Getting to Know You
Simon and Jeanette's story
Part XXII
With a dedication to Anon. reviewer Wendy… here's to you whether or not you ever read my stories. Get well soon.
When they walked back in the house after a quick outing with their dad, Alvin and Theodore were surprised to see Simon not only out of his room, but also in the kitchen working on what smelled like an omelet. And to top it all off and make it the strangest sight they had seen in days, he was humming a really bad 80's song.
"Simon?" Alvin called, trying to get his attention…
"Hmm? Oh hi guys!" he answered, "Wasn't expecting you home so soon."
"You feeling ok there dude?" Theo asked from the doorway.
"I feel great Theodore." Simon reassured him, beaming as he said it.
Dave placed his hands on the backs of his sons and guided them into the living room for a quick word.
"You know that Jeanette was over here, I think this has something to do with that." He guessed.
"That's one thing," Alvin said, "But what happened that got him in such a great mood?"
"I don't care," Theo said, "I'm just glad that he stopped moping."
Just then, Simon walked into the living room carrying a plate with his food on it. "Oh, by the way dad," he said, "Is it cool if me and Jeanette hang out tomorrow?"
"Uh, sure, I guess?" Dave answered, happy that Simon was back to normal, but still a little shocked at the sudden turnaround.
"Cool." Simon replied smiling earnestly, "Well, I'm going to finish this and then I'm going to go to bed." he stated before turning around on his heels and walking back into the kitchen.
"What the hell just happened?" Alvin asked.
"I believe that we can assume that Jeanette and Simon are healing..." Dave guessed. It would be several minutes before anyone in the living room moved from their seats in the contemplative silence.
Susan had always felt like an outcast as of late. The closest thing she had to a family was the residents of Miss Miller's house. When Jeanette had been attacked, she had felt like the universe was out to hurt her and anyone she held dear. But she had made a vow that she would not let Jeanette go through the hell she did. After she had told her to just take the plunge and talk to Simon, she had been scared that Jeanette would crack and never be the same. But when her adoptive sister walked into the house that night, with a smile on her face that could have lit up the city, she breathed a sigh of relief.
"So how'd it go?" Susan asked anxiously.
"He loves me." Was all she said before calling her other two sisters downstairs while Miss Miller walked in the front door behind them…
"Where were you Jeanette?" Britney asked, miffed that her sister had left without an apparent word to her.
"I'm sorry that I scared you Brit." Jeanette explained, still grinning like a lunatic. "But if I had waited the extra few seconds, I don't know if I could have followed through with it."
"Followed through with what?" Eleanor asked.
"I went to go see Simon and talk to him. when I got there, he was just as much a mess as I was, and when we finally got words out, we found out that we were both scared of the same thing."
"Which was?" Susan prodded, trying to get her sister to open up just a little more so she could finally be put to ease.
"We were scared that the other wouldn't love us. He was waiting for me to call, and I was waiting for him. But we were both scared to be rejected because of what happened." She explained, her face falling slightly as she said the last sentence.
"And?" the three girls asked Jeanette at once, like they had rehearsed it.
"And he told me that he loves me," She finished, the phrase making her sisters crush her in a group hug. When she could breathe again, she finished the statement. "We're going to meet up tomorrow and hang out since we don't have anything to do and nowhere to be"
This last bit of news made her sisters all but shatter the windows with the din of their excitement. She finally managed to extricate herself from the small mob and wound her way up the stairs to her room to get some sleep for the big day tomorrow.
Simon and Jeanette met up in the school parking lot by chance the next day after driving their siblings' in. when they saw each other, it was apparent to the others just how much they truly cared about each other. While Alvin, Theo, Britney, Ellie, and Susan walked into the school building, Simon and Jeanette started talking about what they were going to do…
"Well, I don't know what I want to do today." Simon admitted, "I was just glad to get out of the house and spend time with you."
Jeanette laughed and held his hand, "I was just about to say the same thing."
Simon blushed and looked down, suddenly feeling self conscious. He had gotten out of bed that morning and had only planned to drive Theo and Alvin in. Then he was going to go home and get ready for his lunch date. Now here he was in front of Jeanette without even being showered. He was even still wearing the shirt he wore to bed. Unbeknownst to him, a similar feeling of awkwardness was going through Jeanette. She too had only thought to get really presentable right before their date. As they looked at the dirt beneath their feet, they wondered if it was noticeable to the other.
After a tense silence, Jeanette had an idea, "How about we go back to our houses and try and find something we want to do?"
Simon breathed a sigh of relief as he recognized the opportunity to get showered and changed. He nodded in agreement, and they agreed that he would pick Jeanette up at her house at about noon. When they walked back to their respective rides, they were as excited as they had been the night before.
The first thing Jeanette did when she got home was to run to the bathroom with her towel so she could wash up. She took her time in the shower, even taking the extra care to shave a little; a chore she had neglected for almost a week. When she was sufficiently clean and comfortable yet again, she stepped out of the water and toweled off, her long curly hair falling down her back and sending shivers up her spine.
Simon had told her once that her hair was one of his favorite things about her physically… she silently wondered what else he liked about her appearance… in any case, she finished up in the bathroom and padded across the carpet to her room. She opened up her closet and finally decided on a pair of black jeans and a tie-dye purple shirt.
When she was dressed, she went downstairs and got a quick bite out of the refrigerator; then she sat down on the couch and watched some news while she waited impatiently for the clock to move faster form 11 to 12… she was getting anxious as the larger hand got closer to the quarter 'til mark, and she had to restrain herself from jumping out of the seat when the doorbell rang at ten 'til.
Simon had cleaned up in record time when he got home. And his clothes were a relatively simple matter for him. In fact, it seemed like the he was finally awake. Ever since Jeanette came and visited him the night before… in any case, he wanted the day to be special for her and on his drive home; he had an idea for something that they hadn't done in years.
When the preparations were done, he put the surprise in the car and headed over to Jeanette's house. He had to rush a little bit so that she wouldn't be stuck waiting, and when he finally pulled up at ten 'til, he made sure that the surprise hadn't shifted and when he was reassured, he walked up her front steps and rang the doorbell. Jeanette answered with a simple outfit, but she looked radiant nonetheless. Maybe it was the fact that she was smiling again?
"Hey Simon." she greeted, "Are you ready to go?"
"I am if you are." He joked, stepping back from the doorway so that she could exit and lock her house up. When she was done, they walked to his car and climbed in.
"You seem excited…" she commented earnestly, "Did you think of anything to do?"
"Yep, and you'll love it for sure. At least it might. It depends…"
"What does it depend on?" she asked curiously
"It depends on are you hungry or not?" He replied as they sped off down the road towards the city park…
Simon had been worried that she wouldn't want to go to another park after what had happened Monday, but was pleased to see that she was happy. Maybe it had to do with the fact that it was a different park? In any case, he parked the car and led her over to a spot near the lake, the morning mist still dissipating and leaving a very interesting fog like formation. He told her to stay put as he hurried back to the car to get the surprise. He made sure that he was back as soon as possible in case she was uncomfortable. But he worried for nothing, because when he walked back with the bag in hand, she was sitting down trying to see shapes in the dissipate over the water…
"See anything funny yet?" he asked, startling her out of her silent revelry.
"Not yet, but I think that I saw a rabbit in it earlier." She commented, looking back at him and smiling.
"Well, I have part one of the surprise for you right here." He said holding out the basket.
"What is it Si?" she asked, using his pet name.
He blushed as he pulled out a blanket and some smaller containers of food. When it was all set up, he sat down and motioned for her to join him for a picnic. She sat down and relaxed as they began to eat the small lunch Simon had put together…
"Simon, is this baklava?" Jeanette asked when they reached the container of dessert.
"Uh… yeah, yeah it is." He responded bashfully.
"When did you make this?" she wondered out loud.
"Well, I went on a kind of food kick last night and Theo helped me make some of this. I saved some for you and decided that it was a good time to bring it out. Is it too much?"
"No sweetie. I love it." She reassured him giving him a kiss on the cheek.
When they were done, they lay back on the blanket and stared at the sky, trying to see different things in the clouds, watching the birds fly overhead. In general, they were just relaxing and enjoying life. While they sat on the blanket, Jeanette began to think about what she wanted to do for the day. There was something about this park that was special… she just couldn't remember what it was…Suddenly, Simon sat up in one quick fluid motion that caused Jeanette to jump in surprise.
"I just thought of something awesome." He blurted out, bending over again to pack everything up.
"What do you mean?" Jeanette asked.
"I mean, help me pack this stuff up and I'll take you to see something I think you'll really like." He explained, not stopping the packing as he spoke. When everything was picked up and he had run it back to his car, he hurried back to where Jeanette stood and took her hand and led her down one of the smaller paths in the woods of the park.
As they got deeper into the trees, Jeanette had a nagging sense of déjà vu, like she had been here before… but when? and why? Finally, Simon stopped dead in his tracks and she almost ran into him.
"Why'd you stop Simon?" she asked.
"We're here. Do you remember where we are?" he replied quizzically.
"No," she told him as she looked around, not seeing anything besides a bunch of really old, really big trees.
"Try and un-focus your eyes and just look at the tree right in front of us." He suggested, moving out of the way so she could see clearly.
Jeanette stared at the tree in front of her and slowly, she began to see shapes under the moss and the bark. She could make out a small arch that looked suspiciously like a door at the base about four feet high. And just to the left of the arch, there was a perfectly shaped square with small rivets running in odd directions around the face of it. She stepped forward and yanked a clump of the growth away to reveal an eye achingly bright shade of pink with faded gold script. She pulled the rest of the moss off and read what it said. The Chipettes she was struck by the realization that this was her and her sister's old tree house from when they were little and on their own. That was why the path and the forest felt so familiar… she had lived here as a small girl. She moved over to the small arch she now knew to be the front door and pushed. Jeanette was surprised to see that the door creaked open moss and all and the inside looked almost exactly like she remembered it from when the three sisters would come here and go about their day to day business.
Simon walked in behind her, ducking to get in the small entrance, and stood up as high as he could. After all, the entire place had been made by the girls to fit them when they were around 7 and 8 years old. Everything was small. He looked around the old living room and saw that nothing had been moved. Like a bubble of time forever preserved against the creeping effects of dilapidation and decay. The only really new thing was a small nest of birds on top of the radio in the corner next to the now dusty couch. He scanned the rest of the room and when he was done, he watched Jeanette to see her reaction. All of a sudden, she froze, turned on the spot, and rushed over to the tiny staircase behind Simon. He moved out o the way and followed her upstairs.
Jeanette reached the yellow door without stopping to check out any of the others. There was something she had to see. Something she had forgotten about until just moments ago. The rest of the house was still together. Why not her secret? It had been the one thing she had truly treasured above all else when she was little, and she had kept it safe from even her sisters. She walked to the end of the shared bedroom the three girls used to occupy until she came to the end bed… her bed.
She ran her fingers along the baseboards next to her bed and felt the forgotten change in the wood. She dug one of her nails into the inconsequential gap and wedged the small board out of its slot. She reached in the secret hole she had made and dug out the box that held all her childhood treasures. She opened the lid and pulled out her first ribbon, her baby shoes, the notes from the first story she ever wrote, a necklace worth a dime she had won after spending ten dollars in the arcade, and at the very bottom, underneath various holiday cards and knick knacks, she found what she was looking for…
Simon walked in and saw Jeanette hunched over an old mattress and looking down intently on what looked like a scrap of paper. He tried not to disturb her as he lurched uneasily over to where she kneeled down on the dusty ground. It took a lot of effort on his part to avoid banging the ceiling, but he eventually reached his goal and looked over Jeanette's shoulder at what he now realized to be a photograph from years ago. He looked closer and thought he recognized the figures in the snap shot…
"Hey, it's you and me." He said surprised. "When was this taken?"
"At the first Christmas after Britney, Eleanor, and me came to town. You and your family invited us over to a small party and we got caught under the mistletoe together." Jeanette said, her voice telling him that she was far away in her mind.
"Oh yeah," he said, "I remember that now. Alvin caught us under it and he wouldn't let us leave unless we kissed."
"You were adamant about not kissing me at the time." she said laughingly, "I didn't realize it at the time. But I had really wanted to kiss you. I liked you even then you know."
"And I liked you too. Even if I didn't act it…" he said, feeling guilty for no reason.
"Do you know why this was here?" she asked
"No, I didn't even know there was a picture."
"I kept it." She said, looking him dead in the eyes as she spoke, "I kept this even though we didn't kiss because when I used to look at it, I would see a moment right before we did. It let me believe that we would be together eventually. I would pull this out and stare at it for hours some days when I had been too scared to tell you how I felt."
"Well, look at it this way." He said comfortingly, "You were right. We are together. And I'll always be there for you. I was there for you then, even if I didn't say it out loud. You still knew I cared. And I always hoped that you cared about me."
"You know what the first thing I noticed about you was?" she asked, tears welling up in her eyes.
"You used to say it was my height." He joked
"I liked every time I said that." She said, "The first thing I noticed about you was that even if you weren't the oldest brother, you were the one who protected everybody, even Alvin and especially Theodore."
"That's a lot deeper than what I saw in you the first time…" he muttered.
"What did you see in me?" Jeanette asked, her tears drying up a little as she came back to reality.
"I noticed your eyes." He said simply, "You have always had beautiful eyes. I remember the first time I saw you; I couldn't even speak because I was too distracted by the color of them. I remember thinking, wow, that is the most beautiful shade of purple I have ever seen"
When he said that, the tears sprang back to life, but these were tears not of sadness or remembrance, but of joy. And she was so overcome by emotion that she hugged him tight and pulled his face to hers and kissed him softly. A tender kiss, a pure kiss, filled with every shade of love humanly imaginable. And to add to the sweetness of it all, this was a fleeting kiss that lasted a second, maybe two. And after she pulled away, Simon was still stunned and looked dazed and confused when she got up and helped him up as well. They left the tree house, promising themselves that they would come back and fix it up, and headed back to the car to go home. Simon dropped Jeanette off at her house and they promised that the next day, their last one off of school, she would pick him up before noon. When they were done saying goodbye, Simon pulled away from the curb and headed home to his family. Jeanette on the other hand, walked into the quiet of her home and sat on the couch and stared at the picture of the Christmas a lifetime ago. She stared so intently at it that she scarcely noticed the passing time, and when her sisters came in the front door a little under an hour later, she snapped out of her daze and walked over to greet them.
"Jeanette, what's in your hand?" Ellie asked, always the one to notice the details.
"Just an old picture." Jeanette said brushing the question aside as she slid the photo into her back pocket.
"What of?" Britney asked.
"Nothing much… just a promise I guess."
"A picture of a promise?" Britney scoffed gently, never seeming to understand what her sister talked about half the time.
"Trust me Brit, if you knew the story, you'd understand." Jeanette reassured her before heading up to her room to leave her sisters downstairs wondering.
They looked at each other when she shut her door and shrugged. "Writers," Eleanor summed up, "Who knows what they're saying?"
Well, here's hoping that you enjoyed the chapter. Sorry about the delay on this one. But I was in the woods, like I said last time, for a week and then I wanted to take my time and make it really something. Hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it. The next chapter will probably be the last one in the Simon/Jeanette storyline before switching over to the last couple, Theo and Ellie, to end the entire story. a shout out to all the reviewers who responded last time. No joke, 6 reviews in the first two hours, you made me feel all warm and fuzzy. And a special call out to any and all ANONYMOUS reviewers. You guys are awesome and my condolences to the family of Anon. Reviewer Wendy. Let's all hope she gets better soon.
Final thing to say, because it actually got responses last time…
REVIEW IT IF YOU READ IT! THIS GOES FOR ANONYMOUS AS WELL AS MEMBERS! THE MORE THE BETTER…
Okay, now that that's out of my system, Happy Fourth of July to the U.S. and hope everyone's having a great summer/winter depending on your hemisphere.
Happy Reading,
Musicalreader