Lightning-Dono: I've gotten little lazy on my updates because my dad has been taking me places...At last. I hadn't been wanting to go to quite as many places as he has insisted, but you know how it is...
Okay, now, shall we begin?
ANSWER TO THE REVIEWS:
Daisy-Bean - Why, thank you! I'm glad you're enjoying everything! =D I love reading pleased reviews.
Ann Fan - It is VERY hard to kids to grasp romance! I'm a hopeless romantic at times (not for real-life situations, though. xD), but it's hard for me to write about because...hey, no experience there! Glad you thought it was good.
A fan of harvest moon - Thank you so much! I shall prevail in the end! =D
Cassie - Yeah, it's not easy. Karen isn't exactly a good-natured person when she gets mad. I have experience. =) In the game I got mad at her once so I gave her rocks and stuff...
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Point of View: Rick
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"Good morning, dear!" Karen said cheerfully, flipping something around in the pan that was sizzling loudly. I rubbed my eyes, not quite believing what I was seeing. Was she cooking? AGAIN?
"No, wait, don't-," I started, staring in horror as the half-burnt mush that was emitting thick clouds of smoke that rose up towards the ceiling. Ignoring it, she turned her head towards me, still flipping the ominous black shape around like a professional. The problem was that she wasn't at all professional at cooking.
"Oh, come on. Breakfast is ready!" She set the pan on the stove, forgetting to turn down the heat, and went to the cabinet for plates. "Don't just stand there! Set them on the table!" She thrust them into my arms as I approached her. I raised an eyebrow above the rim of my glasses, eyeing the burning food that didn't really look edible anymore. What it was to begin with was hard to say.
Karen spooned it out for us; not looking very bothered by the blackened appearance of the breakfast. Instead of taking a bite herself to make sure it was all right, she watched me for about two minutes. There was an uncomfortable silence and I had a sinking feeling in my stomach. She was expecting me to eat that?
"Well?" She said impatiently, rapping her knuckles loudly on the table. I gave her a pleading look that she ignored by tossing her hair the other direction. Giving in, I lifted a fork-full of the 'food' and guided it to my mouth cautiously. I closed my mouth and chewed carefully, not breathing so I wouldn't taste it. Swallowing, I gave a weak grin and nearly dove for the carton of juice on the other side of the table.
"P-Pass the juice!" I stuttered, the taste flooding into my mouth. It was like something I had left in the oven for too long. Karen handed me the carton, and with a fleeting sensation of fear, I realized that there weren't any glasses on the table. Getting up, I pushed my chair out indignantly and got a glass, messily pouring the juice in and gulping it down. Things just couldn't get any worse. But yet, life was never going the direction I was hoping for it to. It was way too sour, sending a direct signal to me that it had reached past it's expiration date. "Wonderful," I sighed sarcastically as Karen advanced to drumming her fingers on the table. Discarding of the cardboard carton, I returned to the table.
"There's something wrong with it, isn't there?" She said, leering at me through narrowed eyes.
"No, there isn't," I replied, a bit too quickly. Karen glared at me and lifted up her fork, the burnt delicacy drooping off of it in a tired way. "It isn't that bad," I said, and it occurred to me that knowing Karen, she would want the truth. Two whole years and I still treated it like our first date.
Chewing rapidly, she swallowed and promptly went into the bathroom. Retching sounds followed her disappearance and I almost grinned. That would teach her not to cook anymore.
"You liar!" She screamed and I expected to go flying out of my chair
"What? No! I'm not a-,"
"Yes you are! You said it was fine! Well, I just threw up all of it, including last night's dinner. And it's all thanks to you!"
I kind of thought there was a reason behind her throwing up, but I didn't bother to mention it. She had also thrown up the day before, and unless there was an epidemic of stomach flu going around, there was only one reason left that could explain everything. Perhaps I was tougher and could endure eating her cooking?
"But-,"
"It's your fault, and you know it! You...Idiot." She turned around, crossed her arms across her chest and refused to look at me for the rest of the morning.
The problem was that I couldn't keep quiet for long about something - I had to have someone to confide my fears and feelings to. And as my partner in marriage, it was her job to listen to me. Well, that was what I thought. I figured that if I treated her to a dinner at the Inn I could get her to use her ear.
"Uh...Karen?" I said, pacing back and forth infront of her. She turned her head slightly.
"What do you want now?" She sounded as though I had been complaining about something all day.
"How would you like to take a break from cooking and go eat dinner at the Inn tonight? It can get tiring eating fish and eggs all the time, don't you think?"
Karen fished a dumpling out from the bottom of the pot, laid it in a ceramic bowl, and scowled. "Sure, I will. You make it sound almost desirable." Walking up to me, she grabbed a lock of my hair and tugged it hard, in what she thought was a playful thing to do. I found it quite painful, but I didn't comment.
That evening, we put on some warm clothes and walked outside, huddling close to each other. With winter approaching accompanied rough, cold winds that threatened to pull your breath from your lungs as you opened your mouth.
"Sure is cold out here," Karen gasped, gasping my gloved hand. I didn't give a reply as leaves started to blow around us.
We arrived at the Inn an hour later, horrified to find the Inn had been half-trashed. Ann and Jack were standing helplessly at the counter staring at the mess.
"What's going on?" Karen asked, pulling her scarf away from her face and picking up what appeared to have been a china dish.
Ann gave a shuddering sigh. "We opened the door and this huge gust of wind came in. Everyone fled."
Karen turned towards me, as if this were all my fault. "I guess we wasted our time to have dinner at a place that isn't even safe anymore?" I saw her eyes avert towards the ceiling where there was an odd creaking sound. I turned towards Jack.
"Can't we atleast have dinner?" I pleaded, pulling out my wallet hastily and showing him the Gold. That would certainly persuade him - he was a man who knew his money's worth. Not to mention a tad bit greedy.
Jack's eyes shone. "Of course!" He exclaimed, whisking us up the stairs. "Ann, get some dishes and put them on this table! We'll have a party!" Gleefully, he held out his hands for payment. I never realized how much everyone had changed in the last few years.
"Wait...I never even said I was going have!" Karen said, shoving me aside and glaring bad-tempered-ly at Jack.
"Um...What would you like then?"
"A salad, thanks."
"I'll just have the same," I told him faintly, watching Karen stomp around like she was a queen stuck inside a shack. The floor quivered slightly every time she took a step.
"If you don't stop the whole thing is going to-," I began.
"It's not going to collapse, Rick!" Jack interrupted loudly, trying to sound confident despite the loud howling the wind was making outside of the windows.
"Yeah, listen to the guy!" Karen settled down to munch on the salad when Ann came back up with them. I sat next to Karen, chewing silently on the lettuce. I made sure Ann and Jack had gone downstairs to clean up before I started talking.
"Karen?" I said quietly, hoping that no one was eavesdropping.
"Yes, dear?"
"You know about your throwing-up and stuff like that?" I felt Karen go tense next to me. Her lips became a single, blood-less line.
"Uh-huh?"
"I-I think you're pregnant," I whispered, expecting a pile of lettuce to be thrown onto my head at that very moment.
"Yeah? And where did you get YOUR medical degree from?" Karen asked, her voice rising with her anger. I had known many women who were pregnant and suddenly got irritated very easily. More evidence for Karen's case.
"How do you explain those disgusting sounds you make in the bathroom, then? It sounds like you're disgorging in there every morning and not telling me! Karen, I love you! That's why I need to know everything that's going on!" I immediately blushed after I said that. It sounded like some ridiculous love quarrel in a soap opera or movie. Karen's eyes softened.
"Rick, don't worry about me, got that? Just don't! You spent much of your childhood worrying over your sister and mother. I don't want you to do that anymore!" Karen got up and tossed the remaining salad in her bowl into the trash can. "I'm not hungry anymore. Let's go," she said simply, pulling on her jet black gloves and beckoning me to stand.
"Done already?" Jack asked, disappointed. I had been hearing strange things about Jack charging more money when someone sat there eating for over thirty minutes.
"Yes," I said, handing him the Gold and leaving the Inn with Karen in the lead.
"Shouldn't we be going home?" Karen asked suspisciously as I turned left outside of the Inn.
"We should be, but I want to do something." I led her to the Clinic.
"I'm not pregnant," she insisted.
"Making sure isn't a problem, right?" I teased, pushing her in. Elli greeted us at the counter as usual and when I requested a test to see if Karen was pregnant or not, she showed us into a room to the side.
"Rick, this is a private matter, so I suggest you leave," Elli said calmly. "Girl's only." She winked at me and shut the door behind her. I walked over to the chairs by the wall and sat down in one, leaning my head towards the floor and silently praying that Karen was pregnant. I didn't exactly want her to have some incurable disease.
Several moments later, the door opened, Karen walking out as though she had been shocked several times by something. Standing up, I strode quickly towards her.
"What's wrong?" I asked, placing a hand on her shoulder.
"I...I'm pregnant." Karen fainted into my arms.
Okay, now, shall we begin?
ANSWER TO THE REVIEWS:
Daisy-Bean - Why, thank you! I'm glad you're enjoying everything! =D I love reading pleased reviews.
Ann Fan - It is VERY hard to kids to grasp romance! I'm a hopeless romantic at times (not for real-life situations, though. xD), but it's hard for me to write about because...hey, no experience there! Glad you thought it was good.
A fan of harvest moon - Thank you so much! I shall prevail in the end! =D
Cassie - Yeah, it's not easy. Karen isn't exactly a good-natured person when she gets mad. I have experience. =) In the game I got mad at her once so I gave her rocks and stuff...
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Point of View: Rick
-----
"Good morning, dear!" Karen said cheerfully, flipping something around in the pan that was sizzling loudly. I rubbed my eyes, not quite believing what I was seeing. Was she cooking? AGAIN?
"No, wait, don't-," I started, staring in horror as the half-burnt mush that was emitting thick clouds of smoke that rose up towards the ceiling. Ignoring it, she turned her head towards me, still flipping the ominous black shape around like a professional. The problem was that she wasn't at all professional at cooking.
"Oh, come on. Breakfast is ready!" She set the pan on the stove, forgetting to turn down the heat, and went to the cabinet for plates. "Don't just stand there! Set them on the table!" She thrust them into my arms as I approached her. I raised an eyebrow above the rim of my glasses, eyeing the burning food that didn't really look edible anymore. What it was to begin with was hard to say.
Karen spooned it out for us; not looking very bothered by the blackened appearance of the breakfast. Instead of taking a bite herself to make sure it was all right, she watched me for about two minutes. There was an uncomfortable silence and I had a sinking feeling in my stomach. She was expecting me to eat that?
"Well?" She said impatiently, rapping her knuckles loudly on the table. I gave her a pleading look that she ignored by tossing her hair the other direction. Giving in, I lifted a fork-full of the 'food' and guided it to my mouth cautiously. I closed my mouth and chewed carefully, not breathing so I wouldn't taste it. Swallowing, I gave a weak grin and nearly dove for the carton of juice on the other side of the table.
"P-Pass the juice!" I stuttered, the taste flooding into my mouth. It was like something I had left in the oven for too long. Karen handed me the carton, and with a fleeting sensation of fear, I realized that there weren't any glasses on the table. Getting up, I pushed my chair out indignantly and got a glass, messily pouring the juice in and gulping it down. Things just couldn't get any worse. But yet, life was never going the direction I was hoping for it to. It was way too sour, sending a direct signal to me that it had reached past it's expiration date. "Wonderful," I sighed sarcastically as Karen advanced to drumming her fingers on the table. Discarding of the cardboard carton, I returned to the table.
"There's something wrong with it, isn't there?" She said, leering at me through narrowed eyes.
"No, there isn't," I replied, a bit too quickly. Karen glared at me and lifted up her fork, the burnt delicacy drooping off of it in a tired way. "It isn't that bad," I said, and it occurred to me that knowing Karen, she would want the truth. Two whole years and I still treated it like our first date.
Chewing rapidly, she swallowed and promptly went into the bathroom. Retching sounds followed her disappearance and I almost grinned. That would teach her not to cook anymore.
"You liar!" She screamed and I expected to go flying out of my chair
"What? No! I'm not a-,"
"Yes you are! You said it was fine! Well, I just threw up all of it, including last night's dinner. And it's all thanks to you!"
I kind of thought there was a reason behind her throwing up, but I didn't bother to mention it. She had also thrown up the day before, and unless there was an epidemic of stomach flu going around, there was only one reason left that could explain everything. Perhaps I was tougher and could endure eating her cooking?
"But-,"
"It's your fault, and you know it! You...Idiot." She turned around, crossed her arms across her chest and refused to look at me for the rest of the morning.
The problem was that I couldn't keep quiet for long about something - I had to have someone to confide my fears and feelings to. And as my partner in marriage, it was her job to listen to me. Well, that was what I thought. I figured that if I treated her to a dinner at the Inn I could get her to use her ear.
"Uh...Karen?" I said, pacing back and forth infront of her. She turned her head slightly.
"What do you want now?" She sounded as though I had been complaining about something all day.
"How would you like to take a break from cooking and go eat dinner at the Inn tonight? It can get tiring eating fish and eggs all the time, don't you think?"
Karen fished a dumpling out from the bottom of the pot, laid it in a ceramic bowl, and scowled. "Sure, I will. You make it sound almost desirable." Walking up to me, she grabbed a lock of my hair and tugged it hard, in what she thought was a playful thing to do. I found it quite painful, but I didn't comment.
That evening, we put on some warm clothes and walked outside, huddling close to each other. With winter approaching accompanied rough, cold winds that threatened to pull your breath from your lungs as you opened your mouth.
"Sure is cold out here," Karen gasped, gasping my gloved hand. I didn't give a reply as leaves started to blow around us.
We arrived at the Inn an hour later, horrified to find the Inn had been half-trashed. Ann and Jack were standing helplessly at the counter staring at the mess.
"What's going on?" Karen asked, pulling her scarf away from her face and picking up what appeared to have been a china dish.
Ann gave a shuddering sigh. "We opened the door and this huge gust of wind came in. Everyone fled."
Karen turned towards me, as if this were all my fault. "I guess we wasted our time to have dinner at a place that isn't even safe anymore?" I saw her eyes avert towards the ceiling where there was an odd creaking sound. I turned towards Jack.
"Can't we atleast have dinner?" I pleaded, pulling out my wallet hastily and showing him the Gold. That would certainly persuade him - he was a man who knew his money's worth. Not to mention a tad bit greedy.
Jack's eyes shone. "Of course!" He exclaimed, whisking us up the stairs. "Ann, get some dishes and put them on this table! We'll have a party!" Gleefully, he held out his hands for payment. I never realized how much everyone had changed in the last few years.
"Wait...I never even said I was going have!" Karen said, shoving me aside and glaring bad-tempered-ly at Jack.
"Um...What would you like then?"
"A salad, thanks."
"I'll just have the same," I told him faintly, watching Karen stomp around like she was a queen stuck inside a shack. The floor quivered slightly every time she took a step.
"If you don't stop the whole thing is going to-," I began.
"It's not going to collapse, Rick!" Jack interrupted loudly, trying to sound confident despite the loud howling the wind was making outside of the windows.
"Yeah, listen to the guy!" Karen settled down to munch on the salad when Ann came back up with them. I sat next to Karen, chewing silently on the lettuce. I made sure Ann and Jack had gone downstairs to clean up before I started talking.
"Karen?" I said quietly, hoping that no one was eavesdropping.
"Yes, dear?"
"You know about your throwing-up and stuff like that?" I felt Karen go tense next to me. Her lips became a single, blood-less line.
"Uh-huh?"
"I-I think you're pregnant," I whispered, expecting a pile of lettuce to be thrown onto my head at that very moment.
"Yeah? And where did you get YOUR medical degree from?" Karen asked, her voice rising with her anger. I had known many women who were pregnant and suddenly got irritated very easily. More evidence for Karen's case.
"How do you explain those disgusting sounds you make in the bathroom, then? It sounds like you're disgorging in there every morning and not telling me! Karen, I love you! That's why I need to know everything that's going on!" I immediately blushed after I said that. It sounded like some ridiculous love quarrel in a soap opera or movie. Karen's eyes softened.
"Rick, don't worry about me, got that? Just don't! You spent much of your childhood worrying over your sister and mother. I don't want you to do that anymore!" Karen got up and tossed the remaining salad in her bowl into the trash can. "I'm not hungry anymore. Let's go," she said simply, pulling on her jet black gloves and beckoning me to stand.
"Done already?" Jack asked, disappointed. I had been hearing strange things about Jack charging more money when someone sat there eating for over thirty minutes.
"Yes," I said, handing him the Gold and leaving the Inn with Karen in the lead.
"Shouldn't we be going home?" Karen asked suspisciously as I turned left outside of the Inn.
"We should be, but I want to do something." I led her to the Clinic.
"I'm not pregnant," she insisted.
"Making sure isn't a problem, right?" I teased, pushing her in. Elli greeted us at the counter as usual and when I requested a test to see if Karen was pregnant or not, she showed us into a room to the side.
"Rick, this is a private matter, so I suggest you leave," Elli said calmly. "Girl's only." She winked at me and shut the door behind her. I walked over to the chairs by the wall and sat down in one, leaning my head towards the floor and silently praying that Karen was pregnant. I didn't exactly want her to have some incurable disease.
Several moments later, the door opened, Karen walking out as though she had been shocked several times by something. Standing up, I strode quickly towards her.
"What's wrong?" I asked, placing a hand on her shoulder.
"I...I'm pregnant." Karen fainted into my arms.