Episode 14: Adulthood Responsibilities
Tuesday, 13th Of Summer, 1977
7:35 in the morning, after eating breakfast my wife and I were in the living room, just simply relaxing. Its a beautiful morning, so why shouldn't we relax?
"Tony, when is your birthday?" Ellen called to me when my eyes were fluttering, as if I was going to drift off to sleep.
Her stomach is obviously back to normal size, though she did gain a little fat from being pregnant with Pete, I noticed while we showered together, her thighs are slightly bigger, and her hips and belly picked up a little more fat too, but she still is a wonderful sight to see in the shower, though, and she is feeling great and energetic at least. She is sitting on a rocking chair with Pete sitting on her lap feeding him milk. Its not milk from Aloe, it's Ellen's own milk, she is breastfeeding him. I was sitting on the couch watching the weather news.
"It'll be sunny tomorrow in Louisiana with temperatures possibly rising up to 90 degrees, and over in southern Arkansas, temperatures will be rising..." was all I heard until Ellen called me about my birthday.
"Huh? My birthday? It already passed, back in the 1st of Spring. I'm 22 years old now," I said.
"What? And you didn't tell anyone?" Ellen was surprised.
"But with the Star Night Festival going on, I forgot about my own birthday for a while!" I felt ashamed revealing that I forgot my own birthday. "Oh, it doesn't matter honey. Come here, let Pete take a look at you." Ellen suggested.
I stood up out of the chair and headed towards Ellen and Pete in the rocking chair. I looked down at Pete as he sucked the bottle. His brown eyes looking up at me as he sucked the bottle. I smirked at him. He has his mother's eyes.
"Wanna play with a big kid?" I extended my left hand out at him, and Pete with his left arm tried to touch my hand, softly slapping it. I felt his little soft hand hit my own. "Yeah, I understand... May I?" I asked Ellen.
She got the message. I wanted to hold Pete. She handed him to me as she softly pulled the bottle out of his mouth.
I held Pete under his armpits, looking at him face to face. He looked at me like with a puzzled frown that meant: "who is this guy?"
"Hey there, buddy. I'm your daddy. From now on, you call me Daddy. Understand?" I said to him with a warmth in my tone.
"Ah-ah-ah..." Pete's face wrinkled up.
I looked confused, trying to figure out what's wrong with him.
"Ah-ah-ah... Achoo!" Pete sneezed on my face! I immediately closed my eyes a split second before I felt a short spray of water hit my face.
"... Ugh..." I groaned.
My face wrinkled up in disdain and Ellen covered her mouth, trying not to giggle. Even Pete cracked a smile.
"Oh you think it's funny now, wait until I sneeze on you. We'll see who gets the last laugh," I said, my voice tone still playful even though I was a little annoyed I got sneezed on.
Afterwards, Ellen, along with Pete and I stepped outside. Ellen is holding Pete this time, not me, and Pete is wrapped in a cyan colored blanket.
"This is Pete's first time being outside the house," Ellen commented after stepping off the porch stairs with me.
"That's right, Petey boy. When I'm done with my work, I'm gonna take you on a little tour of my ranch," I said playfully to Pete as I reached out and softly pinched my thumb into his nose. He giggled a little. I walked to my tool shed as Ellen walked around with Pete in her arms, showing him the environment of my ranch. In the shed I grabbed my brush and milker, and entered the cow house to take care of Aloe and Star.
"Good morning, ladies! How's it going?" I called as I entered.
"Mooooo!" Both Star and Aloe mooed. I brushed Aloe and Star and used the milker to extract some milk from Aloe.
And to my surprise, Aloe filled up the jar, which has never happened before. For some reason today she has been producing a lot of milk.
"Wow! This is a lot!" I said as I stuffed the full jug of milk into the shipping box.
Then I fed Aloe and Star some grass and left. I went to the chicken house.
"Hey everybody!" I called to the chickens. They were walking all over the place, clucking. Before I knew it, Ellen and Pete entered the chicken house with me seconds after I did.
"Ellen...? What are you...?" I was surprised to see Ellen in here.
"I'm just showing Pete around. Look Petey! See the chickens? Those are chickens." Ellen pointed at the chickens as Pete looked at them with wide eyes.
A smile grew on Pete's face and he started babbling excitedly as I was picking up eggs, and gently putting them in the shipping box.
"Bababadagaba..." Pete talked his baby talk to me.
I stared at him blankly. "... I'm sorry, repeat that?"
"Oh, don't pay any attention to him, he's just playing with you," Ellen told Pete, turning around and leaving.
"Hey! I was just joking!" I pleaded as I left the chicken barn after them.
Afterwards, I was sprinkling water with my sprinkler, watering all the tomato plants and corn stalks I planted. It won't be long until the corn grows on the stalks. Later that evening, after Derek picked up the eggs and milk, me, Ellen and Pete were watching an action movie called "Sunset City Cops" starring Logan, one of my cousins who lives in Austin, Texas, and is a popular actor.
"I can't believe that he's your cousin." Ellen said in awe.
"Yeah, see the other half of my family lives out in Texas, while my half of the family lives out here in the peaceful Louisiana countryside." I explained to Ellen as I reached over and tickled Pete, making him laugh.
"Do you ever visit your cousins and aunt and uncle?" Ellen asked me.
"Sometimes. It is difficult to plan out family reunions when your relatives are so far apart," I replied.
"I see." Ellen said.
Later that night, Ellen put Pete in his crib.
"Good night, Pete. We'll see you tomorrow." Ellen said after giving him a kiss on the forehead.
"Good night... son..." I said slowly.
Man, I felt strange saying that. My Dad called me "son" sometimes, but now, I am... It feels strange. Anyway, me and Ellen got in our beds, and wrote in our journals before falling asleep.
Wednesday 15th Of Summer, 1977
At 8:10 a.m., Ellen, Pete and I came outside to enjoy the summer air. But me, I'm out here to work, like always, taking care of my livestock and crops and such. After having breakfast, I walked outside, heading towards the tool shed. I didn't know my wife followed me outside, I thought she was still in the house taking care of Pete.
"Hey, Tony," Ellen called to me.
"Yes, darling?" I replied as I turned around.
"When you're done with your chores, I want to show you something. You don't mind, do you?" Ellen asked me.
I smiled. "No, of course I don't," I replied, shaking my head in denial, then headed for my tool shed to get the brush and milker.
I did what I usually do with Aloe and Star, then with the chickens, I don't need to explain this over and over. Then after taking care of my livestock and storing their products for shipment, I took Zara out to the garden out east to harvest some of the remaining corn. I jumped off Zara, and began picking the corn off the stalks one by one, stuffing them into the bags on Zara. After I was done, I rode on Zara back into the stables. When I came back out from the stables, there was Ellen holding Pete, waiting for me to come out.
"Ready for the tour?" I asked her.
"Let's go," Ellen said.
"Wheee!" Pete squealed.
Ellen, Pete and I, along with Koro walked around the ranch fora few minutes. We stayed fairly close to the horse stables, and cow and chicken barn, we didn't venture out into the open fields.
"Pete seems to love it out here. Look at him smile," Ellen looked down at Pete in her arms. Then she looked at me. "Honey, did you buy some extra diapers lately?"
"Extra diapers? No. Why?" I asked.
"Because we really need some. We have three fresh diapers left. Unless you want to clean-"
"Okay, okay, I get it! I'll take care of it!" I assured Ellen; the last thing I want to do is change Pete's diapers myself.
"Okay... Wow, what's that over there?" Ellen pointed to my left.
Across the field, beyond the fence, I saw a small garden with four flowers were walking behind the cow and chicken houses.
"I don't know. Some kind of flower garden? I've never noticed it before," I claimed.
I saw four flowers surrounded by 6 inch tall concrete blocks. some of the blocks were chipped and broken.
I saw a sign next to the garden. The words written on it said: "Secret Garden, No Entry Allowed!"
I furrowed my brow and stuffed my hands in my pocket.
"Huh. I didn't know Grandpa had a secret garden. That sign says entry in the garden is prohibited." I declared.
"No entry? Isn't someone supposed to water the flowers?" Ellen asked me in confusion.
"Apparently not these. Come on, let's go. I'll go buy some diapers," I said.
Ellen carried Pete with her into the house while I walked to Neighbor Town to buy some diapers. Two hours later, when I was walking back towards my ranch, Derek's pickup truck passed by me. I caught a glimpse of him waving at me as he drove by. I waved at him with my left hand because my right hand held a bag of plastic containing 20 fresh diapers. When I got home, it is 5:44 p.m. I ate a strawberry shortcake from Ellen, I played with Pete for a while, then we all fell asleep- one happy family.
Saturday, 17th Of Summer, 1977
The usual happened today, feeding livestock, watering the tomato plants and corn stalks, and playing around with Ellen and Pete. My son has given a lot of joy, let me tell you. When I show him a leaf or any element of nature, he just smiles so wide, its heartwarming. I can tell that Pete really loves nature more than I do, I can say that much. I can't help but wonder what his personality will be like when he grows older. will he be cheerful, or shy? I don't know, but I'm anxious to see.
Monday, 19th Of Summer, 1977
"Heeey, little Petey!" I called to him as I looked down at him in his crib.
Pete had this upset look on his face that said: "aw man... why'd you wake me up from my beauty sleep?" I picked him up into my arms as Ellen watched next to me.
"It's a great sunny summer morning, and we're gonna have some fun today! We're going to take you to Neighbor Town today!" I declared.
After we were done eating breakfast, Ellen said: "Have you checked the weather news to see if any hurricanes are approaching here?"
"Yes, I did, and no, we're all safe." I said as I made sure the shoulder straps of my overalls were fastened on my shoulders.
"Before I moved in, have you guys ever had a hurricane before?" I asked.
"A few times. When you first moved in last year, that was the third time last summer when we had a hurricane free summer. If we get through this summer, it'll be the fourth." Ellen noted while she breastfed Pete, he was hungrily sucking Ellen's left breast, as I recall.
"Well, before we head into town, I better take care of a few things. Wait for me, okay?" I said to Ellen as i walked towards the door and opened it.
I was about to walk out until I saw a mysteriously shady man standing in front of me! Whoever he is, I opened the door before he could knock! He had spiky brown hair, wore dark sunglasses, wore brown leather shirt, pants and shoes and he carried a huge bag slung over his right shoulder! Who knows what is in there!
"Whoa! Who in sam hill are you!?" I exclaimed in surprise.
"I am a peddler of the wind," he replied smoothly.
I looked at him skeptically. "Is that right?" I asked in disbelief.
This shady guy reminded me of a bandit.
"Don't worry. I am only here to offer you something, sir," he said.
I lifted my right eyebrow. "What is it?"
Ellen approached behind me with Pete in her arms. She seemed disturbed looking at the shady peddler.
The man dug into his bag and pulled out a fat green seed. He held it out in the palm of his right hand, out in plain sight in Ellen's eyes and mine.
"This is a seed of a tree that grows money. Plant it in the ground." The man told me.
I frowned in disbelief.
"A tree that grows money? That sounds too outlandish to believe," I said skeptically.
The man smiled. "You'll be surprised, mister. You're buying something good. It's only $2000." The man offered.
I thought about it. I only got $32290.
"Tony, think about this rationally. Can we trust this man?" Ellen warned me.
I thought about this carefully. if I buy this seed and it turns out to be no good, i'll have wasted $2000 for nothing. But if this guy really is selling me something useful, I could get more than enough money to go on a vacation to Waffle Island if I wanted to.
After thinking it over... I agreed.
"I'll buy it." I said, whipping out my wallet and giving the man $2000.
Then returned around and headed for the cow and chicken house. I peeked over to see what he's doing. He's planting the seed he showed me next to the silo, near the cow barn. Then he returned to me.
"There. I planted the seed for you. Mister, you won't regret this. Look forward to this." He said with a convincingly friendly smile, his sunglasses reflecting the sun in an almost creepy, shady way, then he left.
I turned around to look at Ellen. Boy, did she look mad. I gasped, seeing how scary her glare is.
"Tony, darling, are you crazy? What if he swindled you?" Ellen scolded me.
"Relax, honey, I thought this through. if he did cheat me, I'm fine. The way how perfect the harvest is right now, I'll be just fine. If he was being truthful, we'll have more than enough money to go on a vacation or two!" I assured Ellen.
She thought it over. "... Oh, alright. i hope you know what you're doing. I'm not saying I don't trust you, it's-"
"I understand, honey, don't worry. I'm not mad." I calmed Ellen down by placing my right hand on her shoulder.
After that, I fed my livestock watered my crops, then left to Neighbor Town to show everyone Pete. When we got back home, we decided to get a well deserved rest after walking to town and back.
Wednesday, 21 Of Summer, 1977
The usual thing happened today. Oh, that plant that peddler gave me, it grew into a plant with bells on it! Every time I touch the plant, the bells on its branches jingle, making a sublime ringing noise. Pete and Ellen love it. As for my livestock, Star is now a young adult cow. She doesn't produce as much milk as Aloe does, but hey, i'm not complaining, she just grew into an adult. I've done so much work in the ranch, it took me all day to do it. i never had time to go to the forest and visit Luke or anyone in Neighbor Town. Oh well, guess that'll have to wait until the fall.
Friday, 23rd Of Summer, 1977
Nothing interesting happened today, except for the fact that I bought another cow from Ellen's uncle and I named her Nova. Now Aloe and Star have a new friend! Oh, and recently, this new movie called "Star Wars" has been talked about on all news channels for the past few days. Newscasters claim that it is most likely the most popular movie of the year, I've seen pictures of long, and I mean LONG lines in front of every movie theater! Ellen and I went to see it in a theater at Lake Arthur thanks to Mike driving us there since Derek was too busy to give us a ride. The line was very long, yes, but the wait was worth it. I've never seen a movie that got me so addicted. The previous movie I've seen and loved was Rocky, and I saw that film last year with my parents, but Star Wars got me fascinated in a different way compared to Rocky, I respect both films.
Sunday, 25th Of Summer, 1977
After showering, and eating breakfast, Ellen, I went outside with Pete in my arms to get some summer fresh air. Me, well, you know what I always do everyday, take care of my livestock and water my crops. But as soon as I was done with my work, Ellen came at me with a suggestion.
"Honey, I've been thinking about this, and I think we should visit the church from now on whenever we have the free time to," she said, holding Pete real close to her chest.
I nodded in agreement. I have no problems going to church. An hour later, at 10:00 a.m., me, Ellen and Pete arrived at the church. We sat down where Ellen usually sits before she was engaged to me. I remember the days when Ellen always prayed about Hank's health. I wonder if she still does it...? I looked over at Ellen.
"I hope my Dad, son and husband stay in perfect health at all times..." I heard her whisper while holding Pete close as he babbled, trying to touch her chin.
I'm glad to see that some things don't change completely. Ellen keeps her loved ones close to her heart. I like that.
I shifted my attention from Ellen to Daniel, who was preaching while Maria in the background was playing the organ.
"... And so, my friends, when we spread love, compassion, understanding, fairness and justice, the world will become a better place for us all to live," Daniel said.
I remembered the time when Ellen's uncle and I couldn't get along... But several weeks later, I helped him out of a jam and I won his respect. I thought I would never see his friendly side until that day. I looked over at Pete. I figured that he is going to one day meet some people who are just as hard to get along with as Ellen's uncle. When Pete is old enough, I'm going to teach him everything I have learned through my life as a rancher.
Tuesday, 27th Of Summer
After I done my chores out in the harsh downpour of rain, feeding my livestock and fixing the broken fence posts, I came back in my house, all wet.
"Whew! I'm done!" I called out to Ellen and Pete who were watching a cartoon show called The Flintstones. I squeezed out some of the water from my cap because it was making my hair wet.
"Woof woof!" Koro barked, then jumped at me.
I caught him inches close to my face, and he started licking me.
"Hey, hey! I'm wet enough already, Koro. Down boy!" I put him down on the floor.
"Welcome back, honey. I left you a potato pie on the dinner table," Ellen said to me.
"Great!" I immediately sat down at the table and began digging into the pie with a fork and scooping pieces of it into my mouth.
Ellen and Pete watched meas I ate the pie.
"Your father really loves potato pie. Did you know that, Pete?" Ellen looked down at Pete in her arms.
Pete didn't talk his baby talk, he just smiled at Ellen, revealing his toothless gums.
"Never get between him and a potato pie." Ellen playfully warned Pete, kissing his chubby cheeks.
Pete giggled. I looked up at Ellen after eating my 12th bite of pie.
"Hey honey, isn't it supposed to continue raining tomorrow? I didn't check the weather forecast this morning."
"They said it'll be sunny tomorrow, 83 or 87 degrees, so don't worry," Ellen replied.
"Good." I nodded in approval. Then I continued eating my pie.
Minutes later, me, Ellen and Pete were looking out at the rainfall on the other side of the window. I sighed, with my hands in my pockets.
"I really don't like being out there in the rain, but watching it... that's a different story. Ellen said nothing, she just looked at me while Pete was waving his little arms around and babbling, then walked over to the window as I continued speaking.
"I don't know why, but watching rain really calms me down... it really soothes me to the bone. I can't explain it... I remember watching rain outside the window like this when I was 6... I used to watch rain a lot while eating a rice ball or a peanut butter jelly sandwich." I said, smiling at the thought of one of my treasured childhood memories.
I looked over at Ellen. She is now looking out the window at the rain.
"Hey, honey, remember P-Chan? Do you think she'll ever return here?" I asked her.
Ellen gasped in surprise. I could tell she is shocked that she nearly forgot about P-Chan.
"Oh, dear... I haven't seen her since she left us last year... I really hope she's okay..." Ellen said, focusing hard into the rain and gray thundering skies.
I could see what Ellen is thinking by looking at her. She's afraid that P-Chan might have been struck by lightning. I decided to calm Ellen's feelings.
"Hey, darling, she'll be okay. If my intuition is correct, P-Chan will come visit us sometime next year," I said with a comforting smile.
Ellen looked at me and smiled. "I hope so, darling."
Then I reached out at Pete with my fingers, tickling his cute face.
Thursday, 29th Of Summer, 1977
Its raining again today, much to my disappointment, And even worse, the weather news said that it will continue raining tomorrow, too! Great! Just great! My overalls and cap will get wet again! Oh well, I had to feed my livestock, get their products ready for shipping, pick the tomatoes and corn that are ready to be picked, then I fixed as many broken fences as I possibly could before sundown... Not that I could see the sun behind the gray thunderclouds... And every time I tried to check my watch to see what time it is, the raindrops always fall on my watch, obscuring my view of what time it is! But in the end, after Derek came by and picked up all the stuff I had ready to be shipped, all that hard work out in the rain is worth it, because Ellen... She knows how to reward a guy.
Friday, 30th Of Summer, 1977
After waking up showering and all that early morning routine stuff, me, Ellen, Koro and Pete were eating breakfast. Ellen and I were eating scrambled eggs, bacon and waffles, Pete was drinking Ellen's milk from a bottle, and Koro was under the table eating a bowl of kibbles.
"... I don't feel like going out there, but it is something that I have to do." I shook my head after chewing and swallowing some scrambled egg.
"Darling, I appreciate you doing all your hard work for me and our baby, but I worry about your health all the time. Don't overdo it, or you'll catch a cold," Ellen told me with a worried look on her face.
Pete babbled a few unintelligible words.
"I'm sorry, honey, but i'm a rancher. I have to do this. I'll be back soon." I said as I looked at Ellen's eyes with deep empathy.
I know she's worried about me, but I have my own family now. I have a wife and child. I need to step up to the plate and be a positive role model to my son.
I walked out the door and shut it.
"Tony... Don't be reckless, dear..." Ellen said sadly, her voice breaking a little, worrying about my well being.
Outside the house, I ran to the tool shed using my arms to shield my head from the downpour of rain to pick up the brush and milker to go take care of Aloe, Nova and Star, the after feeding and milking, I took care of my chickens, then I went back to the tool shed to get my super hammer and fixed the remaining broken fence posts from yesterday and some new ones from today. After I've finished all my chores at the ranch, I checked the patches of grass I made in the southeaster parts of my ranch. I decided to expand the amount of grass, so I can make more fodder for my livestock. Problem is, I'm all out of grass seeds, so I decided to run on over to Neighbor Town on foot. Running through the rain for two hours sounds like a bad idea, but riding Zara down the road sounds like a better idea, so I ran to the stables and prepared Zara for a ride, placing the saddle on her back, then I climbed on, and Zara took off running out of the ranch, raindrops pelting my face and body as Zara took off with me on her back. As I rode Zara down the muddy dirt road, Ellen's voice kept on echoing in my head.
"...I worry about your health all the time. Don't overdo it. Please don't overdo it..." I shook my head, trying to force the hallucination out of my mind as I ran.
I checked my watch, wiping raindrops off of it constantly. 11:49 a.m. I still got time.
When I finally reached Neighbor Town, I immediately ran to Liz's flower shop. I barged into the door, startling Liz.
"Yikes!... Is that you, Tony? What in the world are you doing way out here in weather like this? You'll catch a cold!" Liz exclaimed.
I sighed in frustration. "I'm sorry, but I'm here to buy some grass seeds. Seven of them." I said.
"Seven...? ... Okay, it's your choice." Liz said, still mildly surprised I'm out here in weather like this.
Afterwards, I ran to Ellen's uncle's shop, hoping to buy another cow since I got more than $35000 now. When I got there, I came through the front door. Ellen's uncle was busy inspecting some cow medicine on the table.
"Tony?! What the...? Do you have any idea that its raining out there?" Ellen's uncle asked me in surprise like Liz a couple minutes ago.
"Sorry to bother you, mister, but I'm here to buy a cow from you." I told him.
Ellen's uncle blinked twice in surprise, staring at me in utter disbelief.
"A cow? Here? Now? Son, I can't bring the cow to your ranch out in this rain. Do you want the cow to get sick?" Ellen's uncle asked me with a dumbfounded frown on his face.
"Oh. sorry. Well, see you next week," I turned around to leave.
"Hold on a minute," Ellen's uncle ordered me.
I stopped in my tracks, frozen.
"Something's bothering you, isn't it?" Ellen's uncle asked me.
I slowly turned around to face him. I sighed.
"It's because I'm a father now. My Dad always told me that if I ever start a family on my own, I have to learn how to be responsible for them, taking care of them and providing for them," I told him.
Ellen's uncle nodded.
"And he's right. But he didn't say that you need to risk your own health for your family, did he?" I fell silent.
My Dad never said that.
"Listen, Tony. I respect the fact that you're accepting your responsibilities as a husband and father... But don't overdo it- you're not a superhero, you know," Ellen's uncle said to me.
I scoffed.
"Don't lie to me. You really think you're a superhero, don't you?" Ellen's uncle asked me.
With a small smirk, I nodded, then Ellen's uncle smiled while shaking his head, not in denial, but in amusement.
"You remind me of my older brother, Jonathan. When he started his own family, he took it with as much enthusiasm as you are right now... But you need to look out for yourself, too. If you get sick, or worse, your family will be in a lot worse shape than if you weren't providing for them. Every man has has his own strengths and weaknesses. Learn your strengths and weaknesses, and then you'll become the best husband and daddy you can possibly be, instead of being a reckless one," he lectured me.
I slowly nodded. "I... I get it. i understand now. You opened my eyes, sir. Thank you. I'll never forget your lesson," I shook his hand.
"You're welcome. Just don't pull a stunt like this ever again, okay? I know you got a family to take care of, but be sure to take care of yourself too."
"Okay. Bye! See you next week!" I left out the door, heading back home to my wife and son, my pride and joy.
Sunday, 2nd Of Fall, 1977
"Well, darling, it's Fall. This is the season when we got married. Remember?" I asked Ellen before popping a spoon of strawberry oatmeal in my mouth. She nodded.
"How could I forget that special day? The 23rd... The day we swore we would be together forever..." Ellen looked at me coyly, cuddling Pete up to her chest softly.
"So when our first anniversary comes around, how do you want to spend our anniversary?" I asked Ellen before eating another spoonful of oatmeal.
Ellen looked up at the ceiling in thought.
"Umm... How about the forest?"
"Why there?" I asked.
"Don't you remember? That's the place where I kissed you for the first time, as your reward for helping me find P-Chan," Ellen reminded me.
"Oh, oh, oh! Okay! That makes sense!" I said, finishing my last scoop of oatmeal and going over to the kitchen sink to place it in the sink for dish washing.
"So what do you plan on doing today?" Ellen asked me as she gave Pete a little teddy bear to play with.
"I'm gonna go feed the chickens and the cows, and chop down the last few dried corn stalks. Why?" I asked.
"I was thinking, since you don't have much to do now that it is fall, I was wondering if you, me, Pete and Koro could take a walk into the mountainside woods every two days, starting today," Ellen suggested.
I liked the idea. A family hike on the mountainside forest. Why didn't I think of that before?
"You know honey, that's a dynamite idea! first, let me get finished doing my jobs and then we'll go for a little walk." I walked to the door opened it, and before I walked out, I looked back at Ellen in the rocking chair with Pete and said: "When we go out, do you want me to hold Pete while you ride Zara?" I asked her.
Ellen shook her head. "No, no. I don't feel ready to ride Zara, even though I want to."
"I see. You want to take things slowly and rationally. That's okay, darling! See you in a few." I closed the door behind me.
Then I went to the tool shed to get the brush and milker, then... You know my whole routine, why would I bore you into repeating something you know I always do every day? Anyway, after feeding my livestock and clearing out all the remaining withered corn stalks and tomato plants, I left with Ellen, Pete and Koro to the mountainside forest. Before leaving, I took my super hammer with me, in case we come across any obstacles blocking our way to somewhere interesting. I know, I've been playing too many video games in my childhood.
When we reach the road intersection shaped like an upside down "T", I saw that statue ornament of a bird again. Koro barked at it.
"Koro, down, boy! What is wrong with him?" Ellen asked me.
"I don't know... Obviously something about that bird statue is bugging him for some reason," I replied and headed on over to the statue for further inspection.
"Just be careful, darling," Ellen warned me, nervously tightening her grip on Pete a little.
I walked on over to the bird statue with Koro. Koro began sniffing all over it.
"Hmm..." I scratched my chin.
Then I knocked on the statue's beak. The sound of my knuckles knocking on the beak echoed in the statue. My eyes widened.
"Hey. This thing is hollow!" I exclaimed.
I had a wild idea then, but it sounds kind of stupid. I put the super hammer in both of my hands, getting ready to swing it.
"Tony! What are you doing?" Ellen called out to me.
"Trust me," I replied.
I swung the super hammer horizontally, breaking the bird statue! *KRAAAACKK!* Pieces of the statue flew everywhere to my left. Settling down with my hammer, I looked down at the pedestal that the statue once stood on, and saw a Power Berry! I gasped and picked it up with my right hand.
"No way...!" I whispered in shock.
Ellen approached me, her eyes focused on the power berry in my right hand.
"Is that what I think it is...?" Ellen whispered to me.
I nodded. "Yeah. It's a Power Berry. I've eaten a few before. They really give me a power boost." After saying that, I dropped the berry into my mouth, chewed it and swallowed it. Then immediately I felt really energized. "Come on, honey, let's go." I said.
I led Koro, Ellen and Pete north to the mountainside forest. When we got there, we were instantly surrounded by trees covered with withering, brown leaves. Some were already falling down to the ground.
"Look, Pete! Look at the leaves fall!" Ellen said to Pete in her arms.
From his point of view, the sight of seeing brown and orange leaves falling at him from overhanging tree branches among the blue sky was such a beautiful sight for him, he got all excited, smiling and giggling.
"I'm glad to hear that Pete is enjoying this trip," I said.
Several minutes later, we came across Luke's house tree.
"What is that? That tree with a door..." Ellen asked me in confusion.
"Oh, that's just Luke's house. You know, the carpenter who helped me upgrade and expend my house? I wonder if he's here...?" I walked up the steps and knocked on the door.
"Hello? Luke? It's me, Tony! My wife, son and dog are here too! Hello? Luke? Emmet? Ingo? Toby?"
No answer.
"Huh. He's not here," I crossed my arms.
"Tony, maybe he's out of town for the day, let's go on," Ellen said to me.
I nodded and left with them. As we continued on deeper into the forest, we saw a wild rabbit and fox.
"Oh, look, Pete! That's a fox!" Ellen held Pete up so he could see it run by.
He saw it all right, and he looked very interested because he was laughing and clapping his hands.
"Petey, you are awfully intrigued by everything," I shook my head.
We moved on. We explored around the woods until we found the sulfur spring.
"Wow... I haven't relaxed in there since last year," I commented.
"The next time we come up this way, why don't we all relax in there?" Ellen asked me.
The sudden thought of seeing Ellen in a bathing suit sent excited chills down my spine.
"...Yeah! I agree. Let's go home. It'll be late noon when we get back," I said.
We retraced our steps out of the woods and headed home.
Tuesday, 4th Of Fall
Ellen and I were planning on going for a trip into the forest again, but since Ellen has a lot of work she need to do unlike me, taking care of Pete, washing and drying our bath towels and such, I had to go alone after I was done feeding my livestock and storing their products for shipment. As soon as I went inside the forest, I immediately met Ingo.
"Hey, Tony!" "Hi, Ingo. What's up?"
"Nothing but the autumn skies," Ingo joked.
"Ah, ha-hah-hah-hah! You got jokes, I see," I smiled at him.
"Yep. I got hundreds of them. Say, why don't you have a juice party at your house sometimes? Emmet and Toby would love that," Ingo suggested.
"That sure sounds like fun, but I'm a family man now, and..." I leaned a little close to Ingo's left ear. "...I don't like to get drunk," I whispered into his ear and left, leaving Toby confused.
I continued on forward, turning left past Luke's house tree, and past the cave where I recently found a Power Berry. Near the cave, I found a rabbit standing there, not moving.
"Huh? What in the...?" I was confused.
Rabbits are always on the move, in case a predator may be stalking them. Even weirder is even though I was advancing closer to the rabbit, it did not run. Soon I was standing over it. I knelt down, about to touch its head. The rabbit looked up at me.
"Don't worry. I won't hurt you," I told the rabbit, even though I'm unsure that all animals understand human languages.
Then a gruff voice behind me shouted: "Hey!"
It startled me so much I fell back! I got up and saw... Terry walking towards me! With his double barrel shotgun in his hands!
"Stop that! That rabbit is mine. What are you doing to it?" Terry asked me in an enraged manner.
"M-m-me? I was just watching it, I swear! I wasn't going to hurt it, Terry!" I pleaded, surprised to know that the rabbit belongs to him.
Terry grunted. I don't know why he did that, but maybe he believes me.
"I see that you're confused. I live like this. I don't expect you to understand my lifestyle. Bye," was all he said.
He walked by me, picked up his rabbit and left with it resting on his shoulder. I don't understand Terry, and I never will. The guy loves nature, but hates town and city life... I don't get it! What's to hate about towns and cities? I may not be a nature lover, but I got nothing against nature. Can't the old man learn to love and respect both nature and civilization...? With an exasperated sigh, I decided to head back home and stay there for the whole day. I lost the mood to visit everybody in Neighbor Town.