When I got to the beach the next night for the Dance of the Moonlight Jellies, I couldn't spot Sam anywhere. There were several people I didn't spot, so I figured he'd show up at some point. I was a bit earlier to the party than I usually was.
I spotted Penny standing alone on the beach. I shrugged to myself as I figured Sam would want to stand with her once he got here. I had to admit, I was a little sad to think about that, but hey, if that's what he wanted, that's what was best.
Whoever Sam decided to spend tonight with, my usual fishing spot was taken up, but another spot just feet away was calling my name. I decided I'd do a spot of fishing until the jellies came by.
Something about all the chatter made me... weirdly happy. Maybe it was because everyone else was happy. The whole of Pelican Town, even the resident goth boy and his purple-haired girlfriend, were going to be here, at the shore, to watch a beautiful miracle of nature.
What was better... I felt like I was welcome among them. Not like I was any sort of waste of space, or like I was butting in. Like... I was one of the crowd, in a good way.
...Speaking of goth boy and purple-hair... Sebastian and Abigail, that is... if they really were together... this was going to be their first Dance of the Moonlight Jellies as a couple. I wondered how they felt about that. Were they excited? I was willing to bet they were both excited to be side-by-side as they were bathed in the dim blue glow of the jellies. I was in the midst of picturing it when my brain registered that something back in reality needed my attention.
Turns out that Sam had already sat beside me when I wasn't paying attention.
"O-Oh, hey!" I said. "How long have you been there?"
"I just got here," he answered. "How are you doing tonight?"
"I'm... doing fine," I said, relieved he hadn't caught on to the fact I'd been completely checked out of reality. "How are you?"
"Fine, thank you," he said. "Do you have a membership with us?"
Two milliseconds after he said that, his face was stricken with horror, before he buried said face in his hands.
"A membership?" I asked sheepishly. "I mean... I don't think so."
"Oh, dear Yoba..." he sighed. "I..." He raised his head and looked at me again, still flushed with embarassment. "They're training me to be a cashier over at Joja Mart, and I gotta ask everyone if they have a membership, and... I've..."
"It's been hard-wired into you, huh?" I asked. "How hard are they working you over there?"
I knew he'd mentioned his job to me before, but it took me a second to remember that he had it. I almost asked him when the hell he got a job.
"Maybe a bit too hard..." he said with a sheepish chuckle.
I made a mental note to buy some things at Joja from time to time, just to add a friendly face to whatever shifts they were having Sam work. If working the store was anything like working the office... quite frankly, I wanted to rescue him from it somehow.
Later on, when the Moonlight Jellies were in full swing in front of us, I was searching for the green jelly when I felt Sam nudge my arm.
When I looked over at him, he quietly and subtly pointed his thumb over at the other pier.
I knew where this was going, and I was right. Abigail was completely leaning on Sebastian's shoulder... and Sebastian had both arms on her, one arm around her shoulders and the other hand holding her left hand.
From what I could see of their faces, their happiness was unmatched. I was willing to bet they felt like they were the only ones who existed here... one of the most beautiful feelings two humans could have with each other. It was so beautiful, a tear almost came to my eye.
When I shifted my attention back to Sam, I noticed he had his hand held up between us, asking for a high-five.
I realized, though, that the area was completely quiet. A regular high-five would ripple through the air like a lightning strike right now. That meant this would have to be a delicate high-five. Which meant... my hand would be touching Sam's for longer than a millisecond? When I thought about it that way, I wondered what I was fretting about.
When we did it, though... a soft high-five... an electrifying feeling surged throughout my body, and I wished the warmth of his hand didn't have to fade away.
When I looked back to the sea, I finally found the green jelly. This one was the exact opposite of the previous year's, in that it made itself an area to dance and flip around, taking center stage for itself. An outgoing ray of sunshine, contrary to the previous year's lost child.
"Hey, look at the green jelly," I whispered to Sam. "It's like the polar opposite of last year's."
"Last year's was super shy, wasn't it?" Sam whispered back. "You know... who's to say it's not the same jelly?"
"...I hadn't thought about that," I said. "It could be last year's jelly having undergone a bunch of personal growth."
"Good for it," Sam smiled.
I suddenly started reflecting on what growth, if any, I'd achieved since I'd moved here. To be honest, I... couldn't think of anything. It was my social life that had evolved. It was the friends I had made, human and otherwise.
It was the man sitting beside me. It was the couple embracing each other over on the other pier. It was the angler whose shop stood behind me. It was the wordsmith whose cabin stood even further behind.
It was the orange cat waiting at home, who would be there even if the other five weren't.
Author's note: The Joja membership part was inspired by a true story. I work at a local grocery store with a membership card, and I was at Target with my mom on a day off. The cashier asked how I was, and I said I was fine... and had to stop myself from asking for her membership card.