Chapter 8

Today I had received a package from my parents. It contained two letters, one from my dad and one from my mom, an envelop with pictures from my youth and several jars with, what turned out to be, vitamins. My dad had done some research on the internet and found out that (some researcher believe) vitamins help your body recover from chemotherapy. I put the letters and photos in the drawer of my nightstand and added the vitamins to my collection in the cabinet above the sink in the bathroom. I took a tablet from each jar before I put them in the cabinet among all my other jars. When I was finished, I took all the tablets and flushed them all away with a glass of water. Vitamins. Yummie.

A few months ago, my mom had bought me a box with all the days of the week on it. You could put all the medicines for all seven days of the week in it so you wouldn't forget any. I never used it because I found the thought of having to take all those pills and tablets again the day after depressing.

The next day I felt considerably better when I woke up and made a note to myself to never again underestimate the powers of a good night of sleep combined with vitamins. I got dressed in my working cloths and had noodles for breakfast. When I went outside to water my crops, I noticed it was still surprisingly quiet outside. You could even hear the early birds chirp and the bugs buzz. I watered my crops and quickly went to town. On my way I resisted to stop by at Mirabelle's animal shop for a chat and crossed the bridge to Sprout Island.

I heard the bell above the door chime happily when I entered Gannon's shop and I looked around the shop curiously. I had only been here once before when I came to introduce myself.

"Mornin'," Gannon greeted me with a gruff voice from behind the counter, "You're up early." I nodded and smiled politely.

"Good morning."

"Anything I can help you with?"

"I want to order a chicken coop, actually," I smiled again, this time not out of politeness. Gannon summed up the prices and I payed for the construction of the coop as well as for the materials. Gannon growled satisfied when he put the gold away in his cash register and told me he'd have the coop done by tomorrow before I left the shop.

Humming happily, I was almost skipping my way back home. I passed Mirabelle's shop once more and held my pace. 'Should I, or shouldn't I go inside?'I asked myself when a tiny voice in the back of my head kicked in. 'You need chicken feed anyway. Might as well get it now,' it snickered mischievously. I agreed with the tiny voice and went inside. Here too, chimed a bell above my head happily to announce my arrival. I saw Vaughn standing in the middle of the shop with his hands tucked in his pockets and Mirabelle standing next to him. As soon as she heard me coming in, she clasped her hands together.

"Chelsea!" she exclaimed, "You have perfect timing!" I couldn't help but notice that Vaughn quietly slapped his forehead.

"I was just asking Vaughn to take care of the animals," she continued, "But because he's so busy it would be nice if someone helped him out. Would you mind?" She smiled kindly. 'Forget about the chicken feed, go for the cowboy!' the tiny voice in my head cheered.

"I don't mind. Besides, it'd be a good lesson for me," I answered. Vaughn opened his mouth to object, but then changed his mind and shut it again. He motioned for me to follow him instead and led me to the large barn behind the shop.

"This is where we keep the animals," he said, stating the obvious. I nodded and looked around. The barn was really large and separated in three areas. A big area for the chickens, another big one for the sheep and cows and a smaller one for the horse. The barn was lightened by large TL-lamps, suspended from the roof.

"I suggest you start with the chickens."

"Um… What do I do?" I asked him. He raised an eyebrow.

"Just take one piece of feed for each chicken from the feed dispenser and put it in the feeder bins." I nodded and went to the chicken area, while he went in the opposite direction, to the horse. I had to giggle when the chickens eagerly gathered at my feet clucking loudly, but they did make my job more difficult, as I didn't want to accidentally step on any of their little feet. I counted eight chickens and put as many feed in the feeder bins. When I finished, I contently dusted off my clothes and climbed over the fence of the chicken area to find Vaughn.

I found him in the sheep and cow area, softly stroking a cow's head as he whispered something inaudible to her. Mentioned cow mooed softly and licked his face with its long pink tongue. I smiled when I heard Vaughn laugh and scold the animal playfully. I leaned over the fence a bit.

"The two of you get along very well, don't you?" He looked up surprised, nodded and smiled back.

"Are you finished already?" he inquired. I nodded proudly.

"You're quicker than I thought," he commented. I took it as a compliment and the cow licked his face once more. He rubbed the saliva off his cheek and gave the cow a warning look.

"I think she demands your undivided attention," I giggled.

"Very funny," He fished his pocket watch from his pocket and checked the time.

"How about you play with the chickens for a bit while I take care of a few more cows?" I nodded.

"Sure."

"We could take a break together when I'm done, if you want." I noticed a light but unmistakable blush on his cheeks and felt my own cheeks glow a bit too.

"Sounds good." I smiled once more before I headed back to the chicken area. I looked over my shoulder and held back a snicker when I saw the cow playfully lick Vaughn's nose. (The look on his face was priceless.)

I sat on my heels amidst the clucking chickens, softly petting the chicken that had boldly nestled itself on my lap when I heard the fence behind me crack a bit. I turned around, only to find Vaughn casually leaning against it, a sly smile on his face.

"They all seem to like you very much," he snickered when an even bolder chicken jumped onto my head, nearly knocking me over.

"You're just jealous you don't get this much attention," I told him and stuck my tongue out at him. Apart from grinning, he completely ignored my remark and changed the subject.

"Have you ever worked with chickens before?"

"Chickens?" I asked, "No, but I'm planning on getting some this week." He nodded approvingly.

"You might wanna let them outside when the weather is good. But only in fenced areas, or else the wild dogs will get to them." A sour grimace flickered across his face. I pretended I didn't notice.

"Why don't you join me? I don't have enough hands to pet all of them." I smiled when he efficiently jumped over the fence and squatted down in front of me. One of the chickens caught him off-guard and instantly hopped onto his lap, causing him to fall over. His hat fell off his head and another chicken didn't hesitate to nestle itself in it, while yet another jumped onto Vaughn's head, making itself comfortable in his silvery hair. At first I merely snickered, but then I couldn't help myself any longer and laughed out loud. After Vaughn recovered, he had to laugh too, realizing the idioticy of the entire situation. Two idiots sitting on the ground, surrounded by chickens, with chickens as well on their heads as on their laps. I think you could carefully state we got owned by the feathery creatures. (Never again shall we let down our guards in the barn!)

By the time we finished petting the chickens, it was already eleven o'clock. The sun was shining brightly outside and we were quickly tempted to go sit in the shadows of the trees behind the shop. Vaughn lay comfortably on his back in the grass, while I leaned against the tree trunk. A soft wind made the leaves above us rustle softly and the serenity seemed almost surreal to me.

"Hey, Vaughn?" I asked quite suddenly.

"Hmm?"

"Why are you only two days a week on the Sunshine Islands?"

"It's my job," he mumbled.

"Don't you ever, you know… wanna settle down?" I questioned. He slowly got upright and turned around to face me.

"Do you remember being a little girl and wanting a good job, a family, dog included, and a nice house to live in when you were grown up?" I nodded slowly, not understanding where he wanted to go.

"Well, I wanted to see the world," he told me, and a playful grin appeared on his face, "I wanted to be pirate."

"A pirate?" I snickered, and held back a laugh when I realized the costume would look actually look good on him*. Vaughn suspiciously raised an eyebrow.

"Do you think that's funny?"

"As a matter of fact, I think it's very amusing," I told him and tried to look as convincing as I could while biting back another snicker.

"At least I was original, miss American Dream," he retorted, quasi offended. He stood up and extended his hand towards me. I smiled when I took his hand and he pulled me to my feet. He smiled back.

"Break's over," he announced.

* To get an idea what it might look like, look up "Say 'arr', Vaughn" by Supermellowoman on DeviantArt!

...Doesn't he look sexy?

An extra long chapter because you're all awesome for reading the author's notes. :)
After chapter 7 was added, this story has crossed the 10,000 words, making it an official long story to me! Hooray! Hooray! Hooray!