Disclaimer: I don't own Harvest Moon, Karen, or any related characters or
events; to the best of my knowledge, they're all owned by Natsume. Any
resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or events is purely
coincidental. This story is based primarily on the plot of Harvest Moon 64.
Wine Red no Kokoro
by flame mage
Part 10: Discovery Channel Special
**********
My father was screaming, "You're lazy and ungrateful! You don't appreciate anything! I work so hard to put food on your table and you don't even--"
"Shut up!" I screamed back. "I hate you! Why can't you just leave me alone?!" Before he could move, I was off like a shot and out the door. I could hear him bellow and start after me, and I knew I didn't have much time. Just as the door was thrown halfway off its hinges, I dove for the gap in between two rows of grapevines and lay flat on the ground, praying he wouldn't walk my way.
He cursed for a while, roared "Where are you?!" a few times, then stalked off down the hill and toward the village. Headed for the bar, no doubt.
"Are you all right?" Kai asked me, extending a hand to help me up. Why was he always helping me up?! I didn't need him. I jumped to my feet by myself without taking his hand and walked away without a word.
"Son of a bitch," I muttered to myself, and then felt bad. That insult really hit Grandma more than my father. But I really, really needed to curse right then, so I repeated it a few times, kicking rocks on the ground as far as I could. One hit the side of the house, almost slamming into the window. Good. I wished it had shattered.
"Miss Karen!" Kai called, panting after me. "Miss Karen, please make up with your father. Really..."
I cut him off. "Besides my leaving, my father doesn't care about anything! He should be doing something to bring back the vineyard, right?" I kept walking, trying to outpace him.
"Miss Karen..." he cried. He was still following me.
I whirled to face him; he slammed to a stop only inches away from me. "Men should try their hardest at their work!" I hissed. It hit home and again I felt a pang of guilt. He really wasn't trying to be a slacker. Work ethic is either born into people or it isn't, and if you don't have it, you probably never will.
He was just standing there, gaping. I smiled to myself and strode off.
They say an angry woman walks fast. And an angry woman who walks fast is statistically way more likely not to watch where she's going and fall into a hole.
I went down hard on the ground, my ankle wrenched. Involuntarily I cried out.
"Miss Karen!" Kai's eyes were wide and frightened. "I--I'll get help!" He turned and fled, running like a startled jackrabbit.
"Wait!" I yelled after him. "Don't leave me here, you jerk!" But he was already gone.
I was just lying there, my foot still in the ground, maybe two thirds conscious, and that idiot LEFT me there for fifteen minutes.
Actually, he left me for longer than that, but that was how long it took for someone else to come.
Of course it had to be Jack, bringing me the tomatoes. He'd been bringing them ever since I'd told him at the Vegetable Festival that I liked them. And he always brought them right before I left for work at the bar, for energy for the night's work.
"Hey, anyone here?" he called. "Karen?" He shaded his eyes against the late afternoon sun and looked around.
"Back here!" I yelled.
He walked around the corner and then started to run. "Are you okay?" he asked.
I grimaced and waved a hand at my ankle. "I think I sprained my ankle."
"Can you walk? Is it broken?" He knelt down to look at it.
"I can move it, but there's no way I can even get up, let alone walk," I replied.
He bent over next to my back, arms outstretched. "Cam you roll towards me at all?"
"What--" I began, but by that time I was in his arms and he was making his way toward the house.
"Hey, wait!" I demanded. He didn't stop. "What are you doing?"
"Carrying you back." He would've shrugged if he hadn't been carrying me.
"Stop it. It's embarrassing," I snapped.
"Tough," he replied cheerfully, shifting his arms to spread my wait more evenly across them.
I kinda had to agree with him. I couldn't walk back in my condition, and crawling across the yard didn't really appeal to me. Besides, he was warm and smelled good, like soil and summer fruit, and being in his arms wasn't all that bad. As soon as I had that thought, I shoved it out of my head, but it wouldn't go. Hmm.
I stopped struggling and relaxed in his arms. I was surprised that he was strong enough to carry me. I'm not that heavy--I'm slender even though I'm tall and have some muscle, which makes me heavier--but still, he must've been working out.
He brought me up to the door, I turned the knob, and we walked in.
Mom was sitting on the couch, stitching a hole in one of my vests. She always sews when she's getting over crying. She jumped up when she saw us come in and ran over. "Oh, what happened, Karen?" she asked.
"It's okay, Mom," I reassured her. "I just fell down."
"Where's your room?" Jack asked me. "Upstairs?"
I protested, "You don't have to--"
"It's all right!" he insisted as he carried me up the stairs. I was really tempted to make a crack about Scarlett O'Hara, but then I figured it'd be a bad idea. I got the door to my room, too, and he set me down carefully on my bed and pulled the covers up for me.
Just then Kai burst in. "Karen--you--" He stopped when he saw Jack. "Hi, Jack," he said. "What are you doing here?"
"I carried her home. She fell," Jack responded.
"Oh..." Kai looked crestfallen. He had meant well, I knew. Carrying me had obviously never occurred to him. Maybe he wasn't sure he could lift me. "Here, let me get you some ice," he said to me, not moving.
"I'd better go. I'll come by tomorrow to see how you're doing, all right, Karen?" Jack said, setting the tomatoes on my bedside table. They were getting riper every day.
They both turned at the same time, and as their eyes grazed each other and locked, there was a sudden flash of something.
When we were little, the pastor used to show us nature films on TV in school. When two males--rams, bulls, antelope, whatever--are fighting, especially over a mate, there's a challenging, territorial look in their eyes.
Jack and Kai had it, and I didn't like it.
Wine Red no Kokoro
by flame mage
Part 10: Discovery Channel Special
**********
My father was screaming, "You're lazy and ungrateful! You don't appreciate anything! I work so hard to put food on your table and you don't even--"
"Shut up!" I screamed back. "I hate you! Why can't you just leave me alone?!" Before he could move, I was off like a shot and out the door. I could hear him bellow and start after me, and I knew I didn't have much time. Just as the door was thrown halfway off its hinges, I dove for the gap in between two rows of grapevines and lay flat on the ground, praying he wouldn't walk my way.
He cursed for a while, roared "Where are you?!" a few times, then stalked off down the hill and toward the village. Headed for the bar, no doubt.
"Are you all right?" Kai asked me, extending a hand to help me up. Why was he always helping me up?! I didn't need him. I jumped to my feet by myself without taking his hand and walked away without a word.
"Son of a bitch," I muttered to myself, and then felt bad. That insult really hit Grandma more than my father. But I really, really needed to curse right then, so I repeated it a few times, kicking rocks on the ground as far as I could. One hit the side of the house, almost slamming into the window. Good. I wished it had shattered.
"Miss Karen!" Kai called, panting after me. "Miss Karen, please make up with your father. Really..."
I cut him off. "Besides my leaving, my father doesn't care about anything! He should be doing something to bring back the vineyard, right?" I kept walking, trying to outpace him.
"Miss Karen..." he cried. He was still following me.
I whirled to face him; he slammed to a stop only inches away from me. "Men should try their hardest at their work!" I hissed. It hit home and again I felt a pang of guilt. He really wasn't trying to be a slacker. Work ethic is either born into people or it isn't, and if you don't have it, you probably never will.
He was just standing there, gaping. I smiled to myself and strode off.
They say an angry woman walks fast. And an angry woman who walks fast is statistically way more likely not to watch where she's going and fall into a hole.
I went down hard on the ground, my ankle wrenched. Involuntarily I cried out.
"Miss Karen!" Kai's eyes were wide and frightened. "I--I'll get help!" He turned and fled, running like a startled jackrabbit.
"Wait!" I yelled after him. "Don't leave me here, you jerk!" But he was already gone.
I was just lying there, my foot still in the ground, maybe two thirds conscious, and that idiot LEFT me there for fifteen minutes.
Actually, he left me for longer than that, but that was how long it took for someone else to come.
Of course it had to be Jack, bringing me the tomatoes. He'd been bringing them ever since I'd told him at the Vegetable Festival that I liked them. And he always brought them right before I left for work at the bar, for energy for the night's work.
"Hey, anyone here?" he called. "Karen?" He shaded his eyes against the late afternoon sun and looked around.
"Back here!" I yelled.
He walked around the corner and then started to run. "Are you okay?" he asked.
I grimaced and waved a hand at my ankle. "I think I sprained my ankle."
"Can you walk? Is it broken?" He knelt down to look at it.
"I can move it, but there's no way I can even get up, let alone walk," I replied.
He bent over next to my back, arms outstretched. "Cam you roll towards me at all?"
"What--" I began, but by that time I was in his arms and he was making his way toward the house.
"Hey, wait!" I demanded. He didn't stop. "What are you doing?"
"Carrying you back." He would've shrugged if he hadn't been carrying me.
"Stop it. It's embarrassing," I snapped.
"Tough," he replied cheerfully, shifting his arms to spread my wait more evenly across them.
I kinda had to agree with him. I couldn't walk back in my condition, and crawling across the yard didn't really appeal to me. Besides, he was warm and smelled good, like soil and summer fruit, and being in his arms wasn't all that bad. As soon as I had that thought, I shoved it out of my head, but it wouldn't go. Hmm.
I stopped struggling and relaxed in his arms. I was surprised that he was strong enough to carry me. I'm not that heavy--I'm slender even though I'm tall and have some muscle, which makes me heavier--but still, he must've been working out.
He brought me up to the door, I turned the knob, and we walked in.
Mom was sitting on the couch, stitching a hole in one of my vests. She always sews when she's getting over crying. She jumped up when she saw us come in and ran over. "Oh, what happened, Karen?" she asked.
"It's okay, Mom," I reassured her. "I just fell down."
"Where's your room?" Jack asked me. "Upstairs?"
I protested, "You don't have to--"
"It's all right!" he insisted as he carried me up the stairs. I was really tempted to make a crack about Scarlett O'Hara, but then I figured it'd be a bad idea. I got the door to my room, too, and he set me down carefully on my bed and pulled the covers up for me.
Just then Kai burst in. "Karen--you--" He stopped when he saw Jack. "Hi, Jack," he said. "What are you doing here?"
"I carried her home. She fell," Jack responded.
"Oh..." Kai looked crestfallen. He had meant well, I knew. Carrying me had obviously never occurred to him. Maybe he wasn't sure he could lift me. "Here, let me get you some ice," he said to me, not moving.
"I'd better go. I'll come by tomorrow to see how you're doing, all right, Karen?" Jack said, setting the tomatoes on my bedside table. They were getting riper every day.
They both turned at the same time, and as their eyes grazed each other and locked, there was a sudden flash of something.
When we were little, the pastor used to show us nature films on TV in school. When two males--rams, bulls, antelope, whatever--are fighting, especially over a mate, there's a challenging, territorial look in their eyes.
Jack and Kai had it, and I didn't like it.