AN: So I'm posting this a few hours early because I was begged to by one who shall remain nameless. Not really too much to say about this chapter, other than rhubarb ale is actually a thing and is pretty good in my opinion. Without further adieu, I leave you to the chapter! Enjoy the journey, keep moving forward and don't feed the guard dogs! - Phoenix Commander signing off!
Chapter Seven
Matt woke just before the sun filtered in through the window of his cottage, stretching with a yawn he threw back his blankets and started to make a pot of coffee. Never let it be said that coffee is not a necessary part of the morning. He chuckled as the water in the kettle started to boil. Picking out his clothes for going about the town, he chose a black button-up shirt and a purple vest. "I should check the delivery bin and figure out how much coin I've got to work with."
Leaving the water to heat, the farmer stepped out onto the porch, the waking sounds of the Stardew Valley area filled the air as he walked over to the bin where he had placed his parsnips yesterday. Opening the worn bin, he found a few letters accompanied the bag that held his payment. Picking up the coin pouch and letters he tucked them both into his vest, just as a voice called out from the gate of Serenity Farm. "Hey there, Matt!"
Looking at the gate, he saw that it was Robin. Clutched in her hand was a large toolkit. "Don't be a stranger, the gate's always open!" He replied with a wave.
"You know, I wouldn't have taken you for a musician until last night," The carpenter said with a chuckle as she set her tools onto the porch, "Sleep well after entertaining a full bar?"
The black and purple dressed man replied with a smile, "Yeah, I did. First time I've done that while mostly sober. Normally I have to be hammered to play for more than two or three people."
"Well, I have to thank you. You played beautifully, I haven't been able to get Demetrius to waltz in years." She said beaming.
"Well, it was my pleasure," He replied with a slightly embarrassed blush, "Do you want me to see if I can find a ladder to help you up to the roof?"
"No, I think I can manage. It wouldn't be the first time I've had to climb to the roof of this old cottage. Kinda funny actually, much as I joke about this place being a bit of a wreck, I've been keeping it standing for a few years now. Feels like taking care of a close friend, y'know?" She said waving him off with a smile as she looked at the old building.
"I think I understand what you mean." The greenhorn nodded. "Well, I'll leave you to your work. I need to see about what I'm going to do for my next round of crops."
"Thanks, Matt, I shouldn't be too long at this." The blue-eyed carpenter said as she tossed her toolkit up onto the roof, and with a running jump, scrambled up after it.
With another wave, Matt walked back into his home to count his funds and review the letters he had received before heading into Pelican Town. The first was a very heartfelt thank you from both Penny and Abigail, his playing for their picnic had not escaped their notice. The second was a letter from Lewis expressing his congratulations at the farmer's first official parsnip harvest and letting him know that, as per the agreement, a quarter of the earnings was held back to be sent to Margaret at the end of the month.
The shipment had given him a net profit of roughly a thousand gold pieces. "That will definitely allow me to get a few of the other plants. Might still lean more toward the parsnips for now though."
As he placed the gold into his coin purse and set the letter to the side, the brown-haired man paused as his eyes roved the last letter. The sender was listed as Joja Co and didn't say which store, but Matt knew there was only one store it would have come from.
Matthias,
As per your termination with Joja Co, your membership with our stores has been revoked. If at any time you wish to rejoin the Joja Corporation Membership program you need to only contact your nearest store and speak with the Customer Service Representative.
Henceforward, should you be seen tampering or interfering with Joja Co. or any of its ongoing prospects you will be prosecuted. Should you be caught giving away sensitive information you will be prosecuted. But should you at any time wish to make a contract with your local store to supply it, we would be more than amicable and pay for up to ninety percent of the market value and insure your produce for up to a third of its expected sale should damage occur. Excluding natural cause such as weather, flooding, fire, disease, etc. Of course, should we also deem it necessary, we will seize any viable assets without compensation.
Your Customer Service Representative,
Morris
The hazel eyed farmer chuckled dryly as he methodically tore the letter in into strips, almost savoring the sound, and tossed the remains into the fireplace. "Well, he sent that letter quicker than I thought. Figured he'd wait another day at least, oh well." As the torn letter started to smolder in the embers from last night's fire, he finished the rest of his coffee and started for the door.
The walk into Pelican Town was peaceful, the occasional bird fluttered across his path or squirrel scurried up the nearest tree. Matt had found, over the last few days, that the mornings were a refreshing sight after a busy day and active night. The fresh air served to help wake him just as quickly as his morning coffee.
With the morning birdsong still filling his ears, he slowly followed the road to Pierre's General Store, not in any hurry as the morning was still young. As Matt walked he was lost in thoughts of where he'd start putting up his fence, which trees he'd cut down next, and where he'd plant his crops. He only heard the rush of air as a gridball grazed past his nose and bounced along the ground.
"Sorry about that I wasn't looking when I passed it!" A man called out, as he sprinted up to the farmer. He was dressed in what the greenhorn could only guess was a green and yellow college gridball letterman jacket, a blue T-shirt, and a pair of grass-stained blue jeans. He was quickly followed by a second blonde haired man wearing a worn, blue denim jacket, a yellow T-shirt, and blue jeans.
"Alex got a little too tunnel-visioned again." His friend said shaking his head.
Matt picked up the ball and tossed it back to Alex, with a chuckle. "It's fine, wouldn't have been the first time I was hit by a wild pass."
"See, I told you that you've been putting too much energy into your passes." His friend joked, chuckling before continuing. "You wouldn't think it but, Alex here wants to be the first pro-gridball player from the Stardew area."
"Yeah, and I keep telling you, Sam, that I'm gonna do it!" Alex retorted giving the blonde haired man a playful shove.
"Well, if you keep working at it there isn't a reason why you couldn't do it," Matt interjected a small smile forming at the athletic man's enthusiasm. Work toward your goals and there isn't much that can stop you after all.
"See, that? He agrees with me!" The gridball enthusiast exclaimed.
"Alright, alright, I get it." Sam relented, holding up his hands in surrender. "Anyway, we saw you play at the saloon last night. Did you just move into the area?" He asked realizing where he had seen Matt before.
"Yes, I'm Matt. I'm the new farmer running Serenity, just outside of town." The farmer replied with a nod.
"That run down old place? You've got your work cut out for you then." Alex said giving an amazed whistle.
"Well, just like you want to be a pro-gridball player, I want to get my family's farm back up to a respectable place," Matt replied letting Alex's harmless comment about the farm's appearance pass by.
Sam nodded as he spoke, "We all have our own goals. As you said, Farmer, we keep working at our goals and we can reach them."
"Exactly, Sam. Now I don't want to be rude, but I need to see Pierre about getting some new seeds." The farmer said as he continued on down the street giving the two Pelican Town residents a wave goodbye.
"You know he's not wrong. You still thinking about starting that band with Sebastian?" Alex asked as he and Sam walked back to where they had been passing the gridball.
"Of course, just taking a while to hammer out all the details." The blonde haired man answered.
"You'll figure it out. Now go long!" The gridball enthusiast shouted. Sam took off at a sprint, as the ball flew through the air.
Walking into the general store, Matt had just opened the door in time to be bowled over as two children sprinted out of the store, both clutching a large lollipop, and being chased by an exasperated Penny. "Vincent! Jas! Don't run with those, you'll hurt yourselves!"
"Oof…" He grunted the wind knocked out of him. Both culprits entered his field of vision as they looked down at him. Matt could only assume the boy was Vincent, had brown eyes and a mess of dirty brown hair, he was wearing a yellow and red striped T-shirt and tan cargo shorts with red sneakers. Jas had blue eyes, which were currently filled with worry at having knocked him over, her dark black almost purple hair was held back by a green ribbon tied into a bow. She was wearing a fairly neat, violet dress and purple shoes with small buckle fasteners.
"You alright, Mister?" Jas asked her head tilted questioningly.
"I'm, I'm fine. Just need to, get my breath back is all." Serenity's owner wheezed from his sprawled position by the door.
As he started to pull himself back to his feet, Penny caught up with the two children. "Vincent! Jas! That is why you've always been told not to run indoors!" She scolded.
"Sorry, Ms Penny." They both replied in unison, their faces downcast.
"Don't apologize to me, kids. Apologize to Mr. Matt for running into him like that." She said gesturing to the farmer, who was finally starting to get his breathing back under control.
"We're sorry, Mr. Matt. It won't happen again." They promised, scuffing their shoes against floor abashedly. Though the farmer knew better, it would happen again, they were kids after all.
"Apology accepted. So long as you don't give your teacher any more trouble today." He replied giving them a small smile, accompanied by an arched eyebrow.
"We promise, sir." Vincent assured, pointedly not trying to look at the glare Penny was sending to the troublemaker.
"Good, now run along you two. I'm sure Ms Penny would like to help you finish your school work quickly so you can enjoy the weekend." Matt said, holding the door open for them, giving the librarian smile and a nod as they walked passed.
"Sorry about all that, Matt. Jas and Vincent always get up to something, Penny brought them in to get them a few school supplies and I made the mistake of giving them the sweets." Pierre apologized with a shrug as the farmer stepped up to the counter.
"No harm done. Though I now see exactly how full Penny's hands are with her students." The hazel-eyed farmer replied.
"Indeed. You might not know it, but Jas is Marnie's niece." Pierre informed him as he reached for a seed catalog.
"Really? I must've just missed her yesterday when I went to go speak with Marnie. Ran into Shane while I was there, seems like a nice man for the most part."
"But?" The store owner prompted.
"But, working for Joja buries all qualities of decency and amicability under a layer of unapproachability that needs to be scraped off to see the good person underneath." Matt sighed, shaking his head.
"If you picked up all that after one brief encounter, then you've really got a good eye. He wasn't always like that, hid his feelings pretty well at first too. Took me about two weeks to realize he wasn't himself." Pierre said, thinking about how Joja was affecting the town and its residents.
Matt stepped to the side of the register to let one of the store's patrons go ahead of him, and to let Pierre work while they talked. "I'm just used to reading people is all. If things are this bad then I guess I really do have a use for my psychology degree. At the very least I can start making him feel better, first thing would be to get him to stop drinking so much. I swear he downed a quart and half of beer last night while I was there."
"Getting him to cut back would definitely be a start. But I think we're starting to gossip too much, is there anything I can get you today, Matt?" Pierre asked shifting the topic toward work. It wasn't that he didn't care about Shane. The bespectacled store owner cared about everyone in town, the issue was that Shane would not be a puzzle that could be solved in a day, week or even a year.
The purple and black dressed farmer nodded, picking up on the reason for the change of discussion, "Yes actually, I'm going to need ten potato plants, ten cauliflower seeds, five green bean seeds, trellises to go with them, and twenty parsnip seeds."
"I see your first parsnip harvest was lucrative." Pierre chuckled, as he bundled up the requested seeds and the trellises for the green bean plants. "Can I interest you in any fertilizer as well, or just the seeds?"
"I think I'll just go with the seeds, for now, Pierre," Matt said, shaking his head as he passed the coins to the store owner and picked up the items. He'd left himself with a little over two hundred gold, more than enough for him to get by until the next harvest. "Still need to plan out where my permanent crop fields will be. Once I've figured out that then I'll take you up on the fertilizer."
"Alright, Matt. Thanks for stopping by!" The manager said, giving the farmer a wave.
Whistling while he walked back toward Serenity, the bag of seeds slung over his shoulder, Matt started thinking about where to make the fence line between the cultivated parts of the farm and the wilder areas. "With those large ponds near the center of my property, that restricts a good bit of my farmable land to the area around the front of my cottage."
The hazel-eyed man started laying out a mental map in his mind as he walked, "I'll tend that grove of trees near the small trail to the north. So I may as well put the first fence around it to contain the wild growth and keep unwanted animals out of it." He made a mental check mark to work on that area for fencing first.
"After that, it looks like everything to the south of the old greenhouse," He frowned at the thought of the ruined building, "And to the west of the ponds is usable, which leaves my second, longer, fence line leaving everything west of the greenhouse as wild growth."
With those plans firmly in his mind, the farmer stepped up his pace. By the time he made it back to the farm, Robin was nowhere to be seen. The only sign that the carpenter had been there was a note sticking out of the door jam of the cottage.
Matt,
All finished up with the roof. Should hold for quite awhile, if you have any other issues don't hesitate to let me know!
Robin
"She really works fast, I thought she'd be at it for at least another hour." He said after reading the note. It was late in the morning, almost eleven, but Matt was more than ready to begin working. Taking off his vest and long sleeve shirt, he changed once more into a work T-shirt and went to retrieve his watering can, hoe, and scythe.
The farmer looked at the land he had already prepared for the parsnips. It was not going to be enough space for what he had purchased, he was going to have to clear a lot more space. "The sooner I get the land cleared and tilled, the sooner these crops can start growing." He said with an enthusiastic smile, as he started to clear the brush and unwanted growth with his scythe.
After two hours of scything away tall grasses, the greenhorn's arms were aching from the effort of swinging the heavy tool, but he had managed to clear enough space to grow his crops, even a little extra space for more crops if he decided to get a few more seeds. Checking the sun's position in the sky, Matt realized it was almost one O'clock and he had yet to even start tiling the soil.
Get used to long, hard days. This'll get easier after a while, once you put on some more muscle! The hoe next, after that the seeds and then watering. Then you can take a break and get lunch. When you're done that build a scarecrow. He thought with an irritated snort, at his own tiredness.
With the sun beating down on him, he set the scythe on the porch and picked up his hoe. "Besides, you've got quite a few large rocks around here that you're gonna have to get rid of too. But that at least can wait!" He said to himself, as he brought the hoe down. The blade of the farming implement dug deep into the soil, churning up the nutrient-rich earth and bringing it to the surface.
It still held a little of the moisture from the rain earlier that week, and Matt could smell it almost as soon as he readied for another swing at the ground. The smell of the dark, moist earth, it was nothing like the dryer, unused, land that he had yet to work. It smelled cleaner, newer, he couldn't resist placing a hand in the soil. "The foundation for plant life… Hard to decide on the words for how it makes me feel. Refreshed to see it and smell it, relaxed as the plants that grow in it, the list goes on..." Feeling a bit more energized, he set to tiling the rest of the land he had chosen with renewed vigor.
It was a little after four O'clock by the time he finished tiling the soil, getting the seeds planted and watered. All that remained was putting up the trellises for the beanstalks and building the scarecrow.
Matt was sitting on his porch a pencil and his journal in hand making notes and a rough sketch of what he'd planned to do with his fence lines. A plate holding the remains of his lunch balanced on the railing, as he looked at his work. "I even used the ground that held the first parsnips. Going to be a big harvest if nothing happens to the crops."
Including the already cleared area of land that held the first parsnip harvest, he had managed to clear about a quarter of an acre with another three quarters left to work in the area around the front of his cottage. "Not bad for a day's work, Matt!" A voice called from the main gate of the farm.
"Still got a bit left to do, Lewis!" The farmer shouted in reply as he waved the mayor over.
"Writing up some plans for the future?" The mayor inquired as Matt set the journal down, and stepped off the porch to greet his guest.
"More or less, mostly planing on which parts of the farm I'll keep wild and which I'll cultivate. I've got the major fence lines figured out." He gestured toward the tree grove, the distant western boundary and the ponds, "Probably do a pathway or two much later around the ponds, and between the acre here and the acreage over by the rundown greenhouse too."
"Going to keep smaller fields or just do one large one?" The middle-aged man asked with an approving nod.
Matt shrugged a little at the question as he picked up the trellises and started to walk toward the tilled land, gesturing for the mayor to follow. "I'm not entirely sure yet, but I've got a lot of time to figure that out."
"True enough," Lewis agreed, before continuing, "I came by today because I need some advice."
"What's on your mind?" He asked, laying out the wooden poles for the trellises and the wiring, "You don't mind if I work while we talk do you?"
"Not at all, Matt. It's about Joja Co." The grey-haired man said, "Morris contacted me with a proposal this morning. He wants to buy our old Community Center. Offered me almost half a million for it in coin on the spot, rundown as it is, to turn it into a storehouse."
Matt paused in his work a moment, thinking about how best to reply, on the one hand, he hated Joja Co. and would love to see them gone. But on the other, the town could use the money. But he didn't trust himself to not be biased in his advice, so he decided to choose the next best thing, "I remember the place. Plenty of good memories there. What does your heart tell you? I know the town needs the money, but at the same time letting Morris buy the Pelican Town Community Center then they will be here for good."
Lewis didn't hesitate in his reply, he'd been thinking about it most of the day. "That to take the deal would be a bad idea for the town as a whole. Especially in the long term."
"Then I would say to follow your heart and not take the deal. I had that toad send me a letter today dictating terms should I want to take up a contract with Joja Co, of course, I burned it." The now sunburned farmer said with a smile, as he drove the first trellis into the dirt where the green bean stalks would sprout.
"I would've been shocked if you hadn't." The mayor chuckled, then cleared his throat a little, "While I'm not really surprised at your advice, I'm glad it mirrors the decision that I kept coming to after thinking about it all day."
"Just promise me you won't sell the place no matter what. We can get the building up and running again, just need to get the rest of the people in town to want to pitch in." Matt said, driving the second trellis into the dirt alongside the first one.
Lewis nodded in reply, a smile on his face. "As long as you don't have a change of heart, I think I can keep that promise, Matt. I'll leave you to the rest of your work, have a good afternoon!"
"As if I could ever go back to them!" The sunburned farmer chuckled and waved, as the mayor started for the farm gates, "Have a good afternoon, Lewis!"
It didn't take Matt long to finish putting up the other trellises or build the scarecrow, which was actually as easy as Abigail had predicted it would be. Though it was only a few lashed together pieces of wood and a rusty bucket, it would hopefully serve until he had an idea for a better one.
"Now that's what I call a productive day." He said looking over the small tilled field, and the scarecrow that stood guard in the center of it.
Walking into his home he rested his tools against the wall by the door. "Might break up a few of the large rocks tomorrow, and at least start the fence around the grove." The farmer mused, as his eye fell to his pickaxe, "But that is for another day." Picking up his vest and long sleeve, he walked over the kitchen sink and started to wash off the dirt and grime from the day's work. Changing again into his vest and long sleeve, intending to head back into town. The evening was just starting to fade, but that only meant the beauty of the countryside at night was still young.
Even though Matt was a little tired and sore from his work, he wasn't going to say no to a calm walk in the cool air of dusk, or for that matter a drink at the Stardrop.
After a slow walk into town, the last of the birdsong faded away, making way for the animals of the night, Matt walked up to the Stardrop Saloon porch. He was fairly refreshed after the walk, the brisk air of the early night served to help wake him and lessen the ache in his muscles and sunburned skin. Even before he walked into the establishment he could hear the revelry pouring out into the night from behind the solid oak wood door.
With a smile, he pushed open the door and walked inside. It was a fairly packed, he could see Pam off at one end of the bar, as usual. Shane was sitting in an out of the way corner nursing a mug, with three empty ones nearby. Faintly over the hustle and bustle, the hazel-eyed farmer could hear the sounds of Sam and Abigail, along with one other, playing pool. Judging by the faint cursing, Sam was losing. Robin and Demetrius were digging into a shared meal at a table near the middle of the Saloon.
Leah was sitting at what had quickly become their usual table, chatting with one resident. Compared to the others Matt had already met, this man stood out about as much as himself. His light brown hair was long, almost down to the middle of his back. He was dressed in a faded, but decent, red suit jacket, a brown vest with a white undershirt, and green tie, completing the man's well-dressed appearance was a pair of faint brown pants and shoes.
Deciding to leave them be, the farmer stepped up to the bar to order a drink. "Evening, Gus, what's flowing from the taps tonight?"
"Evening, Matt! I've got plenty of pale ale, wheat beer, speaking of beer, I just got a few barrels of rhubarb ale from a small distillery in Zuzu. If you're interested of course." The bartender said with a smile as he gestured toward the back storeroom.
The rotund man's smile was infectious as always, causing Matt's own smile to grow even more, "You've got my interest with the rhubarb ale, I think I'll have a glass."
"One mug of rhubarb ale coming up!" The proprietor of the saloon said as Matt slid him the coins.
Taking a sip of the ale, the purple and black dressed farmer's eyes widened at the taste. It was tart, not as powerful as a lemon but still strong. He wasn't too surprised why an ale like this would have come from a small distillery and not a large one. The taste alone would have turned most people away, but Matt found that he actually like the taste. "Not bad, Gus. Certainly different but it's pretty good."
"Glad you enjoy it, definitely a different kind of beer that's for sure," Gus replied with a grateful nod.
Turning away from the bar, the owner of Serenity could see Willy waving him over to the table he was sharing with Lewis and another of the town residents, "Ho, Matt! Lewis was just telling me and Clint 'ere how you're still all work and no play!"
"Well those crops won't plant themselves now will they, Willy?" Matt chuckled as he pulled up a seat at the table.
"You have a point there, but after you're done ya morning routine. Ya need to take a few hours to fish. Your plants are in the ground, they aren't gonna up and leave until ya pick them." The mariner said, his pipe bobbing up and down as he spoke.
Clint reached across the table, offering Matt his hand, "My name's Clint, I'm the blacksmith here in Pelican Town."
"I'm Matt. It's nice to meet you, Clint." The farmer said shaking the proffered hand.
Sitting back into his chair and taking a sip of his beer, the blacksmith agreed with the mariner's words, "Willy's advice is solid, even I don't work my forge night and day. If I did that my work would start suffering because my heart wouldn't be in it as much."
"But therein lies the problem, finding the balance between the work needed to get my family farm back in working order and finding time to relax." Matt mused as he took a sip of his rhubarb ale.
"I'm sure you can figure something out, Matt. If anything there is always night fishing, ice fishing during the winter, fishing during a light rain, heck even foraging is still lucrative and I bet there is still a lot of wild produce on the farm you haven't picked yet." Lewis said tallying off the various, and less strenuous, ideas as he took a sip from his mug.
Matt held up one hand placatingly, the other clutched his mug, "Alright, alright, soon as my crops are watered and I've seen to the weeds, I'll go fishing for a few hours. Besides breaking rocks from noon to two in the afternoon would be asking for heatstroke, and you do have point, I should comb the wild part of the farm for produce as well."
"That's the ticket, lad!" Willy exclaimed as he set his beer down on the table with a loud thunk.
"See, not too hard to make time is it?" Lewis chuckled as some movement at another table from the corner of his eye caught his attention. "But I think we've badgered you enough, you've got someone else who wants your attention." He said nodding toward Leah's table.
Looking over at the table Matt could see the artist waving in his direction. "Then I'll leave you to your drinks. And I'll probably see you tomorrow on the pier, Willy." He said as he excused himself.
"Seemed like you needed some help to get away there, Matty." Leah said as Matt pulled up a chair.
"Eh, they mean well." He replied as he set his mug on the table.
"True, I've known Willy myself for a while. He's certainly enthusiastic about fishing but I can't really blame him, especially when his advice, even if it's fish related, works well with any other day to day activities." The table's other occupant interjected, offering his hand. "I'm Elliot."
"Matt, Serenity's farmer," Matt replied with a smile and a shake of the offered hand.
"Leah was just telling me about how you moved here from Zuzu. How has your first week here been compared to the city?" Elliot asked, curious.
"I'm really enjoying it. It's a refreshing change to my life that I wish I had made years ago." The farmer replied with a content smile.
"Enjoying life is one of the things everyone should strive for. It's honestly an inspirational goal, for a variety of things. Everything should be enjoyed to a degree otherwise what's the point? Nature, the feel of the sand on the beach, the sound of the waves, the smell of a new leather bound first edition…" Elliot's words trailed off and his eyes turned glassy as his thoughts drifted to the idea of a book.
Leah groaned as she finished off her glass of wine that was at hand, before pouring another. "Oh boy… Here we go again…" She snapped her fingers in front of his face, "Elliot~, Oh Elliot~... Hey! Snap out of it, Bookworm!"
Matt chuckled amusedly, "I take it this is a reoccurring thing?"
Exasperated at Elliot's still dazed state, Leah replied with a huff, "Yeah, he's a booknut. Always wants to have the first edition of a new book, even tries like mad to get them signed by the authors if he can."
"Well, at least he enjoys it." The farmer said as he took another sip of rhubarb beer.
Leaning back in her chair and taking a sip of her wine, she replied, "Yeah, he does so I can't really blame him when he spaces out like this. Wait, are you really drinking that rhubarb beer that Gus had shipped in?"
The hazel-eyed man took another sip before replying, "Yup, one of the last things I'd think of to brew into alcohol but, it's not bad."
"But it's so tart! How can you stomach it?!" She asked a little shocked.
He shrugged, as he drained the last of his mug, "What can I say, other than I like it."
"Well, down a glass of water and clean your palate. With Elliot lost in his own world, you're helping me finish off the wine bottle." Leah said, waving Emily over for another wine glass and a glass of water.
"Well, how can I say no to a request like that?" Matt said with a smile and then gave a quick glance at Elliot, passing his hand in front of the novel enthusiast's face. "You know we may need to help get him home if he stays like this."
"Don't think about that, Matty. Just drink, trust me we're gonna need it, he lives all the way out on the beach." The artist said, taking a sip from her glass and sliding the water, and a glass of the wine toward him.