Only In My Dreams | Dr. Harvey | Stardew Valley

Chapter Two: Give Him a Second Chance

The warmth of the water helped ease the pain from my muscles as I laid back and soaked in the small lake I had found in the little forest not too far from my cabin. It was so nice having a little bit of everything on this farm, especially when I hadn't had a decent bathe in awhile. Not having a bathtub or shower made it really difficult to keep clean with all of the hard labor I've been doing lately, so this was like finding a gold mine. I closed my eyes and continued to listen to the leaves shaking in trees as the cool wind blew through the air. Though, it wasn't long before the sound of rustling in the bushes behind me made me jolt up, quickly covering chest with a towel I had been using to wash with.

"Who's there?" I raised my voice, sinking deeper into the water to hide myself.

I heard a familiar voice respond in the distance. "Oh, there you are Miss Mae! I wanted to stop by to let you know that-" The doctor I had seen a few days ago stopped in his tracks behind a few bushes, his face turning bright read. "I'm so sorry!" He averted his eyes and put his hand up to block his side view.

I stayed deep in the water and swam my way over to the side, pointing shyly to the clean white towel I had draped over a tree branch. "Could you uh . . . hand that to me, please?" I blushed, keeping my eyes away from his. 

"Oh, of course! Here you go." He sidestepped his way over to me and leaned down, his hand now completely covering his eyes. "I came here to let you know that everyone is gathering up at the train station. Another newcomer is here and I was told this person knew who you were." He turned his back towards me to give me some privacy. "I was on my way here to give you back your ID that you left on our front desk, so I went ahead and told to Mayor that I'd let you know." He chuckled a little nervously and rubbed the back of his neck. "At least you won't have anyone else giving you anymore surprises."

Cautiously making sure he wasn't going to turn around to take a peek, I lifted myself out of the pond and wrapped the towel around myself. "Someone who knows me?" An intense worry started to settle in. "Are you sure it's not my father stopping by for a visit?" 

"It's not anyone we know, so I doubt that it is." He cleared his throat. "Is okay for me to turn around now?" 

I giggled and nodded. "Yes, I'm all covered up." 

The doctor turned around with a blush still dusted across his cheeks, his hazel eyes meeting mine. I watched as he looked me up and down, but quickly reverted his eyes back to mine. "Isn't the water a bit cold during this time of year?" He tried to move on from the awkward tension in the air. 

"Surprisingly, this lake isn't as cold as the others since it's so small." I replied, leaning over to the side and ringing the excess water out of my curly hair. "Though, after a long morning of hard work, it's nice to cool down a little. Besides, I read somewhere that cold water can boost your immune system. Is that true, doctor?" I attempted to ease his nerves.

His interest peaked when I mentioned his line of work. "Actually, it does. It can also help with any muscle soreness and inflammation, which I can see being a great benefit to you." He watched as I picked up my dirty clothes and wet rags. "Oh, and please, just call me Harvey. There's no need to be so formal." His smile was sweet and gentle.

"Especially after today." I added, teasing him. I let out a gentle sigh and started making my way through the shrubbery, leading him back over to the cabin. "I guess I should get ready to see whoever it is coming to visit, huh?" I frowned a little. "I just wonder who it could be?" 

He waited on the porch as I walked inside and kept the door open. "If you would like, I can wait here and walk down with you? We could find out together." 

As much as I usually liked doing things alone, it probably wasn't a bad idea to take a walk up there together. I bit my bottom lip nervously, overthinking. "I actually would really appreciate that. Thank you, Harvey." I went to drop my towel down, before realizing he was still in plain view. "Do you mind turning around again?" I asked politely. 

He chuckled and turned back around. "Not a problem, Miss Mae."

Miss Mae . . .

The sound of the little nickname ran through my head a few times, but something about it made me feel a little special. Nobody had ever called me anything like it before. I'm sure he had many nicknames for everyone else, though it was nice that with what little we knew about each other, I was still treated like we were friends. The only few people I was pretty close with here were Gus, Emily and Haley. I didn't have a lot of time on my hands to meet up with everyone else, and my social anxiety didn't make conversation easy for me.

I got lost deep in thought as I finished getting ready, throwing on my usual casual out fit. A white flowy shirt with lace sewn around the hem of the sleeves and the bottom, some tannish cream colored leggings and a pair of sandals. I usually wore my light jeans, but they had gotten a large snag in them when I decided that one of my jobs shouldn't be too dirty. I was wrong. I tossed on a gold necklace and a bit of perfume to top of it off. 

"I'm ready!" I gleamed before rushing out and locking the cabin door. 

Harvey turned around, looking a bit in awe. "That shirt looks lovely on you!" He complimented and cleared his throat to break his shyness. 

My cheeks felt a little warm. "Thank you! My hair is still wet, but I'm sure it'll be dry by the time we get there." The worrisome feeling waved back over me. "Maybe we should take it slow, just in case?" My voice was a little shaky.

"Are you nervous?" He asked with concern as we started walking down the dirt pathway together. 

I frowned and looked down. "Is it okay that I am?" 

I felt his hand rest on my back, almost immediately calming my nerves a little. "Everything you feel is completely normal." He was so reassuring.

Some time passed as we made our way up the staircase that lead towards the train station that I was already familiar with. By the time we had arrived, it seemed that the train had already come and gone. All of the townsfolk were huddled in a small crowd, some skootching to the side as Harvey and I approached. When everyone let us through, I saw an all too familiar face turn around, sending my heart to the bottom of my stomach. My heart started to race as the man met his eyes with mine.

"Mae!" He beamed, giving me a tight embrace without warning. 

I was stunned, unable to speak or move. "I . . . I . . ." I shook my head and gently pulled myself away from him and whispered. "What the hell do you think you're doing here?" I shot him a glare, trying to shield my frustration from everyone. 

His face filled with guilt and regret. "I heard you moved away after we . . . you know." He sighed and grabbed ahold of my hands. "Mae, there's nothing I regret more than throwing all that we had away. I couldn't stay in the city after I heard you had quit and came here. I thought coming here to talk to you would be better than doing nothing." 

I pulled my hands away, noticing everyone was watching us. "Kevin, could we talk about this in private? I don't feel comfortable doing this right here." I could feel myself starting to panic, before Harvey made his way next to me. 

"Nice to meet you, I'm Harvey!" He gave a welcoming shake with Kevin's hand and fixed his glasses. "I'm a friend of Mae's. And who might you be?"

"I'm Kevin, her boyfriend." His answer made my eyes shoot wide open. 

Harvey was almost as shocked as I was. "Oh. Well, it's nice to meet you, Kevin." He got visibly awkward and stepped off to the side, giving me a weak smile. 

My anxiousness slowly turned into anger as I pulled Kevin away from the crowd, giving everyone a kind wave. "Thank you everyone for welcoming my friend into town. He's seeming a bit exhausted from the long trip and would like to take some time to rest up. Thank you all again so kindly!" I covered my annoyance with my usual cheery tone. "Start walking." I demanded in a stern whisper. 

Once we made it to a small area in the forest alone, Kevin flipped around and put his hands up in defense. "Look, I get that you're angry with me. And you have every right to not want me here right now, but can't you see that I'm here to apologize for what happened?" He sounded hurt. "How I acted that night was completely wrong of me and I shouldn't have ever treated you that way. I've been drowning day and night thinking about what I did to you." His eyes started to water. "Please, give me a second chance. Let me show you that I can do better this time." 

Flashes of that night flooded my mind as I watched him have his moment. I sighed and hugged myself, looking away in discomfort. "You weren't the only reason I left Joja Co. And I don't plan on ever going back, so there's no way you're going to be able to convince me." I was blunt. 

"I'm not here to convince you, Mae." His answer was shocking and almost sincere. "I'm here to apologize for the stupid choices I made. Even if you're not willing to work through this with me, I still want to show you that I care about you." He looked at the ground in shame.

"Kevin, I can't just forget about what you did. And how am I supposed to believe you?" I ran my fingers through my still damp hair. "This is too much for me right now . . ." I covered my face with my hands and tried to keep myself from getting overwhelmed. 

My hands we taken into his with tenderness, my eyes staying away from his. "Please, Mae. Just give me a chance to show you that . . . I still love you." His voice was gentle, along with his touch when he caressed my cheek. He leaned in a little closer, making me look deep into his emerald green eyes. "Please . . ." 

A moment a silence passed between us before he placed his lips onto mine, closing his eyes but me not closing mine. A part of me wanted to reject him, but there was another part of me that would feel guilty if I didn't give him a chance to prove himself. I returned the kiss with less passion and still hadn't felt the spark that I had with him before. After he pulled away, I gave him a weak smile, rubbing my arm nervously.

"If you think that this could work, then I guess we can give it another shot." My answer wasn't confident. I saw his eyes light up like a kid seeing the ice cream man.   

I just hope this isn't going to be a big mistake . . .