Chapter 4

I was a hundred and one percent sure I was dreaming. In the dream, my grandmother was standing in the kitchen, cooking breakfast for me.

“Oh, honey, you’re up. Now, have some breakfast before leaving.”

She set the plates up on the counter and gave me two pieces of bacon and an egg.On most days, I’d grab a piece of bacon and munch right away. But not today. I wrapped my arms around my grandmother and hugged her tight.

“Oh,” she said with a giggle. “Bad dream?”

I nodded with my head still on her shoulder.

“Sssh.” She patted my back gently and pulled me even closer. “Bad dreams, bad dreams, go away. Good dreams, good dreams, here to stay.”

She let go of me to stare into my eyes. My grandmother was beautiful. The wrinkles around her eyes just made her look old. But she was so beautiful. I hoped that when I grow old myself, I’d be as beautiful as she was.

“Vera, good dreams never go away. And so do the people who love you. Remember that, okay?”

I nodded as I ate breakfast with her. The smell of her freshly brewed coffee filled the air and I was enjoying the beautiful morning. But then, three knocks on the front door grabbed our attention and it —

I woke up to the sound of my phone ringing. Who could be calling this early? Groaning, I rolled to the side, pulling the covers over my head. I was sure it was a Saturday. Sleeping in would be best on weekends. And it was illegal to wake someone up so early on a weekend.

Too sleepy to check who it was, I just answered the call with a groggy voice.

“Hello.”

“WAKE UP.” It was Nelson.

“Hey,” I replied weakly. “What do you want?”

“I’m outside your door, and so is Jackson Young.”

“What?!”

I got up instantly and rushed to the window to check who was outside. And oh my gosh, Nelson wasn’t joking. Without checking myself out in the mirror, I rushed to open the door. To my surprise, Nelson was chuckling with Jackson as they were having a fun conversation.

“Hey,” I said. “Why —“

“So you watched a movie with him last night?” Nelson interrupted me with his left eyebrow raised so high that I was afraid it would get caught in his hair. “And you didn’t invite me?”

Stealing glances at Jackson who just shrugged, I couldn’t find the right words to say to Nelson.

“I am hurt, Ver.” Nelson said dramatically. “Really hurt,”

Rolling my eyes, I replied, “Oh, come on. It all happened so fast anyway.”

“But still, you could’ve called me! Right, Jackson?” He turned to Jackson who just nodded innocently.

“Oh please, I know you’re busy swiping right at night. I didn’t want to bother you.”

“Excuse me! I had already stopped checking dating apps for a week now,” he said proudly. “Besides, a text or a chat would’ve sufficed. You could’ve just sent me a picture of the ticket.”

“You told him about the ticket?” I asked Jackson.

“Well, we got to talking.” Jackson seemed to be enjoying all this too.

“Fine. Next time then.” I told Nelson.

“So, there’s a next time?” Jackson, really amused by the whole situation, decided to butt in.

Flustered, I wasn’t able to respond right away. Nelson, who was so enthused by everything, did all the talking.

“Yes! And tonight would be great. Are you available tonight, Jackson? Because Vera’s free. So am I. Let’s watch a movie tonight! I’ll add you both to a group chat.”

Jackson stared at me and said, “As long as she makes the popcorn, I’m down.”

Surprised, Nelson gaped at me like he couldn’t believe what he just heard.

“You. Made. Him. Popcorn.”

“I — it was just popcorn!” I defended myself. Popcorn wasn’t even that difficult to make.

“You’ve never made me food,” Nelson replied. “This is twice as painful as not inviting me to the movie last night.”

“Stop being overdramatic, Nelson.”

Jackson broke into a chuckle and caught both Nelson’s attention and mine.

“You guys are really cute,” he said. “Wish I also had a best friend.”

“You can have Vera,” Nelson said with much excitement. “She loves you more than she loves me.”

“Nelson!” I felt my cheeks flush again. Nelson definitely wants to give me away.

“Anyway, I’m off to getting a swab test. Company protocol. I’ll see you guys later. Movies, okay? Don’t leave me out again.” Nelson shot a warning look at both me and Jackson as he left my front porch.

“I’m sorry about him,” I said with a shy smile. “He’s always like that.”

“He’s nice,” Jackson replied. “He’s fun to be around with. Great conversationalist too.”

“He really is,” I agreed. “So, what are you here for? It’s a Saturday morning. Didn’t sleep in?”

“Well, I don’t sleep in,” he said. “And I figured if you wanted to join the community meeting tomorrow.”

“Oh.”

In all my years in Addersfield, I had never attended a single meeting. My grandmother was an active member of the community. But when she passed away, I secluded myself from everyone else, and didn’t participate in any community activity.. But maybe I can join this year. I’m sure my grandmother would like that.

“Sure. Can I bring Nelson?”

“I was hoping you’d say that. I think we need someone like him too,” Jackson said.

“Okay, sure. We’ll see you then. Just send us an invite.”

We both nodded and there was this dead air between us. I didn’t know what to say next. Slightly panicked, I blurted out an invitation.

“Do you want to come inside for some coffee?”

I wanted to take it back as soon as I said it. Jackson stood there, frozen. I couldn’t read his eyes and his expression. What was he thinking? Should I just cancel the invitation? Or —

“I would love to.”

Oh.

“Okay, come in.”

I motioned for him to come inside, and so he did.

“Nice place,” he commented. “Very warm.”

Looking around, I agreed to what he said. When my grandmother died, I didn’t want to change anything inside the house. I wanted everything as is. Because this way, I could preserve many memories I had with my grandmother. And whenever I look around, I would be able to feel her still — her warmth, her presence.

This was all her.

“Gran did all this,” I said. “Whenever we had visitors come over before, they would always say that the house feels warm — very welcoming.”

“Well, it still is,” Jackson said.

I shook my head. “No, it’s different now. I mean, it’s not as it was before. Gran lit up the place.”

“And now, you do.”

I stared at him as I felt all warm inside. Was that a compliment? Or just a plain comment? I didn’t know.

Breaking off the eye contact we just had, I immediately remembered the coffee.

“Oh, the coffee.”

I rushed to the kitchen and placed two mugs on the counter. Jackson just watched as I made a fresh brew using the coffee beans I got online from Colombia.

“Wow, that smells good,” Jackson commented as he sniffed the air, taking all the coffee scent.

“You like it? I just got these bag of beans. I haven’t tried this before so you’re trying this with me,” I said with a huge smile on my face.

And as soon as Jackson took a sip of his coffee, his eyes widened in delight. “Wow. This is good. Like really good.”

He grabbed the bag of beans and checked the details as he mouthed “Colombia”. I didn’t realize I was just staring at him the whole time until his eyes met mine. Embarrassed, I quickly looked down at the coffee cup in my hands and quickly thought of another topic to talk about.

“So, what do you usually do on weekends?” I asked. It was a common question, but it was all I had.

“Before the pandemic, I used to visit my mom in her new home. She remarried and now she’s living with her new family. Now, I do practically anything. Watch movies, play video games, monitor stocks, listen to music — anything really.”

“Oh,” was all I could reply. I didn’t know what else to say. This was something so personal that I didn’t want to pry.

“Somehow, I’m grateful of the lockdown and this quarantine stuff,” he continued. “Then, I wouldn’t be forced to be in good terms with her new husband.”

I just nodded as he kept speaking.

“You can ask questions, you know.” He finally said it.

“Well, honestly, I wanted to ask a lot of things but I didn’t want to intrude or anything.”

With a smile, Jackson said, “It’s okay, really. Ask away.”

“What happened to your real dad? Where is he?”

Jackson’s eyes fell to his own coffee cup and went silent for a while. Did I ask the wrong question? Now I was embarrassed. But he did say I could ask away.

“My dad,” he started. Rubbing his temples, he continued, “he — I never saw him again when he divorced my mom.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be.” Jackson’s smile didn’t reach his eyes. I shouldn’t have asked anything and just allowed him to speak whatever he wanted to talk about.

We both fell silent now.

Was he uncomfortable?

I didn’t know what else to say. I didn’t know if I should comfort him. I seriously had no idea what to do. Yet as soon as I finished my coffee cup, I decided to tell him my story.

“When I was young, my parents died in a car accident.” His eyes shot up and his stare met mine. I just smiled and continued. “Apparently, a sink hole appeared out of nowhere. Then this huge truck swerved to the right side to avoid the hole, and hit my parents’ car.”

“I’m so sorry to hear that, Vera.”

“Don’t be,” I replied, and a smile formed his lips and we just sat there in silence as he finished his coffee. “Sometimes we think we are standing on rock solid ground. Funnily and unexpectedly, life throws us sink holes. We either fall into them or survive them.”

“I guess, we should just be careful not to fall into one,” Jackson said, a smile creeping up his face. “Well, thank you for the coffee, which was amazing by the way, and for the — uh, talk.” He got up and I followed him to the front door.

“Anytime.”

His eyebrow raised almost instantly after my reply. “Don’t say that.”

“What?”

“Anytime.”

“Why?”

“Because I may just find myself standing in front of your porch waiting for you to open the door and invite me in.”

I let out a giggle. I couldn’t help myself. And so did Jackson.

“Don’t worry. I’ll invite you over again soon.”

“I’ll be looking forward to that,” he said with a wink which left my heart fluttering again.

I watched as he made his way to his lawn and to his door. Before he went in, he waved at me and I smiled.

It was a great morning.

When my grandmother was alive, I’d have conversations over coffee with her. She’d tell me about her teenage life, and how she’d sneak out at night to meet this guy on a tree house. She’d recall her memories and tell me all about it. And I missed those conversations. I missed those stories.

I missed my grandmother.

But today, I felt hopeful. I felt warm. And thanks to Jackson for that.