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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Jess walked out the door the next day with almost as much emotion as she had the day before.
Sure, it was a different emotion; she was full, this time, of a hope and expectation, more than a real excitement, but nevertheless, it was strong. It propelled her through the door. This time, though, she had made sure to thank her mother profusely first, and give her that big hug she had felt so guilty for leaving out the previous day.
She and Obi strode down their usual path, to the left. It took them past a house with a bright yellow swing under a cosy awning; past another with camellia bushes so full of buds that Jess felt, at that part of spring, it was simply impossible that they should exist. The neighbourhood seemed to have come alive, but the streets were dismally empty.
Jess glanced around, wondering at the emptiness, and registering that it had an almost disquieting effect, as she and Obi made their way to their destination. Not that it was really a destination, but more of a new route.
Jess's plan from yesterday still stood, in the hope that Obi would appreciate her taking him somewhere new. Though he did not seem to be holding the previous day's short walk against her in any way. In fact, he had seemed more eager than ever to rush her out the door. He had almost literally pulled the leash off its hook himself, in his attempts to show Jess just what she was supposed to be doing.
Of course, Jess had not refused, but as they turned onto the street she had chosen, she could not help glancing down hopefully, at the dog at her feet.
And she was rewarded.
Obi had been sniffing the ground, his nose pretty much glued to it, as he trotted along beside her, but as they had turned the corner, he had stopped for a moment - just a second - and Jess fancied she caught the slightest sway of his straggly tail.
She grinned.
"C'mon boy, let's go!" She spoke softly to him, making her way down the road at a surprising pace, considering Obi was just getting a chance to absorb all the new smells.
They made it a few feet along, before Jess slowed to a stop.
She gazed up at the brick facade of a house. The slightly darker shade of brick, contrasted by the lighter tones of stone, stucco and vinyl of the other houses, made it look unexpectedly warm, not creepy or melancholy, as Jess might have anticipated.
The memory of James's silence and the previous awkwardness had barely crossed her mind since the day before, but it was seeping back in now, gradually, stealthily, as she took in the exterior of his house.
There was a neat little row of rose bushes along its front, like piping around the edges of a cake. Jess supposed they would add a lovely, welcoming touch to the home when they were in bloom.
The place had an air of welcoming, well kept cosiness, much like the rest of the neighbourhood, but it also had a feeling that it alone seemed to possess. It struck Jess as a feeling of sheltered joy, like it was kept safe and away from the rest of the neighbourhood. And the world.
She felt a sigh creep up on her, and fought it back, leading Obi away from the house.
Maybe they would meet him along the stream...
Jess found that she did not want to think too much about it. They would find him, and he would be feeling better; there was no use in dwelling on her mind's records of yesterday.
But then Jess looked up. Her eyes widened.
She picked up the pace, accelerating to a slow jog. Obi glanced at her and then followed, a little confused.
"James!" Jess raised her voice as she came within a few steps of him. A small part of her was beginning to fear what would happen when he turned. But that part of her did not matter - she was hardly aware of its existence.
"James!" She called again as she reached him, and he turned around.
Jess tried in vain to wipe the look of surprise and discomfiture from her features.
When he had first turned, his eyes finding her face, James's features had been marred by unmistakable unease, and something a little more vague - like consternation, but deeper, that Jess could not put a finger on. It made him look altogether rather pale and surprised; not at all what she had expected.
Not what she had been hoping for.
Even after his initial, peculiar shock had worn off, his expression was still... odd. He seemed to wear a permanent frown as he looked at her, lips drawn in a tight, tense line.
Jess was eventually able to take control of herself enough to ask, "Are you feeling better?"
James's eyes widened, but if anything, this just seemed to increase the level of disquiet etched into his face.
That part of Jess - that doubtful, nervous one - that she had not noticed before, was suddenly basking in the full glory of her attention.
But then he opened his mouth to speak, and Jess felt hope rise in her.
"I need to go back home. I've got lots of homework to do." He spoke briskly and started, hardly glancing at her, to stride quickly down the sidewalk, towards his house.
Jess stared after him.That was certainly not the response she had been anticipating.
