Chapter 16: Summer Breeze
The sun's rays beat down on the back of Claire's neck while she bent over to tend to her crops, and the young farmer could just feel her skin burning up. Her entire body felt hot and sticky, her old T-shirt clinging to her back with sweat, bangs practically plastered to her forehead. It was disgusting, really. But nothing that she couldn't push through – this summer heat was certainly the least of her worries.
Her long blonde hair swished forward as she sprinkled water across the green stalks in the garden with her cheap plastic watering can. The various plants in her field had grown quite a bit in the past few days; already, Claire could spot the small green bulbs that were her steadily growing tomatoes, and her corn was growing taller and taller with each passing day.
The farmer wiped away a bead of sweat that had begun to drip down her forehead in the midmorning heat, ruffling her bangs in the process. Good Goddess, it's hot... At least there's a nice breeze.
At that thought, a warm gust of wind blew through the fields, blowing Claire's hair back over her shoulders and causing the treetops to sway, their leaves made into a chorus of rustling.
Suddenly, a cheery voice called out to Claire from the farm entrance to the girl's left, and the blonde lifted her head to spot three familiar faces. A short haired brunette and a bespectacled girl with long, raven black hair tied back in a braid lifted their hands in greeting as they approached her, while the third visitor merely nodded his head slightly in what Claire assumed was his way of saying 'hello'.
Claire waved back with a grin, pleasantly surprised at the interruption. "What are you guys all up to?"
It was Elli who responded, her tone cheerfully light. "We were just heading down toward the lake for a picnic!"
She held up the large picnic basket hanging by the crook of her elbow, the lid open just enough for Claire to glimpse the collection of edibles within. "Want to come along with? I made sandwiches; I'm sure there are plenty enough to share!"
For a split second, Claire hesitated, though it was an offer she wouldn't have normally refused. She had nothing against picnics (quite the contrary, in fact); she just didn't want to go through the forest again, truth be told. Claire had done it before, just yesterday in fact, but for some reason, the very idea now made her stomach clench uncomfortably. Sure, she good had reason to be suspicious of the woods around her farm, but then again, nothing had actually happened to her while there.
Except, of course, the discovery of the mangled deer. Claire felt a minor wave of nausea pass through at the single disturbing thought of the poor, massacred animal.
And Gotz – though Claire did feel sympathy for the lonesome carpenter, she was frightened by him just the slightest bit, and the story of his family's fate still haunted her...
The knot in Claire's stomach tightened. "...Why don't we go to the beach, instead?"
Mary shook her head, her braid swishing against the back of her blue dress. "Oh, no… It's much too windy out on the beach today... The sand would blow into our food and everything. At least by the lake, the trees will block most of the wind." As if to prove her point, another gust of wind blew across the field, swaying the grass and nearly causing Mary's glasses to fall off her face.
The farmer girl glanced over at Gray, who had been standing silently in the background for the entire duration of the conversation, looking relatively sullen. "You're going, too?" she asked him, the faintest hint of disbelief in her voice. He had never seemed the type to go on a picnic with a group of ladies, at least not voluntarily.
The blond haired young man merely shrugged, hands in his pockets as he glared at the ground at Claire's feet. "...Yeah."
Claire cocked her head to one side questioningly. "Why?"
"Well... Mary asked me to join her."
"Oh." Claire had a strange feeling that Gray would do nearly anything if Mary were the one to ask him. The thought bugged her slightly.
The dark haired librarian happily nodded in agreement, her cheeks tinted pink. "Oh, yes... It was originally just going to be Elli and me, but then Gray stopped over by the library just as we were leaving, so I asked if he cared to join us. And then, since we decided on going to the lake rather than to the beach, Elli and I thought we may as well invite you too, Claire. We would be passing through your farm anyway, and we figured you could probably take a break from work. Luckily, we cooked extra!"
"Yes," Elli added on, "we would be happy to have you join us! I'm on a short break from work as well, which is why Mary and I made the plans in the first place."
The blonde girl managed a grin. "Thanks for inviting me! Yeah, I could definitely use a break. And... well, the lake sounds really refreshing, in this heat."
The other girls responded with genuine smiles, and Claire sighed inwardly. If only she could actually share in their enthusiasm.
About half an hour later, Claire, Elli, Mary, and Gray stepped out of the woods toward the fields surrounding the lake, where they were met with the faint scent of grass and wildflowers and the smell of fresh summer air in the countryside. As she took her first step out of the shade into the light of the sun, Claire took a deep breath and closed her eyes - she could never get enough of that smell.
Much better than the smell of the city, she decided, with its acrid stench of car exhaust and people and pollution.
..Or the smell of blood. The girl cringed as the fleeting thought brushed through her mind. She would never forget that smell, not after...
But enough of that, Claire interrupted herself. She was here to have fun. Luckily, their walk through the forest had been utterly uneventful, and the four of them were now able to enjoy a peaceful meal among themselves, and the bounty of nature around them.
Sunlight glittered dazzlingly off the surface of the lake, and a gusty summer breeze rustled the tops of the trees nearest them. A few puffy white clouds steadily made their way across the sky, though they were nowhere near large enough to block out the sun's intensity. Claire squinted across the meadow at the lake directly opposite them before taking off down the grass, the others following closely behind. Without so much as a glance in the direction of Mother's Hill, the blonde settled herself a few meters from the edge of the water. There, the grass was warm from the heat of the sun, and Claire fought the urge to just lay down and curl up for a nap.
Perhaps I should have brought Bailey along with me... He would have loved running around in this field. Though it's not like he can't do that back at the farm, I suppose.
Elli strode up and gently set the picnic basket down on the grass beside Claire, opening it and tearing a large red and white checkered blanket from within. "Watch out!" she called, throwing the blanket over the ground and then patting it down once it had settled. Mary smiled as she sat down on the blanket with the other two girls, and she beckoned Gray to come join them.
Elli grinned as she tucked a few windswept strands of brunette hair behind her ears and began lifting a variety of small packages from the picnic basket, taking her time to distribute the goodies within. Sandwiches of lettuce and tomato between two slices of bread, wrapped in thin plastic, were passed around the circle, along with sliced pickles and small hard-boiled eggs from a few reusable containers.
"These eggs are from the Poultry Farm; Popuri gave them to me as a gift."
Claire paused, about to bite into one of the eggs in question. A strange, inexplicable feeling came to mind, but then it passed as quickly as it had come and she shrugged, popping a bite of the egg into her mouth without a second thought.
"This is really great stuff!"
Mary nodded in agreement. "Oh, yes... Elli did most of the cooking, and I must say, she did quite a spectacular job!"
Elli waved the compliments away with one hand, though she couldn't hide the faint tinge of pink spreading across her cheeks. "Oh, it's nothing... I mean, thank you, but really... I'm always preparing supper for Grandma and Stu, anyway. I've taught myself a thing or two. Though I'm nowhere near as good a cook as... as Ann."
She looked slightly embarrassed that she had even decided to mention the injured girl, and a vaguely uncomfortable silence commenced as the others said nothing in response. It was better that way, anyway.
The picnickers continued to dig into their meal, the girls chatting amongst themselves while Gray sat awkwardly on the outskirts, listening in but pretending not to be. Mary kept trying to get him involved in the conversation, but he rejected her every advance, preferring instead to eat in silence. Claire had to wonder, again, why he had even agreed to come at all.
Finally, as the meal was reaching its final stages, Elli addressed the group for a surprise treat, the picnic basket now perched proudly in front of her.
"I brought pudding for dessert!" She grinned as she produced a large, round container from the basket and pried the lid off with her fingers, revealing a good-sized mound of the sweet, creamy concoction. "It's a good thing I remembered to bring bowls and spoons as well, haha..."
Claire smiled as the brunette piled small scoops of the pudding into bowls and passed them out. "Wow, Elli... You really went above and beyond with this picnic, huh."
The young nurse blushed. "Oh, like I said, it was nothing..."
"Though... it would have been even better if Trent could have come as well," she whispered in a tone that she thought would be inaudible to the others, though Claire herself managed to catch the girl's words.
The blonde farmer smiled to herself. So Elli really does like Trent... She had plenty of evidence for that, though she wasn't about to confront Elli about it. Now was just not the time.
After finishing her bowl of pudding, which tasted of vanilla, Claire glanced up and noticed that Gray, who had been sitting across from her on the blanket, had a conspicuous smudge of pudding over the corner of his mouth. Without warning, she impulsively lifted a hand to wipe it away.
Startled, Gray backed away and nearly fell backward off the edge of the picnic blanket. Claire couldn't help but smirk slightly at his reaction, and she stifled a laugh.
"Just relax... You have a bit of food left on your face, is all." She reached over and pressed one finger to Gray's face to wipe the pudding away, and the young man's cheeks flushed scarlet as he shoved her hands from him. It wasn't clear whether he was angry, or embarrassed, or simply a little irked.
"Cut that out."
Quietly, Mary pressed a hand to Gray's arm. "Shh... It's not a big deal. Claire was just trying to help."
Gray humphed, clearly agitated, and Claire couldn't help but feel the slightest sense of accomplishment.
After their meal, the four young picnickers spread out on the grass to relax. Feeling slightly giddy, and comfortably full after such a lovely lunch, Claire stripped off her shoes and socks, which were both coated in a thin layer of dirt from working the fields earlier. The summer breeze tossed her hair around and rippled the surface of the lake as she inched toward the edge of the water and stuck her feet out to dangle them in.
Claire stifled a slight gasp as her feet grazed the surface. The water was cold! Much colder than the sea water at the beach, where she had gone swimming plenty of times already. At least it's refreshing, she told herself. Which it most certainly was; after only a minute or two, the young blonde was able to get used to the temperature of the water, and even rolled up her jeans to lower her legs up to the knee in the cool liquid. Though she definitely wouldn't want to go swimming in it.
Elli soon joined her at the bank, and Mary after that. Gray joined them as well, but only after a certain amount of grumbling and a good deal of encouragement from the librarian.
What a beautiful day, Claire thought. Now this; this was something she could get used to. Relaxing by the lake, some of her new friends by her side, a warm summer breeze blowing through their hair and cool, refreshing water to dip their toes into.
This was what she had left the city for.
Back on Sunshine Farm, Bailey stretched out comfortably on Claire's bed with a yawn. Blinking sleep from his eyes, the drowsy puppy leaped down from the bedspread and tottered across the room on unsteady paws in search of his food dish. The entire room was quiet, and Bailey didn't at all mind, though he did miss Claire dearly when she went out during the day.
Without warning, an ear-splitting ringing sound cut through the silence, and Bailey, startled, began to bark.
After a minute or so had passed, the ringing shut off, and a single loud beep announced that Claire's answering machine had kicked on. A male human voice filled the room, and Bailey immediately stopped barking to perk his ears curiously at the sound.
"Hey... Claire? It's Jack... I was told by a reliable source that this is your new phone number, so don't be surprised that I'm calling you. I'm sure you knew that was bound to happen, anyway. I know all about your move to Mineral Town, and I seriously doubt that you thought you could hide it from me forever."
"Please, call me back as soon as you can... I need to talk to you. It's important. But since you still probably won't, I'll be coming to visit you three days from now... whether you want to see me or not. I already bought the ferry ticket to Mineral Town, so don't try to convince me to stay back."
"I do miss you, Claire... I'll see you soon. Bye."
Click.
A/N: Yes, so this was definitely a shorter, mostly filler chapter. But there's now a new character coming into the story, so be prepared for a small subplot soon!Also, reader reviews would be greatly appreciated, especially after my hiatus. Thank you all for reading!
-CCM