Paparazzo takes action
The day has started. Seth sat by the window. He took out his note pen, and scribbled down: Day 5, Friday, 3 December. Windy.
Seth was sitting at the orangery at his house. He scattered some bread crumbs on the tiles, and the birds are now eating and chirping merrily. Gloomy, for he was a little conscience-stricken over his juvenile action. The sound in his head could not stop condemning him for being an idiot, stalking an innocent girl for the fun of his getaway.
Emptiness formed a hollow in his stomach. He wasn’t here to stalk some girls to keep himself entertained. He was here to find peace. Or to find love, perhaps. He looked at the pictures of Jane Brown in his phone. Jane Brown, he thought. Why not?
He couldn’t see the reason why he cannot find love in Jane Brown. She was a good-hearted woman who helped the refugees. Seth liked the fact that she was living a transpicuous simple life, though too much information of Jane Brown scared Seth. He was scared that he started to like her.
But she doesn’t even know me.
His face was taut, causing by the difficult decision he had to make. He felt overawe because this is the first time he thinks he is serious. Tired of uncommitted, come-and-go relationship over the years, he wanted a real relationship this time. He promised to himself there will be no more playing around. He wanted a decent, nice woman who stays with him for the rest of his life. But the fear of commitment seized his determination. Commitment sounds scarier than anything to him - like a life time imprisonment.
He decided to follow her today. Just one last time.
Seth sat at the bench which allowed him to see Olive’s Flower Shop at a near distance. It was almost one in the afternoon, and he was expecting Jane Brown to come out from the shop anytime from now.
Two girls returned to the shop, Seth waited with full anticipation for his lady to come out. Please, please, come out, he prayed.
Yes! She came out with another girl, but they went separate way. It looked like they are not going to have lunch together, which is a good thing for him, sparing him the trouble of minding another person. Immediately he got up and followed behind.
Jane Brown was draped in a grey knee-length cardigan and a pair of navy blue jeans, and paced her way into the city centre.
What’s the hurry Jane?
Lowering his cap, Seth tried to appear as normal as he could. His mysterious lady didn’t go for lunch. Instead, she went into a department store. Of course, he trailed behind like a professional espionage. The task was a piece of cake for a veteran actor like Seth. From what he learned from acting was all about pretense, and he was adept in doing so - pretending to browse for a watch, pretending to look somewhere else, pretending to talk on the phone… he thought this was kind of fun although a little worried that he might be rumbled. He didn’t mean any harm, just a bit curious and wanting to find out more about her.
Of course, Jenna Cox, or Jane Brown had no idea that she was being surreptitiously followed by a famous actor.
Jenna had had her lunch in the shop. She brought a cheese and ham sandwich from home, another ingenious way of saving money so that she could have some extra pounds to spend on Christmas gifts. With an hour of free time, she decided to go for Christmas shopping today.
Firstly, a stuffed toy bear for Mia. It didn’t take her long to grab one from the toy section. Sitting on the top of the rack was a soft brown bear with white paws and a red ribbon tied around the neck. She thought it was adorable. She reached for it and hoped Mia would like her taste of choice.
What Jenna had in her hands was definitely descried by the paparazzo. So Jane Brown likes stuffed toys. Well, it is pretty normal for girls to like stuffed bears despite how old they are, he thought.
After paying for the bear, Jenna walked casually and stopped by the jewellery department. She was thinking she could get a nice necklace as a gift for herself, for Christmas. Scouring carefully with her eyes, a white gold and diamond necklace with a pearl gleaming under the light managed to allure her attention. She stroked the pearl gingerly with her fingertip. It was exquisitely beautiful. Then she reached for the price tag. Her eyes dilated, overawed with the whopping 2,200 pounds for a minuscule necklace.
“Wow,” she said in an undertone and walked away before the salesperson tried to talk her into buying it.
As soon as she had left, Seth picked up the very pearl necklace. “I’ll take it,” he said to the salesperson instinctively.
An only brother
Jenna felt rather satisfied today. Shopping for gifts always accelerates the cell of joviality within her for she enjoys giving. She had got a stuffed bear for Mia, and a pair of goggles and swim cap for Stephen. She planned to visit the bookshop for Hannah’s present tomorrow since she was running out of time today. She spent too much time at the mall, there were just too much to see especially during Christmas sales. Not only things becomes less expensive, they were more attractive too; adorned with sparkly ribbons and all the winter wonderland little fellows.
Apart from Mia and Stephen’s presents, Jenna also bought a knitted purple scarf for Katie, and a cute mug with ‘I’m hot!’ printed on it for Emma. As for Claire, she literary had no idea. Maybe a box of chocolate will do, she thought.
Ethan.
Jenna missed Ethan. She was hoping he would come over for Christmas. She would make the best Christmas dinner for him if he comes. Mom and dad are going to spend a hot Christmas in Brunei, he was the only family she had during Christmas. She couldn’t even remember when was the last complete family gathering. Was it last year? No. Last year she flew to mom and dad, and Ethan didn’t go.
“Ethan,” she called out softly, followed by a mournful sigh. She was aching to see him. She hadn’t seen him for more than a year, or maybe two. The last time they saw each other was in Birmingham. He worked in an accounting firm Monday to Friday office hour. At night he worked as a part-time barista in an upscale restaurant. Jenna took a train to Birmingham and had lunch with him. He was cadaverous, and gaunt looking. His eye bags were darker than she remembered. She reckoned he hadn’t been sleeping well. Having two jobs wasn’t easy, he must be having a tough time in Birmingham. But Ethan was a very sensitive guy, so she didn’t ask much about his personal life.
She decided to send a text over, intending to invite him to come over for Christmas dinner. ‘Hey E.T. How are you doing lately? Do you want to come over for Christmas?’
E.T. was Ethan’s nickname she had given him when they were young. Jenna left her phone on the table, hoped to see his reply after taking her shower. She came out of the bathroom and looked at the time. Fifteen minutes passed, there was no reply. She slipped her feet into the pink fluffy slippers and went downstairs to do her laundry. The table was covered with crumbs and the stove needed some cleaning. While waiting for Ethan, Jenna did as much chores as she could.
An hour passed, still no text from Ethan. The ever elusive Ethan. It was typical of him. It is better for her to not store too much hope, chances are slim. She turned off the lights, and mounted the stairs to her room in heavy steps.
The images of her brother appeared in her head. There were lots of precious memories of them. Her brother was closer to her than her parents. If she could turn back time, she thought, she would persuade her parents to accept Edna’s offer to let them live with her instead of boarding schools.
Life could be different. Life could be a bit more normal, with more fragrance of ‘family’. They would enjoy Edna’s home cooking instead of crummy cafeteria food. They would have their own rooms instead of sharing with weird roommates. They would go out and do things during the weekend together, then Ethan wouldn’t get himself into mingling with the wrong friends.
Thoughts are just thoughts, time can never be turned back. Those wistful memories will always remain as a part of her. The future is what matters the most right now. That familiar frightening qualm of hopelessness haunts her every time she thinks about the future, or anything wonderful. She buckled under despair and reality. Nothing is fairy tale. Mom was too busy to read her a princess story with happy ending. Dad had read them stories however, more like Jack and the beanstalk and Three little pigs kind of stories. It would be even more interesting if the pigs were eaten by the wolf, Ethan once said. Jenna had to agree with him. If you think your life is going a monotonous route, you might probably have to go through an ill-starred journey to make it more interesting.