The Writer Cowboy (Part 2)

It was the next day, late in the afternoon in Whales Town. Simon had spent that time outside and was now coming back to the estate with Taro—Tokiko’s father—after their venture into the town.

“Thanks for showing me all those places, Uncle Taro. They were all beautiful.”

“Oh, there’s no need to thank me,” Uncle Taro waved dismissively.

“Thanks to you, though, I have enough notes for a whole saga of short stories!”

“I’m glad to hear that.”

The two sat on the back porch, watching the heat waves in the air and fanning themselves with their hands.

“Would the two of you like some tea?”

Entering the back porch with a couple of teacups was Tokiko, with her cutesy noblewoman act on full display.

“I’d love some. Thank you Tokiko,” her father said as he stood to grab a cup.

“Yeah, thanks, Toki.”

Tokiko then glanced at Simon, feeling a bit annoyed but also nervous on the inside, though she flashed a smile that hid that crack of weakness on her noble persona.

I was being too unladylike with this stupid Pen Head yesterday. It was an honest mistake, really. I was just mad at that moment. But now I just hope he doesn’t make things weird now. Or even worse, expose that incident to Father!

If that happened, others would see me as a noble failure, and I would have no choice but to meet my end in the ocean!

Sure, she exaggerated the scene in her head, but it contained some truth.

“Toki?” Taro said, a bit confused. “Is that your nickname, sweetie?”

No, it’s not! She wanted to say, but Simon just had to say the opposite.

“It is! I came up with it yesterday.”

“Well, aren’t you two getting along?” Taro laughed.

“Hehe, I guess you could say that,” Tokiko giggled, trying to play along and enforce her good girl act, despite how annoyed she was at the name.

It made Simon deliver a weird glance at her, which caused Tokiko to sweat bullets.

Why is he looking at me like that?! Oh, it must be because you think we’re friends now… well… you’re wrong! I’m only acting like this because—

“Has your daughter always been this nice?” Simon asked.

Eek!

That sentence broke Tokiko’s train of thought.

What does he mean by that? Don’t tell me you’re going to talk about what happened yesterday! If so, then read the room, or matter of fact, just read my face! It’s the face of a beautiful woman asking for forgiveness, okay? Just please, please don’t talk about that argument from yesterday!

“Oh, of course,” Taro replied to Simon with pride in his voice. He wrapped his arm around Tokiko’s shoulder. “My little Tokiko is such a sweet bean! She’s my pride and joy!”

Father… you’re sweet, but I’m so sorry. I’m not that little sweet bean you’re talking about. It’s over for me… Simon’s going to spill the beans… no pun intended.

But to her surprise, Simon mentioned nothing about their petty argument from yesterday. Instead he said, “I can tell. She was super nice to me yesterday. Though I always thought she’d be a rowdy gal.”

“Oh, my Tokiko could never,” Taro said. “She’s so very gentle and sweet, she wouldn’t even hurt a fly!”

Which was ironic, since Tokiko thought of Simon as a pesky housefly.

“I see…” Simon said. Then he glanced at Tokiko. The jerk seemed amused and looked as if he was holding back a laugh.

This stupid Pen Head! Tokiko wanted to scream.

Her father had taken his arm off of her and sat down on the back porch to drink his tea. Tokiko and Simon joined alongside him, soaking in the heat and greenery in front of them, when Taro pointed his cup at the guy in the cowboy outfit.

“So what do you plan on doing now, Simon? Are you going to continue roaming the town?”

Simon swung his body back so that he could lie on the wood floor.

“Probably,” he said. “I have nothing better to do.”

“How about I take you around town myself?” Tokiko cutely suggested.

“Hm? Will you do that for me?” Simon asked.

“Sure I will!” Tokiko replied.

But don’t think I suggested this out of kindness, Pen Head. I’m only doing this to make Father happy.

***

When the two left the estate and ventured deep into town, Simon was already annoying Tokiko.

He didn’t pay attention to the market stalls or commercial buildings such as the cafes, restaurants, and blacksmith buildings of Whales Town.

His focus was on Tokiko, who continued to keep up her cutesy act as people called her name from various places.

“Hi there, Tokiko!”

“How’s it going, little miss?”

“Good evening, miss Tachibana. You’re looking prettier by the day.”

Tokiko responded in kind until Simon spoke.

“You’re pretty popular, aren’t you?” he asked.

“I just happen to know a lot of people,” Tokiko said cutely. “I’m not popular.”

“Wow, how humble,” Simon sneered. “But I have a question. Why are you putting on this nice girl act?”

“I don't know what you mean,” Tokiko said, flashing her ‘perfect’ smile because of people passing by in the busy evening.

“You know exactly what I mean,” Simon said. He narrowed his eyes in suspicion. “You don’t act or sound the same from when I met you yesterday. You’re being too… nice.”

“Have you ever considered that it’s because I’m a nice person?” Tokiko jabbed at him.

“Not at all,” Simon joked. “But look, I already know you’re a nice person. It’s just that this act you got going on feels… boring.”

“Boring? What do you mean by ‘boring?!’”

Once the two were out of earshot of any townsfolk she knew, Tokiko let the mask slip.

“It means that you’re a lot less fun to talk to when you put on this ‘nice girl’ act,” Simon said. Then he pointed at her angry face. “When you get worked up like this, you’re a lot more fun to be with. You actually seem human.”

“…”

It was supposed to be a lighthearted comment, but Tokiko stopped walking and turned her head.

“Well, it’s not like I want to act like the ‘perfect girl’ all the time.”

Simon stopped walking.

“What do you mean?” he asked. His voice was sincere and caring.

Tokiko then spotted a restaurant that had an aroma of shrimp and various spices floating in the air.

And that’s when she heard a loud rumbling from someone's stomach.

“Ah!”

Simon’s face turned red and he was scrambling from embarrassment in front of Tokiko.

“Are you hungry?” she asked.

“Just a bit,” Simon said, forcing a chuckle.

Oh? Do my eyes deceive me? Tokiko flashed a smug smile. Is Pen Head blushing?

At that moment, she could hear Simon’s stomach rumbling some more.

“Agh!” he groaned before facing Tokiko. “Don’t mind my stupid stomach. You were talking about not wanting to act like the ‘perfect girl,’ right? Keep going!” he said.

“Hmm, I don’t know~,” Tokiko teased, putting on her ‘perfect girl’ mask. “I think your hunger is more important than whatever I have to say.”

“Oh, come on, Toki. Please! Things were just getting good! You sounded like you were about to say something serious just now!”

“Was I~?”

“Urgh!” Simon groaned.

It made Tokiko place a hand over her mouth as she chuckled.

“Here, how about this?” she proposed. “I’ll tell you what I was going to say next while we get something to eat over there.”

She pointed at the restaurant that smelled of shrimp.

“Really?” Simon asked. “This isn’t some prank you’re playing on me?”

“I’m being serious,” Tokiko said. “After all, a noblewoman like me can’t possibly let her guest stay hungry. It isn’t polite.”

“Is that so?”

Simon stared at Tokiko as if she was a saint.

Hm? Are you enamored by my kindness and beauty, Simon? It’s okay, I’ll allow those feelings to fester just for today.

She swung her long black hair back to present herself as an even greater beauty until Simon said, “There’s just one thing I need to ask of you?”

Is it for my hand in marriage? Sorry, Pen Head, you’re a decent guy, but I’m way out of your league. I’ll just entertain the thought for now, though.

“What is it~?” Tokiko asked.

That was when Simon flipped his pockets from the inside out.

“Would you mind paying for my meal? I don’t have any money.”

“…”

Tokiko said nothing. At least for a few seconds. Then she hung her head low and sighed.

“Fine… I’ll pay for it.”

“Really?!” Simon asked with an innocent smile. “Oh thank you, thank you, thank you!”

“Wha—hey!”

As Simon thanked her, he grasped his hands around Tokiko’s and shook it in gratitude. It was a kind gesture, but man was it rough on Tokiko’s arms.

“Enough!” she yelled. “You’re hurting me!”

“Oh. Sorry.”

Simon stopped immediately.

“Geez, Pen Head. You need to understand that my body is a lot more fragile than yours.”

“You’re right. I guess I got carried away,” Simon chuckled. “Sorry.”

With words so sincere, Tokiko sighed her anger away.

“Apology forgiven,” she said as they entered the restaurant. “But seriously, the way you operate boggles my mind.”

A server seated them by an open window and handed the two a menu to look at while the smell of fresh shrimp flew into the open air as a sort of marketing tactic to bring hungry customers in.

“What do you mean?” Simon asked Tokiko. “Everything has been going great for me so far.”

“Yeah, and it’s all because of little ol’ me,” Tokiko said, placing a proud hand on her puffed out chest. “If it wasn’t for me, I don’t even know what you’d be doing right now.”

Simon placed a hand on his chin while he thought about what Tokiko just said.

“Hm… if it wasn’t for you helping me out, I think I’d still be fine. I’d probably get a lot more notes on the people here instead of hanging out with you at this restaurant.”

Tokiko narrowed her eyes.

“Oh, is that so?” she said.

"Yeah, but... I think I'd be bored out of my mind without a friend to hang out with."

Hmmmm~. Friend?

The word caused her to form a squiggly smile that she couldn’t repress.

“That’s an A+ answer you have there, Pen Head. Did you write that down before we left the estate?”

“Maybe,” Simon joked. “I’ve been writing a few pickup lines for a romance story lately.”

“Is that so? Can I read it?” Tokiko asked. She had her elbows on the table and her eyes glued on the dressed up cowboy.

“Absolutely not!”

“Huh? Why not?!” she asked, sounding a little disappointed.

“Because…it's embarrassing. It’s the first time I ever wrote a romance.”

“Then why are you writing it?”

“For practice. And also to see what it feels like to write that kind of story, but…”

“But what?”

“I-uh, never been in a um—nevermind.”

Simon was facing the open window. His face was a tad bit flustered.

Oh, my? Well, isn’t this interesting? Is Pen Head nervous because he thinks his writing may not be good? Or…

“Wait a minute,” Tokiko said. “Don't tell me you’ve never been in a relationship.”

Simon scrunched his face when he heard those words.

Ohoho! This is toooooo interesting!

“I’m right, aren’t I~?” Tokiko teased.

“…”

Simon continued staring out the window.

“I am right! That silence tells me all that I need to know!”

“Urgh! Okay, okay, so I’ve never been in a relationship while writing a romance story. So what?”

“Sooo,” Tokiko said as she twiddled her fingers around the table. “I can help you with your little story~. We could go on a couple of dates. That way, not only would you spend time with a perfect girl such as myself, you could also jot down notes about Whales Town and get material for your story. It’s an all around win for you.”

The duo ordered two plates of shrimp fried rice, and the server brought it to them hot and fresh. With a spoon in hand, Simon pointed at Tokiko with a red face.

“You’re just messing with me, aren’t you?”

“Correct~” she laughed.

“I knew it,” Simon said with his head hung low as Tokiko continued to giggle. “But what you said just now isn’t a bad idea.”

“Hm?” Tokiko hummed with a spoonful of fried rice.

“Why don’t we actually go out tomorrow? Just you and me.”

Tokiko’s face blew bright red.

Hmmmm?!?!?!