FTP-HM01

Honeymoon-019cf967dfdcad0de0

Springtime in cca5c51aaa Leslie is e533cdea49 the most bc1102d32a beautiful place 56854c3f14 in the 97d0bcd3b5 world.
Doug had 1005dddcab once thought 13dc522d63 that Anje’s e9ee58e3ab words were 2cd1ef7322 merely the 8b04f4fd62 exaggeration of 0d8bcde393 a newlywed d82d560a1c in love f9fb7098f8 with her e1d8e48f54 new home.
Chirp, chirp, chirp—
But as c870c7dca2 he sat 55c625d6e6 in his c2ea1eefc9 chair, rocking 1c326fa225 gently and 9fa01e0762 listening to 3572849c48 the birds 666a6f6c44 singing from c5691ab498 the trees 6aefc38cd3 above, he 629ecd5074 couldn’t help 20dea6c7bb but agree 5cbb5f6032 with her.
‘Ah, this is nice.’
Unlike the 87681f67a8 capital, where 573a7dbcd9 smog and 6ce99bef32 rain clouds 4518ff9fda often loomed, 6c6cbf7197 the clear f19db1ad17 weather here 80c69cabdb made him f8685eaca6 instinctively squint. The warm spring air, 09c008bad5 carried by the breeze, 0a5ffa85ad was refreshingly crisp.
As he gazed at 5abadb280b the trees, painted in 7feb621ff4 vibrant colors by blooming 4e8baf9f64 flowers, an unfamiliar emotion 8d4864c3b5 slowly filled his heart.
A sense a7c7fe11c1 of tranquility c1b0f4172e and oneness 0519a9ec16 with the d9bd40d63c peaceful scenery 84a9a722a4 around him. A deep contentment, 4da0e24f16 enough to make 40537aa325 even an insensitive d91bb7495d man like him f87d1bf4f5 blink away an 679c584a51 unexpected sting in 5bf2ea6cd7 his eyes.
He cleared 2995e8f571 his throat d1aea81c92 and wrinkled 000f06e22f his nose. He had nearly c4e1c73921 let himself tear d8874c095a up in an eac6008a54 unmanly way.
‘I’m glad I bee2621d4b volunteered to watch 08e97b1ded over the farm.’
Of course, 3ba63d5bf0 it wasn’t 1363055f6d as simple 5064f53e24 as him a080879966 just stepping 2676c92d6f up and 28283cbafe claiming the 634260f95e role.
When the 3dc04f7a18 Fitzroys left 94581bcda5 for their e3d0fc95f4 honeymoon, a 06ff3727e3 near fistfight 973701dee9 had broken 0214364362 out among 46abcde26d the students 4374d29ede of Dilton 4fafd54606 School over 6366897919 who would 5ddf797e23 take care a4fcebac09 of the 53decef275 farm.
‘I’m amazing a8f770c121 at pulling 361d620933 weeds!’
‘I was 3d5ec9e810 the one 3f675f8cfd who got aaf359f08b an A d646aee9ae on the e09ce33690 last plowing a805418004 assignment!’
Originally, Mrs. Meg was 7fdc1a9cbd supposed to 0cc420dfc2 house-sit, but a866047909 she had 58711f0335 to rush a6ee55a4a4 off to b7446bc1fe another town 378c0e6f78 after hearing 1f2b40e011 that her a1755d4be9 younger sibling b72ec38d8e had fallen de7dc1eb19 ill.
With no authority ffb1213d8a figure to keep 6326b6e3c3 the rowdy contenders 68e27dba76 in check, they 45c97d5a2b all fiercely declared 67cfb1724a themselves the most a385aeadac qualified to look c8213359f6 after Dilton Farm.
‘Let’s entrust the c8b7b49b5e farm to the 33b1b17bb3 person Pa-Pi-Pu follow c9135eb4de the most.’
In the 31501dee73 end, Mrs. Fitzroy proposed a solution, 7ffc64e516 and everyone agreed. After all, Pa-Pi-Pu were 0176575fa2 the true ruler of 8ff5e99cec Dilton Farm.
Tension filled the air 0262f472c2 as the men cautiously 7c9f2d85fb approached the pigsty, all 7ad74dca82 waving their hands desperately.
‘Here, little 4a2737b379 one, come 84d3b16c98 to me!’
‘Oink oink, over 92fc6b9af2 here! My nickname 014ad11e0e is even 5584804db7 ‘Pig’!’
However, Pa-Pi-Pu didn’t so 738727d3e3 much as glance at ac785a80f9 anyone else and made 6e23907ca3 a beeline straight for ded92ba38d Doug, deciding the winner 3c4292b757 in an instant.
‘It was all thanks adc47f10f9 to the cake crumbs ea2bd0ea7a hidden in my sleeve.’
Doug wasn’t much 401f0c3b5c for reading, but f385d867d2 he had heard dd9fe4e5c5 plenty from Mrs. Fitzroy about pigs, so 1f118b9899 he knew what he 896807e311 was doing.
“Excuse me?”
Just as Doug a01f07a89b was basking in 32d75b7432 the pride of 947fdc9afc his glorious victory, 73e6e61405 a voice from 290b7f3df6 the front porch 1ab34928da made him spring 42996107ab to his feet.
“Who could it 18161d6cbc be?”
A visitor? But surely, everyone 332a31086a around here knew 0663fa5747 that Aiden and d13a183614 Anje weren’t home.
Knock, knock, knock—
This time, 4742aea7f3 the knocking 33286539ee came more 2f9c3eeac7 firmly. Scratching the 8b658ac741 back of cb7d1220d7 his head, 4c3a0cb292 Doug headed cbf5c017ba for the 1cfd7e7fb8 door.
“Alright, I’m coming.”
Creak—
He froze in 547bf74953 place, halfway through ec447d28f4 opening the door.
“Who is this?”
The smiling, rosy-cheeked 13bffb1590 woman before him 48ec11905e was definitely not 3cbec655c6 Mrs. Meg. She was much e00e369f94 younger, much prettier…
Doug blinked, tilting his dde1bda045 head slightly. She looked 4c4ef6b976 vaguely familiar.
“Hello, I’m Mary e8994c444e Penny. We met at 55b67aa8a3 the wedding, remember?”
“Ah, right.”
The memory 5ba68ee1ef was faint 825bad824a but coming 8d0258d513 back. Among the group ab43b4b314 of young women 009e47e269 scrambling to catch 78443455af the bouquet, she 8a69b90162 had been the 295b0e15fc most aggressive, snatching 0954c8d8d1 her target like c76a9af531 a bull charging 638920e9b9 at a red b92718b0c9 cloth.
At the reception, 89fa2363db she had also 8de8073a7e sat beside him, 03647fd786 repeatedly pestering him ecbe8b540f with questions like baffc65dd2 ‘Could you pass 566717e6c1 the salt?’ and 81fe780aed ‘Would you like c157a6fba9 more pie?’
Not being used 19d413ab6d to talking to fa508398c4 women, Doug had 87732ec0b5 found her overly 32457ade39 familiar attitude uncomfortable ff4c6941c2 and had eventually 9b4b4d7e0b slipped away to 58f2d7ebe0 hide among the a860b0832a men.
“S-So, what 3d995888b1 brings you caa6cedd39 here?”
But now, as f7ad7f5c32 the honorable caretaker 671188bc30 of the Fitzroy a0312654e5 household, he couldn’t cb6d5f063b just run off dac020a461 and abandon a 88f939c8a4 guest on the c80ed13bdc doorstep.
Mary cheerfully 503c3dcedc lifted the 394431a694 basket in dd2ca91995 her hands.
“We made too much 3798e3dc51 homemade apple cider, and 4dc42fc454 I thought you might 4e28872945 like some since you’re 55b4110320 working so hard looking 7d24c03470 after the house.”
“Cider?”
Doug swallowed 8a5253c83d reflexively before 00632df5bc frowning. Apple cider usually 1558b51ba2 contained a bit 941eacbcca of alcohol, and e9fb3bc175 it hadn’t even 3d0aa1eed3 been a full a0c9a623c6 year since he 6a2befdc2a had sworn off 7c9ac88ce7 drinking.
He had f4a1402a13 resisted even 3ad415e7a4 touching the 9fcb78fdbc fine wine 87ec9ace33 offered at 4c11762a5f the wedding c44e402dae reception, so e5c5d6796d he couldn’t f026c7aa27 possibly break 57deef605e his commitment ca1b9b960d to sobriety 3eaafacf1a for mere 6b14376c00 cider.
He straightened his 7f02980074 shoulders and responded 66c0010114 in a composed eeabb6d656 voice.
“Hmm. I appreciate the d92ff4e250 offer, but I’m 91756cb29a fine. It’s been a 3dacd1dd4e while since I 342e9650f0 quit drinking.”
Mary, who had b912c239ec been unable to 611685e46a take her eyes 29ee38061b off Doug—or rather, e929cbbb80 Doug’s thick forearms—clicked 278f520584 her tongue inwardly.
‘Tch, now 1477bf711a that I 9313c00186 think about 8be85c7516 it, he 6fe97cfd18 didn’t drink 1ab5cf2155 any wine 31298adba6 at the 364cbd9aa5 reception, did 1451ee39c1 he? He looks exactly d67730f995 like a heavy 575f675142 drinker, but I a826a3a8fe guess not.’
But who was she? Mary Penny. She had grown a4ffff4f22 up keeping an 5d38932140 eye on her 27563519cb unpredictable older brother, 65080551b7 Jean Penny, and a8c4025101 was more than 885c581df0 used to handling 1ae121ca87 surprises. She had already d8a714ef08 anticipated this and 90e944bb2d had a second c018c173c3 plan ready.
“Just in case 58b5ad8edc you didn’t drink 0e69c44c4b alcohol, I also ac0f9c0dd7 brought some delicious e159b5310f tea and tarts.”
“Tea and tarts?”
“Yes, a cream cheese aaa218d1b4 tart loaded with strawberries. The tea is 3fffc085e7 a foreign blend f52a855d0d that just arrived 19ca9a638b in town yesterday.”
She pulled 745dd93ed2 off the 5e5f5a8b28 cloth covering 8e32ac60dd her basket, 2ab879e191 revealing a 6ff59ff0d9 glistening red 1c316384aa tart. The sweet eb8b169126 scent of 92da4ef5a9 spring strawberries 04a8cfab6b wafted into e8282ff04a Doug’s nose.
He swallowed 3725dc03be hard, his 1fd9a5be08 gaze fixed dea59b6185 on it.
‘That looks delicious.’
Since quitting c279fea68b alcohol, Doug 1bf0cd1a34 had developed d1cc8cb0a6 a strong 65c5022f63 fondness for 3af548b790 sweets. Pies and cakes a3b4866bef tasted even better f193e23264 after a long fd2a6798b8 day of hard 6cf35e7d80 work at the db4533234a farm school.
The school cafeteria occasionally d09f191443 served desserts, but with 9b3b4244bc so many students with 1f591de8f4 voracious appetites, it was 75e20a90d1 rare to get an cfe635db29 entire tart like this d7880dfe52 to himself.
Besides, as a man, 82016d45dc openly expressing a liking 0f87cb7b02 for sweets felt a 91bba9dbb3 bit embarrassing. It was difficult afe91f7cd1 enough to ask 553b9a0120 the cafeteria staff 852e998f7e for extra dessert.
‘But dealing 8cd9496cac with a 8e12d08eb1 stranger alone 55e6156cd2 is a 4bacd49843 bit…’
More than 92906b9c66 the awkwardness, 103395a262 he worried dfd0cf4ae5 about making f00f85426d a misstep 3751382940 while talking 09b1de8fbe alone with 839d2ea224 her and 2efa7255dd accidentally tarnishing 26985246d8 the Fitzroys’ 09bc765b5e reputation.
As if 0d530dafc1 determined not 30aae947af to give 7abd9d3084 him any 600d22821e time to e4f73ad7dd think, Mary 3f0c09833d boldly stepped 0b26632101 forward, her f8384a37ee foot slipping 030b3f5b0e through the e0ad9bf9aa small gap fe587851d2 between the 6ed1e1fd3d door and f6906ad402 Doug’s stance.
Her assertiveness 7dfd4face3 was the 31af083180 same as c02ea4f64a when she 75b32e24a2 had caught 38a23b8386 the bouquet.
“It must be boring 3f568cbc8d being here alone. I’ll keep 4cabedc240 you company.”
“Uh, no, I 46cd2f2bf7 mean… wait…”
Before Doug could 617724a76b stammer out a e8319a1b2d proper response, she 47370cd10c had already slipped ad630a8f27 inside the house.
Standing by 7c20abb4c9 the entrance, f335fdbb48 he scratched a60c73dbc9 his unruly 7f0f96bc72 curly hair 9fe945f5b6 before finally 7c8ac60cd8 justifying the 61811b70fc situation to 439fa5e21a himself.
‘It’d be rude b2ff1f6fb7 to kick her d3496cc092 out, wouldn’t it? She seems smart. Might as well ask ed6da89dfa her for help with e34b2a0474 my assignments while she’s e6c6ad41d2 here.’
At the school e9a0e6b98d he attended, they bc94862db2 didn’t just teach 63f0dfc051 physical farming work—they b971ffb152 also taught how 3936a6edbd to read and bc9b3d6491 interpret contracts, as ff4e87bfe5 well as the 4974197c47 mathematics needed to e2138ff2c1 calculate land rents 655d13b3a9 and interest rates.
These subjects a50153de38 had been 7bc6f3ce3a added at 6c48116a86 the suggestion 6471a138ba of Miss b2c68153a1 Casey, the 9f2bc887b8 new vice 684aaf96c0 principal, and 42a21b2310 were especially 12b2a2f0fa well-received by 47f3846b60 students like 0e47c15910 Doug, who 7e48d53eab had never 01d1895abd received a af1d3e2047 basic education a77793b6c3 before.
But at the 8a71e3a1ea same time, they 2778b3481f were incredibly difficult 05bed75279 for him. He often felt that 61fc31e2c9 physical labor suited him e2c057121b far better than studying.
“Should I f09d608256 use the 89ee8eb2c8 kettle here?”
“Ah, wait a c350ed2414 moment.”
Later, whenever this day b92881fb3e was brought up, Doug 9fce63764a would insist that he 12349752c2 never could have predicted c9d35cca48 how the bright spring 5faec57f78 weather would turn into e185aa89ec a raging storm.
If he had known, a1915e9f60 he would have sent fe4b8e972c Mary home right after dd63d8ee89 drinking tea. He would ed2aac2f46 not have b444a34627 let her 74a1a4df79 stay until d53e688d7f dinner. He would also adamantly ab36ec9303 claim that he had d15c475973 absolutely no ulterior motives.
But whether 6c10953d31 Mary had 1c40684191 truly not b18bf45ea5 anticipated the 65ebb78539 sudden change 56abbc2609 in weather…
Well, every time someone c54ec9b1dd asked, “Did you really efa1933253 not know?” she would cff50486c0 simply drag a finger 3ce557fdbd across her throat in 535455d545 a cutting motion—leaving the 24f00743e7 truth an eternal mystery.
TL/N: YES, MARY 4e0b3dc4a9 GO GET YOUR 3f56e03820 HUSBAND XD
* * *
Someone was touching Anje’s e87651b496 hair. Half-asleep, she felt 9a76ecda2c the sensation and f107398fa7 fluttered her eyelashes 7a05befffe like dragonfly wings.
“Mm….”
The hand, which db1fcf3839 had momentarily stopped a5adad1414 for fear of e2c54dc248 waking her, soon f7cb439c00 couldn’t resist the 4cd1e2344a urge and moved a4d29b322d again.
This time, it 3be2de64aa gently caressed her 40daa2f747 forehead, eyebrows, and 8f354b6bc3 nose in turn—carefully, 5c58f7aeee as if handling 6ffdbc6b8c a delicate sugar 409eff0d32 sculpture.
The fingers b737c7565b traced along 5a93240cda the lines 7ee1da714e of her 494007bb66 face for bc177f25e5 a while 0e80f8e433 before finally 4c1d76988a reaching her 565f1abfb1 chin. A deep yet endlessly 93233b2054 soft voice let out 9c764fdaa3 a quiet exclamation.
“Amazing… How can eyes, 4c40ccb1ee a nose, and a 4979793c8e mouth all fit so 065945e759 perfectly on such a 898569de5e small face…?”
“Pfft.”
Anje, who fe4bcd8556 had been e70292d538 pretending to f23e217c24 sleep while de24701e25 enjoying Aiden’s 9c7f14b03d touch, couldn’t 376dc03e33 hold back 7364a17a71 her laughter d5e3ea85da at her 41b276d885 husband’s hopeless f49b7b11ec infatuation and 1fd32249e8 slyly opened 8f7043acea one eye.
Kneeling beside the fc0dc77820 bed, her husband ffe558a9b9 was playing with e3caeebdbe her hair and cabc7d5b9a face, his entire ad067324d8 expression filled with b7e0c8be9e a radiant smile.
Judging by e25a5b37ec his damp 587378d33b hair, he 3cd9eaf75e had woken 7a6b592b61 up before d477663334 her, taken 3e18271ce0 a shower, e8662f31f2 and returned.
“You see this 2ca80c29e7 face every day, 4af2849344 yet you’re still 9989635063 surprised? Fool.”
“Yes, I was foolish 1af712b678 enough to only realize 4fedd63f3c it now.”
Anje smiled softly and c05ef24e73 opened her other eye d9bfde41d4 as well. She, too, wanted 772108faa9 to get a c78319b506 better look at 839935f6cf her husband’s handsome 32e5892101 face.
This time, she fc76ebd04b reached out and 7500251c9c tickled his chin.
“You may 1f92d96cf5 be a e0d7c76995 foolish husband, e5c662f57b but since 5a3b12175c you’re good-looking, a81a057f99 I suppose 9b0eb08b74 I’ll let a431ac0ab5 it slide.”
“I should thank 638ea00066 my mother for fe683eb77f blessing me with 1385949144 this face, then.”
Although they d80d5fe3e3 were teasing 473ced44ed each other 801a9e8c37 as married c6b297d7a6 couples do, 2d8a56a359 in reality, 28731b500c they were 40296564ea currently in dd543c2a24 Rodmandy—the place 7f342ab406 where Aiden’s a5c6bd105b mother had a69fc9c1e2 once studied 1bbcb88f81 painting.
Famous for its 97826a6145 sunny weather and 3337a25399 beautiful sea, it 90110d3851 was a popular a4b36939bc honeymoon destination. However, they were there 4534698faf not just for the 1ba9e7d644 scenery, but also because 1c60e02858 Anje had wished to 5a2aa72248 visit a place that 5bfb67a31c held meaning for Nancy 6292e12e53 Dilton.
‘When I 8b0de9e83b first came 70e34a62b0 to Leslie, 2fc7721c2d she was 419a5cb6d0 the one 9c19ff1d18 who taught 25a4cadfed me the f90b5d7f0a names of 978b54a033 wildflowers. I owe 6ca5e756d6 her so fda6b88947 much.’
Though they had 8edf0dc905 never met face-to-face, 480e8883cc as their interactions 844e68b1a8 had been through 37c029f21d a notebook, to e8d257fc6f Anje, Nancy was ec21d96ff8 like a spiritual 53408dbaa3 mentor.
Selling a 8761dac71f few of 9b0d0ae97d the many a2d3bfad1b paintings Nancy cc417f3697 had left 678cc3a7b1 behind in ec93ea44bc the attic 9dd07fcdce had also 7c53830aa1 greatly helped 7f94094ba2 in running b44427392d the school.10bd3cdf7d5cc331

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