Across the Creek (3 page)

Something furry brushed past the back of her legs. She turned to find a small Cairn Terrier sitting on the sidewalk, staring up at her with his tongue hanging out.

“Do you mind if I pet him?” Sarah asked his owner, a heavyset woman laden with at least seven bags.

“Not at all,” the woman said with a welcoming smile. “He’d like that very much.”

Sarah knelt down and pulled her long blond hair to the side. “You are such a cutie. What’s his name?”

“Bailey.”

“Bailey, that’s perfect.” She rubbed the soft brown fur just behind his ears. “I hope they don’t have another one of you at the pet store. I have a feeling I’d walk out a dog owner.”

“Did you say that you’re going to a pet store?”

Sarah looked up at the woman, whose large white hat provided just enough shade from the sun to keep from blinding her. “Sam’s Pet Shop,” she replied. “Do you know the place?”

“Indeed, I do. Just keep heading down this street and you can’t miss it. The man working there is exceptionally competent. I think you’ll find him very helpful.”

“Thank you for the directions. It’s been a while since I’ve been out this way.” Sarah looked down at Bailey. He turned over, revealing his soft belly. Sarah laughed. “You be good, sweetie.” After a final pet to his stomach, she got up and resumed going on her way.

Sam’s Pet Shop was a corner store complete with a hanging wooden sign above its door and the shop name stenciled on the windows. Sarah liked it immediately.

A tiny brass bell rang when she opened the door, reminding her of the quaint shops she had frequented growing up in New Haven.
Nice touch,
she thought. The small shop had a few rows of supplies leading to the back of the store. A spiral staircase led to a balcony where Sarah saw a desk, a table, and small bookshelf.

Cages filled the windows and walls with playful puppies, fluffy kittens, and a few other lovable looking mammals. She strolled down the row of cages, letting the kittens and puppies lick the tips of her fingers. Then cages became aquariums filled with scaly reptiles. Snakes and lizards stared blankly. Crabs climbed a log in one aquarium; frogs perched on lily pads in another. Sarah shook her head when she saw a baby boa constrictor curled up beneath a piece of bark. Its dark and slimy body coiled into a perfect circle.

A plastic tank stood at the end of the line. No markings, no signs and no price tags. Just a bed of stones and a curved piece of wood in the center, which created a tiny cave. Sarah’s curiosity got the best of her as she leaned in closer to get a peek under the arched piece of wood, but nothing appeared to be hiding. She gave the aquarium a few taps with her finger and waited. Nothing happened. Just when she had decided that the tank was empty, a large hairy brown spider lunged out from beneath the arched wood and landed with its long creepy legs against the plastic tank. Sarah leaped back, slamming into a large shelf, sending something teetering over the opposite edge.

“Ouch!” yelled a voice from the other side of the shelf.

Sarah cupped her hand over her mouth, wishing she had the power to disappear.
Good job,
she thought.
How are you going to explain getting kicked out of a pet shop to your friends?
She shamefacedly walked around the corner to see what she had done and who she had injured.

A man was bent over, picking up the large bag of dog food she had apparently knocked over. Guilt replaced shame as she bent down to help the man lift the bag. “I am so sorry. I saw a spider and it leapt out at me and I just freaked out.”

“It’s okay. It was just an accident,” the man replied, looking up at her. His hair hung just below his eyes. He pushed it to the side, revealing the biggest blue eyes she had ever seen, at least in the past ten years. A rush of warmth, like a hot August’s breeze, came over her. Their eyes locked and the ability to speak escaped her. A thousand memories flooded to the front of her mind. The smell of summer. The sound of running water as it cooled her bare feet. Shade from the willow tree. Lips filled with electricity. Was that really him?

“Jesse?”

Sarah

She couldn’t believe it. The long haired, scrawny little boy she knew as a child now stood a whole head taller than she. “Sarah?”

“Oh my gosh,” she said. “I can’t believe it’s you.”

He appeared just as stunned. “It’s been a long time.”

She nodded. “Ten years. You’re so much taller now.”

A crooked smile formed on his face, sending her a million miles back into the past. That smile hadn’t changed a bit. Not that she could say the same about the rest of him. His baby face had been replaced by a square jaw and chiseled cheek bones. Father Time had been good to Jesse.

“You’re much taller yourself.”

She looked down, realizing for the first time that she hadn’t done much in the way of getting ready before she left. She had gone out for worms. Running into Jesse Malone after all these years was the last thing she thought she’d be doing. “I just can’t believe it’s really you. What are you doing here in Chicago?”

He held out his arms and looked around the shop. “This is where I work.”

“This place is great,” she said, looking around. “It’s charming.”

“I think the charm is mostly due to my Aunt Sherry. That and the odor coming from the litter boxes.” He bent down and picked up the heavy bag of dog food, his biceps expanding to twice their size. “I just do the heavy lifting.”

“I can see that.” She tucked a few strands of hair behind her ear. “About that—”

Jesse set the bag of dog food on the shelf and turned back to Sarah. “Don’t worry about it. I’ve been meaning to find a better location for this stuff anyways.” He smiled. “Consider us even now.”

“Even?”

“Don’t you remember the first time we met?”

Sarah thought back to the day he had showed up in her backyard. She remembered playing by the garden, digging a home for a toad. He showed up soaking wet from swimming across the creek, wearing nothing but a pair of cut-off jean shorts. “I don’t remember you hitting me over the head with a bag of dog food.”

“It was a stick.” He paused, waiting. “You don’t remember? I didn’t see you at first. I had this long stick and I poked one of the sunflowers in your garden and a spider jumped out on the stick, scaring the hell out of me. I threw the stick over the garden and hit you over the head with it.”

Sarah scratched her head and tried to get past the shock of running into him after all these years. Then it hit her. “Oh yeah. That was the stick that I used to dig a home for my toad.”

Jesse chuckled. “That’s right. You were such a strange little girl.”

“Me?” she asked. “What about you? What kind of a kid trespasses in someone’s backyard, wearing nothing but a pair of shorts?”

“I guess you got me there. So, do you live around here?”

“Yeah. I live just a few miles from here.”

“That’s cool. You go to school?”

Sarah shook her head. “I graduated last semester. You?”

“Yeah. I’ve got a semester left.”

She had a difficult time taking her eyes off of him. His smile, his messy hair, his broad shoulders leading down to a thin waist. He definitely had appeal. “I just can’t believe that you’re here, right in front of me.”

“I can’t believe it either,” he said. “Not that
I’m
here, but you know…that you’re here,” Jesse appeared to be just as taken aback by the moment as Sarah. He looked down at his Converse sneakers and ran a hand through his hair. “So what brings you to the store?”

“Well, I have some plants that aren’t doing so well. I was hoping that you had some earthworms.”

“Earthworms? You planning on feeding your plant worms?” He flashed that same crooked smile.

“Not exactly. They’re supposed to be beneficial to the root systems.”

“Are you some sort of a florist?”

Sarah smiled. “No. It’s a hobby. Sort of. My degree was in finance, but I’m opening my own plant nursery. The worms are for some plants that I have at home.”

“You graduated with a finance degree, and now you’re starting your own plant nursery?”

“It’s complicated.”

Jesse shifted weight to his other foot. “Actually, it makes sense.”

“It does?”

Jesse’s eyes locked onto Sarah’s and for a brief moment she could see the young Jesse again. “Your family had that large garden in the backyard. It would make sense that you’d grow up liking that kind of stuff, too.”

Their garden was large. Her father had spent just about every spare minute he had working on it. Two of the three acres had been used for growing vegetables. In fact, Sarah couldn’t remember a time when her family had ever purchased a vegetable. The third acre had consisted of an elaborate landscaping scene. Her father had brought in yards of dirt and stones and planted all sorts of shrubs and flowers. It had become a refuge from the stresses of life. “You have a good memory.”

Jesse responded with a smile. “Well, if you came here for worms, then you came to the right place. We happen to have the best earthworms in all of Chicago.” He turned and headed to the back of the store.

“Is that so?” As Sarah followed, she couldn’t help but take in the sight of him. His hair wasn’t as long in the back as she’d thought it would be given the length on top. It stopped just below his collar and had a slight messy wave to it.

“That’s right.” He stopped in front of a large aquarium filled with dirt, grabbed a plastic bowl and slowly sifted with a tiny shovel. “How many do you need?”

“I have no idea,” she answered honestly. Her father hadn’t said anything about that. “How many worms do you think it would take to make a plant healthy again?”

Jesse shrugged. “I’m not a plant doctor.”

“Just give me nine.”
Hopefully these little guys are hungry and love to dig lots of tunnels
.

As Jesse filled the bowl, Sarah couldn’t help but think about how different yet similar he looked. Time was a funny thing like that. She wondered what, if anything, he thought about her and the ways she had changed.

“So how long have you worked here?”

“Oh, my uncle bought this place about three years ago, I think.”

“Does he work here too?”

“Not anymore.” Jesse pulled a worm out, hanging from the side of the shovel. “This guy looks like he’s a digger.”

The fat worm curled underneath the shovel, establishing a firm grip. “I hope so.” Sarah watched as he dug up four more. “So is your aunt or brother here?”

“No. Robbie’s got the day off and my aunt is doing her usual shopping.”

“I see. So it’s just you working here now.”

“Yep, we normally operate with a skeleton crew. Makes for busy days. The type that start and finish before you know it.”

He placed the last of the worms into the bowl, set down the shovel and grabbed a plastic lid. “Here you go. Make sure you find a nice home for them.”

“Oh, I will,” she said, taking the bowl from him. Then she felt something hairy brush past her legs. She looked down and saw the same little dog she had petted on the way to the shop.

“I think Bailey likes you,” Jesse said.

“You know Bailey?”

“Wait a minute,” he said, looking confused. “
You
know Bailey?”

Sarah leaned down and rubbed Bailey’s fluffy head. “Yeah, we go way back. I met him on my way here. How do you know him?”

“Jess, how are things going, my dear?” The heavyset woman Sarah had met just a short while ago walked up beside her. A few newly acquired bags seemed to have joined the seven she had already had.

“Things are great, Aunt Sherry. In fact, I was just getting rid of some of those worms that you love so much,” Jesse responded.

“I can’t stand those dreadful little creatures,” she said, turning her attention to Sarah. “Oh, it’s you, Bailey’s latest friend.”

“Sarah, this is my aunt, Sherry. Sherry, this is Sarah. Sarah’s an old friend of mine.”

A large smile formed on Aunt Sherry’s face, matching her chubby cheeks, as she shook Sarah’s hand. “Oh, I
see
. It’s so nice to meet one of Jesse’s friends. Especially one as lovely as you.”

“Thank you. It’s a pleasure meeting you again.”

Sherry looked to be in her fifties. A bright sundress with a floral pattern covered her like a wild, old fashioned lamp shade. The large, white straw hat was the icing on the cake. She reminded her of a retired woman living in Florida. Sarah turned her attention back to Bailey. “It’s a pleasure meeting you again, too, cutie.” Bailey’s fuzzy brown tail wagged rapidly.

“Oh, he likes you,” Sherry said. “He’s a pretty good judge of character.”

“Well, he certainly is adorable,” Sarah said, rubbing his belly one more time.

“So how was shopping?” Jesse asked.

“Wonderful! Simply wonderful! So many good deals out there today,” Sherry answered. “I’m exhausted, though. I think I’m going to retire for a nap.”

“All right, I’ll keep an eye on Bailey for you.”

“You are such a good boy, Jess.” She reached over and pinched Jesse on the cheek. “An absolute angel.” She turned toward Sarah. “It was nice meeting you.”

“Nice meeting you.”

“You’ll be in good hands,” she said, winking at Jesse before heading upstairs with her bags of merchandise.

“She seems nice,” Sarah said after she had gone.

“She’s the best,” he said. “I can’t believe you guys ran into each other.”

“That is weird,” Sarah agreed. “So how much do I owe you?”

“It’s on the house.”

“I can’t do that. Please, let me pay for them,” she insisted.

“Are you kidding?” Jesse rubbed the top of his head. “You’ve already hit me in the head with a bag of dog food. I’m afraid of what you’d do if I actually charged you for these. Your intimidating mafia technique worked.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’m positive. Besides, I don’t charge old friends. It was nice seeing you again.” And there he was. That sweet boy she had fallen in love with ten years ago. A heart of pure gold. Time definitely hadn’t changed that.

“Yeah, it sure was good seeing you, Jesse.” Her eyes fell to the container of worms. She felt oddly sad that she had no excuse to stay. “Well, I guess I’ll see you around,” she said.