The next few days were pretty typical. Getting the hang of farming, introducing himself to others, buying supplies, you know the drill by now. But there was a feeling he just couldn't seem to shake, no matter how hard he tried to ignore it. It was like a fog over everyone in town. Not in a literal sense, of course, the skies of the town were clear as could be. But there was something behind their eyes that Arlow was having a difficult time trying to pinpoint.
He didn't want to ask about it, of course, I mean come on, he was brand new. He can't just go around trying to dig up everyone's secrets. Even if it was incredibly tempting. So he just kept going about his days as usual, trying to brush the feeling off. If one thing wasn't helping his unease, it was the massive Joja warehouse in the back of Stardew's otherwise simple, country aesthetic town. Paired with it was a towering supermarket, that just seemed to drain the life out of the beautiful landscape it had rudely shoved itself into. He quickly realized that he was far from the only person to feel that way. Whenever one of the other town members walked by the massive building, they shot it an unwelcoming glare. The warehouse looked like it had been graffitied many times, as it was covered in smudges and stains of color that remained from the paint, despite the Joja workers' desperate efforts to scrub it all away. A few times, Arlow had even noticed the potential culprit of the graffiti. He would see a pale, thin man with dark hair and an equally dark hoodie, running away from the Joja warehouse, bags in hand. Sometimes with an employee of the warehouse screaming after him.
Watching it had to be one of Arlow's favorite pastimes. Eventually, the man noticed his regular audience and introduced himself as Sebastian. From then on out, Arlow and Sebastian found themselves becoming friends. And by extension, Arlow started becoming close with Sebby's best friend Sam as well. Having friends had finally given the new farmer something to look forward to, and a sense of belonging in his new place of residence.
But peace never seems to last forever, does it? And one night, Arlow would finally discover the source of the town's downcast attitude. He had come to the bar with Sam and Sebastian, as they usually did on the more calm, off days.
Having just finished a round of pool, Arlow was sitting at the bar treating himself to a drink. He wasn't a usual drinker by any means, but he wasn't opposed to having one or two with his new buddies. It helped him connect with the townsfolk, as most of them seemed to gather here at night, giving him the perfect opportunity to chat with people that he might not usually be able to during their daily work hours.
The bar was a nice, calm place to hang out. Most of the time. But right now...
"What do you mean I can't have another? I'm barely even tipsy over here you fuckin moron!" The belligerent screaming of an older woman had cut through the calm atmosphere of the bar in an instant. He immediately recognized the woman as Pam, the resident alcoholic, and an overall awful person to be around if she decides she doesn't like you.
The outburst had been caused by their drinks per hour limit. It had struck Arlow as a strange thing for a bar to have, as he'd never seen it before in any others, but it also seemed like a good safety precaution. The poor bartender woman was trying desperately to calm the angry patron down "Please Pam, you only have to wait 10 more minutes, and then I can serve you something else. How about a glass of water, or something to eat while you wait?"
Pam slammed her hands down on the table, causing the poor blue-haired bartender to jump. "I don't want a goddamn water! I want you to get me another drink!"
Emily's hands trembled subtlety, but she kept her composure. "Please calm down. It's just the policy! If I gave you another I'd be fired!"
Arlow glanced at Marnie, who had taken the unfortunate table closest to Pam's seat. She had a look of irritation and mild fear as she quietly sipped her own beverage.
Pam stood up and looked at the sign that indicated the limit on drinks.
"Why should we have to follow that stupid rule!"
Marnie furrowed her brows and looked over at Pam, but stayed silent as Emily responded. "Pam... You know why. Please sit back down."
Pam's head whipped over to look at Emily again "Who the hell cares?! So what if some good for nothing, coward of an alcoholic got a little too tipsy one day and offed himself! That shouldn't ruin our fun!"
Emily's eyes went wide, as the entire bar went quiet. Pam looked around, trying to rally supporters. "Right guys? Come on! Let's take this dumb sign down and let the real party start!"
Marnie stood up, and slowly approached Pam. The drunk woman barely had time to react before Marnie punched her in the face so hard that she fell back into the counter. There were gasps, and shrieks as some of the other patrons ran over to pull Marnie back.
Arlow was shocked. I mean, to be fair he'd only known Marnie a few weeks now, but this really didn't seem like her. She was calm, gentle, and understanding. Violence was the last thing anyone would ever expect to be on her mind. In a matter of seconds, the bar erupted into argument. Screaming, crying, and drinks being thrown, Arlow barely had time to process it all before he felt a familiar thin hand dragging him out of the building to the safety outside.
Sebastian took him around to the side so they wouldn't be trampled by the other people who were escaping the bar brawl. "Are you okay? That was insane."
Arlow blinked at him for a second as he tried to process what he just witnessed. "What was that about? I didn't think Marnie was the type. And who died?" He wasn't sure if it was his place to ask something so personal. But after what happened in the saloon, he felt owed an explanation. And Sebastian complied. "Yeah... About that." He sighed a bit as he leaned up against the wall of the building.
"Marnie had a nephew named Shane. He used to live with her on her farm. I didn't really know the guy super well, but I know he was in the bar just about... Well, whenever he had free time. A worse alcoholic than Pam if you can believe that."
Arlow listened as Sebastian continued, casting a glance at the Joja mart as he did so.
"He worked for Joja. That company is soulless, and the guy running this branch of things isn't much better."
The creepy looking man Arlow had seen entering the building during the early hours of the day came to mind. He remained quiet and kept listening to what Sebastian had to say.
"Shane worked almost every day. Any day off he seemed to have was spent in the bar, being his depressing self. He'd get pissy at you if you tried to make conversation with him. After the new Joja warehouse opened up nearby I guess the pressure just became too much to handle. He got hammered worse than usual one night, and Marnie found him at the bottom of the cliff the next morning."
"Oh Yoba." Arlow mumbled as he looked down at the ground. Marnie's intense reaction suddenly made a lot more sense. "Poor Marnie..."
"Yeah. She's been taking it about as well as someone can. The Goddaughter Shane left behind has had a harder time coping. I mean she's just a kid."
"The little purple-haired girl Marnie takes care of?"
Sebastian nodded "Yeah, her."
Arlow looked up again. He couldn't even begin to imagine the kind of pain Shane must have been in to leave his family behind like that. It was creating a pit in Arlow's stomach. "I think I'm just gonna go home."
Sebastian looked at him with understanding. "Alright. I probably will too then. See you around?"
"Yeah... See ya." Arlow turned and hurried back to his farm to start attempting to process the depressing information he'd just received. Some time passed but he eventually drifted off into an uneventful sleep.
