A Masterpiece Gone

Chapter Sixteen

Gripping the steering wheel and four hours of driving already just minutes away from eleven in the morning, Jessie knew there was no turning back.  As usual, she did come to her senses after a good night's sleep to perhaps wait until she spoke to Jenny tonight.  However being wide awake since six this morning made the countdown until then unbearable.  It's not like David is going to be there, she reminded herself. And for all you know he sold that property as well.

The worst was facing Brendan and having to lie that she had to be back in the studio really early among other things; he kissed her goodbye normally and even made some sort of teasing remark as he stayed in bed and she was up, but Jessie had an inkling he could see right through it and was probably hurt.  To make it worse, she kept looking over her shoulder convinced David was following her this whole time in a dark car but knew it was her guilty conscience and rightfully so.

The damage done, Jessie glanced at her Sat Nav remembering from all those weekend getaways to the cottage that the destination that Sat Nav gave never matched with the actual cottage address.  It always left people in front of an aging farmhouse instead of directing people to another street that led to a dirt road, making the cottage beautifully private.

While Jessie passed the old farmers' market, she could envision her younger self able to smell the freshest strawberries, blackberries, and blueberries as she brought some of each back in the cottage for morning pancakes, delectable pies, and even fresh strawberry lemonade.  This place brought her lots of peace back then, but right now she knew she would have none until she got what she came for.

It's like this place is frozen in time, she thought to herself as the same old houses appeared untouched save for a fresh paint job, improved shutters, or a new fence. 

Once she turned onto the familiar winding dirt road, she felt a bit more at ease with the seclusion she now had.  There were perhaps three houses on this road including the cottage, but a ridiculous amount of walking distance separated them and the people who owned them also used them as holiday homes like she and David had. 

As Jessie's car approached the end of the road, the cottage appeared as she had last left it two months before David broke off their engagement in public.  The two story-cottage remained white, standing out against the contrast of the charcoal roof and window shutters, the left top one still a bit askew, though David used to tell her she was the only one that seemed to notice.  The fence was a bit weathered, but still had a few more years of good use left in it.  The only missing feature of the cottage was the beautiful flowers that Jessie used to plant each spring to border the walkway, which instead was replaced with overgrown grass.  Guess he fired Gertie, she thought to herself as memory conjured the paid caretaker who used to live just twenty minutes away.  The only new thing she could spot was the light over the garage, which was a definite necessity as David always forgot to replace the old fixture that never was functional in the first place.

To be on the safe side, Jessie remained parked on the opposite side of the road in the unlikely event her car in the driveway attracted a nosy distant neighbor who chose this very day to go for a drive or a springtime stroll.  As Jessie got out of the car, she paused as the beeping of a vehicle echoed in the distance.  She waited a good ten minutes hearing nothing else but her own rapid breathing.

Whoever it was would have been up the hill already, she told herself.  You are becoming way too paranoid.

Looking around one last time, Jessie crossed the road making a beeline for straight around the windowless garage where she hoped in spite of the lack of plants he still kept the enormous blue ceramic planter she actually had ordered online after her first weekend they ever spent there.  Before Jessie even was halfway past the garage, the large ovular shadow casting on the grass to the left at the back with two patio chairs made her nearly taste victory.  Making sure one last time nobody saw her, she nearly skipped to the barren planter and gave its structure a good look of admiration.  With a count to three, Jessie lifted it with ease when she suddenly cried out in fury.