The Boy in the Woods (2014 Wattys Winner, Wattpad Version)

Chapter 25 - My Happiness

May 1959

"You hot?"

Doug and Jess were on their way home and she'd leaned her head nearly all the way out the car window, trying to catch enough wind to cool down after sweating all day in the stifling school.

"Yes! Aren't you?" she groaned, lifting her short bangs so her sweaty forehead could cool quicker.

"Put the blower on you," Doug said, fiddling with the controls and a blast of air hit her.

"It's hot, Doug!" she snapped, quickly closing the vents.

"I can't help it," he replied testily, turning the air off. "The car was sitting in the sun all day."

The weather had been getting steadily warmer as summer approached, but that day had been the first truly hot one. Even with the windows open in every classroom, it had been sweltering, making the students and teachers miserable and putting everyone in a bad mood.

As soon as they got home, Jess gave Annie a quick hug, and then went upstairs, eager to change out of her button down shirt and wool jumper. As she surveyed the cotton dresses she'd worn the previous summer, she realized she had nothing to wear. Pulling on a pair of jeans, she rolled up the sleeves of her shirt, and then she went down the back stairs with a heavy heart. Uncle Jonathon had always been so disagreeable when he'd been asked to buy her new clothes. She wasn't looking forward to the fight she feared was inevitable.

"What's wrong," Annie asked as soon as she saw the look on Jess's face.

"It's so hot and I don't have anything to wear," Jess whined. To her surprise, Annie smiled.

"I suspected as much. I already planned to talk to your uncle about it tonight," she replied confidently, but Jess slumped.

"What if he says no?"

"Don't worry about it, pumpkin. I'm going to take care of it," Annie said kindly, putting her hands on Jess's shoulders as she looked in her eyes. "We'll be shopping tomorrow. I guarantee it. And we can shop for your uncle's birthday present at the same time," she said happily. "It's coming up soon."

"I don't know what I'd get him," Jess grumbled. "He hated the tie I gave him for Christmas." Annie frowned for a moment.

"I'll think about it, alright? I'm sure I can come up something he'd like."

"Yes, ma'am," Jess said, trying to smile convincingly before taking her basket and heading out the back door.

After a quick glance to make sure the garage doors were closed, she walked down the road to the gate. Even though the snow had melted long ago, Jess had continued to take the route through the woods. She'd decided it was safer than taking the path since she was hidden from view from both the house and the garage. And if anyone happened to spot her, she was sure no one would guess where she was going since she was heading in the opposite direction of the cabin.

When she reached the clearing, she wasn't surprised to see the front door closed. Letting herself inside, she was enveloped by stuffy air. She opened windows as she made her way to the kitchen, then propped open the back door. Fanning herself with a paperback, she stood in the doorway. While she waited, hoping for a breeze that would clear out the stiflingly hot air, her thoughts turned to her conversation with Annie.

Would she really be able to convince Uncle Jonathon to buy her new clothes? As Jess thought about the times he'd agreed, she knew it was only because what she had to wear reflected badly on him. What if he decided against it because he didn't plan on anyone seeing her over the summer? If that happened, she was going to be miserable.