The dreams of Dallas seemed to have subsided, and it's no surprise that this was a relief for Celeste. Painful reminders of what she ran away from were making it impossible to feel rested when she got up each morning.
After an ordinary day of farming, Celeste made her way south past Marnie's ranch towards Leah's cottage. They planned to meet up with Emily for lunch.
Celeste notices Leah's door is unlocked after knocking a couple times, hearing banging from the inside. She slowly opens the heavy wooden door to see the strawberry blonde working away at a wooden sculpture, banging with a hammer and scraping with a knife.
Celeste watched her in silence until Leah put the hammer down for a short break, calling to her attention.
"Oh! Celeste! I didn't hear you walk in!" Leah blushed slightly as she said this. "I was just working on this heavy maple trunk I found the other day in the woods."
She jumped off of her step ladder and walked towards Celeste. "It's a lot of work, but once you get past the outer layers, the true nature starts to show..." Her and Celeste exchanged smiles.
"It's the same with people," Celeste responded, noticing Leah's eyes lit up as she said this.
"Definitely," Leah opened her mouth in a big smile. She made her way towards the kitchen to grab a bottle of wine that she intended to take to Emily's. "Although, I have to admit... It's not easy to pay the bills as an artist."
Celeste knew exactly what Leah meant. Her mother was a struggling artist, so she saw the ins and outs of her grueling over jobs she hated just to make ends meet. Right before moving to Stardew Valley, Celeste was following her very own footsteps…
Leah went to the door and sat on the ground to put on her boots, one by one slipping her feet into them and zipping them up.
"Why don't you have an art show in town?" Celeste was watching Leah very closely to read her reaction. Leah stood up, wine bottle in hand.
"Hmm, here? In Pelican Town? I never thought of this place as being the artsy type. It would be cool if we had an art fair every year…but…. What if nobody likes my art?" Leah frowned, before looking at Celeste to see that she was now frowning. In consolidation, Leah smiled again and said, "I'll think about it. Now, let's go! We don't want to keep Emily waiting!"
With the Flower Dance just one day away, Emily was busy at work on her sewing machine when Celeste and Leah arrived, knocking on her front door.
Haley answered the door, greeting the two before telling them that Emily was working away in her sewing room.
The blue-haired woman was hemming a white fabric, and on display behind her were several white dresses with puffy sleeves and floral lace sewn on the neckline.
Emily looked up from her machine and bared all her teeth when she smiled, putting her hands up in the air with delight when Leah held up the purple bottle and said, "I have wine!"
After lunch, Emily convinced Celeste to let her make her a dress. When Celeste offered to pay, Emily said that she volunteers to make all the dresses for the dancers every year and that she found great delight in it. "It's great practice for me to better my sewing skills. You should've seen last year's dresses," she laughed.
The evening came quick and Leah and Celeste were ready to go home.
"Let me just do the finishing touches and it will be ready tomorrow," Emily assured them.
The walk home with Leah was a quiet one, still buzzed from the sweet wine that she shared with Emily. Celeste walked Leah to her door, making sure she didn't stumble in the dark. After saying goodbye, she made her way back to her farm, quickly falling asleep that night.
Tuesday came and went in a flash: normal farming duties. She harvested some of her cauliflower and placed it in her shipping bin for Lewis to pick it up the next morning. After a quick phone call with Marnie, she discovered that her chicks still haven't hatched, so she made her way to the beach where she spent the day fishing and collecting shells.
She avoided the saloon that evening, instead having dinner at Leah's: dandelion greens salad was her specialty. They also shared a pan-fried flounder that Celeste caught earlier that day. Emily stopped by to give Celeste her dress and made sure it fit her correctly. It was perfect. "Absolutely stunning," as Emily described.
The dance couldn't come any sooner.
After heading back home that night, Celeste hung the dress up in her wardrobe, looking through her things for shoes she can wear. A lot of her shoes were muddy and worn out from working on the farm, but she had one pair of flats that she knew would be good enough, even though they didn't quite match.
Celeste texted Leah a final, "Goodnite. See u tmrw," before drifting off to sleep.
The next day, Celeste got up early to tend to her crops. She had a burst of energy as she was looking forward to the dance. After placing her crops ready for selling in the shipment bin and picking up the envelope of money Lewis left for her in her mailbox, she ran into the bathroom and took a steamy shower.
When she came out, she started to put on some makeup as her hair dried in the air. She put on some shimmery eyeshadow, mascara, and finished with a light red lip stain. She grabbed her blow-dryer to finish off her hair, before styling it, with half of it up in two braids that met one another in the back center, tying it off and having her soft wave trail down her back.
She went into the bedroom to put on her dress and flats. She remembered the pearl earrings that her mother gave her before she passed away, putting those on as well; simple studs that made her suddenly feel elegant and beautiful.
She was meeting Leah at her place since it was on the way to the dance, where they would walk together to the festival southwest of town just past Cindersap Forest.
Once they got there, they were greeted with exuberant music and a bright atmosphere. Pierre was attending a pop-up shop, selling some rarer seeds and other goods. Shane was standing by the buffet table, filling his plate for the second time. Sebastian and Sam were on the far-left corner, avoiding the crowded parts of the forest.
Leah and Celeste made their way to the buffet table, each grabbing a plate of the delicious food Gus made: a vegetable medley, salad, fried mushrooms, green bean casserole, and fried fish sticks. Leah looked at Celeste and smiled as she headed to sit at a picnic blanket with Elliott, motioning for her to follow. "I'll be right there," Celeste mouthed towards her.
The farmer walked up to Shane, who was eating with his hands while standing by the buffet table. He shoved a couple fried mushrooms in his mouth, acting as if he didn't notice Celeste there.
"Hey Shane, how are you doing?"
"This isn't pizza, but it's free so it'll do," he responded, brushing off Celeste's question entirely.
Celeste then made her way towards Sam and Sebastian, surprised not to see Abigail standing by them. Sebastian was sitting on the ground in a suit, lighting a cigarette and Sam was excitedly eating and drinking some punch. Sam excitedly greeted Celeste, but Sebastian didn't give as much as an acknowledgment that she was there. Celeste, feeling slightly hurt, made her way to where Leah and Elliott were sitting on the ground. She quietly listened to those two talk as she ate her food in silence.
When it was time to dance, Celeste made her way to the center with Leah, hand-in-hand the tall artist guided her. Leah's hair wasn't in her usual braid; she had curled it and placed it up in a bun, some curly strands falling on to her pale, freckled shoulders. She didn't wear any makeup though, as she didn't need any. She had a natural beauty that makeup would take away from.
The dance began, and Leah embraced Celeste, taking on the male role in the dance. It was funny to see Leah being the only one in a dress on that side, but when the music began, there was so much excitement and movement, that edges blurred, and it no longer seemed odd.
Leah twirled Celeste and brought her close, whispering to her, "You are definitely the most beautiful dancer here today," before blushing and letting her go, Celeste spinning in a circle and coming to a stop. Their dance continued in succession, following the pattern of moves all the other dancers had rehearsed. Although Celeste didn't know how to dance and wasn't sure what to do, Leah was a great and confident leader, making her feel confident during the ceremony.
After the festival, everyone played games and ate some more, laughing the day away. Live music filled the air and the scene was slowly winding down. As the sun started to set, people started to leave the forest and make their ways back to Pelican town.
Celeste walked Leah home, lifting her dress along the way to make it easier to walk in. She wasn't used to wearing dresses, and from the looks of Leah fumbling as she walked, it appeared she wasn't either.
When they got to Leah's front door, she turned to Celeste and said, "That was fun." Her eyes glimmered as the golden sunset hit her face. Celeste was smiling in agreement, happy that she agreed to attend with someone as patient and nurturing as Leah. She never made Celeste feel judged while being her dance partner, even when Celeste stepped on her feet a few times and fell to her ass twice.
Leah was staring at Celeste's lips in silence before she started to close the gap between them. Celeste felt the breath of Leah's mouth on her own, the warmth causing her to feel a tingle run down her spine. As their lips touched, Celeste opened her mouth and using it to grab on to Leah's upper lip, slightly sucking as Leah pulled away, smiling, realizing that Celeste had reciprocated the kiss.
Celeste felt Leah place her hand to her face, and she stared into her hazel eyes. "I'll see you tomorrow, Celie."