Episode 15: Pete's Growth

Wednesday, 5th Of Fall, 1977

"Breakfast is ready, Tony and Koro!" Ellen called from the kitchen.

Me and Koro were on the floor playing with Pete and watching him sit in his playpen and playing with his rattle stick toy squealing happily until we heard Ellen calling us.

"Woof!" Koro barked.

"I know. Let's go!" I picked up Pete out of his playpen and me and Koro headed for the dinner table.

Ellen placed Koro's bowl of kibble on the floor near the dinner table and then she placed her plate and mine on the table. I let Pete sit in my lap as I ate breakfast, since I haven't bought one of those chairs with a tray in front of it that babies can sit in.

"Let me know if you like my special apple pie with cinnamon," Ellen told me.

After making sure Pete isn't leaning to either side on my lap, I cut a piece with my fork and popped it into my mouth. After letting it swirl around my mouth and swallowing it, I said: "Honey, you make the most delicious pies in south Louisiana!"

"Even better than my Mom?" Ellen asked me, raising her left eyebrow in amusement.

That question caught me off guard. I never tried her mother's cooking since the spring last year. To avoid offending Ellen, I decided to dodge the subject.

"Um, is there anything you need me to buy at Neighbor Town?" Then I ate a few more slices of pie.

"Well, now that you mention it, we need to buy some new jammies for Pete to wear- he's growing up at a fairly fast rate, you know." Ellen said.

I nodded. "You're right, the little sprout is growing. Okay, new clothes for Pete. Got it!" I handed Pete over to Ellen and Pete started crying.

"Oh no... It looks like Pete has taken a liking to you, darling," Ellen said.

I gave my wife a sad face. Honestly I'm surprise my own son has taken a liking to me so quickly.

"Oh no..." I groaned.

I took Pete into my arms from Ellen and held him up, looking into his face as he looked into mine. I was glad he finally stopped crying.

"Listen, son, I need to go out and do some work. I'm sorry that I can't hang with you every single day, but this is what dads do. One day, you'll understand. At least I hope you will," I handed him back to Ellen and he started crying again. I hate to leave him crying, but I have no choice, I have to be the one who leaves the ranch to buy new clothes for him.

Without hesitation, I left the house, and Ellen gave Pete a pacifier to suck on so he can calm down. Ellen put the silicone nipple on Pete's lips and he quickly clamped his mouth over it and started sucking, and she started singing a lullaby to him. I never heard it, I was already outside by the time she started singing.

After taking care of my livestock and getting some eggs and milk ready to be shipped, I left my ranch and headed on over to the mountainside forest to visit Luke, that is, if he is here. I walked up the steps and knocked on the door. Seconds later, Luke answered.

"Tony! Nice to see you," Luke smiled a welcoming smile.

"Yeah. Last Sunday, me, my wife and son took a short hike into the woods, and we tried to visit you, but you were gone. Where were you?" I asked Luke.

"Oh. I was out of town. Some friends over at Lake Arthur needed me for an errand. Sometimes on Saturday or Sunday, I leave to either run errands for my friends or go visit my little brother Gotz who lives in Mineral Town. He works as a carpenter, too."

"Oh, that explains it," I nodded.

"Come on in, come on in. I was hoping to talk to you," I entered his house tree.

When I stepped inside, I saw that while it is not the most luxurious home to live in, it has some appeal. There are two bunk beds on the other end of the room, there is a small old stove, at the left corner of the room, a cast iron coal stove, and its chimney extends seven feet up towards the ceiling and left towards a hole that Luke had hollowed out for the heat to escape out into the outside of the tree, since coal burns at higher temperatures than wood, and using a coal stove inside a tree would probably burn it up from the inside. On the opposite end of the room, away from the coal stove is the dinner table, four chairs lined up around it, and in the center of the room is a circular rug with horizontal red, white and green stripes, making it look like a big lollipop sitting on the floor. Luke walked over to the coffee table near the dinner table where he keeps his coffee machine. Apparently he had been brewing coffee before I arrived.

"Want some coffee?" Luke offered me.

I shook my head as I took a seat. "No, I'm fine, thank you."

Luke took a cup of his own coffee and sat down on a chair on the opposite side of the table, and I sat down on the other end.

"So how's Ellen and your son, uh..."

"Pete."

"Yeah, Pete. How are they doing?"

"Oh, Ellen's doing fine. After giving birth to Pete she slimmed back to normal, for the most part, and Pete, I gotta tell you, my son loves nature," I said with a passionate look on my face as I was talking about Pete.

"Really?" Luke looked intrigued by my story, too.

"Yeah, I kid you not. You should see the look in his eyes whenever he sees a leaf, tree or flower... They just gleam with joy..." I said dreamily.

"Sounds like Pete will be a really honest, kind boy just like you, Tony," Luke said then took a sip of his coffee.

I chuckled, lightly shaking my head, flattered by Luke's words.

"You know, Luke, I wish I could see into the future and take a peek at Pete's life... See what he'll do in his life, who he'll marry, what he'll name my grandchild... I want to see all of that before I grow old and kick the bucket," I said, staring out into the makeshift window next to me.

Luke smiled at my statement. "All in good time, my friend, all in good time... Life is short, but not that short. But the best thing about life is... It can mean a lot to most people."

"What are you saying?" I looked at Luke, feeling a bit dumbfounded.

"Walk outside and look around you. Look hard. You'll see withered leaves falling all around you. Like I said before, life doesn't last forever, but do you know what lasts forever?"

"Huh?" I looked at Luke in confusion.

"Memories, Tony. Good old-fashioned, joy filled memories. Think about it." Luke said, his voice almost down to a whisper.

I nodded slowly. "... Well, I better get going. I gotta buy some baby clothing for Pete. See you later, Luke." I shook his hand.

"Pleasure having you for company, Tony. Take it easy," Luke replied.

I left the mountainside forest and continued heading down the road to Neighbor Town. I bought four pajamas for baby boys from the clothing shop, two green colored and two blue colored, then I returned home and stayed there, playing with Pete, Koro, Ellen, and riding on Zara around the ranch for a while.

Friday, 7th Of Fall, 1977

After taking care of my livestock, Ellen, Pete and I traveled to Neighbor Town with the help of Derek driving us there to see how everyone is doing. Ellen went to the bakery to visit her parents while I visited Michael and Ann. When I entered their house, I saw Ann, as usual, working on her strange machine.

"Hello, Tony. Long time no see," Ann looked over at me.

"Hey, Ann. Where's your Dad?" I asked her after I noticed that he is not in here behind the cash register.

"He's in his room right now. He's been in there for the past 8 minutes," Ann told me as she screwed a bolt into the machine.

"I see." I replied, taking out a croissant from my pocket and eating it.

"By the way, how's Ellen? And when can I see the baby? What's his name?" Ann asked me after she put down the screwdriver and rubbed her soot covered hands on her overalls.

"Pete. Ellen is doing fine, she's really taking her role as a mother to heart."

"Pete... That's a nice, plain name. I want to see him someday," Ann said.

"Maybe during the next festival, you will, okay? And, uh, you don't mind if I go say hello to Michael, do you?"

"No, I don't mind. But i should tell you to be careful with him, because lately he has been feeling a bit blue," Ann warned me.

"I'll be careful. Thanks," I said.

I walked into the next room behind the cashier service counter, and I found myself in a short hallway, one door to my left, another to my right. I approached the door to the left and gently knocked on it.

"Hey, uh, Michael? It's me, Tony. Sorry to disturb you like this, but I just want to talk. If you want me to leave, it's no problem," I called.

I heard the other door behind me open as soon as I finished speaking. I turned around to see Michael standing there wearing a brown shirt and dark blue pants, his hair looking shaggy and uncombed.

"What the... Oh... Tony... How's your day been?"

"Doing great," I said.

"And how's your baby, um... Pete?" Michael asked me.

"Really energetic and cheerful most days. So uh... What's going on?" I asked curiously.

Michael shook his head. "Nothing. I'm just feeling a bit under the weather."

"Are you sick? Do you need Tylenol or something?" I said with concern.

Michael shook his head, smirking. "No, not that kind of sickness. The lovesick kind," he corrected me.

I stayed silent, waiting for him to explain what he meant. He ran his right hand through his hair before speaking again.

"I wish my wife were here, Tony. I wish she never left me," he said sadly.

"She dumped you? Why?"

Michael gave me a clueless shrug. "All I know is that she never planned on having a baby with me. When she found out that she was pregnant, it terrified her."

Sunday, 9th Of Fall, 1977

Nothing out of the ordinary today. Me, Ellen and Pete went to church today, after I fed my livestock, that is all, nothing interesting for me to mention here, and the next day.

Tuesday, 11th Of Fall, 1977

Ellen and I were watching television of the Louisiana Daily News channel.

"Good morning, ladies and gentlemen! I'm sure you're all excited about this year's Harvest Festival! Be sure to bring something down to the town square of Neighbor Town at 3:00 p.m. Don't be late. And..." The news woman said, but she was about to say more, but Ellen and I tuned her out.

"I will take something very delicious tomorrow, so please look forward to it," Ellen told me.

"Oh, I am. I am looking forward to it. Isn't that right, Pete?" I looked down at him laying on my lap.

Pete looked up at me, giggling like I made a funny face at him. I suddenly looked up at the thought of something.

"Uh oh." I said, feigning worry on my face.

"What, honey?" Ellen asked me.

I handed Pete over to her, slowly stood up from the couch and slowly approached the door.

"I have a gut feeling that Mikey is outside right now..." I told Ellen as I approached the door and opened it... And there he was, wearing a brown bandanna, a white shirt and denim jeans.

"Aha, what?! You opened the door before I could knock! Man, you're good!" Mike smiled.

"I'm not that good. I just know you too well, that's all. You're easy to read like a book," I smirked in a sly manner.

"Oh, hardy har-har-har. Anyway, I'm gonna stop work so I can go to the festival tomorrow, just to let you know. I got friends from Gueydan to Morse coming to visit. I'll see you up there," Mike said.

"Will you have one of those tasty dumplings there again?" I asked him.

He shrugged. "Who knows? I'm not going to tell you. Maybe, maybe not. Just wait and see. Well, see ya."

Mike turned around and left. As soon as I shut the door, I heard Ellen chuckle.

"That Mike sure is a character, isn't he?"

"You have no idea, darling. Well, I better get to work. I'll see you in a few." I walked over to Ellen gave her a kiss on the cheek, then she kissed me back and I left outside to feed my livestock.

Afterwards, Ellen came outside with Pete to watch me ride Zara, so she can learn how to. She still hasn't developed the courage to ride Zara yet, but she still wants to do it.

Wednesday, 12th Of Fall, 1977

7:00 a.m., I woke up. I didn't see Ellen next to me, she must have woken up minutes before I did. I stood up to see if Ellen is still in the room, and she still is. She is just near Pete's crib, looking down at him as he crawls on the floor... wait... Pete is crawling?

"Look, darling! Pete is crawling!" Ellen exclaimed excitedly.

Hearing that was enough to snap me awake! I jumped out of my bed and looked down at Pete. He really is crawling! He's crawling towards me, too!

"Duh... Dah... Dah..." Pete muttered gibberish as he crawled slowly.

I knelt down. "Come here, son! Come to Daddy!" I urged him.

"Dah... Boo-boo..." Pete continued talking baby talk as he crawled towards me at turtle speed.

"Come on! You can do it!" I urged him.

Soon he came close to me and I picked him up under his armpits, holding him up.

"Yeaaah! That's my boy! Good job, Petey! I'm so proud of you!" I kissed Pete on his left cheek.

He smiled. "Ha ha ha! Da-da! Ba-ba!" Pete said.

A few hours later, Ellen and Pete and I got prepared to head on over to Neighbor Town, and once again Derek drove us there.

"Why are you two heading into town without me?" I asked for the third time.

"Because, honey, the thing I plan on bringing to the Harvest Festival is in town. I don't want you to see what it is, so that's why we're leaving you here to feed the livestock while Pete and I get a head start on you," Ellen explained with a grin.

"A head start? Oh, that's real fair. Well go on, before I catch up," I replied.

Ellen and Pete left while I stayed at home to freshen myself up for the festival, then minutes later, I fed my livestock. Then after that, I went to the mountainside forest to get a healthy mushroom. It took me a few hours to find one. Most of the mushrooms I found looked unhealthy or poisonous. After that, I raced on over to Neighbor Town.

When I got to the square, I was the 4th person in line to try out our own special stew. When it was my turn, Ellen's mom instructed me to put my ingredient int the stew. Climbing up the big ladder until I peered down into the bubbling brown liquid in the cauldron, I threw my mushroom in and watched it melt.

"Okay, wait a few minutes," Ellen's mom said as she stirred the dissolving mushroom into the stew.

I climbed off the ladder and waited. Soon Ellen's mom came up to me and gave me my stew and a spoon. I grabbed the spoon, dipped it into the soup and took a few sips. I tasted chicken broth with sliced carrots, green peas, not a bad combination. Not bad at all! After finishing my stew, I walked on over to the mayor's wife.

"Hello, ma'am. How was your stew? What did you put in it?" I asked her.

"Mine was flowers. It turned out fairly good," She replied.

Flowers? Hmm, she must be vegetarian.

"I see. Gotta go." I waved bye and left, heading towards Maria who was still eating her own stew.

"Hello, Tony."

"Hey, Maria. The stew is great. A little better than last year," I smiled.

"I agree. I think it's important to thank the land and the sun as well as celebrate the harvest," Maria told me.

I nodded in agreement. "Can't argue with that. Land shelters the seeds, the sun helps the seeds develop... Without them, my harvest wouldn't be so perfect."

"There you have it." Maria nodded in approval with a smile, keeping her lips closed.

"Oh, by the way, Maria, Ellen is over by the water fountain with Pete, our baby. Since you love kids, why don't you go see him?" I suggested to Maria.

"I will. Thanks for telling me, Tony," Maria nodded.

Then I left her alone, and I walked up to Ellen's dad, standing near the cauldron, drinking Lone Star brand beer, far as I could tell.

"Um, sir? Are you sure you want to be drinking that? You do realize that stuff make food taste less good, right?" I asked him.

He looked at me incredulously.

"What? This? Nonsense! This drink is my pride and joy! It's who I am." He said pridefully.

I sighed. There's no way I can wean Ellen's dad off of Eve's awful drinks.

"...Suit yourself," I said and left.

I walked through the crowds of people, trying to find Ellen, but I heard Nina call me.

"Tony! Hey! Tony! Over here!"

I tried to find out where her voice is coming from. I looked around. I was in the southeastern parts of the square.

I saw Nina next to Liz ahead of me, so I approached them.

"Hey, Nina. What's that you got there?" I asked.

Nina showed me food that I've never seen before. it looked like a fruit. At least its not alive or animal based. It looks more like a candy bar, the way it is colored.

"Try it! You'll like it! It's delicious!" Nina urged me with a comforting smile.

I shrugged. It's better than the little frog I was forced to eat last year... Even though my digestive tract has months ago reduced the frog to pieces of crap, I still feel sorry for that little guy, being alive while getting slowly and painfully turned into mush is a fate no creature deserves... I took the candy into my hand, threw it in my mouth and chewed it. It was really soft for my teeth to chew on, but tasted very good in my mouth as it dissolved! The flavor resembled artificial watermelon without sugar! Then I swallowed the remains of the candy.

"Tastes good, huh?" Nina smiled.

"Yeah! What is that? I love it!" I asked her.

"It's called the fruit of the full moon plant. it's moisturized, soft, and melts in the mouth like ice cream," Nina explained to me.

"Its our most favorite fruit," Liz added.

I nodded with a contented smile.

"I see. You guys gotta show me where you find that fruit. I love it!" I said before I left.

As I was walking, I could distinctly hear Mike's voice yelling: "Rice balls and dumplings! Get your rice balls and dumplings! Won't you try them? They are all good!"

I couldn't resist the urge to try those out again! I ran for Mike's table where he was distributing different rice balls and dumplings.

"Tony! I knew I'd attract your attention. I guess I know you too well," Mike smirked.

"Yeah, whatever. Here's $300. I know the price," I gave Mike the money.

"Okay. Try not to get addicted to the dumplings, all right?" Mike said as he handed me one.

I grabbed it and ate it.

"Okay, now I'll try the rice ball," I said.

"All right! Tony, these rice balls are made from 100% Starshine rice," Mike told me.

"Starshine rice?! My Mom used to cook those!" I exclaimed.

"Well, I envy you, Tony. They are fresh and warm. Want one? Its only $200," Mike said.

I gave him the money.

"Wow, you sure have a bottomless pit for a stomach. Still, don't get addicted to this stuff, alright?" Mike said as he gave me the dumpling.

I grabbed it and ate it.

"Thanks, Mike. See you around!" I said as I left.

"No worries! Next year, I'll bring more than rice balls and dumplings! Look forward to it!" Mike called back.

I continued walking, looking for Ellen and Pete, but they are nowhere to be found. Soon, I bumped into Eve.

"Whoa! Careful!" I said, rubbing my bruised head.

"Hey, Tony... Have you had too much beverage?" Eve asked me in a queasy voice.

She looked dizzy. I shook my head in denial.

"... I think I have had enough," Eve said before leaving.

She had better stay away from the alcohol, seriously. I then headed towards Ann, who was in the same spot as she was last year's Harvest Festival, with her newly improved machine.

"Hey, Ann. Have you seen Ellen?" I asked her.

"Ellen? I saw her with Maria a minute ago," Ann replied.

"Great, thanks," I said and turned to leave.

"Hold on a minute!" Ann halted me.

I froze and turned around.

"Haven't you looked at it? This is my newly improved Ultra Special Auto Harvesting Machine!" Ann said with loads of pride in her face.

I just stared at her blankly, not even giving her applause, then I glanced at her machine, which oddly looks like a cylindrical shaped outhouse with no doors, just various multicolored buttons. She noticed that a few seconds of silence.

"... Hey, you don't seem to trust me... Doesn't matter, don't say a word. Just turn it on! On!" Ann urged me, pointing at the power button close to the base of the machine near some kind of lever.

I didn't want to do it... But I did it anyway. I pushed the button and the machine started up.

*BRRRRRRR* the machine was shaking and humming. Then suddenly I got a bad feeling and slowly backed away.

"That's not good!" I jumped out of the way, and just in time!

The machine blew up on Ann's face, startling everyone in the vicinity!

"Eek!" Ann yelped.

When I looked up from laying face down on the concrete, I saw that the smoke cleared and Ann's face is covered in black soot again! Michael, Ellen's mother,

"... Weird. I thought it would work fine this time..." was all Ann said, dumbfounded that her machine backfired.

"Your daughter is up to her old tricks, I see," Ellen's mother said to Michael, who was slowly shaking his head in dismay.

"Same old, same old. I just wish she would try something different. Something less dangerous," Michael muttered sadly while watching Ann wipe soot off her face using a hand towel she kept in one of the pockets of her pants.

I left Ann alone for Michael to take care of her while I searched for Ellen. I found her at the southwest corner of the square with Nina, Liz and Maria, who were all focused on Pete, talking about how cute he is. I walked up to them.

"Hi, darling. I've been looking for you." I said.

"So was I. Look at what I made when I was visiting Mom," Ellen showed me a pie I've never seen before holding Pete and signaled Maria to give me a small pie on a plastic plate with a plastic fork alongside it.

The pie had this smell that made me think there's some meat inside.

"This is a special meat pie I made. Want a bite?" Ellen asked me.

"Yeah," I nodded.

I grabbed the pie and ate it. It tasted funny- I've never eaten pie with meat in it before, but it tasted good for a meat pie, it also had gravy, corn, green peas and carrots inside it.

"I love it. I'ts good, honey," I said after swallowing the pie and licking the gravy residue off my lips.

Ellen smiled at me, putting her left hand on my cheek and rubbing it gently. I felt her soft fingers gently caress my face, and it put me in sort of a trance.

"You make everything you eat seem delicious, so its worth cooking for you," Ellen said with a pleased expression.

"I think its because I have a huge appetite," I said with a coy smile.

Ellen shook her head. "It's because I put a special ingredient into my cooking. Fresh ingredients, love and affection are necessary to make dishes delicious!" She replied proudly while Pete babbled.

She has a point.

"Okay, everybody, we are about to start dancing. Go ahead and pick a partner," Mayor Stan called by megaphone.

I looked at Ellen with an excited smile.

"Ready to dance, honey?" I asked her.

"Darling, I'm never afraid to dace with you. Maria, can you look after Pete for a while?" Ellen asked.

"Sure, Ellen." Maria nodded, and Ellen handed Pete over to Maria.

"Hello there, Pete. My name is Maria, are you having fun?" Maria cooed at Pete as I took Ellen's left hand into my right hand and walked away from Maria, Liz and Nina.

A few minutes later, we were dancing. Since Pete isn't inside Ellen anymore, I can now go back to doing some fancy dance moves with Ellen and try to wow the audience! Ellen and I had loads of fun, from the town square to our home.

Thursday, 13th Of Fall, 1977

The next morning, when me and Ellen woke up, Ellen suddenly jumped out of bed, dashed into the bathroom all of the sudden and shut the door.

"Huh? What the...?" I jumped out of bed.

"What in the world is going on...?" I muttered to myself in confusion.

A minute later, she returned.

"Honey, are you sick?" I asked her.

Ellen shook her head, holding both hands on her stomach.

"No, darling. I'm... I'm pregnant again..." Ellen said.

"WHAT?!" I exclaimed so loudly, Pete in his crib gasped in surprise and started crying. I guess my shout made his heart jump in his chest, and he didn't like that. I picked him up.

"Oh no! Oh, I'm sorry, Pete, did I scare you? I am so sorry," I apologized to Pete as I gently rocked him in his arms, and he calmed down a few seconds later, and I was sitting on the bed at that moment. "Son... You got a little brother or sister on the way," I told him with a faint smile as soon as he calmed down.

Ellen sat down next to me.

"I really wasn't expecting this either, darling. Pete, you won't be the only baby we'll be having anymore," she said as she smiled at Pete.

Pete grinned. Minutes later, after feeding my livestock, i ran to Luke's house in the forest to tell him and his carpenters the big news. I opened up the door, seeing Luke, Emmet, Ingo and Toby sitting at their tables drinking coffee.

"Hey, Tony! What's new?" Toby asked me.

"Me and my wife got another baby on the way," I replied.

As soon as I said that, Luke and his carpenters spat out their coffee in shock!

"Wha...?!" Luke was stunned!

"Pete has a little brother or sister coming!" I replied.

Luke slowly looked over at his carpenters with his mouth dropped open. Silence filled the room, but seconds later, Emmet broke the silence.

"Wow, Tony, did you plan to have this next one?" He asked me.

I shook my head. "No, it just suddenly happened," I replied.

Toby shook his head. "Son, there is no such thing as "suddenly happened". Do yourself a favor. If you can't keep your pajamas on around your wife, go to Lake Arthur or Gueydan and buy yourself some Durex and use them before you end up with more unplanned pregnancies. You don't want to end up having more kids than you can handle," he warned me.

"Noted, but even though I never planned on having another child, I am happy about this! See ya later!" I said then ran off, so Ingo and Toby never had time to say any parting words to me, they only nodded.

After two hours of walking and brief running, I arrived at Neighbor Town and I ran into Liz's flower shop. Before Liz and Nina could say hello, I abruptly said: "Guys, Ellen is pregnant again!"

Then I left.

"Huh!?" Nina gasped.

"Did... Didn't they just have Pete recently...?" Liz asked Nina, dumbfounded.

I ran to the church and found priest Daniel and Maria.

"Tony! How are you?" Daniel asked me.

"Fine! More than fine! Ellen is pregnant again!" I smiled proudly.

"Really? That's amazing! I see now you really love kids!" Maria exclaimed.

"Well congratulations to you, Tony!" Daniel shook my hand.

"Thank you, Dan. I'm going to continue spreading the word around town," I said then left.

I went and told the whole town about it! Ellen's mom and uncle were the most surprised. They totally weren't expecting this! When I ran back to the ranch, I came back into the house all exhausted, but I celebrated with Pete and Ellen all noon and evening.

Saturday, 15th Of Fall, 1977

The next morning, I woke up and I saw Ellen playing with Pete on the floor.

"You're pretty active lately," I commented.

"Pete is always active when he wakes up, so I always have to keep an eye on him," Ellen replied.

I climbed out of the bed and joined Pete and Ellen on the floor.

"Dur... Dah... Ba-ba-da..." Pete said... Whatever that means.

"Pete. Say Mama. Ma-ma," Ellen said slowly.

"Mm...mm...Da-da!" Pete exclaimed and started laughing- I think he was trying to be funny.

"Well, at least he can say Daddy almost," I chuckled.

Ellen didn't give up, though. "Pete. Come on, say Mama. Mama. Ma... ma," she repeated.

"Da...Uh... Ma... Ma... Ma...ma," Pete slowly replied.

"Good boy!" Ellen grinned and hugged Pete, standing up on her legs with Pete still in her arms.

"Ma ma! Ma!" Pete said happily.

Then Ellen passed Pete over to me after I stood up.

"Hey, Petey boy! Are you ready to meet your brother or sister?" I asked him.

"Dah... Dah dah!" Pete replied, smiling, showing his pink gums.

"I know, but you'll have to wait a while," I said.

Minutes later, Ellen was in the kitchen cooking pancakes, scrambled eggs and sausage while Pete and I were watching a cartoon show, a new episode of "Benjamin The Cottontail Rabbit"! I never miss an episode every morning and evening on a Saturday. He was sitting on my lap.

"See that, Pete? That's a rabbit. Can you say rabbit?" I pointed at Benjamin in the television screen who was interacting with his family.

"Rab... Rabby..." Pete tried to say.

"No. Rabbit. Rab-bit. Rab... it," I corrected him.

"...Be... Rab... beat." I can't believe Pete got that wrong!

"Never mind. Just watch the show," I said, and we lapsed into silence as we watched the cartoon.

"Benny, our carrot stock is low, and our family is starving! And someone stole our extra batch of carrots last night!" Benjamin's mother said.

"I bet Leio and his gang of pythons stole our entire supply of carrots. They aren't gonna get away with this!" Benjamin said defiantly.

"If we don't get those carrots back soon, we'll all starve!" Rosie, Benny's sister said.

"I'll take care of this. Don't you worry!" Benjamin hopped away to search for the missing carrots.

"Benjamin is a cool rabbit, isn't he?" I asked Pete.

"Dah-be! Rabb-beeee!" Pete exclaimed happily, flapping his arms.

A few scenes later in the show, Benny met up with a few pythons.

"Hey! It's Benjamin! Let's get him!" A python said.

"Step up!" Benny challenged.

He swiftly dodged every python that tried to bite him and he counterattacked with a punch or kick.

"He's too strong!" A python exclaimed.

"Yeah! Go, Benny!" I cheered.

"Ben-neeee!" Pete cheered with me.

I looked down at him in shock.

"Come and get it!" Ellen called.

"Oh! Time to eat, Pete. Let's go." I picked up Pete and carried him to the dinner table.

After we were finished eating I let Ellen play with Pete for a while as I went outside to feed my livestock, store the eggs and milk for shipping... Oh by the way, Nova grew up to be an adult cow now, so she can now produce milk like Aloe and Star.

After that, I took my super ax and wheelbarrow and went out into the forest to chop some wood for the winter. Something told me that this winter is gonna get cold, so I knew that I better start gathering more wood, not to mention as much fodder for my livestock as I possibly can. When I got back to the ranch that evening, I met up with Derek.

"Tony!"

"Derek. What's up?"

"What's up? What's up? What's up is I heard that you and Ellen made another baby, that's what's up!" Derek crossed his arms.

"Derek, come on! Give me a break! I didn't expect it to happen, but I'm man enough to handle this! Pete is no problem for me, so I can handle one more children." I said confidently.

"If you say so. Well, good luck. I'll send you $1250 tomorrow, all right?"

"Deal." I nodded.

"Keep up the good work. You're really impressing me with your growth as a man." Derek said as he walked back to his pickup truck carrying the crate filled with milk and eggs.

Monday, 17th Of Fall, 1977

I got up around 7:00 a.m. with Ellen. We showered and she gave Pete his own bath afterwards. Later on, I had the honors of changing his diaper. My worst luck ever. It wouldn't be so bad if he simply urinated, but he did something worse. I did NOT like that job at all! Nearly made me lose my appetite! And while Ellen was cooking, I was playing with Pete, using his teddy bear.

"Hi there! I'm Mr. Snuggles! What's your name?" I said in a slightly high pitched voice as I bounced the teddy bear in front of Pete as if it is talking instead of me.

Pete seemed highly amused.

"Ha-ha-ha! Da-ba de-de-de!" He exclaimed excitedly.

"Pete? That's a nice name! So do you want to play with me, Pete?"

"Wheeee!" Pete raised his hands up in the air.

Fast forward 8 minutes later, I had just got my brush and milker from the tool shed and I was heading to the cow house.

"That's a good girl, Aloe. You've been a really good girl today," I cooed as I brushed Aloe.

She mooed happily, then I bent down, grabbed my milker and squeezed the milk from her udders, filling up the empty jug. I was about to go take care of star as well, but I noticed something wrong. She looked kind of tired and pale.

"Star? What's wrong?" I asked.

"Mooo..." Star mooed weakly.

Then I realized what's wrong. Star is sick! I realized that I better go get some medicine before her sickness worsens! But I didn't have any medicine with me! But I knew one person who does.

"Quick! To the town!" I said to myself as I bolted out of the cow house, ran into the horse stables, and prepared Zara to take me for a quick gallop to town.

As soon as I reached Neighbor Town, I wasted no time racing on over to Dale's livestock shop. I parked Zara outside the building and barged right in through the door, startling him.

"Whoa, Tony! What's the rush?" He asked me.

"I got an emergency, sir! One of my cows is sick! I need medicine!" I said urgently.

"Ah! I got just what you need." Dale crouched down behind his desk and came back up and placed two items on the counter: a syringe with cow medicine liquid in the tube, and a medicine tablet with a mugshot of a cow's head.

"These two medicines are exactly what you need. The needle cures cow. Just inject them. The tablet helps make the cow more healthy," Dale told me.

"I'll take both," I said.

"Okay. The needle is $1000 and the tablet is $1000 also."

"Here." I gave him the money, took the items and left before he could say "thank you" or "good bye".

Zara and I returned to the ranch, and after leaving Zara in the stables, I ran back to the cow barn, located Star's and prepared to use the syringe.

"You'll be okay, Star. Just you wait and see," I said to Star then slowly injected the needle and slowly pressed the syringe, pushing the liquid out of the syringe and into my cow's body. Seconds later, Star felt much better!

"Mooo!"

That's how I can tell! Then I gave Star the health tablet to eat and she felt much more energetic! Later after going back to the shed to pick up the milker and a few empty milk jugs, I milked her, then Nova next, then I fed them. Then I fed my chickens and took their eggs. With my everyday jobs done for today, I took Ellen, Pete and Koro out hiking in the forest all noon and hung out with Luke and his carpenters, talking and telling jokes. We returned home in the evening at 4:39, 3 minutes after Derek left with the milk and eggs, and Ellen cooked some blueberry pie. It tasted great! Later that night, me and Ellen were snug fast asleep in our bed while Pete was asleep in his own bed across from us in the bedroom.

Wednesday, 19th Of Fall, 1977

7:59 a.m., that's the time when we woke up. Ellen, Pete and I are already awake. Ellen has already given Koro a bowl of kibbles now she is cooking us something to eat. While she was in the kitchen doing her thing, me and Pete were watching television. I have a hunch that the Egg Festival is tomorrow, so I turned to the event news channel to make sure.

"... This is official information of an event. Tomorrow is the annual egg festival. The weather is fair, so no worries about the festival being postponed, folks!" The woman said as a photo of a dozen multicolored eggs appeared in a different screen next to her.

Then I changed the channel back to channel 6, the sports channel, watching baseball.

"You plan on becoming a baseball player, Pete?" I asked him.

Pete looked up at me and said: "Nwah. Dah-be-de." Whatever that means.

"... I wish baby translators existed..." I muttered.

A few minutes later after eating breakfast, Ellen took Pete with her and walked out the door to get some fresh air. After eating the last bit of sausage on my plate, I followed them out. When I got outside, I saw that Mike has just arrived.

"Tony! Your friend Mike is here," Ellen called.

"I know, darling," I replied.

I approached Mike standing near the entrance gates.

"You ready for this, egg festival champion? I'm gonna take that title from you tomorrow!" Mike said with a sly grin.

"Not a chance! I won last year, I'll win again this year! Just watch and see!" I replied giving Mike a competitive expression on my face.

"Yep! That's what I want to hear! 3:00 tomorrow. Don't be late, otherwise I'll be disappointed. And I don't like to be disappointed," Mike said.

"Mike... Be careful what you wish for," I said with a confident smirk.

"I know what i'm doing. Well, see ya!" Mike turned around and left.

I walked over to Ellen near the cow house. She is sitting on a small stool standing near a bucket of soap filled water and a basket full of dirty bath towels. Pete is next to her sitting on the ground.

"That Mike is very energetic," she commented.

I scoffed. "I'm not gonna let him show me up at the festival!"

"I know. Until then, will you take Koro or Zara out for a walk sometime today?" Ellen asked me.

"Hang on. Let me get finished feeding my livestock," I replied.

Ellen let me go on with my work, feeding the cows and chickens and storing their products for shipping. Then I decided to take Koro for a walk down the long road between my ranch and Neighbor Town. I came back to the ranch at late noon and ate some carrot stew from Ellen back at home, and played with Pete a little bit, like a father should be doing. It was a long day, for sure, but I'm more psyched for tomorrow. I can't wait to win another prize at the festival!

Thursday, 20th Of Fall, 1977

This morning, Ellen, Pete and I did our usual morning routine, bathing, eating breakfast, and Ellen and Pete freshened themselves up while I went out to feed my livestock first, then I freshened myself up too. We waited in the house watching television until 2:15 p.m., then we left the ranch and walked on over to the town. When we reached the square, I saw the usual challengers: Tim, Lisa, Ann, Nina, Ellen's uncle and dad, and Ellen herself. and of course, Mike. But she told me that she'll have to sit this festival out because she has to look after Pete.

"Sorry, darling, I won't be competing with you this time," Ellen told me.

"Ah, man..." I sighed.

"But I'll cheer for you!" Ellen really perked me up once she said that! I then turned my attention to Nina, standing next to us with Ann.

"Hey, Nina. Any idea what the prize is this year?" I asked her.

"Sorry, Tony. I only heard rumors. it might be a rare flower seed or something," Nina guessed.

I shrugged. Better win this festival and find out for myself. 14 minutes later, Mayor Stan called out: "It is time to begin the annual egg searching game! The rules, as usual, are simple. The first person that finds the same colored egg as the one I show wins the game. Are you all ready to begin?"

"YES!" We shouted.

Everybody (except Ellen with Pete) gathered around Stan, waiting for him to show the egg we need to find.

"Here we go! The first egg looks like this!" Stan placed it on the table.

A magenta colored egg! Everybody broke off running once they got a good look at the egg's color. I left out of the northwest exit of the square, passing by Mike. I was aiming to check the chest near Stan's house but Nina beat me to it!... But it seemed that she found nothing.

"See ya!" I heard Mike say behind me.

I turned around and saw him running down the brick road. I gave chase! We passed by the church!

"I'm gonna find that egg first, so eat my dust!" Mike said with a cocky grin.

"I don't think so!" I shot back.

Me and Mike were running side by side together, even as we ran past Liz's flower shop! Then we followed the road going south. I remembered there is a chest on the bridge that leads out of the town! Picking up the pace I beat Mike to the chest. Breathing frantically, I opened it and found an egg, but it's not magenta colored- it's green!

"No!" I moaned.

"See ya later gator!" Mike taunted as he ran on down the road.

Reacting without missing a beat, I gave chase to Mike. He decided to check the chest near Mrs. Fortune's house. I didn't follow him. if he found the wrong egg, that would give me an edge. There's a chance that he would find it, but that's a chance i'm willing to gamble.

"Nooo! Wrong egg!" I heard Mike cry out.

"Banzai!" I clapped my hands together and ran on, going down the steps and following the road. I decided to check at Ellen's uncle's place to see if the chest there has the egg. I ran past Nina who was running the opposite direction compared to me.

She seemed confused for a second as soon as I passed her, then she chased me. Fortunately, I was first to the chest in the back yard of the livestock shop. And the chest is empty! but before I could return to the square, I heard the bell ring!

"Time's up!" Stan shouted by megaphone.

"Aw, fish sticks!" I growled.

Someone got a point! Most likely Dale. I headed back to the square with everybody else.

"Okay, the next egg looks like this!" Mayor Stan placed a bright orange Easter egg on the table.

Everybody left as soon as they saw it. I had a general idea of where to find it. Probably near Mrs. Fortune's house. It's a heavy risk, but i'm going for it.

When I opened the chest there, I was right! I took it back to Stan in the square and showed it to him.

"Yes! That's the same color! Great job!" Stan congratulated me.

He called everybody back to the square. Ellen saw that I got a point.

"Whoo! You can do it, darling! I'm rooting for you honey!" Ellen cheered.

"Daddy wheeee!" Pete cheered his own kind of cheer.

Their cheering made me feel a lot better. Everybody soon returned.

"Okay! The next egg looks like this!" Stan placed the egg on the little table.

A cyan colored egg! I never saw that egg while I was looking for the magenta and orange egg, so I have no general idea of where to find it. But it must be somewhere I haven't checked. I left out the eastern exit of the square and ran south. I found myself running against Tim and Lisa.

"Hurry, Tim! we can't let him beat us to the egg!" Lisa urged as I was gaining on them.

"Easy for you to say! My heart is burning!" Tim wheezed.

Soon I ran past them and ran down the stairs. Then I turned left and found a chest. I checked it, and I found the cyan colored egg! With the egg in my hand, I ran back to the square and showed it to Stan.

"Got it!" I panted, almost out of breath, but this is a good workout.

"Yes! That's it!" Stan cheered.

Then he rung the bell to call everyone back to the square. Ellen and Pete continued to cheer for me.

"Okay! The next egg you need to search for looks like this!" Stan pulled the egg out of his pocket and placed it on the little table.

A teal colored egg! Everyone broke off running. I had a feeling of where I would find the egg.

At the chest near the church where the tombstones are! As I was running over there, Ann was slowly gaining on me.

"You're not getting that egg that easily!" Ann shouted.

"Watch me!" I replied.

When we got to the church, I weaved my way past dozens of tombstones and crosses as I headed towards the treasure chest. Out of breath I opened it, finding the cyan egg!

"Awwh! You found it!" Ann moaned.

"Yep! no hard feelings, Ann, but you did your best." I said as I ran past her.

"... Yeah! I did!" Ann felt much better when I said that.

I showed Stan the egg as soon as I got to the square. I was almost wheezing.

"Okay, the game is over." He rung the bell and picked up the megaphone.

"I'm announcing the winner. Everybody, come here, please." Stan called. Afterwards, everyone lined up. Lisa was standing next to me to my right. Stan checked the results on paper.

"The winner of this year's Egg Festival is... Mr. Tony once again!" Stan declared.

Everyone cheered! I won this year again! Ellen came up to me, holding Pete and kissed me on my left cheek as everyone cheered. Nobody was upset about losing. That made me feel much better, because I hate dealing with sore losers.

"Congratulations! The prize is being delivered to your home right now," Stan told me.

"Thank you, sir," I nodded.

"Now everybody, let's do our best next year, too!" Stan yelled.

"Whooo! Yeah!" Everyone cheered.

Later that evening, when Ellen, Pete and i got home, I saw the prize! It is a Power Tree berry, and its just sitting on the dinner table! However, I was too tired to eat it. maybe tomorrow. As soon as we reached the bedroom, I immediately took off my overalls, put on my pajamas and fell asleep. Ellen did the same, but not before tucking Pete in his own bed.