The morning was characteristically silent, the majority of the townspeople to only to rise for the day ahead in a few hours. Jessi's leave would go relatively unnoticed for the time being. Nothing could obstruct them now.
Hensley's scientific instinct was tempted to pry into Jessi's feelings about finally being outside, but he held his questions at bay. He was content for the moment to watch her rich palette of reactions to the car. She fiddled unsuccessfully with the seat belt and eventually accepted help from Hensley, choosing to look outside her window as he wrapped the strap around her shoulders. Everything was so green. It was shocking how much more she could now see from only just a few feet away from the home.
As the final arrangements were made and the car lurched to life, Jessi made it her goal to take in every single sight that had evaded her since her twentieth birthday.
She saw the bar (now turned laundromat) where her friends had taken her to drink on her last day of freedom. Jessi wondered what they had made of their lives. Nobody from the outside was allowed to communicate with her, save for doctors and repairmen.
She passed the park, where she had gotten her first kiss as an eager seven year old from the alpha male of the third graders. It was on a dare, but she didn't need to know that. Jessi still remembered being confused when the parents laughed at this and called it "ironic", a word she still didn't understand when she went home and looked it up in the big dictionary her mother used to keep on the coffee table.
The school looked relatively the same. Something about that comforted her.
It shocked her how small the town really was. It felt like only a few minutes until they were met with a sign wishing them a safe journey out of town, "come visit again soon!". That, Jessi could safely assume, was ironic.
If there was one thing Jessi could say about Safehollow's campus, it was that the place breathed. Townspeople weaved freely through parks and rich wildlife, armed with fishing rods and picnic baskets. The plants were alive and adorned with a spectrum of colors, from the birds and the variety of treehouses the citizens adored so deeply. From first impressions alone, Jessi knew that she had made the right decision. She didn't even care about the home at this point - she just wanted to explore the town.
Well, she still kind of cared about the house. When she had allowed Hensley the privilege to blindly select her future home, she was riddled with doubt soon after. These hesitations evaporated the minute Jessi thought that their ride had pulled up at the wrong house. When she was informed otherwise, she could scarcely believe it! Three stories high, the house was spacious enough for bedrooms, a stocked hobby room, a lovely nursery, and a pool.
She had tried to snap a lovely group shot of everyone - including Carlos - in front of the new home using Hensley as a eighth hand, but none of them looked particularly interested in staying still, least of all Jessi. When she had finally given up, all seven of them scattered in opposite directions, leaving Hensley with barely a word in edgewise. In any other circumstance, Jessi would have felt guilty, but the promise of entering a park for the first time in five years was too tantalizing.
The kids were quick to discover the treehouse in the backyard, but Kieran was quicker. He dashed up the ladder like a monkey, his sisters rolling their eyes at his out-of-place behavior. Secretly, though, both of them were planning how to cut in front of the other to be the next one up.
Meanwhile, Jessi was faced with the dilemma of figuring out exactly what to do. For years, she had dreamed of an opportunity like this, but now that she found her self face to face with the real thing, she had to think on her feet. So she took the first logical step and stole a fishing rod.
It was partially rusted and half buried in the bank mud, so she figured it was okay. Right?
It took a few minutes for the rod to fit comfortably in her hands, but the end result was worth it. Her first catch! It was small fry, but would make a great housewarming meal.
"Fishing" a few simoleons from her breast pocket, she then bought a small hamburger and contented herself with observing her now-neighbors. Jessi hoped that she didn't come off as creepy.
Hensley hadn't lied when he said that Safehollow was home to some oddities. But strangely, she was feeling more at home here than she had ever felt back in the old house. Relish in your freedom, she decided as she squeezed her third packet of ketchup onto her burger.
When she had arrived home, she was greeted by the smell of burning cheese.
"I really wanted to surprise you when you got home," Carlos explain solemnly. "And this was the only thing we had in the house. I figured since you were breaking so many roles of your legacy anyway you wouldn't mind me making food."
She pulled out the fish. "Plan B?"
He laughed, grabbing the saucepan and heading toward the nearest trashbin. "Plan B."
Everything was going smoothly.
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