Monday, 1st of Summer

Alma woke up and practically bounced out of bed. She knew today would be a busy day, so she wanted to get started as soon as she could. But when she got up, she looked around and noticed - the house was done! Having a kitchen also meant having a separate bedroom, and she was pleased with the newer, bigger bed she had acquired. She slept great! In fact, she realized - this was now the third consecutive night with no nightmares. She couldn't even remember the last time that had happened! She was feeling happy and energized, and she knew she'd need that extra energy; it was the first day of summer, and she needed to get to work!

She peeked around her bedroom door and gasped when she looked into the rest of the house. The living room was the same but expanded quite a bit and just … fresher, Alma thought. The open-concept kitchen was against the opposite wall, and Alma felt her feet on the cool tile floor. There was a fridge, a sink, a gas oven, plenty of counter space, and cabinets full of dishes and kitchen utensils. There were even a few little potted plants and a blue egg timer on a little shelf. "How thoughtful," Alma said with a smile, picking up the timer.

Alma opened all the cabinets and drawers and started laughing with glee. "No more drinking out of the water hole, and no more crunching on raw vegetables!" she laughed. She took a glass, filled it in the sink, and enjoyed a cool cup of clean water as she looked out the window at the morning sun over the farm. She sighed and hugged her cup, a smile crossing her face. Things were looking up, and this was really starting to feel like a home.

When she gulped the last bit, she looked at the fridge and wondered …. She opened the door and saw it was empty but huge! She could store a lot of her produce in here! That would be so much better than in the chests outside. It would keep the food fresher for longer, it would be in a more convenient location for eating and cooking, and it would free up more space in the chests for storing other things. She put her glass in the sink, rushed outside, gathered as many food items from the chest as she could carry, managed to get the door open with her hands full, and filled her fridge and cabinets with fresh ingredients. She always thought there was nothing quite as satisfying as a stocked fridge, but now this was an added level: a stocked fridge full of produce from her farm. "What an amazing feeling," she sighed.

Then her eye moved to the TV just in the living room. She remembered The Queen of Sauce that came on TV occasionally. "Maybe I should start learning more recipes …." She knew how to cook and missed cooking in her city apartment, but she had never cooked on a gas stove or with such fresh but limited ingredients. Those recipes from a local would be a big help. "Okay, okay, you can gawk more over the kitchen later," she reminded herself as she rushed back to the bedroom to change into her overalls. "You've got valuable sunlight to use today!"

When she went outside, the first thing Alma noticed was the last of the spring crops now dead. She got her tools out of the chest to cut down the dead plants and re-do the placement of new crops. Instead of rows of five, she now knew that it was better to plant in blocks of nine; it would make fertilizing, planting, and watering so much easier. She got her melon seeds and starfruit seeds that she already had and went ahead and planted those with the Fast-Gro fertilizer, then she watered them too. She gave Bisclavret his water and pets, checked on the chickens and found their eggs, and went to the cave to get today's mushrooms. There was a new mushroom today, but she didn't quite know what it was. She'd have to ask Pierre.

When she came back out of the cave, Alma looked out over the rest of the farm and saw that quite a bit of undergrowth had grown since the spring. She walked through the property, breaking down rocks, chopping wood, cutting down weeds, and digging up seeds; and as she went, she also found a rusty spur for Gunther, a few mixed seeds, and some coal. She made a few field snacks as she went to keep her energy up, and by the time she had covered the farm, it was already nearly three o'clock. The afternoon sun beat down on her, and she wiped her brow. She wouldn't have time to get to Gunther, but she should be able to still make it to the store to sell what she had and buy summer seeds. She got another glass of water and splashed water on her face before gathering her things and heading into town.

"You're late!" he said as she came through the door. "You must have been hard at work today?"

"Yes, and I'm not done yet! I've planted the summer seeds I have, but I'm hoping to sell some stuff and buy as many more seeds as I can."

"Well, I've got summer seeds available! You'd better stock up!"

"I plan to."

She pulled the mushrooms out of the bag, but he gasped when she pulled out the eggs. "Would you look at that!" he chuckled. "You've expanded your horizons now, huh?"

"That's right!" Alma said with a smile. "This is their second day laying."

"Good news for all of us," he said. "And look at this beauty," he said as he held up the new mushroom.

"Yes, what kind of mushroom is that one, Pierre?"

"This is a chanterelle. Very tasty."

Alma checked her bundle notes really quickly and didn't see that she needed that one, so she happily sold it to Pierre. When she looked at his stock, she couldn't afford everything, but she bought as much as she could: spangle, blueberry, wheat, pepper, radish, and tomato seeds - nine each. And after that, she had about five hundred gold left. She felt a little pang looking in her wallet, but she knew that it would come back to her quickly. "Thank you so much, Pierre!"

"Have a good evening!" he said, and he walked behind her to close up the shop after she left.

The sun was beginning to set, and Alma went back to the farm and continued planting. She hoped she could get it all taken care of before the day was done, and she did - just barely. It was late at night by the time everything had been fertilized, planted, and watered; and she was very tired. She leaned over her hoe and wiped her brow again as she looked out over the farm. Everything looked good, and she felt very accomplished. "What a day!" She put her tools back in the chests for the night and called Bisclavret in as she went into the cabin.

It was already quite dark in the cabin at night, but now that it was bigger, it felt darker. She lit a few torches in some of the corners of the house and took a minute to look around the space. She moved the table to a space more between the kitchen and living room, but the TV … would she more likely watch it while eating or … maybe in the bedroom? She was enjoying reading before bed, so maybe it should stay where it was in the living room. But still, she pushed the TV stand around the room, trying it in different places. And she decided she liked it best next to the wall that divided the bedroom and living room. That way, she could see it from the kitchen and from the table, but it also wasn't the first thing you would see when you came into the cabin. She took the potted plant and put it against the back wall, next to the window. That was a nice welcoming touch into the cabin, she thought. She nodded in approval, took Bisclavret's rug into the bedroom with her, placed it at the foot of the bed, and began taking off her overalls, now feeling how tired she really was.

She lit another torch in the bedroom so she could see as she read On Animal Care. But it didn't take long for her eyes to feel too heavy. She put the book on the floor, blew out the torch, and lay in bed looking at the stars out the window. She got to thinking about her future prospects. Would she consider herself to be a forester or a gatherer? She thought of Linus and how she admired the life he was living, and she felt that she would rather take what nature offered her rather than take from it - just like what her grandfather had taught her to do. So she decided she was more of a forager. And with that decision, she fell asleep.

CW: cancer, chemotherapy, vomiting, family death

Alma could hear someone cooking in the kitchen, and she smelled the scent of pancakes and bacon. She got out of bed and walked into the other room to see her mother standing at the stove and making breakfast. Her IV drip was at her side, and she was in her hospital gown. "Momma?"

"Hi, sweetheart."

"What are you doing here?"

"Currently," she said, smiling and wagging a spatula at her, "I'm breaking in your kitchen and making your breakfast. How about you go sit at the table? It will be ready soon."

Alma sat at the small table, where Bisclavret was curled underneath. "You really didn't have to do this."

"Well, you don't seem to be doing it much yourself, hm? Someone's got to take care of you."

"That someone shouldn't be you, Mom. You've got enough going on."

"I'm all right, hon." She placed the last pancake on the stack and put a few pieces of bacon on too, the sizzle in the pan stopping. She brought the plate to the table and placed it in front of Alma. "If I don't do it, who will? That Dr. Harvey?" she said as she sat across from her.

Alma pursed her lips and bounced her head back and forth, not too upset with the idea. "What do you think of him, Momma?"

"I think he's a fine young man - though maybe a little jumpy."

"I mean - do you think … do you think he's like everyone else?"

Alma could tell her mom was thinking about how to answer carefully. "He is certainly different than other men in your past. But you can't expect him to be perfect. Everyone has their faults." Her eye glanced down at Alma's plate that was still untouched. "Eat it before it's cold, sweetheart."

"Oh yeah, thanks, Momma." She picked up a knife and fork and started cutting through the pancakes. "Do you think he - he likes me?"

She propped her head on her hand and looked away in thought. "Well, there is that Maru girl …. It's pretty obvious he likes her too."

"It is? How do you know?"

She raised an eyebrow, as if she was shocked Alma didn't know yet. "First off, the dance. He told you he knew he wanted to ask her for a while - presumably before you arrived in town. He's had a crush on her for a while. But also it's when the two of you are in the room with him together that he gets especially flustered, like he doesn't know which of you to give his attention to."

"You think that's why?"

"It's pretty clear he's torn between the two of you."

Alma looked down at her plate. "I hadn't thought of that."

"I think he'll come around to you, though. Maru doesn't seem interested, and you clearly do."

"'Clearly?' Is it too obvious?"

She shrugged. "Men are pretty dense when it comes to picking up clues, so don't stress too much about it." She started coughing, and Alma could hear the fluid coming up. This happened to her mom a lot; she'd get in these coughing fits and then would choke on the stomach acid, and sometimes it would make her throw up. Chemotherapy was awful. Alma got up and stood next to her mom, rubbing her back as she hacked and coughed and choked. And sure enough, she soon vomited on the floor. Alma saw that the vomit had blood in it. "I'm sorry, honey," her mother said, still coughing. "On your new floor."

"No, Momma, it's okay. How about you go lie down in my bed?" She helped get her up and led her into the bedroom, and when she placed her mom in the bed, she felt that her mom grabbed onto her arms especially tightly. Her nails started digging into her skin. "Momma? You okay?" She helped put her hands down, and she noticed they were stiff; they didn't change from how they were when they gripped Alma. "Momma?" As she laid her mom down on the bed, she saw that her eyes were glassy. "Oh, Momma. I miss you." She laid her head back on the pillow and pulled her eyelids shut, stroking her hair out of her face. "I wish you were here."