Liminal Space | A Stardew Valley FanFiction

Chapter 5 - Then

"And that is how we distribute fresh produce throughout the Valley!" Pierre exclaimed, glancing backwards and nodding towards our teacher. Scattered applause filled the classroom as Pierre scurried back towards Abigail, who was sitting criss-crossed on the floor to my left. Her strawberry blonde hair—a perfect match to her father's—was bluntly cut above her shoulders and tied behind her ears with two purple ribbons.

"Good job," she whispered as he settled beside her.

"Thank you, sweetheart!" he exclaimed, ruffling her hair.

"Alright first grade, you've learned about where the produce goes, but how about where it comes from?" Ms. Stevens questioned. Young and bubbly, Ms. Stevens was called in from the city to teach the newest generation of Pelican Town students. It was Father's Day, and each dad was invited to join class and talk about their passions—work or otherwise.

"Come on up, Mr. Kennedy!" Ms. Stevens said with a smile, motioning for him to join her.

Grandpa grunted as he hoisted himself off of the ground, dramatically brushing the dust and carpet fluffies off of his overalls.

"Well, I'll be," he laughed heartily, scanning the room. "How's everyone doin' today?"

A chorus of high-pitched answers and subsequent giggles broke out in response, Ms. Stevens eventually holding a finger to her mouth to quiet the chaos. Penny watched her with wide eyes glazed over with admiration, copying her shush motion.

"Good, good!" He smiled. "I'm Miss Callista's grandfather; my name is Randall Kennedy, but 'Grandpa' will work just fine. We live together over on Appleton Farm, just past the bus stop. Are any of you familiar?"

A herd of starstruck kids nodded their heads, listening intently.

"Wow, a lot of you! I'm honored," he said, shooting a wink towards me. "Well, who wants to hear more about what it's like to be a farmer?"

Hands shot in the air as Grandpa launched into a collection of stories, including his famous tale about an alien landing on the farm and leaving its vessel behind. He truly was magic, I decided.

"Where's your dad?" Sebastian asked, scooting closer to me. He was alone.

"That's him, up there." I said, pointing to Grandpa.

"No, your actual dad."

"Oh," I sighed. "He...um...He passed away."

"Oh. I'm sorry."

"It's okay. Where's yours?"

"He moved away. I haven't seen him in a while."

"Do you miss him?" I asked.

"Sometimes," he responded. "Do you miss your dad?"

"Yeah. But we planted an apple tree for him, and now it's a little less lonely."

"An apple tree is nice," he sighed. "I wish my dad had an apple tree."

"They can share it," I said. "There's plenty of apples to go around, and I'm sure my dad could use some company."

"Really?" His dark eyes lit up.

"Really," I said. "They can have each other, and now we have each other, too!"

"You want to be my dad?" He asked, his eyebrows furrowed.

"Not really," I giggled. "Do you want to be mine?"

"I don't think I'm ready," he said. "Maybe best friends instead?"

"Yeah," I smiled. "Best friends."