#Demetrius forgot Robin was working on my barn

[ditzyfinalgrlowo]

Apparently if Robin is working on a farm building, Demetrius will dance with absolutely nothing on Friday ✨🌻

[cozykhaos]

A New Sun Part 8

  Waking up the next morning with a pile of puppies cuddled up around me was the best feeling in the world. All of them perked up when I got out of bed and when the food bowl hit the floor, all of them did too. I would go into town today and post a bulletin about the other pups. After changing and breakfast we all went outside. I checked the soil of my crops, the ground still wet from yesterdays rain, I skipped out on watering. I would check it again in the afternoon. I used my scythe to clear the weeds to the forest, for a more defined path. I started a pile of stones and branches near the house. I would need both for any upgrades I would want to make.

I was the afternoon when I heard the engine from the truck. I started back to the house, the pups standing on the porch, all at attention. Robin and Sebastian got out of the pickup. “Puppies!” Robin’s face lit up. The pups came running down the steps and bounced around her feet. Robin crouched down and let them lick her face. Sebastian stepped around the truck, looking grumpy, hair disheveled.   

“Sorry we are coming over so late, I didn’t want to wake up Sebby. He was up late last night working,” Robin said standing.

“It’s no problem. I actually forgot you were coming by today,” I let out a little laugh and scratched the back of my head. Noticing Sebastian, the puppies bounced over to him, Asher’s gray twin reached up to Sebastian, who picked her up. Robin looked between the puppy and Sebastian, who was now holding the dog like a baby and scratching her stomach. She smiled.

“Well, should we get this fence put up?” Robin clapped her hands together. Between the three of us it didn’t take long to get the fence assembled and put up. Robin had given me plenty of room to expand my crops as well. Once we were finished, we sat on the front porch, drinking lemonade and eating sandwiches that I had made.

“Sorry it isn’t much,” I refilled my glass. “It’s a small kitchen and it’s a pain in the ass to cook in.”

“House upgrade,” Robin sang.

“Mom,” Sebastian groaned.

“I’m just saying, the place is very small. And what are you going to do when you get married?” Robin asked. Sebastian started choking. “Sebby, what’s the matter?” Robin started patting his back.

“Nothing I’m fine!” He snapped and waved her hand away. Robin frowned and then looked at me.

“I’ve actually been thinking about it. But I also need a chicken coop and a barn. Thankfully most of this season’s crops are being sold. The only vegetables I really like that I’m growing are potatoes and green beans. And it’s just me so I don’t need a whole lot.” I shrugged. I had brought out a notebook and pen with me and I started my bulletin. I looked at the puppies when I was done. Ash was playing with two of his siblings, wrestling in the dust. The all black puppy slept by the door. The gray pup slept next to Sebastian, her head on his leg. I frowned, it had only been a day, but I was attached to the little guys. But they would at least still be in the Valley with me.

“I need to go put this on the bulletin board, I’ll be right back,” I stood, Ash got to his feet and watched me. “Are you coming?” I asked him.

“I am,” Robin stood and stretched. “I need to get a few things from Pierre’s. Do you need anything?” She looked at Sebastian.

“I’m good, but thanks,” Sebastian waved us off. Asher followed us into town. Feeding all 5 dogs I would need another bag of food from Pierre’s as well. I posted up my notice, letting everyone know to come see me if they were interested in a puppy and describing each of them and the genders. I made a note that if you adopted a puppy to cross it off that way others would know it was taken.

Robin stared at the page and took up the pen that was attached to the board and crossed off the gray puppy. She beamed at me and pushed into Pierre’s. I showed her the dog food that I was feeding them and grabbed another bag for myself. After purchasing toys, collar, treats and a leash we went to check out.

“More stuff?” Pierre asked.

“More puppies,” I corrected.

“Oh my!” Pierre’s eyebrows shot up into his hair line. Robin put her elbows on the counter and leaned in. “I’m getting one for Sebastian,” she smiled.

“Oh,” Pierre’s face fell and then quickly caught himself. “Oh! I’m sure he will love that!” He cleared his throat.

“I think so,” I nodded. “One of them has been really attached to him.”

“I think it’ll be good for him,” Robin agreed. We payed for our stuff and left. I helped Robin carry her stuff back to the farm. Sebastian was still sitting on the porch, now the puppy was in one of his arms, chin on his shoulder, while he scrolled through his phone. He looked up when the other dogs came running. His brows scrunched together when he noticed his mom.

“What’s that?” He asked.

“Stuff for pup dog,” Robin replied with a shrug.

“Wh…what?” Sebastian stood still holding the dog. “Really?”

“Yeah!” She tossed the dog food into the back of the truck.

“What about Demetrius?” Sebastian’s tone went sour.

“What about him?” Robin didn’t look at him. “She’s your dog, not his.”

Sebastian stared at his mom in shock, mouth slightly open. Puppy licked his chin and he closed it.

“She will be your responsibility, feeding, playing, walking, cleaning up after her,” Robin ticked off the list on her fingers.

“Yeah, of course!” Sebastian nodded.

“Alright, well let’s get her home!”

Sebastian smiled at me over his shoulder before getting into the truck.

                                  The rest of the week went by in a blur. Lewis, Eveyln and Haylee came by on Monday and gave me packets of tulips and blue jazz that they wanted me to plant for the flower festival. I still had time to plant them, so I kept them to the side for now. Lewis ended up leaving with the all black puppy that day, declaring her Pepper.

Tuesday, Sam and his little brother Vincent came by, their mother had agreed on letting them get a dog. They took the black dog with the one white spot over his eye. Later, I find out that Sam named Gnarles Barkley. Barkley for short.

Late Thursday Morning Shane came over, I was just finishing up with the days harvest, when he stood awkwardly at the edge of the property.

“Morning!” I waved to him. He gave a short wave back. There were dark circles under his blue eyes. “Can I help you with something?”

“I was wondering about the last dog you have,” he said. I looked over my shoulder where the black and gray bearded pup lay on his back, sun bathing in the dirt. “Jas, that’s my niece, she was furious with Marnie when she found out she gave a puppy away,” he scratched the back of his neck. “She’s usually a quite little thing. But she was spitting fire.”

“I can imagine,” I nodded.

“And now Vincent has one..” his voice trailed off as he moved next to me. The pup rolled over and popped up on to his feet. Ash bounded over to us, I picked him up. He had already grown in the last week. Shane, pushed his finger to the dog’s upper lip exposing the baby teeth. The pup stuck out his tongue, licking Shane’s finger, a small smile broke through.

“I’m going to call him Gandalf, because of the gray beard. Do you think Jas will be able to say that?” He looked at me. His eyes were kind.

“How old is she?”

“Six.”

“She should be,” I nodded.

“Yeah,” Shane played with Gandalf’s soft floppy ears before clearing his throat. “I should get going. Marnie was getting supplies from Pierre’s she should be done by now.”

“If you need anything let me know. He should be potty trained by now.”

“Yeah, okay thanks,” with a small wave Shane disappeared back into town.

I looked down at Ash who was watching Shane retreat. He whimpered. “It’s okay bud, we can have everyone over for a play date,” I said to him. His tail wagged.

I wasn’t sure what to expect from the Egg Festival, but my heart leapt for joy at the sight of the many buffet tables. My eating habits had not been the best since moving to Pelican Town and the soft layer around my tummy was slowly disappearing. I generally only ate once a day now, eating breakfast after tending the farm. The rest of my day was spent running errands, fishing or scavenging for wild crops.  By the time I got home I would be exhausted and collapse into bed with Asher.

I bee lined it to the first table, there were platters of egg dishes. Deviled eggs, scrambled, fried, hard boiled, poached, egg benedict, egg salad. Little breaded cups that looked to be filled with egg, spinach and ham. Plates of steaming sliced ham that smelled of cinnamon and honey were my first stop. I filled my plate before finding a bench. I would have to remember to ask Gus for a piece of leftover ham for Ash, who I left at home. I looked around, everyone was mingling. Eating with their friends and family. Haylee was taking pictures of everyone and everything. I smiled, I hadn’t interacted with her much, since I had returned, but I admired her passion for photography.

“Kit!” Robin called me from a few tables over and waved. She was sitting with her family, as well as Sam, his mom and little brother. “Come over here!”

I swallowed my mouthful of food before moving over to their table, taking the end seat across from Sam.

“What were you doing over there by yourself?” Robin asked.

“I didn’t want to be a bother,” I shrugged and then shoveled in a mouthful of potato salad. It was sweet and had a hint of vinegar in it.

“Oh please,” Jodi said with a smile.

“You’ll always be a bother,” Sam said with a smirk.

“Sam!” Jodi snapped, reached over her youngest son and slapped Sam on the back of the head.

“Ow!” Sam rubbed his head.

“Don’t be rude!” Jodi said through gritted teeth. I smiled and shook my head. “I would like to say I am used to it, but I don’t think that would help.”

“It wouldn’t!” Sam shook his head.

“So, Kit, how is the farm doing?” Demetrius asked.

“Honey, we aren’t here to talk about work,” Robin said, placing a hand on his shoulder. Across from her Sebastian had his chin resting on his fist, leg tapping furiously. Next to him was Maru who was looking at me expectantly, I hadn’t spoken to her much either.

I cleared my throat. “Oh, it’s fine, I don’t have much to talk about any ways. My world revolves around farming and Ash.”

Sebastian looked over at me. “You didn’t bring him either?”

I noticed for the first time no one had brought their dog besides Marnie, Gandalf was chasing Jas around the yard behind Sam’s house.

“Asher gets really excited about food. Like he can’t contain himself, so I thought it best to have him stay home. Or else he would probably be slip and sliding through the egg salad right now,” I sighed. Sebastian snorted.

“I know it’s late and the seeds are hard to find, but do you think you will be getting in Strawberry seeds?” Maru asked.

“Strawberries are our favorite,” Demetrius beamed.

“Yeah, if I can find the seeds!” I nodded. “The farm is actually doing well. You can walk around now, and I finally got around to cleaning the inside. It’s hard work but I enjoy it.”

“Hmm,” Demetrius glanced at Sebastian and drummed his fingers on the table. “Some people will never know what that is like.”

“Oooookay,” Sebastian said standing. “I’m going to go check on Asha.”

My mouth dropped open, shocked at the name he had picked. I didn’t have time to speak, Sebastian was already leaving.

Robin frowned at his retreating form, she quickly hid it with a smile. “Well, I’m glad you are enjoying it.”

“I know I could never do that work,” Jodi said, she was now running her fingers through Vincent’s unruly ginger hair.

“I wasn’t so sure at first. I’m positive if it wasn’t for visiting grandpa during the summer, I would have ended up going back to the city,” I said.

“I don’t think I would mind it too much,” Sam shrugged. “I could see myself taking care of some chickens. Planting crops.”

“I know I couldn’t do it,” Maru shook her head. “I will stick to my lab thank you.”

“Lab?” I looked at her.

“Yes, I’m a scientist and inventor!” Maru smiled. “I also work with Harvey at the clinic.”

“Wow, that’s pretty cool. Weird question, but I’m going to ask. I found some blue prints for sprinklers. I know that is probably nothing to you. But will yo-“

“Yes, I would love to help!” Maru grabbed my hands. I noticed behind her Demetrius’s eyes narrowed, while Robin’s face broke open into a smile. “That sounds like fun. I haven’t made sprinklers before, but I’m sure it’ll be cake!”

“Thanks, that would be a huge help!” I squeezed her hands.

“Mom, is there cake?” Vincent finally spoke, he had been pushing around the food on his plate the entire time. He had only eaten a couple of grapes.

“It looks like it, but you will need to eat more lunch first,” Jodi kissed the top of his head.

“I don’t want to be slow for the hunt,” Vincent said.

“Yeah, this year we are going to beat Abbie, isn’t that right kiddo!” Sam playfully shoved his little brother who looked up at him and smiled.

“Yeah!” Vincent nodded vigorously.

“Hunt?” I looked at everyone’s faces.

“There is an egg hunt every year,” Robin said.

“And every year Abbie wins!” Vincent bagged his fist on the table and huffed. I looked around for my purple haired friend. She was at a table with her parents, head on her palm, looking at an empty plate of food.

“They really shouldn’t let her search. She is a grown woman now,” Jodi sighed.

“It’s open to all ages,” Robin shrugged.

“Or make age events,” I said.

“That’s a good idea,” Demetrius nodded.

“Maybe mention that to Lewis,” Robin said to Jodi.

“Trust me, I am!” Jodi said. I noticed Gus bringing out new plates and unveiling chocolate frosted cupcakes. I excused myself and made it over to the table. I was stuffing one in my mouth when Pam made her way over and started to empty a flask into the punch. She held up a finger to her lips. I looked away, a smile spreading. Gus gave me permission to take some ham home to Ash then handed me a plate that was stacked up in food and wrapped in tin foil. “Do you know Linus?” He asked.

“The guy who lives behind Robin’s house?” I questioned taking the plate.

“That’s him,” Gus nodded then stroked his mustache. “He rarely comes to any of these events. He is always welcome, but I know he feels out of place. Do you mind taking him this plate for me?”

“Not at all!” I exclaimed and headed towards the mountains.

                  Linus was sitting at his campfire, a basket of wild plants next to him. He sat up straighter when he saw me, his eyes narrowing into a squint.

“Hey, I’m Kit,” I said with a small wave. “I took over my grandpa’s farm.” I shoved a thumb over my shoulder, in the direction of the farm. Linus didn’t say anything. I cleared my throat. “Any ways, Gus asked me to bring you this.” I sat the plate down on the stump he had pulled up to the other side of the fire. He glanced at the plate before looking back at me. I frowned, looking at him, to the tent, then the plate. His gray eyes never left my face.

“I guess I’ll be going, enjoy your day!” My customer service voice tuned in and I wanted to kick myself. I started away when I heard a small. “Thank you.”

I smiled to myself and started back to the square. Sebastian was locking the front door when I was in front of the house. His eye brows furrowed together when he saw me. “Checking up on me?”

“No, I brought plate to Linus,” I said. Sebastian turned his head up towards the mountains. “I don’t know about that guy,” he said.

“He seems harmless,” I shrugged.

“So did Ted Bundy,” he pointed out.

“Do you think Linus has a trail of bodies leading to the valley?” I raised an eyebrow.

“Everyone has something to hide,” Sebastian smirked. I rolled my eyes.

Everyone was waiting for us when we strolled into town. Lewis had a big cup of punch in his hand, Pam glanced at me, her grin widening. I wiggled my eyebrows at her before helping myself to my own cup.

“Everyone knows the rules!” Lewis began, there wasn’t any hint of the alcohol taking effect yet. “You have 3 minutes to search for the hidden eggs. Whoever finds the most wins!”

Abbie was jumping up and down in place. She waved me over, I shook my head, pointing to my cup, I made a big deal out of taking a drink from it.

“Ready, set, go!” Lewis shouted and the hunters ran in different directions. Jodi started to cheer on Vincent while Shane and Marnie cheered on Jas. Gandalf chased after the girl. Sam had entered the hunt as well and I noticed him slipping eggs into Vincent’s basket. Abbie darted from one location to the next, I could tell that her basket was filing up quickly. Emily had also entered who skipped along as she went. Lewis blew a whistle, and everyone came in and placed down their baskets. Both Sam and Emily’s were mysteriously empty, while Jas and Vincent’s looked just a little fuller. Abigail still won, but I snuck extra cupcakes to the kids and they quickly cheered up.

The sun was starting to set when the square began to empty. Conveniently it was when clean up also started. Gus and Emily lingered, packing food into containers. Sam and Alex helped with stacking tables and chairs. I was on garbage duty when Mayor Lewis staggered past me a deep set frown on his face. I watched after him, he stumbled one step at a time towards the north. I looked over my shoulder at Gus, who had paused in his own task to watch after the Mayor.

“Should I go after him?” I asked.

“If you would,” Gus nodded. I set down my garbage bag and headed after Lewis. It didn’t take me long to find him, he stood in front of the old Community Center. The old building had seen better days. Ivy grew up the side of the walls, there was a hole in the ceiling and years of rain had caused a moldy film on the windows.

I stood next to the Mayor looking up at the old building. Something inside it stirred, I couldn’t see it, but I could feel it.

“Eye sore, ain’t it?” Lewis said, his voice was filled with sadness.

“It’s charming,” I said softly. “Like the farm.”

Lewis chuckled. “This is what is left of the Pelican Town Community Center. It used to be the pride and joy of the town… always bustling with activity. Now look at it. It’s shameful.”

I could hear the pain in the old man’s voice.

“These days, the young folk would rather sit in front of the TV than engage with the community.” He sighed heavily. “But listen to me, I sound like an old fool.”

“No.. no you don’t. You sound like a Mayor concerned for his town,” I spoke, touching his arm softly.

Lewis sniffed. “Joja Corporation has been hounding me to sell them the land so they can turn it into a warehouse. Pelican Town could use the money, but there’s something stopping me from selling it. I guess old timers like me get attached to relics of the past.. Ah well.”

He finally turned and looked at me. “If anyone else buys a Joja Corporation Membership I’m just gonna go ahead and sell it.” Lewis dragged his feet towards the door and unlocked it. I followed him inside, the old floorboards groaned under our feet. The ivy had found its way inside, we left a trail of footprints in the dust that coated every surface.

Lewis paused looking at a hut that was erected in the corner of the room.

“Hmm? What’s this?”

“Do you think Vincent and Jas were playing in here?” I asked.

“Must’ve,” he shrugged. “This place is even more dilapidated than I remember.”

I opened my mouth to speak, but before I could say something a familiar chirp came from behind Lewis. The apple sized creature jumped up and down waving. I gasped and stumbled backwards.

“Kit!” Lewis steadied me. “What’s the matter are you ill?”

I moved to the side of Lewis and looked around, the creature was now gone. “I thought I saw something, there!” I pointed to the spot.

“Hmm… I wouldn’t be surprised if this place was full of rats.” Lewis said.

Again, the creature appeared behind Lewis, waving its little arms. My eyes widen and a scream came out before I could stop it. Lewis swung around, but the creature was gone. Hands clasped over my I stared at the spot. Lewis turned back to me. “You’re worrying me Kit!” He was frowning.

I looked around the room. Everything was quite now, I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. Counting to ten before releasing it and opening my eyes. “I’m sorry Lewis,” I smiled. “I must be more tired than I thought.”

Lewis gave me a tight smile. “I’m going to head home and get some sleep, I suggest you do the same. I’m going to keep this place unlocked from now on. Maybe you can help catch that rat if you have some extra time.” He gave my hand a small squeeze before walking outside.

I stood still and suddenly my senses open up, and the magic poured in. My spine prickled at the energy. I wondered down the hall a strange force leading me. Inside a small room I found a note on the floor, I shoved it into my bag not even bothering to read it, I knew I wouldn’t know the language that was written upon it. I left the room, finger tips trailing along the wooden paneled walls that lined the hallway. The old floorboards sang their ballad as I walked upon them, the dust flaring up around my shoes as I walked towards the door. The door shut behind me and I woke up, snapping out of the strange trance.

I stumbled away from the building gasping, I clutched at my chest as I retreated. I suddenly couldn’t get home fast enough and I ran towards the farm. I didn’t stop until I was inside, the door firmly shut behind me. Ash wiggled his way up to me, a big smile on his face.

“Hey buddy,” I gasped leaning down to pet him. I skipped my other nightly chores and only fed Asher. I  fell into bed. That night I dreamed of the small creatures. They chirped and danced through the Valley, life returning to the land.