Emily sat next to Jas and Marnie at a large table. She was sketching, with a wide grin across her face. While Jas watched her, Marnie looked around.

"I remember when this used to be your living room, Emily."

"I'm glad Robin was able to expand the house so I could convert this room to a shop," Emily answered. "Doing anything bigger than a blouse was such a pain when I was working out of my bedroom, especially with my friend in there!"

"Your friend?" Jas asked.

"Parrot."

"That's right, they don't have a name."

"Right. I just wish I knew what their mama bird called them." She slid her sketch over to Jas. "Here's what I'm thinking. A satin dress with a scoopneck, ballgown silhouette, with floral embroidery and tulle underlay."

Marnie cleared her throat. "The dress is supposed to be demure…"

"Well, how about this?" Emily took the paper back and kept sketching. "Why don't we make it a jewel neckline and add some floral lace sleeves? I was going to keep the scoopneck pretty tame, but..." Her voice trailed off.

Marnie spoke again. "That sounds like a good idea. Jas has some pretty impressive...womanly assets-"

"Aunt Marnie!" Jas cringed and blushed. It looked like she was trying to shrink down into her oversized hoodie.

"It's good to know," Emily said. "Women with more up top do have to cover up more to appear modest, which I realize is completely unfair." She turned to Jas. "Jas, you know, we will need to get detailed and exact measurements from you. We'll be going in the dressing room, getting you down to your underwear, and measuring your bust, chest, waist, hips, and height. Would you like your aunt Marnie to be in there with us?"

"No thanks," Jas said.

"Would you like to know the measurements?"

"I guess. Could be helpful for buying other clothes."

"Alright." Emily turned to Marnie. "Marnie, will you please wait out here? I'll give you some lace swatches that might work for the sleeves, you can look through those and see if anything catches your eye."

Emily set Marnie up with lace swatches, then led Jas to the dressing room. She closed and locked the door and pulled a fabric tape measure from her pocket. "Sorry we have to get you all the way down to your skivvies, Jas. I know this isn't your favorite thing."

"Eh, it's a necessary evil," Jas said. She pulled her hoodie and her t-shirt off, stepped out of her shoes and her jeans, and turned her back to the mirror. "Need my hair pulled up?"

"Yes please, if you could. It's long enough to throw off your bust measurement."

Jas pulled her hair into a messy bun. "Done."

Emily unrolled her tape measure and got to work. "So...how's school?"

"UGH."

Emily laughed.

Jas explained. "I mean, it's going well enough, but the competition is fierce! I'm smart, I can tend to animals, and I can take care of the house and Aunt Marnie when she's sick, so I thought I was doing alright. But...these other girls! They're smart, too, and they're gorgeous, and they're athletic and artistic and popular...I feel like I'm so far behind! I haven't been the best at anything since I was a kid."

"It is hard," Emily answered. "I could tell you all about how you're enough, how you're good enough and smart enough and you'll find your place in the world, but that wouldn't be the right thing to say. It would seem hollow. I know you want some sort of recognition, some sort of prize that says, yes, Jas is the best at this particular thing."

Jas craned her neck over her shoulder to look at Emily. "You get it!"

"I do. I've been there. I still am there sometimes. I mean, I'm making a dress for the first kid from Pelican Town to ever be accepted to Zuzu University! When I was your age, I was bussing tables, and you're on the pre-med track!"

"Comparison is so hard," Jas said. "Here I was, thinking, oh, Emily is so thin and pretty and skilled!"

"Thank you!" Emily wrote some numbers down on her sketch. "Each one of us can be our own worst enemy sometimes, you know?"

"I know all about that," Jas deadpanned.

"I have an idea." Emily handed Jas her t-shirt. "After you get dressed, would you like a great big hug? It won't make you the Flower Queen or get me a degree, but it'll get you a hug."

"Absolutely."

Marnie sat at the big table. She had arranged the lace swatches in order of her preference, from the exquisite cherry blossoms to the ugly avant-garde daisies.

Emily and Jas left the dressing room and headed back to the table. The three of them spent another hour in the shop, making the final negotiations for the dress, from the sleeves to the type of fasteners to the cost. The deal was sealed with handshakes, hugs, and a check that Marnie wouldn't allow Jas to see.

Just a few minutes after Jas and Marnie left, Vincent walked in.

"Hey, Vincent. Looking for Jas?" Emily asked.

"Um, actually, I'm looking for Haley. Is she here?"

"Yes she is. She should be upstairs in her room."

Vincent went upstairs and knocked on Haley's door.

"Come in!"

"Haley! What's up!"

Haley was sitting at her computer, digitally editing photos and eating a piece of cake. Her hair was pulled back in a braid, and she was wearing a set of pink flannel pajamas with white hearts on them. "Vincent? What the heck are you doing here?"

"Well, I wanted to ask you a favor." He shifted his weight awkwardly. He honestly couldn't remember the last time he'd talked to Haley, if he ever had before.

"Go on…"

"Since you were the Flower Queen for seven years in a row, will you please teach me the girls' part of the Flower Dance?"

Haley's face softened. "Aww, sweetie! Are you gonna dance with a boy?"

"Probably. I mean, Jas won't dance with me this year…"

"You can still dance the boys' part if you want, you don't have to learn the girls' part. That part actually uses the skirt for some of the moves."

"Well, I was actually hoping to become the Flower Queen, so I'd have a dress on."

Haley glared. "Absolutely not."

"What?"

"This is not a joke. The role of the Flower Queen is Stardew Valley's face to the world. It's something to be taken seriously."

"I know, that's why I'm asking you," Vincent said. "You're the best dancer and the best Flower Queen."

"Get out." Haley's voice was flat and her glare was piercing. "You will get no help from me."

Vincent hung his head. "Yes ma'am." He closed the door and walked down the stairs.

As he reached the main room of the shop, he heard a yell. "Don't teach him, Emily! He wants to learn the Flower Dance!"

"I won't, don't worry!" Emily called back.

As Vincent headed for the door, Emily tapped him on the arm. Her voice was barely above a whisper. "Honestly, we could use some new blood and some levity in that festival," she said quickly. "Talk to Maru, she's a great dancer and she'll probably agree with me."