Shane awoke to the sound of voices coming from down the hall. Surely, whoever was talking was probably speaking at a normal conversational level, but to Shane's pounding head it sounded like a horror movie volume of screaming. He rolled over in bed and attempted to drown out the noise by placing a pillow over his head, but the sheets clung to his body as he readjusted himself. He looked down at his lower half to see that his bedding was soaked. Please just be sweat, please just be sweat. Nope. Shane lay in a pool of his own piss. Fuckin almost 30 and still wetting the bed you piece of shit. He looked over at the clock on his nightstand, the view blocked by empty beer cans crowding the surface. He swept his hand across the table, aluminum clanging against the wood floors as the cans fell. 10:18 AM. Thank Yoba he didn't have work today, as he would've overslept by a mile. He reluctantly rolled out of his bed and landed on the floor with a thump. He balled up his sheets and comforter, tossing them in the corner of the room, deciding he'd deal with it later. No you won't. You'll make Marnie deal with it like everything else. It was true, he relied too heavily on his aunt, taking advantage of her overly giving nature to get through life.
Shane sighed and made his way out of his bedroom to visit the bathroom across the hall. When he briefly glanced down the long hallway toward the kitchen, he caught sight of his Aunt Marnie sitting in the breakfast nook across from a blonde girl clad in overalls. He searched his foggy memories from last night in an attempt to put the pieces together. He faintly remembered having a dream about a pretty blonde walking him home. That wasn't a dream you idiot, that's her. His mouth hung open for a second, taking in the scene, until he realized he was still standing there in his boxers, soaked from his alcohol induced incontinence. He quickly stepped into the bathroom to clean himself up, hoping the girl would be gone by the time he finished.
Once Shane had rid himself of his filth, as much as he could anyway, he turned to face the mirror. He typically avoided looking at himself, as it wasn't a pretty sight, but he decided to check himself out in case the girl was still there. He glared at himself, unimpressed with what he saw. He went for his usual day-off outfit: black joggers, a plain white tee, and a gray hoodie smeared with grease stains. He looked shapeless, but that's the way he liked it. Tight fitting clothes brought attention to his already obvious beer belly. The dark circles under his eyes seemed deeper than usual today. No matter how much sleep he got, they never seemed to disappear. He shook his head at his reflection, and started toward the kitchen.
Shane was pleased to see that the kitchen was empty, so he went about his morning routine as normal. He poured himself a cup of coffee, then proceeded to pull a small flask of Jack Daniels from his pocket and dump the entirety of it into the dark roast. He sat at the table, waiting for his pizza rolls to heat up, when the door to the barn opened behind him.
"Shane! I'm so glad you're up. I was just showing Audrey here the new chicks that hatched. She's thinking about getting some for her farm." Marnie gave Shane a motherly look that seemed to say play nice, or else. She turned to Audrey. "Have you met my nephew yet? He spends most days working over at the Joja Mart, but he's also a great help with the chickens. Maybe he can give you some pointers."
Great. Marnie just had to tell her I'm a goddamn stock boy working for spare change at a grocery store. Not wanting to be lectured about his rudeness driving away business, Shane played along.
"Yeah, we've met. I don't need a city girl killing any of my chickens, though."
Audrey looked at him, offended. He caught her gaze, realizing for the first time just how beautiful she was. Her face was fuzzy in his drunken memory, but in front of him now, she was drop dead gorgeous. Her dirty blonde hair hung in two braids on either side of her head, tied with ribbons at the bottom. Her button nose was dusted with a sprinkling of freckles. Her dark blue overalls matched her deep ocean-colored eyes. She spoke up, shaking Shane from his thoughts.
"Well then, I guess you'll just have to teach me. I'll take two of them."
"Wonderful!" Marnie sang. "I'll ring you up at the front. Shane, would you mind getting the chicks all boxed up in the barn? Then you can take Audrey back to her farm and get her all set up."
Shane just grunted in response, disappearing into the barn attached to the house. By no means did he want to do this, but saying no to his aunt after everything she's done for him doesn't go over very well. He strode up to a group of fuzzy little chicklets, picking up a yellow one and a brown one and nuzzling them up to his face. Since moving to the ranch, he had taken quite a liking to the chickens. He liked how they didn't judge you like other people did, and they were surprisingly affectionate. He placed them gingerly in a crate lined with cloth and some straw, and returned to the kitchen. Let's get this shitshow over with.
After Shane had loaded up Marnie's rusty '99 Ford pickup with all the essential supplies for a first-time chicken owner, he returned to the kitchen to retrieve Audrey. He glanced over at the table, where his mug of coffee still sat, full to the brim. Every part of him knew he shouldn't drink it, but he cringed at the thought of good liquor going to waste. The drive to the farmhouse is less than five minutes, it should be fine, right? Without further hesitation, he raised the Joja brand mug to his lips, taking down the room temperature coffee and whiskey in a single gulp. You're a goddamn alcoholic, just like your father. He instantly felt more at ease. Socializing was never easy for Shane, let alone sober. With the liquid courage bubbling inside him, Shane was ready to go.
Shane led Audrey outside to the truck, making his way to the driver side door. "Ahem." Audrey audibly cleared her throat, grabbing Shane's attention. "Aren't you gonna open the door for me?" Shane rolled his eyes before lapping the truck to the passenger side, swinging the door open and narrowly missing Audrey's face with it. "Your chariot awaits, princess."
"Are you always this much of a gentleman," Audrey commented, voice thick with sarcasm.
"Are you always this big of a priss?"
"Touché. But if I recall correctly, you were the one being a priss last night. I'm sure you don't remember, but I practically had to drag you home from the bar."
Shane's grip tightened around the steering wheel, his knuckles turning white, embarrassed at the mention of the previous night's activities. He must have appeared visibly uncomfortable, as Audrey gave him an apologetic glance and shut up for the rest of the short car ride to her farm.
After the truck was parked parallel to Audrey's new deluxe chicken coop, Shane yanked the keys out of the ignition, taking a deep breath in. He sat behind the wheel in contemplation for a moment. If he didn't know any better, he would think Audrey had been flirting with him. Shane was almost offended that his snide remarks didn't push her away. Audrey herself always had a quippy response at the ready, which was a change of pace compared to how the rest of the town reacted to his attitude. He shoved the thoughts from his mind. A girl like her would never want a guy like you. Get a hold of yourself.
"Are you just gonna sit there, or can you help me unload this shit?" a muffled voice called from outside the truck. Shane finally got up, stepping outside the vehicle to see Audrey already perched up on the bed of the truck. She slung a bag of feed over her shoulder with seemingly little effort. Shane was surprised by her strength, as she didn't exactly look like a powerlifting champion or crossfit athlete of any sort. He stared up at her from the ground, catching a glimpse of her ass cheeks hanging out of her cutoff overalls. Don't be a fucking pervert. He shifted his gaze to her face right as she tossed the bag of feed toward him.
"I'll pass you the supplies, you put 'em in the coop, capiche?"
"Aye aye, captain."
The two fell into a good workflow, the items quickly piling up in the barn, until all that was left was the crate of chicks. "Don't you dare throw that one," Shane warned as Audrey picked up the crate and pretended to wind up to toss it out of the truck. A shit-eating grin crept across her face.
"I'm just so far off the ground. Wouldn't want to startle the chicks by jumping off the truck. If only someone could help me down…" Audrey looked at Shane, her best puppy-dog eyes on display. With yet another eye roll, probably his 10th of the day, Shane held out a hand to her. She gracefully stepped onto the ground, one hand in Shane's, the other firmly clutching the crate. Her skin was soft against his calloused hands, and Shane found himself not wanting to let go. As much as he let on that he was content to be forever alone, he longed for physical touch. He reluctantly released his grasp, not wanting to make it awkward by holding on for too long. He then followed Audrey into the coop to get the chickens set up.
Audrey peered down into the box of chicks, pausing with a sense of reluctance. Shane patiently waited for her to grab one out of the box, but no dice. She sat on the floor of the coop with a puzzled look on her face. "They don't bite, I promise," Shane urged. "Just gently cup your hands and scoop one up."
Audrey smiled, looking reassured. She gingerly pulled the brown baby chicken and petted it with two fingers a few times before placing it on the floor. Shane gave a look of approval, and she reached for the yellow one. She held it up to her face and marveled at it. "I'm gonna name her Marigold."
"Real original, a yellow chick named Marigold. Ya know her feathers are gonna grow in white when she gets older," Shane scoffed.
"It's for my grandpa, you asshole. I didn't think you were that bright but I thought at the very least you could read. Did you not see the sign? Marigold Farm? My grandpa named it that because marigolds were his wife's favorite flower."
Shane nervously ran a hand through his hair, scratching at the back of his neck. Way to go, making fun of her dead grandfather. He looked at the floor, refusing to meet Audrey's gaze. "Sorry," he muttered under his breath.
"It's alright, you didn't know."
Shane let out a sigh of relief.
"But, since you're the chicken genius, after all, you can name the brown one."
Shane leaned down and picked up the brown chick. He thought for a few moments before piping up, "Princess, after you of course."
Audrey chuckled. "Princess and Marigold, it is."
The two worked in silence for a while, spreading hay across the floor of the coop and dumping pellets into the auto-feeder. Shane gave her some helpful beginner's advice and suggested she get a fence set up before letting the chicks roam free. At last, they stood back and admired their work.
"Hey, thanks for all your help today. I really, really, appreciate it," Audrey broke the silence.
"It's whatever, just don't expect this to be a regular thing. And don't kill my chickens." With that Shane turned around and slipped out of the coop without any further goodbyes. He had planned on going home to spend some time with his daughter, but instead, he started toward the dock on the edge of Cindersap Lake, where he knew for a fact that he had a bottle or two stashed.