Make Me Smile

Fishing for Compliments

Soon it was fall, and my life became a whirlwind of weeding, tilling, planting, and watering once again at the start of the season. I planted a long row of eggplant, and several patches of carrots. Once the initial busyness of that died down, I had a little more free time on my hands. Taro had given me an old fishing rod, and I soon found that I enjoyed fishing.

It was also a valuable aid in pursuing Vaughn. Instead of running around town like a chicken with my head cut off looking for him, I could camp out at one of his normal hangout places and fish, and wait for him to come to me. That way, it didn’t look like I was stalking him. Well, not as obviously anyway. Natalie still said I was acting pretty desperate, and I told her to go away and make out with her kindergarten boyfriend. She got mad at me, but finally laughed at it.

It was an unusually warm Wednesday, and I dipped my toes into the salty water as I fished off the pier. The afternoon sun beat down steadily on me, and I adjusted the bandanna on my head with one hand. I had already caught a bucket of fish, and I was pretty happy. Vaughn had yet to show up at the beach today, but I could wait.

Suddenly, a ferry boat appeared on the horizon. Within a few minutes, it had pulled up to the dock. I slipped my socks and shoes back on, and ran down the pier to meet it.

A young man who couldn’t be much older than me stepped off. He had dark wavy hair, tanned skin, and a purple bandanna. He carried a small suitcase, and a fishing pole. He grinned at me, and I smiled back at him. “Welcome to Sunny Island!” I said, waving hello.

“Thanks. The name’s Denny. I heard there was good fishing to be had on this island, so I’ve come to live here. I’ll be staying in that house there.” He gestured to the dilapidated shack on the shore. He must have seen the look on my face, because he chuckled heartily. “Oh, I know it looks pretty sad right now. I’ve already gotten in touch with Gannon, the carpenter, and he’ll be coming down soon to help me fix it up.” I nodded, and he set down his suitcase. “Well, until then, how about we do a little fishing?” he said, motioning at my rod.

We sat down on the wooden planks together, and cast our lines out. He told me about the last place he had lived, and I told him what kinds of fish I had been catching lately. I was grateful for the tips on fishing that he shared with me. I was so busy talking and laughing with Denny, that I didn’t even notice Vaughn’s arrival. It was only when I stood up to place my newest catch in the bucket that I saw him pacing the sand. I met eyes with him across the distance, and I swore I could detect a little glimmer of annoyance. I was thrilled inside. Could he be a little jealous? Jealous to see me laughing and talking with a man that wasn’t antisocial? I sat back down, making sure to laugh a little extra loud at the next thing Denny said.

It started to gnaw at me though. I didn’t want to give him the wrong impression. I mean, I wanted him to see that I was desirable enough that other men would talk to me, but I didn’t want to him to think that I was more interested in this new guy. So I turned my head, and wiggled my fingers at him in a silent hello. He looked perplexed for a moment, then lifted one open fingered gloved hand and wiggled his fingers back just slightly. He turned away quickly, but I could see that it made him smile. I bit my lip and turned back to the sea, trying to focus on my fishing.

But I kept thinking about him, wondering if he was still there, and after a few minutes I glanced over my shoulder again. He was still there, watching me, but he turned away and looked in the other direction when I looked at him. He pulled his hat lower down on his head, and crossed his arms over his chest. I returned my focus to the fishing pole, and this time I waited a little longer to look back at him. When I did, he was still standing with his arms crossed over his chest, acting like he was looking in another direction, but I could just see his eyes under the shade of his hat, and they were looking at me. I just smiled, and turned back around .

Denny laughed. “Is that guy your boyfriend?”

I blushed and shook my head. “No, just a guy that I like.”

“Well, it looks like he likes you too,” he chuckled, then we both squealed as he had a huge pull on his line. I got the net ready, and as he reeled in the large fish, I scooped it up. It thrashed in the net, splashing water on both of us. We laughed, and just then Gannon showed up to meet with Denny and work on his house. I said goodbye and picked up my bucket, then scanned the shore for Vaughn. He was nowhere to be seen. I sighed, lugging the bucket full of fish back home.

The next day, I was a little sick of fishing, so I set out for the forest to forage. I stumbled across Natalie and her new love interest, the sickeningly young looking Pierre, strolling through the woods, chatting about wild mushroom recipes. I just smirked and continued to hunt for wild plants, gathering many colored grasses, blue flowers, and shiitake mushrooms.

Once my pack was full, I headed for the main area of town. As I reached the path that led home, I hesitated. I was a little hungry, so I figured I’d go to the café first. I continued heading east. As I crossed the bridge, I spotted Vaughn, and my heart fluttered a little. I steadied my nerves, reminding myself to not act like a stupid little girl. I just walked up to him with a confident smile on my face.

As I got closer, I could tell something was wrong. He looked annoyed and distracted. “Where is it…?” he grumbled, pacing back and forth.

Just then, Denny came around the corner. “Hey, cowboy man! Why the long face?” he called out in his cheerful way.

Vaughn looked even more annoyed. “It’s none of your business.”

Denny grimaced. “Sorry, man. My bad.” He quietly retreated.

The words “What’s with the attitude?” hovered on my lips, but I thought better of it. “Did you lose something? Can I help you look for it?” I asked.

“I don’t need any help,” he growled. I cringed at his harsh tone, and he must have noticed because his face softened. “I…ah…I lost a box of my work gear,” he said in a not so gruff voice.

“Then I’ll help you find it,” I offered, and before he could refuse, I started searching as well. Pretty soon, I found it tucked away behind a nearby boulder. I picked it up and carried it to him.

He looked surprised and grateful. “Oh…thank you so much.” He caught himself, and his voice became more like usual. “Well, I could have found it myself.” I frowned at him, and he widened his eyes a little. “But, thanks again,” he said a little sheepishly, scratching the back of his neck.

“You’re welcome,” I said, and then I continued on to the café. I was very surprised to discover it was positively crowded outside. Apparently, there was going to be a cow festival in town tomorrow, and these were tourists and ranchers from other cities arriving early for the event. I sat at the only unoccupied table in the place, a two seater booth. The waitress came to take my order, and on a whim, I ordered porridge, remembering seeing Vaughn eat it the last time I was in here. It must hold some appeal if he liked it, so it was worth a try. The waitress left, and I sipped at my water, watching the buzzing crowd interacting with one another.

The café door opened, and Vaughn stepped through the door. His eyes quickly scanned the bustling café, and he scowled, starting to leave. I caught his eye and gave a little wave, gesturing to the unoccupied seat across from me. He hesitated for a moment, then walked forward. He slid into the booth, looking down at his hands silently. I looked at them too. I liked his black fingerless gloves. We sat in silence for a few minutes, and then the waitress arrived, placing the bowl of porridge in front of me. Vaughn looked up at the waitress. “I’ll have what she’s having.” She left to fill his order.

Vaughn then looked at me, raising his eyebrows and smirking. “So… I thought only characters in fairy tales eat that.”

I pushed the spoon around in the bowl. “Maybe I like fairy tales,” I mumbled.

He just smirked some more and leaned back in the booth, the vinyl creaking. He watched me eat the porridge, and I blushed, self conscious. “Don’t…don’t stare at me while I’m eating,” I said, embarrassed.

“Oh, I’m just returning the favor,” he said, and I started to protest, realizing he was jabbing at me staring at him the last time, but the waitress arrived just then with his bowl, so I said nothing. I just huffed and continued to eat.

We were silent for a while. He suddenly spoke. “So, do you like it?”

I gave him a little smile. “Yeah…it’s sort of bland, but in a good way, if that makes any sense.”

He nodded. “I know what you mean.” He quickly finished his food, placed some money on the table, and stood to go. “See you at the cow festival tomorrow,” he said without looking at me, then departed.

I just nodded and watched him go, blushing furiously. Oh, I was definitely going to be there.