Chapter Text
"Honey, did you hear? Two new farmers are moving in. Remember that old farm to the West? The one owned by that old man that died a couple of years back."
Caroline rubbed the glass dry with her rag, set it on the rack above her, then grabbed the next. "Yes, dear, I remember." She hummed in response to her husband. "He was a part of this community since we were children, of course, I remember him. His passing was so unfortunate."
"Yeah, well, these two are apparently his grandchildren."
Caroline looked up from the dishes and gave her husband a curious look. "Oh? Why didn't they come and reclaim the farm earlier?"
Pierre shrugged and set the newspaper down. The article he was reading was on the third page. The title said, "City Kids reclaim abandoned farm on the countryside, once a million-dollar enterprise." "Something about their grandfather not wanting them to have it until they were ready." He murmured. "I suppose maybe that meant until they were older?"
"Maybe, but now's a strange time, isn't it? I mean, our little town has never been quieter."
"Well, let's just wait and see, I guess. They can't be all that bad."
Caroline watched that first farmer walk in, and she felt a strange stirring in her gut. Something was odd about the boy. He was scrawny. Obviously not meant for the farmer's life of hard labor. She wondered absently what sort of job he worked before he came to Pelican Town. Perhaps a desk job? His hands didn't reflect that of one who worked outside much. When he went up to the counter of her husband's shop, Pierre greeted him as happy as he would any other customer, and the boy just smiled. He had tan skin and stark white locks that obviously weren't dyed. Poor boy, perhaps pigment loss ran in the family? He had a shining smile that quite reminded her of when Abigail was a little girl. Like she held the sun there. But he was quiet. He just set his things up on the counter and paid for them before taking off again. It had only been a day since they'd been here, and the townspeople saw them all over. The girl was rather talkative. She had come in here earlier, talked up a storm with Pierre while eyeing the backpack he had on the counter, and left without buying anything, claiming she had no money. What was it that she had said?
"Heyo dude, you're Pierre, right, the guy who owns this place, right? Oh man, Grandpa had all these stories of this little kid named Pierre, but nah, that couldn't be you. Anyway, my name's Roswell, but you can just call me Roz. I'm the new farmer around here, and I'm probably gonna be in here a lot, hey my cousin is probably gonna come in here later, and he ain't all that talkative, so go easy on him, his name's Clark, and he's got this goofy white hair that like curls a bit in the front. Anyway, I gotta go. I got way too many people I need to meet- and the mayor said he wanted to have a talk with me before I got too into the whole farming gig. I ain't got too much money, but I'll be coming back for that backpack when I got the gold!"
Ah, his name was Clark. And they were cousins. That meant there was more than one child from the old farmer. That sounded nice that his family continued in many directions. But somehow, both of them ended up here once more, where their grandfather once was. How odd.
"What do you think of the newcomers, Pierre?"
It had been a week since the new farmers moved in, and while Roz had been running all over the village, Clark was nowhere to be seen for the entire week. It was like he had disappeared entirely, or maybe never existed in the first place. If it wasn't for the money still in his register, Pierre might have believed it was a hallucination. Marnie herself seemed a be confused by her own question. Like she wasn't sure of her own answer to it.
"Roz is rather nice. She's a bit talkative but a joy to converse with. She seems to have made this whole town light up with attention. I haven't seen Clark around, though, have you?"
"Oh sure, but only when I look out the window. He goes into the forest all the time. He picks up the wild veggies - you know, the horseradishes, leeks, that sort of thing. He's never come into my shop, though. Said hi that first day, then nothing ever since."
"Same here. He came in on the second day and bought some seeds and then fled. He's a bit squirrelish."
"Oh, I wouldn't say that. Perhaps a little shy. But he seems comfortable around people. If he was squirrelish, he wouldn't want to be seen at all."
"I guess you have a point. Your total is 238g."
"Alright, here you go, Pierre. Will we see you on Friday at the saloon?"
"Of course, I always come, don't I?" He grinned. "I think you should be more concerned about if the new farmers are coming."
Marnie laughed. "What, do you think they'll snatch up our bachelors?"
"Don't think any of the bachelorettes are up for grabs?"
"Pierre, did you even look at Clark when he came in? He doesn't like girls."
"Now, now, Marnie. You shouldn't judge a book by its cover." He chuckled. "But you are right. He doesn't really seem like the type to care for the opposite sex."
"I'm sure one of our nice lads will keep him company. If he decides he doesn't want that, then that's just as well." She shrugged, picking up her items. "Tell Caroline I'll see her tomorrow for the class like always! I'll try not to be late tomorrow."
"Will do, Marnie!"
"Hello there, Mayor, how's it going?"
"Oh, just fine." Lewis sighed. "Pierre, do you think we'll ever be rid of Joja?"
"At this rate, maybe not. Why do you ask?"
"Oh, just old feelings. I was showing those youngsters the community center yesterday, and I was just remembering." He waved his hand a little, setting his flour up on the counter. "I have so many nice memories of that old place. If anyone else buys a Joja membership, I'll probably have to give up that old building..."
"Mayor, you can't do that. Everyone in town has memories there." Pierre's brow creased, and he tried to fight the frown from his face, but it fought its way to the surface anyway. His hands clutched the register slightly.
"Well, what else am I to do with it? It's run down, hasn't been used in nearly a decade. There are holes in the ceiling. The trees are beginning to reclaim it. It's a mess in there. And the town needs more money."
"M-Maybe we can restore it. The community center made tons of money in its prime-"
"The restoration would cost all of my limbs and possibly some of my insides, Pierre." He chuckled weakly and sighed. "I guess it's just a test of time..."
Pierre looked down and quietly rung up Lewis's groceries. Lewis waved as he left with everything paid for, and Caroline stood at the doorway, watching Lewis leave. Pierre looked over, and his eyes went wide. "C-Caroline, how long have you been there?"
"Long enough to know he's planning on getting rid of the center." She sighed. "Don't you remember playing in there as kids? We can't let Joja take over that place."
Pierre's hands closed into fists, his nails digging into his palms. "I... I know... But I don't know what to do."
"It's okay, honey. Maybe we can ask Roz to help us."
"Maybe..."
The egg hunt was more lively than usual this year. The farmers were excellent hunters, but Roz was faster, but in the end, it was Clark that everyone saw walking out with the straw hat upon his head and something like giggling. Somehow his smile was even brighter with the golden hat and its large brim, and Roz had her chest puffed out proudly, her large glasses gleaming in the sunlight.
The townsfolk saw Clark around more often after the hunt. He would come in and pick all the flowers and wild veggies, and Pierre would find them in the shipping bin when he came in the early hours. Evelyn adored them and would use them in her beautiful flower arrangements for the flower dance at the end of the month while her husband grumbled about the sunshine. He still didn't talk much, but he would sometimes wave, the wide brim of his hat shading him and keeping his shoulders dry when it rained. Robin's family said they saw him the most. He'd come by and ask about the cost to get certain buildings built, including upgrades to his own cabin. Apparently, it was the time he was the most talkative.
When salmonberry season came, it was like they couldn't get rid of him.
It was easy to spot his trail. There were footprints in the dirt and then trampled grass all throughout Cindersnap Forest, going by all the bushes. Then his distinct boot marks would be all over town, going by all the berry bushes there, too. People would spot him with a large basket overflowing with berries, picking more and stuffing them into the wicker tub. He'd then go down by the beach and come back with broken off corals, urchins, and shells. Then he'd make his way up to the mountain, and by the end of it, if you went to the farm, he had at least fifty salmonberry branches full of the sweet fruit, dumping it all into the shipping bin. It was amazing, and he did it every day of the salmonberry season.
It wasn't very long until they had a coop on their little farm and had bought a couple of chickens from Marnie, and Marnie just seemed over the moon. She talked about it on her trip to Pierre's on Monday, again during their exercise class on Tuesday, and still more when they all went to the saloon on Friday, talking about how she saw Roz more and more and how well she and Shane were getting along, while Shane just sat in the corner, half tipsy, tuning his aunt out. After that Friday night, Marnie calmed down a little but still glowed a little, happy for the new permanent customers she had obtained.
Even Willy had something to say about the newcomers. Apparently, Roz was a great fisher and would sit out on the docks just pulling them in, and Willy found a good laugh more than once out on the docks with her. Again, not much with Clark, but that first time where he gave the boy a fishing rod, he seemed pretty decent at it himself. He said, "fishing isn't really my thing, but this is nice. I'll come out here another time."
Overall, the newcomers left an imprint on the town - whether it was good or pure curiosity. They had a feeling that things would certainly be different around here from now on.
When Roz came to the Flower Dance, it did feel a bit off. Clark wasn't anywhere to be found with her, and when asked about it, she just laughed and waved it off. "Oh, he's just feeling a bit under the weather, don't worry about it. I'm sure he'll come next year!"
There was also an old musky smell to her. It was hard to describe. Something old, untouched, but Lewis seemed to be able to identify it right away. "Ah!" He exclaimed. "You've been hanging out in the community center, haven't you? What're you doing in there?" He just smiled. "I hope you're not destroying it more. It's already beaten up." He joked, and Roz just laughed as well, rubbing her arm a little. For once, she seemed a little nervous. She danced with Emily that spring, who seemed giggly the whole time dancing with her friend. Roz also seemed to be eyeing the rarecrow that Pierre had for sale but never bought it, leaving with a small frown on her face.
Clark showed up a couple days later as chipper as ever. Harvey said he went out to the farm and checked on him, and he just had a mild stomach bug. Clark seemed as happy as ever and could be seen around town picking the daffodils and wildflowers and handing them out to people with a happy smile. As quiet as ever. The poor boy really needed to find his voice.