I am a terrible wife. I am a terrible mother. Robin couldn't rid herself of those thoughts. They were like vines, slowly creeping her way into her mind and embedding themselves there. Any time she thought she might have forgotten, she remembered the feeling of the farmer's lips on hers, heard the blissful sigh as their breaths mixed, and the thoughts came flooding back.

She was convinced Yoba was constantly punishing her for her infidelity. Drop in sales? It was because she kissed the farmer. Unexpected storm soaked her stash of firewood? It was because she kissed the farmer. Stubbed her toe? It was because she kissed the farmer. The spirits were doing anything in their power to rub her failure in her face.

Robin had managed to successfully avoid her since the night of their kiss. It helped that many of the other townsfolk were eager to offer their assistance on the farm, keeping the farmer so busy she didn't have time to visit the carpenter's shop at all. The whole time, Robin had torn herself up over what to say if she saw her. If even seeing the farmer again was the right move. But as the day of the Stardew Valley Fair dawned on them. It became clear Robin would have to see her eventually.

As she walked past Gus' grilling station, the wood for her grange display bumping into her leg with each step, she could already see the farmer setting up. Her arm was out of the sling and Robin sighed with relief knowing she was recovering. Then their eyes met and Robin quickly looked down, suddenly finding the ground incredibly interesting.

Maybe she shouldn't have come. Make up another work-related excuse. But no. Regardless of whatever was going on, everyone always showed up at festivals. Not doing so would be an open invitation to invasive questions. And Robin didn't trust herself to think of a good enough excuse that would fool the whole town.

"Good morning, Robin."

"Morning, Jodi!" she greeted, thankful for the distraction. "How are things?"

"Great." She let Vincent run off to play, keeping half her eye on him. "Two weeks of no aerobics. Getting back to it next week will be a pain."

"I don't know why we never make up the session the day after the fair," Robin agreed with a shake of her head. "So… have you spoken to your boys about Kent?" she asked, keeping her voice low.

"I'm still working up to it," Jodi said a little sheepishly.

"There's no rush."

"I know. I'm taking it easy for now. Digesting." She helped Robin get her grange display items out of her bag, something the redhead was grateful for. "Have you heard? The farmer got into some sort of scrap in the mines last week."

"Oh." Robin tried to keep her voice natural and even. "I think Sebastian mentioned something about that."

"The whole town's been pitching in. Even Vincent was over there harvesting cranberries with Jas yesterday. Though I think they ate at least half of them," she added with a chuckle. "It's the thought that counts, I suppose."

"Yes, I guess it is," she absently replied.

Jodi looked at her strangely. "Is everything alright with you, Robin?"

Her shoulders tensed at the question, but she plastered on a smile nonetheless. "Why wouldn't it be?"

"You seem a bit stressed out. Is it the grange display?"

"Oh yeah," she stammered, lying through her teeth. "I swear if Pierre wins for the thirteenth year in a row, I'm gathering the rest of the participants and calling for a boycott. It has to be rigged."

"Well there might be hope this year. I think the farmer's display is going to destroy him."

Robin sighed. At least it seemed like the fair would be good for her. If anyone deserved to knock Pierre down a few pegs, it was the farmer. "I wouldn't know. Haven't seen it."

"Okay I'm not going to badger you by asking what's wrong because I know from my sons that that doesn't work. If you wanted to talk about it, you would." Robin cringed but Jodi simply put a gentle hand on her arm. "Whatever's on your mind, you know I'm here for you right?"

Her eyes stung with the familiar presence of tears once again. But she couldn't say anything. At least, not yet. Not there. "I know."

"Mommy! The cow licked me!" Vincent yelled from across the square. "Sam said I'm gonna turn into a cow!"

Jodi rolled her eyes. "Sam!"

"Go," Robin insisted. "Save your son from the zombie cows. I'm fine. I promise."

She paused. "Let's meet up later this week, alright? We can have a quiet night in."

Surely by then, Robin would have worked her thoughts out enough to share at least some of her troubles with Jodi. They were both married. Even though Kent was away, surely Jodi would be able to relate to the strain in a marriage after so long. "Yeah. That sounds nice."

"Try to enjoy the rest of the festival."

Robin gave her a tight smile. "I will."

After Jodi left to attend to her son, and now that Robin was done setting up her display, she idly wondered what she could occupy herself with. To her mixed relief and disappointment, people were crowded around the farmer's grange, probably all eager to check in on her while also getting a look at the competition. No way Robin was going to get her attention. Good. She shouldn't be talking to her anyway.

She considered playing a couple of the games at the fair while waiting for the judging, but she had already played them all in her many previous years there. The thrill was lost. She could have a burger from the grill but that wouldn't take all day. Then, she caught sight of a tent near the graveyard. She never really explored that area during the festival.

"Would you like to know your fortune, my dear?" the robed fortune teller asked when Robin approached her tent. She recognised her from one of the channels on the television. "For the small price of a hundred gold, I could tell you what is written in the stars."

Usually, Robin didn't subscribe to fortune telling. She thought it was all mystic mumbo jumbo designed to be generic enough that people always hear what they 'need to hear'. Especially since this woman seemed to have her own television channel. But for lack of anything better to do, not to mention the draw of being in the privacy of the tent instead of out in public, Robin figured why not.

"Sure."

The tent flap closed behind them and Robin sat cross-legged on the floor. The crystal ball was unveiled on the table between them.

"What is it you would like to know, my dear?"

Robin shrugged. "What can you tell me?"

"A general reading then? Very well." The woman waved a hand over the crystal ball and, to Robin's amazement, shapes began shifting beneath the glass, following her movements. Nothing she herself could make out or interpret. A curve there, a jagged edge there, a loop. But the fortune teller seemed to know exactly what she was doing.

It's probably some crystal ball mechanism, she told herself.

"You are under a lot of pressure at the moment," she began, her eyes clouding over in a way that should have spooked Robin, but somehow only drew her in more. "A decision is weighing on you."

Okay, that's… generic enough… "Yes."

"There is something in your life… that is broken." Her hands twitched over the ball. "Oh. Romance. I see…"

That's… more on the nose, she thought.

"Too many things are holding you back. You have been hurt once before. You do not want to go through that again. That is fair." The fortune teller paused, the shapes behind the glass jerking suddenly. "But it is different now. You have more people at risk. A son. A daughter. You fear getting hurt yourself, and on top of that you do not want to hurt them either."

Robin felt goosebumps raise up and down her arms. Maybe there's something to this fortune telling business. "Yes."

"The spirits see you. They have seen you your whole life. How strong you have been. How much you do for other people. Not just your family. You have taken others under your wing." Robin swallowed, the farmer's sweet face flashing in her mind. "You fear uncertainty, but that cannot control your life. You think too much about what others want and what others think, but do you really think they are that invested in your business when they have their own problems to focus on?" Heat flushed to her cheeks. The fortune telller had a point there. "Silence all that when you decide what to do next."

There was a long gap of silence where Robin just stared at her. "That's it?"

"Straightforward, is it not?" the fortune teller replied with a hint of a smile. "Problems in romance often are."

"But… but I thought… aren't you supposed to tell me what to do?"

"You run a business. You keep your family together. You enjoy making decisions. If I simply told you what to do, would you listen?"

She decided not to dwell too deeply on how the fortune teller could have possibly known this much about her. "Usually I like making decisions, but I've been torn up about this for… a long time." Which was true. Her issues and thoughts about her husband started long before the farmer came into the picture. That girl was simply another added factor in the larger scheme of things. "So tell me what to do."

The woman clicked her teeth. "Fine." The crystal ball went silent, returning to its dormant state. "Let me say this in a way you will understand. You are the town carpenter, yes?"

"Yes…" Seriously, who is this woman?

"If you had a broken axe, you would get a new one, would you not?"

"I…" Robin swallowed. "I suppose I would try and fix it first."

"Yes. And if the axe is still broken after trying to fix it many, many times, what then?" She was silent, and the fortune teller simply smiled. "You need to get yourself a new axe, my dear."

She bit her lip, the words sinking into her. "Thank you," Robin said, handing over the one hundred gold. "I'll keep that in mind."

"Not yet," said the fortune teller, putting up a hand just as Robin turned to leave. "Just a moment, There is something else you need to hear."

"What?"

Before the woman could reply, Robin heard voices outside. She could just about make out their silhouettes through the tent flaps. The farmer and Leah.

"...to go on a date with me tomorrow?" Robin's heart sank when she heard those words out of Leah's mouth. "To this art gallery in Zuzu City. It's a small independent one so I don't think you would have ever been there before. It's right down the street from an amazing bar too."

Her eyes burned with stupid, jealous tears, and she hated herself for it. Why was she crying over this girl? No matter how much she wanted her, this was pathetic. But before those tears could run down her cheeks, the farmer responded, and Robin couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"Leah, that's… really sweet of you. And I'm flattered, but I… I don't feel the same way." Robin could see how Leah's silhouette deflated through the tent.

"I understand."

"You're a really good friend and I want things to stay that way–"

"You don't have to explain yourself, Farmer," Leah interrupted, though her voice was kind. "I'm a big girl, I can handle a rejection." She paused. "Is it because there's someone else?"

The farmer shifted uncomfortably. "Um…"

"Actually, don't answer that." She shook her head. "I'm grateful you were upfront about it instead of leading me on."

"I would still love to check out that gallery with you though. As friends."

Leah visibly perked up. "It's a platonic date."

The two women walked away and Robin turned back to the fortune teller, still wearing that knowing grin. "I hope the answer is clearer now."

XXX

Robin couldn't sleep.

Granted, she hadn't been trying for that long, but even that was unusual for her. Annoying monitors in her bedroom aside, she was the kind of person who could knock out as soon as her head hit the pillow. But it had been almost half an hour and she was still wide awake, her husband snoring softly next to her.

She couldn't stop thinking about what the fortune teller had said. The metaphor wasn't very subtle. Her marriage – her axe – was broken, even after trying to fix it. Her son wasn't happy, she was fairly sure her husband wasn't happy, Robin sure as hell wasn't happy.

And she knew happiness was within reach. Just a quick walk through the backwoods and she'd be there.

She just didn't know if she was brave enough to do it.

Decades ago, Robin had been brave when she started her carpentry career against the support of her parents. She had been brave when she left her hometown to start a new life here. But this just seemed so much bigger.

Get yourself a new axe…

The fortune teller's words rang loudly in her head. It seemed so simple when she thought about it. She had left her first marriage when things didn't work out. This shouldn't have been different. Once again, fear gripped her heart at the thought of leaving, the future after vast and unknown. But fear couldn't run the rest of her life, could it? Wasn't that what the fortune teller was trying to tell her?

She rolled over in bed once more, burying her head in her pillow.

"Hey," Demetrius mumbled into the dark, still half asleep.

"Yeah?" Robin replied, wondering if he was going to address her restlessness, maybe even express concern for once. They both knew this was out of character for her.

As usual, she gave him too much credit.

"Could you try and stay still? Your tossing and turning is kind of keeping me up."

Right, that's it.

"Sorry," she said stiffly, getting out of bed and tightening the tie of her nightgown. "I'm going to get some air. Enjoy your sleep."

There was some response that Robin didn't hear, but no move was made to physically stop her so she kept walking. Straight out of the bedroom and towards the front of the shop, her bedroom slippers muffled her footsteps. She stopped by the counter, fumbling in the semi-darkness until she acquired fifty thousand gold from the register. That would definitely be a pain in her side in terms of budgeting for the coming weeks, but with any luck, she would only be budgeting for three.

The night air was cool on her skin, the chill setting in soon in the lead up to winter. Robin pulled her robe tight against her and made her way into town. The bare bones of the fair still remained up but would be gone by the next morning. She ignored all of it, silently passing Pierre's and George and Evelyn's, the mayor's manor in her sights.

Thankfully the lights inside were still on. Lewis may not have been formally open, but she knew he would see her nonetheless. True enough, he opened the door in response to her hurried knocking.

"Robin?" His eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Is everything alright?"

"Yes, hi Lewis, everything is fine," she said, moving past him and making a beeline for the book in the front room of his house. The air was filled with the sounds of frantically flipping pages.

"What on earth are you looking for?" he asked, peering over her shoulder.

She sucked in a breath when she found the right one, slamming her gold on the table. "I'd like to file for a divorce."

A/N - Hello dear reader! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. It was so satisfying to write after so much Robin torture. The next chapter is one I'm sure you've all been waiting for so keep a lookout for that. As always, let me know what you think and until next time, stay safe.

This story is also available on AO3. I also have a Twitter kayasmuttytoast where I post behind the scenes content, polls, writing updates and more. I also have a Tumblr and Bluesky kayassmuttytoast. The links are in my profile!