Forgetting

Chapter 2

"Hello, there!" I hear Chelsea exclaim. Across the dining room, she holds out her hand for Denny to shake. "I'm Chelsea. I'm the new farmer."

Denny accepts her hand, shaking it vigorously. "I'm Denny. Good t' meetcha!" Even Popper introduces himself, offering a cheery squawk. "This little guy is Popper."

I turn my attention away from their idle chit chat. I swirl the remainder of my milk in my mug, which was now lukewarm. I drink it anyway. Pointless to let it go to waste. The clock on the wall says the time is 11:30; I was late for work. With a sigh, I down the rest of my milk, making sure to push in my chair and leave a generous tip on the table before I leave. On my way out the door, I vaguely notice Chelsea had pulled up a stool next to Denny's. I frown a little. She just met the guy, and shouldn't she be busy working? What happened her enthusiasm to beginning her new life as a rancher? But I don't dwell on it and make my way to Mirabelle's shop to begin my work for the day.

~~O~~

Several hours later, I lean back in the chair at my desk and pinch the bridge of my nose. After tending the animals and spending the last few hours of my life filling out and filing animal orders, my back and hand were cramped, and I was getting tired, not to mention hungry. As if on que, my stomach makes a gurgling sound. It was half past 7, and I hadn't really had anything to eat today, unless you count the milk I drank at the café this morning. I decided I needed a good meal in me, and cap my pen, placing it back in the spare cup on the corner of my desk. I rise from my seat and bring the stack of orders to the paper tray on the store's counter for Mirabelle to review in the morning. In my rush to finish the stack of orders, my handwriting was not at its best; hopefully she could read it.

The moment I step out of the shop, I am attacked by a blur of pink and aqua. "Hello, Vaughnie!" Lanna's peppy voice rings in my ears, to which I respond with a prompt "hmph." Lanna was, to put it kindly, not my favorite person, something I thought I made crystal clear a while ago. But here she was, back on her mission to get on my nerves. "How've you been today, love?"

I grimace. Again with the pet names. In truth, I want to throttle Lanna every time she comes up with a new pet name for me. But instead I coolly ask her "What do you want?"

"Oh, nothing," she sing-songs. "I just heard it was your birthday tomorrow. I was wondering if you might want to—"

"No," I cut her off.

"Oh, come on! You didn't even hear what I was gonna say!" She pouts. "That's not fair."

"I don't like to celebrate my birthday." I say. Which is true. When I spend my birthday away from the Sunshine Islands, I never do anything special. If my birthday happens to coincide with my trips here, Julia and Mirabelle usually cook me my favorite dinner and offer small gifts. It's not the worst thing in the world, but I wish they wouldn't make a fuss over something so trivial. In the end, its just another trip around the sun.

"Well, that's stupid," Lanna says. I shrug. "Please," she begs, "just join me for a small birthday dinner. On me, of course."

"I already said no thanks."

She purses her lips and folds her arms. "Suit yourself, Vaughnie. But if you change your mind, you know where to find me." She gives me a once over. "You headed somewhere, cowboy?"

I adjust my hat. "Just the diner."

"Ooh! Me too! We can walk there together!" At this point, I really don't feel like arguing with the girl, so I agree.