AROUND THE HEART IN 80 DAYS

Eleven

He hadn't come back the previous day.
It was good for Jackie in some way. She and her friends made a delicate hassle in his kitchen and it was almost full dusk by the time they were done and he still had not shown up to his own house. And at first, she'd been scared that he'd finally run off, but his papers and documents that she had seen before had kept her comforted.

Knowing fully well it would be irritating to contact Rebecca again, she decided to act as calm as a housemate could. Clean up his kitchen and hope for the best.

This morning, however, she planned on going for a sunny ride, examining open and close-by spots for a shop rental. It was thrilling, the thought of owning her own bakery. Not only would it garner her money (maybe to finally move out of Mr. Edrei's house), but it would also give her something to do with her time asides yoga, not to mention the feeling of owning an establishment.

During her yoga session at the popular backyard, she was able to make friends with a chatty blonde bombshell lady who lived next door and was out gardening (something she was trying to avoid was getting too familiar with the neighbours here, lest they rile up Edrei's wrath). Though the fence was high enough to avoid the view of activities, Imogen had been able to prop herself, bust up, to comfortably lean her elbows on the top of the fence slab, claiming she'd heard 'noises'.

Jacqueline wondered how huge the box she must have been standing on must have been.

When introductions were due, Jacquie mentioned she was a friend of Edrei. Imogen, Genie, as she preferred, seemed doubtful, maybe thanks to the difficult man's personality, but still accepted to believe.

And thank the stars, since Imogen had been there for over a couple of years, she informed Jacqueline of a row of shops less than two miles away. And it might have been open for renting.

"I've got coffee brewing, d'you want a morning shot?" Imogen asked.

"Um... my friend is out and he might be home anytime soon. Wouldn't want to leave his house empty."

"You're Mr. Rideau's friend? It's still hard to believe. He's so quiet, just really to himself. I think some people are just introverts."

"He is, isn't he?"

"He doesn't even come for the End-Of-The-Year gathering at the community hall, well, since I've been here anyway."

Jacqueline just nodded. What could she say? She didn't even know the man.

"Hey! I could come over and we could have breakfast at the front porch. You down? I'm alone right now and it won't hurt to share this morning with someone. You could tell me all about yourself. Since you're new to the neighbourhood, you could need a friend, yeah?"

Instinctively, Jacqueline gave her usual smile and nodded, ignoring her inner self that didn't want too much talking especially after a session.
Less than ten minutes later, the friendly woman was squatting to a sitting position on the front steps of Edrei's porch, a brown clay mug held in the loop of her left index and thumb finger, a tray with a plate of salt crackers alongside chocolate cookies with another similar mug in the open palm of the right hand. Both mugs had steam ascending.

Jacqueline felt a bit of something while looking at the matching mugs. It was somehow cute.

"I don't know if you like herbal tea. Since I assume you're a yogi, I thought you'd love the... uh..." she set the items on the entry and gestured with her hands a sweep of a circle with her palms rotating at the wrists, "earthen drinks and sunshine."

"That was quick. You guessed right." Most diabetics had their own separate tea mix but it was all costly so she hardly took tea. Plain herbal tea was a miraculous touch. She gratefully received one of the mugs while joining Imogen on the floor.
Her blonde neighbour was in a night t-shirt and plaid boxers. She seemed more at home than Jacqueline ever felt since her arrival to Abbotsford.