Knit One, Pearl Too
by Rainbow Skitty 300
disclaimer: Characters belong to Nintendo
Johanna was thrilled to have a calm quiet house all to herself while Diamond and his father went looking for a Christmas tree. She'd bought 2 balls of yarn at a recent trip to Jubilife City (a buy one- get one free holiday sale.) The red one, Diamond's favorite color, would make a perfect scarf for her boy. She still didn't know what she planned to do with the green one however, and it sat unused in her knitting basket.
Johanna's thoughts were interrupted by a loud thud! as Pearl, the rambunctious boy next door and Diamond's self-proclaimed best friend and comedic partner pushed aside the door, face flushed and snow clinging to his shoes. Of course, he hadn't bothered to take them off before coming inside. Startled, Johanna she dropped a stitch. Would she ever finish?
"Dia! Hey Dia- I mean, Diamond. You gotta hear this joke I learned!" Pearl cried out breathlessly.
Johanna sighed. "Diamond's out with his dad at the moment." she told him.
"Oh! I didn't realize, Mrs. Diamond's Mom." Pearl replied.
Johanna softened a bit. "I've told you before that you don't need to be so formal with me." Johanna reminded Pearl.
"Right Mrs. D." Pearl said cheerfully. He looked at her inquisitively. "What'cha doing anyway?" he asked.
"I was knitting Diamond a scarf, but I've dropped a stitch." Johanna answered, her knitting needles clacking as she resumed work.
"Oh! I'll help you find it!" Pearl decided. He dropped to his knees and peered under the living room table. "Nope, not here." he declared.
Johanna bit back laughter. "I didn't drop it on the ground, it's just what people say when they lose count knitting." Johanna clarified.
"Gotcha. Er, was it my fault?" Pearl fretted.
Johanna hated to see any child blame himself over what had truly been an accident, or just bad timing. "No, no, it happens even to the best of knitters." she said.
Pearl breathed a sigh of relief. "That's good." he shuffled his feet nervously. That boy, unlike Diamond, was always restless. "I know Dia- Diamond's not here. But would you like to hear the joke anyway?" Pearl hoped.
Johanna was aware of the boys' habit of turning everything into a manzai comedy routine, but she wasn't sure how a routine meant for two people could work with just one. Still, she was polite. "Of course, dear." Johanna said.
"A-hem." Pearl cleared his throat. "They say Clefairy came from the moon! Maybe other pokemon come from planets! Jupiter, Mars, Saturn- and then Dia says 'Venusaur!' and I tell him 'That's a plant pokemon, not a planet!' and I whack him with my fan!" Pearl announced dramatically.
"Oh my. Do you have to hit him?" Johanna flinched just watching Pearl flail his arms.
Pearl considered this. "I- I guess not. But that's how they did it on TV! Helps get the rhythm going." Pearl explained.
"Maybe you can find other ways to do that?" Johanna suggested.
"Different rhythm. Hmm." Pearl frowned, deep in concentration. "Hey I got it! Listen to this! You can feel the rhythm when you play an instrument, too. Trumpets, flutes, clarinets- and then Dia says 'Shellos!' and I hit- help him by saying 'Cellos, not Shellos! You're thinking of pokemon again!' Whaddya think?" Pearl was anxious.
It took a minute for the joke to register, then Johanna smiled. "Because Shellos does sound like a musical instrument, that's very clever." she laughed.
Pearl beamed. "And I thought of it, all by myself! Didn't copy it from TV or a book!" he added proudly.
"Of course, that's how every artist starts. When I was just learning to knit, I looked in pattern books before I was confident enough to try my own ideas. Didn't work nearly as well for me my first time. I wanted to make mittens, but I forgot the thumb, so I ended up with socks instead." Johanna recalled.
Pearl roared with laughter. "You got great comedic timing, Mrs. D! Must be where Diamond gets it from." Pearl said.
"I never thought of myself that way. But thank you." Johanna was gracious. She really didn't mind Pearl's exuberance much, even if it meant wet, slushy snow on her clean carpet as she listened to him tell both halves of a joke again and again, buoyed by the success of his first real attempt at writing.
"You were a great audience Mrs. D." Pearl concluded as Johanna completed the finishing touch on the red scarf. "And a great knitter. If Dia couldn't be here, I'm glad you were." Pearl added, blushing slightly.
"I was glad of the company. Maybe it isn't always best to knit in solitude." Johanna mused.
"Yep." Pearl nodded. "Er, I was thinking, maybe I should take notes on which jokes worked best, then come back when Dia's home so we can practice together?"
"That sounds lovely. Why don't you wait an hour, they should be home by then." Johanna said. An hour to hide Diamond's present before his return and an hour for her to decompress. Pearl was a good boy, but he was an exhausting one! Thank goodness Diamond was more mellow.
"Yeah, okay. See ya then!" Pearl flung the door wide open and started to sprint across the street to his house. Johanna got up to close the door and stop the draft. She wondered briefly if Pearl was warm enough, always running around outside in just short sleeves and a pair of jeans.
Pearl sneezed, then rubbed his nose. He turned around and waved at her. Johanna waved back. She'd just thought of a use for that green yarn, after all.
The End
It's my headcanon that with Palmer so busy, Johanna has taken on a parental interest in Pearl. And that it's no coincidence the boys have matching scarves.
This is dedicated to my mom, who also knits and worries about her kids. Thanks, mom!