Cool wind whisked through Breezy Hills Farm, whipping through Carri's long black hair and played as a reminder that Fall had definitely arrived. The valley had cooled down so much since Summer, and both the farmer and her plants enjoyed it so much more. Looking up from her plants she was tending, Carri felt her blood run cold. Fuck, Sam, what the hell are you doing here? It had been since that summer day when she froze his skateboard to the wall that she had actually spoken to him, and he looked as awkward as she felt. Noticing Vincent at Sam's side, she knew she would have to be more adult than she had been. "Hey! Vincent, Sam, how have you been?" Putting on her best fake smile before shooting Sam a glare, Carri wiped the dirt off her jeans and approached them as they reached her porch.
Sam's hair was tousled and in its normal spiky state, but the bags under his eyes indicated he hadn't been getting much sleep. She could feel her glare melt away to a look of concern before Vincent answered her question. "Carri! We need your help! Mom's birthday is tomorrow, and Sam can't cook! He even burns frozen pizza sometimes! Will you please please help us make her dinner?" Carri couldn't help but chuckle. She never saw Sam as the type to do well at taking care of himself, but with a mother like Jodi always helping him with everything, it was surprising he even knew how to clean his room.
Carri glanced to Sam waiting for him to speak up or anything, but he just looked away. Apparently asking for help was Vincent's idea and not his. Not that she could blame him. With how cold she had been toward him, it was surprising he didn't shut down the idea immediately, however, his lack of speaking was getting on her nerves. "So...what needs to be done, Sam?"
Sam turned to face her and blushed instantly at how close she had moved to him. She was in his face with a big grin and her hands on her hips. "U-um… Well, we were gonna clean the house for her and cook dinner." He shifted his weight nervously and ran his hand through his hair. "She works all the time to keep our house clean and cooking for us, but tomorrow is her birthday and she is going to work out with the other ladies. So she will be out of the house from 10am-7pm. I- I mean VIncent- thought...maybe if you helped… we could have everything looking good and have her favorite meal prepared when she got back."
Carrissa turned her attention back to Vincent and smiled. "Well, I'm glad Vincent thought of it. I have been trying to think of something to do for Jodi anyway, so sure, count me in." It's time we fixed this awkward mess anyway, Sammy. "I'll make sure to have my chores done by then and meet you at your house at 10:15. That way I can be sure Jodi is out before I show up. Any specific meal?"
"Chocolate Cake!" Vincent jumped up and down in excitement. "Mom's favorite is chocolate cake!"
Carrissa couldn't help but grin at the young boy's excitement. "Okay, so chocolate cake, and what for the actual meal, Sam?" After discussing the meal and dessert, the group decided on Crispy Bass, a vegetable medley and the chocolate cake. "Well, I easily have the veggies and the bass, So I will run by Pierre's and pick up the chocolate cake ingredients today and meet you guys in the morning."
"See ya then." Sam offered a smile before taking Vincent and leaving the farm. The boys waved as they strolled away. A yell of goodbye could be heard from Vincent as they headed towards town.
The rest of the day flew by for Carri. Saying she was excited to spend time with Jodi and her family tomorrow was an understatement, but a certain statement from the wizard had her completely debating how to dress. Love interest. I guess I do have a crush on him… Carri pouted as she held up outfit after outfit against her thin frame as she peered into the mirror. I want to look cute, but not desperate. Plus we are cleaning so I need something I can move in. After finally settling on a pair of blue jean shorts that rested well above her knee, a black tank top and her red and black flannel jacket that she wore open and tied at the waist, she figured she was done.
The next morning came swiftly and the raven haired girl had hardly any sleep. Had to stay up all night thinking about Sam didn't I… A sigh fell from her lips as she finished her farmwork and gardening in record time so she could shower and get dressed into her outfit she chose the night before. Carri packed all of her things into a basket and headed over to Sam's like promised. When she arrived, Sam could be heard through the door. "Vincent! Play in your room for now! It will make cleaning up harder if you are playing in EVERY ROOM." The farmer laughed as she knocked on the door and laughed even harder as she heard Sam shuffling to get to the door.
"Someone sounds like they need help." She said as he opened the door and she propped herself up against the doorframe.
Sam gave her a quick eye roll, before taking the basket from her. "Maybe I was managing just fine, thank you." He held the door for her as she entered then placed the basket in the kitchen. "So, uh, Vincent is now in his room playing. He wants to help you with the cake though."
"I will get him and we'll start the cake. It will need to cool before we can ice it anyway. So once it's setting, I can help with some of the cleaning." Glancing around the house, Carri shook her head. She's been gone fifteen minutes, and he already has the house looking like a tornado went through it. How did you even manage to do this, Sam?
After about an hour of teaching Vincent how to make a three layer cake, Carri rushed to do the dishes. Vincent was still licking the cake mix he spooned out of the bowl. "When you are done with that, set it in the sink for me to wash later, okay?" The boy nodded as Carrissa finished wiping down the mess the two had made before setting off to see how Sam was holding up. "Hey, Sam, you know the list of chores I wrote you doesn't do itself if you read it over and over." Her playful tone broke him out of his staring contest with the slip in his hand.
"I know that!" He countered. "I just don't know where to start. This list is HUGE! How are we ever gonna finish all this?"
"We will start at the top since I wrote everything in order…" Taking the list from Sam, Carri pointed out what to do first. "Always tidy up the room first, then dust and furniture polish. After that clean the windows then do the floor. Always take out trash last, or you will have to do it twice."
Sam nodded then began picking up Vincent's toys that were splayed all over the living room floor. After everything was straightened and put in its place, Carri and the sunshine boy began dusting. Using the Webster, the farmer took care of the ceiling and fans, down to the baseboards and afterwards Sam dusted all the tables.
After a few moments of silence, the blonde couldn't take it anymore. "It's nice to have you around again, Carri, and thanks again for helping with this. There is no way me and Vincent would have done this right."
"I've been meaning to stop by but I've been busy lately." Carrissa reached for the mantle, but couldn't quite reach the top, so she pulled a chair over and climbed up to dust the mantle of the fireplace. Her legs wobbled beneath her and she lost balance right towards the end. Sam however, quickly moved behind her and caught her.
"You okay?" He asked before setting her down.
"I'm fine!" Carrissa looked away and continued cleaning once she was back on the chair, but this time, Sam didn't leave her side. Instead he held the back of her exposed legs to support her as she stood. With both of their faces stained crimson, they avoided eye contact. "T-thanks for catching me, Sammy."
After vacuuming the living room, the two made their way to Vincent's room, where the young boy also helped clean by making his bed and gathering his laundry, while the adults picked up his toys and placed them in his toybox. On their hands and knees, the two picked up the toys and took turns throwing the less likely to break ones into the toybox. "He shoots! He scoooooores!" Sam laughed while Carri clapped.
"And the crowd goes wild as Samson makes the game winning shot! Looks like the sunshine boy has led his team to the championship playoffs!"
Vincent stared at the two and shook his head. "How come you two get to play with my toys, but I have to clean?" A big grin crossed his face as he left the room. "I know! You two have to clean under my bed then! That's where Jas hides a lot of my toys when we play."
Sam and Carri sighed in unison as they lay down and reached under Vincent's bed, pulling out many toys that had been hidden away. One in particular almost reached the back wall, and both young adults tried to reach for it. Instead of finding the toy, Sam's hand gripped Carri's. She could feel her heart fluttering wildly in her chest as her stomach flipped. His hand is so soft and warm. As the warmth left, she missed the feeling of his hand on hers. "Sorry! I didn't mean to hold your hand! Uh...shit…" Sam's spoken words hurt the farmer more than she cared to admit. Of course it wasn't on purpose, Carri.
"Don't worry about it. It was just an accident, but we really should finish cleaning. I have to ice the cake soon." With that statement, Carri grabbed the last toy from under the bed and tossed it in the toy box. When the two finished cleaning Vincent's room, they moved to Sam's room while Vincent watched television in the living room. Carri viewed the room and sighed. "Yours too, huh?" All of the band equipment was pulled out in the middle of the room, there were papers crumpled up and tossed everywhere on the floor, his bed wasn't made and there was a pile of laundry on the ground beside his laundry basket rather than in it. "Tsk tsk, Sammy."
The blonde's face heated at her judgemental viewing of his room. "Look, creativity takes a toll! That toll just happens to be the cleanliness of my room!" Defensiveness held heavy in his tone as he began picking up his dirty clothes and putting them in the basket.
"Is creativity why you look like you haven't slept in weeks?" The raven haired girl countered.
"M-maybe, what's it to you?" She shrugged off his question, and he left his room with the basket in tow to start his laundry.
Creativity, huh? I wonder what you've been writing. As he was out of the room, Carri began uncrumpling some of his wadded up paper balls that littered his floor. Some were just random lines for songs written by Abby or Sebastian; others were applications for gigs in Zuzu City. It wasn't until she opened the one closest to the trash can that her attention was truly stolen. This one isn't like a song. It's a poem? And in Sam's hand writing.
Pretty little songbird, how I love your song.
My world was only silence before you came along.
Eyes like emeralds, feathers like night,
Won't you come back and hear my plight?
Winter stole you away, on that fateful day,
Now without your song, I wither away.
I wait for the day the wind will Carri you home,
Cuz pretty little songbird without you, I'm completely alone.
Carri reached up and wiped her tears away. Eyes like emeralds… feathers like night… winter stole you away, Carri. This poem was about me? How could I be so stupid? She took and folded the paper, placing it in her pocket just as Sam came back to the room. She sniffled as she threw the rest of the papers away.
Sam stepped directly behind her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "H-hey, are you okay?" Carri couldn't face him. Her body shook lightly with silent sobs. Her shaking stopped entirely though, when his arms wrapped around her and held her tightly. "Please don't cry. I was just messing with you. I didn't mean to upset you."
With a shake of her head, Carri turned around and returned his hug fully. "I'm sorry, Sam. I've been so stupid." Tears stained her cheeks and continued to fall as she spoke. "I pushed you away because I was scared. I won't do that again." Her grip on him tightened. "I'm so so so sorry." Swiftly, she moved to her tiptoes and lightly kissed the side of his lips. A blush stained her features as she started to pull away. Way to miss my first kiss. Ugh, why am I so bad at this?!
Sam's eyes widened before taking her chin in his hand and tilting her head so she'd look up at him as he returned her kiss properly. Carri's head spun with delight and butterflies quickly made their home in her stomach once more. When he broke the kiss, they both stared at each other in awe. "Ewwwwww! Sam and Carri sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G. First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes Carri with a baby carriage!" Vincent paused his teasing song as his jaw dropped. "Wait! There's not gonna be a baby is there?! I don't wanna live with a crying baby, Sam!"
Carri couldn't help but burst out laughing, while Sam turned as red as her cranberries she was growing at Breezy Hills. "N-NO! There is not gonna be a baby, Vincent! And you did not SEE that."
"Oh, yes I did~" The younger brother practically sang. "Mom is gonna ground you for suuuure."
"Aw, shit. Look, I will bring you candy every day for a week, if you don't tell anyone! Not mom, not Jas, not ANYONE." Sam's eyes were pleading as he tried to negotiate with his younger sibling.
"Mmm… Two candy bars every day for a week, and you clean my room when Jas comes over!"
"Fine." Sam grumbled as his brother strolled out of the room with a triumphant smile. "Kids these days, man. Can't bribe 'em like you used too." His shoulders slumped in defeat.
After the two finished cleaning his room, Carri glanced at her cell phone for the time. "I can't believe it's already 5:00. Let's go ice the cake so I can get the bass and vegetables going." Gently, she wiped the sweat from her forehead with a rag after washing her hands. "Vince, wanna help put the chocolate icing on?" The young boy shook his head, muttering about cooties and returned watching his program on television. "Welp, since we have cooties, I guess you are gonna help me, Sam."
The blonde straightened his jacket and tugged at the blue jean collar. "Well, looks like I am at your service, ma'am." Carri playfully smacked him before grabbing a butter knife. "So….how do we do this?"
"You really are clueless, aren't you?" She pulled her hair back into a hair tie. "First the three separate layers need to have the top iced, then stack them and put the icing around it and touch up the top." She pulled out a pastry decorating bag with a small nozzle. "After that we write on the top with a different color with this."
Sam nodded and took a knife as well, following Carri's movements. After his first few mistakes, she decided that his less attractive decorated pieces would definitely be the bottom two layers. After carefully stacking them, she worked her magic and carefully coated the sides and top of the final layer. Her work was borderline professional and Sam nodded his approval. "So, now we just write on it with the bagged blue icing? Seems simple enough." Carri took the bag and made a few small blue flowers around the edges before changing the nozzle to a more fine size made for writing. She carefully wrote 'Happy Birthday, Mom' since this was supposed to be the boy's surprise for her. "Calling her mom already?" Sam teased as he nudged her.
Carri's face flushed and before she took some of the remaining icing and smeared it on Sam's cheek. "You know that wasn't it!" Fire lit in Sam's eyes as the competition raged on. Snagging the icing bag from Carri, he grinned mischievously and dabbed a bit on her nose. The boy stuck his tongue out playfully as a full on icing war broke out between the two adults. After the final blow was dealt, Carri glanced at the clock. "I only have an hour left to clean up and finish dinner. Will you go double check that Vincent didn't make another mess and take out the trash?"
As if on cue, as seven struck, Jodi walked in the door, exhausted from her day of exercise with the girls. Her eyes widened at the sight that unfolded before her. The living room was spotless and a delicious aroma drifted from the kitchen. A banner decorated by Vincent that read 'happy birthday, mom!' hung from the doorway that led into the dining room. The table was set and the three who prepared everything sat at the table waiting. "Happy birthday!"