The Legend - Watty Awards 2012

Chapter Two

Jenna woke up to the sun’s rays hitting her face. As she stretched, she realised that today was a Saturday and that it had almost been a week since they had moved in. The past week had passed in a blur of unpacking, relocating furniture and just settling in. She decided that she would go to the nearby village after breakfast and look around. She showered quickly and slipped into her favourite pair of black Cigarette jeans, a white ruffled top and ballet flats. She felt refreshed and much lighter than she had in quite a while.  Skipping down the stairs, she joined her parents for a hearty breakfast of eggs, bacon, pancakes and toast.

“You are looking lovely, honey!” exclaimed her mom, Pat. Jenna just grinned and continued munching on her toast. “It looks like the fresh air over here is doing you good”, continued Pat, “Have you decided on what you want to do today?”

“Well,” replied Jenna, “I thought I’d go down to the village and see what it’s like. I haven’t seen a single soul after we got here, apart from the two of you of course! No offence, but hanging around my almost sixty year old parents is not my idea of spending a Saturday!”

“Hey! It’s fifty five and not sixty! And I may be greying around the head but I still am pretty cool.. quite fly or whatever you youngsters like to call it nowadays! Hep? Yo? What’s the word?!!” protested Richard in mock indignation.

Laughing, Pat said “I’m glad you have decided to step out. Although this country side is lovely and this house is everything that we could ask for, it is a little lonely with no neighbours around for miles together. Your dad and I also thought of going down to the village to try and find a spot where we could set up our clinic and start practicing again. You can come with us if you like since we have only one car right now. Your old car should be arriving sometime tomorrow. We can go our separate ways once we get there.”

“Sounds like a plan!” said Jenna.

Once they reached the village of Bedhill, Jenna sauntered off on her own. She realised that the village was actually quite a large town that was bustling with activity. There were numerous shops that ranged from patisseries to boutiques to butcheries.  As she passed by a grocery store, she saw an elderly lady struggling with two shopping bags. She ran across to her. “Hi, I am Jenna”, she said, “Let me help you with those bags.” The lady smiled at her gratefully and put one bag in Jenna’s hand. “You must be new here. I haven’t seen you around earlier because I am pretty sure that I would never forget such a pretty face! My name is Kate by the way!” the lady exclaimed.

“Yes, we just moved here, my parents and I. We stay out in the country side and this is my first visit to Bedhill. I must say that I quite like this place! Such a refreshing change from the noise and bustle of the city!”

They walked towards Kate’s house which was towards one end of the village. As they entered the street, Jenna couldn’t help but notice that almost all the houses looked identical except for the colour of the gate. Every house was one storey and painted blue with a brown fence running around it. Freaky! Kate stopped at a bright red gate and said, “Well, this is where I live. Do come inside and join me for a cup of tea. My husband should be in too and I am sure that he would love to meet you.”

As they walked in, Kate yelled out to her husband “Tom! Honey, are you home? We have a lovely visitor, come meet her!”

Jenna saw a cheerful looking old man walking towards them; he had a weather beaten face and eyes that looked like they were constantly smiling. “Well hello there! I am Tom and to what do I owe this pleasure of having such a lovely little thing in our living room today?” said Tom as he extended his hand to shake hands with Jenna. Jenna smiled at him shyly, “Hi! I am Jenna. I ran into your wife at the grocery store and she very kindly invited me over for a cup of tea.”