Jenny climbed out of Lavon's PT Cruiser, wondering how he'd talked her into "letting" him give a ride home. He'd made it very clear he was taking her home.
She wondered if he would have put her in the trunk if she'd kept protesting! Now, Jenny didn't mind a ride home if the weather was bad, and she was on the way, but she knew Lavon lived across town. He had to get back home before his youngest came home from preschool. His wife worked nights, and she needed her sleep.
Jenny sighed as she opened the gate. Charlie's car still sat in the driveway, like he paid the mortgage. Well, in a sense, he did, and who could beat 2.5 acres at $680 a month? She glanced next door at the junkyard. Looked like a quiet day. She'd planted climbing vines on the solid metal fence, and it had seemed to work. They looked far more cheerful, covered by morning glories, ivy, and jasmine.
On the other side, right by the fence line, she had Mr Johnson and his dying pine tree. She prayed and prayed, everytime it rained. Please don't fall on my house. She'd asked him to cut it, but he had a lot of money troubles. Now he was in the hospital, again, after yet another dialysis related infection.
She glanced back at the house. The sagging porch glared at her accusingly. "I know, I know" she murmured at her poor tired house. The light blue paint was beginning to peel off the eaves. "Hang on a little longer."
Jenny was no fool. Her house was a wreck. She snorted. So was her life!
She opened the front door, glancing back. Lavon waved.
"Don't worry," he'd told her. "I won't leave unless you come out and wave. If you don't wave, in 5 minutes, I'm going in." She'd protested. "Look, I don't trust that man. You won't say what he did but it's clear he hurt you. I won't let him do it again."
Lavon was quite the big brother, she mused. All God's family. She stepped inside.
She was greeted by the smell of chicken broth from the crock pot, two cats, and the sound of snoring. She stepped back out and waved. Lavon drove off.
She'd had a lot of traffic, Jenny mused. First Charlie, then Jeff, now Lavon. She had to get out there and mow the yard! She glanced at the goats browsing out back, fenced away from her gardens. "Too bad I can't use you up here" she mused. She'd love to try, but they'd probably eat her passionflower.
Passion. She snorted. That had been a while. She sighed. Had Charlie come for some kind of booty call? She scratched her head. It's possible, she guessed. After all it had been 5 years. For all she knew he was into really wierd stuff now... or maybe he'd decided she wasn't worth the bother.
Jenny held her head in her hands, convinced she was getting a migraine now. AGH. She looked around the living room. Everything seemed fine, a navy blue loveseat and floral recliner recliner placed at right angles, facing the small television.
She snickered as she remembered the robbery - they'd broken in and left her television behind. Not even a crackhead wanted it! She wondered, again, why they'd chosen her house. Out of the houses available, hers was the smallest and poorest. She shrugged and checked on the laundry. The spin cycle had failed again, so she patiently reset the knob and coaxed it into performance. She wasn't above praying over it, either.
The dryer was almost done. She could run it for half an hour when she woke up. For now, though, she was beat.
Jenny wrote a note: C. I got home from work at 11 AM, please don't make any noise until after 8 PM. My other job starts at 9:30 and I need my sleep. Thanks! When was he leaving? Please lock the door on your way out. - J.
Thank God for the breakfast tacos. She'd already taken her pills, so she could go right to sleep. She checked her reusable water bottle - still full. Good.
She fell asleep quickly, a purring, one-eyed kitten on her chest.
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