Saturday morning came very early, but as soon as the familiar pounding began on the ceiling downstairs everyone was immediately bustling about. The men rushed through breakfast then piled out the doors to fill one of the carts with crates full of oranges, and help Jongin and Minseok hitch up the horses to all three carts. Meanwhile Baekhyun gave Junmyeon a bag that he had filled with ten of the air-freshener bags, each one tied carefully with little bows. 

The night before, after the dishes were all cleaned up and the guitar session was winding to a close, the orphan had enlisted the help of Luhan and Yixing, and between the three of them all the dried orange peelings were torn into small pieces and the cloth bags were quickly and easily filled. It was LuHan’s idea to tie the ends of the ribbon into cute bows. He said the accent would catch people’s eye and make them ask questions about the little bags. Everyone that saw the air fresheners were confident the little tailor would soon have orders for many more in the weeks to come, and Baekhyun bashfully thanked the men for their nice words. And now Junmyeon was being trusted to sell the experimental items.

As soon as the one cart was sufficiently loaded up, Junmyeon and Sehun climbed onto the bench seat, and Yixing sat in the back, balanced on the stacked crates. As the three left the estate in the direction of the market, the rest of the men all climbed into the remaining two carts and left to go pick more oranges. Baekhyun, Chanyeol, and Kyungsoo stayed at the houses to wait for the usual routine of weighing, crating, sealing, and stacking to begin after lunch time. 

No sooner were the carts out of sight, when the chef announced he was going back up to his room to enjoy the next chapter of the book he was currently reading. Chanyeol and Baekhyun were left looking awkwardly at each other for a second, but then the tall man blurted out an invitation to go sit on the porch swing, and the orphan quickly accepted. Chanyeol went inside and refilled his coffee cup and then they walked onto the porch together. 

Once they were seated side by side on the swing, Baekhyun decided to say what had been on his mind. “May I ask about your mother?” It was obvious by the tall man’s reaction that the question caught him a little off guard, and the orphan immediately began backtracking. “Or you don’t have to tell me anything. I just- I know that Junmyeon is your cousin and that you had parents, but I don’t really know anything else about your family except that it seems you were very close to your mother. So-”

By now Chanyeol had recovered and he gave a soft smile as he interrupted. “It’s ok. I should tell you about her. Especially because… You remind me of her.”

Baekhyun whipped his head up to look directly at the tall man. “But.. I’m not..a woman.”

Chanyeol couldn’t help his loud laughter and he held his coffee cup out in front of him to keep from sloshing on himself as he slapped his own knee a couple of times in reaction to the comment from the little one. He grinned widely even as he calmed down a little. “I know. Trust me I know.” 

The orphan scrunched his eyebrows and his mouth quirked into a half-smile in question as he looked at the laughing man. Chanyeol took a drink of his coffee then lowered the cup to his lap as he looked at the orphan with a smile. “My mother was a kind-hearted person that tried to see the good in everyone, but she knew very well how to stand up for herself and what was right and what was wrong. Her words could hurt and they could heal, and even though she seemed soft-spoken everyone knew she was actually very strong and it was never a good idea to get on her bad side.” 

Baekhyun immediately blushed. “Y-you think I’m like that?!” 

Chanyeol hummed through another sip of his coffee, then nodded. “From how you’ve acted and what you’ve said since I met you, I know you’re like that.” The tall man sounded confident, but the pink of his ears gave him away. 

“Oh.. “ Baekhyun said with quiet awe, looking down at his hands. “I’m flattered.” He looked back up with a gentle expression on his face. “I’m sorry I will never get to meet her. I think I would have liked her.”  

Chanyeol looked over at the smaller house, his expression thoughtful. “She passed away six years ago after a long illness. I miss her every day." He paused for a second then gave a little chuckle. "Dad used to call her his calm-headed spitfire.” He glanced at the little one sitting beside him. “She would have loved h