange feelings in your body?" Ann asked. Popuri looked confused.
"Strange feelings? No, not really, I feel the same way I felt like before I got pregnant. But occasionally I feel this need to keep eating food every once in a while, which is unusual for me." She replied. "Oh." Ann nodded. "Well, I won't hold you two up. I'll catch up with you later! Bye!" Ann walked up the stairs to the hot springs. "See ya, Ann." I waved goodbye, then Popuri and I continued walking through the forest, staying on the dirt road path. "Ohhh, Pete." Popuri sighed passionately as she rested her head on my shoulder. I began stroking her long, smooth pink hair with my right hand as we continued walking. "What's wrong, Honey?" I asked. "Nothing is wrong. It's just that... You and I... We just got married a couple seasons ago, and already a baby is growing inside me." Popuri replied in a calm, relaxed tone, but her face is still blushing, though.
"I know, Honey. Everything is happening so fast. I thought I would become a father when I reach 25 or 23 years of age. I'm still 17. Do you think I can be a good dad?" I asked her. Popuri's eyes met mine. Whenever I look into her eyes, I see a ton of love, affection and trust that Popuri has in store for me. "Pete, I believe you can be anything. I trust you. I trust you with all my heart..." Popuri's tender voice made my heart feel like it is melting as she continued to rest her head on my left shoulder. "I trust you, too..." I said in my own soft, smooth voice. Many minutes later, we reached the lake where the winter mine island is located, and we sat down on the grass, a few yards away from the lake, looking up at the sky and listening to the birds chirp, and watching a family of rabbits hop towards the lake to drink some of its water. I sighed.
"I knew I would find happiness here... Ever since I was 5 years old, when I visited my grandpa, I knew I belonged here..." I said. "What exactly made you come here?" Popuri asked me. "Oh. Uhm... I don't think I told you this story, did I?" I asked Popuri. She shook her head, her hair waving gently in the cool breeze. "Okay. Well, it all started when I was 5. When I still lived in the city with my parents and brother, my Dad promised us that we would spend Summer vacation in Mineral Town to visit my grandpa, but unfortunately, Dad had to cancel our trip." I said. Popuri's eyes widened with pity. "Ohhh... I can imagine how sad you were, Honey." She touched my cheek passionately.
I nodded. "Yeah, I was really sad. But Dad made a backup plan. He sent only me to visit my grandpa. And during my stay, I had so much fun, enjoying nature, playing with cows, learning how to ride a horse, harassing chickens, fishing... *sigh*... Country living is perfect for me..." I said, then paused for a few seconds. "... Then, when my vacation was halfway over, I met this girl who was the same age as me, if not a bit younger. I forgotten what her name was, and how she looked, but we became best friends because we have a few things in common. One thing me and her had in common the most is that we love nature." I said.
"I see..." Popuri nodded, looking down at the grass. She was faintly smiling, but I didn't notice. "When it was time for me to leave, she was so sad, I promised her that I would come back. And now that I'm here, I still haven't seen her yet. I'll never get the chance to show her that I kept my promise." I said. I looked over at Popuri. She was looking away from me for some reason. "You know, Pete..." She said quietly. "Huh?" I tilted my head in confusion.
"Best friends... They can be so drawn together, that sometimes they are always there when you wish for it... And sometimes... They might be closer to you than you think they are." Popuri said. She had her head turned away from me, so I don't know if she's sad to hear my story or not. "What do you mean, Honey?" I asked her. Popuri quickly shook her head. "Nothing. Just thinking out loud. Hey, Honey, I'll go home for a while. I need to... Prepare something. Can you go to the Supermarket and buy some more rice balls and bread?" Popuri asked me. I nodded.
When we got home, Popuri went back in the house while I headed into town. I went to the Supermarket and bought 3 packets of rice balls, and 4 foot long pieces of bread, then I went to the beach and went fishing, chatting with Greg as we were fishing. Greg managed to catch a squid while I ended up catching only garbage. My rotten luck. Jeez. I gave up fishing at 11:42, threw the garbage I caught into the nearest trash bin in the Square and headed back home. "Hi, Pete!" Staid called from the garden. I saw Chef enter the hen house as I waved at Staid, then I entered my house. As soon as I came in the house, I saw a delicious, strawberry cake with lit candles sitting on the table with a small vase of Toy flowers, and a plate full of chocolate donuts, icing donuts, and plain, glazed donuts.
"Whoa... What's this?" I whispered to myself. Popuri came out from our bedroom, possibly from using the bathroom and spotted me. "Honey!" She ran up to me and gave me a hug. "Honey, do you know what day it is?" She asked me. I frowned. It's not a festival day, obviously. But the more I stared at the cake, the easier the answer started to come together. On top of that, I know it is Friday the 3rd. So that means...! "Today's your birthday! You're 18 years old now!" I exclaimed. Popuri gasped in surprise. "You remembered! You showed no signs, so I thought you totally forgot about it. Impossible, right?"
"Why would I forget?" I smiled. We walked over to the table, sat down, and I began cutting a slice of the cake. One for my wife, and one for me. "Who made this cake? You?" I asked. "Mom did. I wanted you to go into town so that you wouldn't see Mom deliver the cake to me." Popuri replied. "Wow... You are 18 now... And I'm still 17. Kinda strange, isn't it?" I grinned happily. "I know. Do I look older?" Popuri asked me. "To be honest, you still look the same." I replied. Popuri shrugged. "Well, I suppose a birthday doesn't make that much difference." She said. "You're right. But do you know what's different about you?" "What is it, Honey?"
"Your beauty. The older you get, the more impressive you are." I gave her a kiss. "Ohhh, Pete, Honey... Thank you... Thank you very much." Popuri's face turned redder. Then the Harvest Sprites came in our house. "Pete, Popuri, we need to take a break, budum." Aqua said. "You don't mind if we celebrate Popuri's birthday with you, do you, budum?" Timid asked. "No, I don't mind. You guys are all welcome." I said. "YES!" The Harvest Sprites cheered. "I got dibs on the chocolate donuts, budum!" Hoggy exclaimed. "This cake looks good. What are the ingredients?" Chef asked me as I gave him a slice. For the next hour, we celebrated Popuri's birthday, eating, talking, telling jokes, watching the latest episode of Mechabot Ultror, playing card games, etc.
Saturday, 4th Of Summer
Today, Popuri and I didn't go anywhere. After eating breakfast, we spent most of our time outside the farm with King playing catch with his pink ball, and riding around on Dash. When Chef, Nappy, Hoggy, Staid, Timid, Aqua, and Bold were on their lunch break at 12:00, they played with us too. Chef asked me if I had a Mayonnaise Maker. When I told him that I didn't, he said that I can talk to Saibara about it, so I did just that. At 1:20, I came over to the blacksmith shop and asked Saibara how much is it to make a Mayonnaise Maker machine. He said about $20000 and a adamantite with it. Luckily I only need $1057 more to reach the price, and I got 4 adamantites in my cabinet back home, so I'm good.
Later in the evening, I went fishing with Greg. My luck still abandoned me, until something unexpected happened. I nearly caught a squid! When I reeled it in and caught it in my arms, I was so startled, because of its tentacles waving around, and unsettling, alien-like appearance, I dropped it back in the water! I really regret doing that. Even Greg was a bit disappointed in me for letting a special catch like that scare me into throwing it back into the ocean. At 7:01, I returned home and slept with my beloved wife, Popuri.
Sunday, 5th Of Summer
I had a dream last night. In that dream, Popuri is delivering the baby in our bedroom with Elli helping her out while Lillia and I were outside the room, waiting for Elli to let us know that Popuri is finished. I was scared. Hearing Popuri cry out in pain and whine like a scared puppy really hurt me... In an emotional way. I just couldn't take it..! It's like I'm feeling her pain too! After that, I woke up. I looked at the clock hanging on the wall ahead.4:43. I didn't feel like falling asleep again. Hours later, at 6:58, I turned my head to the left and saw Popuri, wide awake next to me, looking up at the ceiling. She blinked then trained her eyes on me. "Good morning." I said to her, still a bit traumatized by my dream. She smiled at me.
"Good morning." She kissed me. I then noticed that something is wrong. Popuri seemed to be in deep thought seconds ago before she noticed I was awake. "Are you okay, Honey? You seemed to just stare off into space." I said. Popuri sighed, looking down at her midsection. "I couldn't sleep at all... I just kept moving around, worrying about the baby..." She said almost in a glum manner. "I had a dream last night... about you and the baby. Because of it, I couldn't sleep either." I replied. Popuri nodded. When we both looked at her belly, I saw that it is still flat, or at least looked flat. Maybe it is bulging out a couple centimeters, its just not easy to tell. "This is a whole new experience for me, so I don't blame myself for being so anxious." Popuri said, paused for a few seconds, then gave me a cheerful smile.
"But maybe also because I'm happy and excited." She said cheerfully, lightening the dull atmosphere like she always does. Minutes later, we were eating scrambled eggs for breakfast. We didn't have anymore milk inside the fridge, so we have to settle on scrambled eggs for breakfast. I made the scrambled eggs myself. Popuri usually does the cooking but she let me do it this time. We were at the dinner table eating. "Wow, Honey. You sure make some nice scrambled eggs." Popuri said as she sprinkled some pepper on her scrambled eggs. "I know. Sometimes I amaze myself... Oh no!" I gasped. "What is it, Honey?" Popuri asked me.
"The TV Shopping channel! I forgot to watch it yesterday! Ah, forget it. I'm going to Saibara's place to ask him to make a Mayonnaise Maker machine for me." I told Popuri. "Do you have the money?" "Yep, Honey." I nodded. "Do you have the right materials?" "Yeah. All he needs is some adamantite." I got up out of my chair, headed towards my cabinet, opened the doors and searched for the adamantite. "Bingo!" I said once I saw one of them. I reached in, took one, put it in my rucksack and shut the cabinet doors. "What time are you leaving?" Popuri asked me. "I'm guessing at 11:00. Until then, want to go to the hot springs and relax?" I asked her. Popuri blushed. "Sure. That would be nice." She said.
We took our swimsuits and headed to the hot springs. We undressed in the cabin, putting on our swimsuits and jumped in the soothing, warm water. "Ahhh... This feels great!" Popuri sighed with content. "I know! It's been a while since I've been in the hot spring." I remarked. I sat next to Popuri and wrapped my arms around her warm, smooth body. Popuri blushed. I did too. Being so close to Popuri in her cute bikini made my body temperature rise up a bit higher. "Honey?" "Yes, sweetie?" "Do you remember the time when I was about to take a bath in the hot spring when you were around?" Popuri asked me. I nodded. "Yes." I replied. "Well... Ever since that day, I've known that you always wanted to see me in a bikini." Popuri said. I gasped in shock. "You knew?!"
"I wasn't intending on taking a bath at all. I was testing you. I was hiding next to the hot spring, behind the bamboo forest, watching you as you jumped in, hoping that you would take a peek at me in a bathing suit." Popuri grinned at me. "You... you tricked me deliberately?!" I couldn't believe it! So that explains why Popuri didn't look angry at me when she told me she changed her mind about bathing after I left the hot spring! "... Were you mad at me for trying that?" I asked her.
Popuri shook her head. "No, I wasn't. Why would I get mad at a guy that I like?" "Whew!" I sighed in relief. "Just be glad that I liked you back then, otherwise you'd be in big trouble!" Popuri frowned at me, but her mouth was smiling a bit. I gulped nervously, imagining if I never built a romantic relationship with Popuri and tried to see her in a bikini... I wouldn't want to be myself at that moment!
Later, at 11:00, I headed on over to Saibara's place. I opened the door and walked in. Inside, I saw Saibara, Gray and... Mary? What the? I've never seen her inside the blacksmith's shop before! "Are you okay, Gray?" She asked Gray with a concerned expression on her face. Gray had his hands in his pockets, looking at the smelting stove to his right. "Y... yeah." He said, barely audible. He took his right hand out his jacket pocket and revealed that he has a burn on the palm of his right hand. My eyes widened. Gray had an accident? "That one's not so bad. You burn yourself because you weren't paying attention!" Saibara berated Gray sternly. "If you scream like that for such a small burn you're not cut out to be a blacksmith."
I wanted to tell Saibara to cut Gray some slack, but I just stood there and let Saibara go into his room. Gray turned his head, looking at Mary. "It's okay, Mary." He assured her. Mary nodded, looking sad. There were tears in her eyes, but I could barely tell because of the lights of the room reflecting off her glasses, from where I am standing. "I'm sorry. I panicked. I'm helpless, huh? My mind understands but I still can't help it." Mary said sadly, her hands on her chest as if she is clutching her heart softly. Gray shook his head and advanced closer to Mary. "Don't say that. When I first met you at the Square, you scolded me. That's what got me motivated to do something." Gray said as he slowly approached her and put his hands on her shoulders. A tear fell from Mary's eye as she shook her head in protest. "No, Gray. I never scolded you." Mary said.
At that moment, Saibara returned from his room with something in his hands as he approached Gray. "Here. Use this ointment on your burns." He gave the ointment to Gray. He slowly reached out and took it into his hands. He looked at his grandpa straight in the eyes. "... Thank you, Grandpa." He said with a firm voice. That caused me to burst out laughing. Because of my laugh, Gray, Saibara and Mary not noticed me. "Hahahahaha! I'm sorry! I'm sorry for laughing like that." I apologized, trying to control myself. Saibara had a dumbfounded look on his face. "Gray still doesen't call me "Master"." He told me. "I know. That's why I laughed!" I replied, stifling another laugh from escaping my mouth. "It's embarrassing, really." Saibara said.
Gray was busy putting the ointment on his right hand. "Ouch... It hurts..." He said through gritted teeth. "Hello, Pete." Mary smiled. "How's it going, Mary?" I replied. "Great." She replied. "Sometimes I worry about these two. It seems like they don't get along well as much as me and my grandpa used to." I told Mary. "I'm sure those two have a lot in common." Mary replied to me. "Ah, you must be referring to Richard, may he rest in peace." Saibara said.
"So you knew my Grandpa, huh?" I asked Saibara. I should've known. "Yes. He's a good man... And a great farmer. I see you are just like him- not only by your skill in farming, but also by your appearance." Saibara said. I smiled, flattered by his compliment. "Uh, Saibara, can I ask you a favor?" "Sure. What is it, Pete?" "I want you to make the Mayonnaise Maker. I got the money and materials." I said. After the deal was made, Mary and I left the blacksmith shop. She headed for the library. "Bye, Pete!" She called. "Bye, Mary!" I called back. I walked up the stairs, heading for Poultry Farm.
Monday, 6th Of Summer
Rick arrived to day to remind us that the Chicken Festival is tomorrow. I asked Popuri if she's going to join me at the chicken festival, but she declined, telling me that she has to go to Forget-Me-Not Valley's Chicken Festival to judge the chickens there. She promised me she'll tell Jack I said "Hi". I didn't do much today, but I did help the Harvest Sprites with some of their work.I sold all of the fish I had in my pond, then I watered my sprouting Pink Cat Flowers at the other side of my garden, a few feet away from the grass I make as fodder for my sheep and cows. Speaking of the grass, they are ready to be cut down, so I did that with my sickle. In the afternoon, Popuri and I went to visit Ellen. She was glad to see Popuri and I. "Hello!" Ellen smiled, rocking in her rocking chair gently.
"Hello, Ellen." Popuri smiled. "How are you today?" I asked. "Oh, I'm doing fine. So how are you two doing? I heard that you are pregnant, Popuri." Ellen remarked. "Yes, ma'am. I can't wait to deliver the baby when I'm ready." Popuri nodded. "That's good. That's very good. A baby brings a lot of sunshine to your life, and responsibilities along with it." Ellen nodded. "That's true, ma'am. Oh, do you need anything, like a cheesecake or something? Because I bought one from Doug's Inn for you." I handed Ellen the cheesecake. "Oh, thank you, Pete! But I'm not hungry right now. Could you please put it in the refrigerator?" "Yes, ma'am." I was handed back the cheesecake and I put it in the fridge. After talking to Ellen for a while, Popuri and I hung out with Kai, eating pizza at his shack at the beach. She even watched me go fishing. I didn't catch a squid, but I was hoping I might.
Tuesday, 7th Of Summer
Popuri and I learned a slightly new dish from the Delicious Hour on TV today. Rice omelette! All we need to do is add a rice ball to the omelette! We ate that for breakfast. Later, Popuri left at 7:30 to head on over to Forget-Me-Not Valley, leaving me alone in the farm with Staid, Chef, Hoggy, Nappy, Bold, Timid and Aqua. I helped them with their work, putting the milk and eggs in the harvest basket and spent time deciding on which hen to bring to the festival. I decided to bring Popuri with me. (I'm talking about one of my hens, in case that isn't obvious!), then at 10:00, I began walking with my hen to the Square. As soon as I got there, I looked around. Kai is here, The Doc, Thomas, Keno, Gray, Saibara, Barley, Louis, Doug, Harris and Jeff.
I also saw my opponents and their hens. "Hey, Pete!" Gray approached me. "Is that the hen who won last year?" Gray asked me. "No, it isn't. This is Popuri. I named her after my wife... Well, before she became my wife." I told gray. "Ahhh." Gray smiled and walked away. I headed towards Rick to let him know I'm going to be in the contest. "Pete! Is that last year's champion?" Rick asked me. "No, Rick, this is a different hen. I named this hen after your sister." I said. Rick's eyes widened. "Really? Popuri never told me that!" He exclaimed. "It's a secret she kept close to her heart, you know." I remarked. "Oh... Can't argue with that. So you're in the contest too, huh?" "Yep." I nodded.
A few minutes later, the tournament board is all set. My hen, Popuri is going against Tank first, Sonja vs MadDog, Berthy vs Yokozuna, and Super C vs The Hen. Okay. No problem. I took Popuri with me to the ring, and set her in there while I stood near the edge. On the other side of the ring, Tank's trainer set her in the ring, too. Tank's trainer wore a yellow bandanna, yellow overalls and had skin as dark as Kai's. "Okay, everybody, the rules of this game is simple and easy to remember." Rick said loudly so everyone can hear. I leaned forward, my hands on my knees, and Princess's trainer did the same. "Trainers are supposed to urge their chickens to intimidate the opponent's chicken.
The objective is to scare the opponent's chicken out of the ring. If you do a good job on urging the chicken to give a good scare to the opponent, you'll scare it out of the ring. Are you ready? Get set... Begin!" Rick shouted. "All right, Tank, this is the big event we've been training for! Go for the gold and scare that chicken out of the ring!" Tank's trainer shouted. Princess clucked angrily at Popuri, causing her eyes to bug out in shock then she ran as Tank gave chase. "Oh no! No! Calm down, Popuri!" I called. "That's it! That's it! Drive it out of the ring!" Tank's trainer grinned. Tank clucked angrily again.
"Cluck back!" I ordered. Popuri turned around and clucked angrily back at Tank, just when she was standing dangerously close the edge of the ring. Tank got so scared of Popuri, she turned and ran, with Popuri giving chase this time. "Wha...?! Tank, what are you doing?!" Tank's trainer demanded. "All right, Popuri, give out the best angry cluck you can do!" I urged. Popuri clucked again, causing Tank to lose her nerve so badly, she jumped out the ring despite her trainer's protests. "Ahhhh noooo! Why, Tank?! Why?! We trained 24/7 for this!" Tank's trainer whined. "Game's over! The winner is Popuri!" Rick declared. "Yeeeah! Yahoo!" I cheered along with my friends. Tank's trainer walked up to me and shook my hand. "Good game." He said and walked away with his hen.
Several minutes later, back to the tournament board, Popuri is facing MadDog now, and Berthy is facing The Hen. We were all set. MadDog's white feathers appeared more brighter than Popuri's, much to my surprise. And MadDog's trainer is a girl, as well. She had black hair and wore red coveralls. "The second match is about to start. Are you ready? Ready... Begin!" And the match started! "Let's go, MadDog!" MadDog's trainer shouted. "Begaaak!" MadDog clucked fearsomely at Popuri! "Counter it!" I shouted. Popuri clucked aggressively back at MadDog! I was hoping my counterattack would work. It did! By the time MadDog calmed down from angrily clucking, she immediately got scared of the angry, clucking figure of Popuri and turned and ran, with Popuri giving chase.
"The heck?! No! Turn around!" MadDog's trainer urged. "You got it on the ropes, Popuri! Keep at it!" I urged. By the time Popuri chased MadDog to the edge of the ring, MadDog turned around and clucked aggressively at Popuri, but I urged Popuri to counter it so she won't get scared and run. It worked! Popuri successfully scared MadDog again and chased MadDog out of the ring! "Game's over!" Rick declared. "This can't be happening...! No way I lost!" MadDog's trainer whined. "The winner is Popuri!" Rick pointed at me. "Yes! Yaahaaa!" I danced joyfully.
A few minutes later, the other matches ended. Now... The final match. Popuri is going up against... The Hen. (Can somebody give me a suspense filled, spine tingling, unsettling drum solo?) The Hen is a gray colored hen. I don't see those very often. And the trainer of The Hen is a girl. A cute one at that. She has long blond hair, blue eyes, the same height as my wife Popuri, and wore blue overalls. I can tell that she's a farmer from a nearby town. "How are you doing? I'm Claire." She said with brimming confidence. I flinched. This is the first time an opponent has ever introduced herself to me. "I'm Pete." I replied.
"I've seen your previous matches. You're pretty good. If you lose, no hard feelings. If you win, I'll be back next year." Clair winked at me. I scoffed, smiling. "I look forward to that." I said with a smirk. "All right! It's the grand finale! This final match determines who is the winner, so good luck to you both. Are you ready?" Rick said. "Yes." Me and Claire said at the same time. "Okay then. Ready..." Rick paused. Claire and I leaned forward, our hands resting on our knees. "... Begin!" Rick shouted. "Go for it, Popuri!" I yelled. "BEGAAAK!" Popuri clucked. "Gotcha! The Hen, cluck back!" Claire ordered. The Hen clucked back at Popuri and when Popuri calmed down from clucking angrily, she got so scared of The Hen clucking aggressively at her, she turned and ran towards my direction.
"No! Left! Right!" I muttered nervously. When Popuri reached the white lined edge of the ring, she turned right, avoiding falling out of the ring. "Whew!" I sighed in relief, but I'm not out of the woods yet! "Keep going, The Hen! We can do it!" Claire gloated. The Hen clucked again to make Popuri have a major nervous breakdown, but I was expecting this to happen. "Popuri, counterattack!" I called. Popuri turned around and angrily clucked at The Hen until The Hen calmed down and became frightened by Popuri. "Yes!" I pumped my right arm in determination. Popuri chased The Hen around the ring. "Cool it, The Hen! Fight back!" Claire ordered. The Hen turned around and jumped up, flapping its wings and anrily clucking at Popuri. "Run underneath it!" I yelled. Popuri ran under The Hen who is hovering a few feet in the air. "Huh?!" Claire looked confused. "Now, Popuri! Cluck attack!" I yelled. "BEGAAAK!" Popuri clucked.
"Cluck!" The Hen was so surprised by Popuri's dodge and frightened, The Hen ran towards the edge of the ring, to Claire's left! I could see that Claire is starting to break a sweat now. "This can't be happening! The Hen! Be brave and fight back!" Clair ordered. standing on the edge of the ring, The Hen turned around and clucked at Popuri. Seizing the opportunity, I ordered Popuri to do a clucking counterattack. It worked! The Hen got so scared, she turned around and jumped out of the ring and ran down the Square! Claire gasped in shock.
"The Hen! come back here!" She chased after her hen. Rick and the others watched her chase The Hen. When Claire caught The Hen. Rick declared: "Game's over! The winner is Popuri!" "Aaaah, yeah! I did it again! Whooo!" I cheered and danced. I jumped into the ring and grabbed Popuri. Claire came up to me and shook my hand. "You did great Claire." I said. She nodded, pushing a few strings of hair away from the front of her right ear and letting them rest behind her earlobes. "I did my best. I have no regrets. See you next year, Pete." Claire turned around and walked away.
After Popuri received a medal, I returned home and waited for Popuri to come back form the Chicken Festival in Forget-Me-Not Valley. She came back at 4:31 p.m. I told her that I entered the chicken that I named after her and won the contest. She was flattered that I used the hen from the egg she gave me last year. For the rest of the evening until 8:00, we watched television and played with King before going to bed.