Chapter 3: Friday Night Fun

That Friday, I decided to go fishing. I hadn't forgotten Abigail's request, but I still didn't want to intrude on Sebastian's free time. Then again, he had never suggested that it bothered him…Maybe it's all in my head. Since the fish weren't biting, I took it as a sign from Yoba that I should pay the saloon's rec room a visit.

The door of the Stardrop Saloon creaked open slowly, flooding my ears with the familiar din of the jukebox and a crowd of joyful patrons. Some people greeted me with raised glasses, others with acknowledging glances, and I sauntered over toward the pool table. Sure enough, Sebastian and company were already there. Sam noticed me first and turned to look at me, prompting Sebastian to take notice. Sebastian was surprised to see me come over, but his smile welcomed me into the group. Before I could properly greet either of them, Abigail gently grabbed my arm.

"Ready to play?" she asked excitedly.

"I don't know," I replied tentatively. "Maybe I should get in a practice round first."

"Nah, you'll be fine." She headed over to the Journey of the Prairie King arcade, and I followed.

We probably spent an hour on that game before running out of motivation and pocket change to continue playing. Afterwards, we relaxed on the large comfortable couch across from the pool table and watched the guys play.

Sebastian glanced over at us with an amused smirk. "Watch this." He leaned over gracefully, lining up his sight along the pool cue. He studied the ball at the end with the patience and earnest of a cat about to pounce on its prey. Abigail and I inched forward in our seats anxiously. In the blink of an eye, the balls scattered – but the cue ball made an unexpected jump and ricocheted off of another ball, sending it flying toward the Joja Cola vending machine.

Sam gasped in horror and Sebastian shrank backward in embarrassment, but Abigail hopped up and caught the ball in one hand, with lightning-quick reflexes I never knew she had. My jaw dropped in amazement.

I quickly glanced over to the other side of the saloon to see if anyone else had noticed the commotion, but they hadn't. Sebastian came up to us and held out his hand to collect the rouge cue ball, beaming at Abigail in bewilderment. "Your pretty good at that," he exclaimed.

"I've been training my agility in the mines," she stated proudly, dropping the ball gently into his open hand.

"Maybe I should do more exploring again," he mused.

"It would be nice if someone came with me. It gets dangerous further down…" Abigail turned to me. "Hey! You should come, too!"

"Come to think of it," Sebastian said to Abigail, "she's never been in the mines with me."

"Oh…" Abigail looked mildly surprised. "That would be so romantic, you know…at least, I would imagine."

I felt an unexplained tension in my stomach as I wondered why she brought that up without any provocation. A strange feeling of dread passed over me, but I shook it off. "Oh, I don't know…but anyway, it's easier to go mining in the winter."

"That's a couple months away, though," Abigail said sadly.

Sam came over to join the conversation, and for some reason, it felt like a deus ex machina. "So…who won this round?"

The guys went back to their game as Abigail settled back into the couch, presumably to catch future stray balls. I decided to call it a night and exchanged goodbyes with everyone, promising Sebastian that I'd see him later, though I knew I would be asleep long before he got home.

Once I returned to my farm, I brushed my teeth and cleaned up for bed. I decided to take advantage of my husband's absence by sleeping on his side of the bed, which had been my preferred space until he moved in and settled into it. I knew that Sebastian would just roll me over and sleep there himself when he got home, but it felt good to enjoy it for that brief moment before I drifted unconscious, relieving my brain of the latent concerns boiling just below the surface of my psyche.