Once again, Fawna was awoken by the sound of Travis' voice through the door. "Fawna! Please open the door! I'm not leaving this time until you come out and talk to me!" he called. Sighing, Fawna got out of bed and opened the door in her pyjamas. Travis looked quite shocked that she had answered him so quickly. He looked as though he had been prepared to shout and bang on the door for hours. Travis grinned when he took a look at Fawna early in the morning before getting ready. "Oh no! Your hair is messed up! Whatever shall you do?" he cried in a sarcastic tone of mortal peril. Despite herself, Fawna laughed and punched his arm.
"Oh, come off it," she told him sternly, but all the same she strained to see her reflection in the window. "It's not that bad, is it?" she added nervously, trying to run her fingers through the locks. Travis chuckled and shook his head in amusement. Clearing his throat, Travis became serious once again.
"Rose told me that you two talked yesterday and fixed things between you. What did you say to each other?" he asked curiously. Remembering her promise to Rose, Fawna shuffled her feet awkwardly and mumbled her answer.
"Oh, well... you know, girl stuff I guess," she told him evasively. Travis frowned for a moment, but then shrugged seeming to accept Fawna's white lie. Fawna told Travis to wait a few minutes while she got dressed and just as she was tying up her farming boots, she heard another knock at the door. Opening it, she saw Rick with Bonny in his hands. Now that the chicken was up close to Fawna, the feathery animal frightened her. Fawna, just get over it! she told herself sternly. You're the one who bought the chicken in the first place! she reminded herself. Rick smiled when he saw her.
"Hey Fawna! I brought Bonny to your farm just like I promised," he told her kindly, handing the chicken to her. Fawna's eyes widened and she reluctantly took Bonny in her arms. Rick seemed to sense Fawna's anxiety and put a hand on her shoulder, which made Fawna smile unknowingly. "Don't worry. A lot of people are nervous around their first chicken, but just be kind to her and you two will become the best of friends," he told her.
"Thanks Rick," Fawna sighed gratefully. "I'll just put her down now," she said, placing Bonny on the ground outside her house.
"Uh, I wouldn't do that if I were you-" Rick began, but it was too late. Bonny had run off, clucking loudly. Before they knew it, she was on the other side of the farm. Rick turned to Fawna with a slight grimace. "I was going to help you build a fence to keep her in, but now it's going to take a really long time to chase her down," he said matter-of-factly. Fawna blushed in humiliation and looked at the floor, biting back tears. Just when she had thought she'd gotten the hang of farming, she'd screwed up again. Rick smiled and patted her kindly on the back. "Hey, don't worry. Travis and I will help you build the fence and it shouldn't take as long to catch her if we all pitch in," he encouraged her. Fawna nodded and smiled. Rick was very nice.
"Thanks," she said simply. Rick went to tell Travis who was brushing Martini about the fence and Fawna gathered a bunch of lumber she had stored in her lumber shed. Rick walked over, shaking his head and Fawna pouted, dropping the lumber to the ground and sticking her hip out. "What am I doing wrong now?" she asked, irritated.
"You're not doing anything wrong, but I have a tip that'll save you a lot of time and money," he said. "Instead of using wood to make your fences, use stones. The stones never break like wood does, it's easy to pick up and make openings to move animals in and out of their sheds, the animals can't get out and the wild dogs can't get in," he told her. Fawna smiled. That was a really good idea now that she thought about it.
"That's great! There's only one problem, though... I broke all the stones with my hammer when I moved in," she said glumly. Travis walked over with a broad grin on his face.
"Well, I only broke the big stones. I pocketed the small ones in case something like this came up," he winked. "It's not a lot, but it will hold about four chickens comfortably," he said. Both Rick and Fawna congratulated him on his excellent foresight and got to work. It was about one in the afternoon when they finished the fence situated beside the chicken coop.
"Now to catch Bonny," Rick said. "It's best if we all sneak up on her from the back so we don't scare her. If chickens get too scared or unhappy, they won't lay eggs you know," Rick advised knowledgeably. Nodding, Travis and Fawna followed Rick's example and although it took over an hour to nab her, Travis eventually held the squirming Bonny in his arms. Putting her within the confines of the fence, the three farmers high-fived each other on a job well-done.
"Well, that was interesting," Fawna laughed. "It's a good thing Travis took care of the morning chores first. Thanks for that, by the way," she told him. Rick smiled and looked at his watch.
"Oh no, I'm late!" he exclaimed. "I'm supposed to walk my mom home from the clinic today. I'll see you both later," he said, leaving the farm. Fawna smiled after him, feeling unusually warm, even for the end of the summer. Travis smirked and poked her in the side.
"Ouch! What was that for?" she muttered, rubbing her side where Travis had poked her. Travis crossed his arms.
"Rick's a nice guy. He'd be good for you," Travis observed simply. Fawna blinked a couple of times before shaking her head.
"No Travis," Fawna sighed, beginning to walk away to pet Bonny. Travis quickly fell into step beside her with his hands in his pockets.
"It's Greg isn't it? You still love him... Fawna, he's a jerk. You should-" he began, but Fawna stopped and faced Travis angrily.
"Just drop it, Travis!" she snapped. Travis looked as though he were about to argue, but thought better of it and shut his mouth again with a slight nod. "Thank you," Fawna told him exasperatedly as they finished up the day's work in silence.
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