"You laid an egg!"
Maria had been in the middle of the routine she'd developed for summer mornings; wake up at six, fill Orion's water bowl, make a quick breakfast, water the crops, and once the chickens have been given time to wake up she'd go in the coop to check on them and fill their troughs with food and water.
Today however there was a surprise awaiting her. Two eggs had been left upon the bundles of hay and grass she'd put inside the nest box, a simple one Marnie had taught her how to build ("Oh it's simple really! Just get some slabs of wood and hammer them together to make a box, leave one of the sides open and fill it with some hay, the chickens will wanna lay in it like it's a bed since it'll certainly be cozier since that wood floor. If you're lucky you'll start getting those morning eggs in no time!").
And sure enough, there they were. They were small of course, it was to be expected for the girls' first lays, but Maria was proud nonetheless. "Ladies, these look wonderful. Impeccable timing too since it's my birthday, I'm going to pretend you two knew and this is your guys' gift to me," she explained, placing her hands on her hips and looking down at the two birds.
Cygnus merely chirped in response and dashed off towards the food trough, no doubt ready to stuff her beak with feed. Corvus on the other hand stepped closer to Maria and pressed her little head against the farmer's leg, cheeping sweetly before leaving to walk outside of the chicken door that Maria had opened minutes before.
After cleaning up after the two chickens and carefully collecting the two brown eggs and placing them in her basket she headed back to her own farmhouse, continuing to check off items on her mental to-do list. She'd budgeted out that due to her recent harvest of melons she'd soon have enough for that house upgrade she so desperately needed. All she had to do was sell one more harvest of hot peppers, which her current batch would be ripe in just two days' time, and she'd be set. She could survive off of fish she caught for another while until she had the spare reserves to buy meals from Gus at the saloon again.
She was more than excited for the upgrade as well. She needed more space, a kitchen, a fixed bathroom, and air conditioning. Yoba, did she need air conditioning. The summer air was not letting up and the weatherman had forecasted that a heat wave would be coming within the next week meaning somehow it was going to get even hotter.
After checking on the crab pots she'd put in the pond in the southern part of her farm and preening the stalks of her blueberry bushes she retired into the farmhouse. It was nearly noon and the last thing she wanted was to be a sweaty, exhausted mess before the birthday party Leah was throwing her.
Leah had been planning a get together in the saloon this evening, all in Maria's honor. Though she hadn't been told many of the details, she could only assume a majority of the town would be there, especially since it was her first birthday in the valley. All she'd been informed of was to show up at five o'clock sharp, no sooner, no later.
The farmer was excited, after all the last time she'd had a party of her own was when she was in her early teens. Yet, she couldn't help feeling a tad disappointed whenever her thoughts wandered off to what awaited her in the evening. She knew why she was feeling this way, she just didn't want to admit it.
Elliott wouldn't be there to help celebrate, and she felt so incredibly selfish for being upset that he was away. She'd been mentally bickering with herself ever since he'd left the day before, half of her brain argued that it was okay if she was sad he was gone, while the other persisted that her being upset over his absence was selfish and a disregard of the fact that he was gone for a good reason.
She knew neither argument was totally correct, but she still couldn't help that nagging feeling of guilt that settled in the back of her mind.
They'd said goodbye the day before, Maria was actually quite surprised to see her writer friend stood at the entrance of her farm with a small suitcase in hand.
She remembered their conversation clearly: they'd exchanged hellos and he let her know he wouldn't have very much time to talk as the next bus to Zuzu City was mere minutes away, she'd complimented him on his hair (teasingly, as it was soaking wet from what she could only assume was a last minute shower), he complimented her on her outfit (which had notably been caked in dirt at the time), she'd given him her phone number and asked that he text her once he got to his hotel room, he assured her he'd stay in contact, then the pair said goodbye. They hugged for quite a long time yet the farmer found herself yearning for more as she watched him retreat down the beaten dirt path and towards the bus stop.
Hours after their encounter and true to his word, Maria received a text from Elliott as she'd been getting ready for bed. 'Safe and sound and positively cozy in my hotel room. Shaking off my nerves by indulging in a small amount of wine and watching that cooking program you showed me weeks ago. The premade food still peeves me but the show's host has an infectious personality so it's still rather entertaining. Regardless, I hope you have a lovely evening and night and dream some lovely birthday dreams -Elliott'.
There were many things about this text that charmed Maria. The fact that he brought up 'Queen of Sauce' and noted it was something she'd introduced him to, the mention of 'birthday dreams', and the way he signed his name at the end of the message despite already having his name saved in her contact list.
She'd quickly sent him a reply, unable to wipe off the little grin that played on her lips the entire time she typed. 'Very glad to hear that you're safe, though make sure you don't indulge in too much of that wine, I'm not sure it'd be a great first impression to the publishers if you showed up to the meeting hungover. Enjoy Queen of Sauce but be sure to get plenty of sleep, you'll need to be rested up before the big day. Sweet dreams future author :p'.
After sending her message she'd drifted off to sleep with a smile on her face. A part of her was oddly sad when she woke up to no messages, but she reasoned it out with the fact that she woke up at six and was likely up before anyone she knew.
The creak of wood beneath her feet shook her out of her memories and she pushed those thoughts back as she untied her boots. She left the shoes outside her door, they'd been muddied from her quick trip to the pond.
"Orion?" she asked aloud as she pushed the door open, peering around her home. When she'd left this morning he'd been curled up at the end of her bed, but now the Burmese was nowhere to be seen. A shrill meow caught her attention and she turned around to see the cat sat at the bottom of her wooden porch.
"Wha- how did you get there?" she stammered, moving her leg aside so he could trot inside the house ahead of her. "... Little weirdo," she muttered, flicking on the switch for the rickety old fan that Robin had given her.
It slowly whirred to life, it's plastic blades creating a dull buzzing sound as they spun in fast circles to create a current. The farmer pulled up a stool close to the fan and plopped down atop it, sitting quietly and happily letting the rush of cool air wash over her.
Just as she got accustomed to the man-made breeze though, a sudden ringing from her phone filled the room. It was persistent, meaning someone was trying to call her. With a groan she got up from her seat, having to ignore the way her body ached and begged to rest.
Making her way over to the coffee table, she was able to see that her phone's lit up screen read Camilla, meaning her older sister was calling. After a quick mental debate she sighed and picked up her phone, pressing her thumb against the green answer button and holding it against her ear.
" Hola, niña! Feliz cumpleaños~" was what immediately came through as soon as she answered. She recognized her sister's voice, a bit loud though still smooth. Authoritative even when speaking cheerful Spanish, which came with the territory of being the eldest sibling.
"Hey, sis," Maria answered back, cringing at how awkward she sounded. She hated having phone calls, you could never see the other person's face meaning she never knew how the other person actually felt, and she was terrible at judging tone through voice, "thanks by the way, I appreciate it."
"You know I could not go without telling my favorite baby sister happy birthday," Camilla teased, making the farmer roll her eyes.
"Do you go around telling the twins that I'm your favorite sister?"
"The twins are not sisters, they are... an entity," she answered jokingly, pulling a small laugh out of Maria.
"Fair," she hummed, sitting back on her love seat as she kept the phone pressed to her ear, "anyways, did you only call to wish me a happy birthday? Not that I don't wanna talk, but this was kind of out of the blue."
"Just wanted to check in on you, say happy birthday, and I want to know how grandpa's farm is doing. Made any progress?"
A small smile quirked at Maria's lips upon hearing this. Aside from the occasional phone call from her mother, no one else had shown interest in her new life. Straightening up, she jumped into an excited explanation, "really good, actually! Summer's been really good to me so far; my crops are profitable, I've got some chickens that have started laying eggs for me, and I'm planning on getting some major renovations done on the farmhouse soon-"
"... eso es sorprendente..."
Her sister's muttered words shook the farmer momentarily. Her smile dropped and her brow furrowed, "s-surprising? Qué... what do you mean..?"
Camilla laughed on the other end of the call, and the very sound irked Maria. "Oh you sweet summer child." Another laugh. "I am proud of course, it's just surprising is all... no one really expected you to make the farm work out, you know?"
She bit the inside of her cheek, grip on her phone tightening. "No. I don't know," she mumbled, words sounding more bitter than she'd intended.
"I'm pretty sure Bernardo and Carlos were making bets with my husband about when you'd come back home," Camilla continued, "we were all very surprised when you just wanted to leave after all. Your job seemed fine, and I know you'd just broken up with Taylor but everything was going smoothly for you. She's been asking about you, by the way, did you ever even tell her you left the city? I think she wants to try and get together again, she was very sweet I'm sure the two of you could make it work out-"
"I have to go, Camilla," Maria quickly interjected, sick to her stomach of this conversation already.
"Mar-"
Her sister was barely able to get another word in before she spat a short 'bye' and hung up, dropping her phone on the coach and groaning loudly. She felt hot, hotter than before, with rage stirring in her mind as her sister's words played back in her mind over and over again.
"... they never change, do they?" she sighed, wiping away fat tears that'd gathered in her eyes before pulling herself up off of the love seat.
Running a hand through her hair, she puffed out an annoyed sigh and eyed Orion who'd claimed her coffee table and stretched his slick body across it. Kneeling, she got down onto the floor so she was eye level with the feline, who blinked his big, blue eye curiously.
"You believe in me, right? You think I can be a good farmer?" she asked sincerely.
In response the Burmese meowed and reached a paw out, tapping her nose repeatedly. "... I'll take that as a yes," she mumbled, laughing quietly, "now then, mister, help me figure out how to pass time until it's five o'clock."
...
A frown tugged on Elliott's lips as he ran a brush through his hair. "You promised Maria you'd return in time to celebrate her birthday, yet here you are getting ready for dinner with your parents instead," he muttered, glaring at himself in the mirror as he got dressed.
His day had gone quite well. The meeting with the publishers went swimmingly and he'd signed a deal that would have him revising his book and making one final edit which would be published. The novel would go into production and he'd be able to start doing public readings and signings within Spring of the following year. If sales were good they'd even sign him for a tour of the book, which was spectacular as he'd be a first time author.
He was ecstatic and had been more than ready to jump on the next bus to Pelican Town and tell Maria the good news- until he'd received a phone call from his mother. It was entirely casual, simply her calling to check in on her only child. When he confessed to being in the city she was aghast, feigning hurt over him not letting her know in advance he'd be in the area.
Next thing he knew he'd been roped into attending an early dinner with his parents, and it wasn't as though he could just turn them down, it'd been over a year since he'd seen either in person. So he'd booked another night at his hotel, more than grateful that they'd been happy to accommodate his last minute request.
"I'm sure she'll understand, she's always been quite gracious," he reasoned, mostly thinking aloud as he set down the brush and adjusted his green tie, "I'll have to buy her a gift to make it up to her. Perhaps some window shopping is in order, she deserves something nice."
Flicking his eyes over to the digital clock beside the bed, his eyes widened when he saw it was nearly four o'clock, meaning his parents were no doubt already waiting for him in the hotel lobby. 'Let's attempt to not let down more than one person today, yes?' he thought to himself, grabbing his belongings and room key before heading out the door.
'Hopefully she's still having a lovely birthday... she really does deserve it...'
...
When Leah had told Maria she'd planned a 'get together' she was grossly understating the event.
Practically everyone in town was packed into the saloon, and if they weren't there to help celebrate then they were just one of Gus' regulars.
She'd cleaned up a bit, after all it would probably be smart to look her best since all the attention would be on her this evening. Her hair was freshly washed, hanging in loose ringlets over her shoulders and she'd thrown on a loose-fitting blue sundress that subtly flared out at her waist.
As soon as she stepped into the saloon she was greeted by a fanfare of 'surprise!' as the townsfolk all hopped up to greet her.
"Hey there, birthday girl," Leah beamed, stepping up to Maria as she shut the door behind her, "I'm going to let you know now, the bill's already been covered so order as much food and buy as many drinks as you want, it's your day today."
The farmer blushed as she looked around the packed building; on the circle table closest to the door was a layered cake, coated in light green buttercream frosting with little icing details that were drawn to resemble a cute, minuscule model of a farm. She was easily able to assume that Evelyn had baked the cake, perhaps with some artistic input from Leah.
Evelyn herself sat at the next table over, sharing a plate of fried mushrooms with her husband George who looked less than thrilled to have been dragged out of the house. Their grandson Alex was leaning against the bar, his arm wrapped around Haley's waist as the two spoke to her sister Emily who as always was bar tending. Gus passed by, shouting a quick greeting to Maria as he set down two plates of spaghetti for Robin and Demetrius who were sitting close to the jukebox.
Pam and Shane were in their usual spots, drinking their respective drinks and generally ignoring the festivities taking place around them. Penny was notably absent, but so were Jas and Vincent so it could only be assumed that the teacher was watching over the two children. Caroline and Pierre were both seated at the bar, both waving politely to the farmer (who'd become one of their most frequent customers).
Clint and Willy shared a booth, having a quiet discussion over their mugs of beer. Marnie and Lewis were, as per usual, seated close together in the corner of the saloon. Maria spied Jodi, who was standing besides Sam and attempting to smooth back his hair despite his protests. Sebastian and Abigail were nearby, quietly laughing at their friend as they set up musical equipment in the side room. Maru was even there, which shocked the farmer since she was sure she'd never seen her inside the saloon before, though she was chatting casually with Doctor Harvey.
"Leah, this is a lot of people," the farmer whispered nervously, just loud enough for her friend to hear.
The sculptor nodded and gently placed her hand on Maria's shoulder, rubbing small circles to sooth her, "I know, but they're all here for you. It's sort of a big deal since it's your first birthday here and all. We can take it slow, I'll make sure nobody swarms you, and while we socialize it'll give the band enough time to set up. Sounds good?"
So Sam, Sebastian, and Abigail were going to be performing, how nice. The three had told her about their band before, though they hadn't had too many in-person gigs they had garnered a small online following by posting covers.
"Uh, yea that sounds good. Where should we start?" Maria agreed after a moment of thought, well aware of the multiple pairs of eyes focused on her.
The next three hours were a blur of conversing, eating, drinking, and many, many birthday toasts being made in her name. By the time she'd looped back around she'd also accumulated a collection of gifts: A hand-sewn patch of a fairy rose from Emily which Maria promised to pin on one of her jackets; a small booklet of photographs taken by Haley that showed her farm's progress and had pictures of the farmer at both the Egg Festival and Flower Dance; a packet of coupons for Pierre's shop (Caroline had looked quite embarrassed when her husband handed them over); a cleaning kit to keep all of her tools in pristine condition from Clint; a bottle of Robin and Demetrius' favorite strawberry wine; a bag full of freshly baked cookies and biscuits from Evelyn; a sealed envelope containing Gus' recipes for hashbrowns, pancakes, tortillas, and triples shot espressos; a box of shimmering fishing tackles and spinners from Willy; a key chain with a round, cartoonishly adorable chicken hanging on the end of it from Shane (he'd begrudgingly called the farmer over as she'd been walking around, mentioned how much Jas spoke about her and how she'd wanted him to give the farmer a gift since she wouldn't be at the party); and finally from Leah was a small owl statue carved from wood which resembled the tattoo behind Maria's ear to a T.
Maria was feeling overwhelmed- in a good way. She didn't want to seem ungrateful, because she wasn't by any means, but the sudden support and kindness that everyone had suddenly shown her was jarring.
She found Leah in the crowd and tapped her on the shoulder, "hey, I'll be right back, just need a quick breather. When's the band gonna start playing?"
"In fifteen minutes is when the set starts, but they'll be warming up soon," Leah quickly answered, "are you okay though? Need anyone to go outside with you?"
The farmer quickly shook her head, "no, I'll be fine. It's just stuffy in here, I'll try and be quick."
The sculptor nodded and Maria practically dashed out of the saloon, opening and closing the front door as fast as possible. She leaned against the wood of the building, the nighttime providing a cool breeze that washed over her and calmed her racing thoughts.
Her heart was pounding in her chest and she swayed momentarily. 'Yoba, what on Earth is wrong with me? I need to sit down' she muttered inwardly, stepping onto the cobblestone paths and making her way to a trio of benches not too far away.
As soon as she sat down she pulled her phone out, squinting her eyes as it's bright screen flashed up at her. Without thinking her finger pressed the call button and she hovered over a certain name momentarily: Elliott's.
'Should I... what if he's busy? I wouldn't want to intrude...' she mulled over in her mind, hesitating to press the button, ' he wouldn't be mad if I called though... he'd understand if I needed to talk.'
Before she could continue to doubt herself she tapped the screen and lifted the phone to her ear. One ring. Then a second. A third. She momentarily thought about just hanging up, but then the ringing stopped.
"Hello?"
A shaky, relieved sigh escaped Maria before she could stop it, simply hearing his voice did so much to calm her nerves. "H-hi," she stammered, "you're not busy, are you?"
"I've just returned to my hotel," he answered, "I apologize for not having returned today like I'd promised. My parents reached out at the last minute and invited me to dinner, it's been so long since I've seen them I couldn't turn them down."
"No worries, I understand," she mumbled, unable to help the way her voice wavered.
Elliott paused on the other end of the call for just a moment before speaking up once more, "Maria, are you alright?"
"Y-yea I'm good," she quickly replied, cursing the way her unsure tone of voice betrayed her, "I'm all good... um... how'd the meeting go?"
"I'll tell you about my meeting once you confess how you're actually feeling," he asserted, "the way you're speaking does not sound like the voice of a person who is 'good'."
She bit the inside of her cheek, annoyed that he was so easily able to read her despite not even being there, "it's... nothing, I'm just being stupid."
"Maria," Elliott began, and the serious way in which he spoke her name gave her goosebumps, "I can assure you that whatever you may be feeling right now is entirely and wholly valid. Do you remember what we discussed in your home after the Egg Festival?"
The farmer blushed as she thought back to that day, and specifically the tattoo incident, before laughing nervously, "I remember certain things about that day in vivid detail, but yes I know what conversation you're talking about."
"What I promised then holds true even now. You can tell me anything, you're free to confide in me and I will do everything in my power to aid you in feeling better. I cannot force you, but I do want to help regardless," he explained gently.
Maria sniffled. She'd gone teary eyed without realizing and quickly wiped her eyes as she cleared her throat, "I'm feeling... very emotional. It's been a weird day, but the party Leah planned has been nice. I don't know what happened but when I was given birthday gifts I got really overwhelmed and I don't know why. I mean I know I'm not exactly accustomed to positive reinforcement, and everyone in town has just been so kind to me? It was a lot to take in..."
Elliott hummed thoughtfully as she spoke, "may I ask, when was the last time you had a proper birthday celebration with your own family and friends?"
The farmer scoffed, rolling her eyes momentarily, "aside from the standard 'happy birthday' text or phone call my family hasn't done anything with me in years. It's not like I actively wanna beg for gifts, if I need something I can buy it myself, but it would've been nice to go out to dinner with them? Be invited back home to spend the evening with them, y'know? But... that never happened."
"I hate to say this but I'm afraid that the more you tell me about your family, the less I like," she hears Elliott mumble, "I'm aware that may be an unfair assumption as I've yet to meet any of your family, so perhaps I shall reserve my judgement."
Maria giggled quietly, "are you suggesting that you'd like to meet my family, Elliott?"
She heard him stutter and let out a deep sigh, "I'm going to momentarily ignore that statement to a say point I'd meant to make earlier. However, as I said before, your emotions are entirely valid. What you're feeling is not wrong, by any means. You've lacked kindness in your life that you so desperately deserved, it's only natural to be overwhelmed when exposed to so much goodwill.
"My only suggestion is to simply enjoy yourself. Return to your party and dance the night away, lose yourself in the music, and forget any worries. Allow yourself to experience the tenderness in life that you've earned. Because you have earned this Maria, and don't you dare convince yourself that you haven't. You're one of the kindest, sweetest, most hard working people I've ever had the honor of knowing and damn if you don't deserve to have a brilliant birthday, and I'm cursing myself for not being at your side to help you celebrate."
Maria bit down on her lip, stopping sobs that threatened to rack her throat as her vision grew blurry, tears dripping down her cheeks. Her grip on her phone tightened as she attempted to regain her composure, and she blinked her eyes quickly in an attempt to clear the tears. "T-thank you," she mumbled, "and before you ask yes I'm crying, but it's good tears. Again. You've got to stop making me cry, it's not fair."
Elliott let out a good-hearted chuckle on the other end of the line, "Apologies, though you should probably be returning to your party now, I'm sure they're asking about you in there."
"Hey I thought you were gonna tell me about your meeting," the farmer pouted, wiping her cheeks with the back of her palm.
"I believe I'd prefer to tell you in person, there's specific details that I'd like to see your physical reaction to," he answered, and she could hear the cheeky smile that must've been playing on his lips, "I plan on riding the earliest bus to Pelican Town in the morning, and that's a promise I intend on keeping this time. Nothing else could possibly keep me in Zuzu City at this point, besides, I have a certain gift I need to deliver."
"Elliott Whittaker, you will not buy me anything in the city," Maria countered.
"I'm afraid it's too late to be telling me this, as it's already been bought," he replied smoothly.
She groaned, "Fine, I'll just be sure to get you something even better for your birthday come this Fall."
The writer chuckled, "I'll be looking forward to it. I'll let you go now, you've got a party to enjoy."
"Alright," she sighed somewhat sadly, "I'll be seeing you tomorrow then. Have a good night, yeah?"
"You as well, enjoy the birthday festivities and get plenty of rest once you're home. Good night," he murmured.
Maria hesitated before hanging up on the call. She stared at the phone for a few moments, thinking, before the door to the saloon was swung open.
"You alright out here?" a voice called out, and she was quickly able to tell that it was Leah.
The farmer nodded her head as she turned to look back, "yeah, a lot better now actually."
"Then come back inside, the band's about to start and Abigail's begging to be able to dedicate the first song to you."
A grin made its way onto Maria's face and she jumped up off of the bench.
Elliott was right, and she'd be damned if she didn't get to enjoy herself for once in her life. And once she was back inside the saloon, dancing happily to the upbeat music the trio played, it was still the brilliant writer who stuck in the back of her mind and his words that never faded away.
...
Extra doodle, Maria's (exaggerated) reaction to all her gifts: