Sunday, 21st of Summer

The Queen of Sauce was on, and Alma sat on her bed with her notepad. A Maki Roll did sound delicious. She remembered having sushi often in the city, and it sounded so good right now. She needed seaweed, fish, and rice. If she had a mill, she could make that happen. "That stupid mill," she mumbled as she put her journal away. She put on her overalls and hat and stepped outside in the morning sun.

Peppers and hops were ready to harvest, and she saw a note in her mailbox:

"Dear Alma,

Thank you for purchasing a coop upgrade! In addition to doubling the capacity of your coop, I've taken the liberty of installing an incubator. To use the incubator, simply place the egg inside. If you have space left in your coop, the egg will hatch in several days! As always, thank you for your business.

Robin"

"So I just need to buy one duck from Marnie today," she told herself as she folded up the note and put it in her pocket. "I can hatch another on my own as soon as she starts laying." She nodded to herself and started for the crops. She did her usual rounds, taking extra time to look around the coop. She saw the incubator in the corner and stuffed it full of hay, making it ready for whenever she would put an egg inside. Then she went to the barn to check if the cows were ready to produce milk yet. She got the milk pail and squeezed at the udders, but neither gave any milk. "Still too young," she guessed. "That's all right, you two. Take your time." She hugged them both before carrying on.

After Alma organized her things in her chests, she went south to Marnie's shop. As the path opened up to the forest lake, she looked over and saw the traveling cart parked in the trees. "Oh, right!" Alma thought. She walked over as the saleswoman waved. "Good morning," Alma greeted.

"Hello! See anything interesting?" she asked as she gestured to her wares.

Alma looked everything over. A lot of it was stuff she already had or didn't need. No sturgeon either. But she did see something that caught her eye: a sandfish. She remembered that was needed in the specialty fish bundle, and she had no idea where to get it. It wasn't too expensive, and she thought it was worth it. "I'll take that sandfish please," Alma said as she handed her the money.

"Splendid buy," the woman stated, lifting the sandfish onto the counter. "Anything else?"

"No, I think that's good. You'll be back on … Friday, right?"

"Yes, ma'am! With more goods. Come check and see!"

"Okay, thank you!" Alma said, walking back to Marnie's shop. "Good morning, Marnie!" she greeted.

"Hi, Alma," Marnie greeted with a smile. "Need something?"

"Robin has finished upgrading the coop, so I am ready for some ducks!"

"All right! Two?"

"Just one, actually. I have an incubator now, so I can hatch my own!"

"Oh, excellent!" Marnie said as she accepted Alma's money. "What would you like to call your duck?"

"Hm …." Alma hadn't thought yet about a name. She looked up in thought. "Jemima, maybe?"

"Great! I'll send little Jemima over right away!"

Alma patted the counter. "Thank you so much, Marnie! What would be next for me, a goat?"

"Goats if you upgrade the barn or rabbits if you upgrade the coop. I might be getting some different kinds of animals in the future, though."

"Ooh! That's exciting!"

"Although I'll need to make sure there's a market for them," Marnie said, tapping her chin, "so you'll have to prove your skill with animals first. Just keep treating your animals with respect and good things will happen."

"You have my word, Marnie," Alma said, putting her hat back on. "I'm trying to give those animals the best lives I can!"

"I know you are. See you around!"

"Bye!" Alma left Marnie's shop and went up to the farm again to go see little Jemima. She was waddling around happily in the grass in front of the coop, and Alma scooped her up to give her a little cuddle. Her down feathers were so soft, and her little peeping was almost too much for Alma to handle. "Oh, you're so cute!" She placed her back down on the ground. She looked over at Henriette and Little Red. "You all be nice and welcoming of our new friend! I've got to go into town. See you later!"

Alma went to Pierre to sell her peppers and hops, and then she went to the fountain in the park. Sure enough, Harvey was there, wandering and looking in the sky. "Hi!" she called.

He lowered his head from the sky and smiled when she came up. "Hello there. First day of the last week of summer! How is it so far?"

"Great! I just bought a duck!"

"Good for you! I'm sure duck eggs will bring in a little more profit than chicken eggs?"

"I guess so. And the community center needs some duck products, so those will be fulfilled soon. That's always good."

Harvey motioned to the benches. "Do you, uh, c-care to sit?"

"Sure," she said, sitting on one bench. Harvey sat on the other. "How has your day been?"

"Oh, a bit slow," he said, stretching one arm across the back of the bench. "No appointments today, so I'm just organizing some paperwork and doing a bit of research."

Alma nodded. "Do the slow days like these ever make you want a busier life in a bigger city?"

"No, not at all," he chuckled. "I like the slow life. I've lived in the city for a period, and I much prefer a place like this. No, I'd like to stay in Stardew Valley for a while."

"How long did you live in the city?" Alma asked.

Harvey let out a long exhale, doing the math in his head. "I moved for college when I was eighteen, went to another city for med school, and then did my residency in Zuzu City, so … twelve years?"

"So, yeah, not a short time."

Harvey nodded. "My hometown is pretty small, so I gravitate to a place like this because of that, too, I guess. It feels like home. Plus, I've worked much too hard to connect with the people here. I'm finally starting to feel involved in the community. I'm not ready to give up all that just to, uh … chase productivity."

"Obviously, I completely relate. I've lived in the city my whole life. Thought I liked the hustle and bustle. But the older I got, the more I realized I needed calm - connection to something bigger than myself, rather than a nose-to-the-grindstone kind of life."

"Exactly. It feels good to know that you're useful."

"Right," Alma said with a nod. "Have you heard anything more from Paul today?"

"No, not really," Harvey answered with a sigh, bending over with his elbows on his knees. "He sent me an email last night to thank me for talking with him, and that was about it." He shook his head. "People like him are meant for the city - not me."

"Me either," Alma said, and he looked up and smiled at her. "Well, speaking of being useful," she said as she pushed off the bench, "I'm going to go try some more fishing on the beach. The summer days are winding down, and my chances of catching some of the fish for the community center bundles are running out."

Harvey looked at his watch. "Yeah, I suppose I, uh, need to be getting back to the clinic soon too," he said, standing up. As Alma picked up her backpack and pulled it back on her shoulders, Harvey put his hands in his pockets and looked down, saying, "I, uh … h-hope you don't mind me saying that the best part of slow days is the, uh … the possibility of getting to sit and chat with you." He looked at her and smiled. "It's always a pleasure."

"I agree. I'll try to catch you tomorrow." They said their goodbyes, and Alma went south to the beach. She gathered up shells and things in the sand and then stood at the end of the pier. She cast out her line and caught several fish … but no tuna. By about ten o'clock at night, she decided to call it and headed back home.