16
The ride home was different. There was only one passenger on the bus, a high school girl still in her private school uniform. The driver asked firmly why she was out this late. Elmtown bus drivers were like that, never keeping quiet or ignoring anything that seemed out of place, like guardians watching over their precious town.
“I like went on the wrong bus after school and missed my way home completely. The bus was like bound for Rochester.”
It was her first time taking public transportation. She sat in front, closer to the driver so Jamie and Chelsea had enough privacy far away at the back by themselves.
They didn’t say much to each other. They didn’t think much either. There was no need for that, for it was a moment to bask in, to feel, to enjoy–talking and thinking could come later. Jamie wrapped his arm around her and planted kisses on her head, her cheeks as they held hands and stroked each other with their fingers. She loved the way she felt when he held her with his hand resting on her shoulder. Jamie loved the smell of her hair, sniffing it in like a drug but instead of a high what it brought was more thoughts of her because scents are linked to memories.
As they walked away from the bus stop, they held hands and walked slowly beneath the gaze of the stars and the moonlight. The moon shone like a magical fluorescent lamp casting shadows of trees and houses against the backdrop of tarred ground.
Jamie walked her to the front door, wishing they could stay together longer. He kissed her goodnight and watched as she opened the door. She looked back and blew him a kiss. He caught the invisible kiss and kissed his hand hungrily which made her giggle then she closed the door gently. She was so beautiful when she laughed.
Jamie retreated from the front door, slowly walking to the side door hoping to never wake up if this was a dream. He went into the basement, saw his mother fast asleep and went into his room.
He opened up his laptop and pressed the power button. Although he could hear the humming sound of the computer, the screen stayed blank so he bent it a little. It hadn’t done that in a while. He moved it around a few more times before getting lucky.
He had to talk to someone or else his heart was going to explode. Jerome didn’t like to be bothered when sleeping so Jamie settled for emailing JazzyTee.
JazzChat Inbox
Date: 11-13-2010
From: JazzyTee75
To: BoyFromElm
Hello JazzyTee,
I just kissed her. She kissed me too. It’s crazy. I almost don’t know what to do with myself.
Jamie.
He hit send, closed the laptop and lay on his bed. Then he heard his phone’s text alert.
- I miss you.
Chelsea’s text made him realize kissing him wasn’t something she had only done in the heat of the moment, to be regretted later. She hadn’t said anything like, “What was that about?” or, “What’s going on?” She said she was missing him like he was missing her. When she went inside and he stood by the door, he felt like a part of him was leaving him.
He wondered if this all meant she liked him before and it wasn’t a new development? Ah! I don’t care right now. The most important thing is that she feels the same, he thought.
He texted her back.
- I miss you too so much.
- I’m missing your kisses. You’re such a good kisser
- OMG, you have no idea how much I enjoyed kissing you
- You can kiss me again tomorrow
- I sure will if I’m still alive lol
- Don’t die on me now. Gdnight Jamie, mwah
- Goodnight Chelsea, mwah.
He slept the most wonderful sleep that night.
***
The next morning, when Jamie woke up, he checked his phone just to be sure everything had been real. He opened his text messages and let out a sigh of relief. It would have been devastating to realize that what had always been his dream was nothing but a dream.
Reading her text messages again was like the feeling of eating your favorite meal, it tastes new every time. He felt like he had been reborn into a realm of constant happiness, a happiness that not just lingers but beats with every heartbeat and flows through your body with the blood that runs through your veins. The power of love starts to make you feel like you could take on the world and conquer it. Love breathed new life into him. There was so much to talk about, so much he wanted to tell her. He sent her a good morning text message but knew she was probably still asleep at 6:00 in the morning.
Suddenly he noticed the sound that seeped into his room, the sound of music. He sat up on his bed. He needed to be sure it wasn’t just in his head.
His mother was playing the guitar? Wow, she hadn’t even touched a guitar since his father died, let alone play one. He recognized those chords. It was a blues love song his father had written a few years before he died and they all used to sing together.
He opened his door just enough to see her but didn’t want to disturb her from having that moment to herself. He shut the door and checked his email instead. JazzyTee’s reply had been received.
JazzChat Inbox
Date: 11-13-2010
From: JazzyTee75
To: BoyFromElm
Hello Jamie,
That’s awesome. Told you to stick around didn’t I? *wink* I guess I won’t be receiving emails from you in a while.
My daughter’s room is all set but she might not be here until Christmas. Logistical issues. I’m off camping this week with my sister’s family. Let me know how it goes OK? Best of luck.
Tim
17
Chelsea woke up at 7:00 a.m. and smiled when she saw Jamie’s good morning text. The way everything escalated since her birthday party was quite a surprise but Jamie was everything any girl could ever ask for and maybe even more. She never thought of him in a romantic way like that, at least not until he made that speech at her party where she thought she felt something move inside her. She thought maybe she was simply unaware of the attraction she had for him because all of her focus had been on John. But wait, I think I noticed an attraction that day he was helping Tyler with basketball and schoolwork, she thought. She brushed it off as a feeling of appreciation. She wasn’t sure and really couldn’t tell, but one thing was clear to her now, she wanted to be with him all the time and she liked how she felt when she was with him.
She also had so many questions.
When did he start liking her? Where was this going? Were they dating now? Everything they did together in the past two weeks looked like dating except that the kissing part started later.
She bit her lower lip as she replied to his text and asked if he would be able to go out in the afternoon. She had to do some studying and finish up a paper because she had a Monday morning deadline. “Yes, can’t wait to see you,” he replied.
Her heart had been doing this funny skip anytime she received a message on her phone from him. He made her feel like a teenager again, as though she were having her first engaging, heavy crush. Searching her heart, she could not even find the pain of all the hurt she felt from her breakup with John anymore. It was ridiculous, shattering even, but it didn’t affect her anymore; the happiness that emanated from her heart numbed her from all emotional pain. Plus, she thought Jamie was ten times the man John could ever be. The breakup was a blessing in disguise.
Yawning, she dragged herself out from under the covers and went downstairs. She made herself some tea and brought out everything she needed to make a breakfast of pancakes and eggs.
When she was halfway through making the pancake batter, she turned on the griddle so that it would be hot by the time the batter was ready.
As soon as she was done with the pancakes, she kept them in the oven to keep warm then started with the scrambled eggs.
“Look at you. Bright and early,” Teresa said as she entered the kitchen. “Ooooh, that looks and smells really good. What's the occasion?”
“Nothing, just making breakfast for my mother and
brother on a beautiful morning.”
“Really? Someone looks happy. What’s going on?”
“Nothing Mom,” Chelsea said smiling, her face flushed into rosy pink.
“I haven’t seen you cook in a while. Anyway, thank you darling. Are you coming with me for mass?”
“Umm.” She forgot it was Sunday. “Not this Sunday Mom. I have a lot of work to catch up on. Next week, I promise.”
After Teresa and Tyler left for mass, Chelsea put the dishes in the dishwasher then spent the rest of the morning on schoolwork. It took her five hours to be done so she didn’t get into the shower until 1:05. She quickly searched her closet to put together an outfit. She wore blue skinny jeans, brown leather boots, a light-brown knit hat and a sweater to match. She wanted to look sexy but casual.
She just finished packing some snacks when she heard the doorbell ring. She didn’t know how they would spend the day or how long they would be gone for but taking some snacks along would be handy.
She opened the door and stepped out to meet Jamie.
“Hey,” Jamie said as he came closer and planted a kiss on her cheek.
“Hey.” She closed the door behind her, smiling. “I brought some snacks,” she said, for want of something to say.
“Oh cool. Thanks for being so thoughtful.”
“Uh huh.”
“Where are we going exactly?” Jamie asked as he followed her towards her car.
“I dunno. Thought you had something planned.” She wore her seatbelt, started the engine and waited.
“Ha ha ha. I thought you were the one who came up with the idea to go out.”
“So?” She winked at him.
“Alright, alright. It’s OK. I’ve known you long enough so I already planned what we are doing for the day.”
“See? I knew you had my back.”
They went for a hayride at a farm in Cattaraugus County, picked pumpkins and ended up at the farm’s corn maze. They held hands as they walked through the maze. Now exhausted and hungry, Chelsea produced the fruits and cake she packed for lunch and then they settled on the chairs provided for visitors at the front side of the farm. She followed her instincts and fed him from her hand which he liked as it was very romantic.
“Soooo, we have to talk don’t we?” Jamie asked, wiping his mouth with a napkin.
Chelsea covered her face shyly and asked, “Do we have to? I suddenly feel so shy.” It was still awkward having all these feelings about someone who had been your best friend for years.
Jamie took her hands off her face, smiled at her and said, “No pressure, you don’t have to say anything right now.” He touched her cheek with tender affection. “But I need to say something.” She watched his face morph into an expression of focus and seriousness. “I’ve always been attracted to you Chelsea, and I don’t just mean a physical attraction. I love everything about you. There were times I told myself I wanted someone like you but I realized it wasn’t true.” His eyes pierced into hers. “I don’t want someone like you. It’s you I wanna be with Chelsea.” He kissed the back of her hand.
She turned away from him and saw a couple of kids playing near the pumpkins with their parents. She wanted to hide the tears forming in her eyes but she couldn’t, they were rolling down her cheeks now.
Jamie cleaned off her tears and held her face tenderly between his hands. “Did I say something wrong?”
She shook her head as tears trickled unto his fingers, then managed to form words. “I...I...Umm. It’s just that I’ve never experienced anything that comes close to how you are making me feel right now. The way you look into my eyes makes my heart smile so much, I feel it’s going to explode. It’s almost unreal.”
“Your heart smiles? This can’t work. I don’t do aliens.”
She hit his chest with the back of her hand.
“Silly.”
They both laughed and she was still smiling when he met her lips with his.
18
The twenty-fifth of November was Thanksgiving and it had come so swiftly. It was going to be their first holiday together as a couple. Jamie told Helen about his budding romance with Chelsea. Helen really liked her and told him she always thought they were really compatible. Hearing the way Jamie spoke about Chelsea reminded Helen of when she was head over heels for Benny. She had never seen her son so happy. A part of her wondered what Teresa thought about the relationship. The woman was a bit of a snub so it wouldn’t be a surprise at all if she didn’t approve of it.
“She doesn’t know yet,” Jamie said to her.
He was leaving it to Chelsea to know when and how to tell her own mother. Certainly they weren’t going to hide it from anyone for long but Chelsea just wanted a few weeks to enjoy what they started before letting Teresa know about it. With her mother, Chelsea was not too sure how she would react.
Jamie had been thinking about what to do for Thanksgiving. He wanted to be able to spend time with Chelsea because it was his favorite holiday after Christmas. Fortunately, Teresa agreed to Chelsea’s request to have Jamie and his mother over for their small dinner party. She asked him to come up an hour earlier because she enjoyed doing everything with Jamie and also wanted him to make that exotic hibiscus tea drink he always made for her when she was visiting him in the basement. She thought that the guests would love it like she did.
***
Teresa replaced the fabric on the dining table, then decorated it with pumpkin candle holders and ornamental centerpieces. The turkey was ready from the night before so she put it in the oven to keep warm. There was ham, mac and cheese, corn casserole, corn bread, vegetables, mashed potatoes and two different pies. The only things left were the drinks but with Jamie’s help, Chelsea took that responsibility. As usual, Teresa didn’t like doing things small so it was going to be a real feast.
Apart from Jamie and his mother, Teresa invited one of her friends who didn’t have any plans and her cousin from Williamsville who just went through a divorce. The third guest was her cousin’s business partner and they all attended St. Joseph’s.
The women were in the living room while Jamie and Chelsea prepared the drinks in the kitchen and Tyler played video games upstairs with Rush Caine.
The cream lush sofa was surrounded by other single chairs and on the left side of the living room a brown leather rocking chair was tucked away, close to the fireplace. The dim lights and the smell of fresh flowers created a calm, welcoming ambiance that made them all feel very relaxed.
Rush’s mother, Caroline Caine, a local talk show host, was married to the president of the network she worked for. Although they married two weeks after his divorce, Caroline maintained, against media speculation, that she was not responsible for his divorce. Her husband was away in Sydney for business so she was happy to accept Teresa’s invitation since she didn’t have family in Elmtown. Helen quickly recognized her face.
Teresa's cousin, Rachel and her business partner Hilary Mayer were the youngest, still in their mid-thirties. They both ran a fashion boutique downtown which had grown into the most patronized fashion store on Cornwall Street. Rachel was married to a former football player who played for the Buffalo Bills while Hillary was still unmarried and had no plans to ever get married. She dated younger men by preference and that, non-discreetly.
“It’s so wonderful to be back in Elmtown. If there was one thing I missed while living in London, it’s Thanksgiving,” Teresa said with an overwhelming smile. “That’s not to say I didn’t enjoy England though.” Then she gave them a brief summary of her four years of living in London.
“I think I just go to Europe for the food, that’s it. I love eating at The Tamarind of Mayfair. Has anyone been there?” Hilary asked.
“Isn’t that the Indian restaurant on Queen Street?” Teresa asked.
“Yes it is. Awesome food. Absolutely out of this world.”
“My husband, I mean ex-husband also loved the Indian food when we visited Teresa in London. But why go to Europe and eat Asian
food? Aren’t you supposed to experience the culture of where you are? I usually prefer bangers and mash or any other traditional British food,” Rachael said.
“So you didn’t try any Asian food with Raymond?”
“I did try it with him but he wanted to keep going there every day. I just think it’s bad tourism etiquette. It’s like going to Italy and ignoring the homemade pasta for sushi. You’re in Italy, not Japan. Duh! ”
They all laughed.
“I think we ate at The Tamarind twice but there's so much more to enjoy in places like Mayfair and Kensington that it’s criminal to stick to only Indian food in London,” Teresa said.
“I agree. London is like a behemoth of international cuisine. French, Italian, Turkish, West African. You name it. You'll find them all there. Choosing where to eat was pure hard work,” Rachel said.
As they all gave their two cents about London dining, Helen's non-existent participation in the discussion began to feel a little awkward. It wasn’t her fault she wasn’t as well travelled or sophisticated like the rest of them.
“Excuse me ladies. I should go check on those two in the kitchen." Since no one responded, she excused herself and went into the kitchen.
“I thought you guys were here to mix drinks for the dinner," Helen said as she came upon Jamie and Chelsea kissing by the fridge. It had become almost impossible for them to take their hands off each other.
“Don’t you ever knock?" Jamie asked as Chelsea yanked herself away from his hold.
She ran her hand through her hair and said, “Oh, hi Helen.”
“Ah! I didn’t realize this was a bedroom. It looked like a kitchen from the outside. Sorry my mistake," Helen said and winked at Chelsea. Chelsea laughed very hard. Gosh, Helen’s even worse than Jamie, she thought. Were they always this funny? She couldn’t even be angry at Jamie for not telling her he already told his mother about them. Helen made her feel comfortable with this friendly sense of humor.
An Autumn to Remember: A Novel (Elmtown Series Book 1) Page 13
