Thursday, 25th of Summer

Alma stepped outside and saw that none of her crops (besides hops) were ready to harvest. The summer was winding down. She looked and saw her mailbox was full, so she went to see who had written to her.

"Dear Alma,

I'd like to share an ol' cooking recipe my pappy used to make. It's important the fish is FRESH.

Willy"

Enclosed was a recipe for chowder. A creamy chowder didn't sound so great this time of year, but when it would get cold … Alma's mouth started watering thinking about it. There was one more letter:

"To Farmer Alma:

My knee is acting up again, and you know what helps? Rubbing the darn thing with hot pepper. Thing is, my supply's run dry. If you've got one to spare, I'd be much obliged.

George"

Alma was pleasantly surprised to see George writing to her. Maybe he was finally starting to warm up to her. Delivering this pepper would certainly help. She went inside to her fridge and pulled out a pepper just for him. Then she went back outside and did her usual rounds. As she went to the west side of the farm to the coop, barn, and cave, she saw that both her oak and pine taps were full. She bottled the resin and tar and stuck them in her bag too before continuing around the farm.

When she was finished and had all of her things gathered, she made her way into town to Pierre's shop. As she passed by the clinic, she thought maybe she could pop in to say hi to Harvey and Maru. When she opened the door, Maru was there at the front counter. "Hi Alma! Do you have an appointment?"

"No, actually, I was just wondering if I could say hi to Harvey?"

"He's actually with a patient right now. They'll be finishing up this afternoon."

"Oh, uh … okay. Maybe I can come back then."

"Okay, no problem. See you around!" Alma started to walk out, and then Maru said, "Hey, have any interesting farm stories to tell me?"

"Oh! Um … I pasteurized raw milk for the first time yesterday?"

Maru chuckled. "Guess not."

"Yeah, it's not super interesting a lot of the time. Your gadgets make for much cooler stories," she said. "See you later." Maru waved, and Alma went next door to Pierre's. She took a quick look at the calendar to check for birthdays, and she noticed something: it had now been a full seven days since her last nightmare. She was happy that she had almost missed that detail; it meant she was so filled with good things here to even think about the negative impacts that were slipping away. Alma smiled and took a deep breath before pushing the door into the store.

When she came in, Pierre was looking through a catalog and taking some notes. "Oh, hi, Alma. Are you satisfied with the quality of my summer seeds?"

"I am, yes sir. What are you working on?"

"Ordering supplies for next season. Gotta be ready for Monday! Can you believe the summer is already almost over?"

"Pretty hard to believe, yeah," she said as she pulled out her harvest from today. "But my farm is showing it. Fewer and fewer crops ready to harvest."

"Mm, yes. But those chickens and cows will keep producing for you all through the year!" He started sorting through her goods and counting up the price. She gave her what she'd earned and said, "Thanks again for your business, Alma. It's always a pleasure."

"You too, sir. Thank you!" She put the money in her bag and went outside to the Mullners' house. When she knocked on the door, she was surprised there was no answer. She wondered if maybe Evelyn was gardening, so she looked around the town square. Sure enough, at the northwest corner near the clinic, Evelyn was on her knees, tending to the flowers in the raised bed. "Mrs. Mullner!" Alma called as she approached her.

"Oh, Alma, hi!" she said, wiping her hands on her apron. "Oh, darlin', the farmer life looks good on you."

"Thank you, Granny. I actually have the pepper that Mr. George asked for, to rub on his knee."

"Oh, bless you, honey, that's so sweet of you."

"Is he home? No one answered when I knocked."

She smacked her tongue and shook her head. "Yes, he's in there watching his shows. You go let yourself in because he won't bother to come to the door. George spends all day in front of that darned television set. I wish he'd go outside more. Some fresh air would do him good."

Alma nodded. "Maybe he'll come around someday. I'll go see him. Thank you!"

"Take care, dear!" she said, waving her trowel at her.

Alma went back to their house, knocked again, and cracked open the door. "Mr. Mullner?" The television was too loud; he probably couldn't hear her. "Mr. Mullner?" she called louder, stepping inside more. She didn't want to startle him by appearing right next to him, but he seemed to be oblivious to her being there. "Mr. Mullner!" she shouted from the entrance of the living room. He finally turned his head and scrunched his face.

"Yeah? What do you want? If you're looking for Evelyn, she's out gardening. Alex is at the ice cream stand."

"Actually, I came for you," she said as she walked up to him, still speaking quite loudly. "I got your letter and brought you this." She reached into her bag and held out a red pepper.

"Took you long enough," he said with a grunt. "Well, it's good and spicy at least. Thanks."

"You're welcome. Anything else I can do for you?"

"No, that's all right."

He looked back at the TV, and Alma took a moment to look around the room at their old pictures hanging on the wall. One was a photo of the two of them at the Flower Dance when they were young. "Wow," she said as she stepped closer.

George noticed she was still there, and he said, "Look, I'm not much of a talker. Especially not to strangers, if you don't mind me saying. So just close the door on your way out."

Alma looked away from the picture quickly and started walking away. "Yes sir, sorry."

As she walked toward the door, he looked up at the photo on the wall. "Anna - Your, uh … your grandmama took that photo at the Flower Dance," he said.

She turned around. "Really?"

"Yeah. We were engaged by that point. It was the last time they'd let us dance since we'd be married the next year. She thought it was a big deal, I reckon."

Alma looked back to the wall and tried to see it through the eyes of her grandmother. "You look very handsome there." She looked back at him and smirked. "And today too, if you don't mind - "

"Oh, get outta here now and let me watch my show in peace," he said with a dismissive wave.

She chuckled and saw herself out. Alma didn't really have much else to do today, though when she looked at the time, it was barely two o'clock. She decided to go up to the community center to check on things there. When she stepped inside, she thought about if there was anything there she could do today. Her mind went to the vault, and she went there to check it out. She did have five thousand gold; should she go ahead and buy that bundle? Alma thought it over a minute and then decided, yeah, why not? So she purchased the bundle and gave up five thousand gold. A present appeared before her, and a junimo carried the bundle off to their hut in the main room of the center. She unwrapped the present and found several boxes of quality fertilizer. Her first thought was that she wished she'd had that earlier this summer when she could have used it to harvest higher quality melons. But it was too late now. She put it in her bag, thankful for another resource she could use on the farm.

As Alma walked out of the community center, she decided what she would do today: it would be a perfect day to go to the mines. Harvey would be closing the clinic soon, so maybe she should go in there and say hi first because who knew how late she would be in the mines? So she headed south and opened the door to the clinic again. Maru was still there, working at the desk. "Hi again, Alma! Harvey's still taking care of the patient, but they should be done soon."

"No worries," Alma said as she took a seat in the waiting room. "I can wait."

Maru went back to work, and Alma sat patiently. She took the time to look at some of the certificates and things hanging around the room. One was a poster that said, "Don't spread disease … Cover your sneeze!" with an image of a giant nose. Harvey's medical license was also on the wall. Alma squinted to read it, and she could see the largest text at the top: "This clinic is licensed for medical practice by the Ferngill Republic Health Authority."

She glanced around the room, and she looked at the space behind the counter. She remembered when she and Harvey worked on their things together there. She watched Maru work for a bit too, and she remembered what Harvey said: "She does things for me because she's my assistant. You're doing things with me because you want to."

Maru looked up at her and smiled a little awkwardly. "Everything okay?"

"Yep, just hanging out."

Just then, they could both hear voices and footsteps approaching. Harvey opened the door first and smiled quickly at Alma as Demetrius came out. "Thank you, Doctor. See you next time," Demetrius said, waving to him as he walked to the front door.

"Yes, take care, sir."

"See you at the house, sweetheart," he said to Maru.

"Yep. Bye, Dad."

He nodded to Alma as he exited, and she looked up at Harvey as soon as he left, as if saying, "You see what I mean?"

Harvey shook his head with a dismissive smirk. "Everything okay, Alma?" he asked. "Can I do anything for you?"

"No, everything's fine. I was just on my way to the mines and thought I'd drop by to say hi before I got too deep."

"You're going to the mines?!" Maru asked with excitement. "I go there sometimes too, to get specimens for Dad. It's a creepy place."

"And a dangerous one," Harvey said. "Please take care of yourself."

"You know I will," she said with a smile. "How's your day been?"

"Pretty busy," he said, putting his clipboard on the counter. Maru took it and started filing the paperwork, but he stopped her and said, "Thank you, Maru, but just put this in his folder, and I'll handle it. If you would, please, just process the insurance and transfer the lab work. After you're done with that, you can go on home."

"You got it, Doc." She took the folder and turned around to the computer.

Harvey sighed and gave a weak smile to Alma. "You look tired," she said quietly.

"I am. Long day. And it's not over yet." He took off his glasses and pinched his eyes. "But at least I can relax a bit now that the clinic is closed."

Alma felt sorry for him and wondered what she might be able to do to help. "You wanna … go relax by the fountain for a bit? Get some fresh air?"

He sighed. "Yeah, a-all right." He started for the door with her and said, "I'll be back in a bit, Maru. If you leave, don't lock the door please."

"No worries," she said, giving a thumbs-up over her shoulder.

Harvey and Alma left and walked toward the park. As soon as they stepped outside the door, Harvey took a deep breath and said, "You're right. The fresh air will do me good."

"Can you talk about it?"

"Oh, there's not much to say. I don't want to seem, uh … gossipy, but - Ah, maybe I shouldn't say."

"Either way is fine with me. Do what you're comfortable with."

He looked around as they approached the fountain and spoke quietly. "Dr. … Dr. Demetrius and Robin spend so much longer in my clinic than a-anyone else. I'm not really sure why. They have a lot of questions and concerns, and the more we talk, it's like the more things come up. Demetrius came into the clinic just after eight this morning."

"And he just now left?"

"Yes!" He stood in front of the fountain and folded his arms, rubbing his forehead. "And I don't let Maru file the paperwork because I'm concerned about her knowing her parents' personal medical information. So I have extra work to do after hours too."

"Ah. That's rough."

"The day you came and did your intake paperwork for Katherine? I was working on Robin's files from her appointment that day." Alma nodded slowly, now understanding. "I-I'm not ungrateful or upset, though. I'm happy they're my patients, and I'm happy to do the work. It's just - the days they come in are long."

"I understand. Anything I can do?"

"No, this was a good decision to get out here, even if just for a few minutes. Thank you." He sighed and sat on the bench, and she sat down next to him. "So you're on your way to the mines?"

"Yeah. Today's a good day for it. I mean, I don't know how the spirits are today, but I've got time and energy to maybe get down another five levels."

"Well, I meant what I said in there," he said, looking over at her. "Please be careful. I … I worry about you when you go." He thought for a moment and asked, "Is there some way you could, uh, let me know when you're home safe? Come knock o-on the clinic door or something?"

"Would you hear it from your apartment?"

He scrunched his mouth to the side. "Probably not."

"Tell you what." She pointed back toward his clinic at the window into his apartment. "How about when I come back, I'll pass by and throw a small rock at your window to let you know I'm home safe. That way you can rest easy and know I'm okay."

He smiled and breathed a sigh of relief. "That would help me a lot, actually. Would you - Would you do that?"

She stood up and pulled her bag tighter on her shoulders. "I will!"

Harvey stood up too. "You'd better get to it then so you're not out too late. And I need to get back to the clinic too."

"All right. See you tonight."

"Bye," he said with a small wave. She went toward the mountains, and he headed back to the clinic. Alma traded out some things when she got to the chest by the elevator door, and then she stepped inside and pushed the button for the twenty-fifth level.

The first few levels were fairly easy; a few monsters, but the ladders showed up quickly. The third level, however, was infested. The air was heavy, and she could hear flies buzzing and slimes squishing. She went throughout the cavern, hacking and slicing away at the monsters until, eventually, they were all gone. She ate a snack before going to the next level. Again, it was like the first few: not too easy, but not bad either. The ladder was uncovered, and she found herself at level thirty. The elevator dinged, and she looked at the clock: it was ten o'clock. She wondered if Harvey would even still be awake. She went in the elevator, rode to the surface, traded her things out in the chest again, and went into town.

When Alma approached the clinic, she saw Harvey's light on in the window. She pulled out a rock from her bag and threw it up at the window. Harvey came to the window and waved at her, and she waved back before continuing down the road to the farm. Harvey watched her go until the trees covered her from his view. She made it home and went inside to get ready for sleep.