I awoke the morning after my birthday fiasco with a pounding headache. Distracted by the pain, it was a few minutes before the memory of last night's events came flooding back. Feeling angry all over again, I stormed around my house, getting dressed and making a large cup of tea with which to wash down some aspirin. I didn't feel like eating, so I just grabbed a piece of toast and stepped outside onto my porch to eat it and finish my tea.

To my surprise, when I opened the door, Cam and Mikhail both lay stretched out head to head on my porch, their jackets draped over them for warmth. Startled by the sight but still too irate for words, I stepped right over them and strode off towards my barn, determined to ignore them. My loud footsteps woke them, and a minute later they were groggily calling my name. They chased after me and followed me around as I tended my animals and crops, still stonily ignoring them. When I headed back to the house, they were still following me, pleading with me to hear them out. At my porch steps, I whirled around to face them, snapping angrily, "Didn't you two hear me last night? Get lost! I don't want to see you, I don't want to talk to you, I don't want to have anything to do with either one of you right now! Leave me alone!" Then I stormed into my house and slammed the door so hard the house shook, bolting it firmly behind me. I ignored their pleas as I went to shower and change my clothes.

By the time I left the house again, they had apparently given up. I walked into town, checked the board, and visited some of the villagers. Nearly everyone I spoke with was consumed with curiosity about what had happened the night before, but I only told Kana and Georgia any details. I told everyone else that I didn't want to talk about it, and they politely dropped the subject.

I passed through the tunnel, greeting one or two villagers along the way, and headed straight for the Bluebell message board. I noticed that although it was Saturday, Cam's shop was closed. I just mentally shrugged and went about my rounds. When I stopped in at the café to greet Howard and Laney, Cam stepped hesitantly out from his room. I pulled Laney aside and asked if she had time to talk, ignoring Cam all together. She agreed, and we walked over to Eileen's.

Once there, I tearfully unloaded the whole story to them, explaining that I'd decided that I really did need a break from both of them, which is why I was ignoring Cam. I was ignoring Mikhail just as hard, if not even more so, I assured them, as I was still infuriated by his outrageous behavior. "At least Cam came to my defense," I said, "though I'm angry with both of them."

My two friends shook their heads in dismay, and Eileen said, "Well, hopefully now they'll finally get that they need to just back off a little. I'm glad to see you stand up for yourself, anyway."

Laney nodded agreement, then added, "Only... please don't be too hard on Cam. After all, like you said, he did try to come to your defense. And he's completely crushed. He didn't even go to work today, as I'm sure you saw."

I sighed, and said, "Yeah, I know. They both fell asleep outside my door last night. They were still sleeping on my porch when I went to do my chores this morning, then they followed me around like lost puppies until I finally couldn't take it anymore and told them to scram. I don't want to be mean, but oh my goddess, I need a break from all this! If they don't leave me alone, I think I'll have to pack up and leave for a while. And then I'm not sure what I'd do with my farm while I was gone. It's not easy to hire a farm-sitter on a moment's notice."

I leaned back in my chair with a deep sigh. "I guess I'll have to have another talk with them, try to get them to back off and give me a break for a while. I don't know if it will work," I added, rubbing my forehead tiredly. "I feel like I've talked and talked until I'm blue in the face, but I don't know if anything I'm saying is even getting through. Still," I said as I stood up, "nothing ventured, nothing gained. Right? Anyway, thanks for listening. I haven't told many people about what happened. I... I just get so tired and angry all over again when I think about last night. So other than you two, I've only told Georgia and Kana. I guess I don't mind if you all want to talk about it with the other villagers. It's not that I don't want anyone to know what happened so much as that I just can't bring myself to talk about it over and over. But I wanted my closest friends to know what really happened." Then I looked at Laney with a curious look, "Though maybe you already knew about it from Cam?"

She shook her head, saying, "No, I didn't. He didn't come home at all last night, and when he did finally stumble in a while ago, he looked like his world had just fallen apart. He wouldn't talk to me at all, too, which is unusual for him—usually he wants to talk with me when he's upset. So he must be really upset."

With another sigh, I said, "Well, I guess I'd better go talk to him. I think I'll also talk to the two of them together. I've just got to get them to understand that I need a break. I was so hopeful when they said they'd agreed on a truce... but it didn't last very long, did it?" The two women gave me a hug, and then I walked back to the café to find Cam.

I found him in his room, sitting on the edge of his bed, clutching his head. He didn't look up when I walked in, but he mumbled, "I said I don't want to talk about it, Laney. Please just leave me alone."

I sat down next to him and said, "You might not want to talk, but I do." He looked up, startled, then watched me anxiously as I stood up again. "Can you come with me? I want to talk to you somewhere alone, and I also want to talk to you and Mikhail together." He stood up and nodded, then followed me as I went out of the room.

We walked in silence back to my farmhouse. I let him in, then sat down at my table, gesturing for him to take the seat opposite to me. He sat down, still wordless, and just stared at his hands on his lap and waited. Feeling my headache returning, I decided to grab some aspirin. "Want anything to drink? Lemonade? Iced tea?" I asked as I stood up.

He hesitated for a minute, then said in a barely audible voice, "Tea, please."

I poured two glasses of iced tea, swallowed a couple of aspirin, and returned to the table. I handed a glass to Cam and took a gulp of my tea, then said, "Listen, Cam. I'm not really mad at you." He looked up at me in surprise, opening his mouth as if to speak, then closing it again. "I'm mad about what happened, more than at either of you. Mostly I'm tired of being treated like an object. I know, you aren't nearly as bad as Mikhail about that. But I felt like you were intentionally provoking him last night, which made things go much farther than they ever should have. Mikhail is very... brittle... emotionally. He's temperamental and doesn't have the best self control, at least not when it comes to things that really matter to him, I guess. He tries, but it's definitely a struggle for him. But that's beside the point. The point is that I just can't take any more of this. I need a break. I was so hopeful when you two agreed to a truce... but I guess that's over with now, huh?" Cam hung his head and slowly nodded. "So now I'm asking you... please, give me a little space for a while. I can't just up and leave because of my farm, or else I would go away somewhere for a while. But since I can't, I need you—both of you—to just leave me alone for now. I don't mean you can't talk to me at all or that you have to turn and run the other way if you see me coming. But for now... no romancing, no dates, no kissing or gifts or anything like that. Try to treat me as you would any other villager. And most importantly of all, please just stay away from Mikhail."

He looked at me sadly, then looked down again as he nodded, saying in a low voice, "If that's what you want."

"More than that," I replied, "it's what I need." I stood up, saying, "I'm going to go talk to Mikhail, then I'm going to bring him back here so the three of us can talk. Will you wait here for me to return?" Cam nodded, so I headed out the door, calling back, "Help yourself to the fridge. I don't think I'll be gone very long, unless I have trouble finding him."

I walked over to the town hall, wondering if Mikhail would be in his room, or if he would have gone on his walk up the mountain as usual. I knocked on his door, then after a moment with no response, pushed it open. He was sitting there on a sofa, in pretty much the same condition as I'd found Cam. He looked up tiredly when I stepped in, the irritation on his face giving way to astonishment. He jumped up, stammering, "Alice? B-but I-I thought you didn't want to see me again?"

Walking over to him, I said, "We need to talk, Mikhail." I sat down on the sofa, pulling him down next to me, and repeated my speech to him.

When I was finished, he looked away, and with a sigh, he said, "I suppose I can't blame you. I was so enraged... I hardly knew what I was doing. I... I keep behaving poorly, and despite my intentions to improve, the next time I see you with him, I forget all my resolutions and lose control all over again. I expect that my apologies are getting to be as meaningless as they are repetitive, but nevertheless I do sincerely apologize for last night."

I nodded, then I rose and said, "I want to talk with both of you together. I don't know that it will do any good, sometimes it seems like nothing I say is getting through. But...."

He looked up at me thoughtfully, then nodded and rose. "All right. I don't know if it will be helpful or harmful to put the three of us in the same room so soon. But I'm willing to try, since you wish it. And... I will do my best to control myself."

I returned to my home, Mikhail following in silence. Cam was still sitting where I had left him, staring out a window as if lost in thought. He started when we walked in, and turned to look at us. He gave me a slightly apprehensive look, then when Mikhail entered the room behind me, he gave him a brief glance before looking away—although very brief, I saw that the look that passed between them was charged with hostility.

With a sigh, I indicated that Mikhail should sit in the chair opposite Cam, and I sat down at the head of the table. After a moment of silence while I tried to collect my thoughts, I looked up to see both men watching me silently. "So, I've talked to you both now, and told you that I need to have a break from you—both of you. I told you that last night, only to have you both follow me home, sleep on my porch, and follow me around while I was trying to work this morning. So I'm asking you one more time. Please just back off and give me some space. I need some time away from you both. I'd rather be able to still be friends as much as possible in the meantime—I don't want to have to avoid you at festivals or anything. But if you can't—or won't—leave me alone, I'll just have to pack up and leave for a while. I don't know what I'd do with my farm in the meantime if it came to that... maybe have my brother come out and take care of things for me, if he could get away on such short notice. I don't know. But I do know I can't go on like this anymore. I can't stand feeling like I'm the prize of some ridiculous competition. I'm caught between the two of you, and I feel like I'm being pulled to bits in a tug-of-war. Sometimes I wonder if I even matter at this point, or if your mutual antagonism is the driving force behind all your interactions now."

Mikhail stood up, paced towards the living room and back, then stood before me, quivering with suppressed emotion. "I loved you first, remember that. I've loved you since I was thirteen, since that day I first saw you in Emil's study. There was a time when you knew that we belonged together—that we were meant for each other. You knew that—until he came along," he said, turning to glare at Cam.

Cam leaned back in his chair, returning his glare, and replied, "You might recall that you left her. You just walked out of her life, leaving her alone for years without so much as a word from you, not even giving her the benefit of the doubt. Don't you realize how much she was hurting all that time? You lost any claim you might possibly have had on her, and if she chooses to allow you back into her life, it's because that's what she has decided she wants, not because of some imaginary claim of auld lang syne you think you have on her. Furthermore, if she chooses me, you have no say in the matter. The choice is hers, not yours."

Mikhail narrowed his eyes and opened his mouth as if to speak, but thoroughly exasperated, I sprang to my feet, slammed my hands down on the table, and shouted, "Stop it! Both of you! Stop fighting like children! It doesn't solve anything—and I'm not a trophy! Either the two of you leave me alone and stay away from each other until I say that I'm ready to talk again, or I swear I will just pack up and leave you both, farm or no farm!" I stood glaring from one to the other, shaking with anger.

Mikhail sank back into his seat, hanging his head. Cam flushed and looked away, then down at his hands again. "That's better," I said after a moment. "Now will you both agree to do that for me?" Cam hesitated a moment, then looked at me and nodded, his eyes full of mute misery. I looked at Mikhail, and after a moment, I said, "Well, Mikhail? Will you?" Refusing to look at either me or Cam, he curtly nodded once, then stood up and stalked out of the house without a word.

My face flushing in anger from his response, I started to go after him, but Cam reached out a hand to stop me. "Let him go, Alice," he said quietly. "It's... I'm sure this isn't easy for him. I know it isn't for me." Then he, too, rose and left.