1 Summer, Year 3

Evan's Birthday

I'm still not entirely over the fact that nowadays, my birthday is one of the busiest days of the year. It can't be helped, and I don't really have a way of celebrating – I would've liked to do something with Harvey, but after the problem with the Flower Dance it just feels like a bad idea. It's probably better not to show my face for a while, let everybody forget about that.

I planned my crops yesterday, so I can immediately start plowing. When I'm nearly done with my center island, I hear my name being called and look up.

Demetrius is standing on the other side of the little arm of the river that separates this island from the piece of mainland the house is on. He has a manila folder in his hands.

"Oh, hey! Good morning."

"Is this a bad time? I can come back later."

"No, it's fine. Hang on."

I take the bridge back to the mainland.

"Hey. What's up?"

"I'm just here to wish you a happy birthday, really."

For a moment I'm perplexed.

"You came all the way out here for that?"

"It's not that far. It's a beautiful walk, too, I don't do it often enough. I have a gift for you, but you might want to wash your hands first, or maybe I can put it somewhere so you can look at it later." He pulls a strip of paper out of the folder, it looks like half of a regular sheet. He holds it up for me to read.

"It's a subscription," he says. "For a magazine called Nature. It mainly publishes studies on the environment, animals, plants… The kinds of things you like. One year, paid for up-front."

"What the… but that has to cost a fortune."

"The effort you're putting into protecting the environment and helping struggling species is worth a fortune."

"Demetrius, seriously. I can't repay that."

"Well, it's paid for, and they don't give money back if you cancel the subscription. Of course, this is a magazine I'm not subscribed to, so you could let me read them too."

"Ohhh. I see."

"That's not the reason I'm doing this. But if it'll make you feel better, there you go."

"I'll let you read anything you like anyway, but sure. Um, could you put it on the kitchen table? I shouldn't go inside with the boots, but I wouldn't want the breeze to blow it away."

"Sure."

He goes inside, then comes back out without the folder.

"Maru and Robin also have gifts for you, by the way. It would probably be useful for them if you could pass by our house today, I don't know what your plans are."

"Oh, boy. This isn't great timing."

"Very busy day?"

"The busiest of the season. First plowing, then planting, then watering, I've gotta run over to Pierre's for some seeds… and after all that I still have to do the animals."

"But you'll have more time tomorrow, right?"

"Yes, tomorrow will be fine."

"Well, then drop in tomorrow, have a beer – or tea – and we can celebrate a little, if you like."

"You guys are too good to me, really. Okay, I'll do that."

"Then I'll see you tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow."

Demetrius leaves and I go on plowing the last bit of the center island. Then I water everything in advance – it prevents the loose dirt from drying out too much in the sun so it'll be easy to handle later – and then run over to the General Store.

The chime above the door makes its characteristic tinkling sound as I come in. The chime is Caroline's, she really likes them, and I find it very pleasant.

"Here's our good neighbor," Pierre says from behind his counter. "Happy birthday, Evan."

"Thanks. I'm honestly happy to see how many people noticed."

"Well, you're a part of the community by now. And you've been giving us birthday gifts since you got here. I'm glad the mayor finally put you on the calendar."

"Oh, it's Lewis who does that?"

"As far as I know, yes. What, didn't he ask you for the date?"

"I mean, several people have asked, but not him. I guess maybe someone asked him to write me on." I know who it is, too.

"Probably. Well, you get five percent off today, because you're a good customer and a good neighbor. Up to five hundred gold off, maximum, and only today."

"Wow." Pierre does not hand out offers like that easily, and now I feel conflicted between making the most of it and not wanting to take advantage of him. But he knows that it's the first day of the season, and he knows that I can spend a lot of money at a time on seeds. Right now I really don't need it – I can propagate my own – however, if I don't need to propagate this year, I can sell the plants I would normally allow to bloom and go to seed instead of selling them.

Pierre, I realize suddenly, is also aware that I've been propagating my own seeds, because I bought a lot less this spring than I did last year. And five percent isn't all that much. Lose 500g on a total of 10 000? If I go to the maximum, he'll make more money than he would have made otherwise. Pierre is a shrewd fox, and all the more effectively so because he doesn't look it.

"I'd better make the most of that, then," I grin, and put my nose into his offer of seeds. "Didn't you have something new last year?"

"Not this year, I'm afraid, though I still have red cabbage seeds. I'm buying everything the supplier offers now, because someone is finally using them. If they don't offer more, I can't get more."

"And I guess nobody else in the village is buying them."

"Caroline is the only other person in the village who grows some food plants."

"Right."

Pierre keeps his promise and discounts 5% off my complete purchase, which includes chocolate, because dammit it's my birthday. As I'm paying, the chime above the door tinkles again and Someone shouts:

"Oh, Evan! I was hoping to run into you."

I turn to find Leah advancing, arms spread wide. She gives me a hug that's a lot stronger than I would've expected.

"Happy birthday."

"Wow, thanks, Leah. Was not expecting the enthusiasm."

"Then you needed a correction anyway. I've got something for you. I didn't bring it right now, are you gonna be at the farm all day?"

"Yes, but please give me until like six or something, I have a lot of work today."

"Oh, okay. Would you prefer tomorrow?"

"Today is fine," I assure her – I don't want to have to send Leah home early tomorrow because of Demetrius's invitation. "Just after six?" I can process my milk tomorrow if I don't get that done today.

"If you're sure that's okay."

I dump all my seeds in my backpack to leave, but before I'm even done, Caroline comes in through the back door of the house.

"Oh, Evan, I thought you'd drop in today."

"Hey, Caroline. What's up?"

"Happy birthday," she smiles. "Why don't you come in?"

"Thank you so much, I'm really sorry, but I have very little time."

"It'll only be one minute."

"Okay." I can't really refuse. I zip up my backpack and Pierre pulls it behind the counter.

"I'll keep that safe."

"Thanks. I'll… Just be a minute."

I follow Caroline through the living room where the women's weekly aerobics session will be held tomorrow, with the door on the far side that leads to the shrine room built by the previous owner of this house. In the kitchen, Caroline opens another door that I'd never even noticed before and a distinctly green smell wafts out.

"This is my private sunroom," Caroline explains as she goes in ahead of me. "I've been meaning to show you this, I think you'll appreciate it…"

The room looks like a tiny greenhouse, the walls are nearly entirely made of glass and so is half of the roof. There's planters everywhere, on tables and on the floor, with various different kinds of vegetables growing out of them – I'm spotting some tomato plants, parsnips, a large wide planter on the floor with three cauliflowers in various stages of growth – and in the center, a bush that I don't recognize.

"Well, what do you think?" Caroline asks.

"This is really cool, I didn't know this was here." I can see the fence lining the outside of the patio – it seems to be a slim strip of space outside of this room, the ground covered over with bricks, and with a bench. I always thought this family had a bit of a decent garden – turns out this room takes up most of that unseen space.

"Thank you! I've worked very hard to make it this way. You see, this is my sanctuary. A place where I can always find peace…"

I've often spotted Caroline sitting in the park meditating, and she gets along great with Emily, so I'm not surprised.

"And it's a perfect place to drink my home-grown tea!" she goes on, and now I am surprised. She's growing tea? Why is this the first I hear about this? Why doesn't Pierre sell tea plants if Caroline has one? "Here, let's have a cup," Caroline goes on, turning to pluck some of the leaves off the end of a twig of the plant. She doesn't seem to notice my stunned face, focused as she is on the teapot sitting on the small table next to the plant.

"Do you like tea?"

"I'm a pretty big fan."

"I love to come in here for a fresh cup of tea every day," she tells me with a smile while she pours two cups. "It's my little ritual… I'm not sure if I can explain. When I'm alone like this, my mind is empty and free to wander. Anything might appear. Does that… make sense?"

I blow on my cup and try a sip. I normally have my tea with sugar, but at a surreptitious glance I don't spot that on the table, so I shut up – I know some people get snobbish over not wanting to see tea marred with sugar. I find it somewhat tasteless this way, but I smile at her. I want her to tell me where she got it, after all.

"Yeah, absolutely. I have the whole farm to myself, I often just sit on my porch when I'm done for the day, with my cat, and just kind of… I don't know, be. Let my mind wander, as you say."

"Yes, like that. For me, tea helps me relax. Life can be pretty hectic, so having a hobby like this is nice."

"I agree completely. It actually sounds really nice to grow your own tea and just be able to pick off a leaf when you want some. Might I ask where you got it from?"

"I got a cutting from a friend in Grampleton. That's actually a part of why I showed you this. If you like, I can give you some cuttings so you can grow your own."

"You know, it's rather overwhelming, so many people wanting to give me presents. I never expected this, I feel so appreciated. Thank you so much."

"That's alright." She picks up a pair of plant shears and cuts four twigs off the bush below the fifth pair of leaves. "Take these home, snip a little bit off the ends and take off these last two leaves on each, then leave them in water. They'll start growing little white roots after a week or so."

"Thank you. This is amazing, I never would've thought." I look around demonstratively. "You could put me out of business if you wanted to."

"So be happy I don't want to." She winks at me.

"Okay, well. Thank you so much, really, I absolutely don't want to seem ungrateful, but I really need to get back to the farm."

"Don't worry about it, I know. Off you go."

"Thanks. I'll see you later."

By the time I get back to the farm, it's past noon. I quickly make myself a sandwich with yesterday's leftover bread because I'm starving, put the tea cuttings in water – if I'd known this beforehand I'd have had a chance to try that lentil growth hormone thing myself – and go back out to plant my new crops.

Then I go check on the animals to find that some new chicks have hatched – One of my chickens got broody so I let her keep four eggs, and now I have three chicks walking around. I risk my own fingers to get the last egg from under the hen and listen to it, but there's no sound inside. It should be tapping by now. I quickly take the egg inside and use a strong flashlight to look inside and find that the egg has died. I bury it in the compost heap – I feel no need to open that up and see what happened. I have three cute little chicks now, anyway.

I milk all my cows and goats. Three sheep are ready to shear but they can wait one more day. I use a little cart to get the full jugs from the barn to the shed, to save my back, and pour the milk in the two pasteurizers.

By the time I'm done with all that and leave the shed, Leah is standing on my porch waiting for me.

"There you are. I figured you were still busy. Do you still have more to do?" she asks.

"No, I'm done. Lead the way." I gesture at the door.

"It must be kind of annoying to have your birthday be such a busy day."

"It's less than ideal. Glass of wine?"

"White please, if you have it cold."

"Always. You know, it hasn't been too much of a problem until now." I pour two regular drinking glasses because I've never really needed to get anything fancy. "I'd just take the day after my birthday off, have some chocolate. Last year I tried baking a pie with some leftover strawberries I had but it didn't really end well. I mean, it tasted like strawberries, but the crust was all wet."

"Did you use cornstarch?"

"What, in the crust?"

"No, in the filling. If you add cornstarch to the fruit, the starch absorbs the juices and sets into a kind of jelly when it's cooled completely. That keeps your crust from getting all soggy."

"Really? Well, now I understand. I thought all I needed to get a recipe for was the crust."

"If I'd known, I would've gotten you a cookbook for your birthday."

"I'm pretty sure this won't be the last one. I never really know what to ask for when people ask me what I want, so that'll be an easy one."

"And maybe one of those aprons that say 'kiss the cook'."

"No, no, the ones with a beach body printed on them."

"Not original enough, I'm sure you have a very decent beach body already."

"Not one with boobs."

"Oh." She laughs at that. "You crossdress?"

"Only to make people laugh. It doesn't attract me personally, but I have no trouble wearing a sundress to cheer someone up."

"Okay, if I ever get married, you're jumping out of the cake."

"Hmm. Sexie lingerie or a bikini?"

"I'm thinking more of a Kylie Kate vibe."

It's been a few years since I've heard a mention of that teenage pop star. Bare midriffs and barely-there skirts.

"I'm afraid the pigtails are gonna be a bit difficult."

"That's what wigs are for."

"And what's the… person you're marrying going to say about that?"

"I'll find out when we get there."

"Eh, fine by me. Tching."

"To your birthday." We tap our glasses together.

"Thank you, thank you." I make a few little bows.

"And this is for you," she adds, pulling something out of her pocket. I pause for a moment before gingerly taking it and moving closer to the fire for light.

It's a wooden statue of a sitting long-haired cat, looking upward attentively, with the fluffy tail curled in front of its feet. The whole thing is maybe four inches tall and meticulously painted in various shades of grey with a lighter chest area and tip of the tail. The eyes sparkle impressively, I can't help but wonder if they're really wood. It's one of those clichés, but the fur actually looks plush. It looks like this miniature of Sasha could just get up and walk away as soon as it got bored.

"Wow, Leah. How do you do that?"

"With a lot of attention to detail." She's smiling widely at the praise.

"The eyes look real. Is that a special paint or something?"

"It's white clay. You can make wood look like that, but it's a lot easier on clay because it absorbs the paint differently."

"Just… wow. Thank you so much." I put the statue on my windowsill next to an amethyst geode. "Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to eat, because I'm hungry. I can't really be drinking wine on an empty stomach. You can have some, if you like."

"What's on the menu?"

"Risotto with morels, from yesterday. I knew I wasn't gonna feel like cooking today."

"That sounds delicious. If you have enough for two, I'm not gonna say no."