Abby found Otis sitting in his stall wearing one of the most shocked, nervous expressions she'd ever seen on his face. He looked deep in thought; Abby hated to interrupt him but she felt like Otis needed comfort. She gently pushed through his stall door and approached him from behind, wrapping her arms around his neck. Otis immediately looked up to see a soft, gentle, beautiful face staring at him with a smile.
"Hi, Abby," Otis smiled, but the same nervous expression remained on his face underneath.
"What's wrong, Otis? You're concerned about Daisy, aren't you?" Abby predicted before Otis could answer her first question.
Otis let out a deep sigh. "Yeah."
"C'mon, honey, what's the worst that could happen? What could she do? You've told me before that she's the sweet, caring type, and just meeting her I've found you've been proven right."
"It's not that," Otis shook his head. "It's just that...well...how am I supposed to tell Daisy that I've moved on, especially when Ben looks up to me as his father?"
"You're just going to have to be honest, Otis," Abby shrugged. "Really, what do you think Daisy expected you to do? Live your whole life in misery after she left and never move on?"
"Yeah, you're right."
Abby smiled a comforting smile. "If it makes you feel any better, we don't have to jump to this subject immediately with her. We can wait a little while before breaking the news about us."
"Thanks," Otis smiled back. "And thank you for coming in here to comfort me, Abby. It means a lot."
"What are girlfriends for?" Abby winked. See, I knew he just needed a little reassurance.
"Do you know how lucky I am to have you?" Otis grinned, pulling back the loose strand from Abby's hair that never seemed to remain in her braid.
"Not as lucky as I am to have you," Abby giggled. "Want me to cheer you up?"
"Sure," Otis excitedly smiled, aware of exactly what was coming.
The next thing they knew, both their lips met in yet another passionate kiss. After about ten minutes or so, they finally released their mouths and Abby, in a delighted tone from the tender moment, said, "So, will you come out with me and say hello to Daisy?"
Otis shrugged and sighed. "Okay. This is going to be very awkward, though."
"It'll be fine," cooed Abby. As she followed Otis out of his stall, she took a moment to scan around. His stall was very cozy and carried the sweet smell of a fresh hay bed, along with his DVD player on the floor by his bedside, and a few pictures hanging on the wall consisting of his father, Ben, him and Abby, and his friends doing crazy stuff. Otis's secret little compartment (or drawer) was located on the wall to the right of his stall where it had always been, and held many memoriable items Otis had kept throughout the years.
Abby let out a dreamy sigh. Otis's stall was so relaxing, soothing, and comforting. Her insides were filled with tingles and she giggled as she envisioned the day they'd take their relationship a step further.
***
Otis and Abby returned outside to see Daisy and Bessy laughing and reminiscing over their good memories with each other. Nearby, Freddy and Peck were arguing over a random topic, Pig was eating one of his Granny's truffle pies, and Pip was drooling over Bessy as usual. As Otis caught sight of Daisy again, he felt like turning tail and running away once more. The only force keeping him in his same spot was Abby.
C'mon, Otis, don't be a coward, he told himself. Take it like a man. Otis gulped hard and began to feel drops of sweat forming on his forehead.
Abby cleared her throat as she prepared to announce Otis's arrival. "Daisy, guess who I found?"
"Who?" As soon as Daisy swung around, her soft expression changed to a mixture of shock and surprise. Her mouth dropped as she immediately realized that she was looking at Otis for the first time in years.
A wide smile grew upon Daisy's face. "Otis? Is it really you?"
Otis nervously chuckled and scratched the back of his neck. "Yeah, i-it's me. Hi, Daisy. Wow, I haven't seen you in forever..."
"Me neither," Daisy whispered, still in shock and disbelief that she was finally reuniting with the bull she had fallen for years ago. "I can't believe this! Oh, Otis!"
Daisy eagerly ran up to Otis in a big hug. Otis smiled and returned the hug in a friendly manner, still feeling extremely uncomfortable.
"Otis, I have so much to tell you about," Daisy anxiously said.
"Me too," Otis replied.
After that, several minutes passed by as all fell quiet in awkward silence. Otis fixed his gaze on the ground nervously, hoping Daisy would leave to find Bessy again.
Abby, hoping to break the awkward tension, finally broke in, "Daisy and the other newcomers must be exhausted. Why don't you guys come in the barn for some lunch? Pig's a great cook." Most of the time, anyways.
"I know Pig's a good cook," Daisy laughed, making Abby feel a little discouraged. "Sure, that'd be very nice of you."
"You and Otis can catch up then," added Abby. That way, I have a good excuse to keep a close eye on them.
"Good," nodded Daisy. "There's a lot you need to know, Otis."
Otis and Abby exchanged uncertain looks with each other. What must Otis know that would be so important? Abby wondered. Unless it's about "little" Ben. Abby then remembered that Daisy had been accompanied by two others upon her arrival, not just Ben. Who on earth is the other cow? Otis has only mentioned Daisy and Ben before. Abby hoped Daisy would get a chance to explain this mind-boggling question during lunch.
***
Daisy joined Otis, Abby, Bessy, Pip, Freddy, and Peck at a table inside the barn while Pig was preparing lunch. Daisy was discussing her experiences at her new farm with the other animals. The only ones who remained silent were Otis and Abby.
After a long while, Otis realized he had not seen Ben yet. He cleared his throat, and began, "So Daisy, is Ben here, too?"
"Yes, he is!" Daisy smiled. "But I'm afraid he's out in the field somewhere. Probably getting into trouble as usual. You'll be surprised at how much he's learned from his father," she chuckled.
This made Otis feel even more uncomfortable, and he gave Abby a nervous smile. Abby could only imagine how strange it must feel to be called a father in front of his own girlfriend. At least Ben isn't Otis's real son, she sighed with relief.
"He'll be back soon, though," Daisy finished. "Then you can see your son as a big, full-grown bull! Can you imagine that?"
Otis blushed with embarassment, praying that Daisy would stop referring to Ben as his son.
Unfortunately, Daisy had begun to notice Otis's nervous and uncertain expressions. A hurt look filled her face as she asked, "Otis, what's wrong?"
"What?" Otis quickly looked up. His heart began to stop as he became aware of how distressed he must look.
"Ever since you saw me for the first time in years earlier, you've been acting strangely. You don't look excited to see me or your son at all. I thought you'd be happy."
Beads of sweat trickled down Otis's face and he twittled his thumbs nervously. "No, I am happy to see you..."
"You're not acting like it," Daisy replied in a concerned tone, her soft blue eyes fixed upon Otis. "I have exciting and amazing news for you to hear, too."
Before Daisy could begin explaining her news, Freddy jumped in the conversation and, being the idiotic (yet loveable) ferret he was, blurted out, "Oh, maybe Otis is acting so nervous because he's in love with Abby now but he doesn't know how to tell you, and now it's really awkward for him!"
Abby gasped, unable to believe Freddy had just proclaimed that to Daisy! It was a typical move of Freddy, but her body was filled with shock that he had blown their cover just like that. Abby punched Freddy's head so hard that it turned inside his body (like it did on the Cowman movie).
Daisy just sat there, frozen in shock with her mouth agape. For a second, Abby worried whether or not she was breathing. When Daisy finally caught her breath, she simply widened her eyes and shook her head in horror.
"Otis, you and Abby...are a couple?!"
Wow, dun dun dun! Typical Freddy to blurt out the truth, haha! So, how is Daisy going to handle this? How will Ben react when he sees Otis? Who is that other cow? Wait and see in the next chapter! =)
For those of you who are anonymous reviewers, I just realized that I had anonymous reviews disabled before. *facepalm* But I fixed that, so everyone can review! YAY! REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW AWAY! 8D
Also, let me just say I am SO, SO, SOOO sorry it took so long to update! ;~; I was crammed with school, and on top of that, had a horrible case of writer's block. -_- But I want to thank/give credit to Mr. Average for helping me out! =) He came up with a lot of the ideas in my chapter, and I want to say a big THANK YOU! 8D You cured my writer's block! *hands you a cookie*
Luckily for you guys, Thanksgiving Break starts tomorrow afternoon, and I will have off from school for a little over a week so I will have plenty of writing time! ;D Expect a bunch more new chapters throughout next week! 8D YAY!
Review and you get another cookie!! (They're double chocolate) =D Thank you to all my reviewers last time! You're what keep me writing! ;)