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The new farmer is strange.
Not in a bad way, although Penny is aware of what others say about him. Good-intentioned, but not ambitious enough. Talks too much without saying anything of substance. Too much nervous energy. Always smiling. Always trying to start conversations. It's as if someone tried to clone Penny and accidentally made a person who's her complete opposite. She's pretty sure she's heard most of the same things about herself, but in reverse.
Henry isn't the first Pelican Town resident with a big personality and probably won't be the last, so Penny doesn't fully understand what the fuss is about. The novelty should've worn off by now, especially considering Henry has arrived right in time to welcome spring. They are only a few days away from summer.
They've talked a few times. The part about him trying to strike a conversation no matter what is true, at least. Henry seems genuinely happy to talk about whatever he's doing on his farm now, whether it's gathering funds to repair the dilapidated coop, build a barn or simply trying not to forget to water all of his crops in the mornings. Penny feels a weird sort of relief to see someone care about the old farm. It's not like she really knows Henry at this point, but when she tunes out all of the noise and focuses only on what she can see and hear from Henry himself, he appears to be a decent guy.
A decent, cute guy.
A little unconventional, maybe. He's not ripped like Alex and doesn't have the boyish charm of Sam or the air of mystery that follows Sebastian. He's not ugly, exactly, but he doesn't belong on the cover of a magazine. The heart wants what it wants, though, and Penny has eyes, so whenever Henry passes by when she's outside, she lets herself look.
She's been walking in circles, taking advantage of the evenings finally becoming warmer to delay coming back home as much as possible. She doesn't know what's worse, waiting for her mother in the quiet trailer, or anxiously watching the saloon building from a distance, constantly on edge. There is no right way to go about this, so Penny leans against a tree behind the Mullners' house and hopes for a calm night.
Henry just happens to be lingering nearby. He's looking out into the water, seemingly unaware of Penny. His black hair is just long enough to gather it into a ponytail. He's brushing through it with his fingers and Penny feels stupid because of how hypnotized she is by the action. Are his hands rough because of all the farm work he does? Most likely. His fingers are so long too…
Yoba, Penny. That was way out of line. Penny chastises herself mentally, forcing herself to look away from the farmer. She barely knows the man, after all. Still, her heart starts beating a little faster when Henry turns and waves at her with that soft smile.
"So… That's pretty much why I gave up on music."
They're sitting on the docks with their feet in the water, sharing a box of freshly cut melon straight from Henry's farm. Summer is in full swing now, each day hotter and hotter, Penny's motivation to do anything but lounge in the shadow dwindling to nothing. Once again, Henry is the complete opposite — he seems excited to run around in the heat all day and get stuff done. Well, at least he runs around shirtless sometimes—
"That's…" Penny pauses, thinking about what Henry just said. "I don't know if I get it."
"What do you mean?" Henry furrows his brows and picks another piece of the melon. He pushes the plastic container in Penny's direction. There's only one piece left.
Penny shrugs. "You had a clear goal in life. You still seem pretty passionate about it."
"I suppose I still am. But sometimes plans change and all that, right? Can't have it all." Henry laughs, but it's not genuine. Penny has seen Henry laugh; eyes sparkling, his whole face lighting up. Henry had a face that should always be bright.
Penny took a bite of the last melon piece to avoid responding. Truth be told, she isn't sure what to even say to that. If she was Henry, she would try to do everything in her power to get out there. But she's not, which is probably why she's stuck in Pelican Town with no solid plans for her own life.
"I mean, I am happy I am here now, you know? Go with the flow and all that." Henry smiles and turns to look at Penny. "I wouldn't have met you otherwise."
There he goes again. It's almost like Henry knows exactly what to say to make Penny's heart flutter, but he's so unaware of the effect he has on her at the same time. She holds his gaze, even though her cheeks must be the color of poppy that's tucked behind Henry's ear.
"I am glad I've met you too," Penny finally says when she believes her voice won't betray her. The words come out breathless anyway.
They both turn to look out at the sea. Penny's thoughts are melting like the ice cream they've shared earlier; she can't form a coherent sentence in her head. The months since she and Henry became closer have been the most interesting months in quite some time. She had something to look forward to rather than going through the motions. Henry is unpredictable, but there is an undeniable charm to everything he does.
"We should probably get going." Henry's words snap Penny out of her muddled thoughts.
"Right."
Penny takes the hand Henry offers her and stands up. He doesn't let go even after they slip on their shoes and start walking towards the town square. It makes Penny feel warm inside.
She realizes she might just have fallen for him. Illuminated by the setting sun, Henry looks like a dream come true.
"No, shit, fuck— Penny?"
When Penny enters the farmhouse, she's met with the sight of Henry wiggling his hands over what Penny thinks is supposed to resemble a cake.
"Wrong time?"
"No, perfect time, just… everything else." Henry gestures at the sad heap of sponge cake (at least that's what Penny hopes it is).
Penny was supposed to stop by to give Henry some new books. She has somehow managed to convince him to become a new member of the book club. Between taking care of the farm and his various side quests, Henry doesn't have a lot of time to read, but so far he's been quite enthusiastic about most of Penny's recommendations.
It's a coincidence she decided to choose her birthday out of all days, of course.
"I'm sorry. You don't want to see my attempts at jam." Henry swiftly pushes his baking failure further away from Penny and leads her out of the kitchen into the main living room area. "Anyways… take a seat and give me a minute, alright?"
The living room looks like a tornado went through Crocus Farm, but left the rest of the valley untouched. Henry's belongings are scattered everywhere; two jackets thrown on the sofa Penny's sitting on, open chest with even more clothes, a watering can sitting in the corner of the room, various minerals and artifacts left on every possible surface. A mess like this should irritate Penny, and it does, kind of, but she's in so deep she also finds it… endearing, in a way.
Henry reemerges from the kitchen with a cupcake in his hands. A candle is sticking out of the frosting. "You deserve a big beautiful cake, but you saw how I nearly burned down my kitchen trying, so… I hope this is okay." His usual confident and cheery tone is tinged with nerves. Penny has never seen Henry nervous.
"Oh! You didn't have to go through all the trouble. It's really not that big of a deal." She doesn't feel like she truly deserves a whole cake, but the fact that someone put so much effort into making something for her, no matter the result, makes her want to both cry and hide forever.
"I'll do better next year." Henry hands Penny the cupcake and lights the candle. "Make a wish."
To have you in my life. Well, more than he is already is, but Penny doesn't want to jinx it. With all the strange stuff that happens in this town, who knows if blowing candles isn't magic?
"Woo! Happy birthday! I've got something for you."
"Henry, you really didn't have to get me—"
"Wait, you have frosting on your nose."
The world momentarily stops when Henry gently swipes his thumb over Penny's nose. She can almost hear Maru's voice telling her this whole crush thing is reaching astronomical levels of pathetic. Good thing Henry never comments on her blush.
She nods at him and decides to distract herself with opening the gift. Inside a fancy gift bag, there is an even fancier book. Collector's edition of the first three volumes of The Paradox of the Devil's Dice. The one that Penny has mentioned a few times because it looked stunning but was way out of her budget. Yoba, Henry probably could've bought a chicken with that money.
Penny holds onto her scarf as she looks up the sky. The forest is scary after dark, but she doesn't wander where the glow from Marnie's ranch doesn't light up the path. The stars look extra beautiful tonight, as if the sky knew Penny needed an excuse to leave the trailer at such an hour. She breathes in the cold winter air and sighs.
She isn't sleeping well, even with how everything seems to be going in the right direction. The bus is running again and she is almost sure Henry is behind it, but he stays quiet. He is the most frequent passenger by far, but from what her mom has told her, there is definitely interest. It also gives Penny and Pam something to talk about for the first time in forever. Penny knows a job won't miraculously fix everything, but it's a big step forward, one she thought would be impossible.
So why is she awake at such hours night after night without fail? She's bracing for impact, expecting her life to be torn apart right after she managed to stitch it, like always. There's only so far positive thinking can get you and she's running on fumes.
Something stumbles out of the woods, startling her out of her thoughts. She freezes, mentally calculating how long would it take to run and bang on Marnie's door, but as the figure approaches closer, she realizes it's just Henry. Because of course it is. Who else would be doing Yoba-knows-what in the woods in the middle of the night?
He smiles like it's the most normal encounter to have at that hour in the middle of nowhere. "Hi! Or should I say, good evening?"
"You scared me! Why are you not in bed?"
"I could ask you the same question."
They stare at each other, neither wanting to answer. Penny realizes Henry is only wearing a thin coat, unbuttoned at that. She stops herself before reaching to close it, but she reaches for her scarf.
"Couldn't sleep. The night sky is beautiful." The scarf is one of her nicest ones, soft and warm. She wraps it around Henry's neck.
"I got a bit carried away… Ah, you really don't have to—"
"You're going to catch a cold."
Henry shakes his head and laughs, but he keeps the scarf. "I'll be fine. I don't want you worrying about me." He points in the direction of the farm. "Do you want to have a cup of tea to warm up, maybe? I'll walk you back."
Penny smiles and nods. They slowly make their way out of the woods, their fingers intertwined. Only because it's freezing, obviously.