[The alarm went off, it was 6 AM. Jason was ready to get to work around the farm. He had 39 starting actions]

[Tess’s Almanac: 1st day of Summer! 90 days until the Summer Festival, and 363 days until the Spring Festival! Not that I’m counting, of course. Ahh, it’s a lovely day, isn’t it? Bright skies, clear weather, the perfect weather for planting and harvesting! Storms are expected in the next few days, but nothing too severe.]

Jason sighed deeply, then rolled out of bed and walked up to the window. He pulled it open and stuck his head through, inhaling deeply. The odor of the prairie filled his nostrils, and he sighed deeply. The air was indeed warm, without a drop of dew on the grass. A lovely summer morning in Summer Shandy. He lifted his eyes toward the town, where he saw a thick pillar of smoke rising high into the sky. Instead of being worried, he began laughing at the stark reminder of the previous year’s chaos.

“Looks like Theresa really did keep her promise.” He shook his head and pulled back through the window, then slid it shut. With that, he strode over to the wardrobe and changed into a pair of clean overalls, then headed down the stairs. They squeaked as much as they always did, and for the third year in a row, he began formulating plans to fix them. This year, though, he had a pressing reason to get it done: In exactly three hundred, sixty-three days, he would be getting married, and it wouldn’t do for his new bride to have a house with squeaky stairs.

He was getting married.

He was getting married.

The thought filled his mind as he walked into the kitchen and sat down at the table. His cookbook began to flip its pages back and forth in excitement, and he could do nothing but grin back at the object.

“I know, right?” He let out a squeak. “Me! Married! It’s… Oh, what will that be like? Am I old enough to get married? What does that even entail? I don’t… Hmm.” He crossed his arms tightly. Thoughts poured through his head. What would it be like to wake up next to Tess every day? Or, for that matter, to share a house with her? She would just… Always be there. He had grown up in a large family, but now… Now, he would be the father. Well, Tess wasn’t pregnant yet, of course, so perhaps father was a bit of a stretch for the immediate future, but certainly the husband. Would he be able to be a good husband? His own father had been a half-decent father and husband, but…

Jason shook his head as the thoughts continued to assail him. “I’ll be able to hash those details out with Tess at a later date.” He nodded firmly. “For now, I need to get to work. Cookbook?”

The cookbook began to flap its pages once again.

“Make me something… Nutritious.”

There was a flash of light, and a plate of eggs and hash browns appeared in front of him, with a side of spinach greens. Jason’s nose curled up slightly at the spinach, and he sighed and leaned back in his chair.

“Did Tess program you with that?”

The cookbook raised its front cover a few times, seeming to indicate yes. At that, Jason sighed again. Thus far, Tess had been fairly tolerant of Jason’s questionable diet. That said, he knew that she was quite a stickler for the greener side of nutrition, and he wasn’t looking forward at all to what that would entail.

Oh, well. There was no time like the present to begin practicing. He plugged his nose and gobbled up the spinach, then ate the eggs and hash browns at a more relaxed rate. When that was done, he rose and made his way to the front of the home. There, he put on his boots and was soon out in the yard.

Lady nickered at him as he came into view, and he smiled and walked over to her stable. He quickly took her out and hitched her up to the post, then poured some oats into her trough there. A handful of ideas flickered through his head about how to improve the stable. After all, it wouldn’t be long before they had to hold two horses there, and Angus was not a small creature. If Jason wagered a guess, he supposed that Tess’s horse weighed at least twice as much as Lady. He would make a good workhorse (if Tess allowed it, that is), but it did mean that he would have to expand the stable.

Oh, well. There was nothing to be done about it at that time, in any case. As Lady ate, he walked into the lean-to connected to Lady’s stable, where he stored all his farm equipment. His planter gleamed in the early morning light, and he leaned down and began to squirt oil across some of the rustier patches. In no time at all, it was ready to go, and he walked back over to Lady, put on her harness, and soon had her hitched up to the planter.

All the while he was doing this, the first weed-monsters of summer were just beginning to appear. A handful of small crabgrasses skittered out and began snapping their wiry pinchers at Lady and the planter. There were a few histles as well, and even a razorgrass. Jason laughed a bit when he caught sight of the lone razorgrass. Those monsters were really quite wonderful for a good bit of entertainment, and it had been almost a year since he had really seen one. He nearly ignored the creature, but was feeling in such a good mood that he pulled Lady to a halt, hopped off the planter, and drew his sword.

“Ah-ha!” He cried out. “You come onto my farm to eat my crops and expect no retribution? To that, I say… Die!”

The razorgrass skittered forward on its roots, the metal blades of grass glinting in the early morning light. Jason struck down at the razorgrass, and it expertly parried his strike, then lunged forward to counter. Jason was only just able to parry the counter-strike, and off they were! Back and forth across the farm they went, until Jason heard hoofbeats in the drive. He turned to see Jeremiah riding up, a broad grin across his face, and Jason waved at him. He then drew a pistol and shot the razongrass, then holstered the weapon and came walking up to his neighbor.

“Howdy, neighbor!” Jason called out, mimicking Jeremiah’s own calling card.

“Howdy, right back atcha.” Jeremiah grinned, then swung out of his saddle as he approached. He held out his hand, which Jason shook gratefully. “I didn’t really have a chance to congratulate you! You know, on the engagement. I mean, I know I did, and all, but not private-like.”

“I get what you’re saying!” Jason grinned. “Thanks, it’s much appreciated.”

“You know, if you ever want marriage advice, you’re always welcome to come on over and ask me.” Jeremiah flashed a slightly crooked grin. “I’m not going to say the missus and I necessarily have always got along, but we’ve certainly made it work well enough for us.”

“I’ll take anything you can give me.” Jason chuckled. “I’d…” He bit his lip, then shrugged. “I love Tess a lot, and I don’t ever want anything to happen to our marriage after we’ve been hitched. You guys have been together for… Well, I don’t actually know how long, but all your kids are out of the house, so I assume it’s been awhile!”

Jeremiah chuckled. “We’ll be celebrating thirty years here in… Or was that last year?” He frowned and scratched his head. “I dunno. Dates were always Delilah’s thing. That’s the first bit of advice. Don’t ever assume you know when something’s going to happen. You’ll be in plenty of trouble if you miss it, mind you, but if you get it wrong… Better to miss an anniversary than to be a few days off.”

“That sounds like terrible advice, but I’ll take it into consideration.” Jason flashed a small smile. “Wouldn’t it work to just write things on a calendar?”

“Probably.” Jeremiah shrugged. “But then you’ve got to deal with the prospect of writing things down on the calendar wrong, and…”

“Well, I’m sure it won’t be a problem for Tess and I.”

“Ooh, now that one’s going to get you!” Jeremiah chuckled, then started to turn away. “Oh, well. I suppose you’ll just have to learn on your own.” He swung himself up into his horse and started to ride away, then paused. “I think I heard that the wedding will be on the Spring Festival next year?”

“That’s the plan for the moment.” Jason nodded. “You’re invited, of course! For that matter…” He paused and kicked at the ground for a moment. “Would you be my best man?”

“Would I ever?” Jeremiah’s grin nearly split his face. “You’d better believe I’ll be your best man! Why, I’ll be the best best man there ever was! You won’t regret it.”

“We’ll see.” Jason rolled his eyes.

“You mind if I invite some of my kids to come?” Jeremiah asked as Jason started to turn back to the field. “I know you don’t know them and all, but I’ve been looking for an excuse to get them back here for a visit, and this seems like the perfect opportunity.”

“I’ll have to ask Tess for sure, but I’d say the more the merrier!”

“And that’s what’ll keep you out of trouble. Always ask the missus, unless you’re absolutely positive it falls outside her sphere of influence.” Jeremiah tipped his hat. “Well, I’ll be off, neighbor! Let me know if I can do anything more for you!”

He started to ride away, and made it about three feet before Jason heard a loud “Ouch!”

Jason frowned and turned back around, where he saw Jeremiah waving his hat in annoyance.

“What’s the matter?” Jason asked, walking over toward him.

“Don’t know.” Jeremiah scowled. “Something bit me.”

Jason frowned, only to hear a soft buzz in his ear. A small insect flashed past his head, so quick it was almost a blur, and landed on his arm. It was protected by a long, plaid sleeve, so he wasn’t terribly concerned, but he still felt more than a little apprehensive as he gazed down at the thing.

It was about an inch long, blue-green, and kinda shimmered in the sunlight. Its wings were jet-black, and it had enormous pincers that looked as though they could rip his flesh straight from his bone.

“Well, what do you know?” Jeremiah climbed back down from his horse and gazed at the odd insect. “Never seen one of those before. Let a nasty welt on me, I’ll tell you that.” He held out his left arm, which sported a large, rather red bump. “You ask my opinion, you should squash it quick, then take it into town.”

Jason nodded and tried to swat it, but the insect buzzed away long before he could hit it. He wound up simply slapping his arm, and scowled as Jeremiah laughed.

“Well, here’s hoping that was the last we’ve seen of… Whatever that was.” Jeremiah swung back up onto his horse and started to ride away. “See you around, neighbor!”

Jason waved at him, and Jeremiah soon vanished down the road. With that, Jason turned back to his field, and took a deep breath.

It didn’t take long before he had filled the planter with seed and started off into the field. Lady moved at a fast pace, and they soon had a significant portion of the field covered over. They stopped around lunchtime for a quick break, and Jason stabled Lady for a rest while he went inside and ate a small meal. A bit refreshed, he soon came back out and started up again, and by the time the sun was setting in the sky, he had planted the entire field.

Both he and Lady were exhausted as he put her into the stable. She lay down almost immediately on her bed of hay, and he checked her over for a few long moments before heading inside.

As he closed and locked the front door, he looked around the empty home and sighed deeply. He had so many fond memories of the place. Already, it looked so different. The furniture in the living room had been spruced up a great deal, the wallpaper had been changed, better lights had been put in… It was turning into a proper home. That said, as he stared at the empty hearth, and walked into the kitchen for a quiet dinner alone, he found his heart aching more than a little for his beloved Tess.

Finally, as he finished his meal, instead of heading up to bed, he walked out onto the front porch and sat down in a small chair there. The sun was down and the stars were twinkling overhead. A few distant lights twinkled across the prairie from Summer Shandy, mostly torches carried back and forth by the few townsfolk who were tying up the remainder of their business. He sighed deeply, watching it for the better part of half an hour.

How he couldn’t wait until he had company in the home. Permanent company. It was a dream that he knew now would be coming true… It would just be a full year until he could enjoy it. The feeling was bittersweet, in every sense of the word. He was getting married! It was just… Going to take… Forever…

He sighed, then climbed to his feet and strode back inside. Well, marriage or no marriage, he had work to do on the following day, and he knew that he needed to get into town relatively soon in order to talk to Tess about plans. He was soon in bed, and felt himself drifting away under the cover of night.

Yes, it would be a long year, indeed. All he could hope, and all indeed he could plan for, was that it would be a pleasant one.