"Sam," Sebastian and Abigail said at the exact same time.
"Sam, yeah," I chuckled, having posed Sam's zombie apocalypse question from before.
Sebastian, still in his Flower Dance suit, was setting up for the next round of pool with Sam. Abigail, still in her Flower Dance dress, sat on the couch beside me, who was also still in the Flower Dance dress. Sam was still in his suit, too, but he'd gone to the bathroom, which is why I'd decided to ask the other two the zombie question. I was still super amused that they both agreed with me.
Pretty much everyone was at the saloon about now, for post-Flower-Dance celebration. The chatter was almost overwhelming, and Robin and Demetrius were even dancing to some music from the jukebox. Shane was probably the only one I could see that didn't have a smile on his face. I imagined he was wishing everyone would leave already, so it could quiet down in here. At least on that front, on the noise level, I had to agree.
Eventually, Sam got back, and Sebastian had the billiard balls all grouped together in the standard triangle. Thus, Sam was able to pick up his stick and get their next game started.
As he shot the cue ball, only grazing the side of the triangle, I heard Abigail sigh an unusual sigh. I couldn't decipher what mood it gave off.
"What's up?" I asked.
"Huh?" Abigail replied. "Oh..." She smiled. "I was just thinking back on when Sebastian gave me the bouquet. I didn't think it would make me as happy as it did. I mean, I knew I would be happy, but... I surprised myself with how emotional I was. I even cried a little!"
"Aww," I smiled. "That's adorable! What kinds of flowers did it have?"
At this, Abigail replied with a confused "What do you mean?"
Confused now as well, I said "...Like... roses? Daisies? Honeysuckles? What kinds of flowers did he pick out for you?"
Abigail just stared at me for a few seconds, completely confused... before suddenly, her eyes widened.
"Wait... you've been living here how long, and you don't know?!" she asked.
"About... the bouquet?" I asked.
"Yes, about the bouquet," said Abigail in disbelief. "...My dad sells them. You present it to a romantic interest, and they immediately know what it means."
"So... it's... Stardew Valley has a formal love confession protocol?" I asked.
"Pretty much," said Abigail.
"...Huh..." I said, embarassed that I'd gone my whole life here without knowing this... especially when it was so personally relevant.
It certainly got the gears in my head turning.
Maybe I'd have to go pick that up.
But I wasn't sure if I was quite ready to tell Sam how I felt.
I was a farmer, wasn't I? What if I bought the bouquet, planted each of the flowers, and nurtured them until I was ready?
Kinda like "I nurtured these flowers with the same love I plan to give you, Sam." I fell in love with that thought.
So much so that I planned on it.