A/N: yay! I actually got reviews!! =) I want to thank anyone and everyone who reviewed, and also those of you who plan to review either again or for the first time. It really helps me to write knowing that there are people out there that like it, and knowing that I have someone (or someones) to write for. Anyway, I need to change Anna's name to Sarah, because I realized a major flaw in my potential plot outline (actually a good friend noticed it for me) so… so she's now Sarah. Remember that, or you will be confused!
Two days later Jesse rode back to Winnie's old house. He'd been so depressed lately, but at least he'd stopped crying. He had decided the day before that he wanted to go back and see Sarah (A/N: previously Anna), and hopefully talk to her about Winnie. When he got there he walked up to the house and ran the doorbell.
A young man that looked around 22 answered. "Yes?" he asked.
"I'm here to see Sarah," Jesse answered. "Is she around?"
The guy gave him a weird look. "She's at school. She gets back around three."
What time was it now? Jesse never kept track of it. For him time was almost non-existent.
"Do you know anything about Winnie Fost- uh, Jackson?" he asked. The name came out before Jesse had the time to think about it, but once he said "Jackson" he felt his heart sting. The simple fact that her name had changed – she'd gotten married – made him sad. She had moved on with life. If she would have listened to him she wouldn't have had to.
The guy showed his surprise. "Um, not really, but her daughter is here."
"Can I talk to her?"
He opened the door wider to let Jesse in. "Sure. Who should I say is visiting?"
"Jesse. Tuck."
"I'll go and get her." He left Jesse alone in the entryway to stare at the house.
Jesse had never been in Winnie's house, so he didn't recognize anything from the inside. He wondered how much they changed it and how much it stayed the same. He wondered how long they'd had this tile, and how long that piano had been sitting there. His thoughts were interrupted when he saw an elderly lady walking down the stairs slowly with a cane and the help of a lady by her side.
It was almost painful for him to see someone so old and helpless. How old was this woman, anyway? 80? More?
When she saw Jesse she smiled and stepped down to his level. "What a handsome young man," she commented, looking him up and down. "My name is Beth. Please, take off your shoes and follow me into the living room." He did as she said and they sat down on a couch in the larger room.
"Jesse Tuck," she said, smiling and looking pleased. "That is your name, is it?"
He nodded.
"Were you named after anyone, Jesse? For I have a brother, Jesse Tucker Jackson, and my mother said she named him after her first love."
He wanted to cry out for joy that he was her first love, that he was the guy that stole this woman's mother's heart, and that he was also the one who she cared about enough to name her son after. Unfortunately, the woman would probably put him in an asylum if he claimed that, so he did what was natural. He lied.
"Yes, I was named after my great-grandfather," he replied.
"How splendid! I always wanted to meet the man, but I fear he's long gone. Well, then, I suppose you and I have a few distant ties, hmm? Not related by blood, but maybe related in mind."
You have no idea, Jesse thought to himself. You are supposed to be my daughter. "Yeah, a few," was all he said to that.
"Oh, my mother really fell hard for him, it sounds. She said he was the sweetest, most romantic man in the world."
Jesse couldn't stop the small smile that escaped his lips. "What was she like, your mother?"
The woman thought for a bit. "She was an odd character to pin down, I think. She would be strict at times, and others she would be like a child again. She would run around in the woods, dance to no music, and swim in her dress. But one of her more strict policies… she always awoke at dawn, sometimes a bit sooner. Every single day. It was painful for her sometimes, I think, the days that we stayed up late and she would still wake up with the sun. There were days when she probably only got 2 or 3 hours of sleep, but that never stopped her."
Jesse remembered telling her to wake with the sun until he came back for her and his smile grew. It was clear that Winnie never forgot him. "Every day?" he asked.
She nodded. "Even on her own deathbed, she refused to go to sleep unless someone by her side promised to wake her up at the first sign of light outside."
Jesse found himself wondering if Winnie had ever been happy with her husband. Did she fall in love again, or had she simply gotten lonely and decided to marry the next person she saw?
He tried to phrase his question so he didn't have to ask "Did she love your father?" He finally decided how to ask.
"What did your dad think of my great-grandpa?"
"He wanted to meet the man, if you'll believe it. He thought that he sounded like a charming young man. I think mom's heart was split between the two. She certainly loved Jesse, but I know that she truly loved my father as well."
That was possibly the best answer Jesse could hope for. He wanted Winnie to love him, but he didn't want her to be unhappy with her husband.
"How did she die?"
The elderly woman drew in a deep breath. "Old age, I think. She just didn't feel well. The doctor said it could have been a bad case of the flu, and that combined with her weak body could have been too much to handle. But she-"
The door was heard opening and closing, then Sarah ran into view and rushed up to the woman and hugged her.
"Oh, grandma!" she said. "I'm so glad you made it!"
She laughed. "As am I. But Sarah, don't be rude. We have company."
Sarah turned and saw Jesse. "Oh… I'm sorry. I didn't notice you."
"Don't let me be a bother," he replied.
"No! I'm glad to see you again. Jesse, right?"
He nodded. "I was just on my way out." He stood.
"Will you be back tomorrow?"
Something inside of Jesse told him not to come back. He had a feeling like he should reply "no" to the question, but at the time he wasn't exactly sure why. The truth had two answers. Later, he realized that part of it was that he wanted to get away from Winnie and her family now that he knew that everything had turned out all right. The other part was that he was afraid to fall in love again.
"I… I don't know," he replied.
"Would you like to come over for dinner tomorrow night with your family?" Beth asked, honestly curious about the boy. "I'd be happy to meet them, and maybe talk with you a bit more."
Jesse hated to say no to the invitation, more specifically to this sweet woman and her lovely granddaughter, so maybe against his better judgement, he said, "OK. What time should we come over?"
"Why don't you come around 5:30, all right?"
He nodded. "Sure, thank you."
"Take care, Jesse."
"Bye," Sarah said. Then he left the house.
A/N: Please tell me what you think, even if you don't like this fic. Constructive criticism is just as valuable to me as a compliment, but please try to stay away from flames. Thank you!
