Chapter Forty: Gilded
The crutches were once again retired a few days after the accident, but Gray privately continued to experience intermittent aches around his ankle for weeks. The potion shop dealer had warned him of the dangers of aggravating his shatter, but it was only after this fresh injury that Gray truly appreciated the fragility of his health.
Gray remained committed to his goals no matter the toll on his body, but that only made the pain so much more bearable. He spent much of Crutcher's training directing Jack from a comfortable sitting position, but the chores back home required Gray to be on his feet for long stretches of time, worsening the aching. He discretely admitted this to Ann and Cliff, who were considerate enough to take on more responsibilities at the ranch to compensate. Cliff was experienced enough by this time that Gray's help was nearly extraneous, and Ann was undoubtedly content with seeing less of her brother.
Gray spent much of his newfound downtime with Popuri whenever she had work to do in the greenhouse. Depending on the task she was busy with, he would either help out or sit aside and just provide company.
On one particular autumn afternoon, Gray assisted his girlfriend with harvesting newly ripe peaches, gathering those that hung lower to the ground so he wouldn't be required to stand. While taking a short respite from the work, he studied some flowers on the other side of the aisle. The striking red and white colors on the petals caught his eye.
"What are these?" he asked Popuri.
Popuri glanced over while continuing to reach for an elusive high-hanging peach. "Striped carnations. Do you like them?"
Gray nodded. "I like the contrast of the colors."
"Well, I hate to ruin it for you, but those are used to represent sadness or unrequited love and the like."
"So I'm guessing I shouldn't send you a bouquet of these on your birthday?"
"Probably not," she answered with mirth. "I've got a book you can borrow back in my room that goes over the symbolism of different flowers. It might be helpful, and I know you like reading."
"Yeah, I guess, but books about flowers aren't exactly my genre of choice."
"If you date a florist, there are certain expectations that must be met. You can't just throw a bouquet together without thinking about these kinds of things."
"Hmm. I'm beginning to wonder if I thought this dating thing through..." When Popuri glared at him, Gray smiled to confirm he was only joking. "Good news is I probably wouldn't have picked these, anyways. They're pretty, but it also looks like someone cut their finger and bled on the rims."
"That's probably why it's used in bad contexts. But I still think they're beautiful." Popuri yawned and stretched her arms as she joined in on Gray's break, using her bucket of peaches as a backrest. "I love the greenhouse. It's like a safety capsule. It doesn't matter what's going on outside, you can come here and know you'll find solitude, warmth, and thriving life... Maybe that sounds silly coming from me, but even I need to escape from people sometimes."
"You should share your greenhouse love with Jack. I've been trying to convince him to build one for half a year. Maybe not as massive as this, but I'm not sure he has enough livestock to make a livelihood during the winter without a bit of something extra." Gray closed his eyes and tried to unwind further when he became cognizant that his ankle was aching. Doing his best to ignore it, he continued, "But I know where you're coming from. There's no clocks or people or anything, so it's kind of like time stands still in here."
"Very true. It's too bad it doesn't, though. Whenever I show up late to some event, it's usually because I was working in here and lost track of time. Speaking of which... do you remember when we were supposed to meet at Rick's?"
Gray's eyes flew back open just as soon as he tried to rest. "Shoot, I almost forgot about that. It's at five."
Over the past week, Rick had sought out all of the young adults of Flowerbud to advertise an auction he planned to hold on some of his old inventions. Apparently he had a new creation in mind, but he needed to raise funds to cover its development. When many were hesitant to participate, Rick promised to provide free pizza, which was enough to convince everyone to at least show up.
Popuri slapped herself on her temple when hearing the schedule. "Oh mercy! I didn't realize it was so early. I was thinking like six or seven." She scrambled to grab two more peaches within reach and then lifted her bucket to take it to storage. "Well, I'll have to finish this up later."
"It's just barely past four," Gray noted after checking his pocket watch.
"Obviously you don't appreciate how long it takes for me to get ready."
Gray sighed. "I guess not. Well, I can finish this up while you're doing that."
"Oh, no need! There's no harm in doing it tomorrow. Mom might even work on it some after closing up shop."
"Really, I'm happy to help. I want to."
Popuri smiled brightly. "Oh! Thank you, then. But don't stay too long! You should get cleaned up, too. And please stop if your leg starts hurting again!"
Gray wasn't under the impression that a pizza party starring Cousin Rick mandated a classy presentation, but he didn't want to disappoint Popuri. Gray finished up the harvesting with just enough time remaining to hurry home and take a shower. He didn't have time to properly dry his hair, but his hat hid any laziness with that.
Gray was among the first to arrive, coming in only after Harris and Maria. Even Rick himself was not present. Being short on extra chairs, Rick had laid out blankets and pillows on his shop floor that could be used for lounging. For the time being, Maria and Harris were standing together against the long counter that ran across the wall, where Gray joined them in dull small talk until the others arrived. Eventually, it was down to just Elli, Jeff, and Rick who were missing.
"At what point do we just leave if he's going to waste our time like this?" Karen finally vocalized.
"He's probably with Jeff and Elli. Maybe the pizza is taking longer than expected," Maria defended demurely.
"If that's the problem, it better the best pies ever made. He probably ordered something stupid like-."
On cue, the three missing individuals burst through the door, each carrying a tray of pizza.
"So sorry for the wait!" Jeff apologized on their behalf. "One of our ovens was down, so we couldn't do them all at once!"
Rick was only somewhat contrite. "Yes, I apologize for any role I played in the delays. I did recommend my services to help fix the oven, but it was not to be. But the food is free, so I suppose you can only judge us so much, right?"
Neither Jeff nor Elli audibly confessed that they didn't trust Rick enough to handle tinkering with their oven, but their silence and contorted expression spoke louder than words. Rick was too oblivious to notice as he set his tray on the counter and then gathered extra plates from a cabinet.
Thankfully, the pizzas looked appetizing enough that not even Karen complained. Since the bakery was closed on Mondays, Jeff and Elli had ample time to prepare it, and the results paid off. Thankfully, peppers were not used as toppings on any of them, so Gray and Popuri had no reason to complain. By the time everyone had collected their portion and found a place on the floor to sit, the delayed start had almost been forgotten.
Gray settled on a spot between Popuri and Jeff, where he ate and conversed with his neighbors until being reminded of the reason for being there. In the back corner of the room were two large crates; after briefly examining their contents, Rick coughed loudly to gather attention.
"Alright everyone, let's get things moving with this auction! As you may know, the proceeds from this are very important to an upcoming project of mine, so as your friend, please be kind enough to take this seriously. Once you see what I have to offer, I know you'll be impressed. And now, first up..."
Anticlimactically, Rick pulled out of one of the crates yet another box and walked it to his front counter. He lifted this box's hinged lid and then tilted it in the direction of his guests so they could see inside. The bottom of the lid and the entire inside of the box was covered in bright, reflective metal.
"This is called a solar cooker. You can use this to cook up a tasty meal with nothing more than a sunny day- no need for electricity or a flame. I wanted to test rare metal as the reflecting material, which I'm pleased to confirm works better than anything else you'll see on the market. I had a few other ideas to improve heat retention, but I'll keep that as a trade secret. Don't worry, I'll offer a full refund if it is used properly and still doesn't live up to expectations. I wanted tonight's meal cooked using this to demonstrate it works, hence why I scheduled for an early dinner to ensure daylight, but since Jeff wasn't convinced, you'll have to take my word on it for now."
Despite Rick's enthusiasm, his creation was met with a muted reaction. "I think I could make one myself using some aluminum foil and a shoebox," Karen said after an uncomfortable silence.
"I-I assure you, this took more effort to make than it looks. Rare metal is significantly more valuable than-."
"It doesn't matter how much it cost to make," Gray spoke up, hoping to offer his cousin constructive criticism in place of Karen's straight criticism. "The important thing to ask is if it's worth anything to anyone in the room. Why would I buy this when I have a stovetop at home?"
Jeff chimed in, "Gray's right. I know what to expect from my own ovens. This thing won't cook at the same rate as Elli and I are used to, so we would have to completely adapt our schedule, and we wouldn't be able to cook nearly as much volume at a given time. It simply isn't as efficient as what we already have at the bakery."
Since everyone else was solely airing grievances, Kai was polite enough to feign interest. "So, what is the starting bid for it?"
"Starting and minimum bid is only 1100G. It will also save you on energy expenses, and you don't have to worry about it breaking down like a regular oven, like we've seen tonight."
Not even Kai could keep up his facade after hearing that. 'Sorry friend, that's a bit more than I can afford."
"If the price is running that high, perhaps you should have stuck with some cheap aluminum after all," Karen taunted.
"So... no takers then?" Rick pleaded after cleaning his glasses with his sleeve to buy time.
Just before he could dejectedly remove it from the counter, Jack called out, "Sure, I'll take that bid."
Rick's face brightened with gratefulness. "In that case, I'll go ahead and-"
"1150G," Cliff's voice countered. Everyone in the room turned to him in shock. While Jack's bid was clearly out of pity, Cliff actually seemed interested in the spurned novelty. Seeing their reaction, he explained, "I don't have an oven of my own. It's worth it if it works, right?"
Rick was quick to agree, "Nothing to worry about there, I assure you! After hearing Cliff's wise insight, are there any more counteroffers?" He bit his lip when the ensuing silence told him not to get greedy. "... That's alright, no pressure! Everyone wants to save their money for what's to come, ehh? It'll do no good to splurge early."
Rick motioned Cliff to join him in the front of the room, where he then payed out and collected his prize. Though everyone else cheered for Cliff's rare act of participation, Ann seemed distraught at the purchase after Cliff retook his seat next to her. Gray couldn't blame her too much, as it was doubtful Cliff had enough money to buy much more.
"Not that it matters since I'm not buying anything, but please tell me that was the most expensive thing you've got," Ann begged Rick.
"Oh?" Rick was reaching into one of the crates for the second item of the auction, but he stopped upon hearing his cousin. He then switched his focus to the other crate and pulled out a metal contraption approximately half the size of the solar oven. It was attached to a crank handle that appeared to operate internal gears.
"This here is a corn sheller," Rick announced. "Just put a cob in here, turn the handle, and your kernels will fall here below. It's perfect for anyone who loves to eat corn without having to deal with an annoying cob. My prime contribution from other designs on the market are some modifications to cut down on the size and prevent loose kernels from flying out wildly. This can easily be carried wherever you may like with no hassle, though you'll still need a container to gather the falling kernels."
Rick looked at Ann meaningfully, who turned away out of embarrassment as the rest of the room tried to stifle their laughter. "... Alright, fine, how much is it?" she muttered.
"700G for an opening bid. It has a more intricate design than the cooker, but it's made of cheaper material."
"Phew, not as bad as I feared!" Ann cheered in relief. She then turned to everyone else. "Especially since no one else is interested in bidding on this!"
Ann's smile and upbeat demeanor supported the possibility that she may have genuinely believed no one else wanted the contraption, but the rest of the room remained cautious of a possible veiled threat. For a moment, Jack looked ready to declare an opposing bid, but he changed his mind quickly enough.
Thus, the sheller went to Ann. The rest of the night proceeded much the same way as the first two items. Most of the merchandise had superfluous applications that failed to earn wide appeal but somehow interested at least one person in the audience. Somehow, Rick's optimism had been justified- he was generating more revenue than he initially projected, and everyone was having an enjoyable time. Rick didn't make for an organized auctioneer, but the chaos only added to the fun. Probably the first low point was when Rick finished up with the larger items and moved on to miscellaneous trinkets. Among those were nightlights designed with various patterns made from small fragments of leftover Moonlight Stone. Rather than auctioning them, Rick was selling them off at a flat 50G.
"You really think this is the place to be selling those?" Gray scoffed. "Everyone here is an adult; we don't need nightlights."
Gray realized he made a grievous error almost immediately when he caught Popuri tense up out of the corner of his eye. He had never been in her room when it was dark, so how could he have known she had one?
"... Is what I'd like to say," Gray tried to recover with weak laugh. "But I did ram my thigh into my bedpost the other night because I couldn't see anything. I'll... umm... I'll take a couple." He had no intention of ever using them, but perhaps they would make good presents to one of the kids?
Gray took a seat after collecting his pair of nightlights and sat quietly out of embarrassment as people cleaned up the rest of knick-knacks. Only a few were left unsold when Rick gathered what remained onto a tray and carried it back to one of his storage crates.
"I'll go around town later and see if anyone else wants the rest," Rick explained. "But before that, I've got one last item here. A grand finale, you might say. It's small, so it might be hard to see while sitting."
Rick set a small box on his counter as everyone gathered around for a closer look. He turned some sort of crank on the back, opened the box's lid, and flipped a switch. Inside of the box, a spinning cylinder plucked at the tips of what resembled a metal comb, producing a soft, high-pitched melody.
As the song played, Rick explained the obvious. "It's a 30-note music box, made by yours truly."
"How about that... it's actually pretty cool,' Karen commented with unexpected interest.
"My grandmother made several music boxes similar to this. I own one, and I possess some of her sketches and blueprints. With those resources, I was able to replicate one of my own."
Karen decided, "Good, so it shouldn't have cost that much to design."
"Well... even with all of that, making the cylinder wasn't easy. It took a lot of trial and error to figure out how to manufacture it."
"Does it play anything else?" Harris asked after the song finished.
"Not at the moment, but it's designed for interchangeable cylinders. It would take some effort to make another one, but it's possible for the right price."
Elli inquired, "And what is the starting bid on this one?"
"850G. Mostly for labor costs."
Kai whistled and shook his head, which echoed the thoughts of the others. Unlike with the oven, though, no one had anything negative to say as they returned to their seats. Gray sensed this would be the first and only item of the day to turn into an actual bidding war; other than Ann and Cliff, everyone seemed to be considering taking a shot at it. Gray was relieved to be sitting it out.
Or at least so he thought.
"Gray, I want that," Popuri whispered in his ear.
"Then get it."
"But it's a good gift idea."
"It's not a good gift if there's no surprise."
"I don't care about the surprise, I promise."
Gray sighed. He wasn't sure how he liked being pressured to buy something, but picking out gifts was never easy, so he couldn't complain about being given a definitive recommendation.
Winning that gift wasn't going to be an easy task, though. Already, people were talking amongst themselves about how high they were willing to bid. Gray was close enough to overhear Jeff and Elli discussing it.
"I think I'll make a bid," Elli told Jeff not quietly enough. "But only one. I don't expect it to be enough, but it's worth a shot at getting lucky. Rick will appreciate the show of support."
Gray could outbid her, then. As for the rest, it would be a mystery.
"So, is anyone ready to bid?" Rick finally asked as the conversing started to wrap up.
"Yes!" Elli said enthusiastically. "I'll go for 850."
"855," Gray countered immediately, ready to knock Elli out of the competition as soon as possible. A few others were surprised to see him bid, but he only shrugged in return.
Kai was next to throw his hat into the ring. "865."
"875."
"880."
Maria and Harris had thrown out bids almost simultaneously, apparently confused on who was supposed to represent their pair. After a brief exchange, they decided Maria would take charge.
"900," Gray raised again, hoping the larger jump would show he meant business. It didn't deter anyone. The bidding continued up to 950 before Maria admitted defeat.
At that point, Kai turned to Gray. "You ready to keep going? This is gonna take all night at this rate!"
"You said you couldn't afford the cooker. We're quickly on our way there, so it can't take that long. 975," Gray retorted.
Jokes aside, it was difficult to believe that Kai was wealthy enough to be splurging on such a useless investment, much like Cliff with the cooker. Why were the poorest members of the audience going for the most expensive items? Whatever the case, Kai obviously desired it greatly, and Gray was only making matters more difficult for him by pushing the price higher. But Popuri had asked for the music box, and Gray was getting tired of Kai trying to one-up him at everything.
"You're right, it was just a touch too much," "Kai agreed. "... I bid 1099G."
Gray visibly winced as everyone waited for his next move. He slowly began to raise his hand to make another bid before Popuri grabbed it.
"Gray, that's enough..."
"But you sai-."
"It's okay. Let it go."
Gray's pride spurred him for a few moments longer before permitting his hand to fall. He thought about mocking Kai for paying over 1000G for a twenty second song or suggesting that he borrow some of Karen's foil and turn the box into a solar cooker on the fated day Rick's mechanism broke, but he instead just muttered, "Fine, it's yours."
While everyone else clapped as Kai went to claim his purchase, Jack scooted up to Gray and told him, "If you really want one, I think I buried something similar somewhere on my property when I was a kid. I don't remember exactly where, but maybe we can go looking for it."
"That was some cheap knock-off. Heck, I think it was your grandparents who encouraged my grandmother to design one of her own." Sensing Jack's surprise at his breadth of knowledge, Gray explained, "Pete mentioned it a couple of times. Still… it might be an antique at this point, and these things do seem popular, so maybe it's worth a shot."
Rick said a few final words of thanks, after which everyone worked together to clean up trash from dinner. Once that was complete, Gray was free to walk Popuri home.
"I'm sorry for failing," Gray apologized as they neared the florist shop.
"No, thank you for trying! I mean, you were about to bankrupt yourself for my sake."
"I wouldn't go that far. If you factor in what I get from Jac-."
"- Whatever the case, I'm sure it was more than you should have been willing to pay. Kai just couldn't be beaten. Don't take it too seriously; it was just a night to have fun! I mean, if Rick really wanted to make the most money possible, he would have invited whole town, not just his friends. I'm not upset, so you shouldn't be, either."
"I guess so. Well, thank you for being reasonable."
"Ooh, I like compliments! Do you have any others?" Popuri teased.
"... You're great? ... You're lovely?"
Without much warning, Popuri leaned in and gave Gray a kiss. "I like that one. You should use it more often," she said after leaning back and moving towards her front door.
It came with such abruptness and ended so quickly that Gray didn't even have time to properly enjoy it. He stood in stunned silence until Popuri giggled, "Good night, Gray. Try not running into your bedpost, would you?"
Gray's cheeks burned from embarrassment as he started towards home. The kiss lasted only a second, but that second was enough to prevent his mind from thinking of anything else. He wasn't sure what he had done to deserve it, but he wasn't going to complain. Good thing Popuri wasn't upset about him making fun of nightlights.
He was absorbed by these thoughts until someone ran up from behind.
"Hey, can you hold up for a minute, Gray?" Jack asked. "There's something I need to talk to you about. And brace yourself, as I doubt you're going to like it."
Joyous. At least he was honest. "Get it over with, then."
"If you haven't heard, the carpenters are about to rebuild the bridge over the gorge on Moon Mountain, starting up in a few days. They were looking for help, so I told them I'd do what I can. I won't be doing design or any precise crafting, obviously, but they'll have me helping with the more menial tasks. I talked them down to limiting it to just a couple of weeks."
Rumors of the project had been tossed about for years, but Gray hadn't heard anything about it actually coming to fruition. He probably hadn't been asked to help due to his recent injury.
"Just a couple of weeks?" Gray uttered in dismay as the euphoria from the kiss was quickly forgotten. "After that, it'll be more like a couple of days until the race, Jack. You can't do that."
"I knew you wouldn't like the sound of it, but we'll figure it out. I was thinking maybe we could have Cliff take over my duties while I'm not around."
"It's not just about the horse. You need to be ready, too, both mentally and physically. The others jockeys are professionals, and they'll make you pay if you're out of practice and drained of energy. This is just the time we are supposed to be kicking things into gear, not stopping. No, go and tell the carpenters you can't help. They can find literally anyone else who doesn't have the most important event of the year coming up."
"Actually, pretty much everyone else already turned them down. People said that they're too busy."
"Yeah, and so are you!" Gray snorted.
Jack was quiet for a moment as he removed his hat, revealing his shaggy hair. He looked away from Gray and squeezed the hat's bill hat tensely. "I… I already told them I'd help. I can't just back out now."
"You can and you will. Before ever saying a word to them, you already committed to being ready for this race."
Jack rubbed his eyes with his free hand and groaned, "You really are just like him."
Gray was taken aback by Jack's tone. He could count the number of times he'd heard his jockey sound so bitter on one hand. "What are you talking about?"
Jack shook his head and answered indirectly, "You can't see the forest for the trees. I still plan on racing. Winning is great, but the important thing is that I compete at all. Even your dad said that. There carpenters need my help, and we'll all have more lasting joy from this bridge than the results of a single sporting event."
"Even if you buy into that, the bridge will eventually be built with or without you, but you're the only person with a chance at winning this race. Anyone can go chop wood, or whatever the heck it is they want."
"I already said there's no one else, Gray!" Jack shouted angrily while Gray recoiled in astonishment. Even in the dark, Gray could see his body shake as if his pent up resentment had to be released in one form or another. "Just me! It's always just me. Doesn't matter if I'm in the city, doesn't matter if I'm in the country… people are always the same. It's just me."
"What are you even trying to..." Gray's mind struggled to reconcile the Jack he thought he knew with the words coming out of the man's mouth. In time, he pieced together a theory. "You think you're better than the rest of us, don't you? We're something to be pitied?"
Jack shook his head, letting out a breath that almost sounded like a dismissive jeer. "It's not a matter of being better, but I figured something out that no one seems able to. Letting your schedule, your job, your ideas of success define you... it's dehumanizing. It'll consume you, spit you out, and give you nothing in return but a trophy or a bit more money in the bank. And when it's all done, you'll be wishing you took the chances you had to make a real impact in peoples' lives- not by managing their accounts or training their horse, but by walking with them, being with them when they need you. You'll realize you've been blind to needs and suffering of others the whole time. ... That's why I left the city, alright? It was a life defined by train timetables and rigid 40-hour work weeks that will leave you too worried about your usual daily checklist to even make it to a dying parent's side. I had hoped that people here might live differently or at least show some receptivity. I guess I was wrong on that. Even you, Gray. I thought you understood when you rejected your father to help me. But all you've done is trade in one measure of success for another, and then try to force me to live my life in a way that fits your needs. I've been as patient as possible, but I can only compensate for you so much."
Gray actually agreed with some of what Jack had to say. It wasn't his personal ideology that was the issue. It was his attitude. "So that's why you moved to Flowerbud..." Gray muttered in realization. "To find a new group to proselytize to."
"'Proselytize' is a loaded word. I'm not preaching anything. I'm trying to live by action. And I know that people see those actions. I've been told that I'm popular, and a good guy, and that people admire me. But I don't care about any of that, though, because no one actually takes it to heart to live by that example."
"Since you've got life figured out, I guess you're all set for the race, then," Gray said with a mocking thumbs up. "You should have no problems winning by twenty lengths on your high horse. I'll be back at my ranch. Sorry in advance to displease you by relapsing into a boring lifestyle like helping provide for my family."
"There's nothing wrong about a boring day job, so long as you tend to it in moderation. That's what I've got, after all. Better than obsessing over winning at some sport to placate your ego."
Gray crossed his arms. "Why did you agree to being a part-time jockey?"
"It seemed important to the town. I saw it as an opportunity for connecting with people here. Something to bond over."
Gray shook his head, less than impressed with the answer. "And why do you think I spent so much time training to be a jockey? For the glory, because I wanted to be the best? I could have tried to be the best at anything, Jack. No, I trained to be a jockey because I loved it!" At this crescendo, it was now Gray's body that shook with righteous anger. "I wanted to do it. And here you are, with the same opportunity, and you do it why? Only because you think it's expected of you, and you'll drop it just as soon as something else catches your attention. You get to live a life that I can't, and here you are… squandering it away!" Gray's fury subsided some as he began to walk away. "… And I'm not going to be a part of it. Good luck, Jack."
Jack mumbled something unintelligible as his face turned deathly pale, but Gray did not bother to listen.
A small part of him wanted to go back and apologize to Jack for being pushy, but why bother? There was no point reasoning with someone who had been stewing in their own narcissism for however many years it had been since Jack developed his thesis on life. There would have been a time that Gray would have been proud to have exposed Flowerbud's favorite farmer, but he had long since allowed himself to be entranced by the same spell to which the rest of the town had succumbed.
When Gray returned to his room, he immediately slumped down on his bed, emotionally drained to such a degree that he was rendered devoid of all feeling. Despite not preparing for sleep or turning off the lights, Gray couldn't find the motivation to get back up. When the lights began to strain his eyes, he gathered the will to pull a blanket over his head. Sleep found him not long after.