Forgive Me, My Love ~ ReddNook

Chapter 7

There was silence for a few minutes while both watched the setting sun, which slowly disappeared behind the horizon and turned the sky into a warm red. "By the way," began Redd thoughtfully, "how do I earn my money now? By selling my fake pictures, I got along. What do I do now?"

Lucifer laughed lightly. "That's no problem at all. Here on Te Fit you can catch fish and insects or you build furniture or decorations and sell them to Nook's Cranny. Well, that's how I earn my bells," he explained.

"But why don't you just sell your own paintings. Not fake ones. Self-painted. You are a good artist, you know." 
"I guess you are right," Redd said confidently

"And the best thing is that you get your money honestly," Lucifer continued. "Sounds great, doesn't it?" The fox was nodded. "It definitely sounds better than running a black market." He sighed sadly. "I wish it had never turned out like this. My life is made up of mistakes."

Lucifer cocked his head thoughtfully. "Can i ask you something? Tom said, that you lived on the streets. How did that happend?" Redd's eyes darkened. "When I was a teenager, my parents threw me out of home, because they had little money themselves and couldn't look after me. So I had to cope on my own."

Lucifer looked at him with wide, horrified eyes. "How heartless is that?!"
"In time I got over it. I decided to sell my own paintings. That was the only way I could survive."

Lucifer leaned back and folded his arms over his chest. "I could never lead a life like that," he admitted. "Well," Redd muttered, forcing a grin. "I guess luck wasn't by my side." Lucifer eyed him for a while. Now he notice how thin Redd actually was.

He probably couldn't even afford a proper meal. He also had to live in a crumbling old ship, where he hardly had any decent furniture. It really isn't easy for him. Suddenly Lucifer felt terribly sorry by how mean he was to Redd at first. I'll make sure he gets to stay on Te Fiti!

Redd stood up and stretched. "I think I should go back to my ship before Tom finds me. Then the whole dispute starts all over again and, to be honest, I'm too tired to calm down a rabid Tanuki."

Lucifer laughed. "Don't worry, I'll take care of it. You can rely on me!"

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Redd pushed the tarpaulin aside and stepped into the treasure trawler. The stairs creaked menacingly as he descended them. The ship was really very old. He could still remember buying it from a dubious tiger - or was it a wolf? - for 100,000 bells.

It was in bad shape even then, but he had needed it badly, so that he can sail to other islands and sell paintings. The price was of course outrageously high and it had taken him months to scrape the money together.

Redd padded into his pitiful little kitchen, which was equipped with a refrigerator, stove, sink - where the faucet was leaking - and a microwave. Well, maybe he could have saved the microwave, but since Redd mostly only ate chilled ready meals, it was literally essential for him.

He opened the refrigerator in which there was an almost yawning emptiness. He saw the two packs of ready-made lasagna first, next to it was some sushi on a cardboard plate, then he found a couple of eggs, three water bottles and a can of sardines.

Were those sardines still edible? But Redd couldn't be wasteful. Since he couldn't afford luxury meals, he had to be content with that. If the going gets tough, he would even eat out of a garbage can.

Redd grabbed the lasagna and tossed it into the microwave, which began to whir in motion and made noises like it was about to explode. Redd mostly ate only ramen or soba, of which he had bought a month's supply.

So he needed a change now and then. Even though he knew all these ready-made meals were unhealthy, there were very seldom days when he cooked by himself.

He was a miserable cook. But Tom has always been a great at cooking. When they were partners, Redd had idolized his dishes. What would he give, to be able to dine like this one more time.

His heart leaped. But he loved him even more than his food. Redd sighed sadly. That wonderful time they had shared - they would stay in Redd's memory forever. Could it ever be the same as it used to be? Probably not. Tom had clearly shown that he loathed him.

The loud beeping of the microwave distracted him from his thoughts. He took the steaming, deliciously smelling lasagna, got a fork, walked into his room, and sat on his futon.

The room wasn't very big, like his kitchen, there wasn't much interior design here. A flat, wooden table, a wardrobe, an old television, a window and of course his bed - if you can even call it a bed - was all that this room had to offer.

"Hopefully that will change soon," Redd muttered while chewing his lasagna. He didn't really have much hope, when he thought of how Tom had reacted when Redd returned.

There was a sting in his heart. He turned on the television and tried to distract himself from his worries.