CH. 4 A Place to Call Home
Relm felt all grown up by working off the debt she owed the doctor, and she poured herself into making the portrait of the couple. She had never taken on a project of such a grand scale and was finding that she really liked it. Two weeks went by before she finished her rendition of Gerald and Erin, but the results were well worth the wait.
When she presented the portrait, Doc beamed with pride and promptly hung it in his office so that everyone coming through the door could see it. "Thank you so much, Relm. For the life of me, I never dreamed I'd have such a thing!"
"Well, I think I owed you at least that much. I just wish that my grandfather could have been here to see it as well."
Doc's face turned solemn. "Now don't you give up young lady. The scouts still haven't found all the other cities, yet. I expect that we'll eventually hear something from your friends. You can just stay with us until they come to get you."
"Will that really be alright," Relm asked anxiously as she looked toward Erin.
"Of course it will, dear," the matronly woman replied. "Our children moved away a long time ago, so we have plenty of empty space."
Relm gave a small sigh of relief and set to the task of finishing her breakfast. Fatigue soon began to overtake her, though, and she had to retire back to bed for the remainder of the day. The effects of the last remnants of the poison along with the extreme mana drain that she went through while attempting to stay alive in the wilderness, was exacting a toll on her body.
……..
The very next day, Doc Brownfield proclaimed her cured, and Relm decided she needed to get out and see the town. She walked down the streets of Albrook familiarizing herself with the town but also looking for a place that would be willing to hire her. She had every intention of paying the Brownfields for keeping her, and she needed money to do it. As she passed by the "Flailing Dragon", the town's only inn, she noticed that they had an opening for a waitress. "Hmmm," she said to herself. "It seems like Edger had a thing for serving girls. If he comes through town, surely he'd stop in here." And with that, she went in and got the job.
Week after week went by with only townsfolk coming through the doors. If it hadn't been for the local patronage of the restaurant, they would have had to shut down the old inn. No one seemed to be traveling between villages anymore. Then one day Doc came in and asked Relm if she could sit and have a late lunch with him. Since things were slow, her boss said it would be all right, and she sat down after placing their orders.
"Relm, how do you enjoy waiting tables here," Doc asked with a smile.
"Not very much, but I've looked everywhere for work, and this is the only place that I can find," she replied.
"Well, I think I might have found you an alternative," he said with a twinkle in his eye. "I've had a lot of people ask me where I got my beautiful portrait, and after finding out about you, a few have even asked if you'd be willing to paint one for them!"
"I know that you could make better than you're doing here," he whispered.
At the thought of painting portraits, Relm's heart ached to be using her brushes again. It didn't take long for her to decide to leave the table waiting business and apply her artistic talents. "I'd kill to be painting again," she squealed.
"I thought you'd say as much. I've got a list of names right here in my pocket." And with that Doc handed her a list of eight names.
"A list? Dear, sweet, goddesses," Relm exclaimed! "It would take me months to do all of these," she said while hopping from one foot to the other.
"Well, do you have anything better to do," Doc asked jokingly.
Relm gave him a sarcastic smile and replied, "Don't you have a chocobo to go put to sleep or something?"
"Relm! How many times do I have to tell you that I'm a doctor, not a veterinarian," he calmly countered. "Although I did once cure a 'pest' of black scorpion poison," he said thoughtfully.
Relm could only smile at having been outwitted by the good doctor. She gave him a quick smile and hurried off to tell her boss that this would be her last week of work.
……..
The portrait business took off like Relm had never imagined. Orders continued to come in and the months quickly rolled by. As time marched on, foreigners began to travel to Albrook again, but none of them seemed to know anything about her friends and family.
As she reached the one year anniversary, Relm decided that it was useless to continue hoping that someone would show up to get her. Life in Albrook was treating her well, and she had almost made up her mind to stay there. Then, one day an eccentric man named Owzer came through her studio door. The rotund little man was on holiday from Jidoor and had seen her work around town.
"Ms. Relm," he said with a flourish. "I desperately need your help. I have commissioned a painting to be done for me, but after seeing your work, I realize that I have hired the wrong person for the job."
"Seeing as how you didn't hire me, I'm sure you're correct about that Mr……."
"Owzer, my name is Owzer Adair the Third," the flabbergasted man said.
"Well, Mr. Owzer, I'm afraid you're going to have to get in line. I've got five clients ahead of you that I haven't even started on, yet."
"But you simply must, I'll double whatever they are paying you if you'll come to Jidoor and create this one masterpiece for me."
Relm was stunned. "Travel to Jidoor? I can paint here just as well as I could in Jidoor. I see no need to leave my home and head off across the sea to do one painting." That's funny, she thought. When did I start calling this place home?
"No, No, this simply won't do. I must have the painting done under the protection of my own roof so that no harm can come to it in transit. This project is more precious to me than anything. I'll triple the price."
Maybe I should, thought Relm. I've waited long enough. Maybe its time I started looking for them and Jidoor is as good a starting place as any. It seems like Setzer used to live around Jidoor somewhere. There might be someone who's heard from him.
"Please," said Owzer, almost in tears. "I beg you. Come to Jidoor and do this one painting for me. I'll quadruple the price and pay you half up front."
"Alright, Owzy. I'll agree to your terms if you can give me until tomorrow to finish this painting."
"Agreed," he said as relief washed over his face.
……………
The next morning, Relm delivered her rendition of the Morgan twins and then hurried back to bid the Brownfield's a tearful goodbye. She had grown close to them over the past year and although she planned on being gone for only a short while, she had no idea what events would take place if she ran into one of the Returners.
Owzer and his wife picked Relm up in their chocobo drawn carriage promptly at 10:00 a.m. and they headed toward his yacht, which was docked at the coast. Over her shoulder, Relm watched her home sink from view. She had feelings of apprehension at leaving with this well-to- do family, but was also excited about traveling across the ocean to see the rich city of Jidoor.
As they reached the dock, Relm was amazed at the size of the yacht. She hadn't seen a ship this big since General Leo's vessel pulled in close to Thamasa. The group quickly boarded the ship and got underway in less than an hour. Relm moved to the bow of the ship and smiled as it rolled through the waves and splashed her face with the salty spray. If only she had looked over her shoulder, she would have seen the harsh Light of Judgment, from the Tower of Kefka, fall on her beloved city.
