CHAPTER NINE.
Jill was surprised when she came down the stairs and already found her middle son sitting at the counter.
"Randy! What are you doing up already?" She asked, as she grabbed a mug and filled it with coffee.
"Couldn't sleep." Randy responded slowly.
"Nervous and excited for your trip?" Jill asked.
Randy made a vague motion with his head, "Yeah, and also… I had this dream, and I'm trying to figure out what it meant."
"What did you dream about?" Jill sat next to her son and looked at him expectantly.
"I had a dream about Jess," Randy sighed, "I think it has to do with the fact that Brad said if I don't talk to her, I might lose her forever."
Jill nodded, slightly surprised that her eldest son had come up with the idea. It wasn't that she didn't think Brad was intelligent, it was just she didn't think he thought situations through that thoroughly.
"So, I had this dream, and Jess was with Milo, this guy from school who's into her." Randy explained.
Jill nodded slowly, "Okay, well. Brad raises a really good point, Randy… how did this dream make you feel?"
"Mad." Randy replied simply.
"Mad at Jessica?" Jill asked.
Randy looked thoughtful, before shaking his head, "No, mad at Milo."
"Why were you mad at Milo?"
Randy continued looking thoughtful, "Because… I was losing Jess." He looked at his mother, "I'm scared of losing Jess."
"So what are you going to do, Randy?" Jill looked at him expectantly.
"I have to talk to Jess." He stated.
It was barely 8 AM when Randy walked next door and knocked on the James' front door.
The door was pulled open, and on the other side, Veronica appeared, looking surprised. "Randy? What are you doing here this early?"
"Is Jess here?"
"Um," Veronica looked hesitant.
"Please, Veronica, I really have to talk to her. I know I hurt her feelings, but I won't hurt her feelings again, but I need to talk to her. I don't care if I have to climb up to her bedroom window, but if I don't talk to her, I might not be able to leave for Costa Rica!"
"Randy, honey, breathe!" Veronica exclaimed, "Listen, I would let you in to see Jessica, but she isn't here right now. She left for a run with Nick about a half an hour ago, and they made it sound like they were going to be gone for awhile," She looked sadly at him, "I'm sorry. But I'll tell her that you stopped by, and I'll send her right over."
"Forget it," Randy shook his head, "Just… tell her I said I'm sorry, and that if she gets home before 2, to give me a call or something."
Veronica nodded, "Okay, sweetie."
And with that, Randy walked back to his own house, feeling worse than before.
Jess jogged into the house with Nick around 1:30. They had gone for a long run, stopped for lunch, and then ran back.
She walked into the kitchen to get a drink of water, and she found her mother sitting at the table.
"Hey, Mom." Jess greeted.
"Hi, Jessie," Veronica smiled sadly.
Jess looked at her mother strangely, "What's up? You look weird."
"Randy stopped by." Veronica sighed.
Jess stared at her, "Excuse me?"
"Randy came over early this morning, just after you left." Veronica said, "He wanted to talk to you."
"I hope you told him to take that request and shove it—"
"I told him you weren't home, Jessica," Veronica talked over the end of her daughter's sentence, "And that poor boy looked as though his heart was breaking."
"Yeah, well, he has a whole year away with Lauren to get over that," Jess said bitterly.
"Jessica," Veronica sighed, "Here," She handed her a VHS tape, "Randy brought this over before he left for the airport, I think you should watch it."
Jess rolled her eyes, but took the tape. Once she got to her bedroom, she pushed it into the VCR.
Randy's face came into focus, and he started speaking:
"Hey, Jessie, it's me, Randy… that much was probably pretty apparent by now, huh? And I know, you're thinking "God, Randy Taylor, you're such a doofus". It's true. I am a doofus." He nodded, "I just thought that I should make you a tape to say all the things I've been meaning to say these past few weeks, but haven't been able to.
"I came to your house this morning to say all this in person, but you were out running with Nick. You health nut, you. Anyway, the real point of this tape: We got into a really big, really stupid argument a couple of weeks ago and… I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Jess. You're my best friend in the world, and me, making you feel like you came second, or making you think I would pick Lauren over you… it wasn't fair.
"I wish I'd apologized earlier, then we could've spent more time together before I left for Costa Rica. I know you're probably really mad I'm leaving without saying goodbye in person, and you have a good reason to be so angry about that. I don't want to be the second person in your life to do that, Jess. So, first: I'm sorry. You don't come second. You're my best friend in the world, and I don't know what I'd do without you.
"And second: I'll call you when I get to Costa Rica. We can call, and write, and everything, and I'll be home before you know it. Bye, Jessie."
"Flight 557 will now begin boarding through gate 17."
Randy looked around at his family and felt his heart clench up. "Well, I guess this is it."
Tim avoided looking at his son, and nodded, "Yeah."
Mark cleared his throat, "Have a good trip, Randy."
"Thanks, Mark," Randy nodded, walking towards his younger brother.
"And, uh, here's a video I made of you and Jess doing your Star Wars impersonations." Mark handed him the VHS tape.
Randy shook his head, "You're a very odd boy." He smiled slightly, "But I'm gonna miss you."
"I'm gonna miss you too." Mark nodded, and the two of them hugged.
"Now, you," Randy looked at his older brother, "I'm not gonna miss so much."
Brad grinned, "Have a good trip, buddy. And, uh, save a tree for me, huh?"
Randy hugged his older brother, "You got it." When Brad released him, he turned to Tim, "Dad?"
"Well, I got you a little present," Tim brought out a tape recorder, "So you can record your thoughts in the jungle and send them back to us. We've put some stuff on there like this," He pushed the play button, and Jill's voice chirped, "Wear your sun block, don't forget to write." Tim shook it again, and his own voice said, "Never look a monkey in the eye."
Randy chuckled, but felt tears in his eyes, "Thanks, Dad."
"Mm-hmm." Tim nodded, and pulled him into a hug.
When they broke apart, Randy looked to his mother, knowing this would be the hardest goodbye. When he looked at Jill, he wondered what it would be like if Jess was here. He wondered if everyone would be so solemn if she was here, or if she'd be crying like his mother looked like she was about to.
"Mom?" He managed.
Jill smiled weakly, "I'm fine, I'm fine. Um, I packed you some snacks in your backpack, in case you don't like the food on the plane. There's celery, there's carrots… or if you want, you can mix them together, and there's celery and carrots."
"Mom," Randy's eyes filled with tears.
"I love you," Jill said, shaking her head, and hugging her son.
Randy smiled weakly, "I love you too."
"You have a great time." Jill said, crying, "And don't forget to write. Call when you get there… Call before you get there!"
Randy was almost to the gate, and he turned around, grinning, "Or I could open the emergency door and just yell out the plane."
"Oh, Taylor, for some reason, I don't think that would be a very good idea,"
Randy's heart stopped. He had to do a double take to make sure he wasn't imagining things. No, he wasn't, Jess was actually there. She looked tired and out of breath, but she was there.
"Jess," He breathed.
"Hey," She nodded at him, "Sorry I couldn't be here sooner, but Nick broke so many traffic laws getting here before you got on the plane, it's a miracle he didn't get pulled over."
Randy cracked a grin, "I'll have to thank him for almost tarnishing his perfect record."
Jess grinned weakly too, before she surprised him, and hugged him tightly. "Randy, I'm sorry." She said quietly.
"Jessie," Randy shook his head, "Don't worry about it. I'm over it, are you?"
Jess nodded her head against his shoulder, and then loosened her grip on him slightly, "Okay, so," She flipped open her bag, "I brought you two things," She handed him an envelope, and Bailey, the stuffed pig.
"Jess, I can't take Bailey." Randy said, shaking his head. "He's yours."
"He's ours, Randy, and you should take him," Jess nodded, her eyes filling with tears, "To remember me."
"I don't need a pig to remember you," Randy informed her.
Jess smiled, tears spilling over her cheeks, "Now, I want you to have the best time ever, in Costa Rica. Make sure you save lots of trees, and wild animals, and write to me, all the time." She nodded, "And don't go making a new best friend."
"Impossible," Randy informed her.
"I'll be here when you get back," Jess said, her voice breaking.
"I know," Randy pulled her close and hugged her tightly, "You take care of yourself."
"I always do," He could feel Jess smiling weakly through her tears. "Now, you better go and get on that plane and have a great time, okay?"
Randy nodded, "You got it," He squeezed her tightly once more, "I'll see you in a year, okay?"
Jess nodded and backed away from him, "Bye, Randy."
Randy put up his hand in a wave, "Bye, Jess."
Aw, an emotional chapter. I really enjoyed writing this actually, because a lot of the time, I don't do the whole emotional thing. The beginning of the airport scene was dialogue taken right from the episode Adios, so I don't take credit for that. ANYWAY, I've been writing for this story pretty much nonstop, so I have a good six or seven more chapters, and I'll probably be updating a lot because of that (: Thank you guys so much for the reviews, they make me smile! Please keep it up (: