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Chapter 8
Jen stayed up late describing in
detail her first encounter with Jet to Sandra.. She wanted to hear every minute
detail .. Even Mrs. Wang popped in and sat on the edge of Jenny’s bed for
a spell to hear about her visit.
Sandra (sneaky grin)
So what do you think of Jet?
Jenny (lays
back on her pillow and stares at the ceiling..)
Oh… He’s very handsome,
polite, intelligent. But there’s something about him I just can’t put
my finger on.. it’s strange.
Sandra
Weird. Maybe you will feel better about him on
Thursday. You are going over to his house after your appointment with Dr.
Schultz right?
Jenny
Yes. I am going to be home pretty late on Thursday..but I’ll call
you when I get in…ok?
Sandra
Sounds good. I’ve got to get going. Early
morning..
Jenny
Ok Sis! See you
tomorrow after class at the restaurant ok?
Sandra
Sure ..sounds great. See you then..
Sandra leaves the bedroom. Jenny
takes out a match and lights her aroma candle beside her bed and turns off the
large lamp. She walks over to her dresser and pulls out her night dress, takes
down her hair and sits down in front of her mirror, brushes her blonde locks
free of tangles and goes to the bathroom.. brushes her teeth and climbs into
bed.. The candle’s light is flickering and shadows are dancing around the
room in a poetic ode..She sighs and remembers her first encounter with Jet. Her
mind wanders to the first time she looked into his smiling eyes. She reaches
over to her spare pillow and holds it tight in her arms. She rubs her cheek
against the soft cotton and imagines that he is holding her tight in his arms
..protecting her forever..
Mrs. Wang (pulls the curtains apart to let the
sunshine explode into the room..)
Ok.. Time to get up! You have slept in again. Did you
forget to set your alarm clock again. Get up..lazy girl!
Jenny (startled)
Oh no.. What time is it?
Mrs. Wang
You’re ok..
but don’t waste time in the shower.. I will have breakfast ready for you
soon. Hurray up now…
Jenny hops in the shower.. Throws on her black dress and black
flats and quickly braids her hair wet. She runs downstairs and grabs some tea
and toast and runs out the door… When she gets to school she is only 10
minutes late. Little Andrew and Shannon are at her door waiting. It was a long
day at school. The children seemed restless. As soon as the bell rings she goes
to the office to check her mail box. She grabs her new catalogues and takes
them back to her office and drops them on her desk.. She is fidgeting with her
backpack on the way out of school..trying to find her keys. She gets to her VW
Beetle and puts the key in the door..She hears a familiar
voice..
Jet
(smiles)
Hello..
Jenny
(startled)
She
drops her key on the ground..
Well.. Ahemm.. Hello. What are you doing
here?
Jet
Steve said that this is where you teach so I asked him if my schedule
was clear for the day and I told him I was coming over to meet you. Do you want
to go for a drive?
Jenny (blushing)
Well.. Yes. I don’t see why not. I thought you didn’t come
out of your house?
Jet
Well ..I thought about what you said about needing to get out into the
English speaking communities and I decided that I wanted to do something today
and I should ask you to join me ..if that’s ok?
Jenny (smiles)
Yes.. sure. I have a few hours before
my English class starts.. What did you have in mind?
Jet
Oh.. I don’t know. I thought we
could just drive and see where we end up. If that’s ok with
you?
Jenny
Sound like fun..let’s go.
They both get into Jet’s car and head towards
LA.
Jet
Do
you like amusement parks? Roller Coaster rides?
Jenny
Yes..I love to go to amusement parks.
Is there one around here?
Jet
Yes.. Steve said it should be about five miles ahead on the left. He
said that there are some great rides and games. Let’s go there
ok?
Jenny
Sounds great .. But aren’t you concerned that you will be
recognized?
Jet
No.. Not really.. I have my ball cap. That helps.
Jenny
Alright then.
Jenny watches Jet manouver the car
through the crowded street until they reach the parking lot. She admires his
strength and confidence. She is a little confused by him showing up at the
school. He can’t want to learn English that much.. Maybe he’s really
lonely stuck up in that huge mansion. He probably doesn’t get too much
company at all. Poor fella. Jet parks the car and reaches into the back seat
and grabs his dark blue ball cap and slips it on his
head..
Jet
Look Ok?
Jenny (smiles)
Looks great.. No one will recognize you.. Lets’ go!
They go through
the front gates and Jet pays for the park tickets. The walk around for a while
and talk about Beijing and his upcoming movies. She tells him about her job at
the school and her class in the evenings. He is surprised at her dedication to
teaching English to Asians. He wants to learn everything about
Jenny.
Jet
Why
are you living with the Wang’s?
Jenny
My mother died and I had no other living relatives so
the Wang’s took me in. Sandra and I are like sisters. They have been very
kind and generous to me. I’m very grateful.
Jet
Ah.. I see. You have had a very
difficult life.
Jenny
Yes. But I have a wonderful family and great friends now. You have to
life for the here and now really. Can’t dwell on the past because it
doesn’t help..you know.
Jet (hands Jenny some Candy floss)
Yes.. I understand. Here you go..
Ahemm (blushing)Do you
have a fiance or a boyfriend?
Jenny
No.. I haven’t had time. And the times I have.. it
didn’t work out.. Just didn’t seem right.
Jet (grins)
I know what you mean. I have tried to
have some relationships and I felt the same way. I have a vision of the person
I should be with it and I am holding out for that person.
Jenny
Wow. That’s really sweet. I
understand completely. I dated a guy that I thought was the one that I could
spend the rest of my life with but then when I really looked at him and our
relationship I felt as though there was a gap and I could never figure out what
it was..
Jenny
(looks up)
Hey look
they have a Ghost ride! Wanna go?
Jet (laughs)
Sure..You won’t get scared will
you?
Jenny
No.. I don’t think so..hehe
They climb into the compartment and buckle
themselves in.. the train starts to move forward.. Cobwebs adorn the dark
sinister caverns.. scary characters pop out from nowhere and ghosts appear
beside them..The train speeds up more and starts to go in an incline.. Jenny
starts to feel nervous. She had no idea that it was a roller coaster ride..She
moves closer to Jet and he wraps his arm around her. It’s so warm and
comforting..strange..Jenny know she has felt that comfort before..Where?? Where
do I know this guy from?
BOOM!!!!!!!!!!!
What the!!! One of the large
displays that are hanging from the side of the cavern falls and crashes to the
ground.. Jenny screams and Jet grabs on to her tight. THAT’S IT!!!!
The bomb
shelter! It’s him! No.. but it can’t be..He holds her tighter against
him.. By the time they get to the exit Jenny has tears streaming down her
cheeks. The ride maintenance crew rushes to help them. They had seen the
accident on the camera but couldn’t stop the train until they were safely
outside.
Jet
Are
you ok? You’re shaking.
Jenny (shaking from head to toe)
Yes.. I am fine. Please .. I need to go
home. Please take me home.
Jet
Ok.. We will leave right now..Are you sure you are alright? You
don’t look very well.
Jenny
Please ..Just get me to the car..
They both walk briskly to the car. Jenny gets in and
pulls a tissue out from her bag and wipes the tears from her face. She turns
away from Jet .. She is afraid to look at him. What if it’s true? No one
would ever believe her..especially him. (She thinks) Oh Jet ..by- the-way..did
you know we have been together in another time! Ahhh!
Jenny rests her eyes for a moment ..She is so
exhausted and drifts off to sleep..Jet looks over at her and is worried that
taking her out so soon was a bad idea. He suddenly remembers that he
doesn’t have her address and decides to take her back to the house and
call Steve. They pull up into Jet’s drive way and Mrs. Xuliang is standing
outside as they pull up. She looks worried. She can see by Jet’s face that
something is wrong. He carefully opens the passenger side door and gently picks
Jenny up and takes her upstairs to the guest bedroom. He calls Steve and he
tells him what happened. Steve agrees to call the Wang’s. Mrs Wang is
concerned and says that Mr. Wang is gone out for the evening to an Asian
community meeting and won’t be back until later. She tells him that she
will go to the Bank and post that the class is cancelled for the evening. Mrs
Wang asks that Jenny call as soon as she wakes up.
Jet goes to the guest bedroom.. Mrs.
Xuliang has taken off Jenny’s shoes and covered her with a soft warm rose
coloured blanket. She looks over at Jet and smiles.
Mrs. Xulian
She is very
beautiful..
Jet
Yes. She is. Do you think she will be ok? I wonder why she hasn’t
woken up yet..
Mrs. Xulian
I think the poor thing is exhausted. I would just let her sleep a
while longer.
Jet goes over and sits on the side of the bed. He reaches over and
touches her beautiful silky blonde hair. He takes a deep breath and remembers
his dream.. First meeting her in a dark shelter ..then at the docks.. He knows
they belong together. He senses it in deep within his heart.
He gets up
and runs downstairs..grabs something to read from the library and returns to
Jenny’s side. He tries to read a few chapters but finds that his
concentration is focused on the beautiful woman lying on the bed. She looks
like an angel sleeping on a bed of roses. She is so breathtakingly beautiful..
a gift from God.
Jenny stirs and rolls over to find herself lying in a strange bed.
Jet is sitting beside her..It dawns on her that he desn’t know where she
lives. Then she remembers the train ride ..she buries her head in the
pillow.
Jet
Please tell me what’s wrong?
Jenny
It’s ok. I will be fine. I have had a very strange
and tiring week. You wouldn’t understand.
Jet
Try me.. I am actually a pretty open
minded guy.
Jenny (sits up and wipes her face)
Oh.. I don’t think you are THAT
open minded. I think I should get going. I can’t believe I fell asleep..
I’m sorry for any inconvienience I’ve caused. I really had a great
time at the park today ..except for you know.. what
happened.
Jet
Yes..that was very unfortunate. Hopefully the next time won’t be
traumatic. I had a great time too.. Maybe you can give me the chance to make it
up to you?
Jenny
(smiles)
What did
you have in mind?
Jet
Oh.. I don’t know..We shall see. Let me give you a ride home. By
now Mr. Wang should be home and someone can go to the school to pick up your
car. Would you like to stop for dinner on the way?
Jenny
That’s very sweet of you.. I
really don’t have an appetite right now though. Thank you anyway. Where is
the ladies room so that I can clean myself up a little.. please?
Jet (points
across the room)
It’s that door over there..
Jenny
Thanks.
She gets up and Jet notices her tanned feet sinking
in to the pile of the carpet and watches her make her way over to the bathroom.
Her black dress reveals the slenderness of her body. Jenny leaves the door open
a little and Jet can see her reflection in the mirror. She unbraids her hair
and combs it slowly. She ties it quickly in a knot and washes her face..When
she brings her head up from the basin..she sees him looking at her in the
mirror and smiles..Jet blushes and smiles. Jenny dries herself off and comes
out of the bathroom looking refreshingly beautiful. She has kept her hair up in
a tight knot and Jet admires her beauty and charisma. They walk downstairs and
Mrs. Xuilang has prepared some dinner already. The kitchen smells glorious.
Jenny agrees to eat and sits down at the table. She watches Jet as he assists
Mrs. Xuilang with draining the noodles. Jet looks over at Jenny sitting down
and gives her the most beautiful smile. She remembers what she felt and
remembered on the amusement ride and she begins to shiver.
Jet
Are you alright?
Can I get you a sweater or something?
Jenny
Yes.. that would be very nice about
now.. I can’t stop shaking.
Jet quickly runs upstairs and grabs one of his
favorite comfy sweatshirts.
Jenny takes it and carefully slips it over her head.
It feels so comfortable, soft and warm. While he has his head turned she takes
a quick smell and is comforted even more when she realizes it has Jet’s
cologne on it.
Jet invites Mrs. Xuilang to sit with them. She declines and tells
him that she has to go to the market for a little while..She looks at Jet and
grins sneakly…grabs her handbag and says goodnight to Jet and
Jenny..
Next
Chapter
Written by Isabel Hodge |
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