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The light rain tapped on the windows of the saloon, the sound mixed with the calming music one of the townspeople chose at the jukebox. It wasn’t uncommon to encounter people gossiping around the establishment at night, but this time it was different.
“They seemed nice, but said barely anything at all.” Said Pierre between sips of his coffee.
“The kid seems to have some communication issues, stuff from their past, we shouldn’t dig our noses into it” The mayor answered. “I gotta’ admit, talking with them is a little bit of a struggle.”
Pam groaned from the other corner of the counter. “Yeah yeah, we get it, the kid’s weird as hell. They didn’t even answer when I tried talking to them, fucking rude.”
“They’re not rude, Pam. Just different…”
The conversation went on, and Sebastian didn’t pay anymore attention to it only because Sam called.
“Seb? Hey.” Sam waved until Sebastian turned to him, then gestured towards the pool table “Your turn.”
“Oh, right.”
He didn’t know exactly how the news spread, but a few weeks prior Sebastian heard his mother and Demetrius talking about a new farmer who was moving into town. It didn’t really matter to him, he wasn’t planning on getting to know them, he was getting out of that place anyways so why should he bother?
Sam and Abigail apparently didn’t see it the same way.
“So, have ya’ seen the new farmer at the store?”
“I think so” Abigail answered while staring at something on her phone.
“And? How did they looked like?”
“They seemed okay, really quiet though. I couldn’t see their face clearly…”
They kept talking about the new farmer as Sam and Sebastian played, he really couldn’t understand all of the fuzz. Sure, in a small town a new face is big news, but the farmer would soon become old news and just blend in with the crowd.
After some time passed and the rain became more intense, someone else entered the saloon, making everyone suddenly quiet. Sebastian glanced at the door and saw someone he didn’t recognize.
The new farmer.
They were drenched, straw hat, gloves and overalls soaking from the rain. Carefully taking the hat off, they finally noticed the sudden silence and all of the eyes on them. Sebastian couldn’t help but feel a little bad for them, he knew how uncomfortable it felt to have all eyes on him. As the farmer walked up to the counter in complete silence, he got his attention back to the game.
Sam didn’t seem interested in playing anymore. Both him and Abigail staring at the farmer, probably trying to get a peek of their face. The townsfolk went back to their conversation, this time trying to be more discreet.
“They’re kinda cute.”
“Abby…”
“What?” Just look at them, how can someone that small work all by themselves at that big-ass farm?”
“How old are they?”
“Do I look like the oracle to you? I have no idea.”
“Why does it matter to you guys?”
“Don’t act like you aren’t curious about them too, Seb.”
“I’m not.”
“Why would someone come to the saloon just to sit alone?”
“Sam, Shane does that everyday.”
“Yeah but, that’s a “Shane” thing.”
“Should we ask them to sit with us?”
“Listen, I don’t-“
Not letting Sebastian finish, Abigail got up from her seat and put on her best smile to greet the farmer. Him and Sam only watched as she approached the newcomer.
The farmer seemed a little startled at first, maybe not used to people approaching them all of a sudden. Abigail said something to them and gestured to the area where they were hanging out. The farmer looked at the boys waiting, Sebastian only then realizing he’d been staring and then looking back at the table. Sam smiled and waved at them.
Abigail came back a few minutes later, the farmer walking behind her. She began introducing them and Sebastian finally took a better look at them.
The farmer was shorter than him and Sam, but around the same height as Abigail. She was right, they did seem a little small for manual work but he could be wrong. He could vaguely remember their face, their family would visit the old farmer from time to time, but they never really hung out with the other townsfolk.
Sam and Abigail bombarded the farmer with questions and basic information about some of the people from Pelican Town. “Gus is really nice”, “Hailey can be a bit of an asshole sometimes”, “have you been to the beach yet?” and so on. They rarely answered verbally, most times just nodding their head.
As time went on, the farmer seemed to be more comfortable with them. They would whisper their answers to Sam and Abigail’s questions, sometimes would even laugh at their jokes. They spend most of the night just listening to those two while watching the boys play.
About an hour passed, the saloon would close soon and Sebastian finally spoke something.
“I won again.”
“Uh? What! No fair, I wasn’t paying attention!”
“Maybe next week bud.”
Sam kept being dramatic about his loss while Sebastian and Abigail watched, already used to it. Sebastian then noticed from the corner of his eye the farmer glancing at him, then immediately looking at something else.
They said their goodbyes at the front door, Abigail told the farmer they could hang out again next Friday or any other time. The rain wasn’t as heavy anymore, so she and Sam ran to their houses while Sebastian opened his umbrella.
He noticed the farmer staring at the rain and then putting their straw hat back on. Wasn’t the farm a little far from the saloon? Not like he cared but…
“Hey.”
They looked at him, was maybe the first time in the night that Sebastian actually spoke to them directly. He looked at his umbrella, then back at the farmer.
“Do you, um… Do you want me to take you home?”
They shook their head.
“Are you sure?”
They nodded.
They kept looking at each other, the farmer seemed unsure about something, staring at the ground before looking back up at Sebastian.
“Thanks.”
They spoke.
He hadn’t realized it was the first time he heard their voice. It was barely a whisper but he heard it.
Next thing he knew, the farmer was running in the rain holding their hat for dear life. He stood there for a few minutes before heading home.
As he entered his basement and turned on his computer, he wondered for half of a second if the farmer got home safe.