Jessie

JESSIE DRIED HER HANDS ON a paper towel before turning off the light in the kitchen.

“Okay, Mrs. Dixon. I’m all done in here.”

She stepped into the living room and smiled at the sweet old lady who was settled comfortably in her chair, a tray laying across her frail lap.

Mrs. Dixon smiled gratefully at her.

“Thank you, dear. You’re such a blessing. I don’t know what I would do without you.”

Jessie smiled sweetly. “How’s your dinner? Do you need anything else?”

Her eighty-two-year-old neighbor had suffered a fall a couple of days before and was still feeling pretty sore. Jessie was doing her best to check on her and make sure she was okay.

Mrs. Dixon was the sweetest lady. Jessie loved her to death. Her own grandmother had passed away last year and she still missed her so much. Mrs. Dixon reminded her a lot of her Grammy.

“It’s perfect. So delicious. You’re going to make some lucky man very happy someday with your cooking. Not to mention that beautiful smile. Why don’t you have a boyfriend, honey? A pretty girl like you.”

Jessie smiled as she leaned down and gave Mrs. Dixon a kiss on her cheek. “Still looking for Mr. Right, I guess. I’m so glad you’re feeling well enough to get around. I’ll stop by to check on you sometime this week. Maybe we can play a game of Scrabble?”

“I’d like that, dear.” Mrs. Dixon’s smile lit up her eyes, the deep wrinkles around them a testament to the wisdom acquired over a long lifetime.

Jessie slipped out the front door, locking it behind her.

Strolling across the empty lot in between their two homes, she glanced out at the water behind her house. The sun wouldn’t set for another half hour or so, now that summer was just about here.

It was warm and dusky, twilight just about to blanket the air around her with a tranquility that made her strangely wistful. The feel and smell of the warm evening air made her think of days gone by, fun times hanging out with her old friends.

Things had been so different these past six months or so, since she and Scott had parted ways. Their old group of friends no longer did everything together the way they used to.

She had three weddings coming up this year and one of her roommates from college was even expecting a baby in a few months. Everyone was going their separate ways, growing up and moving on with life.

Except for her. Most of the time Jessie felt like her life was pretty much the same as it had been in college. Only difference was that instead of going to classes, she went to work. Sometimes she dated, but even that seemed to be just more of the same.

Every date she had been on in the past six months had felt identical to the one before. Every guy so much like her ex-boyfriend it was downright annoying.

She had broken things off with Scott, one hundred percent convinced that they were better as just friends. Her relationship with Scott had been just like all of her dates since then.

Predictable. Polite. Refined. Sophisticated.

Boring. Stuffy. Monotonous. Tame.

Not one of the perfectly bred and polite gentlemen her parents introduced her to made her feel anything. Where was the excitement? The racing pulse, the pounding heart? Scott had never made her feel any of those things either. Maybe her expectations were too high. Or maybe there was something wrong with her.

Jessie pushed the thoughts from her head. It didn’t really matter. Overall, she was very happy with her life. She lived in a beautiful house overlooking the river. She had a loving family, the world’s greatest best friend, and an awesome new job. She was sure she would meet the right guy eventually.

She checked her phone and found that Zoey had texted to let her know that she would be home around nine. She and Zoey had been best friends since elementary school. They had been roommates all through college, as well as for the past four years since graduation.

Jessie was excited about her new job. Her first week had gone really well. She was finally going to get a chance to do some real investigative work, instead of the decoy work that had required her to mostly use her looks to catch jerks cheating on their significant others. She would finally get to work real cases.

She opened the unlocked back door so her little dog, a white peek-a-poo named Libbie, could come out. She sighed as she sunk down into one of the new, cozy lounger chairs that she and her Mom had picked out last weekend during one of their epic shopping trips.

Zoey had spent the holiday weekend helping out at a fundraiser for the upcoming election. Her Dad would be seeking his fourth term as a U.S. senator. Zoey was happy to lend her event-planning skills to help out.

Jessie had helped Zoey prepare for the event on Friday night, and then spent most of the rest of the weekend alone, cleaning the house and binge-watching a romantic drama series she had been wanting to watch on Netflix. She had left the house only long enough to help Mrs. Dixon and to attend a cookout earlier that afternoon at her parents’ house.

Libbie jumped up into her lap, and Jessie absentmindedly petted her soft, curly fur, staring out at the river that her house backed to. She stretched out on the chair and sighed contentedly to herself, watching the prettiest sunset she’d seen in a long time.