CW: war

Wednesday, 17th of Fall

When Alma stepped out on the farm the next morning, she was surprised to see an iron bar waiting for her in her furnace and cranberry jelly ready in the preserves jar. She hadn't even remembered putting either of those things in to "cook." Still, she was happy to see a bit more progress. She made her rounds, harvesting grapes on her way and putting some into the preserves jar to make more jelly. She put her produce into the shipping container for Mayor Lewis to pick up later, and as she closed the lid, she wiped her brow and checked the time. It was already after two o'clock! How did the time pass so quickly? She went into town to go say hi to Harvey by the river before he went back inside the clinic for the night.

"Afternoon," she said as she came up behind him.

He turned and smiled, reaching his hand back to her. She took it and laced her fingers in his, and he brought her hand up to his chest, patting it with his other hand. "How's your day?"

"Not too bad. Pretty normal. Fast, though."

"Yeah? Mine feels like it's dragging on. Hump day, you know?" Alma nodded and put her head on his shoulder. "No appointments today, so it's been kind of slow. Just a lot of reading and paperwork and such. The, uh, clock ticks really loudly. I feel, uh … alone with my thoughts a lot of the day."

"What kinds of things do you think about?"

"Oh," he sighed, "all kinds of things. Memories, mostly. Concerns about the future maybe. I guess I'm just … starting to feel kind of old."

Alma chuckled. "And why's that?"

He shrugged. "The older you get, the more memories you're burdened with. Sometimes I feel like th-that's all I can hear in my head. It can be overwhelming."

"Well, I understand that feeling very much."

"I know you do. I'm sorry," he said, kissing the top of her head. He pulled her in a little closer. "I think I'll stay younger with you around."

"I dunno," Alma said with another chuckle, "I'm getting pretty up there too. And maybe my memories will just add to your burden."

"Nonsense," Harvey said. "If anything, you lighten my, uh … my burden."

They stood for a moment, contentedly watching the clouds slowly move over the ocean. After a while, Alma said, "The beach looks so beautiful. I think I'll go see the waves a little closer before I go do the rest of my errands. Care to come with me?"

"No, thank you, but I think I'll, uh, be heading back to my apartment soon. You're welcome to join later, i-if you'd like."

"I might. We'll see." She kissed his cheek and said goodbye as she went across the bridge to the beach. When she got onto the sand, Alma saw Sam and Vincent standing at the shoreline. Vincent had built a sandcastle and was now poking at the sand. Sam was standing off a bit, watching him and looking out over the waves. "Hi boys," she greeted as she came up behind them.

Sam turned and gave a little wave. "Hello, Alma. Nice day, isn't it?"

"It is. What are you two up to? Just enjoying the sun?"

"Pretty much. I'm just keeping an eye on my little brother. It's good for him to get some fresh air on a day like this."

"You're right. The Vitamin D is good for him." She smiled at Sam, but she noticed he looked a bit sad. She wondered if he was thinking about their father. "What's wrong?"

"Oh, nothing," Sam answered, snapping out of it and forcing up a little smile. "It's just that our dad used to take us to the beach on sunny days like this. Being here always makes me think of him."

"Sam …?" Vincent asked, turning to his brother. "Is Dad ever going to come home?"

"Of course, Vince," Sam answered. "Dad's going to come back as soon as he possibly can."

Vincent looked down at the sand and poked at it some more with his shovel. "But I heard some grown-ups saying that … that all of our troops are getting shot to pieces."

Sam and Alma were both shocked, though they tried not to show the panic on their faces. They exchanged looks, and Sam answered, "Don't believe everything you hear!"

"That's right, Vincent," Alma added. "Grown-ups just talk. That's all."

Sam kneeled down next to Vincent. "Don't you remember how strong Dad is? He'd never let a pathetic Gotoro grunt get him like that. Don't you worry!" He put a hand on his brother's shoulder. "And always remember that Mom and I are here to play with you if you ever feel lonely."

Vincent's eyes lit up. "Okay!" And he went back to his sandcastle as if none of it had happened.

Sam stood back up and came next to Alma, sticking his hands in his pockets. He let out a sigh and said quietly, "To be honest, I have no idea if my old man will come back …." Alma put her head down and looked at the sand around her feet. "We've all read the reports. Our soldiers are falling by the thousands." He hugged his arms and shrugged. "But what am I going to say to Vincent? That our dad could die fighting a dumb battle? That he'd rather die protecting his honor than be with his family?"

Alma looked up at him. He was biting his nails and looking at his brother, obviously distraught. She remembered the discussions she had had with her parents about her mother's cancer. She was much older than Vincent - more like Sam's age, in fact. But she remembered how she felt like a child in the way they wanted to keep the bad news from her. "It's best to be honest with kids," she answered quietly.

"You think so?" Sam asked, looking at her.

She shrugged a little. "You don't have to be blunt about it, but you don't want to sugar coat it either. Vincent knows something is up, and he trusts you and your mother to tell him the truth."

He looked back at his little brother and started to slowly nod. "Maybe you're right." He put his hands back in his pockets. "The world is a cruel place, but kids have to learn that one way or another."

"Best they learn it from someone they love." She smiled at Sam, and he smiled a little back. "Plus, you didn't say anything that wasn't true. I'm sure your dad is wanting to come home as soon as he can, and if he has that hope inside him, he will stay strong."

"Yeah. You're right." They were quiet for a moment, then Sam said, "Hey, did I tell you the band's starting to come together?"

"No, you didn't! You find a drummer?"

"Yeah! It turns out Abigail's a pretty good drummer. And Sebastian seemed to really want her in the band …."

"That's great! Have any shows lined up?"

"No, not yet. We're still practicing and getting some songs together. But it's fun to have a more complete sound!"

"I'm sure it is! I know that's exciting for you."

"Yeah. Yeah, it is."

Alma saw the autumn sun moving closer and closer to the horizon, and she decided she probably needed to go. "Well, I've got a couple of errands to do. I guess I'll see you boys later."

"Bye, Miss Alma!" Vincent called.

"Bye, Alma. Thanks again."

"No problem. Keep your chin up!" Alma picked up a few shells on her way off the beach and thought maybe she should go to the mines to gather some rocks. She knew she didn't have enough for the next coop upgrade, though she wasn't sure exactly how much she would need. As she went north toward the mountains, Alma passed the community center and remembered that she had Demetrius's nautilus in her bag. She went inside the broken down building and dropped the shell in the hallway with the rest of the materials for the Field Research bundle. The bundle was complete, and a present appeared. She opened it up and saw a small machine inside. It looked like you could put something inside, push a button, and something would come out the other end. She wondered what it was for. She stuffed it in her bag, left the building, and continued up into the mountains.

She wasn't looking to make it deeper in the mines tonight and face a lot of monsters; she was already pretty worn out for that. So she just started from the first level and mined away at the rocks in her way until she felt like she couldn't do it anymore. Rocks filled her bag, and she went back up to the surface. It was dark on her way home, but before she went into her cabin for sleep, she threw in some copper ore and charcoal into the furnace to make a few copper bars. She placed her new machine with the others before curling into bed with Bisclavret and the copy of Diamond Yields.