Looking After You

(18) Ages: 19 & 16

Ages: 19 & 16

Denise and Alison were sisters. They didn’t have the same parents or share the same last name, but they shared nearly everything else. Jenny always wanted to be included when they went somewhere. If it was the mall, she was waiting out in the car with her purse before Denise or her mother had made it out the door. When she was eight, she invited herself to a spa weekend and cried when her mother told her she couldn’t go. Denise almost gave in. The only time she caved was when it came to her favorite girl. Seeing a relationship like that; a friendship that spans time, wrinkles and children, it makes you sad to think you may never be so lucky. Jenny had friends in school, friends who spent the night, friends who she sat with at lunch and told secrets to but nothing felt like the relationship she had seen her whole life. She wondered if she would ever find something like that.

“I’m going over to Jameson’s!” Jenny shouted as she bounded down the stairs, taking them two at a time just because. Only when she was already standing at the front door did she see Mrs. Jenson sitting with her mother in the living room.

“Jenny, could you come in here a second?”

She gladly obeyed, making sure to give Denise a hug from the back of the sofa chair. “Are you ladies talking about what you’re going to do for date night?” It was Friday night and, for as long as Jenny could remember, both sets of parents went out for dinner and usually a movie if they could come to an agreement. The last couple of weeks, it seemed as though something always came up and Jenny found it hard to remember the last time they all had gone out. Friday nights weren’t about going out for Jenny. They were about staying home. With James.

“Actually, Denise and I were planning on going away for the weekend.” Alison’s suggestion was more of a question and it was directed at Jenny but her eyes never left Denise. It was as if she were choosing her words carefully.

“We were wondering if you wanted to come with us.” Alison’s smile was hopeful and inviting. What could Jenny do but smile back? She always wanted to be included in their plans, to feel like she was a third girlfriend who did all the grownup things she would hear them talk about.

“Really? Yes, I want to go! Where are we going?” Leaning over the back of the couch, she stared on in excitement as Denise began to answer.

“Richard and I own a cabin down the road from Silent Streams Spa. Your mother and I go there when we feel like getting away for a while. We figured now that you’re sixteen, it’s time you had a little getaway yourself.” Denise placed her hand on Jenny’s and smiled so tenderly it was almost heartbreaking. “We know things have been stressful lately.”

It wasn’t that Jenny didn’t want to go, she did, but something scared her about the way she was invited. Yes, she was growing up and school had been tough for a number of reasons but to the best of her knowledge, things hadn’t been that stressful. At least not to the point where a vacation was needed. Jenny was missing something. That feeling had been hovering over her for a while now, but she purposely blinded herself to it. She didn’t want to see the truth because, in order for something to be real, you have to first let yourself see it.

Jenny went upstairs and started packing minutes after her mother and Denise invited her. Maybe Denise was right, maybe turning sixteen and junior year was more stressful than even Jenny had realized. The idea of getting away for the weekend sounded more than relaxing, it sounded necessary. Denise and Alison were both putting their suitcases inside the car when Jenny leaped out of the front door. She tossed her bags into the truck before rushing next door.

“Where are you going? We need to beat the afternoon traffic!” Her mother shouted after her, but she had already made it to the Jenson’s front door.