Lucie had been in the valley for nearly three weeks now. The salmonberries had run out of season, which was a pity as they seemed to go down well with all the villagers. Marnie had asked her very sweetly if she could gather some for her to make jam with, even offering Lucie quite a fair bit of gold for her time, and Lucie had taken it upon herself to work out who might like some of the excess berries. Although, a significant proportion of the leftovers did even up in Lucie's mouth as she meandered through forest, town and mine alike.
She still hated the mines, still loved the forest, but her need to go into the mines was dwindling. The coop now had two chickens in it, and Lucie was looking forward to the summer where she could harvest some feed for them, instead of pouring money into chicken feed for very little return. They'd be producing eggs soon enough, but she was a little impatient.
The egg festival had been fun. Even Shane appeared to be enjoying himself a little, which was a minor miracle. Jas had dragged Lucie to take part in the egg hunt, which she'd done with a small protest and a laugh. Trying very hard to not win, but not obviously let Jas win, Lucie had been told she could keep the eggs she'd found, as Marnie's ranch had far too many. She didn't object to the obvious lie.
Learning it was Haley's birthday the following day had been a bit of a surprise. Lucie had grown close to the blonde woman, and had been surprised that she hadn't heard about it everyday leading up to her birthday. Feeling obligated to acknowledge the day, Lucie had scrambled to find something gift-worthy and had managed to make a small arrangement of tulips in an array of pinks and whites. The thanks she'd gotten for it seemed genuine - Haley wasn't exactly the kind of person to thank someone for the sake of thanking them. Lucie couldn't help but feel lucky that she'd planted them at the beginning of the season.
Today, though, today she was certain there were to be no more festivals - she'd checked with Mayor Lewis when the next one was - and no birthdays. Lucie had interrogated Haley a little to make sure she didn't miss anyone else's birthdays. Even if she didn't gift them something, she had to wish them a happy birthday. Acknowledging birthdays had been important to her grandfather, so if she was going to live in his house, farm his land, then she'd be damned sure to carry on his legacy of wishing everyone a 'happy birthday' , no matter how little he spoke to them.
It was unusually warm for a spring morning. Lucie carried a cardigan with her, but didn't feel the need to put it on as she wandered through the forest, the whispers of a breeze sending the hem of her dress brushing against her thighs. She'd watered all of her crops at first light, made sure the chickens were doing alright and had enough food, so she'd decided today would be a day of foraging. After all, it was a Saturday, and she only really had a week until the Spring crops would start to die, and she needed to give those strange beings in the community centre some wild horseradish and leeks. She tried not to think too much about why they demanded forgeable food from her, as they seemed peaceful enough, and sometimes knowing the answer to her questions was worse than the not knowing.
She stayed in the forest until her wicker basket was overflowing with every kind of veg imaginable and then headed towards the town.
Community centre first, then go sell them to Pierre.
Shane didn't know why he bothered to mooch around the village shop every Saturday, but he did. Like clockwork. It was as if he was simply code, following out orders. It wasn't like he ever bought anything - half the time he didn't have the spare cash to buy the much nicer, and undoubtably healthier, food at Pierre's shop. And JoJo Mart gave him an employee's discount.
Still, here he was, and here was a turnip in his hand. He tossed it about his hand, inspecting it closely - just in case Pierre walked over at looked at him with that look of his. The one that seemed to tell Shane that he knew he wasn't going to buy anything so why was he even bothered. By Yoba, Shane hated that look. He put down the turnip and picked up a leek.
What would he even cook with a leek? Marnie made nice food with leeks, but Marnie could make chicken feed taste nice.
The shop bell tinkled a happy little tune which made Shane start. He wrenched himself out of his little daydream as Lucie walked into the shop, picking strands of hair out of her eyes. They seemed to be determined to stick to her eyelashes, and she stepped out of the doorway to put her basket down to fix her hair with both hands.
A basket. She was carrying an actual wicker basket, lined with a red and white plaid material, only just visible through the veg that spilled over the lip of the basket. Shane hadn't seen anyone ever use an actual wicker basket outside of films, it was very cute - and very Lucie.
A hand curled around the handle of the basket, and she hauled it back into the crook of her elbow, tossing her head ever so slightly as she did. Her head turned just enough to catch sight of Shane, hiding half way down an aisle. Eyes opening, she grinned widely at him.
"Hi!" Lucie beamed, moving towards him, her light footsteps barely audible on the tiled floor. "Fancy seeing you here."
"It's a small town." Shane swallowed down his self-loathing at the lame answer, but it didn't phase Lucie in the slightly. Her grin didn't shift.
"You've managed to avoid me well enough given how small the town is," she responded, lifting an eyebrow. "I've barely seen you since the Egg Festival."
Shane felt his cheeks redden slightly. He'd hoped that she hadn't noticed that he'd been avoiding her.
"Well, I didn't want you emptying another watering can on my head," he retorted, his eyes dancing as he spoke.
Lucie laughed, and his heart sang in harmony with her. She clasped a hand to her mouth and feigned shock.
"By Yoba, did I hear you correctly? Was that a joke, Shane?" She teased and Shane couldn't help the small smile that lifted the corner of his lips. Lucie shifted the basket to her other arm, and when she looked up again, her smile was softer. "You know, I think that's the first time I've seen you smile. Suits you."
Lucie was torn between cursing Pierre and thanking him, as he appeared at the end of the aisle and broke the fractured silence that had landed between her and Shane. 'Suits you.' Could she be anymore awkward - just because it was true didn't mean that she had to say it out loud. Shane had looked at her with slightly widened eyes, a rabbit caught in the headlights, and then cleared his throat awkwardly as Pierre had started speaking.
"Ah, Lucie! Thought I'd heard your voice." He said, utterly oblivious to the warmth flooding her cheeks. "You'll be wanting to sell that lot, I imagine?"
Lucie forced a smile to her face, and turned around fully.
"Hi, Pierre. Hope you're willing to buy a lot spring onions!" Lucie lifted the basket to demonstrate her point, her elbow nearly brushing against Shane's chest. She felt the brush of fabric against her bare elbow and turned to apologise, but no sound came out. Pierre gave her a warm smile.
"I'll head back to the till then - please feel free to buy anything that takes your fancy!" He paused before he turned, and his gaze slid across to Shane. "Oh, and Happy Birthday, Shane."
"It's your birthday?"
Lucie wheeled around and looked at Shane accusatorially. He almost flinched, but instead shrugged.
"It's not a big deal," he dismissed.
Lucie rolled her eyes and slapped him on the shoulder. She then looked down at her basket, then up at Shane.
"I don't have anything I can give you." She sounded almost upset, and Shane protested against her giving him a gift. "Oh, don't be a moron, Shane, it's your birthday, I'm getting you something." She faltered, looking around desperately, clearly wracking her brains for something. Shane felt a small pang deep in his gut.
"If you're that desperate to acknowledge it, you could always buy me a beer tonight?" Did he just ask her on a date? "I mean, I was going to go there tonight anyway, but really, you do not have to get me anything." The words tumbled out quickly, but to Shane's relief, Lucie smiled.
Relief coursed through Lucie, and she nodded.
"Meet you there at, what, 7ish?" She suggested. Shane nodded and shoved his hands deep into his pockets. Lucie dropped the basket of veg to the floor and gave Shane a quick hug. He stiffened between her arms, and Lucie struggled not to compare it to the year when her grandfather measured the circumference of a tree trunk by wrapping his arms around it.
Pulling back awkwardly, she picked up the basket, and scratched the back of her neck.
"Well, happy birthday. See you tonight."
And off she walked to the till.
Shane practically ran out the store.
