A combination of disastrous weather at the end of fall and the start of winter had taken a toll on Angela's farm. Over half her fall harvest had been wiped out completely and it was too late in the season to grow any new produce. Scratch that, too late in the year to grow any produce.
Just when she thought she had the entire farming thing under control, something had to go wrong. She still had her animals, but taking fodder into consideration, she was back to barely having enough money to keep her out of poverty. The entire land package deal was hardly worth the stress. Angela thought if she could tough it out until spring, things would look up; but as things were now, she wasn't in a position to last until the New Year.
Maybe she could sell her excess land? It would obviously be terrible for her reputation, but her only other option would be to start selling her animals; a prospect that would have to be a last resort. Though there was admittedly little keeping her on Waffle Island beyond guilt.
Angela sighed and looked out the window; it was another clear afternoon and the sunlight was bouncing off the crisp new snow. The district looked cold and starkly beautiful.
Pulling on her boots, Angela decided there was no better time than now to make a trip to town hall and consider her options.
After opening the door, she quickly regretted the decision. If it was even possible, the air outside seemed colder than it had just a few hours prior when she trotted out to feed her animals. Shivering, she did up a few more buttons on her jacket and closed the door behind her.
Deciding to take the path through the Maple Lake District, it all took about the same amount of time in the long run; Angela took off down the slippery path.
She only made it to around the vicinity of Chase's house when she heard an odd little sound. Inquisitive, Angela stopped and listened. The sound appeared to be coming from just a few feet away, near some shrubbery.
Angela tentatively padded over to the bushes and moved aside some stray branches, the snow making her uncovered hands throb. Peering down into the freshly cleared area, Angela was mortified to find the cat she regularly visited in the district.
"What are you doing here, huh? It's cold, little guy." she reached out a hand and was relatively surprised to find that, unlike prior attempts, the cat did not make a move to take a chunk out of her hand. If fact, it barely even made a move; which worried her.
Taking a chance, Angela scooped up the cat and tucked it inside her warm coat. Luckily, this time the cat didn't struggle or attempt to break from her grasp. It shivered, but made no other movements.
"Figures there's no vet here...Where am I gonna take you, bud?"
Someone at Brownie Ranch may know something; however, the ranch was a fair distance away. Considering her present location, Angela decided she may as well try the clinic. People weren't that different from animals, right?
Making sure the cat was securely in her jacket, Angela took off down the road once again.
"Can you take a look at him, please? I found him in one of the bushes down by Maple Lake District." Angela took her coat off, complete with the cat that was looking a little livelier.
Doctor Nice Ass looked suitably unimpressed; then again, he always looked like that.
"I don't see anything wrong with him, Angela. He has a thick coat of fur and does not appear to have been outdoors for very long. Just make sure he stays warm and hydrated. I assume you're keeping him, correct?" Jin replied nonchalantly, adjusting his glasses.
"Yeah, I'm not just going to dump him back out there." Angela proceeded to put her coat back on and tucked the cat back in it.
"If his condition grows any worse, bring him back in tomorrow."
"Okay, thanks a bunch. I'll be going then." Angela smiled, relieved, and set her hand on the door handle.
"Of course." Jin genuinely smiled back at her, causing Angela to just about lose her balance.
Retreating out the door, Angela glanced toward the clock tower. It read three o'clock, plenty of time to make it back to the town hall. They would mind her companion, would they?
Making her way down the path and up the stairs, Angela found herself at the town hall in less than ten minutes. Opening the door and making a small attempt to pull her jacket up just a bit more over the cat, Angela meandered into the town hall.
As per usual, Elli was sitting at the front counter, Gill was preoccupied at his desk and Hamilton was nowhere to be found.
"Hey, Elli..." Angela walked over to the reception desk slowly. "I'd like to talk to you about that land I purchased."
Elli smiled. "What is it you need, Angela? More land?"
"Actually, uh, I was wondering if it's possible to sell it back."
"Oh dear, I'm afraid we can't do that. Is there any reason why you don't need it anymore?"
"Yeah, actually, my crop output isn't quite what it once was." Angela shuffled nervously. Why was this so hard?
"I see. I'm sorry, Angela. You'll just have to hold onto it. Things will get better come spring!" The receptionist attempted a softer smile.
Unfortunately, there went that plan. Angela shook her head, and turned around, preparing herself for the cold walk back to her farm.
"Angela. I need to talk to you."
The farmer turned and was unsurprised to find that Gill had managed to sneak up beside her. Didn't he always need to talk to her these days?
"Fine. Talk." she managed to say, frustrated.
"Not here. Meet me at Alan's tree around six." the mayor's son sounded rather arrogant, not that it was anything out of the ordinary.
"Gill, it's cold and I don't particularly want to walk up there in the dark. You can tell me now or it can wait."
It was always something with him, wasn't it? If he wanted to talk rainbow recipes, she may as well be warm while doing it.
"...F-Fine. Let's talk by the clock tower then. Now." Gill stammered, and looked downwards, slightly less confident.
"All right. But this had better be quick." Angela shifted the weight in her jacket around to prevent her arm from going numb.
The blonde made his way back over to the door, pausing momentarily. "...Angela, are you aware your coat's purring?"
"Yeah, it's a going concern."
Even with Angela's added insulation, it was freezing out. Gill was sure taking his sweet time preparing whatever words he was cooking up under that blonde head.
"Angela, I know we've had our differences, but I can't stop thinking about you. How would you feel about going steady with me? That is, if you don't have feelings for anyone else." He sounded nervous and if Angela could actually see his facial features, he would more than likely be redder than a tomato.
This was rich. Gill had set himself up perfectly. Angela felt just a twinge of guilt, but she knew she'd have to tell him at some point.
"I can't say the same. There's someone else."
"Y-You're rejecting me?! How dare you! A-And for who? Luke? Chase?" Gill was irate now and incredibly rude too, but that wasn't out of the ordinary either.
Well, at least she didn't feel guilty now.
"You mean you haven't noticed? I've always known you were a jerk, but I didn't think you were this dense. Think a little harder."
"W-What? Angela, you're impossible!" The mayor's son flailed his arms in exasperation.
"Gill, I have feelings for Hamilton, your, uh, dad." Angela supposed there was really no way she could put that tactfully.
As expected, he was speechless. In fact, the result was better than expected; he looked about ready to hit the cold dirt. It served him right.
Angela shook her head and made an attempt to leave.
"...Why?" Gill asked quietly, unable to look her in the eye.
"He's a nice person who treats everyone kindly. I can't say the same for you. Look, it doesn't really matter now anyway. I wasn't planning on telling anyone yet, but I'm going back to the city. You were right, this place is nothing like the brochure and I can barely make a living here."
"I-I'm leaving now." The mayor's son abruptly brushed past her and left without a second glace, leaving her alone in square.
The farmer hadn't expected him to take it well; but what did he expect?
Sighing, Angela checked on her cat. At least he seemed happy.
"You know what? I think I'm going to name you Hamilton."
The orange cat yawned in reply.
Angela spent the following week tying off loose ends and avoiding the mayor and his son as best she could while making preparations to leave the island.
Much to her dismay, Angela was forced to sell all her animals, with the exception of Hamilton the cat. She had no intention of farming after her departure from the island. While she was sure the animals would be safe and happy at Brownie Ranch, she still found herself very attached to her sources of income.
Needless to say, Angela wouldn't miss the island. Even if she spent the rest of her lifetime haunted by the goddess with blue hair, it still wouldn't be worth staying on the island. She did her best and now it was time to move on.
Fine, so she might miss the Ocean Festival and she might have felt guilty leaving her recipe collecting job half done. It was a relatively small price to pay and the island did affront her with a valuable piece of mind, even if it was 'don't ever take up farming again'. Besides, Kathy promised to call her and Luke promised to write. However, Kathy was hardly reliable and she doubted Luke could read, let alone write.
Now was hardly the time for regrets anyway. The boat was leaving in ten minutes and, ever the prompt one, Angela was already on it; bags packed and cat in carrier. The situation almost made her nostalgic. Nearly one year ago, she was heading to the island with grand aspirations and zero pocket change. Now she was leaving the island and only up one cat.
It was a learning experience, if nothing else.
"Angela, was it? I always thought you'd make it as a rancher, but I guess life had other things planned for you." Pascal shook his head and continued to polish his pipe with a dirty cloth.
"Well, I guess Waffle Island wasn't everything that you led me to believe it was."
A horn sounded from the ship as it began to push away from the dock. Angela was unsurprised to see that nobody had turned up to see her off.
"Aye, well, maybe some other upstart rancher will be up to the task. I hear the mayor is sending out brochures again." the sailor looked rather unimpressed.
Waffle Island was slowly fading away from view; it looked strangely unimportant and insignificant from this distance.
"Good for the mayor. I wish whatever idiot takes it up this time the best of luck."
It was amazing the change that could happen in five years. A school was built, couples were wed, children were born and the mother tree was revitalized. The new rancher was ambitious indeed.
In what had become a regular Sunday occurrence, Gill found himself sipping in tea on a familiar antique couch in a familiar manor. Hamilton, as per usual, was staring at him intently.
"Yes, father?" he ventured, upon noticing the mayor's gaze.
"You didn't bring her along this time?" Hamilton looked disappointed.
"She and Luna are visiting the farmer for some fresh produce." Gill set his tea cup down on a coaster.
"How fabulous! Children are so interested in such things at that age!"
Not that Hamilton would really know; his son was far from an average toddler.
"I suppose so." Gill replied; he had an admittedly small breadth of knowledge regarding children, including his own.
The stout man paused for a moment, looking relatively contemplative. "Do you remember that farmer we had before Kevin? What was her name again?"
"Angela." The blonde once again picked up the teacup and stared at its contents absentmindedly.
"Ah yes! What a nice girl, and quite beautiful too as I recall..."
Author's Note: Well, there you have it. I've been trying to hold off author's notes, since they usually come off as mindless griping (or, god forbid, 'R&R PLZ')...but what the hell, I've come this far.
I'll freely admit there's plenty of faults and things I'm not proud of with this piece of fan fiction (this ending being one of them); however, writing this has been a good exercise and I now have a decent grasp on the elements I'll need to improve on in the future.
Thanks Bizz, you've been an awesome beta reader. I know it wasn't easy slogging through all my shitty grammar, but I really appreciate it. Dude, I owe you one! You're hardcore!
I was going to avoid thanking anyone else since it usually just comes off as tacky, but sugarapplesweet, I really appreciate both the time you took to review every chapter (with obviously some thought put into the reviews) and that you actually stuck with this beast from the very start until the very end. I don't know if this story lived up to your expectations, but thanks all the same.
Thanks to everyone else that stuck this story on alerts, favourites or really just took the time to read it. Reviewers, thanks for, um, reviewing. I know I'm lazy and rarely do it, but I'm always happy to receive some sort of feedback. I'm such a hypocrite. Anyway, you guys rock! Thanks for reading!