Chapter Text
Harvey loved his daughter. She was his entire world, but he often found himself questioning whether he was enough for her. He tried to be. Yoba knows he tried to be a good father, and he tried to fill in that void that her mother left when she walked out of their lives five years ago.
It was rough at the beginning; it always is, of course. Harvey was a doctor in an emergency room in Zuzu City. He was just beginning his career before Lucia was born, so he was still stuck doing graveyard shift. Unfortunately, that didn’t change when she left them. The hospital wasn’t understanding when Harvey suddenly found himself the single father of a one-year-old. So it was either make it work or quit his job. Thankfully, he was able to pay their neighbor in the apartment complex to watch Lucia through the night until he managed to hire an overnight nanny.
They were long and anxious nights, trying to keep people alive while simultaneously worrying about Lucia. Was she crying for him? Did she eat already? Was she sleeping through the night or did she miss him? Was the nanny treating her all right? He couldn’t do it anymore. After a few months of living like that, he had to make a change. He could not keep working all night, sleep a couple of hours, take care of Lucia, and then go back to work. All while trying not to break down at the thought of his wife, Lucia’s mother, abandoning them in the dead of night and only leaving a note begging Harvey not to look for her. They both needed a fresh start.
Miraculously, Harvey found an ad in the paper looking for someone to take over a practice in a small place named Pelican Town. The doctor was retiring, and he was looking for someone to buy it and take over. It came with a small one-bedroom apartment above the clinic. It was perfect for them. Harvey could make his own hours, and with the small population, the possibility of true life-and-death emergencies dwindled. It was going to be a pay cut for sure, but Harvey was meticulous about saving money. They would be okay.
It was a challenge to begin with as they settled in. They were strangers in the small town; he didn’t know anyone that could watch Lucia while he worked. So, he would set her up in a playpen behind the front counter where he could keep an eye on her. It wasn’t very professional, no, but his options were nonexistent. That is until Jodi came in one day for an appointment and insisted on watching her from that day on. Harvey was more than happy to pay her to babysit. Jodi was a sweet, older lady with two sons, one of them only being a year older than Lucia. Jodi’s husband Kent, had just went away for war. She knew how it felt to take care of her children with only one parent present. Jodi reassured Harvey that she too hoped she was enough for her boys.
Everyone in Pelican town was welcoming and friendly. Evelyn doted on Lucia, Marnie had a niece exactly her age named Jas. Harvey often found himself taking Lucia over to Marnie’s ranch to crawl around with Jas. Caroline was the only one who didn’t think it appropriate that a single man raise a girl alone, without a wife. Harvey ignored her, there were not many options and Harvey did the best he could. Even the farmer who lived on the outskirts of town would often bring Harvey baskets of produce whenever he was in town and always insisted on Harvey bringing Lucia to look at all the farm animals. He confessed to Harvey that he had a grand daughter that he only met once and Lucia reminded him of her.
Harvey made sure that Lucia was taken care of, that she ate nutritious meals, that she was clean and most importantly that she was loved. Harvey made sure that she felt loved enough for two parents.
The apartment was small, but it had been well maintained over the years. The wallpaper was a soft blue, the floors were hardwood. There was a small kitchen, but most importantly there was a bedroom that he turned into Lucia’s room. A nursery at first with a crib, a changing table, a small closet and a dresser. Over the years the crib had been changed out for a twin sized bed and the changing table being sold. Harvey slept on a pullout couch in the living room. He used the linen closet for himself. One day, once Lucia gets older, he knows he’ll have to move them somewhere bigger, with more space. That way each of them will get more privacy, but for now this worked for them. Lucia often had nightmares, many nights Harvey found himself being woken by her tugging on his comforter with tears in her eyes. Harvey would open up his arms and allow her to settle in as he sooothed her as best he could. He would sing her a lullaby and rock her back to sleep, smoothing her brown curls out of her face. Harvey would let her cry until they soon turned into hiccups and sniffs, eventually into soft snores. Harvey would always ask her in the morning is she wanted to recount her dreams. Lucia’s nightmares were of not being able to find Harvey and being left all alone. It broke his heart. He knows a lot of it had to do with her mother leaving them, even if she was to young to be able to remember her.
It took Harvey a long time to get over the betrayal of his wife leaving them in middle of the night. Eventually, it turned into a weird sort of gratefulness that she left by herself and didn’t take Lucia with her. She missed out on raising an intelligent, beautiful, joyful, wonderful girl. She was curious about the world around her, always asking Harvey questions about the way everything worked. Raising Lucia has been Harvey’s greatest accomplishment, he was honored for the privilege. While Lucia’s recurring nightmare was that she was left all alone, Harvey’s was that her mother would come back and rip her from his life. Harvey loved his daughter so much, he would fight tooth and nail for her.
Xiomara begged him for weeks. Please, please let her go just this once. Natalie really wanted Xiomara to tag along with her to the Stardew Valley fair. Natalie’s boyfriend couldn’t go with her, so she wanted her to go. It took quite a lot of convincing, Dylan’s never liked Natalie, he always called her Xo’s “ho friend” and he didn’t want her to hang out with her in case Natalie’s “slutty tendencies” rubbed off on Xo. But Xiomara couldn’t just end her friendship with Natalie, they’ve been best friends since eighth grade and it would be suspicious if Xo ended their friendship out of the blue. Plus, Natalie would never allow it. With her being an only child and her mom gone and her father estranged, Natalie was her only family left. If you didn’t count Dyla, which Xo didn’t. He counted more as a prison warden, her captor, her jailor.
It didn’t used to always be like that. Xiomara loved him at one point. Dylan was sweet, thoughtful, romantic and in love with Xo. He didn’t start showing his jealousy until they were way into a lease together. Even then she ignored the obvious red flags. She chalked it up to him being head over heels in love with her. Xiomara had no family at that time and she so desperately wanted to be a part of a family. That’s how she justifies it. That’s how she justified getting married to him, joining bank accounts and letting him make all the decisions.
Xiomara had a bachelor’s degree. Her mom got to watch her walk the stage before she passed away. She was so proud of her. Xo was the first in her family to graduate from college and she owed it all to her mother. She was Xo’s inspiration and her drive, she was going to make her proud if it was the last thing she did.
So how is it that she got herself in this situation to begin with? An abusive husband who made her quit her dream job because he didn’t like that she had to talk to other men. He constantly accused her of cheating on him, even though Xiomara was afraid to even glance in another man’s direction in case he somehow WAS watching her. She couldn’t even remember that last time that she had sex because she wanted to. It was mostly so that Dylan wouldn’t accuse her of cheating. She would rather put up with the few minutes than the constant bitching and harassing if she said she didn’t feel like it. The other times it was because Dylan would come home drunk and demand it from her. She tried to refuse. That was the first time Xo ended up with a busted lip. She shut up after that.
It was a wonder that Natalie allowed her to keep being with him. She had a suspicion, Xiomara was sure of it, but she reassured her time and time again that she was fine. Xo’s dead eyes and tight smile was probably not too convincing. Natalie’s never been one to hound; she gave her space all while making sure that Xo knew she was there if and when she needed her. Dylan finally agreed to let her go, if only so that no one could say that Xiomara was with him against her will. That way they could make it seem to the outside world that their marriage was perfect, that he was the perfect husband and nice enough to let her go. Xo made sure to be oh so thankful.
There were stipulations to her jail break. Xiomara had to call him every hour on the hour, and not a moment later, she had to keep her location on at all times, or there would be consequences. She agreed to everything. That’s how she ended up here, in a small place called Pelican Town, during one of their busiest times of the year. Xiomara enjoyed the sounds of laughter, the smell of cotton candy and popcorn, the warm colors of autumn. She loved spending time with Natalie like they used to before Dylan came in the picture. She sighed in relief at being able to let her guard down for the first time in what seemed like ages. The only thing that kept her from having the perfect day were the hourly calls to Dylan. Her constant reminders that he was waiting for her to come back, and oh Yoba please let him be in a good mood when she returns.
“What do you think? Are you up for it?” Natalie asked, interrupting her inner turmoil.
“Sorry, what was that?” Xo asked sheepishly. They were just passing by the spinning wheel, a pretty red headed girl was being asked to leave because she had been winning far too much. Xo didn’t think that was fair of the vendor, it’s not her fault luck was on her side.
“I want to go get my fortune told, wanna get yours?” Natalie said. She pointed towards the tent set up in a tiny graveyard.
Xo didn’t think that she could stomach someone telling her she may very well die one day in her current situation. She already knows.
“No, I’m okay. You go ahead, I’ll wait for you right here.” Xo responded. She sat down on one of the benches in front of an establishment named the Stardrop Saloon. She watched her surroundings for a few minutes, taking everything in. There were so many different kind of games, a petting zoo for the kids, food stands and even a grange display with the biggest cheese wheel she has ever seen. Xo hoped that one would win.
“Hi! I like your hair.”
Xiomara snapped out of her people watching to see a little girl standing in front of her. She had green eyes and long, puffy chestnut brown hair. She was missing a front tooth, but it didn’t take away from her radiant smile.
“Thank you! I like yours too.” Xiomara replied with a smile.
“My daddy says it’s supposed to be curly like my momma’s, but he doesn’t know how to keep it that way.” She said matter of factly. She plopped down on the bench next to Xo and tugged on one of her curls, watching it bounce back into place with a look of fascination. Xiomara giggled.
“I know what you mean. My mom had long, straight hair and she had no idea how to style my curls. Most of the time I just had a big old puffball.” Xo said. That made her laugh and it warmed Xo’s heart.
“Can you teach me?” She asked eagerly, jumping up from her spot.
“I wish I could sweetie, but I’m not from around here. I live about two hours away.” Xo said with regret. The little girl frowned but then nodded in understanding.
“Tell you what, if I ever make it back here again, I’ll be more than happy to show you.” Xiomara promised. The girl grinned and held out her pinky to Xo.
“Pinky promise?”
Xiomara smiled at her and interlocked her pinky with hers.
“Pinky promise.”
The little girl was satisfied with Xo’s promise and hopped joyfully in place, clapping her hands eagerly.
“My name is Lucia! My daddy and I live over there.” She pointed at a small clinic next to the general store. “He’s a doctor.” She said proudly.
“It’s very nice to meet you Lucia, that is such a pretty name.” Xo gushed.
“My daddy said that he named me that because I’m his little light.” She beamed.
“You do shine really bright.” Xiomara chuckled. Lucia did a little twirl and ended it with a curtsy. Xiomara couldn’t help but to laugh, she really was a hoot.
“What’s your name?” She demanded.
“Xiomara, but you can call me Xo.”
“See-o-mara.” She pronounced. “I like it! Do you have a boyfriend? My daddy doesn’t have a girlfriend or a wife!” Lucia looked at her eagerly, but before she could answer her probing question..
“Lucia! We’ve talked about you wandering off.”
Xiomara looked up from Lucia to see a tall, handsome man holding two caramel apples and a worried look standing in front of them. He had the same chestnut colored hair as Lucia and the exact shade of dark green eyes behind his glasses. His lips were full underneath his mustache, the rest of his face clean shaven.
“Sorry if she was bothering you, she was supposed to wait for me by the strength game while I bought us these but clearly she doesn’t listen.” He chastised gently. Lucia was proving his point as she was too busy enjoying her apple to properly pay attention to his scolding, Xo let out a giggle.
“She wasn’t, we were just getting to know each other.” Xiomara reassured him. He smiled at her, it was a kind smile, but it did nothing to calm her nerves. She was so sure that Dylan would be lurking in the shadows and ready to jump out and drag her by the hair back to their apartment. It was a legitimate fear that she hated with every fiber of her being, but that’s the way he’s kept her the past five years. She settled for giving him a small smile back.
“My name is Harvey, and of course you met Lucia.” He held out the hand that wasn’t holding a caramel apple. Xiomara couldn’t help but to flinch at the sudden movement. Of course he noticed, he pulled back a bit, but Xo chastised herself. Not everyone is Dylan, she reminded herself. She took his hand and shook it, it was warm and soft. His fingers were long and elegant, just like the rest of him. Xo relaxed the best she could.
“Xiomara.” She replied.
“It’s nice to meet you.” He grinned. His eyes crinkled in the corners when he smiled. She suddenly realized that she was still holding onto his hand. Embarrassed, she took it back, her hand still tingling from his touch.
“Can I show her my room?” Lucia cried out excitedly. Harvey seemed to realize at that moment that Lucia was still there. He let out a cough, breaking the trance that they were in. Lucia still had half an apple left, caramel coating her lips and cheeks. She bounced excitedly on the balls of her feet, looking back and forth from Xo and Harvey. Harvey looked at Xiomara sheepishly. Xo cleared her throat, trying to come up with something to say. Thankfully, Xiomara caught a glance of Natalie coming out of the fortune tellers tent.
“I’m sorry, little light. I see my friend coming. Remember I told you I live two hours away? We probably need to get going soon.” Xo apologized.
Her little lip stuck out in a pout. It was wierd, Xo didn’t like disappointing her.
“Don’t forget your pinky promise!” She reminded her.
“I would never.” Xo promised.
Lucia grinned at her then, threw her arms around Xo’s legs and then skipped off towards the clinic. Harvey sighed.
“Sorry about her, it was nice to meet you.” He said sincerely.
“You too.” Xo replied softly.
She watched him walk off after his daughter. Xiomara felt a pang in her chest, she wondered what her life would be like if she would’ve met Harvey six years ago instead of Dylan. Harvey seemed like a gentle, patient man. It was evident in the way Lucia spoke highly of him, in the way he looked at his daughter with so much love.
“I don’t know how much I believe the old witch.” Natalie said, walking up to her. She missed Harvey and Lucia by mere seconds, which was fine by Xo. She didn’t feel too much like explaining who they were. Xiomara sat back down on the bench and Natalie sat next to her.
“Okay, we’ve done pretty much every thing we can do. Are you ready?” Natalie asked.
Xiomara was ready now, she spent the entire day preparing mentally. Xo didn’t just want to come here to spend the day with Natalie, that was just a perk. It’s truly a miracle that Dylan agreed to let her come, but even he sometimes knew it was a good idea to put on a show. Xiomara was now free to plan her escape.