Jayamos

Farmer
15 Spring Y6
It's rainy, so it's a relief to go to the desert festival. Seb puts in an appearance first and reports that hanging out under palm trees is not his thing. He says he's still getting used to being a father—me, too, Seb, so much—but he's happy to stay home, so I'm free to go as much as I want.
And I do want. I have a great time. There's so much to do there. I lose money on Shoebiscuit, but they're pretty adorable hopping doggedly around the racecourse. I can't resist Emily's booth, even though her sense of my aura is not my sense of my aura. Mayoral suspenders? I like the hat, though... and she does give me some ideas about the next election. I take so long going around all the booths that I don't have time to take Marlon up on his challenge.

16 Spring
There was this tremendous whoosh and crash last night and before I head back to the desert I discover the pigs and cows wandering around an enormous meteorite in the meadow. So there was a meteorite headed my way. I hope this is the only meteorite involved, or if being a parent is like having a meteorite crash into my life, may it be as easy to deal with as this one.
Today I save some time to try Marlon's challenge at the desert festival. But there are so many purple slimes I think about Marlon's other goals and spend my time fighting monsters instead of heading down... which gets me into big trouble after I don't eat when I should and get attacked by serpents.
"Getting off to a quick start, I see," Harvey says drily when I come back around.
"uurrrgggg..." I say. "Um, maybe I was premature."
"How are your cows producing? You shouldn't breast feed for at least 24 hours after a serpent attack. Or slimes, for that matter. The antidote works, or you wouldn't be here, but it takes your system a little while to clear that stuff out."
But there's milk in the fridge and Seb happily discovers a knack for bottle feeding.* I'll have to ask Robin if she can put together a rocking chair. There doesn't seem to be one in the catalogue.

17 Spring
I get home late from the desert festival and Seb says sleepily, "You're wearing your mining gear again?"
"Yeah, Marlon had an offer I couldn't refuse," I say, climbing out of it.
I am not nearly as banged up this time. Shoebiscuit won. Emily's outfit actually looks good on me this time. And Seb not only doesn't give me a hard time, he pulls me close and says, "I'm glad you're home safe." So, a nice day.

18 Spring
Seb's been awfully preoccupied by how Herc smells in the mornings. Finally I say, "I don't think a bath is the issue."
"Fine, but I've been changing him a lot while you've been festivating, and honestly I wish you'd do more of it."
"Why didn't you just say so? I can take mornings and bedtimes and nights." So that's what we do, plus I'm on call on Fridays at the least.

19 Spring
Seb was willing to be home for a while in late afternoon, oysters have been attained, and now there is a happy—and apparently lustful—raccoon. I wish him luck. On the way I run into Penny bringing Jas home, and tell her we might have George to contend with. "Really?" Penny says. "I don't think he likes me very much. Plus I am really not expert in teaching dyslexics."
"Maybe they could go into Zuzu City?"
"I wonder if there's a remote option...I'll look into it," she says.
With Herc in the house I'm on baby duty while Seb's at the saloon this evening. I'll have saloon night on Saturdays so the Three Musketeers can have their pool night, which is better in a way, because I'd rather buy Harvey a coffee than Pierre a beer. But I miss walking home with Seb.

20 Spring
Shane gets a birthday... pizza. And his face lights up just like old times. He's in a good mood tonight and we get to talking about chickens and the next thing you know, he says, "And you've got a chicken coop, right? All different colors? With a couple of my blue chickens?" I immediately feel on shaky ground, but Marnie could have told him what kinds of chickens I have. So I say yes, and he says, "And I feel like one of them is called Forgetmenot," and I feel stabbed in the heart, because I doubt Marnie told him that.
"Um, yeah," I manage.
He looks me in the eye—and he is stone cold sober as far as I can tell—and says, "So how do I know that? And... I feel like I was taking care of them. Like I was living there. Like we were married."
I sigh. I could just lie, but I'm a terrible liar. Better to just have it out, and if he hates me forever, he hates me forever.
I am an occasional hedger, however. "Um, we were. But you kind of... forgot."
"Forgot," he says, and his face twists up. "I mean, I knew I've been hard on my liver, but did the alcohol really do that to my brain?"
"No!" I say. I can't have him thinking he's got some kind of dementia. "Um, there's this way I could make you forget. And we were worried! Lots of us! We didn't want you all depressed! So... I thought you'd be happier just not... remembering. Knowing. Being all upset."
"Well, I'm upset now," he says, staring into Gus's finest homebrewed ginger ale. "I don't know how I feel. So... you loved me? And I loved you?"
"We did. And honestly..." even if he hates me forever, I want to let him know this, "I will never stop caring about you. It's just, I think I work better as your friend rather than your wife."
"My friend?" he says. "It's a weird friendship where you know a bunch of things I don't know about myself. I... I really like you, at least I did like you, I've had fun hanging out with you, but I can't take this in."
"Okay," I say, because that's really all I can say, and I go home the long way so I can get my head on right before I get back home. If Seb is upset about me helping Alex and family, he's really not going to do well with me being heartbroken again over Shane.

*On Planet Earth, cow milk is not the best thing for human babies. But we are in Stardew Valley, where it's fine.
 

Jayamos

Farmer
24 Spring Y6
Seb does not want to go to the Flower Dance. He mentions hating the jumpsuit, and I say, "But you look hot in it! But I can live without seeing you in it."
"You look hot in your overalls, you farmer, you," he says.
So we stay home and have a leisurely morning. Then I go up to the mines for fiber and slimes. Yesterday he wanted to be out and about, and I was a little irked, because I wanted to try out my fancy new dwarf statue powers, but I didn't say anything because he deserves some time after staying home during practically the entire Desert Festival.
On the way I pick up enough leeks for Evelyn's happiness, but I can't give them to her because... festival. So I'll do it tomorrow.
When I get home, I check on the heavy furnaces I crafted yesterday, and they are AWESOME. I look at the stacks of ore I haven't managed to smelt and I think, with two slime hutches and all these furnaces and plenty of crystallaria, how much mining do I really need to do? We could be making still more money really easily.
But I still have to be able to get in and out of the slime hutches without endangering myself.

25 Spring Y5
I drop off the leeks and Evelyn tells me her gift wrap plan. She's willing to wait till Saturday once I explain the baby situation. Which is good, because I don't want to ask Seb to change his plans because of the Mullner family.

26 Spring Y6
Hercules is standing up! "How's my big strong boy?" I say, and start wondering how soon I could start showing him how to use a dagger. First he has to be big enough not to fall on it. I pick him up and swing him around and up and down and he really is a bundle of joy.

27 Spring Y6
George was initially suspicious, but he perked up quite a bit once he saw the first leek. I took the opportunity to tell him and Evelyn that yes, the foundation is happy to sponsor both George and Alex, but will take a little time to find a tutor who is experienced with multiple generations. Which is... the truth, slightly massaged.
Then I go blow up the quarry, finally. It's not quite as fun alone. It doesn't yield nearly as well as a good Skull Cavern Run, but it's another thing that has me thinking that maybe I could be more of a home body and not live quite so strenuously. But I like imagining all three of us, Seb and Herc and me, enjoying the bangs and the flying rock chips and picking up treasures from the ground. OK, I guess I shouldn't be in a hurry to expose my newly upright son to flying rock chips. And I should get myself ear plugs.
I do a quick in and out at the bar to give Emily an emerald and exchange a hug. I give Shane his space—he just glances up and then quickly down at what I hope is artisanal ginger ale.
When I get home Seb says, "Ah, the sexy smell of cordite... and patchouli? What's up with that?"
I explain about the emerald and he relaxes. Whew. But when he asks about my day I find myself editing. No Mullners. No dyslexia saga. No Shane. I just tell him about how I might not need to do as much mining once I hit my slime quota, and he is appreciative and has ideas, and pretty soon we're talking up a storm about possible plans, like the ideal ratio of furnaces to crystallaria. So I guess it's all OK.
 
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