The next morning found Jaxyn sitting in the garden at 6:00 a.m., basking in the warm sunlight and listening to the birds sing above her in the weeping willow. She had originally planned to sleep in without worrying about the next day, as is usually done on vacation, but despite not having an alarm clock she still woke with the sun. There was not much point in staying in bed so she had quickly changed and then gone outside for fresh air. You could get that in the country, fresh air.
It's so quiet, Jaxyn mused. The world is so peaceful here.
Sighing with content she got up from the stone bench and knelt in front of the pond, watching as all the little fish scurried away from her shadow. It made her laugh, thinking about all the people that were content to stay in her mother's shadow.
How different animals and humans are. But then again, we're not much better are we?
The sound of whistling startled Jaxyn out of her daze and she looked up from the water, turning her head every which way to see where the melody was coming from. There was no one in site.
Just great!
Getting up quickly Jaxyn brushed off her knees and turned to leave, bumping straight into the whistling stranger that she soon realized had ceased his musical serenade.
Are you kidding me right now? Jaxyn groaned inwardly, trying not to blush from embarrassment.
"Excuse me," the stranger said, quickly stepping to the side and nodding politely.
Jaxyn looked from the muddy work boots to the bucket in his hands and came to the conclusion that he was not a psychopath killer and was probably just out tending to the garden. Realizing how stupid she probably looked Jaxyn quickly smiled and glanced up at him, waving a dismissive hand.
"Oh no, it was my fault!" she said. "I didn't realize anyone would be out at this time."
The boy smiled rather crookedly and Jaxyn could see in his dark eyes that he was just as uncomfortable as she was. Strangely enough it was actually somewhat of a comfort.
"I came to check on the fish," he said, gesturing towards the pond. "But I can come back later."
He made a move to leave but Jaxyn quickly replied, saying, "Oh no, you go right ahead! I was just leaving." And after smiling hastily she ran back down the garden path before anything else happened, going in through the kitchen door and slamming it shut breathlessly.
Del looked up from the stove and smiled at her with a cheery, "Good morning!"
"Morning," Jaxyn breathed heavily, going over to the sink and grabbing a glass of water.
"What on earth happened? Did you run a marathon or somethin'?"
Jaxyn shook her head and continued to drain the water down, trying not to remember the little surprised squeal that came out of her mouth after bumping into the stranger. She made a scared rabbit look like a war hero.
"Ugh, why am I like this," she muttered, putting the glass in the sink and shaking her head.
"Like what?"
"Nothing...What's for breakfast?"
"Nothin'. Your mother's gon' take you out to town in half an hour. You'd best get ready," Del told her.
Looking down at her dirt stained shorts Jaxyn decided a change would probably be expected and ran back upstairs, pulling on a white t-shirt and yellow jumper. Since they would probably be walking a lot she slipped on a pair of white converse. Mrs. Dubois always went window shopping with Jaxyn a couple days into vacation, but this was the first time it happened the very morning!
