Tuesday, 16th of Summer

It was a sunny day, and Alma was up and ready for work. She looked up at the wall behind her bed and looked at the painting she received from Gunther yesterday. "Yeah, it does look pretty good there." When she stepped outside, she noticed it was quiet. There was no hammering! That meant - She looked to the west and saw a tall, red barn standing on the other side of the chicken coop. Alma couldn't wait; she ran over, Bisclavret following her, and slid open the barn door. She stood there with her back to the sun and looked at her long shadow stretching out over the feeding trough, stables, hay …. She reached down and rubbed Bisclavret's head. "It looks good, doesn't it, Biz? You're gonna have some more friends soon!" He followed her as she went to gather mushrooms and then to the chicken coop. "Good morning, ladies! No rain today! Fresh, dewy grass tastes much better than that dry old hay, huh?" She petted each of them as they walked happily through the grass, and she glanced at the chicken statue she put next to the door. "I guess that looks all right too." She went inside to get their eggs. Bisclavret stayed behind her as they walked back to the cabin, where she harvested wheat, tomatoes, and hops then watered everything else. "I know what you're wanting," she said, going up with him toward his water bowl. She filled it for him and patted his head while he quickly lapped it up. She put some things back in the chests and brushed her hands off as she went south to go see Marnie.

When Alma came inside Marnie's shop, she was surprised to see she wasn't there at the counter. "Marnie?" She looked in the hay storage and knocked on Jas's door. "Jas? You home?" No answer. She went to the kitchen, but no one was there. "Shane?" No one responded there either. She went back to Marnie's room and knocked on the door. To her surprise, it came open. "Marnie?" she asked, poking her head inside. There was no Marnie, but Alma was shocked to see a pair of bright purple shorts on the floor. Alma snuck in and picked them up. These must have been Mayor Lewis's shorts he was looking for. But she quickly noticed … these were boxer briefs. "Are they - ?" She quickly rolled them up, not wanting to think about it. Then she put the shorts in her bag, left the room, and closed the door behind her. She looked around the shop again, and it didn't seem that anyone was there. She should probably get these to Mayor Lewis right away. Or …. She thought for a moment that these could be leverage for something. "No," she told herself. He was trusting her, and she thought about how she would feel in that situation. No, just as he asked, she should bring these back to him ASAP with a good deal of discretion. But she stood there for a moment, wondering where Marnie might be. She looked at the time; it was now about two o'clock, so she should be here, right? Alma was really hoping to buy a cow today. But if no one was here, there wasn't anything she could do about it. She decided to go to town to find Mayor Lewis and sell her things to Pierre.

It was always hard to track Lewis because he was all over the town checking in on people and businesses. She tried knocking at his house but didn't hear any answer. "Mayor?" she called as she peeked inside. Nothing. So she went on to Pierre's.

There was a Help Wanted ad posted at the front of the store from Marnie:

"Howdy neighbors! My goats are really hankering for some pike. I can't find any myself! Help? - Marnie"

Alma knew that pike was pretty hard to catch; she had tried several times already. But she figured if she was going to see Marnie anyway, maybe it'd be good to try to help her out with something if she could. She tore off the ad and went inside.

As soon as Alma went in, she knew why Marnie wasn't at the shop. She had forgotten that today was the aerobics class! The music was pumping from the back room. She was also happy to see Mayor Lewis standing at the counter. "Hi Alma!" Pierre called. "Mayor Lewis here and I were just talking; summer is a good time to eat a refreshing salad, don't you think?"

"Uh, sure, I guess," she said as she started taking produce out of her bag.

"And look here, Lewis!" Pierre said, "Farm fresh tomatoes and mushrooms to top that salad! Add a hard-boiled egg, and it's a cobb salad!"

"Ah, very good! I'll have one of each, please." Pierre placed the goods in a bag and accepted the mayor's money. "Hmm … I wonder if it's anyone's birthday today? I'd better check the calendar by Pierre's shop."

"Let me come with you, sir," Alma said quickly.

"Oh! Okay?"

"I'll be right back, Pierre. You can go ahead and look through that produce if you'd like." When they stepped outside, Alma quietly said, "Sir, I believe I found something of yours." She pulled out a little bit of purple fabric from her bag.

"Ah, you found them, yes, thank you, Alma." She took the rolled shorts and quickly passed them off to him, and he stuffed them in his shirt. "Where?"

"Um … in Marnie's bedroom, sir."

"Oh!" A look of shock swept over him, and he quickly tried to cover it up. "Uhmm… Heh. There? I have no idea how they could've gotten there…." He cleared his throat, and his face got increasingly red. Finally, with a serious look, he said quietly and sternly, "This stays between you and me. Got it?"

"Yes, sir, of course."

He nodded and excused himself back to his manor. Alma went back inside. "I've got it all counted up for you, Alma," Pierre said.

"Good, thank you so much." She used the money to buy more wheat and radish seeds, but she also eyed some of his cooking supplies too. "I think I'd also like to buy some vinegar, oil, and sugar, if that's okay."

"Going to do some cooking?" he asked as he put them on the counter.

"I'm learning more and more recipes, so, yeah, I'm trying to stock up my pantry." She took the money and products and put them in her bag. Before she left, she said, "You know, I've been wanting to check out the aerobics class. How much longer does it have?"

Pierre looked at the clock. "They're finishing up soon, actually, but I know Caroline would be happy for you to drop in!"

"Okay! I think I'll go do that. It's just back here?"

"Yes, in the big room down the hall. Just follow the music," he laughed.

Alma hoisted her bag up and pushed open the back door. She walked down the hallway and saw Caroline at the front of the room, pumping her arms and stepping on and off a small raised platform. Alma looked across all the women following her moves. There was Emily, Pam, and Jodi in the front; then Marnie, Robin, and Leah in the next row; then in the last row - Alma stepped back a bit to hide in the hall. Harvey?! She peeked around the corner and almost couldn't believe her eyes. It was Harvey in the back of the class, following Caroline's moves, complete with sweatbands and free weights. He was panting and sweating, and he looked frazzled and exhausted. He had his work clothes off to the side in a duffel bag, along with some other things like a bottle of water and a towel. He was wearing just his undershirt and short basketball shorts. "All right, let's push in these last thirty seconds!" Caroline cheered. She and the others step to the sides of their platforms, up and down as fast as they could, and Alma could see the strain on everyone's faces. "And three … two … one! All right! Great job, everyone! That concludes our aerobics class!" Everyone stood around for a moment, clapping, and saying their thanks to Caroline between catching their breath. Harvey bent over and put his weights down, but he stayed doubled over, trying to breathe deep. "Are you breaking a sweat?"

"Yeah!" all the women cheered with claps and shouts.

"Doctor, you okay back there?" Caroline called.

He put a thumbs up, still panting. "Yes … I'm all right! Thank you … for a good workout, … Ms. Caroline!"

"Okay, see you all next week!" she said with some applause. The women all moved about the room, gathering their things, putting supplies away, and chatting with each other. Harvey went over to his bag and chugged his water, wiping himself off with his towel. He put his weights and sweatbands in the bag and started putting his work clothes back on, on top of his exercise clothes. Alma started to panic; should she go in and make herself known, or should she walk away? "Alma!" Caroline called happily. Now she didn't have a choice, so she stepped forward into the room.

"Alma!" she heard Harvey quietly exclaim. She glanced at him and saw him blush - though maybe he was still just red-faced from the exercise.

"Are you interested in joining our class?" Caroline asked as she unplugged the stereo.

"Yes, actually! Though I'm quite late today. Maybe I can come next week?"

"Of course! We'd love to have you! We start at one o'clock."

"Okay, thanks. I'll try to be here on time."

Caroline smiled and said, "Well, I've got to go get cleaned up. See you next week!"

Alma waved and walked into the room, saying hi to the other women too. As they started leaving, she walked up to Harvey.

"You were - watching me?" he asked, buttoning the last buttons on his shirt.

"Not at first," she said with a smile. "I have genuinely wanted to join the class, so I came to check it out."

"How embarrassing …." He shook his head as he wrapped his tie around his collar and started working on the knot. "I didn't want anyone to know. Least of all you."

"Why not? There's nothing wrong with it. Plus, you were killing it out there!"

"Please," he scoffed.

"No, seriously! I mean, no one else was using weights!"

He tightened his tie and pulled his coat over his shoulders. "They're Robin's. She let me borrow them today. I'm just trying to stay healthy. There aren't a lot of, uh … options in Pelican Town, and as you get older, it requires more effort and creativity."

"Well, I understand that. I'm sore pretty much every day from all the farm work."

"I'm not in very good shape, though …. I can barely keep up with them."

"Don't look at someone else's finish line when you're just starting to train. You're doing it, and that's what matters. Plus, you of all people should know women have a higher pain tolerance than men. Face it - those women are just more hardcore."

"Look," he sighed, taking his bag and throwing it over his shoulder. "Don't tell everyone in town that I'm - I'm doing dance aerobics, okay?"

She thought about it for a moment. Could she really promise that she wouldn't tell anyone? Of course, she thought; no one needed to know, and it was important to him to keep it a secret. "I won't tell," she said, patting his arm.

He smiled. "Thanks, Alma. I appreciate that." They began to walk out together, but he groaned with his first steps. "Wow, that was quite a workout. I think my legs will be burning the rest of the day. You sure you're going to join?"

"Oh, definitely now," she laughed.

They walked back through Pierre's shop, and as they stepped outside, Harvey said, "Well, I've got to go to the bath house real quick before, uh, going back to the clinic."

"I'm going to try to do some fishing in the river, so I can come with you part of the way."

"I'd like that," he said with a smile. They walked up to the path behind the Mullners' house and headed for the bridge.

"I'm glad you're going to take a bath because your stink gives you away. I hoped you knew covering up with your clothes wasn't good enough," she snickered.

"Yeah, Maru thinks I'm running errands on Tuesday afternoons, but I have my clothes on already so all I have to do is - is take off some layers when I get to the class and put them back on before I leave. I usually take a dip in the bath house, and by the time I get back, her shift is over."

"The perfect crime," she laughed. "Do you come every week?"

"No, I'm not able to come every Tuesday because I usually have patients. But if they cancel or leave early, you know, I-I try to make it. It's a nice way to work out some stress and get the blood pumping." They approached the bridge, and he asked, "Are you, uh … fishing for the Junimo today?"

"No, actually, Marnie is looking for a pike for her goats, and I think I can get one for her."

Harvey shook his head and chuckled. "One thing I've learned about you, Alma, is that you are always looking for ways to take care of others, aren't you?"

She shrugged. "I'm going to try anyway. Pike is kind of hard." Alma set down her bag in the middle of the bridge, and when she lifted her head, she saw an artifact poking up out of the dirt on the other side. "Ooh, come check this out," she said, getting out her hoe.

Harvey followed her and saw the wiggling root-like movement at the top of the soil. "What is that?"

She used her hoe to dig at the soil and pulled out a very small …. "I'm not sure what that is, actually. But it's something for Gunther!"

Alma handed it to him, and he looked it over too. "That's how you've been finding the lost books and artifacts?"

"Yeah, there are these little wiggly things that poke out of the dirt, and when you dig at them, something pops up. Not always, though; sometimes it's just dirt or rocks or something - when the spirits aren't happy, you know."

"Oh, okay, back to the spirits again, I see," he said as he put the tiny something back in her hand.

"I may actually take this to Gunther first because he's closing soon. So I guess I'll see you later. Enjoy your bath," she said.

"Let me know later what it is?"

"Yeah, of course."

"And I, uh, hope you catch Marnie's pike. Take care!" Harvey waved and continued up toward the mountains.

Alma got her bag again and went down to the museum. "Gunther! Are you closing?"

"Soon, but I can wait for you, mia migliore patrona."

"I just found this outside. I have no clue what it is! It's so tiny!"

She placed it on the counter, and he pulled out a magnifying glass. "Oh, this is something special indeed."

"What is it?"

"This … is an ancient seed." He put down his magnifying glass and scooted his chair back. "And I have just the thing for you in exchange." He went to the back room, and Alma prayed it wasn't some other tacky statue that she would have to lug home. He came back with a packet of seeds and a sheet of paper.

"More ancient seeds? And … a recipe for making ancient seeds?" She looked up at him and his wide smile. "I … don't understand."

"So this that you brought is an actual ancient seed of what's called an ancient fruit - vetus fructus. But ancient fruits can still be grown by planting an ancient seed made from an ancient specimen of an ancient seed. So I just made some plantable ancient seeds for you, and now you know how to make some for yourself, in case you find more ancient ancient seeds in the future. Does that make more sense?"

"Uh … yes? Maybe I'll just learn as I go," she said as she put them in her bag. "Thank you, and sorry for keeping you."

"No worries, Ms. Alma. Have a good evening."

Alma left the museum and went back to the river. She got out her fishing rod and cast out into the water. After a few hours, several failed attempts, and a few other fish, she was happy to finally catch a pike! She hurried into town to see if she could find Marnie, and she managed to catch her on the road to her house. "Marnie!" Alma called.

Marnie turned around and smiled. "Oh! Hello, Alma!"

"I'm glad I caught you!" She took out the pike and showed it to her.

"You brought the item I asked for! Thanks so much!" She took the pike and dug in her dress pockets. "Let's see …. Here's what I owe you," and she handed the gold to Alma.

"Thanks! Mind if I walk with you? I'm heading home too."

"Of course!" They continued on in front of Jodi's house, and Alma kept thinking about Mayor Lewis's shorts in Marnie's bedroom. Should she ask about it? Probably not, and even if she wanted to, how would she ask? "You've been here a while now," Marnie said. "How's your farm doing?"

"Great, actually! I was hoping to buy a cow from you today, but I forgot it was Tuesday."

"Yes, I hope you join the aerobics class! It's so fun, and it's nice to get your mind off the daily grind. And you can always come by tomorrow to get a cow."

"Oh, I plan to. I'm excited! I love taking care of the animals."

Marnie laughed. "It's great, isn't it? Taking care of animals is easy as long as you don't forget about them!"

"True! Biz and the chicks are so easy! It makes me want to have a zoo!"

"Well," Marnie said with another laugh, walking up the steps to her house, "if you decide to do that, you know where to find me!"

"Yes ma'am! Goodnight!"

"Goodnight, Alma! See you around!"

Marnie went inside, and Alma headed up to the farm. Before she went in for the night, Alma planted and watered the ancient seed. She was anxious to see what an ancient fruit looked like - and tasted like too! She put the fish and things she foraged in the shipping bin and went inside to get ready for bed.