Love Is The Best Medicine (Stardew Valley - Harvey)

Chapter 38 - Tell Me More

It all came a bit quick. The farm was demanding, it needed watering and the crops needed harvesting. The animals needed feeding and the eggs needed collecting. But the rest of the Valley seemed to need you.

Lewis had phoned, he was enquiring about the community centre and its restoration. Leah had been calling discussing wedding arrangements. Harvey had just received news about his father being unwell. Each one demanding your attention in some way. You had only just gotten over the whole will fiasco. A holiday would have been exactly what you needed this summer.

Balancing those demands was harder than you initially thought it would be. When you first moved to Pelican Town, you had all the time in the world. Now you had barely any.

You sat down on the sofa, Harvey joining you. He looked somewhat defeated. You felt the need to ask about his parents to fully understand the situation. Harvey seemed to be open to informing you anyways.

"I don't see my parents very often." He began, an upset expression beginning to form on his face. "My father was a surgeon, my mother was a nurse. They pressured me into being a doctor. I couldn't be a surgeon with my weak eyes, to my dad's disappointment."

The realisation hit you like a ten tonne truck. Harvey didn't have a choice with what he did, his parents already had plans for him. He was trying to skip ahead as quickly as possible to get to the point.

"My parents were comfortable financially due to my father's wage, my mother quit her job once she married my dad. They met at the hospital they both worked at, of course." Harvey rolled his eyes. The underlying contempt towards his parents was visible through his tone of voice and subtle facial expressions. "My father spent the majority of my childhood at work alongside his young female nurses, my mother spent it next to a bottle of whiskey, meaning I spent most of time with my nanny. I had no siblings." Harvey seemed to pause and reflect, a sadness visible in his eyes. His childhood sounded cold and unloving, and now he carried the trauma that went with it.

"They paid for my medical degree. But after 24 years in and around the city, I decided I didn't want to go anywhere near it for a lifetime. I cut loose, travelled to every small town south of the city. On my 50th attempt, I found the Pelican Town clinic. I started as an intern to the original town doctor, Mr Ridley." Harvey finished, his eyes sunken.

"The man that was on Lewis' list when I first moved here..." You said to yourself quietly, everything making sense finally. Harvey's story sounded extremely familiar to yours. You had also cut loose from the city, deciding that it wasn't meant for you. You took a gamble moving to Stardew Valley, but it was worth it.

"And now, he's gone and had a stroke. And I suppose I should be sad. My mother's expecting a visit from me." A silence hung in the air. You were also reflecting upon Harvey's story, trying to come up with some sort of answer for him. Instead of words, you opted for a hug, wrapping your arms around him. He was taken aback, but seemingly relieved, wrapping his arms back around you.

"That sounds really hard, you should have told me sooner, I would have listened to you." You weakly smiled, rubbing his shoulder in a reassuring manner. He smiled in response, contemplating his foolishness for keeping his emotions bottled up for so long.

"Look, I might have to go up to the city to see my father for a day or two. You don't mind do you?" He asked quietly. "Like I'd ever have a rejection for that." You tutted. Harvey chuckled to himself, standing up and walking towards the kitchen. "You're a good girl Evangeline, I'm not sure how I got so lucky."

You smiled in his direction, feeling appreciated, something you hadn't felt very often in the city. "Harv." You began, your eyes looking towards him in a pleading manner. "Yes?" He replied, turning back to look at you. "I'll come with you."

Harvey shook his head. "It's best you don't. My parents resent me for moving, it could turn awkward or worse, my worst nightmare." Harvey rolled his eyes in spite of his parents, but seemed appreciative of your support anyways.

"Let me." You demanded. "Remember the Levi situation? I bottled it within me until it made me ill. I refused help, something of which you'll never fully forgive me for." Harvey's gaze weakened, his mind recalling the torture you went through. "A problem shared-"

"Is a problem halved." Harvey finished your sentence, walking back towards you. "Okay, you can come with me." He announced, kissing your cheek. You felt your mind finally put to rest, knowing he wasn't going to be doing this alone. Another trip to the city had come around quicker than you thought it would.
-
Boarding the train with a small bag of clothes and other necessities, you sat down by the window. The slight breeze that was squeezing its way through the old carriage windows was a peaceful solitude on a particularly scorching summer day.

The train rattled as it moved along the tracks. Looking opposite of you, Harvey was engrossed in a book about heart conditions, something of which he suspected his father had due to his stroke. His deep and detailed reading of a subject he already knew so much about proved to you that somewhere, down deep, he still cared about his father. You smiled to yourself as you watched him take notes in a small notebook to the left of him.

Gazing back outside to the rolling hills, you felt more at ease travelling to the city than before. You knew that metaphorically nothing could hurt you there like it could have before. The feeling was calm and neutral.

There were some nerves within you
however, as this would be the first time you'd meet his parents, a crucial step in a relationship. Although, you were unsure of how they might treat you due to what you had heard from Harvey.

Lifting your head you turned back to him. "Harv, do your parents know I exist?" You questioned, he barely looked up from his book. "They know of your existence, yes, but remember, I don't really want much to do with them." He replied, blunt and monotone, trying to carry on reading.

"Well, they will treat me nicely, right?" You asked, your face in a slight frown. "If they don't, we won't be staying, but hopefully they will. It's just me they have the problem with." He sighed, closing his book and gazing out the window as well. He looked defeated, almost as if he knew he was a disappointment to his family.

Once again, a situation that was very similar to yours. Your family were disappointed in you when you left your well paid job to pursue life in the Valley. They were even more distraught when you left Levi, so much so that they took his side. You knew you'd be haunted for the rest of your life with how quickly they had turned against you.

But this was now, and right now you needed to support Harvey. The sunlight on his face was beautiful to look at, and you couldn't help but admire him when he wasn't looking.

Soon, the train pulled into the station. It was time to venture back into the city for a day.