Chapter 5 Evening by the Lake
Chapter 5: Evening by the Lake
Jack
What was supposed to be an adventurous walk didn”t end up so well. I hated walking around the street for any reason at all, and now I had to walk the whole town with her to show her around. We had already visited the market, where she’d bought some fruits and forced an apple down my throat.
It felt strange walking with a lady that wasn”t Meg. But surprisingly, too, she”d made me smile. Something I hadn”t done in a long while. We visited a plant store next, where she bought a cactus plant. She volunteered to get a plant for me, but I wasn”t going to let that happen.
I was doing so badly with myself and my life as a whole; I wasn”t ready to maltreat a plant too. I showed her the mini-mall for shopping, the best restaurant, and the church as well. Somehow, it had been a sweet walk until she’d brought up that conversation.
“Who are they?” she asked.
I ignored the question, trying to let the topic slide away.
“You seemed so upset when you saw me with the portrait. Are they—”
“I don”t want to talk about it,” I interrupted.
“You don”t seem to want to talk about anything, Mr. Jack, and this isn”t going to help our friendship.”
“Friendship?” I was taken aback. She was considering me a friend? That was weird too.
“What”s wrong with you, Mr. Jack?” she asked, tilting her head to the side as she stared at me.
“Can you stop calling me that?”
“Well, what should I call you then?”
“Just Jack,” I told her.
“Okay. Just Jack, can we talk about the portrait and why you were so upset?”
“No,” I dropped coldly and took the lead, walking quickly ahead of her.
I turned around after some minutes to realize she was not there, not following behind, nor standing anywhere around. I wasn”t supposed to care—I was doing her a favor—and if she thought she could get pissed off and leave, then that was her problem, not mine. So, I went back to the store, not bothering to look for her.
Back at the store, a queasy feeling settled in my stomach. I couldn”t bring myself to think of anything else but her. It was her questions, her smiles, and the cute look of annoyance on her face that filled my mind. It made me mad at myself. The fact that I allowed her to occupy so much of my thoughts was daunting.
She was a total stranger and wasn”t supposed to matter, so why was she in my head so much?
That was it! It was exactly because she was a stranger and I’d left her in the middle of the road that bothered me. Perhaps if I made efforts to ensure that she was safe, I could stop thinking of her.
I closed the store once again and headed for the guest house. There was only one in Serenity Springs and I was certain she had lodged there for her visit. I was just going to make sure she got back safe and that would be all.
As hard as it was, I stopped a cab. Usually, I would rather walk, avoiding the small talk between myself and these cab drivers, but there was this urgency gnawing on me that I couldn”t shake off. The earlier I got there, the better it would be.
The gatekeeper pointed to room number three when I asked for Emma. It was even more surprising that I remembered her name.
I marched slowly to her door and knocked a few times, but there was no response. The gatekeeper had assured me that she was in when I’d asked if she was home.
“Emma?” I called through the window, but got no response. “Look, I just want to be sure that you”re fine, okay? Can you just open up? I need to see that you”re fine,” I pleaded.
Realizing how desperate I might sound, I stopped calling out. I knocked a few more times and was going to leave when the bolt cracked. She came out, wearing shorts and a collared top. Her hair was loose and fell over her shoulder, just like Meg’s.
“Emma…”
“You remember my name?” Her brows raised.
“I was surprised too… Scratch that, I just wanted to be sure that you got home. I turned around and you weren”t there anymore.”
“I didn”t think you would care enough to come check on me.”
“It”s not like I really care. You”re new around here… And I didn”t… damnit!” I scratched my head desperately.
Why was I babbling before her? This wasn”t the plan. The plan was to check that she was okay and leave! Why was I mincing words here?
“I made scrambled eggs and pasta. You should come in,” she invited in a calm tone. I stared at her, and I guess she must have seen the confused look on my face.
“Yes, you should, Jack. Come in.” She walked in, leaving the door open.
I told myself I wasn”t going into that room with her, that I was going to decline her offer and leave, but my feet were clearly not working with my head. I entered behind her, walking into her dining room, and letting myself scrutinize the homeyness of the home. Everything felt organized and peaceful. The aroma of the meal filtered into the dining room. I could swear I hadn”t had a decent meal since Meg”s demise.
“I”m sorry about leaving you the way I did on the road earlier.” I forced the words out of my mouth, fixing my gaze on her plant that stood at the window. The soil below it was wet, showing she had just watered it. Did she really buy this plant to water it every day? Could she really be that caring and patient?
“It”s fine, Jack.” She smiled, heading into the kitchen. The door was slightly open so I could see her from where I sat at the dining table.
“Are you just faking this?”
“Me? Faking what?” She returned from the kitchen with a ceramic bowl in hand, looking genuinely puzzled, and it made me feel bad. I was probably about to accuse her wrongly.
“Never mind,” I said instead. She brought out two more dishes and silverware before joining me at the table.
“I need to tell you something, Emma.”
“Okay…”
“I don”t know why I”m here, or why I remember your name, or why I even feel comfortable talking with you at all. It feels utterly new and strange,” I blurted out.
“Is that it?” Her hands paused midway, holding a large fork wrapped in pasta.
“Yeah. I just thought I should tell you. This is very unusual for me.”
“Thank you, Jack. I like you too.”
“I didn”t say I liked you.”
“You don”t have to spell the words out, Jack.”
I cursed myself for giving her the impression that I liked her. But what if there was an atom of truth in what she just said? What if I did like her? She had consistently been in my face for a couple days now, doing the very things I would let no one do around me, and I tolerated her. I was sitting comfortably in her—albeit rented—house, ready to share a meal. What if I did like her?
“I like it here; the people are nice and this,” she waved at the apartment, “feels so much like home. I could be here for a while and not miss home. Except for the people back there.” Her face was covered in a nostalgic smile.
I could tell she missed someone from back home. Was it a man? Maybe a fiancé? Or was she married already? I stole a glance at her finger, —there was no ring. Cool, it meant she was still single. But what if there was someone?
Why the heck do you care, Jack! I shouted in my head.
“Is something wrong? You haven”t touched the food,” she said, calling me back.
I dug my fork quietly into the meal, rolling the pasta skillfully. All I needed was that first taste and then I was digging faster than my table manners should have permitted into the meal.
“This is nice.” I spoke amidst a mouthful. My plate was halfway through becoming empty.
“Thank you. Jack?” she called in the softest voice I”d ever heard.
“Yeah?” I looked up at her.
“I was wondering if you could show me the lake. They say it’s around here and the tour guide would have taken me there but he had an accident. Do you think you can?”
I rolled more pasta noiselessly, turning the fork to hold it.
“It”s okay if you don”t want to. I don”t want to ask too much of—”
“Okay,” I answered before I could stop myself.
“What?” I could see the sheer disbelief in her eyes.
“I said okay.”
“Like, you”re going to show me the lake?” she went on.
“Isn”t that what you wanted?”
“Yeah, it is. I mean, of course. I just didn”t think it would be so easy convincing you,” she expressed the reason for her shock.
“First, you didn”t convince me into it. And secondly, take it as a payback for this nice meal.”
“I don”t need a payback.”
“But you need to see the lake,” I told her.
That settled it. We went on our way to the lake after the meal. It was evening already and the sky was turning into darker shades.
“This is beautiful!” she exclaimed, stepping into the water before I could stop her. “What? Is it wrong if I step into the tranquility and peacefulness of the water?”
“Yes… I mean, no. We just didn”t talk about getting in, okay? You just wanted to see the lake, right?”
“Well, now we”re here. What”s the rush, Jack?”
I didn”t know what I would have done differently if I had known that when she’d dropped herself low into the water, it was a plot to drag me in. By the time we left the lake, we were both soaked from head to toe and laughing at each other.
Did I say laughing? Yeah, that was right, I was laughing. Needless to say, I liked her and she was right about it. It just took me so long to agree.