Jess is finally going! That New Zealand holiday is at its dawn, and all she can think of is landscapes, walks and adventures. But what she does not expect to find, is what is waiting around the corner - someone.
Someone who will turn her holiday up...
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"Obi Wan come back! It's J-Jess!"
Jess's voice was going hoarse. She must have been searching at least half an hour. She had to work now, to keep the tears pricking the back of her eyes from falling. She would never be able to live with herself.
Her heart, miraculously, was beating even faster, growing louder. What would Aunt Charlotte and Uncle Sam say?
But her heart was beating too loud - there was no way it could sound as though it was coming from behind her...
"JESS!"
She spun.
Footsteps. James. A dog on a little blue leash.
"OBI!"
Jess spared no thought for how much noise she made, as she crouched on the ground beside the spaniel.
"Oh my god! You silly thing, where have you been? Where did you go? Huh? You nearly killed me you silly little bird-hunter!"
She chattered for quite a while at Obi Wan, who appeared entirely unperturbed. He actually seemed rather pleased with himself; his little grin from earlier had grown quite large. Indeed, there was something in the way he held his head that looked almost defiantly triumphant. Adventure, apparently, suited him.
Jess finally straightened up and, coming face to face with James, suddenly remembered it had been him who had found the dog.
"Oh my god, James!"
She flung her arms around his neck. "Thank you so much."
James's eyes widened, as he attempted awkwardly to return the hug, one hand still clutching Obi's leash, his heart taking flight into a million little fluttering pieces. He didn't trust himself to say anything.
Then Jess pulled back quickly, blushing furiously. It had not occurred to her how that action would make her feel - until she had already done it, and it was too late to take it back. Maybe she should not have done it.
Yet there was a glowing feeling somewhere deep in her, that felt altogether lighter, almost contented. It was all too vague for Jess to put her finger on, but somehow it felt comforting.
Even as she turned for home, accepting the leash from James's outstretched hand, it lingered. And as she turned the doorknob of the green door she always found so charming, it dawned on her that her heart was still beating fast. Somehow, she thought it wasn't from the fear of losing the dog.
***
Jess sat on the couch, laughing.
She did a lot of laughing in that household, surrounded by her family. It was a cosy, quiet (or rather, not-too-quiet) existence of four - or five if you include Obi Wan, and he would most certainly demand to be included.
