Another sleepy day passed Jack by. The money he had wouldn't last forever. He'd have to find a job. Or figure out how to grow something, which wasn't very likely.
A while later, Jack was going shop-to-shop asking for work. It took about five seconds before the people in question closed the door in face. The rude slam was followed by a clicking noise. Great. After being rejected for the fifteenth time, Jack was ready to give up. No one in town was going to look him straight in the eyes, much less hire him. After walking into the town square, he sat down on a bench, head in hands. A voice interrupted his thinking.
"Career trouble?"
It was Mayor West.
"How do all the people in this town know what I'm thinking?"
West chuckled. "We may not be too traveled, but we're wise."
"Sure."
"Listen, Jack. It's going to take some time before the people are able to trust you. Still, I know you need money."
The stubby man leaned back in the bench. "Why don't you try the Green Ranch? They're new here. They need farmhands, and they don't know about… the incident."
Jack gave him a halfhearted glance. "Why, so they can find out my secret and chase me away with pitchforks?"
"Jack, I'll speak to Doug personally. He's an understanding man."
Jack resigned himself. "Well… I guess so. Better than starving."
"That's the spirit! Come with me."
The Green Ranch was just outside town. It was thankfully free of any painful memories. A large barn and grazing field was the backdrop for the scenic ranch. West and Jack strolled through the large arch, and down the path to the small store. Inside, a red-haired man and his daughter were carrying packs of feed that were clearly too heavy for them. Mayor West cleared his throat when they put the bags down.
"Ugh… get this…. Over there… Gah, there." The father turned. "Oh! Thomas, how are ya?"
The Mayor smiled. "Doing just fine. Doug, I'd like you and Ann to meet Jack. He's been looking for a job."
Doug took Jack's hand and smiled at him. "Pleased to meet yeh. You new here?"
"You could say that."
"Well, if yer in need of a job, ya came to the right place. We 'kin use another set of hands around here."
This feeling of acceptance was alien to Jack, but he wasn't complaining. "I'm sure I'll be able to help you."
Doug patted Jack on the back. "Good, good. Anyways, I'd like you to meet my daughter Ann. She ain't much to look at, but she's a hard worker."
"Dad!" The redhead lightly punched her father on the arm.
"Hehehe, I'm just playin' with yeh, sweetie."
He definitely was, Jack thought. Ann was plenty to look at. She had a cute delicate face, light freckles and long braided hair. "Nice to meet you, Jack."
Jack blinked, then nodded. "Yeah, uh… same."
Doug and West burst into laughter. "Look at 'im! He's all red, Hawhawhaw!"
Jack cracked a smile, and so did Ann.
Later
Jack and Ann were in the barn, Ann feeding the animals, Jack hauling crates of milk.
"So, Jack. Tell me a bit about yourself."
He set down the large box near the others. "Well, I came here from New York."
"Really? I've never been to a big city. What's it like?"
"Well, it's a lot faster. Everyone's always in a hurry, and you never get a minute to yourself."
"That sounds horrible."
"It's not that bad. The people there are a lot more open-minded. At least, some of them."
"I see… why did you decide to come here?"
Jack saw the resemblance in the conversation. He had a feeling this would end up like last night. Still, Mayor West had talked with Doug, and Doug hadn't come running in the barn with a shotgun.
"My Grandfather used to own a farm here, before he passed away. Martin Walker was his name."
"Martin Walker… Hey, I remember that guy! The Walker farm, yeah. So it's all yours now?"
"Yep. All mine. But it's so old… there's not much I could do with it."
Ann gave him a skeptical look.
Later that night, when all the work was finished, Jack sat at the table with Doug, Ann and a man he hadn't met.
"Oh yeah, forgot to tell you. This is Gray, my… son." Doug put a sarcastic emphasis on the last word. Jack wondered why he hadn't seen Gray all through the day.
"I know what you're thinking. Where was he when we were working? You see, Gray's too good for simple farming." Doug snorted with laughter. "He's an artist."
"Stop it, Dad." Ann stood up for Gray, who kept silent.
"For god's sake Ann, he works less than you."
"No, he just does different things. You know he works hard!"
"Yeah, with that lowlife Saibara and hi-"
Gray slammed his fist down on the table. "Don't insult him."
Doug stood up. "Or you'll do what? Paint me to death?"
Gray responded by simply leaving the room. Ann muttered to herself, and Jack made sure to keep quiet.
After dinner, Jack excused himself and walked outside. He noticed Gray sitting at the edge of the field, and walked over to talk to him.
"Come to taunt me? Don't waste your time, Doug's taken care of that."
Jack sat down next to him. "Nah, I'm not like that. What's that you're doing?"
Gray sighed. "Painting."
Jack took a minute to study the picture. It looked like it belonged in one of the galleries he had been to back home. It was beautiful. "Holy… Gray, that's the best painting I've ever seen."
The artist paused for a moment, as if he didn't believe what he was hearing. "That's… really? No one has ever said anything like that to me before."
In a way, Jack knew what Gray was feeling. "Gray, the people in this town… they're very traditional. They can't understand stuff like this. At least not now. But that'll change."
Gray chuckled. "I doubt it. All the same, it's nice to have at least one fan. You know, I don't just do paintings."
"Oh?"
"Yeah. I also craft things from minerals." Gray pulled something out his pocket. It was a bracelet, made from some kind of metallic ore, and of the same quality as the picture.
"Where'd you get that ore?"
"The mine near the mountain. Used to be a gold mine, but it's run dry. That's how Flowerbud was created, actually. Still, if you go a little bit down in there, you can find some nice stuff."
Jack felt the bracelet. It was smooth and glossy, almost naturally. "You know Gray, you could make a lot of money selling this stuff."
"Nah… I couldn't find enough of the ore. I'm just not able to go to deep into the mine."
"I could go for you."
Gray looked at Jack. "Yeah… yeah, you could! Jack, I'd owe you one forever!"
Jack smiled. "I'll take care of it. No need to thank me, just promise to remember who helped you out when you're famous." They both chuckled.
"Later, Gray."
"Bye, Jack."
'Well, there's one more friend.' thought Jack.
When he returned to the house, he found Doug sitting alone in a chair. The middle aged man huffed. "I saw you talking to Gray."
"He's a good guy. I like him."
"Yeah, yeah… Pity he hasn't worked a day in his damn life."
"You know," Said Jack, careful not to anger Doug, "Those paintings of his are really good. And so is the jewelry he ma-"
"Hah! Exactly. My son makes jewelry. How the hell did it come to this…"
"Have you ever seen one of his works?"
Doug didn't answer.
"Maybe if you just gave him a chance, you could see it in a different light."
"Jack… I dunno. I just…" Doug changed the subject. "Thomas told me about your father."
Jack looked down.
"Don't worry. I'd be a damn hypocrite if I blamed you for that. If I… If I did that, I wouldn't want Ann to take the heat. I know you've been through hell."
"Thank you, Doug."
Doug's country dialect returned. "Yeh, don't mention it. Anyways, it's getting' late. Go get some rest, yeh got work to do tomorrow."
"Alright. Goodnight."
"Night."
As Jack headed for the arch to leave the farm, Ann stopped him.
"I've been watching you."
"Oh, I've got a spy on my hands, do I?"
"Hehe. You've gotten Dad and Gray to take a liking to you in only one day."
"Well, I guess it's just my charming personality, strong will and uh… modesty."
She smiled and walked up behind him. "I'm beginning to think Flowerbud just got a lot more interesting." She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and ran back to the cabin.
Jack blushed. "Yeah… so do I."
Ooh, romance. How sweet. Anyway, thanks to everyone who uh... will review. Because no one has. Rawrawrawr. Chapter Three should be up soon.