Chapter IV: Girls and Siblings
It had been a week since Taylor had arrived and he found himself walking around the town. He took a hike up Mother's Hill only to come across a flowering field. The fresh blooms were yellow and pretty in a sense. A thought came to mind.
"I wonder if Gem likes flowers." Without a hint of hesitation, he picked some, hoping to give them to her later. He knew a lot of girls who liked flowers but he also knew some who did not. He hoped she liked them. For some reason, he no longer had the urge to continue hiking up to the peak so he turned back.
As he was walking across the wooden bridge, Taylor saw an attractive girl standing by the lake. She had long black hair and intelligent amethyst eyes. She looked sad, he noted. He felt as if he needed to leave her alone but he just did not have the heart to leave a girl so sad. He walked towards her. For a fleeting second she noticed him before she looked at the clear water again as if deep in thought.
Taylor gave her the best smile he could muster. "Hello."
"Hello." She spoke indifferently as she looked at him.
"Is something wrong?"
"No!" Her tone did not change.
He handed her a flower.
"What is this?"
"It is for you."
"…Thanks…I better go."
She was about to leave when..."Wait, I do not know your name."
The girl turned around. "Maan."
"I am Taylor." She seemed indifferent as she headed back to town.
When she was gone, Taylor sighed. "She is strange…yet pretty."
Taylor headed back to town and towards Gem's house. He could not forget the way to it. He especially could not forget the girl who lived in it. The flowers he had picked were bunched up in an improvised bouquet in his hand. He was just about to reach the house when a beautiful woman walked towards him.
"Good morning, Ma'am." He bowed lightly.
"Good morning! Wait, aren't you, Taylor?"
"Yes, Ma'am."
She smiled and Taylor noticed that she and Gem looked alike though she looked just a little older and her hair was more of a golden color.
"Mama!"
Taylor almost gasped when he heard Gem's voice. He had been talking to the matron of the Silvercraft household.
The older woman looked behind her. "Gem, what is it?"
"Mama, you forgot to bring your watering can." Gem held out the empty watering can.
Amy smiled. "Oh, thank you, darling." She took the watering can. "Well, I should be going. It was a pleasure to meet you, Taylor." She added.
"It was a pleasure to meet you too, Mrs. Silvercraft."
Amy smiled, amused. She had not been called Mrs. Silvercraft in quiet awhile. She left the two and headed down the road towards Meadow Farm.
When Amy had disappeared behind the trees, Taylor turned to Gem. "Hello Gem. It is nice to see you again."
"It is nice to see you too, Taylor. So you have met my mother?" Gem smiled though a faint blush appeared on her cheeks.
"I did not think she was your mother. I thought she was your sister."
Gem softly laughed, a sweet sound to Taylor's ears. "Do you mean it or were you just trying to be nice?"
"I meant it. I almost did not believe that she was your mother. She looked as though she were just a few years older than you."
"Mama would have liked to hear you say that."
Taylor suddenly remembered the bouquet in his hands. "Oh, these are for you." He held out the bouquet to her.
Gem was surprised. "Oh, thank you, Taylor." She took the flowers delicately. She had the grace of her mother, he thought.
"Would you like to come in and have some tea?" Gem gestured to her house.
"I would be delighted." Taylor smiled.
Adam watched as his sister and the new guy, Taylor what's his name, entered the house. He was in the forging room, working on a necklace when…he burned his finger. "Darn."
"You should concentrate more." He turned around at the sound of a male voice behind him and was face-to-face with a yellow-orange haired man, his father. "I am sorry, Dad." He bowed his head low, ashamed to be caught that way at work.
Gray sighed with a smile on his face as he looked at his teenage son. "You know, Adam. You remind me of myself when I was your age." Adam looked at his father curiously. Gray smiled as he combed his hair back with his hand. He had abandoned his cap when he was twenty-two, on he and Amy's third wedding anniversary.
Though he no longer wore his cap, he still maintained the length of his hair to just lightly touch the nape of his neck. He made sure Adam, his only son, did not wear a cap and would never need to, even when they worked at the shop.
"I did not concentrate so much on working at the shop then either until I met my inspiration." He explained to his son.
"Mom?" Adam asked, his voice inquiring.
Gray could only nod though he knew the answer was partly true. He had feelings for Mary before he met Amy, the woman he truly loved and was happily married to for almost seventeen years.
"She inspired me to work harder and encouraged me to do my utmost best while she still helped Uncle Matt on his farm."
"Wow, Mom must have been remarkable." Adam smiled proudly. The tone of his voice was awed.
"She still is…Well, we had better get back to work." Gray said as he turned around and left the forging room.
"Dad?" Gray turned around at his son's call. "…What do you think of the new guy?" Adam looked at him inquiringly.
Gray looked thoughtful for a moment before he answered his son's question. "I think the young man is alright but I am not quite sure if he is right for your sister." He said with a smile on his face.