The days just kept rolling by, and before she knew it Victoria got a letter in the mail from Lewis.
Dear Victoria,
Tomorrow we're all getting together for the Flower Dance.
If you can find a partner, you might even want to participate in the dance yourself!
There's a little clearing beyond the forest west of town where we hold the dance. Arrive between 9 AM and 2PM if you're interested.
- Mayor Lewis
She reread his letter a couple of times, smiling slightly at his words. Something like this would be a good chance for her to mingle with the other villagers and take some time off from all her work, all her brooding over Joja and the town... It would be nice to just forget things and enjoy the dance for a little while. She leaned gently against her mailbox, farming tool in hand, and glanced over the land she now called home... It had been a rough time, since she arrived, but she really thought she was starting to get the hang of things.
She could actually see the far fence through some of the trees and brush at this point, though in places she really wished she couldn't... the years hadn't been kind to the wood and much of the fencing needed to be replaced. She'd finally gotten internet run out to her home and she'd been able to set up her laptop on the kitchen table as a makeshift desk, it also let her email her parents and tell them how she was doing, as well as check on the goings-on with the rest of the world.
Much as she expected news was still centered mostly on the war with the Gotoro Empire, though things seemed to be at a stalemate at the moment... There were some stories about prison camps and battles but she had enough on her mind right now with everything going on in the town, and she didn't want to be worrying about that too, so she mostly put it out of mind. It was to the south, across the sea, and was unlikely to be coming back this way anytime soon.
When Vicky climbed into bed that night, it was with the thought that Spring would be ending relatively soon. She knew the Flower Dance was held in the waning days of Spring and before she knew it Summer would be upon her. It really made her think and reflect back on everything that had happened since she arrived and how she just felt like... this place was home. Nowhere had really felt like 'home' before, but this place? It definitely did.
Victoria awoke bright and early the next morning, glad to see that the weather was sunny with nary a cloud in the sky to shadow the day's events. She set about making sure the farm was taken care of, that everything was watered, weeds were pulled, and about mid-morning she could hear quiet music floating over the trees, telling her that the Dance must've started out in the forest.
She stood and wiped her brow, clearing some of the sweat as she walked back toward the house to put her tools away when something caught her sight out of the corner of her eye. She had to do a double-take, because standing near the entrance of her farm with a smile on her face and wearing a dress, of all things, was Abigail.
Vicky blinked several times as she took in the sight. Her friend's form definitely filled out the dress well and her hair shone in the bright Spring light, obviously having been brushed and cleaned well in preparation for the Dance. She looked beautiful. It took Vicky a long moment to even think to say anything, and when she did she realized she had no idea what to say. She felt a little nudge against the back of her leg and looked down to see Scellia headbutting her calf, as if to say 'go talk to her'.
Vicky lay her tools on the porch and against the house, then made her way down the stairs toward Abigail. "Hey! I... I didn't expect to see you in a dress." She pretty much immediately mentally slapped herself in the face, people could wear a dress whenever they wanted.
"Yeah, I don't normally wear dresses." Abigail picked up the sides of the dress and made a little curtsy toward Vicky, though when she stood that familiar smile was back on her face. "It's tradition for the Flower Dance though. Are you coming? I wasn't sure if Lewis had told you about it or not, most people in town don't even think about it until it's the day of or a few days before if you're Gus, since he handles all the food."
"Yeah, definitely!" She wasn't going to miss a chance to see Abigail dancing, that was for sure. "He sent me a letter yesterday telling me about it, I was just taking care of some things here on the farm..." Vicky smirked a bit and stuck out her arm, offering it to Abigail like a proper 'gentleman' at a ball. "Shall we head out?"
Abigail giggled softly and shook her head, then took Vicky's arm in her own and began to head off toward the south. "I didn't want to head over there without at least checking to make sure you were coming."
Vicky felt that familiar warmth from being close to Abigail, but she did her best to suppress things. It was still too soon after everything with Sebastian and she really didn't want to press her luck... though it was always at the back of her mind that Sam or someone else might try to move in. "I was definitely going to go. Though I appreciate you turning up to make sure." She'd even put on some kind of perfume... it was nice and reminded Victoria of plums.
"Couldn't have my best friend in town missing out on the festival, now could I?" Abigail glanced toward her with a little smile.
"Really? You consider me your best friend?" Vicky was genuinely surprised, she thought it'd be Sam or Alex or maybe Emily.
Abigail remained quiet for a moment before she nodded her head, the two of them passing the southern gate out of Victoria's farm. "Ever since..." She paused. "You know. It made me think. You're the only one who's never questioned anything I do. Sam always asks why I play videogames, he says it's a 'guy thing', even Sebastian thought my wanting to be an adventurer was stupid..." She looked down at the ground as they walked.
Vicky smiled a little bit and gently patted the woman's arm. She could definitely settle for best friend. "I don't think anything you do is stupid, Abigail."
Her friend perked up and that smile returned to her face. "Thanks Vicky, I really mean it." She gave Victoria an appreciative smile, then the two walked on in mostly silence.
As they got closer to the Dance, the music picked up. Near to the gate Abigail took her arm away from Vicky's, and Victoria didn't do much to stop her. It made her a little sad, but she supposed Abigail would have to go get ready for the dance, find her partner and so on... As her friend walked ahead Vicky stuck her hands in her pockets and wandered closer, rounding the bend a few steps behind Abigail.
The sight before her was definitely something to see, Lewis had called it a 'clearing' but it almost looked more like a fairground. There was fencing around the edges and huge arrangements of flowers in half-cut barrels around the sides, people standing and milling about here and there. To the south were tables with food and refreshments, obviously set up by Gus given the way he stood close, and of course Pam hung out near the table.
Pierre even had a little stand set up near the entrance and Victoria walked up just as Abigail was wandering off. "Hey, Vicky!" Pierre called to her from behind his stand, giving her a friendly wave and a smile. "I'm selling a few decorations if you might want something to put on your farm?"
"Oh yeah? What've you got?" Vicky leaned over against the stand, looking over his offerings. He had one of those barrels sitting next to his stand, as well as some small boxes of flowers. There was even a spring-decorated scarecrow leaning against the side.
"Well, you can buy a flower to give to the object of your affections, or you can buy one of the barrels we used to decorate the place with. I can even show you how to make one! Or you could buy this Scarecrow here... Jodi put it together as part of a contest but Lewis decided we should just sell it instead. Might be useful on the farm, right?"
Vicky pursed her lips a little bit, looking at the thing. Purple shirt, green, springtime-colored pants, even wearing a straw hat. "Yeah, you know what? My fields are getting big enough I think I could use a second, why not. I'll pay you for it now and then take it home with me after the dance?"
"Great!" She exchanged some money with Pierre then gave him a little smile, before wandering off deeper into the dancegrounds. Everyone seemed happy and carefree, which suited Vicky just fine. Vicky waved hello to many of the people around town, Clint and Emily, Caroline and Jodi, she even gave a friendly wave to Shane though he blew it off... She still hadn't really gotten him to talk to her let alone be friendly. Vicky even spotted Scellia hiding under one of the tables munching on something.
She eventually made her way over to the west side of the clearing, near George and Evelyn. She was asking him whether he liked them or not, though his reply made Vicky somewhat sad... "Flowers? I can hardly see them!"
Victoria wandered over and stood next to the two of them, giving Evelyn an encouraging smile. "I think they're beautiful. Did you make these?"
"Well, not all of them, but..." Evelyn smiled slightly and brushed a hand over one of the flowers. "I've been working on them for a week. The hardest part is getting all the fresh flowers in the tubs the day before. It's very tiring."
"Well your work definitely paid off. They're lovely."
"Oh, thank you dear." Evelyn smiled brightly.
Vicky gave a slight nod and glanced south, spotting Abigail talking with Sam and Sebastian, but she decided against going down to have a word... They looked like they were talking about something amongst themselves anyway. She eventually spotted Lewis, who waved her over with a smile.
"Hello, Vicky! What do you think about the Flower Dance?" Even Lewis had a little bright pink flower stuck in the pocket of his shirt, just adding to the festivities in his own little way.
"I think it's pretty neat, honestly. What exactly goes on?"
"Well it's a celebration of Spring, the new life brought to the valley, and also of the coming summer, when the land will truly open up with it's bounty. We have all the young ones who aren't children take part in a dance to add to the celebration." He smiled wide and put his thumbs in his suspenders. "It's been a tradition since before I was Mayor. I'm proud to keep it going."
Vicky smiled and stood next to him, turning to face the rest of the villagers and watch people milling about while waiting for the dance. However, she did get the feeling of being watched, and when she turned her head she saw Lewis looking at her. "What?"
"You know, you're around the age we'd ask you to dance... You've become a part of this town over the last several weeks... Why don't you see if someone will be your dance partner?"
Vicky's face flushed and she stammered. "O-oh! N-no, I can't dance, really. I'll just... stand by and watch."
Lewis smiled and reached over, giving her a little nudge on the shoulder. "Oh go on, Vicky. See if someone will dance with you. Traditionally everyone knows their partner, but... You never know! You might be surprised!"
Vicky shook her head, but her gaze turned south and she bit her lip between her teeth. Maybe... She looked back at Lewis and gave a nod. "Alright. I'll go ask someone."
"That's the spirit, my girl! Go on, go ask." Lewis beamed and gestured with a hand for her to head out toward the festival. "After I see you ask someone I'll call everyone to the dance. It's almost time!"
Vicky nodded, then headed off... She already knew who she wanted to ask. It didn't take long for her to make her way over to the trio standing near the south of the field, and she had to admit that Sebastian and Sam looked great in their little suits... she realized that the pants on the scarecrow she'd bought were made out of the same material. It made her wonder if maybe someone had outgrown their old pants. "H-hey, Abigail?"
The three of them had been talking about something, it sounded like band business, when Vicky walked up, but all three of them turned to look when she spoke... She regretted it almost instantly, but she hoped her cheeks weren't too flushed. "Yes, Vicky?"
"I was wondering, uh..." She glanced down and kicked at the dirt under her foot, then glanced back up to Abigail. "Would you maybe want to Dance with me this year?"
It hit her a moment too late that this was basically asking Abigail to date her... it hadn't seemed that way before but what else would it mean? Why would she ask Abigail to dance with her if she wasn't interested, they paired up the girls and boys!
Stupidstupidstupidstupid!
She did watch Abigail's expression carefully though, and it was almost funny. She smiled, her expression running through several different changes in rapid succession. Realization, a smile, though whether it was a smile at Vicky's expense or because of her she wasn't sure, a blush, even a small hint of a frown, and Vicky realized she was holding her breath but she just couldn't let it out yet... And then she saw Abigail's shoulders sag and she knew what the answer would be.
"I'm sorry, Vicky. I already asked Sebastian to dance this year."
Vicky nodded, then let her glance fall to the ground. "It's okay, I understand. It was very last minute." She looked up and gave her friend a smile, then turned on her heel and began to walk back toward Lewis. As she did she spotted Abigail holding out a hand, almost like she had something else to say, but... As Vicky walked away, she didn't try to stop her.
She could hear Lewis begin to call everyone around to start the dance, and she used the opportunity to sneak off to the northwest corner and watch from the shade of a tree overhanging the fence. She hadn't realized until too late what she was actually doing, what Lewis had meant by 'asking someone to dance'. He was trying to get her to admit that she liked someone in town. Now Abigail and Sam and Sebastian knew exactly how she felt. For them the dance was just tradition, just something they did because they had to every year. For Vicky to walk up and ask Abigail to dance with HER... She bit her lip and had to master herself. Today was supposed to be a happy day.
"It's time for the dance, everyone! Partners, please line up!"
Vicky put her hands back in her pockets and sighed quietly as she watched. Abigail and the others, Haley and Leah and Penny and Maru and Emily... all the guys too, lined up with their chosen partner. The girls curtsied and twirled, the guys bowed and held out their hands, the two lines slowly walking toward one another, the girls spinning, their arms held above their heads, the guys marching forward in unison. Sam looked like he was having the time of his life, and Vicky actually smiled slightly at just how uncomfortable Shane looked. Emily and Haley looked right at home, and Vicky had to admit that Abigail did know how to dance...
It soon ended, not that long of a ceremony, and Lewis thanked everyone for coming. Vicky decided she should probably leave now before she made things too much more awkward for everyone. She made her way around the north side toward the east, avoiding the gaze of as many people as she could, then found Pierre having made his way back to his stall just before she did. "Hey Vicky- Are you okay?" His smile shifted as he saw her expression to a look of concern.
"I'm fine, just allergies." She didn't like lying but how do you tell someone 'oh yeah I asked your daughter out without meaning to and she said no'?
"Oh, okay! Maybe you should go see Harvey?"
"Yeah, I'll go do that once he's back at his shop. Can I pick up my scarecrow?"
"Definitely!" He handed the thing over to her, and Vicky thanked him before quickly making her way out of the clearing and back toward Pelican Town and her farm... there was a pillow on her bed with her name on it, and she could already feel tears welling up now that she didn't have to hide them.
