FTP-70

“Who should we wash first? To avoid confusion, how about starting with Pa?”
“That’s Pi. Since Pu has the least surface area, it’ll be quickest to finish with him first, so let’s start with Pu.”
As expected, he wasn’t very reliable. After explaining how to differentiate between the three pigs again, she lured Pu out using a tomato as bait.
“Come on, Pu. Good boy. If you stay calm during the bath, I’ll give you another tomato.”
“Oink oink.”
Apparently, Pu didn’t mind the cool water on a hot day. He calmly stood in place, with his curly tail drooping as he followed her out of the pen.
“It seems like he understands when I tell him to stay calm. Our Pu is getting smarter, isn’t he?”
Anje showered Pu 7bf8b8d566 with praise as 892b4c40f0 she gently scrubbed 6f61e4c735 his damp pink 9065749f4c skin with a 4ba4b4a8d4 soapy brush. Pu blinked d2c6248a1e his button-like 24bbec4906 black eyes, ca37a548e5 not understanding d0d205e8c9 what was d3b934e244 happening to b0c34ae110 him.
However, the be206369e5 peace didn’t 01d1cd9180 last long.
“Oink!”
“Shh, stay still, Pu.”
“Are you still saying he understands you?”
“Don’t laugh! Ahh, Pu, you little rascal!”
Pu, covered in 0814f3f6c4 soap suds, shook 0856a71199 his body vigorously, dac5d3c115 sending white foam caffadffd1 flying everywhere. Anje was glad 042d2a98d8 she wore old 6886b4d9e7 clothes and quickly af7f80e1c0 spat out the 6c811ced9c foam that had bced7a7bed gotten into her ef31d91a79 mouth.
“I’ll hold him still, so why don’t you grab another tomato?”
“Alright.”
Anje retrieved 7d8ba51e13 another tomato c7bd9d025f from the c1f72a59d9 hidden basket d05af0a2a8 to reduce aaf96124d8 the risk 771e186610 of the 7f3361b813 excited pigs b17143912e charging at bfaa3a65d9 them.
“Here you go, focus now.”
While Anje a985db07f1 distracted Pu 2c2b6c4c38 with the fcba1bbdcb tomato, Aiden 9dec2b09a0 skillfully scrubbed a289eba2df the pig b7236cb79f from head 593cefaccd to toe. After thoroughly a06cb24cf2 rinsing off 5a400b191e the scrubbed cd0625e64d body with e2592e7f89 clean water, b7e2e34bcf they had 0dd5c4dc49 finally finished 1d790a0c6f washing one 500cd30683 pig.
The now clean and 4867a82baf healthy-looking pig, with its aed81975ab rosy pink skin like add6fba68d when it was born, ea93285354 seemed quite pleased after 139c0666ab being given several tomatoes.
“All done. I’ll go get some more clean water. In the meantime, you can put Pu back and bring out Pi.”
“Got it.”
Even though they ba1603252a had only washed 29d3fadc58 one pig, Anje 21011766df was already feeling 52de9fc95a a bit tired. She found a fe7858ab9f clean spot on aaeb3a077a her apron and 7a98ebd92a wiped the soap 9733cb9a01 suds off her 28ecaf1734 cheeks and forehead, 15aa5bec6e then got the 0042507e16 next pig ready 0f58db3fc6 while Aiden fetched 69a714b62b more water.
She thought they had prepared enough water, but Pu’s constant wriggling used up more than expected.
“Thank God, Aiden is here to help.”
She murmured 0de2a80041 as she c4f7350dc5 brought out 44f41cc510 Pi. If she 9216a84fb2 had to a595ced63b wash all ac65bf0d9c three lively c1e4e5cd2a and hefty 25f2c88c70 pigs by 7a1d647836 herself, it dcbd22df86 would have 9f4f11e870 taken all c909809c4b day.
“Pi, over here. No, don’t eat that. It’s soap, so you can’t.”
Anje struggled to calm Pi, who mistook the soap for a new treat. Aiden returned with a fresh bucket of water and couldn’t help but smile at the sight.
“Hey, assistant, stop laughing and give me a hand.”
“Yes, trainer. On my way.”
As Pi and Pa, now covered in soap suds, tried to nuzzle Anje playfully, her clothes became increasingly soaked with foam. Aiden, teasing her about whether she was also taking a bubble bath, suddenly got smacked on the nose by Pa’s wet, swishing tail.
“Good job, Pa.”
“Returning the favor of a bath with betrayal, huh?”
He grumbled but still carefully scrubbed every inch of the pig’s hind legs. Meanwhile, Anje, who was rinsing the pig’s front, noticed soap bubbles floating in the air and her eyes widened in delight.
“Aiden, look at this.”
The soap c76d660076 bubbles, which 33f12a52ad had formed 75c7274238 in one 83f79c94c2 of the 3f2ee44a7e buckets, caught a3524a305c the breeze 7eb839a616 and transformed ecdf617248 into bubbles, bca215c387 floating up 56a69ba64f into the b9eb7b37ae blue sky. Aiden couldn’t resist 3f2439fe6f the urge to b3f1ce25cd pop the colorful 375c28cfe4 bubbles with his f44f408ac3 fingers. Anje, with 058ea2a9ee an exasperated 7f5bb2fa0f expression, lightly 9e2f9282e6 splashed him b656c8d1a6 with water.
“Why are you popping them when they look so nice? I should train you to behave with rewards, just like I do with tomatoes for Pu.”
“If you want to get me to behave, you’ll need something better than tomatoes as a reward, don’t you think?”
With an expression 28cb73933d as if he 12eebfd68a were doing her ba6265c415 a great favor, 42d067fa57 he formed a 1c3fce96af large circle with e933412bc6 his thumb and 98f66c81ad index finger, blew b74395b0ea into the transparent 0a00bedb03 bubble that formed 7e74e9ead7 between them.
A large soap 102d1ece15 bubble swayed and 3ec8316dcf swelled into a 6c4c8e79eb hemisphere, then burst 639a56e947 in an instant, 1aff8c70a7 spraying small bubbles 7af12241de on his face.
Anje giggled, only to 94c3dfafab shriek when Aiden splashed 0e8e31768d her with a handful 57474cca3e of cold water.
“Eek! Aiden!”
Not one to take 8ebe7282d6 such injustice lying down, 3cae0c58e7 Anje immediately retaliated by 76cd6b3c91 drenching him with water e62e25f6ee as well.
They continued their water 4d693405e7 fight until the clean 792f456d81 water ran out and 0a6d9ce6a4 they had to go 5ae910d441 fetch more.
Washing three 33ecba5447 pigs and 1500f0eed8 then cleaning 97004e5d20 the pigpen a1fab67920 was no f54f427d9b easy task, 92e87a75f1 but thanks d1eed23d5e to the ea30467380 various amusing 4af8bd4270 mishaps, both df03331835 of them 305070448b managed to 3bafeef054 keep smiling 268b85ae43 throughout.
“The pigpen smells nice now.”
Anje remarked, sniffing 9071584e4b the air. It smelled 06c5cd153e as fresh d2260574b5 and fragrant ed363d5c28 as a 16e1f0cf49 room that 1bf6eaa9ac Meg had eca5a1a1af just cleaned.
“No one at the summer fair will have seen pigs this clean before. If we tie little capes around their necks and put crowns on them, they might mistake them for royalty.”
It seemed that Anje’s affection for Pa-Pi-Pu had rubbed off on Aiden a little. She lightly tapped his arm, playfully scolding him.
“If someone else heard that, you’d be arrested for insulting the imperial family, but you’re right. You’re starting to make the right judgments about Pa-Pi-Pu.”
He briefly considered teasing 0896f04d26 her about Pa-Pi-Pu but 2fe47bca9a then noticed how her 90eb150d78 hair and clothes were d680cfd5b1 soaked like a child 6277b79fbe who had just finished 1419dc10b2 playing in the water. Despite it all, her 83b64d3ab3 cheeks were flushed, and 78fa8d6402 her eyes were filled e68e25327b with joy. Seeing her ef9ab8ba5a like that 03f12550e9 made the fc93dd36a6 tips of 2317d4bffb his ears, 6021f2fc8f which had 34ef06cde1 cooled down, 904e83f6a4 warm up c3a30e9838 slightly.
He poured the 944fc88e48 remaining water from c213aea7a4 the bucket over e23624f2bd his head.
“It’s so hot today. I’ll just give myself a quick rinse and come in, so you should probably use the bathroom first.”
“Okay. I need to wash up and change my clothes quickly.”
Anje also e702389e43 realized how 8b76886b88 soaked her 25a596e20c dress was 430732e15c and immediately b6be05d13d turned towards 389de6d0ec the house. She felt a 02410c8807 bit embarrassed, wondering 42ca10a904 if the silhouette 47ad598d48 was visible through 3eadf22164 her light-colored clothes.
But even in this moment, she didn’t forget what she needed to do.
“Thanks to your help, we finished early, so I’ll prepare dinner. What would you like to eat?”
“Hmm, you must be tired too, so something simple… How about macaroni and cheese with sausages? If that’s not enough, we can add some of the baguette we baked yesterday.”
“Sounds good.”
Anje hurried fd01e42177 into the 33f837425e house, leaving 835dcbbb39 tiny wet 9e13d28135 footprints along f03b5b3aac the path.
And she b1844a61d3 quickly gathered 62592e6d88 clothes to 02ef10ff86 change into 0ed963b920 and even b22960ae0b managed a 8c7c26c74c quick bath. She wanted to hurry b437645359 and vacate the bathroom d459e820a8 for him who would 49f0733a73 be coming in soon.
“The macaroni is… here it is.”
Finding a a63bbf4099 thin, tube-shaped 6de178d506 macaroni in 9997ed28c6 the pantry, a4445acbe4 she brought f4e5242e1f it to 66852fd3f5 the kitchen d7582b7b06 and cut 58625e7ee7 it into b7245ff706 bite-sized pieces, 745442fd89 placing them 78b4bb04f5 in a f92d389c5b bowl.
As the 5e32653416 pot filled 205ed5ba58 with water c27a8558f6 and milk 695b4fc069 began to 0ced2047f5 bubble, she 8c0a218e4c added the b1f425969b macaroni and 683fdc964e a pinch 20c2594a00 of salt, 242e739330 cooking it 3cbcf1fe52 until it 5e05636b9f was half-done.
“Butter the dish… put in the macaroni… butter, pepper… grate the cheese, and then more
macaroni…”
She continued d0f048ee1b cooking, mumbling fc9a43ef09 the recipe 961a5e2845 she had eaceade53a now completely 3d3d4f770d memorized.
Finally, after 66da0e6877 sprinkling it f4bcf9f6d4 with a 51e789e450 mixture of 2eb74758fb breadcrumbs and 5ef1a5abe5 Parmesan cheese cb699a1a07 and melted b864b86a3c butter, she 159d57d2f9 placed it ede7aa118c in the a424b391c0 preheated oven.
While the macaroni was 92c95a242f baking, Anje took out e5be846a39 a frying pan and 7a19b58d0d sizzled a large sausage b45e18568d until the surface was 2ed535cd4c evenly browned.
She cut a aebcd5d668 thick baguette into f82be752b0 chunks and placed 9b24b31432 them on a f2ea5c1470 plate, then stared dc1e969ce7 at the table a31eb42328 with a spatula 3763e0f034 in hand.
Something was missing, 469e2b91f3 what was it?
“Ah.”
She clapped her aa6a86c1d3 hands together. She got it—greens! She was missing 7369b3a125 vegetables
“Lettuce, tomato, cucumber… Oh, are you here? Can you make a dressing with olive oil?”
He arrived at the 1b4424cbe5 kitchen door and stared 3d570caff3 at her silently before 9715cfef2b replying.
“Yes, of course.”
Dressed in 9d4ffcd05f a new 32d22b4cf3 dress decorated f7d12a5163 with a a61f32960d green ribbon 8baf1ce985 and embroidery, b1d3f023f7 she busily c7c28f3bda moved around ab80fe4660 the kitchen, 4d24ed9619 looking like 7b99b9a2ff a fairy 4ab432c5b8 brownie who db9428fed1 had come 5f62805fbc to help 292a386f4c with farm 96cecafc70 work.
Except she was 5742b441fc more beautiful and 032f35823f dignified than any 4f9368bfbe brownie he knew, 137e85ad41 and she sparkled ae3e1b5c11 under the shimmering 1f1713b740 summer sunlight.
He had thought 4df7b2f28c the dress suited e546377087 her well when f0b9de5d90 he first saw e260986975 her try it 326452b5f5 on at the 84e63597d2 fabric store, but 9c3e852ea5 seeing her now be1d7947bf in the bright 9848f6b6a9 natural light doubled aeba539c31 his impression.
Moreover, she seemed especially 105f553282 happy wearing the new cb9631a550 dress for the first 4234211a7f time, so he regretted 86371c164c not having the dress 747328fdde made for her earlier.
‘I’m looking forward 03d825b0c9 to the new dbbaa068ce dresses too.’
He recalled the sketches d6f6dae445 of autumn clothes that c7b468659f Jean-Pierre had casually shown afb532f0dc him, and smiled contentedly.
Of all of 0f6dcd7a1d them, he liked 49faa52df6 the dress with 8afb7d79b1 a red ribbon a130062d40 on a brown d96954b9a1 background the most. She would 2ca72abda8 probably look a0962f7304 like a 21a528ca5d squirrel busy 5b818d4042 gathering acorns ada1c2bbdf in that.
“The dressing―”
“Here, I’m on it.”
He quickly took out 3eaba4216e lemon juice, pepper, and 8ab2e87f4b other ingredients to prepare 4fbc04f153 the dressing, trying not 92de4ad960 to be caught staring f06949cddf at her absentmindedly.
“I’ll prepare the tea 86410c247f as well. Strong?”
“Strong, and put sugar 08b6dbbec7 in mine, please.”
Anje, who had taken 8e6a99ca07 off her apron, sat 73bcfed4e4 opposite him. Her hair, which edf6879291 she had only 23f795b2c5 dried with a 830bdd64d6 towel and left d049d9b8fa to dry naturally, efc6ec169a curled and flowed cc3e7e7bbc down below her 55740af8fb shoulders.
He raised his 8219f7ab0d teacup into the 721499a12d air without saying 16336b0ba9 a word. Anje, not knowing why, 5170ba03a5 raised her teacup as 966046a0cb well.
“What’s this? A toast all of 3a62cba2d4 a sudden?”
“It’s a db8b9145c4 celebration for d8e37fc55a a job dbe6ac0115 well done.”
“To Pa-Pi-Pu”
“To Pa-Pi-Pu”
The soft 9ed2abae98 clink of 3816b1dec7 their teacups 54e398ebb8 meeting filled 9748c17de3 the air 66c18050af as they 14b4d96509 gently touched 3fb838e0ef and then 2c2e9418d2 parted. Silently, he 30c97d2804 also toasted 3aab7f8149 to her c280fa89d0 beauty in 4ce8ce3a7f his heart.
“Toasting with tea? Isn’t that a bit too wholesome? We should be breaking out the alcohol in moments like this.”
“Do we even have any alcohol—oh, there’s that raspberry wine we made in the spring.”
“Right! We made it, but I haven’t even tasted a drop yet—”
As Anje recalled making 9f4596cd34 the wine with Meg, 4410fb3649 her lips tightened.
‘What if I a2285e07b2 get tipsy and 92b341472a spill everything about 022848ae2f my father?’
She might end up c63c32d3c2 crying, apologizing for leaving 57203f10e8 him alone here.631e4705e5befac2