Make Me Smile

Growing

That summer, I commissioned Gannon to build two bridges, one going west from the main area of town and one going further east from the east side of town to a meadow. I had balked a little initially at having to be the one to put up the capital for such things. But I realized that in a typical town, that kind of thing would be paid for by the government, which we didn’t have, so it fell on the main money maker of the island - me. But it wasn’t like I was rich or anything! I finally caved and forked over my hard earned money and lumber to make the improvements.

It seemed like overnight, the island flourished because of that. In quick succession, new people and new businesses flocked to the island. First, in the main area of town, a small, homey inn popped up. On the east side of town, a diner, café, and hotel appeared. Because of the bridge going to the meadow, we were now able to hold festivals. On the west side of town, there was a forest, where I discovered a witch living. There was also a “Harvest Goddess” living in the pond there. It all seemed a little unreal to me, but it was real enough. A church in her honor was quickly built on the banks of the pond. Going north from the forest, there was a mountain area, with a mining cave that I had not yet had the time to explore.

While all this was going on, I continued to work from sunup to well past sundown every day. Tending to my one chicken (which took very little time), tending to my crops, and gathering materials and wild plants. And of course, stalking Vaughn on Wednesdays and Thursdays. That had become my favorite little hobby. I had gotten to know where he liked to hang out - usually at or around Mirabelle’s or on the beach. So I’d just “happen” to be there as well, buying more chicken feed (when I had way more than enough for one chicken, but hey, the stuff was cheap) or chopping wood somewhere when he was nearby. I actually nearly chopped off my foot one time when I was watching him instead of looking where my axe was landing. I vowed from then on to only watch him when I wasn’t wielding a deadly weapon.

Progress was going very slow with him. He wasn’t talkative, even though I tried to approach him in different ways, with different subjects. So I gave up trying to have conversations with him, and just contented myself with the one or two sentences he would grunt at me. I finally figured out that he didn’t really like a talkative girl, so I became quieter myself, just being happy to get to see him twice a week.

When the new businesses started to spring up, I started increasingly having trouble finding him. There were so many places to check, that I often spent nearly the entire day running around town, gathering wild plants as I went so that I didn’t just look like a nutcase barreling all over town for no reason at all. So, I made sure to water my plants extra on Tuesdays and Fridays to make up for the inattention they might get when Vaughn was in town.

On one such Wednesday, I was exhausted after searching nearly everywhere in town. It was evening, and I finally ended up on the east side of town. I stood in front of the diner, and my growling stomach urged me to go inside for the first time. I sighed, giving up my search for Vaughn. I must have missed him somewhere, and I wasn’t about to make that whole circuit again. I was just too tired.

So imagine my surprise when lo and behold, inside the diner, there sat the object of my affections. My relief and joy must have been apparent on my face, because he looked alarmed, actually squirming a little under my gaze. I calmed myself down and took a seat at a table near his, flashing him a quick smile as I sat. He just tilted his hat at me slightly, no expression on his face. The waitress approached his table and took his order. He murmured in a low tone, and I couldn’t tell what it was that he ordered. The waitress then approached my table. “Oh, I’ll have curry rice,” I said after glancing quickly over the menu.

She left to get both of our meals, and I tried not to outright stare at him. I watched him out of the corner of my eye as he adjusted the bandanna around his neck, and wiped his hands on his black jeans. He was so incredibly handsome. He brushed his bangs out of his eyes, and I could tell by his scowl that he could tell I was watching him. I quickly looked away, and just then the waitress returned. I resumed looking at him while his attention was distracted. “Here’s your porridge,” she said, placing a bowl in front of him. I stifled a laugh. Porridge? Seriously? What was he, Goldilocks? I saw him cast a scowl my way as I was served my curry rice. After a moment, he spoke up.

“Is something funny?” he asked.

I choked back another laugh. “N-no…it’s just, well, porridge? Really? You like porridge?”

He smirked. “Yeah, so?”

“Well, I didn’t even know it was a real food anymore. I’ve only read about it in fairy tales and nursery rhymes.” I explained.

He snorted and began eating without another word. I watched him for a minute more, until he scowled at me one more time. “What’s your problem?” he growled at me.

I squeaked and looked down at my plate. “N-n-nothing! Sorry!” I began eating my food quickly, vowing not too look at him for the rest of the meal. I heard him slide his chair back, stand up, and slap some money on the table, then I heard the clacking of his boots on the floor as he walked past me and out of the diner.

I sighed to myself, dropping my fork. Well, I really blew that…

The next day, even though it was Thursday and I would normally be stalking him, I decided to give it a pass. I could tell he was getting sick of me. Maybe my stalking wasn’t as cute as I thought it was.

After I did my farm chores, I decided to go into town to see Natalie. I was surprised to find her family’s house locked tight. I looked around town, and noticed that there was no one around at all. What was going on? Then I remembered her mother coming by the day before to tell me that there would be a Summer Crop Festival in the meadow today, and the theme was tomatoes. I had brushed the information aside, eager to get my chores done and find Vaughn. So there was a festival today. I hurried back home and opened the shipping bin, removing the best tomato specimen I could see, and hurried off towards the meadow.

When I crossed the bridge, I saw Natalie and Elliot right away. They waved at me and I joined them. Elliot told me where to go to enter my tomato, and I quickly located his mother at the judging table. She smiled broadly, accepting my entry and telling me it would be a while yet before the judging was complete. I melted back into the crowd, speaking to each and every townsperson I could. Everyone in town was there. My eyes caught a glimpse of a cowboy hat in the crowd, and I realized that EVERYONE was there. Even Mr. Antisocial himself. Well, I wasn’t going to bother him today. Even though my mind was screaming at me, “Just a little peek! Just get one look at that sexy face!”, I pushed those thoughts away and steered myself in a different direction, away from him. I went back to Natalie.

She was sipping a drink. “Hey, your boyfriend’s over there.” She pointed in the direction I’d come from.

I shrugged. “Yeah right, I wish. He hates my guts.” I sighed loudly. “This sucks. Why is he so mean? He shouldn’t be able to be so cute if he’s so mean.”

I heard her gasp. Her cheeks got pink. “Speaking of cute, who is THAT guy?”

I turned, following her gaze. All I saw was Gannon and some kid in a ridiculous purple suit and top hat. I looked back at her. “Who? I don’t see any guys.”

She tried to frown at me, but her face was fixed in delight and she couldn’t. “The blonde guy!” I looked again. Sure enough, the kid in purple had blonde hair. I looked back at her. “Seriously? That’s kid’s like twelve, Natalie. Robbing the cradle much?”

She elbowed me. “Nuh uh. He’s probably our age.” I stared at her. “Really!” she squealed. “He looks our age!”

“Natalie, hon, you need to borrow your brother’s glasses. That “hot guy” is still in diapers.”

She stomped her foot. “Whatever, Miss ‘I like mean cowboys.’” I huffed a little at that as she approached the kid. I followed her. Natalie was not shy by any means, so she launched right into introductions.

“Hi, I’m Natalie, and this is my best friend Chelsea. Are you just visiting here or are you coming to live?”

The kid, who was actually holding a spoon for no reason whatsoever, licked his lips. “I’m Pierre. Gannon’s building me a house starting tomorrow.”

Natalie brightened up. “Wonderful! Welcome to the island! It’s great to get another teenager here.”

Pierre frowned. “Oh, I’m not a teenager.” I smirked as Natalie’s face dropped. Yep, he was like eleven or twelve after all. He spoke up again. “I’m twenty.”

My jaw dropped and Natalie beamed. “Oh, then you’re one year older than us!” she said.

I sputtered. “But, but, but….you look like a little kid!”

Natalie scowled at me. “Hush, Chelsea! That’s rude.”

Pierre laughed heartily. “That’s all right. I’m used to people thinking I’m younger. But it’s true, I turned twenty this year.”

Natalie slipped her arm in his. “Let me take you around and introduce you to some people, Pierre. See you later, Chelsea,” she called over her shoulder. I balled up my fists. The nerve! Abandoning me for that silly looking kid! Oh well, I sighed.

My attention turned to the judging table, as Felicia rang a bell to get everyone’s attention. “Attention everyone! The judging is complete!” she called out in her sweet, melodious voice. The crowd gathered closer, and I struggled to get a spot near the front so I could see if I won or not. I was pushed and shoved around a little by people. I was almost knocked off balance, and fell heavily into someone, who grunted. I recognized that grunt.

I looked up into Vaughn’s face, rubbing my shoulder that I had hit on him. He stared at me for a moment. “You okay?”

I blushed furiously and nodded. “Somebody…pushed me into you.” He just shrugged and fixed his eyes on the judging table. Felicia was announcing the winners, and I came in at the bottom of the heap. I clacked my tongue in disappointment.

Vaughn looked over at me. “Don’t be disappointed.” I perked up, waiting to hear words of encouragement from him. “It just means that everyone else grew better vegetables. It’s as simple as that.” He pulled his hat low over his eyes and walked away.

I glared at his retreating figure. Taro walked up to me. “Don’t mind him. He’s just not good with people.” He reached up, patting me on the shoulder. “It’s only your first year growing crops. No one expected you to win. It will take a while to get the expertise necessary to grow award winning crops. It’s admirable that you even entered.”

I gave him a weak little smile, then looked off at Vaughn, who was standing several yards away, staring off into the distance. He must have felt me looking at him, because he slowly turned his head towards me. I tilted by chin up defiantly at him, and my heart fluttered when I caught a glimpse of a smile. Progress was slow, but I was getting somewhere.