A new person poked her head around the corner of the doorway that Pierre had just disappeared into, a woman who appeared to be around his age with green hair. Vicky offered a wave after she'd managed to get her momentary attack of anxiety under control, and the woman let out a quiet little 'tsk' noise before slowly making her way over to say hello. She had a simple sort of dress on, blue with thin white stripes horizontally across the fabric, with a thin silver necklace around her neck, the dress turning into a white 'skirt' at the base that ended at her ankles. "Poor dear. You look like Abby after one of her trips."
"Huh?" It was all Vicky could think to say in response. The woman, she supposed Pierre's wife or girlfriend, had a maternal sort of voice, quiet and subdued. Probably didn't have a hard time yelling to get attention though.
"She goes off to the mountains once a week or so. She thinks I don't notice but I do." She set about gently adjusting Vicky's shirt and hair, motherly little touches across the distressed young woman, just keeping her hands busy. They were surprisingly calloused, as the woman apparently did more than fiddle around the house. Maybe she had a garden. "My name's Caroline, Pierre's wife and Abigail's mother. You must be Vicky."
"That's right. How does everyone...?"
"Lewis told us all about it last Friday while we were all at the Saloon. Almost everyone in town turns up to have a drink and mingle. You should try to make it, even if it's just to remind everyone you're still here." She gave Vicky a smile and sat back on her heels, placing her hands on her legs. "Your Grandfather was missed when he moved away. I was just a little girl when he left, but I still remember his laugh. What happened to him?"
"Some kind of wasting disease. I was too little to remember, and my parents don't like to talk about it. My mother took it particularly hard." She offered the woman a shrug.
Caroline responded with a gentle pat on Vicky's knee. "That's too bad, dear. He was a fixture around here until his health started to decline. I'm glad that someone's finally come to take care of the farm, it's laid quiet too long."
"Yeah. He told me something about when life got to be too much I should come live here, at least for a couple years..."
"Well, here's hoping you choose to stay. There's something special about that land and I'd hate to see it lay fallow again. He asked nobody touch it while he was gone. Did you want anything to eat?"
"Pierre said Abigail was going to make something?"
"Oh. She's probably playing her game." She leaned back and cupped a hand to her mouth. "Abby!" Yep, the woman could definitely yell. Not stern, just a reminder, though Vicky imagined she could be quite stiff when she wanted to. She gently rubbed at an ear as Caroline looked back with a smile. "Don't hesitate to come around if you have questions or need help. Or just want the company. Okay? Everyone's a friend of everyone in the Valley. Most people's doors are always open if you just knock."
"Alright. Thank you." Vicky sat back as Caroline nodded and walked off after standing, gently crossing her arms across her lap. She waited a few more minutes, wondering if 'Abby' had forgotten again thanks to her game, when she heard a door open. Head tilted slightly, she waited to see what Abigail looked like. Caroline had been pretty thin, bordering on reedy, though she'd had some strength to her hands, and definitely her voice...
She wasn't quite ready for the young woman who walked across the back of the room, rich purple hair easily visible even in the dimming light of the dying day. Her eyes went wide, and she was glad she was sitting in a darker corner, because she was sure her staring would be impolite. She'd certainly grown up healthy, that much was certain, and she was tall with a shapely frame. Soft, probably due to sitting and playing too many games, but there was just that hint of steel in the way she moved across the way, glancing back at Vicky just once before continuing on toward the kitchen. She looked... bored, and almost like looking at Vicky had offended her in some way.
"Holy fuck," Vicky whispered to herself quietly, just staring off as the woman had disappeared down the hallway to the kitchen. Did she look bad? Was her hair messed up? Had she said something wrong? No, that couldn't be it. Her mouth was open but it wasn't because she'd spoken...
Abigail sounded like she was heating something up in the microwave, judging by the noises coming from the kitchen, and Vicky settled in to wait. It'd suck if the first girl she met in this town who wasn't married hated her guts for some reason. It didn't take long for the woman to reappear, and Vicky got to have a better look as she walked closer. White tanktop under a dark blue overshirt, long purple hair mussed just enough for that 'I don't care about how I look but I actually care quite a lot' look, a black choker, purple nightpants that she could wear to bed, and black socks with little purple bats on them. Vicky had to quiet a breathed-out 'damn' as Abigail approached, not sure what to do or say.
She was offered a bowl with some sort of pasta in it, what looked like chunks of vegetable mixed in. "Thanks. Did I, uh... arrive at a bad time or something?", Vicky asked, trying to smile.
"What?" Abigail spoke, looking back at Vicky like she was seeing her for the first time after having her thoughts interrupted. Her eyes flicked from here to there, judging her looks, and apparently Vicky passed because she let out a sigh and crossed her arms, cocking out one of her hips just so as she breathed out a sigh. "Sorry. Mom and Dad are always getting me to cook or heat up food for guests. They're trying to get me more 'normal', I guess." She blew a strand of her hair out of her face with a little puff from her lips, and Vicky realized she was wearing lipstick. Her face followed the example her body set, somewhat round and soft but she still had a strong jawline. Classically beautiful. Handsome.
"Oh, that sounds like fun." Vicky laughed derisively, then took a bite of the food. She let out a quiet 'ack!' and had to swallow quickly. It was hot! What little taste she got was actually pretty good, but now she had to deal with a burnt tongue.
"Oh! Sorry, too hot?" Abigail actually looked somewhat concerned, leaning closer.
"No, it's awful. Worst thing ever, I bet you cooked it." Risky, but...
Abigail leaned back with a confused look, like she wasn't sure whether to be offended or laugh, her mouth formed into a sort of half smirk.
"That was a joke. It's just hot. It actually tastes pretty good. I think. I'll tell you once my tastebuds grow back."
The half-smirk turned into a full one, and Abigail walked off after a second or two toward the kitchen. For a moment Vicky half expected her to come back with a knife and a threat, but instead she returned with a chair that she placed against the wall, just far enough that she could- yep, lean back without risking tipping over. "That's some sense of humor you've got there."
"Yeah. Well... Gotta try for a laugh after accidentally burning yourself on food you didn't bother to test. Helps calm the embarrassment."
A quiet laugh met her as Abigail leaned back against the wall. "That's probably my bad, actually. I was frustrated and I guess I left it in too long. We just got a new one so we're not sure on all the settings yet."
"Well, you won't be sending it back for not working for a while. This is actually quite good. Did your mom make it?" Vicky asked before shoving another, cooler, bite into her mouth.
"I did, actually. I don't like their lessons, but I might as well learn if I'm going to get out of here on my own some day." Her tone and expression were both softening, relaxing as she got a bit more comfortable around Vicky.
"Oh. Well. It's good. And living alone isn't all it's cracked up to be." Vicky gestured with her fork toward her new potential friend. "I just left The City, had my own apartment, car, everything."
"What happened?" That sounded like genuine interest, and the raised eyebrow only confirmed it. Hook set, just have to reel...
"I worked at Joja. Boring job, routing trucks, nothing to get excited about. The daily grind got to me and I took up my Grandfather's offer. Sold my apartment, sold my car, grabbed the first bus out of town, three days ago."
"Three days? You gave up your life and moved away in three days? Damn." She let out a quiet laugh. "And here I am still living with my parents, going to school online."
"Hey, you should stay there. I tried school but, uh... You know, work, and stuff." She still didn't like to admit that she'd just given up when her depression really set in, and she had to remind herself not to frown. Got to keep up appearances, even in a new town. "What are you studying?"
"Just General Studies. What about you?"
"I went for Architecture. What I learned would tell me that this town is actually pretty old, though there are newer buildings. Not the most exciting thing, but I enjoyed it."
"Why'd you quit?"
Vicky's lips pursed as her jaw drew a little tighter. Should she...?
Ah, fuck it.
"Well... I'd just gotten a bigger schedule at work. Just a clerk at the time, ringing up people at the counter, swiping their stuff across the scanner. I started to fall behind on my studies, then..." She sighed quietly, not sure whether to fabricate or... nah, truth was probably best. "My girlfriend left me. Didn't want to date a failure falling behind in school working at a place like JojaMart. Everything kinda broke down after that. Dropped out of school, only thing I could care about was work. I got promoted, funnily enough. The manager there was leaving, and apparently I was 'dedicated', so I got his spot." She glanced toward Abigail, trying to judge her expression. "Sorry, I should stick to funnier topics."
"No! No, it's okay."
Vicky wasn't sure if it was just platitudes or if she was genuinely okay. Time would tell, most likely, as she stirred the pasta in her bowl.
"I get it. Getting dumped is harsh. I can see why you'd act like that.", Abigail offered quietly after a few minutes of silence while Vicky ate.
Vicky glanced over from above her bowl. Damn she was hungry, had she missed lunch? She couldn't remember. "Yeah? Been dumped?"
"Well... No. Sort of? Not really." She sighed and put her hands on her knees. "There's this guy in town-" Damnit. "Sebastian? I don't know if you've heard of him yet. He's Robin's son. The Carpenter. You'll probably meet her soon. He's, uh..." Vicky could hear the wistfulness in Abigail's voice. She was smitten, and Vicky could almost hear the whistle of the plane as it fell out of the sky. "Lives in the basement. Long dark hair, stays inside most of the time. Works on computers. He goes into Calico sometimes on his motorcycle, they have a bigger store there."
Long dark hair and a motorcycle? I can't compete with that. 'I've got a farm. I grow plants and stuff.' Not nearly as cool.
"Anyway, he's always hanging out with Sam. They have a band. Kind of. Go by the river, smoke. I try to go with them sometimes but they usually walk off on their own. They play pool on Fridays."
AND he has a band, smokes, and plays pool? Holy shit, this guy's like out of a comic book or an action movie.
"Sounds like the real deal. Just not really hooked it seems like?"
Abigail nodded as she brushed her hair out of her face, her head hanging a bit. "I think he's trying to be nice most of the time. I even offered to play drums, but they keep saying they have someone else lined up. Is that sad?"
Vicky shrugged, tilting her head to the side a bit as she chewed on her latest bite. "Maybe he's just not ready. Doesn't like commitment or something. Afraid of relationships. Maybe he just doesn't like being alone. Who knows."
"Yeah..." Abigail trailed off after a moment, then shifted a bit in her seat, slowly lowering it back down into it's legs. "Anyway, uh, I can tell you about the people in town, who to look out for. If that'd help?"
"Sure! That'd be great."
Maybe half an hour later, Abigail had left, and Vicky had gone to put her bowl in the sink in the kitchen and return the chair to the table. She didn't want to wash it, not sure if the water pipes in the house were loud. She'd returned to her cot and faced the wall after laying down, pulling the blanket Pierre had left over herself.
Well, at least there's other girls in town. Don't want to get pushy if she's set on tall dark and handsome...
She faded away with thoughts of her new home, what she'd been told of the people in town, though her mind kept coming back to her own version of tall, dark, and handsome that she'd just met...
It seemed like she'd barely laid down when someone was waking her up again, and she groggily pushed herself up out of her cot. "What? Huh? Was I snoring?"
"No, it's the morning." That sounded like Pierre, and as she turned around... yep. That was him.
"Morning? It's still dark..." She grumbled to herself, slowly pushing herself to a sitting position and started to put her shoes back on.
"Yeah. It's five-"
"Five! Damn..."
"Yep, five. We're going to go over to Lewis' place, he'll have you sign some paperwork, then come back here to get you started. Clint, the Blacksmith, dug some old tools out of a closet so you'll have something to work with. They're just cast iron, but they're dependable and they'll get you going alright."
Vicky nodded, rubbing at her eyes, and picked up her backpack. "It'll be nice to change and have a shower. Lead the way."
She moved to pick up her bag but he grabbed it for her before she could, and she was reminded of Abigail's 'they want me to be more 'normal' ' that she'd said last night. Even nice people have their little faults... Not that she wasn't thankful, the bag was heavy, but asking first would have been appreciated.
Pierre lead her over to Lewis's place once they'd left his store, and she'd had to suppress a giggle at the snoring coming from Abigail's room. She'd gotten Pierre to laugh once they'd left the store by suggesting he check her room for powertools once he got back. He talked to her a little about some of the people in town as he walked her toward the Mayor's manor, telling her about Clint, who many people had dubbed 'the grumpy blacksmith', and Willy, the 'salty sailor'. She'd need to know one if she wanted to ever upgrade her tools, and the other if she'd ever want to try her hand at fishing. He also told her a bit about what he sold at his store, various seeds and housing products, things like that.
When they arrived, Lewis was already awake and waiting for them, the papers and proper documents already drawn up. Vicky produced the relevant items from her manilla folder, proof of ownership transferred into her name among them, and then all she had to do was sign and hand over the cash for the appropriate fees. Pierre stood nearby while he waited, though it didn't take more than a few minutes. Then all three of them made their way back over to Pierre's shop around six after having breakfast in the Mayor's house, homemixed pancakes and maple syrup from one of the farms in the valley.
"So, my suggestion-", Pierre began, "Would be Parsnips for your first few harvests. Simple, easy to care for, hardy."
"And Clint dropped off tools at your farm last night.", Lewis added. "Robin, the Carpenter in town, installed a new drop box for you last Saturday. You place anything you produce over the day into that and I'll pick it up in the morning, while leaving payment for anything picked up the prior night in the box. I'll also leave any mail you might have when I do that. Sound good?"
Vicky nodded, then turned back to Pierre. "So how long am I looking? A few months at least?"
She was surprised when both men laughed. "Months? No! That's not how things work here. Parsnips will be ready in four days, and then you-"
"Four days!? But that's impossible!"
"Stardew Valley is a little different from places you might know. Crops grow fast here. Animals mature quicker. Sap runs from the trees more freely. Bees produce faster. Why do you think we grow the majority of the food Ferngill uses?"
She was completely astounded. She'd been expecting to have to survive for months on just what she'd brought with her. She had no idea she'd be producing vegetables so quickly. "Uh... then, um. How much will this get me?" She handed over her purse containing all the G to her name and let Pierre sift through it.
He counted quickly, then returned her purse and a handful of seed packets. "This. I even threw in an extra as a present. Just don't go too hard on yourself, okay? Pace yourself, you'll get better at things sooner or later."
She nodded, remembering to close her mouth, then headed out of the store with Lewis, still dumbfounded. "How come more people don't know about this? You'd think Joja would be knocking down the door of every place in town trying to buy up the whole area."
"They've tried. They bought a farm a few hours up the valley, started farming it, but whatever odd properties the place might've had dried up in a few weeks. They tried again a couple more times, same thing. When people were allowed to return and farm the land themselves, they were able to grow crops quickly again. Anyone who allies with Joja eventually pushes their land past the limit, and production drops off again. Nobody knows how it works, exactly, but the land doesn't seem to like Joja much." He shrugged after he finished talking, leading her slowly out of town.
They were going back the way they'd come from the bus stop. The only thing she remembered off in that direction was the forest... They passed the bus stop, bus still resting- apparently Pam hadn't managed to fix it- and continued deeper into the forest. "How far is it? All I can see is trees..."
"We're actually almost there. It's been a long time since your Grandfather left, and the land grows quickly, remember?" He tapped the side of his nose. "Keep this in mind while you're here. Take care of the land, and it will take care of you. Respect it, nurture it, and care for it."
They stepped through what appeared to be some kind of opening in the forest, and Vicky realized they were standing among old fences, a hollow in the land formed by cliffs on every side, absolutely filled with trees. "Wait... are we here?" She turned and peered past a few more trees, realizing there was an old cabin, as well as a large, new-looking wooden box with tool handles sticking out of it, as well as what seemed to be a freshly repaired mailbox at the porch. Her heart sank as she realized they were here, and the forest she'd seen yesterday was actually her farm, shrouded in the early morning mist.
What the fuck, Grandpa.
She turned to Lewis, and she guessed he could tell what she was thinking because he chuckled.
"He did stipulate in his will that the land was to be left alone after he left. Maybe he thought you'd return sooner and it wouldn't be so bad. Pace yourself, don't work too hard, and you'll clear it out before too long. Have a little faith in the land. It'll treat you alright." He gave her a gentle pat on the shoulder as he turned to leave. "Maybe take some time off in a few days to go say hello to the other townsfolk. Some might stop by to save you the trip. Evelyn and George have an old bicycle they'll have Alex bring out here later today, it'll help you to get around town more quickly."
Vicky nodded, letting out a quiet little 'thanks', still staring at the farm. It all felt so overwhelming. The move, the people, the state of the land, the responsibility that now rested on her shoulders to provide everything for herself. She just wanted to find the nearest bed, flop into it, and cry.
Lewis walked off, leaving her alone in her farm.
"Today is going to suck.", she breathed to no one in particular.
