Bailey's Dilemma (Follow-up)

-2-

7:30 p.m.

Before heading out to meet her sister, Bailey takes a good look at herself in the bathroom mirror. As she studies herself closely, only one thing comes to mind: This isn't me. Sure, she is still perfectly recognizable, but she would never have looked like this before meeting K.K. The undersides of her hair are dyed a pinkish-purple color, which she liked at first because of K.K.'s approval, but now she is a bit sick of it. Her face is different too, as she had put on makeup this morning before leaving. Normally, she hates makeup; it is tedious to apply and she always feels better without it. However, K.K. persuaded her to wear some, and she didn't want to disappoint him.

She grabs makeup remover wipes from her top drawer, which she's barely ever used, and slowly wipes off the pink sparkly eyeshadow, black eyeliner, blush, and dark lip gloss. The eyeliner had run down her face slightly when she was crying, so now it either looks like she got two black eyes or she hadn't slept in three days. Either way, she doesn't hesitate at all to get it off; in a minute her face is makeup-free, besides a tiny bit of black under her eyes that she is unable to get off.

Now she is finally ready to leave. As she goes downstairs, puts on her shoes, and heads out the front door, all she can think about is what Gulliver said to her earlier: maybe it's time to move on. The thought still makes her heart sink, but she knows he has a good point. She can use their conversation to help make her decision.

There is a cool breeze now, and it gently blows her hair away from her face. Before she knows it, she has already reached the shopping area, and she notices Mia sitting at one of the tables. She slowly walks up and takes a seat in the extra chair, causing her sister to look up from her NookPhone and smile.

"Bailey! How ya doing?" she asks, setting the phone on the table. "I barely noticed you coming...you just snuck up on me."

"Yeah, I'm pretty good at that." Bailey replies. "Well, I hope I'm here on time." She checks her watch, which reads 7:50. They had planned to meet around eight.

"Yes, you are! I'm so glad we get to hang out like this...just the two of us. Don't worry, we don't have to talk about K.K. tonight."

"Okay, that's fair. Gulliver came by to talk this afternoon anyway."

"I know." Mia nods her head. "He told me not too long ago. Did he help you at all?"

"Actually, he did! That fella isn't too bad at giving advice, you know. I totally wouldn't have guessed that when we first met."

"Me neither. I've spent so much time helping him in the last two years, and he's always finding ways to repay me. It's more than just physical souvenirs."

"You're right. He can be irritating, of course...but none of that matters when I remember he has such a kind heart. He's one of the best friends I've had."

"Yes, I 100 percent agree." Mia replies, grinning. "Well, I'm glad he could help you out a little. Just do what feels right for you, and our opinions can help guide you."

"Alright, that sounds good. Thank you so much."

They exchange a few more words, before Mia changes to a different topic. Bailey figures, to her relief, that they are done talking about K.K. for now.

...

Neither one wants to sit at the table the whole evening, so they decide to take a little walk. First they stop at the Able Sisters, since closing time is nearing and Mia hasn't been there yet today. Mabel greets them enthusiastically, before the sisters browse the clothing racks together. Bailey doesn't feel like picking out anything new, so she just watches her sister glance at three or four almost-identical beige miniskirts. After what seems like forever, Mia seems to have chosen the one she likes, not even bothering to try it on in the fitting room. As she goes to the checkout counter to pay, Bailey takes a minute to stare at the mannequins in the front window. One is wearing a gold sparkly flapper dress, much like the black one Mia wears to her parties, and the other one has a hot pink tube top with tight-looking ripped jean shorts and fishnet stockings. I don't see myself wearing any of these, Bailey thinks to herself. Her style is a little more simple and reserved, especially the outfit she's wearing right now: a navy blue tank top over a white T-shirt with light blue jogger shorts.

They walk out of the store just before it closes, and Mia places her shopping bag on the table they were sitting at. Bailey knows none of the villagers around would steal it; most of them don't even wear skirts anyway. It almost looks like Mia is going to stop at Nook's Cranny, but instead she turns and walks in the other direction. Bailey, wondering where she is going, closely follows.

In a minute they cross the river, over the log bridge Mia had paid a considerate amount of Bells for, and approach the staircase to the second level. To the left is the garden, with all the flowers in full bloom for the summer. There is almost every kind of flower Bailey knows of: roses, daisies, tulips, hyacinths, lilies, poppies...the colors all go beautifully together, and the kinds are all sorted into their own little areas. The two sisters had created this in the spring of last year, with hours of work and of course, a lot of flower seeds.

Next they go up the stairs and pass by Bailey's house. Her backyard is full of flowers as well; she has been trying to create her own mini garden. It doesn't look nearly as nice as the other one, but the flowers, which are mostly roses, are blooming in beautiful shades of pink and red. 

A minute's walk behind the yard is a string of bright fairy lights connected by two wooden poles, right in front of another staircase. Both Mia and Bailey are fully aware of what it leads to: the third level. Ever since the night of July twenty-first, they've barely gone up there anymore. The zen area still has the outdoor bath, bamboo trees, and its other stunning features, but the grass is now full of weeds. Around the entire cliff is a five-foot wooden fence that Tom Nook had helped Mia build, so nobody will fall off again. Bailey is reminded that all of this is here because of Gulliver's careless actions.

She quickly realizes she has been staring into space, so she turns her focus back to her sister.

"You wanna go up there?" Mia suggests. "We totally can now."

"Yeah," Bailey replies softly. "Let's do it."

The two climb up the staircase, Bailey once again following Mia's lead. Bailey realizes she still needs to get used to all these fences around. As they take their seats on two cozy zen cushions, Bailey glances at the sign Mia put up a while ago, which reads 'NO DANCING!' followed by 'Remember what happened to Gulliver?' in smaller letters.

"I know this doesn't look too nice anymore," Mia explains. "I just have to pick all these weeds...or I could have Leif do it for me!" She pauses, letting out a chuckle. "The latter sounds much better."

"Yes, it does. He makes money off weeding folks' areas after all. We can pay him to do it."

Mia agrees, while Bailey glances at the edge of the cliff. In an instant, she can see herself at the summer party, alongside Mia, Goldie, and Gulliver. She wore a little pink tank top and blue pearly skirt, and her hair was in her favorite style: mostly down with little half-pigtails. As they were all dancing to Rockin' K.K., Bailey and the others watched in horror as Gulliver danced his way right over the edge. He fell about two stories; luckily it seemed like he attempted to break his fall by bouncing off the small grassy ledge of the second level. He fell unconscious about a minute later, and the sisters carried him all the way to Mia's house. From there, his road to recovery started.

Now, with Mia's strict guidelines and the area fenced off, it is unlikely that he'll ever do it again. Bailey breathes a sigh of relief before looking at her sister.

"You thinkin' about that party, huh?" Mia asks quietly. "I am too."

"Yeah, I'm not surprised. Thank goodness Gulliver seems to have learned."

"I know, exactly! I didn't want to do all this fence stuff before, but I figured it's better for the safety of him and everyone here."

"I think so too, sis." Bailey assures her. "You did the right thing."

They don't stay there much longer, as Mia soon gets up and leads Bailey back down the staircase. While Bailey was on her recent trip, and right after the fencing was complete, Mia had finally let Gulliver go up there. He hadn't been able to for nearly a year, but apparently he said he wasn't missing much. Now she wonders if he'll ever set foot in that zen area again without remembering the night of July twenty-first. She knows she won't either.

The sun has set by now, and the sky is nearly dark. Mia says that they should probably wrap up their outing, and Bailey agrees. They return to her house on the second level, before waving goodbye and promising to meet in the morning. Then Bailey stays in her front yard as she watches Mia turn around, head down the staircase, and walk off into the distance.