Xxxxx
Spring brought sunshine, birds chirping, and melted snow. Kasey showed up bright and early, ready to work and start the field. I sent him with money to buy my seeds while I got a head start weeding and clearing away debris.
He must've run in to Owen at some point on the way there, or on his way back. Because, when it came down to working the field, he wouldn't let me use the hoe.
"I've got this part. Go collect the eggs and stuff." He coaxed me, already tilling the soil. "The field is my job, now."
"Owen tell you that?"
Kasey paused, guiltily.
"...what would give you that idea?" He grinned, almost convincingly.
I rolled my eyes. Kasey was a nice guy, and on some level was following Owen's orders from a place of his own conscience. Most wouldn't let a pregnant woman lift heavy stuff. But, I was willing to bet money that Kasey was probably a little scared to even humor going against Owen's orders even if he wanted to.
Not that Owen would hurt him, or anything. Just, I don't think Kasey wanted to be on the giant blacksmith's bad side. Totally reasonable. Only, without the fields to worry about every day, my work days were going to be short.
"What am I supposed to do all day?" I complained to Owen, marching up to the counter at the shop. "Kasey won't let me touch the farm tools."
"You could get a nice nap in every afternoon." he suggested, breezily. "Jin said you need lots of rest."
"I'll consider it...only because eventually I'm going to starting to feel sore and tired with this little one growing. Not today, though."
Mira wasn't working at the moment. Her counter was empty and unattended. With no one living upstairs, and no customers in the shop, it was just Owen alone doing some maintenance. He cleaned the furnace, getting himself covered in soot.
"Since I'm just about done with this, how about I close up early? I could shower, get some food cooking. What do you feel like eating?"
"I'm having the weirdest craving for mushroom rice and fried eggs."
Owen found it cute I was already beginning to have food cravings. It was nothing crazy, yet. No weird food combinations. But, for Dinner, I had an intense craving for the cheese fondue from the Inn. Since it was one of Chloe's favorite foods, and places, she held no objections. And Owen had no problem giving us what we wanted.
I wasn't very far along, but being so small, my baby bump looked bigger than it was compared to the rest of my body. So, I wore a loose hoodie to the Inn to try and keep attention off of it. I saw the way everyone doted on Renee. I didn't want all that attention. But, Colleen knew I was pregnant the second she saw me.
"You're glowing. Congratulations." She coo'ed, eyes bright and smiling in her motherly way. "When's this little one due?"
"Late Summer, or early Fall." I answered her, grateful she was keeping her voice down. "I think I'd prefer Fall."
"Oh, bless you. You two will be wonderful parents."
None of us bothered looking at the dinner menu because we knew exactly what we were getting. But, when the dessert menu came out it never looked so good in my life. I scanned the options despite being fairly full. The ice cream sundaes were big. After all the bread, meats and vegetables we dipped in the fondue, I didn't have the room to eat one by myself.
"Chloe, I don't think I have the room for a whole dessert. Think you could help me eat a sundae?" I asked as if that was even a question.
"What flavor are we getting!" She was excited.
"...hm, I'm thinking we take down a banana split. With extra hot fudge."
With no interest in the sweet dessert, Owen opted for a cocktail to enjoy while his little sister and I dug our spoons in to ice cream.
xxxxxxx
"It's only been a season. I can't believe I'm starting to show."
Home, I pulled off my hoodie and jeans. I could still close the button and zip them up, for now. At this rate, I was going to need to start embracing the idea of dresses for Summer, or get some bigger pants. Everything I owned was small.
"You're starting your second trimester next week." Owen reasoned, pulling out a set of pajamas for me. "I'd be surprised if you weren't beginning to show."
"This much, though?"
"You're tiny, Angela. There's nowhere to hide a baby in there."
Putting both my hands on my stomach, I touched the small bump. This, there was a living little heartbeat inside me. Crazy that.
"The ultra sound is coming up." I reminded him, though he was more excited for it than anyone. "We might know what the baby is."
"Got your fingers crossed? Hoping for something specific?"
"I'm happy with whatever we have. I just hope that they're healthy."
Thinking about his grandfather, Owen agreed.
"Health is all that really matters. I'll be happy with whatever we have, too."
I took my bra off, rubbing where the band had been wrapped around my torso, and where the straps had been on my shoulders. That thing was getting snug. And, my breasts were sore. To my shock, they were bigger.
"I know I've complained about having small breasts...but I don't think I realized the perks at the time."
"You've definitely grown some. They hurting you, Baby?"
"A little, yeah."
Owen put my pajamas aside and gently pulled me in to his lap. He used the back of his hands to caress my breasts, careful to just lightly press on the sore flesh with his warm hands.
"I'll get you some heating pads tomorrow." he offered. "You'll eventually need one for your back."
"Fun." I sighed. "Two more seasons of this...and it's going to get worse."
"I'll be here. Walking every step with you."
Owen kissed my cheek, hands going down to my stomach.
"Both of you."
I shivered and Owen pulled me closer.
"Cold?"
"Wouldn't mind getting dressed."
"I have a better idea."
Pulling the bedcovers back, Owen laid me out on to the sheets. He pulled the covers over his back as he got on top of me. He kissed a path down the side of my neck, between my breasts, over my ribs and down the lightly rounded slope of our growing child. A finger curled at each hip, hooking my underwear. He dragged them down.
xxxxx
In the mailbox the next morning there was an invitation to Renee's upcoming baby shower. It was planned to take place at the Inn. The event was targeted mainly towards the ladies of the island being that was who would be the most excited. But, men were welcome to join. The invitation said to RSVP with Colleen.
I didn't want to go, but I called to say I would. Renee was a great person. She and her family had been nothing but kind to me. I'd gone to her Wedding, there was no excuse not to attend her baby shower too. I'd have to ask Kathy if she was going. I didn't want to be stuck there without someone I could talk to.
"Naturally, I'm goin' to Renee's baby shower." Kathy told me when I went to the Inn to RSVP "Aren't you?"
Kathy scrutinized me with genuine confusion. She couldn't think of a reason why I wouldn't want to support Renee. We were getting along.
"Yeah...I just wanted to make sure I wouldn't be sitting around alone. That's all."
"They wouldn't leave you to twiddle your thumbs off in the corner." Kathy assured me. "That's just not the way they do things. Besides, Chloe's going to want to go and she'll probably drag Owen along too"
At the register, Colleen scanned the list of people who were attending the baby shower thus far. It made her happy. I guess everyone on the island was antsy for some new native islanders. The last baby born was Chloe.
"I've got time before my shift, how about we go 'head and pick out her gifts?" Kathy suggested, seeing as now was as good a time as ever. "The stores are right across the way."
Renne remained firm that she didn't want to know the gender of her baby until the birth. So, Kathy and I played it safe with neutral colors and items. I bought her a yellow baby blanket with an arrangement of white, yellow and orange bibs and socks at the Tailor's. Candance wrapped it up to look pretty inside of a gift box with a bow.
At the General store, Kathy bought Renee a gift set with baby bottles and pacifiers. And a stuffed horse to put in the nursery. Barbara bagged them with tissue paper and tinsel.
"We've got some nice crib mobiles in stock. Simon and I already have one wrapped for Renee~" she pulled one off the shelf. "I hope she loves it."
The little stuffed animals hanging off the mobile were barn animals. A cow, hen, sheep and horse.
"It's just so cute." Barbara shimmied the box excitedly to show us. "I love babies. It's a shame I only ever had one."
"Why didn't you have another?" I asked politely.
"Back when Phoebe was born, it was such a blessing. I was so infatuated with watching her grow up that I never thought to have another."
Phoebe was in the backroom tinkering with one of her inventions. Apparently mining, and making machines, were her passions in life. She had lots of projects she'd done over her life time.
"I don't think Daddy would have been able to handle a second kid with the way I worried him." Phoebe came out to the storefront looking for a box of screws. "I spent so much time in the mines. Imagine if he had another kid to keep tabs on?"
"Your father adores you, Honey. It was a labor of love."
"Sometimes I wonder what it would have been like to have a sibling."
Phoebe found what she was looking for and tucked a box of screws under her arm.
"But, I would've been too busy for them anyways." She walked away. "I've always got stuff to do."
"When are you going to slow down and give us a grand baby?" Barbara called after her, a silly grin donned.
I took from her expression that she already knew the answer about to come her way.
"Mom!"
Barbara winked.
"I have a headstrong girl." she told us. "She'll get tired of those machines, one day. They can't love you back."
xxxxxx
When the day came for the ultrasound, Owen walked me to the clinic. Irene set up a cot for me to lie down on. She spread the cold gel on my stomach and wheeled in the ultrasound machine.
Owen held my hand, both our eyes glued to the monitor as Irene began checking our growing baby. Jin was nearby, watching with equal intrigue.
Irene was quiet, carefully moving the transducer over my abdomen. Both and her Jin looked at each other, some silent exchange happening between them, then they went back to the screen. Owen and I then looked at each other.
"...is everything okay?" I asked, getting scared. "Is the baby healthy?"
"Everything's looking just fine, so far." Jin didn't look at us, leaning in towards the screen. "We're just making sure."
"..."
It wasn't very reassuring. They were both staring at that screen like they were puzzled. Jin pointed to something for Irene to look closer at. The silence was getting to me. I squeezed Owen's hand.
I felt myself on the brink of tears, terrified something was wrong with the baby. Owen's baby...the one he wanted so badly. They hadn't shown us the heartbeat yet. When they finally did, I had to wipe my eyes. I was so relieved.
"No tears." Irene gently shushed me, empathetic to my worries. "Everything is where it should be."
She showed us on screen that our baby was fine. Jin got me a box of tissues because my tears were still going.
"Irene, would you like to do the honors?" he asked his grandmother. "Or shall I?"
"Would the new parents like to know what they're welcoming in to the world?" She then asked us.
Owen stroked my hair back, waiting expectantly for the results. Irene and Jin exchanged another look, only this one was far more encouraging.
"Twins." Irene congratulated us. "You'll have your hands full with two little boys, soon enough."
"...twin boys?" The news blew Owen away.
"Twin boys."
Now that they were sure what they'd seen, Jin and Irene showed us the two individual heart beats.
"We were having bit of trouble finding the second one." Jin explained, apologizing for the suspense they'd left us in. "We didn't want to tell you there were two if only one was vital...sometimes when twins are conceived, only one will grow. It isn't uncommon to lose an embryo this early in pregnancy. It happens."
"But, both of yours are growing just fine." Irene added. "We look forward to meeting your little boys this year."
I was given the "eat well and rest" routine again before both Irene and Jin left so I could clean off that goopy stuff in private. I used tissues to wipe it up, looking forward to going home and actually washing myself off. But, we had something else to do first.
"So, daddy of two..." I laughed a little, throwing some soiled tissues in the trash. "Are we going to go upstairs and tell Ramsey's he's going to be a great-grandfather? You know, after I get all this weird medical jelly off of me."
"Daddy of two... I love the way that sounds."
Just like Owen, so did Ramsey. We went to his room and announced that I was pregnant.
"You wanna make an old man cry? That what you want?" He chided Owen, no actual scorn behind it.
Ramsey loved his grandchildren so much. This was a man who was tough as nails. But he'd cried at our wedding. And, here he was choking up again.
"Goddess almighty...life is good. It's hard, but its good."
Ramsey's heart was just swollen. He was so proud of his grandson. So happy for him.
"They're both boys, Gramps." Owen could blind someone with his big, white grin.
"You better raise those two right, or so help me I'll haunt you when I leave this Earth. I expect two new blacksmiths in this family. Our business is our legacy."
To pick on him, I asked what if the boys wanted to be farmers.
"I'd like to pass my farm down, one day."
"One of them can be a farmer." Ramsey decided. "The other has to be a blacksmith. You've got two, it works out."
It was too soon to talk about the futures of two boys who weren't even born yet. But, it was a nice thought. Owen and I would love to pass our trades down. Raise our kids on the island, give them life-long meaningful ties to their community.
Xxxxx
"Aww! I love it!"
Unwrapping her gifts, Renee glowed with gratitude. Tables at the Inn were stacked with colorful bags and boxes. A lot of people showed up. She and Toby weren't going to have to buy much for their nursery.
The decorations in the Inn were pink and blue themed. Renee playfully got heckled for keeping the baby's gender a secret. But, she held her belly with a doting smile, unbothered.
"It's my present to me."
Hannah put both her hands on Renee's stomach, infatuated with the unborn little boy or girl.
"And, Grandma~" She spoke to her daughter's stomach.
The catering at the baby shower was mainly snack foods, sweets and appetizers since it was early afternoon, between Lunch and Dinner. Kathy was digging in to some carrot cake, announcing it was her favorite.
"Pumpkin, try it." She held a bite out for Chloe.
"Vegetables in cake sounds weird!"
Owen ate a rice ball, watching Kathy try to feed his sister tainted dessert.
"Might wanna let this one go, Kathy." He advised her, finding it funny when Chloe hid herself behind his arm. "You aren't getting far."
"But, it doesn't even taste like carrots!" Kathy tried to entice her. "And, it's smothered with cream cheese frosting."
Chloe wasn't budging, having a chocolate chip cookie instead.
"Silly little pumpkin. Don't know what you're missin' if you don't try it." Kathy let her be. "Angela, Sweet face. Is that all you're having?"
I was eating a parfait. It had yogurt, strawberries, and some granola mixed in. I woke up that morning with a mild aversion to food. I needed to eat , but I was slightly nauseous.
"I'm not very hungry." I stirred the contents of my cup with the spoon. "Woke up and suddenly everything I normally like just seems gross today."
I ate stuff like eggs, fish, and vegetables all the time. Today, the thought alone made me queasy. People were eating sushi rolls, quiche and stuffed mushrooms. All of which I normally loved.
"I don't even want to eat this. But, I have to." I tentatively took a spoonful. "It's the first thing I've had all day."
"It won't be the last thing you have, either." Owen chimed in. "You need more food than that later."
"We get there when we get there. Ugh, I feel like I can smell everything."
Someone was having a cup of coffee and I crinkled my nose at the smell. Coffee had a nice warm, rich smell to it when it brewed. Right now, it just smelled like burnt dirt to me.
"You've got a lil mornin' sickness." Kathy assured me. "It'll pass. Every pregnant woman-"
"Shh." I urged her to lower her voice.
"…pardon?"
I lowered my voice to a whisper, leaning in towards her.
"I don't want other people to know yet. Especially not here. It's Renee's baby shower…"
"Well, aren't you sweet? You don't want to steal her spotlight."
"Nope. Not at all."
I fluffed out the front of my hooded sweatshirt to make sure my stomach was covered, guarding it as inconspicuously as I could.
"You won't be able to hide that for long." Kathy looked around, ensuring no one was within earshot. "Exactly when do you plan on lettin' everyone else in on the big secret?"
"When I can't hide it anymore."
I willed myself to eat the rest of the yogurt, getting to the last bite with a grimace. I pushed the empty cup and spoon away, wanting it far away from me.
"Ick." I complained. "I hope I keep that down. I haven't thrown up yet, and I'd prefer to keep it that way."
The baby shower ended and I couldn't be any happier to get home. Chloe went to the living room to watch her cartoons on the new big television. I followed her and went straight to the couch. I laid on my side. Owen was outside checking to see what Kasey had shipped today.
"Angela, you okay?" Chloe crawled over, peering down at me from the arm of the couch.
"I will be. Just need to lay down for a minute."
The room was spinning a little. I covered my face with my hands. Chloe darted to get her brother.
"Owen!" Chloe leaned out the front door. "Angela doesn't feel good."
He came inside, following his little sister back to the couch.
"See?" Chloe looked worried.
"What's going on?" Owen was equally worried. "What's wrong?"
I asked for a glass of cold water.
Chloe went and got it for me. Owen helped me sit up.
"Do you need to see the doctor?"
"No…I think I'm just a little dehydrated. Haven't had much to drink."
"You need to be more careful."
The end of Spring was near and the weather was warming up. If I was struggling now…oh, boy. Summer wouldn't be fun. Wasn't really having much fun, today. All I could stomach for Dinner that night was a bowl of watermelon. Owen and Chloe had pizza and I just couldn't even humor Owen with taking a bite.
"Angela..." He tried to persuade me. "Just a bite or two."
"Owen, I can't." I leaned as far away as I could. "Stop it, or I'll throw up."
"I'm calling Jin. There has to be something he can give you-"
"I don't want to take anything if I don't have to. Nausea is just a part of pregnancy. It'll pass."
He called anyways. A brief time on the phone and Jin basically told him the same thing I did. The nausea would take its course. It was too early to jump to medication. But, I could try ginger tea to soothe my stomach in the meanwhile.
"See?" I went to make myself a cup. "Told you."
"Big brother worries a lot." Chloe held her cup of apple juice with two hands. "Like, a lot a lot."
"Yup. He sure does."
Over the next week, I worked my way back in to eating more normally. Some ginger tea between meals helped me stomach it. I had stuff like bananas, apple sauce, boiled or scrambled eggs, toast, rice, oatmeal, cereal, and generally easy things to palette.
xxxxxx
Sunday morning Owen was delighted to hear me ask for pancakes. I finished a stack without an issue but quit while I was ahead and opted out of seconds, to play it safe. Kasey knocked on the door while I took my plate to the sink.
"Morning! Mind if I come in?"
"Be our guest." Owen stepped aside.
I took a guess he had some good news because he looked pretty happy.
"Hamilton told me I'm getting my own house," he announced.
"You are? That's great." I congratulated him. "Where?"
"There's a decent plot of land down by the beach south of your farm. The carpenters are starting it there tomorrow."
Being my farmhand, Kasey assured me he'd still follow through with the arrangement.
"I'm going start my own field but I'm still getting my feet wet, so getting some experience here is still my main priority."
"You must be stoked for the opportunity though." Owen commented.
"I am, yeah. Having my own land sounds great."
Kasey was getting the same small cottage-style home I started out with on Waffle Island. I heard Luke and Bo discussing it on their way past my farm the next morning. Kathy was out in the pasture with Chloe and Cinnamon, getting the horse used to being ridden and led around by the reins.
Owen was working, and Kathy was watching Chloe. I needed something to do.
"I'm going to take a walk." I announced. "You and Cinnamon are looking great, Chloe. Keep it up."
I checked the second field I owned on my way to Town. Not that I didn't trust Kasey, but out of curiosity. The flowers were almost blooming. I'd have to come back and check these tomorrow. I wanted to collect the honey myself.
I was heading towards Town without an actual task in mind when I got there. But, I arrived, I decided to poke around the Tailor's shop for some baby clothes before realizing that would out the big secret I was trying to keep. Shelley normally worked the counter...I'm sure the old woman could keep a secret. Everyone would find out eventually no matter what.
"Angela, it's good to see you again." she was knitting from her place behind the counter, seated on a stool to spare her aging bones the burden of standing all day. "Come in, come in."
Luna and Candance were missing, either on break or in the back making more clothes. I gave the newborn clothes a peek, attention on the blue. Before I could pick anything up, Luna managed to sneak up on me.
"...oh, is Renee having a boy?" She asked. "Everyone's been buying yellows and greens because she wanted her baby to be a surprise."
"She still does. I just thought this was cute, is all..."
"It is pretty cute. The newborn clothes are so tiny."
So much for getting some shopping for the babies done, I thought.
"You could always buy her the blue. As long as she keeps the tags on, we'll take the clothes back if she needs to exchange them." Luna then suggested. "She doesn't necessarily have to. Girls can wear blue, too."
"T-That's true. Uh, yeah. I'll just grab a couple of onesies for now."
I got two blue onesies with different patterns. It felt nice to have them.
"Look what I got." I showed Owen that night. "Aren't they cute?"
"Our boys first clothes...heh. They're great."
He took one of the onesies, looking it over in his hands.
"...we haven't picked out names yet." He reminded me. "We'll have two little boys wearing these soon. They need names."
"Any ideas?"
"I've always liked the name Conroy...call him Roy, for short y'know?"
I liked the sound of it. No reason we couldn't name one of our boys Conroy.
"I'm partial to Oliver...Ollie sounds like a cute nickname to me." I confessed.
"Roy and Ollie?" Owen smiled fondly saying them out loud together for the first time. "Perfect."
It was perfect. I folded up the two onesies and put them in a drawer for safe keeping.
"So...how about we get started on that nursery? I remember you saying you had your heart set on a blue one if we were having a boy." Owen reminded me. "Well, we're having two. It's time to buy paint and furniture."
He bought sky blue paint for the walls from the Carpenters, and polished wooden furniture to match the hardwood floors. He had to special order the cribs from Dale. They only made cribs to order because they were hardly ever needed. Having them built without an imminent need only took up precious floor space.
"I can have the boys paint the room for you." Dale offered us. "You don't have to trouble yourself with that."
"I can handle it." Owen assured him. "It's just a little paint."
He didn't want Luke in our house, let alone our nursery. The guy blew a fuse when he found out we were getting married. We didn't want to see whether he'd truly calmed down or not.
Not that he was a threat and posed a danger to me. Absolutely not, Luke was still harmless and his kindhearted self. Wouldn't hurt a fly.
But, he was hurt. I was pregnant. And, Owen didn't want any unwarranted or preventable stress. If it were up to him, he'd bubble wrap the entire house and keep me in it.
Towards the end of Spring, our nursery was finished- Blue walls, hardwood floors, two cribs, two rocking chairs, a dresser and a changing table. The curtains were blue, as were the mattress coverings.
We were missing everything else.
"Time for a baby shower." Owen appraised the room. "We've got a season, more or less, until this becomes a family of five."
Hands on my belly, I accepted that I had maybe a week left before my clothes couldn't do anything to hide these two. They were growing, and fast. Even if I could hide them much longer, the hot weather was coming. My hoodie would be put to rest until at least Fall.
"I'll get a stack of invitations from the store and fill them out." I promised. "We have to make a reservation for the Inn's lobby, too."
I went to the General Store to get started. I bought a blank stack of baby shower invitations from Barbara, hiding them away in to my bag with a quick plea to keep it hushed. She zipped her lips with a wink.
My next stop was the Inn. I walked up the path when I heard Hamilton calling for me. I turned around, seeing he wasn't alone.
"Angela! You have a visitor!"
A woman a smidge taller than me strolled behind him. Her long blonde hair caught the sun beautifully. Her large blue eyes, though vibrant in color, were rather dull. They didn't brighten upon seeing me.
"Claire, here she is." Hamilton encouraged. "Enjoy your stay."
He waddled off on his way, presumably to get back to work. My visitor eyed me from head to toe.
"...Angela, what on Earth are you wearing?" She criticized my baggy, near shapeless hoodie with plain denim coming out from underneath. "I swear you dress like your father did...that man had no clue how to dress himself."
It hung a bit awkwardly on my otherwise small frame. I fluffed out the front as inconspicuously as I could.
"Did you come all the way here to criticize my wardrobe?"
"You'll never change." she sighed. "Come on, now. I mean well. Come give your mother a hug."
"What are you even doing here?"
My mother wasn't necessarily a bad person. But, I just couldn't bring myself to be remotely happy to see her. When I left the city, she didn't support my choice at all. She guilted me every day until I was out that door.
"It's been a year, Angela." She reminded me, as if I didn't know or fully embrace it.
"It's been great. You can leave now."
"...aren't you going to invite me home?"
"No."
Being the Inn was right there, I pointed her towards it.
"You can sleep there. Get a goodnight's sleep for your trip back home." I dismissed her, "Goodbye, Mother."
"Angela!" Someone called for me.
The last person I wanted to walk in on this "reunion" was Owen. He walked over, surprised by this new face talking to me.
She inspected Owen skeptically, taking close notice of how close and friendly he was with me. His clothes didn't impress her. You could tell he was a manual laborer.
Owen was all smiles, and hardworking. They were my favorite qualities.
"...who is this?" he asked.
"I'm her mother." She answered for me.
The smile never left Owen's face. He held his hand out, genuinely happy to meet her. Mother didn't shake his hand.
"I'm a lady." she chided him, just shy of a scowl. "Who would you be?"
Owen's face fell. He didn't understand what he did wrong. He didn't do anything wrong.
"...I'm your daughter's husband."
"Excuse me?"
Oh, this was bad. This was so, so bad.
"Mother-"
"Angela Clarice Clifton!" She snapped. "You'd best better explain yourself."
I winced at my full name. My maiden name, actually. Owen was quick to remind her.
"She's Angela Clarice Ramsey, now." He corrected, politely but firm.
"Frankly, I don't care."
Mother turned her nose up at him, challengingly. She was disgusted with his existence, and horribly disappointed in me.
"You left everything, for this?" She criticized. "A farm, and a man? A man-"
Chloe and Kathy were coming down the path. Chloe, innocent as ever, ran up to us. She hugged my legs.
"...A man with a child." she accused upon seeing Chloe's resemblance to Owen. "Have you lost your mind?"
Having not the faintest clue what she walked in on, Chloe looked at my mother with confusion overcoming her little face. This woman that she didn't know was yelling at me, and giving her the stink eye. Kathy crept in, overhearing enough to know this wasn't the place for Chloe right now.
"C'mon, Pumpkin." the blonde coaxed her away.
Unfortunately, my Mother mistook her for Chloe's mother.
"Was this your first wife?" she hissed at Owen. "If you think you're going to ruin my daughter's life, you have another thing coming."
Kathy scowled, aghast. But, she kept walking, Chloe's hand held firmly in hers.
Not one to get in to petty confrontations with irate people-in this case, his mother-in-law- Owen suggested we leave, too. He had a clear conscience; he didn't have to take this shit. He was a good husband. A good person.
"I think it's time that I take my wife and little sister home." He made a point to emphasize who Chloe was. "We're done here."
xxxxx
"Angela...think of the babies. You need to relax, okay?"
I was sobbing in to Owen's shirt. Hard enough that I'm surprised I hadn't thrown up on him. I felt sick to my stomach after what happened.
"She was so mean to you!"
"I've got thick skin. Baby, it's alright." He rubbed my back, trying to soothe me. "I'm not worried what she thinks."
Kathy was outside with Chloe, distracting the child while I busted in to tears. Mother's surprise visit was not only unwelcome, but it was uncalled for. It was bad enough I'd left home on bad terms with her.
But, to come all the way here and shit on my life as soon as she saw me? Talk to my husband like that! And, Chloe...she didn't so much crack a smile at her adorable little face. She was innocent in all this and Mother had the audacity to glower at her.
I calmed down after a while of Owen holding me. He sighed in relief when my snivels died out and I was wiping my eyes with the back of my hand.
"She shouldn't have come here." I sniffed. "I don't know what she expected."
"...if you don't have an answer to this, it's okay. But, what exactly is your mom's problem?"
My mother grew up on her parent's farm in some small community called Mineral Town. She had gotten married too young, to some boy she liked at Church- After finding out she was pregnant.
She never liked the small-town rhythm. It was too slow for her. She wanted bigger and better things. When Mother packed up for the city, I was about three.
Her husband, he was a drifter looking for his place in the world before he found Mineral Town. He worked at the winery to get by, slept at an Inn, and spent days in Church solely for the comfort and company of the other church goers. He had no family.
Mother always lied to me about him. She said he used her. That he didn't love her. Or, me. When in truth, she was the one who hurt him.
My grandmother told me on a visit I'd taken myself, without mother, to the farm I hadn't seen in many years.
My father begged my mother to stay in Mineral Town when she decided we were all going to leave for the City. Mineral Town was the life he'd dreamed of his whole life: The country side, a simple job, a wife, and his child.
Mother wanted more and despised him for settling so low in life. She divorced him, taking me with her. She never knew that I learned the truth. I couldn't tell her. I just needed to get away.
"...Mother tried to recreate the life she wanted through me." I explained. "She was always running from the simple life, meanwhile I wanted it more than anything."
"It isn't right for her to force her burdens on you."
"Before I moved here...I got accepted in to a prestigious school of arts. I was supposed to become somebody. Make all this money and 'save' us from mediocracy."
Mother always pushed me to excel. I had talent, and she used that to coerce me down a path I didn't want to go down. She was the one who forced me to apply for school. My acceptance letter came and Mother was besides herself. I just wanted to run away.
I left to visit my grandmother. Only, when I came back home, I bought a boat ticket to Waffle Island. Not the university.
"She never forgave me."
"There's nothing to forgive." Owen assured me. "You're entitled to your own life."
xxxxxx
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I know that in game, Owen's grandfather is called "Ramsey". But, it always struck me as a last name more than a first name. It's not uncommon for people to go by their last name. So, for the sake of this fic "Ramsey" is actually Owen's grandfather's last name. (And his).
Same goes for "Cliff" from Friends of Mineral Town.
I put the author's note at the end of the story this time, because I didn't want to drop spoilers before you could even get to story.
In this fic Angela is the daughter of Claire (The farming protagonist in More Friends of Mineral Town) and Cliff (An eligible bachelor from the same game). Needless to say, Angela looks like her father-brunette, brown eyes- and has his personality traits.
Thanks for reading!