Welcome back readers! After a few Ludus-centric chapters for the last few weeks, Maya is going to spend some more time with Lisette. Enjoy!
Chapter Seventeen: Lending a Helping Hand
"Shoot!"
Maya sucked in a breath as she tried- and failed- to lead Josie out of her barn for the third time that morning. Her ankle was on fire from her fall the night before; it had taken her an hour to get ready, thirty minutes to get from her house to the barn, and now she was finally stuck.
"Sorry Josie," Maya sighed, patting the cow comfortingly. She was mooing softly, impatient but somehow understanding of the situation. "I'll figure this out, I promise."
As much as she hated to admit it, her first thought had been to call Ludus. He'd been on her mind constantly as of late, and with the way he held her yesterday… well, Maya was having trouble thinking too much about anything else.
However, she'd already been speaking to Ludus that morning. He was on a job out of town, and while he messaged regularly to check up on her, making sure she wasn't overexerting herself, he wasn't in a position to come over and help. Maya didn't doubt for a second that he'd come home immediately if she told him she needed him, but she couldn't do that. There were plenty of other people around that she could reach out to.
Speaking of which, Maya pulled her phone out of her dress pocket.
Ludus had texted her again, asking her if she was in much pain. She'd lied to him a little bit, telling him that she was getting around just fine and was already resting. Maya knew if she told him the truth, he'd only worry more.
Uncle Frank was the first person that popped into her head after Ludus, but telling him she was hurt would be far worse than Ludus knowing. He'd come over immediately, park himself on her farm, and not leave until she was 100% better. Maya didn't need that kind of attention, as much as she appreciated his concern for her.
Maya bit her lip, thinking.
Hector would probably be close by, but she didn't feel like she knew him well enough to ask. Yuzuki also lived fairly close, but there was his health to think about. Maya wouldn't feel right asking him to help with such a silly favor.
She glanced down at her phone, checking the time. Wayne would still be out on deliveries; if he was near the farm then maybe he could stop in for a second, just long enough to help her get the gate open. That wouldn't take up much of his time, as long as he wasn't behind already. Decided, she found his contact and pressed 'call'.
"Howdy, Maya!" Wayne greeted, his voice chipper even through the phone line. "How's it hangin?"
"Hey Wayne," she smiled, nerves sprouting in her stomach. She really hated asking for help, but she was stuck. "Are you busy?"
"Just started my Lulukoko route," he grunted. There was a muffled sound, like he was juggling multiple packages in his arms, which he probably was, before he spoke again. "What's up?"
"Oh nothing, don't worry about it," Maya dismissed quickly. If he was only starting his route in Lulukoko then he wouldn't be coming back this way for at least a few hours. "I was just wondering if you'd be near the farm anytime soon, but it's no big deal!"
"Somethin the matter?" Wayne's voice got much louder, like he pressed the phone closer to his mouth. "Hang on a sec."
Maya waited, listening to Wayne chat with a customer. She could hear him pretty well, but she couldn't make out who he was talking to. The only thing she knew for certain was that it was a female voice answering him.
"Still there, Maya?" Wayne returned with a chuckle, "I didn't lose ya?"
"No, I'm still here," she grinned, "but I'll let you get back to work. I just wanted to check, that's all."
"Do you need help or anything?" Wayne insisted, not quite letting her hang up yet. "I can swing by in about two hours if you- hey!"
There was a sudden commotion on the other end, one that echoed so loudly Maya had to hold her cell away from her ear. When it settled, she could make out Wayne laughing and half-heartedly complaining in the background.
"Maya, is that you?" The person on the phone now was definitely not Wayne, but Maya recognised the voice instantly.
"Hi Caolila," she giggled, shaking her head at Josie. The cow didn't seem to follow what was going on, but that wasn't exactly a surprise. "Had some new stock come in today?"
"Are you okay, honey?" Caolila ignored her question, barrelling through to the point. "I spoke to Ludus on his way out this morning. Are you in much pain?"
Maya cringed. Of course, she'd fully expected Ludus to tell his Nana and the twins what happened, but she was hoping that would be the end of her embarrassment. Looked like the cat was out of the bag.
"I'm okay," she answered as honestly as she could. Lying to Ludus was one thing, but Caolila was terrifying in the most maternal way possible. Maya felt like if she was caught lying to her, she'd somehow be grounded. "I'm a little slow, but I'm getting by."
"What happened?" Wayne was in the background, hovering near Caolila as she hogged his phone. "Did I miss something?"
"She fell off the cliffside last night and hurt her ankle," Caolila hushed him, returning her attention to Maya. "Do you need help? Is anyone there with you?"
"How in the Sam hill did she fall off a cliff?"
Wayne's incredulous laugh cut off abruptly, followed by a grunted apology. Maya rolled her eyes.
"It's just me here," Maya explained, trying to make her words light, "I was hoping Wayne was near by so he could help me get Josie out to pasture, but it's no big deal!"
"Have you called Ludus?" Caolila fumbled with something on the other end, making it difficult to hear Wayne's increasingly amused questions. "Oak Tree isn't too far from here, I'm sure he'd pop right back if you-"
"No! I mean-" Maya bit her tongue, bringing her voice back down to a normal octave. "No, I haven't called him. He did more than enough last night, I don't want to bother him while he's out on a job."
"I'll bother him," Caolila chirped, "you hang in there, honey, I'll call him right now and get him back here lickity-split."
"Caolila, that's really not-"
"Zahau is out with Haulani," she said, apparently answering something Wayne asked. "I've got to watch the stall, but if Ludus can't get back here before break then I'll head over."
"Caolila-"
"Can I have my phone back please?" Wayne's voice got louder then, having regained possession of his own cell. "Maya?"
"Hi Wayne."
"Did you try calling Brad?" He muttered something to Caolila, sounding like 'hold your horses'. "He's not usually too busy in the mornings."
"It's just about to hit lunch rush," Maya had seen Brad and Carrie during their preparations before, she couldn't possibly interrupt that, "I wouldn't want to pull him away from the restaurant now."
"Good point," Wayne hummed in thought. Suddenly there was a loud snap through the phoneline. "Oh! Jesus H Christ, I completely forgot! Lis is off today."
"Lis?" Maya scrunched her nose, realising with a jolt that he was talking about Lisette. "She's not working?"
"Free as a bird," Wayne confirmed. "Give her a call, she'll be over there faster than you can say 'purple hippopotamus'."
"Why would I say 'purple hippopotamus'?"
"You just did, didn't you?"
Maya couldn't help but laugh.
"Thanks, Wayne. I'll call her now. But- um…" she hesitated, unsure if she should go ahead with the rest of her thought. After a beat, she decided it was too late to turn back now. "Could you try and convince Caolila not to tell Ludus about this? He's worried enough as it is."
"Already on it, darlin'," Wayne assured her. "I just told her Shalk and Alma are throwing around a dead jellyfish on the beach and she took off like a rocket. Calling Ludus is the farthest thing from her mind."
"You're the best!"
"I know." He chuckled, and Maya could hear his footsteps as he moved on to his next stop. "Let me know if you need anything else though, y'hear? I'll be done work by about 3."
"I'll be fine," Maya promised, "but I'll keep that in mind. See ya later!"
"Take care, darlin'!"
Maya let her phone fall into her lap with a relieved sigh. Caolila was a force to be reckoned with, absolutely, but her children always took priority. She didn't have to worry about word getting back to Ludus for at least a little while longer.
Instead, Maya picked up her phone and called Lisette. She wasn't planning to do much work at all on the farm today- just watering her crops and putting Josie out to pasture, so Lisette wouldn't need to do a lot. Just help her get the gate open.
Lisette picked up on the third ring. Maya asked if she was busy, explained the situation, and settled in to wait for her friend.
.
"It's so swollen, Maya," Lisette fretted, helping her back inside. Maya limped over to the dining room chairs, falling into the seat with less grace than she would've liked. "Your poor ankle. I bet it hurts like the devil."
"It wasn't too bad this morning," Maya assured her, lifting her leg up to rest it on the chair next to her. Lisette bustled over to the fridge, getting them both a glass of water. "It's definitely throbbing now though."
"I wish you'd called me sooner," Lisette set the waters down on the table, seating herself across from Maya. "I would've come straight over after breakfast. I didn't have any plans for the day."
"I thought I could manage," Maya admitted, taking a sip. After Maya called Lisette, it only took about twenty minutes for her to show up, already worrying over her. Together they'd been able to put Josie out to pasture, water the gardens, and make it back into the house by early afternoon.
"I'm surprised Ludus isn't here, actually." Lisette gave Maya a knowing look, one that made the farmer blush. Lisette wasn't wrong; she knew Ludus would be here if she'd told him the truth earlier. "Does he know you hurt yourself?"
"Oh, he knows," Maya laughed, chewing her lip in embarrassment. Enough people knew now that she didn't feel the need to downplay what happened; she told Lisette the whole story, from her fall, to him catching her, bringing her home, and the sweet way he'd kissed her forehead before he left. Lisette listened with an increasingly sly grin, nearly bouncing in her seat by the time Maya was finished.
"He's out of town on a job," Maya explained, taking another sip of her water. "Otherwise I'm sure he'd be here, if the amount of texts I've gotten from him are any indication."
"What's he texting you about?" Lisette leaned forward across the table, as if she could see Maya's phone from that angle.
"Just checking up on me." She pulled out her phone and scrolled through the messages, responding to his latest one. Ludus seemed to be getting more worried as the day went on, so she'd been forced to tell him that Lisette was there helping her. It had the dual effect of reassuring him that she was getting the help she needed, but also annoying him that she'd lied to him about how much pain she was in.
"He's so sweet," Lisette sighed, twirling a lock of her hair around her finger. "Why aren't you two dating again?"
"Because every time I try to push it, he comes back with the 'sister' thing?"
The girls laughed, but Maya did make sure to point out how she thought she'd put a stop to that the night before too. Lisette seemed to chew on that for a minute, considering the situation.
"I know I've said it before, but I really think you should just ask him on a real date," she concluded, finishing off her glass of water. "I bet he'd say yes. He treats you like so much more than a friend, no matter what he says about the whole family thing. And-" Lisette narrowed her eyes playfully at Maya, waggling her finger in her general direction. "Don't think I haven't noticed that little sparkly thing on your neck. You didn't have that the last time we hung out."
Maya's hand went immediately to the pumpkin necklace, smiling wistfully as she ran her fingers over it. The pendant was now a permanent part of her daily outfit- she never left the house without it.
"He bought it for me in Tsuyukusa," she confirmed, to a delighted squeal from Lisette, "I was having a terrible day, and he wanted to cheer me up."
"Oh my gosh," Lisette groaned, clapping excitedly. "He's so in love with you. You have to ask him out- you have to!"
Maya giggled, but she couldn't deny that the thought had crossed her mind a few times too.
"I…" she bit her lip, feeling her cheeks turn a bright red. "I think maybe… I will, actually. Just not yet!" she amended before Lisette got too excited, holding her hands up in front of her defensively. "I like where we are right now, and I took a risk with the sister thing last night. I don't want to ruin what we have because I'm misinterpreting his feelings. I'm going to wait a little longer first."
"If you wait too long, I'm going to do it for you." Lisette crossed her arms over her chest, huffing. "I feel like I'm watching a movie and the main leads won't just kiss already."
"You're one to talk!" Maya flipped the script, raising an eyebrow at Lisette. "Don't you see Wayne like… every day now, Lis?"
"Well-" Lisette turned as red as a tomato, squirming in her chair. Maya held her hard stare, refusing to let up. She clearly wasn't expecting Maya to know about her new nickname. "It's not like that… exactly…"
"No, no, of course not," Maya rolled her eyes, "he just comes to your shop every day after he's finished his rounds to chat with you, help you around the store, have dinner with you, you know. Normal platonic friend stuff."
"It could be normal platonic friend stuff," Lisette argued, pouting. "He hasn't specifically asked me on a date or anything yet."
"You know he won't," Maya countered. She kept a little candy dish with mints in it at the centre of her dining room table whenever she could, which she pushed towards Lisette after taking one herself. "Wayne has a reputation, he knows that. He probably thinks if he asks you out, you won't take him seriously."
Lisette opened her mouth to argue, but snapped it shut again just as quickly. Maya had a point, after all. She probably wouldn't take him seriously, even after all the time they spent together.
"I guess I see your point," Lisette murmured, chewing thoughtfully on the mint. "But I can't ask him out. What if he laughs at me?"
"Wayne wouldn't laugh at you." Maya squeezed her own fingers under the table. It was difficult, knowing that both Wayne and Lisette had feelings for one another, but not being able to tell them. "He's too kind. If anything, he'd let you down gently, but there's no way he'd do that. I'm telling you," Maya continued in a rush, stopping Lisette from interrupting her, "if you asked him out tomorrow, you and Wayne would be a couple by the end of the week. If I had money, I'd bet on it."
Lisette giggled, warmed by the idea, but not willing to accept Maya's challenge just yet. Instead she sighed, resting her chin in her hands.
"We're hopeless, aren't we?"
"Now that's something we can agree on."
They grinned at each other, the conversation naturally steering to Lisette's shop and the new inventory that Wayne had been helping her sort. She had an entire new shelving unit set up that Maya hadn't seen yet, and was in the process of decorating it.
"I actually brought some of my things with me," Lisette admitted, nodding to the bags she'd carried to Maya's farm. They were stuffed to the point of overflowing, leaves and petals scattered everywhere. "I didn't know how much work you had to do, so I brought them in case you were bored and wanted to help me."
"I'd love to help!" Maya shifted in her chair, adjusting her leg and placing it back on the floor as gently as she could. Lisette dragged the bags over and explained what she wanted to do, which was essentially a form of wreath weaving but on a smaller scale. Maya watched her make a few, doing her best to keep up, until she felt comfortable enough to try one on her own.
"Your garden is looking great by the way," Lisette mentioned after a couple of wreaths had piled up on the table. Maya was still struggling with her first one, but she thought she was getting the technique down. "I'm super impressed!"
"Thanks," Maya did a little cheer as she finished the first wreath, setting it on top of Lisette's three. "I'm a little worried about the strawberries though. One plant isn't growing well; I'm not sure if I'll get any berries off of it."
"Sometimes you get duds," Lisette reassured her, "it's not your fault. Just don't use the same seeds next season. I'm sure Frank could get you some from plants he's grown in the past. It's best to use seeds from plants that you've grown yourself, that way you know they have good genes."
"Plants have genes?" Maya frowned, eying her wreath. It was a little misshapen, so she tried again.
"Of course they do," Lisette laughed. "Plants are living things, just like animals. You breed a prize-winning cow in much the same way that you cultivate prize-winning plants; nutrients, environment, love, and traceable genetics. It's the same concept."
"I've never thought about it that way before," Maya admitted. While gardening was still a little foreign to her, what Lisette said made sense. "So, I should take my best fruit, and use those seeds to plant next year?"
"Exactly!"
Maya couldn't even begin to comprehend how Lisette knew so much about plants. She didn't think she would know that much about farming if she were doing it for 20 years, let alone the comparatively short amount of time Lisette had owned her flower shop. She even had knowledge of plants she didn't sell, and had never sold before. Maya had trouble wrapping her head around that.
Her phone buzzed, making the whole table vibrate.
"Better respond quick," Lisette teased, barely looking up from her work. "Your boyfriend will worry."
"He already worries too much," Maya rolled her eyes, "and he's not my boyfriend."
"Yet."
Maya stuck her tongue out at Lisette, but opened Ludus's message anyway.
How are you feeling?
Maya smiled. It wasn't the first time he'd asked, but she was sure he'd ask again before she went to bed that night.
Little sore, little swollen, but I'm resting!
There was no point in trying to downplay it anymore, she'd told him she asked Lisette to come over and help her. He would know that if she did that, she must really be in some pain.
You'd better be. He added an angry face, trying to intimidate her into listening. Maya giggled, making Lisette raise an eyebrow at her. She didn't say anything though, just continued weaving.
And if I don't? Maya responded with a winking face, teasing him a little.
I'm already coming over there tomorrow, Ludus responded, don't make me lock you in your own house.
Ooh, scary.
I'll tie you down if I have to
Maya's cheeks flushed. She knew that Ludus hadn't meant it the way she was suddenly picturing, but the thought definitely crossed her mind once… or twice.
"Ooh, what did he say?" Lisette asked, putting down the flowers she was using. "Your face got all red."
Maya showed her the texts, which Lisette promptly read. She began to giggle, taking Maya's phone from her. "You gotta say something flirty back. I mean, it's right there!"
"What do I say?" Maya fidgeted nervously. She could think of a few things, but they were either too obvious or too subtle. There didn't seem to be a good in-between.
"What about this?" Lisette tapped out a message, but didn't send it. Instead she handed Maya back her phone for approval. Maya read the text and snorted.
"Lisette!" she laughed, shaking her head. "You know what? I'm going for it."
Is that a threat or a promise?
She took out the winking face Lisette had added, but otherwise kept the text the same. Ludus took a beat longer to respond this time, which made Maya's heart leap into her throat, but Lisette insisted it was a good thing.
When he finally did answer, Maya didn't know what to think.
I guess you'll find out tomorrow
"What did he say? What did he say?" Lisette scanned the text over Maya's shoulder, squealing as she got to the end. "Maybe Wayne and I shouldn't come over in the morning."
"You guys were coming over tomorrow morning?" Maya tilted her head, trying to ignore the butterflies raging in her stomach. Lisette nodded, picking up her flowers again.
"Ludus has work tomorrow right?" she mused, "Wayne and I can come help you out with your chores in the morning, then I thought we could all have lunch together or something. But after that text, I'm thinking we'll make ourselves scarce long before Ludus shows up."
She punctuated her statement with a wink, which Maya ignored.
"You guys don't need to come over again," she insisted, "I'm sure I'll be a lot better tomorrow."
"We want to help." Lisette held up her palm to stop Maya from arguing further. "Now knock it off. And hand me that hydrangea."
Maya could see there was no point in trying to dissuade her, so she simply did as she was told. Having Lisette as a friend was more than she'd ever expected when she moved to the farm, and with Ludus, Wayne, Brad, Carrie, the twins, and well… everyone, really, Maya was overwhelmed with love and appreciation.
Before she'd moved her, she struggled to name one person she could call a true friend. Now, she had too many to list. It was a strange, humbling feeling. Maya was so happy she'd chosen to make this her home.
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