The day after what would surely go down in history as the most infamous birth in either of the two towns, I went back to Konohana to visit my sweet little goddaughter. Godmother. I was a godmother now! I would have to have a sit down with Laney at the cafe soon and ask her if she had any advice considering she had always been a wonderful godmother to me. I'm sure that Ash would be more than willing to give me some advice as well. At the moment, I was pretty sure Ash would give me the moon if I asked for it and he'd throw in a few stars too just because.

When the time for Konohana's flower festival came around, I was kind of relieved when Oliver didn't have school and was able to assist our father instead of me. Not only was I glad my little brother didn't have to try to skip school again to be there, but I was also happy that I wouldn't have to watch him sulk around the house and shoot me looks of betrayal from under his hat. When the two of them came home that evening, Oliver was the exact opposite. He had the biggest smile on his face. I was a little tempted to ask him if he gave a flower to Kimberly even if it wasn't Bluebell's turn for the festival. I remembered, though, that I'd decided to ease up on my sisterly teasing so I left it alone.

Before I knew it, next week had arrived and I finally got all of that painting done that had been requested of me. The signs outside of the shops looked as good as new, with a few improvements from me, and I went ahead and painted anything else I thought needed sprucing up. Keiko's birthday came around, too. She was having a birthday party. Rather, as Keiko informed me, Makoto had insisted she have a birthday party this year. That morning I spent my time doing my work on the farm with my mom. We decided to divide up the work a little differently that day. There were two important festivals coming up. The Fall Crop festival and the Fall Animal festival were coming up. I hadn't been back home long enough to personally raise an animal and enter it into the festival. I certainly had been home long enough to cultivate some pretty worthy crops, however.

So while my mom was entering the Fall Animal festival, I was entering the Fall Crop festival. It was a Konohana festival, true, but anybody from either town could enter as long as they thought they had something good enough to win. Therefore, my mother was taking care of the animals and paying special attention to the sheep she was going to enter. Meanwhile, I was out in the fields making sure that all of the crops were taken care of. I paid extra special attention, though, to my carrots because I was determined that one of them was going to be the winner in a couple of days when that festival rolled around.

After everything was done, I hopped in the shower and was actually surprised not to find Colby in my room when I got back in there. She always, always somehow knew when I was about to get ready for whatever event was going on and nine times out of ten she would magically appear in my room at just that time. For some reason, the fact that she wasn't there that day sent up a little red flag for me. It had me feeling rather uneasy, but I did my best to disregard it as I took my time getting ready until I heard a knock on the front door. I intercepted my father before he could answer it.

"I've got it, dad. It's probably Jackson. We're going to walk over to Keiko's party together," I explained as I held up a hand and then put on my jacket. I wrinkled my nose and knew that as cool as it was outside now, it was only going to get colder when winter came around. I'd have to bring out chunkier scarves and thicker coats then. Gloves would probably be nice. I didn't usually wear hats but for winter perhaps a few could be arranged.

My father was conspicuously silent back there. When I was done zipping up the jacket, I spared him a glance and then did a double-take. His eyes were trained on me, but he wasn't saying anything. After what felt like forever, even though it could only have been ten seconds at the most, he said "Have fun."

As I watched him walk away to locate my mother, I heard another knock at the door reminding me that Jackson was waiting on me. "Coming," I called out.

I thought about my father. He'd been acting a little weird ever since the night he admitted the reason why he'd pushed the 'Jackson is your cousin' thing so heavily on me all those years. Perhaps he felt a little guilty, especially after realizing how much stress it'd caused me once my relationship with Jackson began.

As I slipped out the house, I gave Jackson an apologetic smile. "Sorry it too me so long, Jack."

"It wasn't that long. Besides, it was worth the wait."

He stepped closer to me and brushed my bangs aside long enough to place a kiss on my forehead. His lips were warm and soft as they lingered for a few moments. The smell of freshly cut grass made me feel, for a moment, like it was summer rather than fall. The chilly air begged to differ, but I let my mind transport me to warmer times for that moment. I wrapped my arms around him and pulled him into a hug, resting my head on his shoulder. As his arms came around me I said "Hi there."

"Hello. You look beautiful today. I can't wait to get to the party and show you off."

The seasons suddenly shifted again, this time to spring because his flattery made butterflies flutter around in my stomach. "I think I'll be showing you off instead."

"Is that so?" he asked as we started walking, side by side. His eyes were twinkling. Jackson obviously liked the direction this conversation had taken.

"Yep. You should wear green more often. It looks good on you and goes really well with your eyes." The top of his shirt was visible under his jacket and I liked the shade of it.

He flashed me a smile then and there went that dimple. "I'll wear green every day of the week if you like it."

While he was still smiling, I reached over and ran a finger over the dimple I'd been secretly wanting to touch. When he stopped smiling, it disappeared. Jackson looked pleased by my touch as he leaned into it. I rubbed where the dimple had been again and saw yearning in his eyes, but he also looked confused so I said "Don't go smiling at any other women, okay? I don't need them seeing that dimple."

Jackson's smile came back in full force and the dimple came along with it. He looked a little mischievous as he said "Oh, I get it. You like my dimple do you?"

"It's a weapon of mass destruction, Jackson. Don't use it on anybody who isn't me," I teased him, at the same time finding myself a little serious about this. I was starting to think of it as my dimple and I didn't really want to share it.

"What about Keiko?" he asked me as we started through the tunnel. "It is her birthday, you know. It'd be kind of rude to deprive her of the gift of my smile."

I thought about that and let out a fake sigh, feigning exasperation. "Well, I suppose. . .Since, you know, it is her birthday and she's my friend and all. Hmm. . .Alright. If you absolutely must, you can smile for Keiko. If you have to smile enough to show the dimple, though, then limit yourself to about five seconds. Then you have to shut it down."

Jackson chuckled as he slipped his hand in mine, threading our fingers together. He squeezed gently as we made it through the other side of the tunnel. Immediately, my mind went into two directions. It went to the left, down the road that I knew went to Cheryl and Phillip's farm. I knew that I would always remember that day with absolute clarity for as long as I lived. My mind also went ever so slightly to the right, to the shop that Akito had taken charge of for his father. With Jackson's hand in mine, I carefully directed my mind even more to the right. I directed it to the road we were going to walk down to take us to the party.

"You know, Makoto had a few different ideas about where he wanted the party to be. For a minute there, he even considered having it outside."

I stopped walking and since Jackson and I were holding hands, he was kind of yanked back by my abrupt halt. "Outside?" I asked. It was one thing for me to have to attend a festival that was outside in the cooler seasons. It was another thing entirely for there to be a party outside. At least, in my mind, there was.

"Relax," Jackson said, taking his other hand and holding my cheek in it. His hand was warm. He must have had it in his pocket, I supposed. "Makoto nixed that idea almost immediately. He told me he'd never hear the end of it from you if it was outside."

"I wouldn't hound him about it," I told Jackson as we started walking again. "I'd just shoot him accusatory looks for a while to get my message across." I was just joking, but it struck me then, the realization that I would have been doing exactly what Oliver had done to me after the first Flower Day if I'd actually done that.

Makoto was actually throwing the party at the tea house. He'd requested it be a semi-formal affair. He wanted it dressy, but not too dressy. That was why I was wearing a long-sleeved white blouse with lavender flowers and a simple black pencil skirt. The pair of black tights I had on underneath the skirt made sure my legs were moderately warm. I sure wasn't about to leave my legs vulnerable to the elements like Courtney would. I'd put on a pair of sleek black wedge heels to complete the look. I nearly put my hair into a french twist, but I felt that would be leaning a little too much toward the formal side of things. I opted for pulling half of it into a little twist at the back of my head and letting the rest of my hair flow down my back.

When we stepped into the warmth of the tea house, I smiled. Makoto had asked me to be in charge of decorating. Rather, he'd grumbled that he might as well have me do it since I was the closest thing to a 'professional decorator person' that either town had to offer. This was Makoto. Words like those were akin to flattery. I was honored.

I unzipped my jacket and shrugged it off before putting it on the coat rack Ying had added near the door, right next to the potted bamboo plant that seemed to be a mainstay of the place. As I reached up and hung it up, Jackson wrapped his arms around me and hugged me from behind. "You look even better than I thought," he breathed next to my ear. "You should wear purple more often. It looks good on you and goes really well with your eyes," he echoed most of my words from earlier back at me.

My heart was beating faster than I could credit from Jackson's sudden nearness and my stomach fluttered. I was able to play it cool as I said "Technically, it's lavender." It was kind of a silly thing to point out considering I hadn't mentioned to him the exact shade of green that his shirt was. It was forest green in case you were wondering.

"Semantics," Jackson said simply, his breath warm against my ear.

"Is it just me or is it hot in here?" I heard Colby say from somewhere behind us teasingly. I knew her words were directed at us. I also knew that tone of voice. She was extremely amused.

"Perhaps we should look for a fire extinguisher," I heard a voice that could only belong to one person say. It hit me like a frigid blast of water. As far as I was concerned, no fire extinguisher was needed anymore.

As I turned around, I carefully schooled my features so that when I came face-to-face with Ignacio, Colby wouldn't see the complete disdain I felt for him. "Colby, I was wondering where you were." Ignacio turning up would explain why she hadn't been in my room before. "Iggy, I wasn't expecting you. So nice of you to join us."

"Yes, well, I came into town this morning to see my beloved here and found out she was busy for the day. Now I am her plus one and we can be together," he said smoothly with a little smirk that told me I wasn't fooling him. He was well aware of the fact that I was putting on a show for Colby's benefit.

Colby, as usual, was looking blissful at his side. She'd pulled out all the stops, as she usually did when he was around, and was looking very feminine. Colby was a tomboy at heart. "You look awesome, Vi," Colby enthused as she kind of melted into Ignacio's side.

I hadn't dressed like this since leaving the city. This kind of outfit was kind of the flip side of my job back in the city. On the one hand, I had to wear paint-smeared clothes and aprons that didn't really stop the mess at the end of the day. On the other hand, I had to wear professional, nice clothes for meetings and gallery shows. "You, too, Col."

"I was just telling Violet here how great she looks," Jackson said, slipping his hand into mine. "You look wonderful, too, Colby." Whereas Ignacio said something and I heard the falseness just bleeding from his words, Jackson's words were absolutely sincere. Why couldn't Colby find somebody like Jackson? Somebody who was sweet, fun, trustworthy, and sincere? There was a growing sense of dread in me. I'd always known that Colby was going to have to learn the hard way just what Ignacio's true colors were. As I watched him smirk at me, though, that feeling started to become more intense.

"Thank you, Jack," Colby said. "You're so sweet."

Ignacio started saying something else, but I cut him off with "Well, I know you two don't get to spend as much time together as Colby would like, so I think we're going to let you two have some alone time. Iggy, again, it was nice to see you. Colby, I'll talk to you later."

With that said, I tightened my hold on Jackson's hand and started pulling so I could lead him away from the pair. We went deeper into the tea house and I looked around the place. Not only had I been in charge of decorations, but I'd also did a little rearranging for the party. I'd rearranged the tables and brought a couple more in. Ying had given her permission, of course, and I'd promised to have it looking back to normal before the next day. Jackson didn't know it yet, but he was going to help me with that.

"Wow," Jackson said as I came to a stop in front of the table I wanted and sat my handbag down to mark our spot. It was odd bringing a handbag considering there was never any reason to carry one of those around in Konohana. I was missing my rucksack at the moment. "You really don't like that guy, do you?"

I played with the ends of my scarf. I then yanked on the scarf a little more viciously than I'd intended as I thought about Ignacio while I was taking it off. I sat it down to mark Jackson's seat. "That's a bit of an understatement, Jackson."

He came up behind me and put his arms around me again, resting his chin on my shoulder, providing me with comfort I was in need of at the moment. "That guy is all kinds of smarmy. Don't worry about it. One of these days, Colby is going to come to her senses and see what a bad seed he is."

"That's what I'm worried about, Jack," I confided worriedly. "I'm worried about what's going to happen when she finally does come to her senses."

He kissed me on the cheek before he released me and said "You worry too much, Violet. Listen, I got distracted by them before so I'm going to go back and hang my jacket up. I'll be back here before you know it."

With that said, he went back toward the door and I was standing there alone. I put my hand up to my cheek where he'd kissed me at and pressed against it for a moment, deep in thought. I didn't even hear anybody approaching me, but suddenly I had some company.

"You two looked cozy." As I whirled around, I came face to face with, well, I'll give you one guess. That's right. Akito. Upon first glance, he looked a little weird. His face was a little pinched as if something were bothering him. A few seconds later, though, I could see him appraising me as he took in my outfit. His face lit up as he said "You look beautiful, Vi. Lavender is a great color for you."

My heart started singing then. There you have it, folks, a man who knows the difference between purple and lavender. I was impressed. "You, too, Ki. You clean up well."

That was the truth. He did, in fact, clean up well. If he looked that good in his mahogany button-down shirt and black slacks then I had no idea how great he'd look in an actual suit now that he was a fully grown adult. He must have worn suits in the city for his job in business. That, I imagined, must have been a real sight to see. My heart couldn't be deterred from doing the thing it always did whenever Akito was around. I glanced over at Jackson, though, in an attempt to make it stop. He was being held up, chatting with Ayame. Just seeing him, though, helped me get my feelings back under control before they could run rampant. I was making an effort. I was making a real effort when it came to my relationship with Jackson. I couldn't stand there thinking about how heart-achingly handsome Akito looked and letting my heart boom-clap all over the place. That wasn't right. That wasn't fair.

Of course, before Akito and I could get another word in, the 'gift' that just kept on giving appeared and wrapped her hands around his arm. I wondered if she was cutting his circulation off from how tight her grip was. "Ah, Violet. It's so lovely to see you." Courtney's voice rang about as false as mine had when I was talking to Ignacio. "You look nice! You were so cute during the Fireworks Festival." She was referring to the night when she'd essentially told me I'd looked like a child. "Today, though, you look so," she trailed off, thinking for a few seconds. "surprisingly elegant. It's a refreshing change for you."

There you have it, ladies and gentlemen. The cleverly crafted, subdued insults had started. Now she was basically saying I looked a hot mess most of the time. And poor Akito stood there looking none-the-wiser, having no idea that Courtney had just thrown down the gauntlet.

"Thank you, Courtney. You look nice yourself. I will tell you, though, that I wore clothes like this all the time when I lived in the city."

"Oh? Did you?" she asked, using a deceptively sweet tone.

"Mmm-hmm. I had a lot of meetings and gallery shows to attend for my job. That reminds me, Court. I never asked what, exactly, you do back in the city where you're from."

"My father owns a very lucrative business," she told me with an air of superiority that didn't surprise me.

"That's wonderful, but that's what he does. What do you do?" I already knew the answer to that question, though. The answer was nothing. Well, nothing except for spending her father's hard-earned money. 'Going to all of those stores every day must have been positively exhausting for the poor thing,' I thought sarcastically.

Courtney's eyes narrowed and I could see the wheels turning in her head as she tried to fashion a covertly insulting comeback. She didn't get the chance to, though, because Zhen came over and jumped into the conversation. "Violet," he said as he cut in at just the right time. "You're looking quite lovely. You, too, uh. . .excuse me, please give me a moment." He paused and really had to sift through his mind before he came up with "Courtney, right?"

She was fuming, but she hid it well as she said. "That's right. And thank you, Zhen." I could have kissed Zhen for struggling so much with her name.

"How's business, Zhen?" I asked, changing the topic of conversation. "Oh, have you made any new jewelry lately?"

He smiled at me knowingly as he said "I have, as a matter of fact. That necklace you were so fond of the last time you were in my shop, though? The amethyst pendant? It's still there."

"I'm not sure if I should be disappointed for you or relieved that nobody else has bought it yet," I told him honestly. "Oh, I think that Willow is waving for you to come over to her. I'll walk with you so I can say hi to her, okay?"

"Okay," Zhen replied.

"Have a nice time, Ki. Courtney."

As I passed by Akito, something caught my attention. It was something kind of wonderful that brought such a big smile to my face. I caught a whiff of something as I walked by him. It was fresh, clean, and strong. That beautiful laundry scent that I associated with him was back.