Chapter XIII: Rose's "Problem"

Rose apologizes to Fawna for her actions and reveals a dark secret about herself.

                Fawna cried herself to sleep that night. She had lost her best friend because of his jealous girlfriend. What Rose had said really hurt her. It was the same as everyone else thought of her, that she was nothing but an air-headed ditz who was fit for nothing except living off of her rich boyfriend's credit cards. Maybe they were right.

                "Fawna? FAWNA! Open up!" Travis' voice called the next morning, jolting Fawna out of her sleep. Fawna deliberately kept her eyes shut and did not move. She was much too hurt by the day before to make up with him just yet. Eventually, she heard a sigh from the other side of the door and heavy footsteps trudging away. Deciding that it was now safe to get up, Fawna climbed out of her bed and got dressed, walking outside.

                Looking in her shipping box, she discovered that she had made quite a bit of money from the tomatoes she had grown. She had enough money for a chicken now! This lifted Fawna's spirits slightly and she collected her funds and put them in her pocket before doing her morning chores. Once she had taken care of Mutt and Martini, watered her tomatoes, and cleared her field, Fawna headed towards Mineral Town's Poultry Farm. She did not want to buy her chicken from the Farmer's Shop in Serenity Falls in case Travis was there helping his dad.

                "Why hello there. You're a new face. My name is Lillia, how may I help you?" the lady behind the counter at the Poultry Farm asked pleasantly. The woman was very pretty, but Fawna noticed that she seemed rather pale and weak.

                "Uh, hi. I'm Fawna. I run a farm in Serenity Falls and I'm here to buy a chicken," she announced, laying the gold down on the table. Lillia's eyes widened in recognition.

                "Oh, you're the woman Rick was telling me about. Rick is my son," Lillia told her, smiling. As Fawna was about to reply, Lillia's face screwed up in pain and she doubled over coughing. Alarmed, Fawna hurried over to her, but Rick came dashing down the stairs before Fawna could do anything.

                "MOM!" he shouted, kneeling beside her, his face completely overtaken in worry. Pushing his glasses higher up his nose, Rick helped his mother to the couch. Lillia waved off all of his worried exclamations.

                "I'm alright dear. Don't worry," she told him gently, patting his hand. Rick did not look convinced.

                "Are you sure you don't want Popuri to take you to the clinic?" he asked her. "I can run the store and take care of the chickens myself," he insisted. Fawna smiled and her heart gave a tug of affection towards this rather awkward-looking man who worked so hard to take care of his family. Lillia suddenly remembered that Fawna was there and frowned.

                "Oh, I'm so sorry Fawna. You wanted to buy a chicken, didn't you?" she asked as Fawna nodded. "Rick, could you go help Fawna pick out her chicken please? I'll be alright in the store," she assured him. Rick reluctantly nodded and led Fawna out to the chicken pen. Poor Rick looked so sad that Fawna just had to cheer him up.

                "Your mom seems really nice and I'm sure she'll be just fine," Fawna said sweetly, smiling sympathetically. Rick sighed and nodded.

                "Yeah, I guess. I'm sorry that the second time we met had to be like that. I hope you won't think I'm too much of a worry-wart. Popuri says I am and so does that womanizer Kai she's dating. I don't trust him one bit," he said huffily. Fawna found herself becoming quite attracted to Rick, despite his outwardly appearance and awkwardness. Usually, Fawna was attracted to rich, good-looking men who had more money than compassion, so this was quite unusual for her. She laughed kindly and put a hand on his shoulder which made him jump.

                "I think it's sweet that you worry about your family," she told him truthfully and Rick's face brightened immediately. "Nobody's ever worried about me before," she sighed, but quickly flashed another smile to hide her sadness. The truth was that every time she felt any kind of affection towards another guy, the memories of Greg came flooding back. The way he used to kiss her and hold her as they drifted off to sleep at night still made her eyes fill with tears of longing. Despite everything, she still loved him.

                "Are you alright?" Rick asked gently. "You have a strand of hair in your face, by the way," he told her, going to brush it aside as another leap of attraction went through Fawna's body, quickly marred by Greg's face swimming around on the surface of her mind. Fawna blushed and nodded.

                "Yes, just a little hot, that's all... um, can I have that chicken?" she asked softly, pointing to one that was sitting by herself in the corner of the pen. Rick frowned slightly.

                "Well, then you should go home and get some water before you collapse," he advised. Looking at the chicken Fawna pointed to, he nodded. "Sure. That one's a real sweetheart. Just give her a name and I'll drop her off at your farm tomorrow morning." Fawna bit her lip, thinking hard about what to name her. Suddenly, an old Celtic ballad she used to sing at Greg's bar called "All Too Soon" popped into her head, along with the words "And the bonny new land that we shaped with our hand, it'll roll to the ocean again..." She smiled and turned to Rick.

                "I'll name her Bonny," she said. Rick nodded and laughed.

                "That's a good name. She'll be at your farm tomorrow. Take care now," he told her as she walked back towards Serenity Falls. Rick had been right. She had been in the sun all day and felt very faint. The watering hole at her farm was disgusting to drink since it served as her bathtub as well as her crop water. She would have to go to the Crescent Moon Bar in Serenity Falls to get some water. She knew Rose would be there but she was so weary, she didn't care at the moment. Walking through the doors of the bar as the sun began to set, she ran right into Rose who had been about to walk outside.

                "Oh, Fawna!" she gasped, bumping into her. "I was just about to see you," she told her. Fawna gave her a very confused look.

                "See me? Don't you hate me?" she asked. Beginning to feel angry again, Fawna scowled. "After all, I'm just a ditzy bar singer who's trying to steal your boyfriend!" she snapped. Rose hung her head in shame.

                "I'm really sorry about what I said. Can we talk?" she asked. Fawna was beginning to feel dizzy from the heat and she gripped the windowsill to steady herself.

                "As long as I can have some water," she replied. Rose nodded and went back inside with Fawna following to pour her a glass of water.

                "Here. Water is always free, by the way," Rose said as Fawna gratefully gulped down the cool liquid. Already, her head felt clearer. Rose sat down opposite her and sighed. "Travis and I mended things between us," she began as Fawna nodded. That was good, she guessed. Travis seemed to really like her. "The thing is, I wasn't in my right mind yesterday... I had a bit more to drink than I should have," she admitted in a whisper, going very red with humiliation. Fawna raised an eyebrow.

                "Something tells me that this is a regular thing," she replied as Rose reluctantly nodded.

                "It is," she admitted. "Whenever I get stressed, I have a few drinks to calm myself down. Since I run a restaurant and bar on my own, I get stressed a lot," she sighed. "I know that you and Travis are only friends and that he really cares about me, but... when I get like that, I don't think straight anymore and I do and say things I regret," she said as a tear rolled down her cheek. Fawna stared at Rose, dumbfounded.

                "But you were at my farm at nine in the morning! You had too much to drink at nine in the morning?" she asked incredulously. Rose wiped her cheek roughly with her palm.

                "Look, I know I have a problem, okay? That's why I'm trying to apologize to you!" she snapped, beginning to cry again. Fawna frowned.

                "Does Travis know?" Fawna asked quietly. Rose's eyes widened and she shook her head as if trying to shake a fly out of her ear.

                "No. Fawna, I know he's your best friend but you can't tell him! He'd never want to be with me if he knew I was an alco- uh, I mean a heavy drinker," she finished, mumbling. Looking at Fawna's disbelieving face, Rose let out a sob and desperately looked her straight in the eye, grabbing her hand. "I will tell him Fawna. I will, just- I don't know how, that's all," she said. "Please don't say anything to him. I want to be the one to tell him," she pleaded. Fawna's heart went out to this poor woman and she found herself nodding.

                "I promise," she said. "As long as you do tell him eventually," she warned. Rose nodded as the two women stood up and embraced. "You're very brave to admit something like that," Fawna told her truthfully. Rose gave a weak smile in return.

                "If only I knew how to fix it," she whispered sadly.