Note: A Ray-POV chapter, huh? Well…I don't think that's going to happen. You see, this is Harley's story. And if you think about it, Harley isn't as stable as Ray. Ray knows exactly where he stands in this situation. Harley, however, doesn't. She's still trying to sort her feelings. (BTW, I had a lot of trouble writing this chapter. Took me three drafts to be happy with anything. Stupid writer's block…)

Chapter Fifteen: Don't Diss the Corn

These meetings went on for a while. Eventually, though, we could only meet once a week due to our schedules. Until finally, seeing Ray at Calloway Café became a daily routine in my otherwise crazy and fished-up life.

Okay, I'll admit, it wasn't just the food at Calloway Café that kept my weekly visits. Ray had such an easy-going personality; it was so easy just to empty yourself out to him. I mean, how many people can have a regular conversation with their husband while separated, pregnant, and contemplating divorce?

Yeah, that's what I thought.

But lately, our conversations consisted of randomness and whatever was on our mind at the moment. Divorce? We managed to steer clear of that topic mostly. I don't think Ray minded it as much as me. I just wanted to grasp at something normal for once, and Ray's talks with me offered that.

"So, when you were little, what did you want to be when you grew up?" I asked, tracing my finger around the rim of my cup. Carl's Café was pretty empty today other than Nina and Lyla sitting in the back.

"Actually," Ray said thoughtfully, "I think I've always wanted to be a fisherman. What about you?"

"Promise you won't laugh?"

"I promise."

"Well…I'd always wanted to be a ballerina," I admitted awkwardly.

"Seriously?" A smile spread on Ray's face.

"Remember, you promised!" I reminded him sternly.

"But you in a pink tutu and tights… How long did that last?" he inquired in amusement.

"Not long. My feet felt like they were going to wear out and the tights itched like crazy," I told him.

Katie placed a slice of cake on my plate, whispering, "You would have been a lousy ballerina, you klutz."

"Shut the fish up, Katie," I muttered back.

"Everything all right?" Ray questioned me.

"Absolutely," Katie replied with heavy sarcasm. "Your wife is so very charming, Ray. How did you ever get so lucky?"

"Katie!" Carl called from the counter with his hyper-boyish voice. "Are you being cheerful? If you're not cheerful, I'll dock your pay! This café runs on smiling faces! So smile! Or you're fired!"

The waitress gritted her teeth and flashed a terrifyingly fake smile.

"I'll just leave you two to your super-de-dooper meal!" she announced in frustration, leaving to the Employees Only Room. A loud scream of "MY JOB SUCKS!" sounded from inside there before Katie re-emerged looking submissive and ready for work.

Ray cleared his throat awkwardly.

"So…"

"…yeah."

"My turn to ask a question," Ray began. "What is your greatest fear?"

"What's yours?" I countered.

"I asked first," Ray insisted.

"Dang it." I scratched my head in thought. "That's a good question. Uh…"

"Well, if you don't know, then I'll answer," Ray sighed.

"Loneliness," we spoke simultaneously. I blinked in surprise as Ray looked away in embarrassment.

How ironic. Both of us were separated and supposedly happier than when we were married, and yet we were afraid of loneliness. Could it be…? No, I was thinking too hard about this. I had to change the subject.

"So, I'm thinking about upgrading my house," I said, eating some cake.

"Again? Why do you need a bigger house?" Ray accused.

"Well, I figure our son is gonna need a bedroom, right? And if you don't have a house, I guess I'm gonna have to let him live with me."

"That's true…" Ray sighed. "Fishing doesn't earn much."

"But if you stay in Flower Bud, you can raise him outside of the home," I persuaded.

"Yes. If I stay," he repeated.

"You will stay, won't you?" I pleaded, a pang of fear surging through me. He couldn't leave. No, I needed him. I needed that feeling I got when I sat beside him like this. If he left...I wouldn't know what to do.

His blue eyes darted from me to my plate.

"I don't know. I—Are you going to finish your cake?"

"Huh? Oh, no, you can have it," I said, pushing my plate towards him. Somehow I'd lost my appetite.

He ate it gratefully while I waited for him to finish.

"Thanks. Hey, you want to go outside?" he invited me with a smile.

"Outside?"

"For a walk on the beach. Just you and me," Ray explained, looking me straight in the eyes.

"Um…sure," I blushed. The way he was looking at me… Whenever Ray said something like that, he normally fidgeted or his face turned red. But this confidence—I wasn't used to it. It sort of captivated me.

As we walked outside, I suddenly became very conscious of the time.

"It's getting late," I exclaimed. "I need to head over to Woody's and ask for the upgrade—they'll be closed soon—"

"It's fine," Ray shrugged.

"NO, it's NOT!" I shouted heatedly. He stared at me in surprise. Heck, I was surprised, too. Had I really just spoken my thoughts out loud like that?

"W-what I mean is…" I stammered, "I'll come to the beach after talking to Woody. Do you mind waiting?"

"Not at all," he smiled.

"It won't take long, I promise!" I insisted, running to Woody's with all the speed I could muster.

Oh, fish, fish, FISH! Stupid errands taking away my time with Ray… Why did I have to be responsible anyway? Oh yeah, I was going to be a mother. I'd forgotten that. But still, did errands have to take away all my free time?

I arrived at the door to Woody's and composed myself. I had to be calm. I had to get this over with as fast and efficiently as possible. With that in mind, I opened the door.

"Shut up, Joe!" Kurt was shouting at his brother.

"Oh, come on," Joe whined. "You know you want some."

"No, I don't! I don't want any part of a videogame cliché aimed at Americans!"

"Um…hello?" I said, walking in.

"Saved by the fish-wife," Kurt breathed in relief.

I shot him a dirty look and turned to Joe, who was holding an ear of corn.

"Can I upgrade my house?" I asked him with a sigh.

"Not yet! Woody's out doing stuff. We can't do anything without him."

"Why not?" I replied in annoyance.

"Because we're apprentices who don't do anything until someone decides to hire us," he grinned.

"That sounds…important…" I managed.

"We are important!" he agreed, totally missing the sarcasm.

"What's with the corn?" I asked as I sat down, realizing I would be waiting here a while.

"Isn't that obvious?" Joe smiled. "Don't you see my bandana?" He pointed to his head for emphasis.

"I know, it's the American flag," I groaned.

"Right! And all true Americans love corn…Except Kurt."

"That's a myth fabricated by videogame-makers in Japan," Kurt explained with a frown. "I don't appreciate it at all."

"It doesn't sound too terrible," I tried to comfort him.

"But I don't want corn!" Kurt shouted. "Why can't they say something more accurate, like 'some Americans like corn, but not all of them do'?"

"Oh, you like it deep down," Joe assured him with a laugh. "You're just too stubborn to know it yet."

"I am NOT stubborn!" Kurt screamed at his imbecile of a brother.

"If you're going to get that mad, why don't you just chill at the Sanatorium with your other impaired friends?" Joe smirked. "You fit right in there."

"Maybe I will leave," Kurt threatened, stomping out of the building angrily with obscene hand gestures.

Oooh…the mood was tense.

I bounced on my feet and looked about for Woody impatiently. I needed to hurry and see Ray! I didn't have time for this.

"Are you sure you can't do this for me?" I insisted.

"I'm sure," Joe told me.

"Great, just great," I moaned, burying my head in my hands. Someone tapped me on the shoulder, and I looked up with a scowl.

"Corn?" Joe offered me smiling.

"ARGH!" I yelled, knocking the corn out of his hands. "I'm fishing tired of this! Upgrade or not, I'm going to the beach!"

I stormed through the door and ran smack dab into someone.

"I'm so sorry—" I stopped in mid-sentence.

It was Katie...and she was scary mad.

"Well, well, well, this is what happens when I'm not on break?" she accused Joe. "Guess the slut isn't happy with just her husband, huh? She needs to tread on everyone else's territory now! It's not enough that I have to deal with you at work, but you want my boyfriend, too!"

"I just wanted a house upgrade!" I protested.

"Woody isn't here," she challenged. "Everyone knows that you can't do that without him!"

"Well, I don't know what you want in a corn-obsessed maniac anyway!" I retorted, seriously ticked.

"At least my boyfriend doesn't live on a secret island and talk to freaking dolphins!"

"Hey, hey! Don't bash the dolphins!"

"Don't diss the corn!"

"Stop pretending I'm desperate enough to take your loser of a boyfriend!"

"Oh, shut up!" Katie snapped. "Once a man-stealer, always a man-stealer!"

"You wanna run that by me again?" I taunted, crossing my arms.

"Gladly," she smirked. "Once a man-stealer, always a--!"

SMACK! My fist ran straight into Katie's blabbing face. Joe gasped in alarm as she recoiled on the ground, wiping blood from her nose.

I had a quick flashback to Maria, but ignored it.

"Katie, are you alright?" Joe asked her in concern.

"Urgh…what do you think?" she spat angrily.

There was an awkward silence.

Joe picked up the ear of corn and, smiling, turned to her.

"Corn?"

Another loud scream erupted from Katie, and I took it as a sign I should leave.

And let me tell you, I got out of there fast.

I ran past Woody along the way, but I didn't care enough to get the upgrade anymore. I was currently worried about my survival, and my ability to run while pregnant (which wasn't all that good).

Soon, the beach came in sight. And lo and behold, Ray was there like he'd promised, waiting patiently. He turned and smiled at me as I approached him breathlessly.

"What happened to you?" he wondered aloud.

"I…really need…to stop…breaking people's…noses…" I gasped.

"Maria got to you?" Ray exclaimed.

"Worse," I panted. "Katie."

It took him a moment to let the information sink in.

"Harley!" he chided me. "What on earth is wrong with you?"

"I don't know!" I cried out in exasperation. "I just don't think, and then I punch, and—"

I stopped at the sound of someone laughing. To my amazement, it was Ray.

"Hahaha…What are we going to do with you?" he teased. "At his rate, all of the girls in Flower Bud will have bandaged noses."

"I…I'll try to get better at controlling myself," I apologized, taking his hand.

"Are you still up for a moonlight walk?" he asked me.

"Yeah," I told him.

For a while, we walked along the shore in peaceful silence, enjoying the company of the stars and each other. My heart fluttered as I looked at him, and I tried to suppress the strange feeling welling up inside me.

Was it something I ate? Or did I truly enjoy Ray's company…see him as a friend, no, as more than a friend. Was something hidden there all along? Had this feeling just be waiting to wake inside me? Could it be…Possibly…

My mind spun. This man beside me was my husband. My husband. Why had this happened? Why hadn't I felt this way when we lived together?

Had I ever gotten to know him before this fall season? Had I ever realized he had more to talk about than fish? Did I ever notice his beautiful smile, his loyalty, his love?

No, I had only thought about myself.

I had pushed him away with selfish thoughts and overly high standards. I found fault with him for appreciating life more than I ever had. I had pushed him down in order to make myself feel greater.

Just like Jamie pushed me in college.

I had to stop all this madness! I…I couldn't take it anymore. Was divorce what I really wanted? To make myself even more lonely, and to make my child lonely as well? To have Ray leave Flower Bud for good and remain just a memory and a regret?

It was time I did what my heart had been telling me all along. It was time I spoke my mind. He had to know!

"Ray?" I began tentatively. My voice broke off in the middle of his name.

"What is it, Harley?"

"Um…That is…" I cleared my throat. "We've been together a while now, since the BS day and all, and I—I miss it."

"Miss what?" Ray asked me in confusion.

"Oh, don't you know anything!" I shouted. "I miss everything: us, the way things used to be! I miss you, and I'm scared of what will happen without you! Why do you think I broke Maria and Katie's noses? I just wanted…" My voice grew softer as I whispered, "…to be together."

I hung my head, waiting for a reply of any kind. How could I have done that? Blurting out my feelings five seconds after realizing them…how would he take it? Oh, fish, what had I done?

Ray didn't answer. And then, I felt myself being pulled towards him and my lips connected with his. The shock of the kiss stunned me for a moment before I relaxed and truly began to enjoy being in his arms.

This was how it should be. This was what I had wanted all along.

"Well, what have we here?" a familiar voice snapped. "It's been a while since I've seen you two together."

I blinked in surprise as Ray and I pushed away from each other in panic. No. This was not happening. He wasn't here. Not now, not ever! NO!

But no matter how furiously my mind screamed, it couldn't change the fact that a seething Jamie was standing right in front of me.

Things were going to get messy.