Chapter X: Travis' Story

Fawna learns more about Travis and attempts to help him win the affections of his crush, Rose.

                After finishing up the farm chores, Fawna and Travis headed towards Serenity Falls' bar just as he had promised her. As they stepped in, a brunette woman in a red tank top and old, torn up jeans walked over and beamed at them.

                "Hey Travis, who's your friend?" she asked cheerfully. Fawna noticed that the look she gave Fawna was slightly suspicious and almost jealous but she was still very polite and friendly towards both of them. Travis smiled back and Fawna noticed his eyes were a lot brighter than they were before.

                "Hi Rose, this is my friend Fawna I was telling you about. She's the new owner of Tom and Rita's old farm," he introduced her. Rose nodded and smiled.

                "Travis has said a lot about you. You're exactly how I pictured you," she said with a kind laugh but Fawna still couldn't help but wonder if her words really were meant as a compliment. "There's no one here right now, business has been pretty slow today so go sit down and I'll probably be able to get your order to you right away," she said with a wink.

                "Thanks Rose," Travis smiled, leading Fawna to the table closest to where Rose was working behind the counter. As they waited for her to just finish up some dishes in the back room, Travis' eyes slid from the conversation he was having with Fawna to the back door every minute or so, with a hopeful look in his eye. Suddenly, it clicked and Fawna put two and two together. Leaning closer to him and whispering just in case Rose walked back out, Fawna voiced her hunch.

                "Travis, do you like her?" she asked him, nodding her head towards the door where Rose was working behind. Travis chuckled weakly with a sheepish grin and rubbed the back of his neck.

                "It's that obvious, huh?" he asked, looking a little embarrassed. Fawna raised her eyebrows and nodded as Travis sighed.

                "You know, I think she likes you too. If you want, I can leave so you can talk to her alone," Fawna offered. Helping friends get dates had always been one of Fawna's favourite hobbies. Travis laughed and shook his head.

                "Nah, I'm not that brave," he joked. "Besides, I promised you a meal, remember?" Fawna just shrugged.

                "It can always wait, and you were brave when you were telling Greg off," she pointed out. Travis scowled at the mention of his name.

                "Yeah well the jerk had it coming to him. Rose is definitely not Greg," he argued back defensively. Not being able to come up with an argument against this, Fawna just sighed and started tapping her scratched, paint-less, chipped fingernails on the rough wooden table. A few seconds later, Rose came back out with a pad and pencil in her hand.

                "Sorry about that. I couldn't remember where I had placed my notepad and pencil for the life of me." she smiled. "Now, what is it you'd like?" Fawna tapped her finger against her chin thoughtfully before answering.

                "I don't suppose you have any martinis?" she asked. Rose laughed and shook her head.

                "Sorry, nothing like that around here. We do have Farmer's Delight, though. I think the name fits, don't you?" she said airily. Fawna laughed and nodded.

                "Okay, one of those then and... a salad?" she asked hopefully. Rose nodded and jotted down the order, then took Travis'. He had roasted fish and a fizzy raspberry drink.

                Halfway through the meal, the conversation turned towards Travis. He knew quite a bit about her, but Fawna hardly knew anything about Travis other than his dad ran the Farmer's Shop and he was a nice guy. "You know, when I first met you, you told me that you cared because you used to be like me. What did you mean?" Fawna asked him, taking a sip of her drink.

                "Oh that," he said, just remembering it now. "Well, I used to live in the city too. My parents divorced when I was three and my dad took off here, leaving me with my mom. I was too little to remember and my dad never talked to me again after that, so for the longest time I was under the impression that I didn't have a dad, because my mom never talked about him," Travis said this with such a casual tone that Fawna was surprised. If that had been her, she'd have been crying right now. "When I was fifteen, I found a really nasty letter under my mom's bed while I was cleaning her room. It was from my father and he was really mad because my mom hadn't let him see or talk to me in twelve years."

                "Wow..." Fawna whispered. "What did you do then?" She wanted to hear more. Travis took a sip of his drink before continuing.

                "Well, I was so furious with my mom for not telling me about my dad and keeping him away from me. We had this huge fight and I ran away. The letter said that my dad lived in Serenity Falls and I had nowhere else to go, so I trekked over here on my own. I had no money for a cab or a bus."

                "You walked all the way here from the city?" Fawna asked, completely aghast. Travis nodded.

                "Yup. I arrived there the next day. I knew my dad's name was Eric from the letter so I asked around and the villagers sent me to the Farmer's Shop. I knocked on the door and at first my dad didn't recognize me because he hadn't seen me since I was three. I had to show him the letter and then he believed me. He offered me a job at his shop so I could earn my keep. He's pretty hard on me and I heard he wasn't much better to you your first day here, but he's really not that bad of a guy," Travis explained. One thing still confused Fawna, though.

                "Don't you still talk to your mom, though?" Fawna asked after swallowing a mouthful of salad. Travis' eyes clouded over and he cleared his throat awkwardly.

                "She died a few months after I came here. We never got the chance to make up. I found out later that she'd had cancer for the last year and a half but never told me. She didn't want me to worry about her while I was there and after I left, she didn't want to force me to come home out of pity for her," he sighed sadly. Fawna bit her lip, feeling foolish for asking him to divulge this information. Travis noticed and forced a smile, patting her hand kindly.

                "Don't feel bad about it, Fawna. That was ten years ago and it's not as hard to deal with now," he reassured her. "You see? I used to be like you because I left the city after being hurt by someone I loved and had a pretty hard time adjusting to the new lifestyle," he told her. Fawna smiled back and nodded.

                By the end of Travis' tale, their plates had been cleaned and it was nearly one in the afternoon. Rose came up to them to clear their table. "Bye Travis. Stop by again soon," she told him sweetly, pointedly leaving Fawna out of the greeting. Travis went a little bit red at the back of his neck where Rose couldn't see and nodded. As they left the bar, Fawna turned around with a stern expression on her face and her hands placed on her hips.

                "Alright, I can't watch this anymore. You need to march right back in there and ask that Rose woman out on a date with you. It's obvious you like each other," she told him matter-of-factly. Travis stared blankly at her.

                "Rose? Like me?" he asked. Fawna laughed at how stupidly oblivious her friend could be.

                "YES!" she yelled in exasperation. "Didn't you even notice how she kept trying to exclude me? She must have thought I was your girlfriend or something. Now get in there and convince her otherwise!" she insisted. Travis seemed very reluctant and Fawn used her last resort. She looked into his eyes sadly and pouted. "Don't you trust me? I thought I was your friend?" she asked him in a wobbly voice. Travis raised his eyebrows.

                "You must be serious if you're willing to pull that ridiculous stunt on me," he laughed. "Alright, I'll do it but if I make a fool of myself you're doing your farm chores on your own for a week," he threatened. Fawna shooed him off into the bar and waited for a few minutes. Travis walked back out looking very down and for a moment, Fawna thought she had been wrong after all.

                "Well?" she asked hesitantly. Travis sighed and crossed his arms.

                "I hate it when you're right," he told her simply. Fawna broke out laughing and patted him on the back in congratulations.

                "So, when are you two going out?" she asked him. With a sheepish grin, Travis mumbled the answer.

                "Tomorrow night at the waterfall," he revealed. Smiling and still laughing at her success, she and Travis began walking back to the farm.

                "See, what would you do without me?" she asked him, revelling in her moment of glory. Travis playfully shoved her in the arm.

                "Don't make me deflate your head with a hoof pick," he said solemnly, but the grin that broke across his face afterwards said plainly that he was just as happy as she was, if not more.