Author's Note: Apologies for the late update. I've been busy with IRL matters. Special thanks to my partner for giving me feedback on the story. To those who've sent me feedback through the comments and email, I appreciate your words very much.
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Marrow Falls is an idyllic town located north of Alcatraces. It's surrounded by forested mountains and has many lakes and rivers. Most of the people know each other here because it's a close-knit community. There's also no shortage of tourists visiting Marrow Falls every summer to see what nature has to offer.
Living most of his life in the city, Ryan is excited to see what Marrow Falls is like. Since Ryan and Scott left the campus in the morning, they arrive at Marrow Falls a little after lunch. When they get to the end of the bus route, they see Scott's parents waving at them.
"Good afternoon, Mr. and Mrs. Nelson!" Ryan greets happily.
The two smile warmly at him. "Hi, Ryan! You know, we wouldn't mind if you drop the formalities and call us by our names, right? You're boyfriends with our son now." Mrs. Nelson tells Ryan.
Ryan nods in affirmative. Soon, the four of them head to the car and drive to Scott's childhood home.
When they reach the house, Ryan realizes that he doesn't even know what Mr. and Mrs. Nelson's names are. Scott laughs when Ryan asked him their names later that day in his room.
"My dad's name is Alan Prescott Nelson. He moved to this town when he married my mom. My mom's maiden name is Gregoria Juana Sanchez. She was born and raised in Marrow Falls." Scott explains.
"Wait. Did 'Scott' come from your dad's name and 'Greg' come from your mom's name?" Ryan asks in amazement.
Scott chuckles. "Yeah. I guess so. Why do you ask?"
"Well... I was just reminded of my family. 'Ryan' was taken from my father and grandfather's name." Ryan admits.
"Aww. Have you heard from them lately?" Scott questions.
Ryan shakes his head. "No. Not recently. They've been hard to contact since they went overseas. I'm honestly starting to get worried since they usually check in when the semester is over. The last message from them was a short congratulations on the football match. That's almost 2 months ago."
Their conversation is cut short when they hear Mrs. Nelson calling for them from downstairs. They rush down and find her setting up the table to serve late lunch for everyone. Mr. Nelson is preparing the tableware while Mrs. Nelson prepares the food.
They sit down in the dining area and start eating. "What do you two plan to stay for in town?" Mr. Nelson asks the pair.
"We'll probably stay for a month and a half if you'll have us. Ryan is celebrating his birthday 2 weeks before mine I'd want to celebrate our birthdays here if that's okay." Scott answers.
Mr. Nelson smiles widely. "Of course! We don't mind having you guys here at all! In fact, I think it would be nice if you can spend your entire summer vacation here."
Mrs. Nelson pats her husband's shoulder lovingly and adds, "You should invite your friend Craig to join you next time. While we see Greg often enough, most times it's just us two here. Having company will definitely brighten things around the house."
"Speaking of Greg, where is he? I haven't seen him yet." Scott asks his parents.
"Oh, he's at work today. He decided to take up a mechanic job in Oaksdale County. He goes home here on the weekends though." Mrs. Nelson replies cheerfully.
After finishing their meal, Scott and Ryan excuse themselves and go back upstairs. Once inside Scott's bedroom, Ryan sits on the bed and sighs softly.
"Are you alright?" Scott asks concerned.
"I am. Seeing how easygoing you are with your family makes me wish I had a better relationship with mine." Ryan says sadly.
"Why don't you try talking to them? If nothing else, you could always send them letters or emails." Scott suggests.
"That won't solve anything, especially not if they barely reply to any of those messages. They only care whether I'm doing good in school and sports." Ryan complains.
Scott sits down next to Ryan and hugs him tight. "It might take some effort, but I hope you'll eventually fix whatever problems there are between you and your parents."
Ryan nods and sighs into the hug. They spend the rest of the day relaxing in Scott's room and they plan their activities for the coming days. When the night falls, they head out to the living room to watch a movie in the living room with Scott's parents. After dinner, Scott and Ryan retire early to get a headstart on their plans.
***
Scott wakes up earlier than usual to prepare breakfast for everyone. However, when he goes downstairs, he sees his mother already getting a head start on preparations.
He rushes to help her finish making the pancakes for everyone. By 7 AM, they're done cooking and serving the pancake stacks to everyone in the kitchen. As soon as they finished cleaning everything up, they head to the Nelson family farm.
When Alan moved to Marrow Falls after marrying Gregoria, he invested part of his savings to buy several hectares of land a few miles away from the town proper. Alan and Gregoria plant vegetables and raise pigs, cows, and chickens which provide them with fresh produce to sell in Marrow Falls and neighboring towns. Alan and Gregoria have not relocated to the farmland because they wanted to maintain the house Gregoria's parents left behind. On the property, there is a rustic log cabin where their farm supervisor resides.
Alan drives them to the cabin and lets them off outside the front porch. "Good morning, Farhan. I'm here with Scott and his boyfriend, Ryan. Can you show them around? My wife and I need to go back to the town hall to process some paperwork" Alan tells a tall, bearded man sitting on the front porch. The man stands up and greets the group.
"Morning, Sir. Sure, I'll make sure to tour them around the farm." Farhan answers promptly.
Once the couple leaves and drives away, Scott greets Farhan and introduces his boyfriend to Farhan.
"Good day, Farhan. Long time no see. I'd like you to meet Ryan, my boyfriend." Scott says proudly.
Farhan shakes Ryan's hand politely. "Nice to meet you. I'm Farhan. I've been working on this farm for 10 years now. I am grateful to the Nelson family for letting me stay here." Farhan says.
"Nice to meet you too. I haven't been to a farm before and I'm excited to look around." Ryan responds happily.
After exchanging some pleasantries, the three men proceed toward the barn. Inside, Farhan shows them the farm tools and equipment they use.
"This barn is mostly an emergency shelter. It was originally built for livestock, but we've repurposed it to hold equipment. We also store our crops in here until we can move them elsewhere." Farhan explains.
"I liked to play up that upper level when I was younger so I don't get in the way of everyone. I was a clumsy kid and Mom would avoid giving me heavy work. She thought I'd hurt myself." Scott adds.
Ryan imagines a young Scott playing among stacks of hay bales and couldn't help but smile. He looks at Scott and gives him a wink.
As they walk further through the barn, Farhan stops briefly and asks the couple what they want to see next.
"What do you usually grow in the fields?" Ryan asks curiously.
"We mainly focus on growing tomatoes, onions, potatoes, carrots, garlic, pumpkins, and other seasonal vegetables. Most of these plants are grown in the field a few paces away from this barn," Farhan replies.
The group starts walking along the fields and see rows upon rows of sweet corn. Further down, there are greenhouses filled with lettuce and leafy greens. There's even a small greenhouse dedicated solely to herbs.
