Old. That's what she thought of him.
"She called me old." Marnie heard Shane mutter as he swiftly opened and closed the door into the building within one motion and made a beeline towards his room. The loud rustling of the plastic Joja bag in his hand and the swishing of the drinks within didn't escape her ears. More beer, she thought to herself, about to sigh, when she realized he seemed to be occupied by something at the moment.
The rancher had been working on tonight's dinner and turned her head in confusion. She wore her usual dark green apron and her hair was now up in a messy bun as to not get any in the food.
"Shane?" She called out, concerned by his speedy and heavy footsteps throughout the house.
He reappeared and shuffled to his seat on the dining table. He'd taken off his disheveled blue Joja sweater and was now wearing a stained, light green shirt.
"She said I was old, Marn." He repeated in a panicked tone, his head now buried in his hands.
"Who did, Shane? Was it one of the kids or the older ones again?" She asked as she set three plates on the table, one for Shane, the other for Jas, and the final one for herself. She also set down utensils on each side of the plates.
"How old do I look? I can't be that much older than her! Am I that ugly?" Shane wondered out loud as he slumped over in his chair and ran his fingers through his hair. At this point, he was scared to look at himself in the mirror. He then slowly held a hand to his face and felt the stubble along his jaw. Maybe it's just the face, he thought. I just have to shave and then maybe I'll still have a chance.
"Well, that's just what happens when people do the things you're doing, Shane." Marnie began. "You haven't been taking care of yourself, you know. And could you please tell me who said that to you?" She asked in an irritated tone while returning to the food. She considered possibly lecturing the culprit, but she wouldn't know what exactly to tell them at this point. Everyone in Pelican Town knows Shane and it shouldn't be too hard to realize that he hasn't been going through the best times.
He shook his head at her first comment. "It was the farmer. Denne. We were talking-"
"The two of you talked?" The rancher interrupted in a suddenly interested tone as she turned her head towards him. She then turned back to the food she was preparing and shrugged. "She probably had a reason if you were just telling her off again."
"No, we were, like, actually talking to each other." Shane explained quickly with his cheeks turning a slight red. "And then she said she liked talking to the older people in town. And that's why she's okay with talking to me."
Marnie gave him a look that consisted of shock and confusion. She then called Jas to have dinner.
The little girl's bedroom door opened and out skipped Jas in her favorite pink dress.
"Hi, Shane!" She said in a gleefully high-pitched voice as she ran towards him and gave him a squeeze. "Huh? Did something happen?" She asked, her eyes big when she noticed his stressed expression.
He returned the squeeze and gave her a pat on the head. "Nothing for you to worry about, squirt." He assured her, trying to smile.
She then looked at Marnie when she returned to the table with some omelets and cooked parsnips. Marnie then removed her apron, hanging it onto its designated hook on a nearby wall and sat next to Jas' assigned seat.
"Aunt Marnie?"
"The pretty pink farmer called Shane old today. He's very sad about it." The rancher spoke with a sly grin and a hint of amusement in her voice. This earned her a groan accompanied by a roll of the eyes from said Joja worker. He was preparing to defend himself by saying he wasn't 'very sad' about it but figured it would just come out in a helpless whine. He decided to stay quiet and cross his arms while he leaned back in his chair.
Jas gasped once she figured out who she spoke of. "Denden!"
She then looked back at Shane, her eyes wide. He swore he could have seen sparkles in them. Time to lie and agree with whatever she says...
"Did you get to meet her, Shane?!" She asked excitedly with a huge grin plastered on her face.
"Sure did." Was his only response with a nod.
"She's pretty, isn't she? I bet her hair tastes like cake and cotton candy!" Jas said as she jumped up onto her chair and Marnie filled her plate.
"Well, aren't you going to answer her?" The rancher asked with a smile, watching Shane with curiosity while he filled his plate with food in silence.
"Oh. That was an actual question." He mumbled, his voice muffled as he ate a forkful. "She's alright, I guess." He then answered after swallowing.
Marnie gave him a look that told him he would not hear the end of this.
"The question wasn't if she was 'alright', right Jas?" She asked, turning to the little girl that was currently stuffing her face.
Shane now regretted ever bringing Denne up in the first place.
Jas nodded quickly with big cheeks. "Mm-hmm!" Small bits of omelet flew from her cheeks at her enthusiastic nodding.
"Fine." He started with a sigh. "Yes, she's very pretty." He replied in a defeated tone. "Don't let her find out I said that, though."
Now it was Marnie's turn to look at him with a cheerful look. "I hope you're not just saying that, Shane." The tone she'd spoken in was quite warm and gentle, causing Shane to wonder when the last time she spoke so calmly was.
"She came over earlier today! She had a biiiiig fishing pole." Jas recalled once she was done with the food in her mouth. She then brought her arms out in front of her and stretched them out, trying to give Shane a mental image of the pole. Her little arms couldn't quite describe it very well, though.
"Oh, I almost forgot about that." Marnie began with a nod as she started to cut into her meal. "She said she'd go fishing and asked if we wanted any of her catches. I told her we had enough food stuffed in the fridge, but she's a real sweetheart for coming to ask us."
"That's nice of her." Shane agreed. "I hope she knows what she's doing."
Marnie looked at him in confusion. "What do you mean? Think she's being too nice?"
He shook his head and swallowed his food. "She said she's been skipping dinner at Gus'. Needs the money to have Robin put a kitchen in her house or something."
Marnie's eyes grew wide at Shane's explanation.
"You're telling me she's going hungry at night? That's no good! I know Gus would give anyone a free meal if they needed it, so if she would just tell him..."
He only shrugged as he forked around his plate some more. "Maybe she's having a big enough brunch to last her 'til the next time she eats."
"And maybe she isn't. The last thing that little lady needs is a diet." The rancher commented with a shake of her head.
"What if she comes over to eat with us someday? We can make her something really yummy!" Jas piped up, an excited look on her face.
"Yeah, I'll even cook her something if you're too busy with something else." Shane suggested without a thought. He then quickly looked up from his plate when he realized what he'd said.
He saw Marnie's concerned face turn into one of shock for a moment, then into a grateful smile.
"You'd really do that for her?"
"Uh, I'd do it for you." He quickly defended himself. "I know you're busy with the ranch and everything."
Before Marnie could tease him, Jas turned to Shane.
"Ooh, I wanna help! Pleeeease, Shane?" The little girl pleaded, clasping her hands together as she looked at him with the usual puppy eyes she gave him whenever she wanted to play.
"Sure you can, Jas." He chuckled and gave her a pat on the head. "We just need to figure out when to have her come over and what we're making her." He then looked at Marnie for a suggestion.
"How's Wednesday sound? You can even walk her over here after you're done with work. And you can just make her something you like, maybe it'll help you figure out how compatible the two of you are." She asked, nudging him in the side with a small laugh as he walked towards the sink to wash his plate.
"It's not like that." Shane grumbled under his breath, lathering his plate and utensils in soap with a sponge. "She's just nice, I guess. And I'll never get why she talks to me, but I don't hate it or anything. Not anymore, at least."
"Shouldn't be too hard to apologize to her, then!" Marnie commented. "Unless you already did?"
"Already did." He answered with a nod. "Might have to do it again next time I see her though, don't know how much of tonight she'll remember when she wakes up tomorrow."
"Don't tell me you're making her drink that awful stuff too, Shane!"
"It's not like I'm forcing her to. Plus, I already warned her so whatever happens isn't my fault." He huffed.
Marnie sighed while Jas looked on in a mix of concern and confusion and put down her utensils.
"Is Denden going to be okay?" She asked, looking at Shane. "Shane gets sad and mad when he drinks the yucky stuff." The little girl scrunched up her nose at the thought of the smell of alcohol he often brought into the house.
Shane mentally cursed himself for implying that Denne had a drink or two once he heard the concern in Jas' voice.
"She'll be fine, Jas. We'll be fine." He answered, knowing the question was meant for Marnie. "She's got it a whole lot better than I ever will." He mumbled under his breath.
It was clear that Marnie heard his rambling, however, as she shot him a half-worried, half-understanding look while he began making his way toward his bedroom after setting his now clean plate and utensils in their compartments.
"Wait!" Jas called after him, jumping out of her chair and making sure to give him a hug she felt he needed very much. "Good night, Shane! Have sweet dreams!" She gave him the best snuggles she could once he picked her up to embrace her.
"G'night, Jas. Be good to Penny tomorrow, okay?" He asked, covering his mouth to stifle a yawn.
The little girl nodded enthusiastically with a high-pitched "Mm-hm!" and gave him a peck on the nose.
Shane then set Jas back down onto her feet after returning the peck and gave Marnie a small wave before sauntering on into the darkness of his room. "G'night, Aunt Marnie."
"Have a good sleep, Shane."
