And Along Came Jake

by Vaca, Christopher

  Jake Patterson was lying through his teeth, and although he did find Misty McFarland attractive, he never had any intention to ask her on a date. Now Madison had the overwhelming feeling of jealousy, not really knowing why.

  "Well that's nice Jake" she said. "Let me know how everything turns out."

  Jake expected Madison to be upset, as Misty McFarland was one of the most popular, beautiful girls in town. But now he was confused, because instead of resentment, she wished him luck.

  About that time, Little Edwin and Mr. Bird walk in the store. Mr. Bird, ironically owned the town's pet store, and came to ask Big Paul's advice on how to deal with his unruly child. Before he was able to make his way to the office, Madison stepped in front of the man and smiled. Mr. Bird returned the gesture and tried to walk around her, but Madison mirrored his every move.

  "Hello Mr. Bird!" she said "Welcome to Big Paul's furniture store. Can I interest you in some lovely new or restored furniture?"

  "Not now Madison!" He grunted "I really must speak with Mr. Sutton."

  As Mr. Bird walked around her, Madison caught him by his sleeve and whirled him around; escorting him to a newly built rocking chair Jake finished building yesterday. She sat him down, gave him a slight push, and allowed him to feel the smooth motions of the rocker.

  "I like you, Mr. Bird!" She said, matter of factly. "And if you buy this chair today––today only, I'll take an extra ten percent off, how's that?"

  Mr. Bird brushed his hair back and furrowed his brow "If it'll allow me to talk to Mr. Sutton, then I'll take it!"

  "Great!" she smiled "I'll have everything ready for you when you're done with Mr. Sutton. Thanks again, for shopping at Big Paul's furniture store!"

  As he walked towards Big Paul's office, Mr. Bird looked back at Madison, glared and shook his head. Madison sweetly smiled and waved, as he disappeared into the office.

  "Th-Th-That was great Madison!" Little Edwin chuckled. "Hey, so Ch-Ch-Chad Westfield just t-told me th-th-that he w-was taking you out t-t-to a picnic tomorrow!"

  "He sure is!" Madison said. "And Jake here is gonna ask Misty McFarland out when he gets of work today. Ain't that right, Romeo?"

  "J-J-Jake's gonna ask M-Misty M-M-McFarland out on a date?" he said as he chuckled, slapping his leg. "Sh-Sh-Sure Jake, w-when p-p-p-pigs fly!"

  "What?" Jake said as he shrugged his shoulders. "You don't think she'll go out with me?"

  "C-Come on J-J-Jake!" Edwin replied, placing his arm around his friends shoulder. "Girls like M-M-Misty McFarland don't g-go out w-with g-g-guys like us!"

  "Well" he said as he hung his head. "Maybe you're right Edwin."

  When Madison heard that, she smiled, thinking Jake would forget about asking her out altogether, but to her disappointment, it didn't last long. "I'm gonna try anyway." Jake said "The worst she can do is say no, right Madison?"

  "Whatever you say." She said, shaking her head.

  Madison immediately went over to one of the chairs and began slowly wiping the dust off the top of the arms and seat. Jake and Edwin looked at each other puzzled, unsure why Madison got quiet all of a sudden. Edwin quickly changed the subject.

  "Hey J-J-Jake why don't we join t-t-the Army and s-s-see the w-world?"

  Before Jake could respond, Madison marched towards them, put her hands on her hips and began loudly tapping her foot on the floor. "No, no, no, no!" She demanded "It's a very honorable thing to serve this great country, but I do not want to risk losing either one of you!"

  "Yeah Edwin" Jake said, nodding his head in agreement with Madison. "There are plenty of soldiers already."

  "W-W-Well, I'm j-joining!" Edwin said, stomping his foot. "They m-may have plenty of s-s-soldiers in the Army right now, b-but they don't have E-E-Edwin Birch yet!"

  Edwin gave a sharp military salute, and stormed out of the furniture store, leaving Jake and Madison with their mouths wide open. Little Edwin was destined for one of two things in life; he would down in history as the world's worst baseball player, or the next United States Army's most decorated soldier.

  Shortly after Edwin left the store, Mr. Bird and Big Paul emerged from the office. Big Paul had his hand on Mr. Bird's shoulder, softly giving him a few more words of advice while leading him to the front of the store.

  "Thank you Mr. Sutton" he said, as he rubbed the brim of his hat. "I believe things will work out just fine. I'll be sending my boy to pick up the rocker Madison sold to me."

  "That'd be fine Mr. Bird; I'll be seeing you around." Big Paul said.

  Mr. Bird left the store with a smile on his face and hope in his heart, believing the situations he faced would improve, following Big Paul's advice. As Mr. Bird walked away, Big Paul went and sad down in the rocking chair Madison sold.

  "Who was the boy you were talking to earlier?" He asked Madison. "The one with the dirty-blond hair? I've seen him around before, but I've never talked to him. Was he here to see me, or to buy something?"

  "No Big Paul!" Jake said, rolling his eyes. "Chad Leftfield was here to see Madison and––"

  "First of all!" Madison interrupted "It's Westfield, not Leftfield, and Chad Westfield was here to ask me out on a picnic date for tomorrow!"

  "Oh?" Said Big Paul "And where will you go?"

  "We're going to the park, where all couples go on Saturdays." She responded.

  "That's real nice, Madison." he said. He then turned to Jake and continued "And what about you Jake? Do you have anyone special in mind to ask on a picnic?"

  Jake smiled, but before he could even open his mouth to answer, Madison rolled her eyes and sighed deeply. "He's going over to Misty McFarland's tonight to ask her!" she said "She's not even that pretty, if you ask me!"

  "She's plenty pretty!" exclaimed Jake. "You just won't admit it!"

  "Well" she said, flipping her hair. "I suppose she's kinda pretty––but she's as dumb as a rock!"

  "Hold on, what's going on here?" Big Paul interrupted. "You two have been best friends for the last five years, what's with all this bickering? You should be happy for one other." Madison and Jake both nodded, looked at each other and began to smile. "Now that's better––well I guess y'all should be on your way, take care and be safe."

  Big Paul smiled as Jake and Madison left the store, talking and joking around. He began to chuckle, knowing the truth of how they were both jealous of each other's situation. He knew deep in his heart that they both really liked each other, but were too embarrassed to admit it.

  "Oh how I remember my teenage years." He thought to himself as he sighed and walked back to his office to close the shop.

  <><><>

  As they walked together, Jake suddenly stopped. "Well" he said, "Misty's house is just up this road, so wish me luck."

  Madison proceeded to tousle Jake's hair, running her fingers through it for a few minutes, until she was satisfied with her work.

  "Yep!" she said looking at the strands. "That'll do. Don't worry Jake, she'll say yes. Let me know how it goes at dinner, okay? I'll go home and start getting outfits together for you to look at."

  "Sounds good Maddie, See you in a bit." He said.

  Madison walked home and Jake went to try his luck with Misty McFarland. As they walked their separate directions, each one glanced back at the other, however, they never looked back at the same time, so neither one, ever knew the other was glancing.

  <><><>

  As Jake neared Misty McFarland's house, he began to break out in cold sweats, fearing rejection. On one hand, he hoped she wouldn't be home, and maybe he could forget the whole thing, but on the other hand, he was actually eager to take a chance. With his heart pounding, he walked up the steps to the front door and gave a soft knock. He then placed his ear to the door and listening for a voice or upcoming footsteps. He began biting his nails, and paced the small porch. After a few moments, Jake thought maybe he should leave, but then curiosity got the best of him, he put his hand up and lightly knocked a second time.

  He was completely
startled when he heard a perfectly accented southern voice in the near distance behind him.

  "Jake Patterson?" The female voice said. "You gotta knock louder than that if you want someone to come to the door."

  Jake knew that voice well, it belonged to none other than Misty McFarland herself. She was sitting on a swing tied to a tree near the front corner of the house. Jake swallowed hard, faked a smile, and turned toward the voice.

  "H-H-Hi Misty, h-how are y-you?" He nervously stuttered.

  "Oh stop!" she playfully replied, getting off the swing, and making her way to him. "You sound like that boy, Edwin Birch." she smiled, and started twirling her hair "You got a message for Pa or somethin'?"

  "Umm, I was just gonna ask your Pa if he wanted some furniture built." He lied.

  "Are you sure that's what you came here for, Jake Patterson?" she said, rolling her eyes.

  "Well actually" he nervously put his hands in his pockets, and slowly started bouncing on the balls of his feet. "I was just wondering––you know just thinking maybe––I mean, if you weren't busy or anything––" He took a deep breath and blurted it out. "Misty, would you like to po on a gicnic with me?"

  "Huh?" She giggled.

  "I mean, go on a picnic with me, would you like to go on a picnic with me?" He reiterated.

  Misty immediately started laughing as Jake felt his fear of rejection come to fruition. he slowly nodded his head. "Okay then Misty." he moped. "Guess I'll see you around then."

  With Misty still laughing, she reached over, and lightly slapped his shoulder. "No, no, no Jake." she said. "I'd be happy to go on a picnic with you. I was laughing because I thought it was cute when you said, what was it? Po on a gicnic! You poor thing, you must have been so nervous."

  "So…is that a yes?" He asked, with an unsure grin.

  "Yes Jake, just tell me when." She said with a smile.

  "How about tomorrow, at the park?" He asked rubbing his chin, acting like he was giving it much thought.

  Mr. McFarland opened his bedroom window. "Come on in Misty, your Ma needs your help. You can talk to that boy later!"

  "Okay Pa, be right there!" She called, looking towards the window. She looked back at Jake and continued. "Well, I'd better get inside and help ma."

  "Alright, see you around noon tomorrow?" he asked.

  "Sounds good to me Jake, see you there!" she agreed, then Misty McFarland ran inside her house yelling. "What do ya need now mama?"

  <><><>

  As Jake walked to the Brierly's for dinner, he felt bad, asking Misty out for the wrong reasons. For a minute, he thought about going back to tell her the truth, until he remembered Madison's date with Chad Westfield. He wanted to show Madison he could get someone too. Nevertheless, Jake felt bad about it, yet at the same time he couldn't wait to tell Madison that Misty accepted.

  As Jake walked up to the Brierly's, he noticed Madison putting freshly washed clothes outside on the clothesline. It was close to seven o'clock in the evening, and the sun was starting to set. Jake looked at Madison, noticing how the setting sun outlined her body in a way that he'd never seen before. He stopped, and just admired her for a moment. As Madison bent down grabbing another blouse, she turned to Jake who was still looking at her.

  "Hey, what are you looking at?" she said "Don't just stand there, give me a hand!"

  "Sure Maddie!" He said, quickly snapping out of his trance, and walking towards her.

  "So, how'd it go at Misty's?" Madison asked nonchalantly, as they both hung clothes.

  "It went okay." He said, grabbing a shirt, making it seem like no big deal.

  "And?" She asked, raising her eyebrows.

  "And what?" He replied with a smirk.

  "You know what I'm talking about Jake Patterson!" she exclaimed as she rolled her eyes.

  "And––she––said yes!" he answered trying to mask his excitement.

  She looked down on the ground, "Well that's great Jake, when's the big day?"

  "We're having a picnic at the park tomorrow." He said grabbing the last shirt from the basket to hang.

  "That's when Chad and I are having our date; I guess we'll be seeing each other there, huh?" she smiled.

  Mrs. Brierly poked her head out the front door to let them know dinner was on the table. As they ate, Mr. and Mrs. Brierly noticed Madison wasn't herself, just picking at her food.

  "What's wrong Madison?" her mother asked. "Is everything alright?"

  "Everything's fine ma." she said as she continued picking at her food. "But I need to tell y'all something; I'm just afraid you'll say no."

  "What is it honey? I'm sure it's not that bad?" Her father asked, taking a drink of iced tea.

  "It's about this boy, Chad Westfield––he kinda asked me out on a picnic, and I was wondering if I could go?"

  "Nope, not happening, young lady!" Her father answered, taking a bite of bread and talking with his mouth full. "That Chad Westfield seems to be a good fella, but I don't believe you two should be alone at a picnic."

  "Dad!" Madison exclaimed "Every Saturday the park's full of people, it's not like we'd be alone, and besides, Jake's gonna be there with Misty McFarland!"

  "And you were gonna tell us this when?" Mr. Brierly asked, turning his attention to Jake. "You know the deal Jake, as long as you live in our barn, you go by the rules we set in place."

  "I know Mr. B., and I was gonna tell y'all, honest I was." he said in defense.

  "Nate" Mrs. Brierly looked at her husband. "Can I see you in the other room for a minute?"

  Mr. Brierly took one more bite of food, then followed his wife into the living room. Jake and Madison could hear them whispering, until it appeared they had come to some sort of an agreement. As they sat back at the table Mr. Brierly looked to the teens.

  "Abigail and I agreed to let you both go on one condition." he said " Jake, you look after Madison and Madison, you look after Jake. Once the picnic's over, both of you come straight home, together––do you understand?"

  "Yes sir!" Jake and Madison said in unison, as they both smiled.

  <><><>

  After they finished dinner, cleaned the table, and washed the dishes, Madison headed to her room to try on outfits for Jake to see and choose from. First, she came dressed in a light green skirt and a white blouse. She stood in front of him and spun around.

  "So, what do you think?" she asked.

  "Umm, what else ya got?" he said rubbing his chin.

  Madison ran back up-stairs to try on a blue skirt, keeping the same blouse; she then came back down and stood in front of him once again.

  "What about this one?" she asked.

  "Nah, let's see what else you have." He said shaking his head.

  After a half hour of changing clothes, Madison had one outfit remaining, but Jake didn't seem to like that either. "What about that green skirt and white blouse?" Jake questioned.

  "Oh" she said, putting her hands on her hips. "You mean the first one I tried on?"

  "Yeah, go put that on again." he said smiling.

  "Jake Henry Paterson!" She huffed, furrowing her brow.

  She sighed, turned around, grunted and stormed back to her room. When she walked in her bedroom she noticed her clothes and shoes scattered everywhere. She let out another deep sigh and started digging through the pile to find the first outfit. She put it on once more, walked down stairs, and stood annoyed in front of Jake.

  "You mean this one?" she said with attitude.

  "Yep, that's the one!" He nodded. "It looks good on you Maddie; Chad will love it!"

  "Jake, this is the very first outfit I showed you!" She said, talking through her teeth.

  "At first I didn't like it," he added "but the more I thought about it, I realized it really brings out your eyes. I mean, if I were to take you out, I'd like to see you in that."

  "You really think it looks good on me?" Madison began to blush.

  Mr. Brierly walked out of the kitchen chomping on a shiny red apple, shaking his head. "N
ah" he said "Not that one, go try on something else."

  Her face was now beet red; she turned, threw her hands in the air, and stormed back up the stairs. She huffed all the way to her room, mumbling under her breath how men can be so stupid.

  "What's eating her?" Mr. Brierly said, looking at Jake as he bit into his apple.

  "Not sure Mr. B." Jake replied as he shrugged his shoulders. "I guess women are just weird like that."

  "Well Jake" Mr. Brierly finished the apple. "You best be getting to bed soon."

  Jake stretched and yawned "I can't believe I sat through her trying on everything she owned."

  "Let me tell you a secret, Jake!" Mr. Brierly advised. "Next time something like this happens, choose the first outfit no matter what; it'll save lots of time."

  "Thanks Mr. B., I'll keep that in mind!" He chuckled and walked out the front door to the old barn.

  As Madison picked up her scattered clothes, she thought of Jake, how patient he was while she tried on every article of clothing she owned. She thought of his smile and how he looked each time she came down the stairs. When she was done, she flopped down on her bed, reached between the mattresses, pulled out her diary and wrote about the day.

  As Jake neared at the old barn, he stood in front of the big oak tree and traced his fingers on the carved letters of his name, remembering the day he etched it with his father's pocket-knife, just five years ago. He then went inside the barn, laid down in bed and fell asleep thinking about his many choices in life and how they seemed to bring him to this moment. He didn't have a normal life growing up, yet he was happy, and that was good enough for him.

  <><><>

  It was close to ten o'clock when Jake finally woke the next morning. He absolutely loved Saturday's; no work at the Brierly's, and Big Paul always gave him weekends off to do as he pleased. Paul Sutton took that time to be in the store alone, completing his paperwork, reading a good book, or thinking about Jenny and his life.

  After Jake was up and moving around, he remembered today was his date with Misty, and Madison's date with Chad. He tried on different clothes in the broken pieces of mirror that hung by the front door. He pretended to be on his date with Misty. Saying things like 'So Misty, do you come here often?' or 'Hey Misty, can I get you anything else?' He tried staying both calm, and suave while preparing for their picnic.