A Walk Around the Pond

Chapter 5

Sometimes it felt like I never spent any time at school at all. But this was a holiday weekend and I was actually excited to spend it at home. 

It was the one bad thing, I had decided, about school starting early. I would miss harvest season in its entirety. 

Had I covered that one? Yes, I, Jane Amelia Ross,  was a simple farm girl. And no one knows my name isn't actually Jamie, so keep that one under your hat. 

And here was home. A rundown old farmhouse in the middle of nowhere. It was the best place to grow up. The big backyard seamlessly turned into fields of soybeans. 

Home was simple. I didn't have to see anyone, because everyone lived at least twenty minutes away. Although I loved to drive, so who knows where I'll go. I bounced out of my old truck, grabbing my backpack as I headed up the old wood steps. 

Mom flung open the door before I made it there, "Jamie! Welcome home sweetheart." She pulled me into a hug. 

I stepped back with a smile, "Hi Mom." 

Her eyes were bright, "Here, I've got dinner ready." She took my backpack off my shoulder as I kicked of my tennis shoes. 

Dad stood in the living room, "Hey Jamie." 

I grinned, "Hey Dad." He pulled me into a quick hug before the three of us sat down at the dinner table. He switched topics to my older brother and his wife before we could even say the blessing for the meal. As though I needed the reminder that I was definitely not his favorite. 

Home would always have a mixed feeling for me. I loved it here. I couldn't have asked for a happier childhood. But the more I saw of how things actually were, I never wanted to come here again. Mom had done her best to make this a good place to be, but I wasn't sure how much longer I could stay. 

Mom smiled after we prayed, "So, what do you want to do this weekend?" The hopefulness in her voice made me smile. I knew she just wanted everything to be okay. So I knew, I'd come back again and again to try and make everything okay for her too. 

I shrugged, "I was hoping we could make an apple pie and I wanted to go see the ponies." The barn was always something that Mom and I would do together. Brushing the ponies, walking down, all of it was what had held our friendship together when I was a teenager. 

Mom nodded, "We can do that."  With those plans made, we dug into our meal in silence. Sure, one person would speak up every once in a while,  but it was mostly quiet here. Don't get me wrong, quiet isn't a bad thing. But I had started to like the hustle of school. 

One apple pie and two days later, I was headed back to campus. It had been good to be home. Seeing my mom would never be something I passed up. 

The drive back to school gave me time to puzzle out some of my up and down feelings about home and school. I hated being in this in between space. I knew I couldn't stay at school for forever. I just wished I could start my life. The problem was that I didn't know what looked like. 

Andie was still at her own house when I got back to school. I set a full apple pie on my desk and put apples and apple cider in my fridge. Growing up on an apple farm had its perks, I guess. 

I settled on my bed and sketched for a while. I had a ballerina mostly done when Andie burst through our door. She threw her bag on the floor, "Gosh it was good to go home." She sat down on her own bed, "How was your weekend?"

I grinned, "It was really good. Brought back some pie." 

Andie jumped up and without hesitation pulled out a piece, "Oh my gosh, this looks amazing." 

I laughed, "Thanks,