"Wait, seriously?!" Sam reacted to what I'd just told him.
"'Fraid so," I nodded.
We were seated on the pier by the ocean as usual. What I'd just told him was that Sebastian had seen through his ruse at the saloon.
"Damn," said Sam, lightly pounding the pier with his fist once. "Am I that transparent?"
"…Walk me through what you did," I said, feeling a tug on my line.
"Well, right after Sebastian won yet another game against me, I said I had to go to the bathroom," he explained. "But I didn't go. I secretly watched them from behind the wall."
"Wait, so you didn't even pretend to go toward the restroom?" I asked.
"No," Sam answered. "…Should I have done that?"
"Probably," I nodded, reeling in a sardine. "At least made it sound like your footsteps were going in that direction." I almost wanted to laugh, but I decided to spare him that.
"You're right," Sam sighed in defeat. "…Now what?"
"I'm not sure, I'm afraid," I answered, dropping my line again. "We may just have to wait for the right moment."
"You're probably right," sighed Sam.
I thought this was going to be the start of another bit of silence. Normally, silence got on my last nerve, but I really treasured that I could sit in silence with Sam. We didn't have to be constantly talking to enjoy each other's company.
At that moment, though, a new voice cut through the warm spring air.
"So you guys think they should get together, too?" she asked.
We both turned around to see a familiar woman walking toward us. I'd seen her around, most notably as a fellow opponent of the egg hunt I'd done last year. She had glasses as well as short brown-red hair that almost went down to her shoulders.
"Er, yeah," said Sam.
The woman walked up to Willy's shop, seeming to be about to walk in. She stopped at the door, though, and looked at me.
"You're the new farmer, right?" she asked. "Well, you've been here about a year, but… I don't think we've spoken!" She reached out her hand. "I'm Maru."
I took Maru's hand and shook it.
"I'm Rachael," I smiled. "Great to meet you!"
"You're Sebastian's sister, right?" Sam asked her.
"Half-sister, yeah," Maru replied. "And I, too, have always wondered if he'll ever have the courage to ask Abigail out."
"I hope so," I replied. "I seriously think they're perfect for each other."
"I think she may have the power to help him come out of his shell," said Sam.
"You're right," said Maru. "She's a super nice girl."
"So what's up?" asked Sam.
"Oh, I was just about to buy some stuff so I can fish at the lake by our house," Maru answered. "My dad's been examining the fish there lately, and now, I'm interested, too. I feel like I could use them as inspiration for a gadget I'm working on."
"Ooh, cool!" I said.
"But… if I heard correctly," said Maru. "You hatched some kind of scheme to try to get Sebastian with Abigail. Am I right?"
"Yeah," said Sam. "Kinda fell through, though."
"That's devious… but I like it," Maru smiled.
She put her hand on the door of the shop.
"Well, I should get this stuff and get back home," said Maru. "It was good to finally meet you, new farmer!"
"Good to meet you, too!" I smiled.
At that, she went inside. I briefly wondered if there would ever come a time where Sam and I would hatch a scheme she could help with. She seemed like she could work her way around a puzzle.