Chapter 19 A Good Plan
The scent of pancakes wafted into Jackie's nose. Even though she wasn't fully awake yet, the smell still put a smile on her face. Wasn't it just like Bob to do this for her? Didn't it make sense that such a caring boyfriend would go out of their way to make sure her day got off to a good start? Ney, a great start? Man, this was so much different than her home life, in possibly the best, most emotionally significant way possible.
Rising from Bob's couch, Jackie yawned and stretched. She got up and went to the kitchen, the aroma of cooking breakfast becoming more and more powerful the closer she got. Her smile also grew, in ways that were so different from her everyday life that it was honestly incredible. When she got to the kitchen, her heart melted, Something about seeing Bob working over the stove like that, flipping pancakes for her specifically, was just… oh, there was no adequate way to describe it. One had to experience it for themselves to know just how lovely and heartwarming this was.
"Good morning, Bob," Jackie said, her voice somehow more confident than it would be otherwise.
"Good morning, my sweet girl!" Bob giggled to himself as he put the finished pancakes on a plate. "What would you like on your flapjacks? Syrup? Peanut butter and applesauce? Whipped cream and hot fudge?"
Jackie chuckled. "I'll stick with syrup." She was a simple girl, with equally simple tastes. It was a point of pride for her.
So, the couple sat down to eat. As Jackie poured syrup on her pancake, she noticed Bob being very generous when it came to the whipped cream and hot fudge. Oh, he's going to be very sick later, Jackie thought to herself. Oh well. They could cross that bridge when they got to it. Right now, they didn't have to worry about any of that. Right now, all they had to worry about was gaining nourishment and spending time with one another.
"Thank you for doing this," Jackie said as she stuck a bite in her mouth.
"Hey, it was nothing." Bob's eyes glittered as he continued to put a mountaintop of whipped cream onto his breakfast. "I enjoy doing it." He finally stopped with the whipped cream and picked up his fork. When he stuck the first bite in his mouth, he chewed slowly. "Huh." He looked a little… surprised. "Who knew that this much whipped cream could throw an entire dish off like this?"
Jackie snorted back a laugh. "Yeah, it's…" she thought about what to say, how she could possibly complete the joke she had set herself up to make. Bob even leaned forward a little, clearly expecting a punchline that was worth laughing to. However, Jackie eventually shook her head. "Never mind." She thought about her aunt and uncle, how they would never appreciate her being sarcastic. Best not to potentially cause some drama here.
Bob nodded. He took another bite of his overly sweet pancakes, cringing as he chewed. Meanwhile, Jackie thanked the stars up in Heaven above that she at least had enough common sense to not set herself up for sensory overload. She ate the pancakes without any problems. They were really good; the only thing she could think of that could possibly make them any better would be poison mushrooms. Oh man, those would taste amazing if they were cooked in!
"So," Bob said when Jackie was halfway done with her breakfast. She looked up at him, noticing there was a star-like twinkle in his eye. "We have things that we need to discuss."
Jackie blinked as she pulled the fork out of her mouth. "What would…" Suddenly, it came back to her. "Oh. Right, we do." She put her fork down, wiping her mouth with a napkin. "So…" she hesitated, all at once feeling a little uncertain about how things were going to go. "What kind of solution do you have in mind?" She leaned forward. "I mean, Aria's goal is ten thousand coins. That's quite a lot, don't you think?"
Bob nodded as he chuckled. "Yeah, it is a hefty amount." He too put his fork down, biting down on his lip as he thought about everything. "But to be fair, it is possible to reach that goal if we were to just be creative." He gasped, his face lighting up. "Oh! I know! I have some coins in my savings account!" He grinned. "Maybe we could use those!"
Jackie, despite the fact that Bob looked like that was the best idea he ever had, squirmed a little bit at the proposition. "Oh, Bob. I don't want you to give up your money for me…"
"You sure?" Bob asked. "I mean, it would be relatively easy to do. And besides, it doesn't matter how much money I take out; I'll be able to regain it all again in no time at all."
Jackie hesitated again, her mind thinking about all of this. "That… that's good, at least." She looked down at the table, moving her fork this way and that as if it had some sort of magic that would reveal the answers she sought. "But… but, well…"
Bob's face fell a little bit, but not into disappointment. Instead, it shifted to an understanding expression as he nodded. "That's okay then. We don't have to do that." He put his hand to his chin. "But that still leaves us without any answers…" he pondered this whole situation. He pondered and pondered and pondered, so much so that if one were to look at his face, they would think that he was in physical pain. "Oh, I don't know…"
"I don't either," Jackie said. Her mind immediately jumped to her own bank account. Or, to be more specific, her hypothetical bank account. "And I don't have any money either. I don't think I would be able to help Aria much in that regard…"
"No, you're absolutely right," Bob replied. He thought some more, his face contorting into a look of agony. Eventually, he let out a breath and shook his head. "Dang, this is a lot harder than it looks…"
Jackie sighed. "Yeah. Unfortunately." She felt like she was shrinking into her chair. She was just about to express her disdain and frustration toward everything when her phone chimed from her hammerspace. Pulling it out, she saw that she got a text from her aunt.
Bratty, where the hell are you?
Jackie's stomach churned. Oh boy. She was in for an explosive fight when she got home, wasn't she? I'm out running an errand.
Well, hurry it up! I told you yesterday to get home at a decent hour! Smh, you are just impossible sometimes.
Jackie felt a pang as she typed "Okay" into the textbox. When she finished, she put the phone on the table, taking deep breaths before bemoaning everything that was happening. "Stupid." She hit herself in the head with her fist. "Stupid stupid stupid!"
"Hey!" Bob exclaimed. "Don't do that!" Bob reached across the table, pulling her fist away from her face. "Jackie, please don't do that. It's not good for you."
Jackie felt a pang. Dang it. Dang it, why am I so dumb? She took another deep breath before looking Bob in his caring, lovely eyes. "I… I, uh…" eventually, she shook her head. "I'm sorry."
"It's okay. And you're not stupid, so there's no reason why you need to beat yourself up like that."
"Uh… well, thank you." She sunk into her seat like it was made from quicksand. "My aunt doesn't agree with that statement though…"
When Bob gave her a questioning, concerned look, which prompted her to explain what the text she had just received said. When she finished, Bob gawked at her. His mouth hung open for a little bit before, to Jackie's complete surprise, blue flames formed around his hands.
"Unbelievable," Bob said. "Unbelievable!" Jackie noticed the flames growing higher, with smoke actually rising up into the air. "She can't treat you like that!" He shook his head. "You should really live with me, Jackie. I at least would treat you like you're an actual person!"
Jackie smiled. "Thanks, Bob." The two sat in silence for a minute, all while Jackie dwelled on her aunt's mood. Oh man, she wasn't going to be happy when Jackie inevitably had to go home. She could already imagine Minty's wrath, a wrath that would transfer over to Bryce and make things even worse than they already were. If things were bad at Jackie's home before, they were bound to be so, so much worse when she returned.
Right when she was thinking this was when Bob gasped. Jackie looked up at him, seeing that the flames that had threatened to consume his entire body were now completely gone. In there place was a look of the purest, most wholesome form of excitement that Jackie had ever seen.
"Oh my goodness!" Bob exclaimed. "That's the answer! That's the answer we've been looking for; it was right under our noses this entire time!"
Jackie blinked. "What are you talking about?"
Bob grinned, the action making his already excited face all the more pleasing to look at. "You should move in with me!"
Jackie blinked a second time. "M…move in with you?"
"Yeah!" Bob now jumped up and down in his seat. "It's perfect! It won't require as much hassle as obtaining the money for your own house would be. Plus, on top of that, I just so happen to have a spare bedroom! That can be yours!" He leaned forward again. "You'll be able to live here just fine! You won't have to worry about any sort of monetary goal if we do it like that!" His grin somehow grew bigger. "It's perfect, Jackie!"
Jackie sat there, thinking about all aspects of this proposition. "You… you'd be willing to do that, Bob?"
"Of course!"
Jackie's insides squirmed. "But… but we haven't even been dating for that long! Moving in with each other is a pretty big step. Even without that, would you really be willing to live with me? I… I am a handful to live with. I would just annoy you, be a burden to you…"
"Jackie, stop!" Bob said. There was no an anger in his eyes, one that Jackie didn't know for sure wasn't directed at her. "Those are the words of your family. And on top of that, they aren't true in the slightest." He took her hand. "There's no way in the world you would be a burden to me."
Jackie's eyes grew wide as she looked into his face. "Really?"
"Really. And as for your other point… yes. Yes, moving in is a big step for couples. Yes, it is true that we haven't been dating for very long. But you know what? I don't care. You need help now. You need to get out of that house now. And so, I want to provide you with that help. Is there a possibility we might break up in the future? Maybe. But you know what, we can cross that bridge if we get to it. Right now, I just really want us to try this."
Jackie's heart beat in a way that it never had before. She looked into Bob's smiling face, feeling the warmth of his touch as he stroked the hand he held with his thumb. Was… was this really happening? It felt like a scenario she would construct in her dreams rather than something that would happen to her in real life. She couldn't help but hesitate, trying to wrap her mind around the fact that yes. Yes, this was happening. Yes, Bob was willing to do all this for her. Yes, Bob loved her. Oh man, did he love her! She never would've imagine that she would run across someone who did, but now that she had…
She sniffled. "Bob… thank you." She dried tears from her eyes, all at once feeling embarrassed. "Sorry! Sorry, I know crying can be aggravating…"
"It's not," Bob said with a furrowed brow. "Don't worry; it's really not," He reached into his hammerspace and pulled out a tissue. Jackie gladly too it, wiping her eyes while her heart welled with an emotion so warm that she never would've thought she'd feel it.
"I… I…" she stopped, sniffling and drying her eyes before she managed to put on a smile. "Thank you," she whispered.
"Of course!" Bob said, smiling as he did.
Jackie wiped her nose. "I…" she smiled. "I would love to move in with you."
Bob's face lit up. "Yes!" He did a fist pump. "That's great, Jackie!"
Jackie couldn't help but agree. She thought about all the positive things that would occur if she lived in Bob's house. She would get to keep her own money. She wouldn't have to worry about her aunt and uncle judging her with every step she took. She wouldn't have to worry about them finding out about Bob and yelling at her for it.
But most importantly… she would be living with someone who loved her. Someone who only wanted the best for her. Someone who didn't call her "Bratty," or "Inconsiderate," or "wast of space." Oh man. Oh man, that was such an amazing reality. And it was hers! It was going to be hers!
"Thank you so much, Bob." She put on a smile, one that was so much brighter than previous ones she had worn.
"No, thank you." Bob got up from the table, wearing a smile that was the very definition of infectious. "Let's go tell Aria! She'll probably have an easier time sleeping at night if she knows the problem now has a solution!"
Jackie nodded while beaming. She rose out of her chair, all while feeling all sorts of positivity rushing through her. As they went to the door, she thought about her sister. Oh man, Aria was going to be just as excited as she was about this whole solution that they cooked up. She just knew it.
