Friday, 5th of Fall

When Alma heard the rooster crow, she tried to remember how long it had been since her last nightmare. Over a week, for sure. Maybe ten days? She still considered it a win, though she was sad to see they weren't totally gone. Still, she told herself, as far as nightmares go, that one wasn't the worst. Harvey might even think it was funny. She'd have to make sure to tell him about it today.

She stepped outside and was happy to see her first fall harvest was ready: bok choy! She took care of the crops and animals and saw Robin hard at work on the silo on the western side of the farm. Things were looking up, and she was feeling good.

Outside of Pierre's shop, Alma saw that today was Elliott's birthday. She thought for a moment about what she had that he might enjoy as a present. He was a cultured man with refined tastes, so maybe he would like a nice block of fresh cheese. She made a mental note to save one for him.

She also saw a Help Wanted ad from Abigail:

"I want to pull a prank on my Dad. I'll need Salmon. Keep it secret. :)

Abigail"

If Abigail wanted to keep it secret, Alma thought, why did she post it on a public billboard outside of her father's store? She wasn't sure if she'd be able to catch salmon or not, but she decided to give it a try. She tore off the note and put it in her pocket before going inside.

To her surprise, Alma saw Harvey shopping for his groceries. "Well, hello there!" She came up to him and gave him a hug. "Sorry I didn't get a chance to swing by and say hi yesterday."

"Oh, that's all right, Alma. You don't need to see me every day, you know. I know you're busy."

"Speaking of, let me go ahead and sell this stuff, and then if it's okay, maybe we can go to your apartment because I have a funny story to tell you."

"All right," he said with a smile. "I'll, uh, finish up my shopping here too."

Alma continued up to Pierre's counter, where he greeted her with a goofy grin. "'A funny story,' eh? Is that what the kids are calling it these days?"

"Oh, stop it, Pierre." She took out the things to sell him.

"Ah, first fall crop! Want some of this in your basket, Doctor? Fresh bok choy?"

"Oh, yes please," he said, putting a few more things in his basket before also coming to the counter. "This stuff can definitely be incorporated into a healthy diet."

"Always," Alma chuckled. "And I'd like some more bok choy seeds too, to replenish the crop, please, Pierre."

"You got it." He started collecting the produce and counting up her total. "You know, if I didn't have this shop to run, I would be outside right now," he said, looking a little wistful. "The leaves look great, and the mushrooms are sprouting."

"Yes, fall is my favorite season for sure," Alma agreed. "It just feels so calming."

"Why don't you take some time to go enjoy the weather, Pierre?" Harvey asked. "The fresh air and sun would be good for you."

"And miss seeing you blush when I embarrass you in front of Alma? Never!" he laughed, and Harvey's face quickly turned red in response. "Yeah! Just like that!" Pierre laughed as he gave Alma her money and seeds. "You know I'm just teasing, right? I don't mean to actually embarrass you."

"Then maybe scale it back a notch or two?" Alma answered.

"All right, all right. It's just that this doesn't happen often. Forgive me, doc."

"It - It's all right," Harvey sputtered, putting his basket on the counter. Pierre checked out all his groceries, and they tried to make a quick exit.

As they walked out, Pierre called, "Enjoy your storytime!" Alma gave him a look just before walking out the door, and he said, "Okay, I'm done, I promise."

When they left the store, Harvey took a deep breath and said, "I just may never go in there again."

"Don't let him get to you too much. You know that's what he's trying to do," she chuckled.

"Well, it's working," Harvey said as he opened the clinic door. He closed it back behind them and asked, "Now, how about this funny story?"

"It has to do with a dream I had last night." She followed him upstairs and took her bag off by the door.

"Not a nightmare, I hope?" Harvey asked as he took off his coat and hung it by the door.

"Well, I think technically, yes," she said as she followed him into the kitchen. "It was stressful and definitely not restful, but now in retrospect, it wasn't too bad. And I thought you might find it entertaining."

"Let's hear it then." As he put away his groceries, she told him about the women's health exam, the negative comments, the oversights, and the many wrong diagnoses. He did laugh quite a bit but more out of embarrassment and nervousness than entertainment, she thought. "Well, I should hope you have better confidence in my care than that!" he said as he closed the refrigerator.

"Of course I do!" she laughed. "Even in my sleep, I knew it was ridiculous."

He loosened his tie and approached her with a smile, as if he finally felt like he could unwind after a long day, and she felt her heart melt a little. "Care to, uh … sit and chat a while?" he asked, gesturing to the couch.

"Sure, I can for a bit, I guess." They went together to the couch, and she asked, "How far does your responsibility as a general physician in a small town like this go? I mean, do you have to do gynecological exams and things like that?"

"It just depends," he said as he put an arm around her on the back of the couch. "I do have training in breast exams and cervical exams for cancer screening, but when it comes to specific issues in reproductive health and obstetrics, I tend to put in a referral."

"So you haven't delivered a baby?"

"I trained for it during clinical rotations in med school, but no, I haven't since being in Pelican Town. Vincent's the youngest one here, and he was born just before I got here."

"I would imagine that delivering a baby would be something that would make your anxiety spike, right?"

"Actually, no. Strangely enough, when it comes to medical things, I'm … unusually calm."

"I've noticed that," Alma agreed. "Do you think that's because of having so much education and training?"

"I guess so. I don't really know, actually. Medicine just feels like … a puzzle. Just like working on my model planes or something like that." He took off his glasses and cleaned them while he talked. "If I start thinking too much about the implications the care has on people's lives, though, that's different. I can start to feel overwhelmed by the idea of what might happen if I make a mistake. But as long as I focus on the task at hand and how it might help the patient, I'm all right."

"That makes sense. Though I think if it were me, I'd have trouble moving past those possibilities of mistakes. I mean, knowing the patient's well-being is in my hands …. That would be hard for me to handle. I couldn't do what you do."

"Are you telling me," he started, putting his hand closer around her shoulder, "that there's something you're scared of that I'm not?" He laughed and shook his head. "Unbelievable!"

"Well, you had to have been at least a little anxious about it when you were beginning, right?"

"Sure, I guess so, just like anything else. Everything's a little scary at its beginning." He put his other hand on hers. "I think we both know that." She put her head on his shoulder and cuddled into him a little more. "But once you get further into it, you soon realize it's not so bad. It may even be … pretty good." Harvey turned his head so his lips pressed against the top of her head, and he couldn't help but think how well she fit in his arms, curled against his chest. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, stroking her shoulder with his thumb. He kissed the top of her head. "You said you could only stay for a bit? What else do you need to do today?"

She sat up and took a breath, still holding his hand. "I have a birthday present for Elliott, and I'm going to try to catch a salmon for Abigail."

He shook his head and smiled. "Always the people person."

"No, not always." She curled back into his chest, wrapped his arm around her again, and said, "Some days I just want to forget anyone else exists and stay in my own little space." He put his head back on hers and sighed. They sat together in silence for a moment, then she pushed off again and said, "I should go before it gets too late."

"Yeah. You should." They both stood from the couch, and he followed her as she went to put her bag back on, then down the stairs, then out the front door of the clinic. "Good luck."

"Thanks. I'll see you tomorrow." Alma hugged him again, then turned and headed south. Because it was Friday, she wondered if Elliott might be in the saloon, so she went there first. She saw Marnie and Lewis, Clint and Willy, Pierre, Shane, Robin and Demetrius, Pam - ah ha! Elliott and Leah were at a table together on the far side of the saloon. "Hi, Leah, Elliott!"

"Hi, Alma!" Leah said, lifting her glass.

Elliott turned and smiled at her. "Ah, Alma! How are you on this fine day?"

"Probably not as good as you!" she said, pulling the cheese out of her bag. "Happy birthday!"

He and Leah both gasped. "A birthday gift?"

"Yes! Some fresh cheese of the highest quality, made from my cows. I thought you could pair it with a nice wine or something and have a good snack to get some creative juices going."

Elliott accepted the cheese and smiled. "That's very kind of you! I love it. Let me just put it in my pocket here … Oh dear!"

"What is it?"

He laughed and held open his pocket for her to see. "A tiny crab appears to have made his home in my shirt pocket. That's the trouble with living on the beach: everything seems to wash up into your personal space!"

She chuckled and said, "You should start charging him rent!"

"I don't have that problem where I am," Leah chuckled. "It's so nice to live by the river. I fall asleep to the soothing sound of water every night."

"I do too," Elliott said, "and wake up to the sound of seagulls."

"No thanks," she laughed.

She waved a little and said, "Well, you two enjoy. Have a great birthday!"

"Thank you, Alma, you have a lovely day as well."

"Bye, Alma!"

Alma quickly made her rounds to say hi to everyone in the saloon before heading out and going to the river. She wasn't sure if she could catch salmon at this time of night, but she thought it was worth a try! And maybe she could catch something else too. As she fished, she was surprised by how many treasure chests she was encountering, though most of them floated away before she was able to catch them. But she did get a few things: some bait, some nice emeralds, but also, in one chest, she opened it up and was amazed to see – "Is that a diamond?!" Alma held it up to the moonlight and believed it was in fact real. She put it carefully in her bag and kept fishing. She caught only smallmouth bass. No salmon. Maybe tomorrow would be more forgiving. It was getting late, and she packed up her things to return home.