The next morning, Celeste had an early brunch with Robin's family before heading down to the beach to practice her fishing. On her way to the pier, she ran into Leah. Celeste had heard that Leah was the artsy type from other people in the town and asked if she'd like to hang out and paint together sometime. Leah excitedly stated that she was on her way to the beach to draw, so she walked alongside Celeste as they made their way to the docks.

The beach was nice this time of year. Not too hot as the springtime breeze kept the skin cool. The waves calmly lapped the shore. Seagulls were flying in the sky, cheerfully singing to one another, if you could call their sound a song.

Leah was sitting in the sand next to Celeste as she was fishing in the shore. She was able to catch a couple herring and a flounder, but no more fish were biting.

After noticing the fish were no longer interested, Celeste turned towards Leah to tell her that she was probably going to head back to her cabin. She was expecting Robin to finish today, especially since this morning Robin had asked her to meet her at her farm before sundown.

"Hey! No problem. I'm done with this drawing, and I'll walk with you. I'm headed that way anyways." Leah closed her sketchbook and quickly stood up, her auburn hair bouncing with the soft breeze as she moved.

It was a 20-minute walk to Leah's cabin just south of Marnie's ranch, but it felt so short with the conversation. She felt very comfortable around Leah and wasn't ready to cut the visit short. And apparently neither was Leah, as she invited Celeste inside.

"Wow, this is a really cool home," Celeste said, looking around at half-painted canvases stacked on the floor near an easel, a small table for dining in the kitchen, and full bed to the side, no walls blocking off any of the rooms except for the bathroom.

"It's modest, but it'll do," Leah responded with a grin. "Are you hungry? Let me make you a quick meal."

"I don't want to impose," Celeste was quick to respond. "Nonsense!"

Within a few moments, Leah prepared a dandelion greens salad with goat cheese and fresh berries. It was topped with strawberries and a vinaigrette. That was…quick.

"Would you like some wine?," Leah asked as she poured herself a glass.

Celeste held her hand up and said, "I'm not much of a drinker. Water will do."

The two of them spent some time chatting about their lives before moving to Stardew Valley, realizing they had more in common than they previously thought.

"I tried to escape an ex," Leah said in a pensive tone. "My ex…always tried to control what I did and when I did it. Here in the valley I feel free. I've been very content with the life I've started to live since coming here."

Maybe this is why Celeste was able to get along with Leah so well. They seemed to have similar histories and, seeing how Leah was living happily, she was beginning to feel more excited about her choice to come live in Stardew Valley.

Diiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing.

A text came to Celeste's phone. It was Robin, and she was asking if Celeste would be there soon. "You know what, Leah," she started to say in between the final bites of her salad, "I gotta go. Robin is actually expecting me."

Leah teasingly frowned and said, "That's fine, until next time."

As Celeste was headed out the door, Leah ran up to her and said, "Oh! Wait! I drew this for you at the beach. I hope you like it." She smiled at her and closed her door as Celeste turned around and started to walk away.

She looked down at the drawing that Leah had made. It was a sketch of Celeste fishing at the beach. How sweet of her, and wow, she's a great artist!

Back at the farm, Celeste was so excited to see Robin standing outside her door, hands on her hips. She started running towards her with glee.

"So just run the water for 10 minutes for it to clear up and then you should be good to go. Call me if you have any problems."

"I can never repay you for this, Robin!"

You have done more than enough for my family and me, Robin thought to herself as she walked back north to her home.

That night, Celeste drew a warm bath and laid in it, relieved to finally have the privacy and comfort of her own cabin. She really enjoyed staying at Robin's, for more reasons than one, but finally being able to be on her own was a blessing.

After her bath, Celeste finished getting ready for bed, turning off the lights and settling into her mattress. Things were really looking up.

She was up bright and early the next morning, ready to take on the day. Since she hadn't spent much time at the farm for the last week, a lot of the weeds and grass that she had cut down grew again. She didn't mind, as she was full of energy and ready to get serious about this farming business.

Just before 9 o'clock hit, Celeste grabbed her bag and made her way into town to stop by Pierre's. She heard singing coming from inside, and as she opened the glass doors, she saw Pierre behind the cash register, belting it out before he realized she had walked in.

"Uh…. HELLO FARMER CELESTE," he exclaimed in his chipper voice. "Here to buy some seeds?"

"Yes, and some fertilizer please."

She spent all day in the sun, hoeing the dirt and planting the new seeds. The season had just enough time left for her to grow the cauliflower, green beans, and kale she planted in the ground.

After she finished planting her crops, she started chopping down some of the decaying trees on the land, clearing the area for her future chicken coop. The stumps were the worst part: they were so hard to pull out and several of them trailed really deep. But she was persistent. And before the sun reached the three-quarter mark in the sky, she had cleared enough land for a coop. She just needed to save the funds to be able to afford one. With her last harvest of parsnip, along with the extra salmonberries she foraged that she sold to Pierre this morning, she was still short for the coop. She planned to sell some lumbar to Robin in a trade for her to get started.

As the sun approached the horizon, Celeste was starting to feel hungry. She knew going to Gus's every night wasn't a good idea finance-wise, especially if she was trying to save up for a coop and some chickens, but without a stove in her cabin, it was hard for Celeste to have an enjoyable meal that was more than just foraged goods and raw veggies. She was beginning to drop weight from her increased activity and natural diet, so she really had the cravings for something from the saloon.

She ran into her newly built bathroom, admiring it once again, before hopping out, tying her hair into a messy bun, and putting on a fresh pair of jeans and a t-shirt. Within 15 minutes, she was out the door and headed towards the Stardrop Saloon.

Shane hadn't seen Celeste in days. She hadn't stopped by the saloon since last week and his last interaction with her was the brief moment at Pierre's shop on Saturday.

Every time he heard the door open, he would look up to see if it was the new farmer entering the saloon, and every time he would be disappointed.

He eventually stopped looking up. He stopped counting on it.

Celeste walked into the saloon, it being quieter on a Monday night than it had been those other days, went to the bar and ordered a bowl of spaghetti. "You order will be right out, Miss Celeste!," Emily loudly claimed in her high pitched voice.

Celeste? She's here!, Shane thought to himself. He tried not to make it obvious that he was looking. He started feeling confused. No one in town has ever caught his attention before. He can't even remember the last time he was in a relationship with somebody, and it wasn't just her nice demeanor because Emily was the nicest one in town, but he almost felt like Emily had sympathy for him…. What was he doing?! He couldn't ever guarantee that Celeste would ever want anything with him anyways! He was a waste of space, garbage. The drinking had made him put on some weight from his gridball days, and he was especially self-conscious of the belly he developed because of it. His hair was a mess and he could never shave close enough with his dull razors to where it looked like he didn't have a 5 o'clock shadow coming in. The bags under his eyes were just as dark as his stubborn beard hairs, making him appear older than he was. He hadn't even hit his 30s yet, but yobadamn, he felt like he was closer to his 40s.

As Emily walked away, Celeste looked up and saw Shane sulking in the corner all alone. She stood up from the bar stool she was sitting at and made her way towards him, flashing him a big smile.

Before Celeste could get too close to him, Shane snarked at her, "I'm busy. Can't you tell?"

Celeste laughed, saying to him, "Busy doing what? Your glass is already empty, and Emily is too busy preparing my meal to fill it up for you right now." Shane huffed. He didn't find this as funny as Celeste did. In fact, he didn't find this funny at all. "I'm surprised that you're still trying to make friends with me. Haven't I been rude enough to you yet?" He let out a deep sigh. Celeste was wondering why he was so reserved, but she felt like it had to do with the hurt he carried in his eyes.

Celeste looked at him and said, "I know we're not friends, but you don't need to feel so lonely and rotten here in the corner." Her brows were furrowed and her eyes glimmered with concern. She knew what it was like to waste away with no one to give a damn about whether you'd be here in this world tomorrow. She lived it, and she didn't want anyone else in this wonderful town going through the same.

They were making eye contact for a while before Celeste finally broke the silence. "Have you eaten yet?" Who was she kidding? Shane didn't come to Gus's saloon to eat, he came here to drink. And food just slowed the drunkness and made it fade faster. He drank to forget. He looked at the foamy bubbles that populated the bottom of his pint glass.

"I'll take that as a no."

Emily was just returning with Celeste's spaghetti when she said, "Hey Emily, can I have another one please?" With a confused look which turned into a smile, the blue-haired barmaiden responded, "You gotcha!" and skipped back to the kitchen.

"Here, this is for you. Not sure if you're a spaghetti fan, but regardless, you gotta eat." Shane was thankful, albeit confused and skeptical, but thankful nonetheless.

Celeste watched him eat while she waited for Emily to bring out her plate. He was careful with his bites, taking each one slowly and seemingly tasting the food. It wasn't the same way he drank the beer, fast and sloppy like he was in some drinking competition.

Celeste saw that he was nearly transfixed by the food and almost felt bad for interrupting. "So… you work at Joja Mart? That must suck."

Shane swallowed his bite and, without moving his head, turned his eyes to Celeste. "How would you fucking know?"

"Um, I would fucking know… a lot. I worked for Joja Mart Corporation Call Center. All those pissed off customers you had to deal with in the shop, well they would call me to continue yelling after they were through with you."

Shane dropped his fork and let out a bellowed laugh. "You can't be serious?"

He looked at Celeste, half-expecting her to pull a raspberry and say she was kidding.

"Damn, how did you end up so nice then?"

Emily set down the fresh plate of spaghetti in front of Celeste and gushed, "Oh Miss Celeste! How kind of you to give your bowl of spaghetti to Mr. Shane!"

Nice. Kind. Did others truly see her that way?

She quickly devoured her food, Shane intriguingly staring at her from the corner of his eye, occasionally looking back at the suds floating in his empty pint glass. Music was playing loudly in the saloon and Shane relaxed into his bar stool, slouching his back and placing his elbows on the bar table.

When Celeste finished eating, she looked to Shane and said, "Well, I guess I'm gonna get going now. I have an early start tomorrow." Without hesitation or a moment's thought, Shane reached his hand out to Celeste's face and rubbed the red mark from under her lip. "You've got spaghetti sauce on your chin. I don't know if you were saving that for later or not, but it's not a cute look." His humor was dry, but Celeste couldn't help but laugh. "Thanks, Shane."

As she made her way to the cash register, Shane quickly followed her, untangling his right hand from the pint glass handle. "Here, let me get that." He offered Gus the cash to pay for his and Celeste's meal.

Nice. Kind.

She found herself repeating. "Thanks, Shane." She started heading for the door again, Shane trying to keep up with her. She noticed him walking alongside her out of the saloon and into Pelican Town, and when she looked at him, he stammered, "I'm walking this way, anyways. Let me walk you home, it's dark."

Shane was mostly quiet during the walk, but Celeste was in such a good mood that she was babbling off, talking about how her farm was doing, and how excited she was. "And I can't wait for Robin to finish my chicken coop so I can get started-"

Shane interrupted her. "Chicken coop?"

"Yeah! I'm so excited to start raising chickens. I was around them a few times when I was a kid, but I still have a lot to learn about 'em. I was going to stop by Marnie's tomorrow to ask her for some pointers."

"I know chickens!," Shane blurted. He wanted to hit his palm to his face.

Celeste's eyes lit up as she looked in his direction. He was looking at the ground with force, hands in his jacket pockets. "Cool! Maybe you can teach me." She nudged his shoulder with her elbow. Shane let out a small smile. "Maybe."

The rest of the walk was done in silence. Celeste was beginning to get sleepy and didn't have the energy to be talkative anymore, and Shane, well he wasn't much of a talker to begin with.

"Well, here we are. Thanks for walking me home, Shane." Shane struggled to maintain eye contact. "It was on my way home." No, it wasn't, and Celeste knew this. Unless you consider taking the long route "on your way."

"Still, thanks." She jumped at him, giving him a hug of gratitude. Taken aback, Shane stood stiff as a board, not reciprocating the hug. She let go of him and beamed as she nearly whispered, "See you later."

The next morning, Celeste woke early to head to Marnie's. She knew that Shane would be on his way to work soon and she wanted to catch him early enough to talk about chickens.

When she got to Marnie's front door, she knocked three knocks and waited for the plump middle-aged brunette to open the door. She expressed her friendliness in a smile and motioned for Celeste to come inside.

"Good morning, dear! I'm making pancakes, they're Jas's favorite. Would you like some?"

"Yes, please!" Celeste hadn't eaten yet today, and pancakes would mean she wouldn't have to forage her first meal of the day.

Shane woke up in a good mood once again, not as hungover as usual, and grabbed a cup of black coffee before he noticed Celeste sitting there. "Celeste?"

"Hey Shane! I was wondering if you could teach me about chickens!"

"You know I have work today, right?"

She rolled her eyes. "Of course. I was planning to walk you to work so we had enough time to chat!" She had that same smile that she always carried when speaking to Shane. He couldn't help but feel like he didn't deserve to witness that smile.

Shane chugged his coffee, grabbed a pancake, and rubbed Jas's head goodbye. "See you all, tonight!"

As the two of them left, Marnie and Jas turned back to look at them, Marnie smiling to herself.

"So chickens actually learn and respond to their names, so it's a good idea to refer to them that way." Shane was talkative this morning. Other than beer and spicy food, Shane loved chickens. Most people weren't aware of how much he loved animals.

"That's so interesting! What did you name your chickens?" Shane rubbed the scruff on his face before putting his hands back in his jacket pocket. "Charlie. She's my pride and joy."

"I hope to meet Charlie someday," Celeste said excitedly as they approached the doors to Joja Mart. It was nearly 8 AM and Shane's shift was about to start.

"Well thanks, Shane. I appreciate all of the info you've given me. Maybe when I get my chickens, you can come visit them when you're free!" Shane smiled. He wasn't used to using these muscles in his face. Could he ever get used to it?

Celeste leapt forward for another hug before turning around and saying goodbye.

Shane watched her leave, standing outside of the Joja Mart. He watched until she was too far away to be seen. He wasn't aware of how long he had been standing there, but…

Fuck, I'm late to my shift. Morris will have my head.