And Along Came Jake

by Vaca, Christopher

  Mr. Brierly asked Madison to go to the barn and bring Jake back to the house so he could talk with both of them about their dates.

  Unknown to Jake, Madison was witnessing the show of her life as she arrived at the old barn. She overheard Jake talking to someone, but no one responded, and it seemed as though Jake was answering his own questions. Madison quickly figured out what was going on, as she actually did the same thing earlier that morning, pretending to be on her date with Chad.

  She peeked in through a crack in the barn and saw Jake talking to his imaginary date, acting like such a gentleman. She quickly cupped her hands over her mouth, to try and conceal her laughter.

  She watched him grab a blanket from his bed, pop it out, and observe it slowly float to the ground; he then went over to where he presumed Misty to be, and as a gentleman would, helped his imaginary date sit on one side of the blanket.

  He picked up an old crate, representing a picnic basket, sat down, pretended to take out an abundance of food; winking at his imaginary date, feeding her strawberries.

  "Oh, you want to feed me strawberries too?" he asked "That'd be just fine."

  Jake closed his eyes and opened his mouth to receive the imaginary strawberry, but was startled when he heard someone giggling outside. Jake quickly stood up, knocked the crate away, and tossed the blanket back on his bed. When he opened the door, he saw Madison doubled over, laughing harder than ever.

  "Can you feed me strawberries, too?" She chuckled, mocking him.

  Jake could feel his face instantly flush; he put his hands in his pockets and leaned against the doorway trying to keep his cool.

  "What are you talking about Maddie?" he asked

  "Oh come on Jake!" She laughed "I saw everything. Here's how you looked when you were being fed the strawberry."

  Madison leaned over, closed her eyes, opened her mouth and moved her lips up and down, then began laughing once more. When she opened her eyes she noticed Jake was gone. She stopped laughing, stood in the open doorway and saw Jake sitting on his bed, fidgeting, picking lint off of his pants.

  "I'm sorry Jake" She said, folding her arms and leaning against the door frame. "I didn't mean to––"

  "Didn't mean to what?" he exclaimed "Didn't mean to barge in while I made a fool of myself? I've never been on a date before, I don't know what to do."

  "Hey, I've never been on a date either, "she reassured." and to be honest––umm, never mind."

  "You did the same thing, didn't you?" He asked, cracking a smile. "You pretended you were with Chad, right?"

  "Yes, I'm guilty" She said, covering her face with her hands. "I'm so embarrassed too, because pa walked in as I was finishing an imaginary slow dance with Chad."

  They both had a good laugh, then made their way back to the house to be lectured by Mr. Brierly. As they walked, they made a pact with one another, Jake would watch Madison and Madison watch Jake, then when their dates were over, they'd critique one another letting the other know how they did.

  Mr. Brierly was sitting outside on the porch cleaning his fingernails with his pocketknife, when they arrived at the house. Both seventeen year olds stood in front of him, waiting to hear what advice he had.

  "Now I want y'all to have a good time today, but I also want you both to look after the other."

  Jake opened his mouth to speak, but before he could say anything, Mr. Brierly pointed at Jake. "Now, let me finish, I want you to watch out for my Madison, and Madison, I want you to tell me if this young man gets out of line with Marcy, Missy or whatever her name is. I want you close enough to see each other. I know a lot of couples go to the park on Saturdays for their romantic picnics; I just want y'all to have a good time and look out for one another, okay?"

  Mrs. Brierly walked outside with two picnic baskets full of food. Madison and Jake smiled, and each grabbed a basket. Mr. and Mrs. Brierly watched the two teenagers walk away, heading toward the park. Mr. Brierly smiled, put his arm around his wife, reminiscing how it was to be a teenager.

  "You remember those days, babe?" he asked.

  "I remember like it was yesterday." she answered gazing up at her husband.

  <><><>

  As they walked together, Jake grabbed Madison's basket to lighten her load. She smiled, and thanked him for being such a gentleman. After about twenty minutes they reached the park, already filled with couples.

  Jake returned Madison's basket, and both of them scanned the crowd for their date. Madison quickly spotted Chad, sitting on a blanket.

  "There's Chad" she said. "I guess I'll head over."

  "There's a spot close to y'all." Jake said, continuing to scan the crowd for his date. "I'll go and place our blanket over there."

  "Don't worry Jake." Madison said, rubbing his arm. "She'll be here, I'm sure of it."

  Madison walked over to Chad, said hello, then sat down on the blanket and started to remove items from the basket. Still searching the crowd, Jake finally saw Misty, in her hands, a basket of her own. Misty also searched through the crowd, trying to locate Jake.

  He stood up and began waving his arms to get Misty's attention.

  "You look great Madison!" Chad said, slightly leaning towards her.

  "Thanks Chad." She replied, blushing. "That's very sweet of you."

  "Is that Misty McFarland?" Chad said, surprised. "I had no idea she'd be here!"

  "Oh, yes" said Madison slightly upset. "And look at that, she's with Jake Patterson, what a handsome devil."

  Chad cleared his throat and continued to take food from the basket, spreading it on the blanket. Madison rearranging things as Chad took them out. Meanwhile, Jake and Misty said their hellos and began preparing their picnic as well.

  "I wonder who all is here?" Misty asked, curiously glancing around.

  "I dunno." Jake said, shrugging his shoulders, and taking a bite of an apple. "This place is full of people."

  Misty grabbed Jakes arm tightly, his eyes opened wide, startled by Misty's sudden burst of emotion. But before he could ask her what caused her excitement, he saw her smile from ear to ear.

  "He's here, he's here!" She exclaimed "Chad Westfield's here! I knew it!"

  Jake quickly swallowed the piece of apple, stunned. "I thought you were on a picnic with me? and how'd you know he'd be here anyway?"

  "Oh Jake, please forgive me" she said. "I feel awful; I heard that Chad would be here with Madison Brierly, so when you asked me out, I thought I could make Chad jealous somehow, so that's why I agreed to have a picnic with you today. I'm really sorry Jake, I didn't mean to hurt you."

  Jake started to chuckle, but mainly to keep his composure. Misty joined in, although she was unsure what she was laughing about.

  <><><>

  Meanwhile, Madison was talking to Chad, but his attention seemed to be elsewhere. She began to snap her fingers in front of his face. "Are you even listening to me?" she asked.

  "Of course I'm listening to you!" He said, quickly.

  "Okay, well than what did I just say?"

  "Umm, what?"

  "Chad Westfield!" she exclaimed. "You aren't paying attention to a word I'm saying?"

  "I'm sorry, Madison." He said shamefully. "I need to admit something…see Misty McFarland sitting over there with Jake Patterson? I like her, and well––well I asked you out to make her jealous. When I found out that she would be here today I––" Chad paused, took a deep breath and continued "I'm so sorry Madison, you're really a sweet girl and I'm—"

  Before Chad could continue, Madison began to giggle; Chad was puzzled, how could someone laugh after hearing such news? Chad asked her what she was laughing about, but all he got were broken words and continued laughter.

  When Jake finally regained his composure, he took a deep breath and wiped joyful tears from his eyes. "Misty" he said "I'm so happy you like Chad, it actually makes me feel much better."

  Misty was puzzled; why would a boy ask her out, then be glad to learn she was interested in someone else? "I have a confe
ssion to make," he said. "I was working at Big Paul's yesterday with Madison; Chad walked in and asked her out, and for some reason I was jealous—I mean—she seemed so happy. That's when I decided to go to your house and ask you out. I asked you here hoping to make her jealous, I'm sorry Misty, I was being selfish."

  Misty covered her mouth and started to giggle. "Well, aren't we horrible?"

  "At least I don't feel so bad anymore." he said as he joined in laughter.

  <><><>

  Meanwhile, Madison finally stopped laughing and cleared her throat. "Chad" she said. "I believe I owe you an apology as well. You see, when you came into Big Paul's store yesterday to ask me out, I first wanted to say no, but when I saw Jake in the back, I thought it might make him jealous, so I said yes. Well, when I found out he would be here with Misty, it made me jealous, so––well––Chad I'm real sorry."

  "This may be the oddest date I've ever been on." Chad said shaking his head and laughing.

  For the next few minutes, Misty talked to Jake about Chad, Chad talked to Madison about Misty, Madison was telling Chad all about Jake, and Jake told Misty everything he liked about Madison.

  All the while, each person would glance over at the one they were truly interested in. As for Jake and Madison, this was the first time they'd expressed feelings for one another to someone else. It seemed they could no longer contain themselves; they began talking about how much they liked the other, and couldn't stop. It felt good; like water gushing from a broken dam.

  Jake noticed Chad got up and headed to the bathrooms, which had a long line. "Here's your chance!" Jake said, giving Misty a nudge. "Why not try and make small talk with him?"

  "Oh no, Jake!" she said, as her heart began to race. "I couldn't, I'm just too nervous."

  Jake remembered something Big Paul told him a while ago.

  "Misty" he said "Big Paul told me something once, about opportunity. He said opportunity is like a fast dog with a stubby tail. When it's running toward you, you need to grab it while you can, because if not, by the time you decide to turn around and catch it by the tail, it'll be long gone, and you'll never see that dog again!"

  Misty thought about the truth in the odd analogy, took a deep breath and nodded her head. "Okay Jake, wish me luck, here I go!" she excused herself and reluctantly walked toward the bathrooms and stood in line behind Chad Westfield.

  As Jake and Madison sat on their respective blankets, they began to glance and make faces at one another. Jake found a small pebble, and lightly tossed it in Madison's direction. She giggled, blushed, and tossed it back.

  "How are things going with Misty?" Madison asked loud enough for Jake to hear.

  Jake heard her question perfectly, but pretended not to as he cupped his hand over his ear. "What did you say?" he yelled back.

  "I said, how are things going with Misty?" She reiterated, leaning over, saying it a little louder.

  "What? I still can't understand you!" Jake said continuing his charade.

  Madison was on to him, and decided to play along. She knew he wanted her closer, so she softly smiled, put her hair behind her ears, stood up, and walked over to Jake and sat across from him.

  As Jake watched her slowly sit, it was as if he was seeing her beauty for the first time. He remembered that summer day when he saw her and her mother going into the clothing store, when he was only twelve. He remembered how she caught him looking at her, then placed her gloved hand over her mouth as she giggled. He also remembered her mother guiding her into the clothing store saying 'Madison Brierly, we don't associate with folks such as young Jake Patterson.' Jake quickly snapped back to reality when his ears caught the sweetest voice in the world.

  "Hey Jake" she said. "I asked how things were going with Misty?"

  <><><>

  Meanwhile, Chad and Misty were in line waiting to use the bathroom, and Chad was fully aware Misty was behind him, his actions showed that very well. He was fidgety and couldn't stand still; he wanted to talk to her, but was too nervous.

  Misty stood behind him, tapping her fingers on her small clutch purse, hoping to get Chad's attention. As the line grew shorter and shorter, Misty remembered what Jake said about opportunity. She took a deep breath, smiled, and purposely dropped her small purse, which hit Chad's left heel.

  Startled by the movement, Chad turned to see what hit him. He saw the small purse on the ground and wondered what to do. Misty stood there, hoping he'd pick it up and make conversation. She felt a jump in her heart as Chad slowly bent down to grab it, and noticed he was shaking like a leaf when he turned to hand it to her.

  "Thank you Chad!" she said, her voice quivery, taking the purse from his shaky hands.

  He knew he had to say something quick or he would blow his chance. He tried to remain calm and quickly thought of something to say. "Po noblem Misty,—I mean no problem Misty." He immediately corrected himself, and felt his cheeks flush in embarrassment.

  "So" She said giggling. "I noticed you're here with Madison, how's that going?"

  With that, Chad and Misty excused themselves from the line, stood off to the side, and began talking. While both couples had a few minutes alone together, they each told the other their story how they used the picnic to make the other jealous. After a few minutes, Chad and Misty walked to the picnic area, noticing Jake and Madison sitting together, laughing and eating.

  As Chad and Misty sat on the unoccupied blanket, all four looked at one another, and started to laugh and exchanged stories. When it was all out in the open, and everyone was comfortable with the situation, the dates resumed with their intended partner.

  The date continued into the early evening, and the once crowded picnic area, had only a handful of couples left. Chad and Misty were the next to leave; they stopped to say goodbye to Jake and Madison, and to wish them luck with their new found love.

  Chad and Misty walked completely out of sight, as the sun began to slowly slip off the horizon, directly behind Madison. "So Jake" she said looking back to admire the setting sun. "What do we do now? How do we tell my parents?"

  "Why don't we cross that bridge when we come to it?" He suggested.

  Madison nodded and smiled, as they slowly leaned forward, both closed their eyes and kissed for the first time. That kiss seemed to last forever, one neither Jake nor Madison will ever forget. Although beautiful, the moment was rudely interrupted by the park's security guard, walking the park.

  "Okay love birds!" The guard instructed "It's time to go on home now; park's closing in five minutes."

  Jake gave the guard mean look and was slightly upset. The guard smiled at Jake, tipped his hat, and walked to another couple, asking them to leave as well.

  "I wish I had something to give you, Maddie" Jake said gathering their things "But I have nothing."

  Jake thought for a minute, had an idea and began to search on the ground. He picked up a small rock, about the size of a marble and inspected it. He noticed its smooth texture, and how it had streaks of pink, white, and brown all mixed together. He wiped it off, smiled, and gave it to his new girlfriend.

  "Here Madison, take this. It's a small token that lets you know I will always be faithful to you…well, until I can get you a ring or necklace or something."

  "It's perfect Jake!" she said, as her eyes welled up. She took the small stone and put it close to her heart. "I will always keep it with me."

  Madison looked down and likewise found a smooth, nicely colored rock. It was brown with a few specs of white, and looked to be the same size as the one she'd received.

  "And this, is a token that I will be faithful to you." she said, handing him the rock. They both smiled, and started to walk back to the Brierly's hand in hand; stopping every few minutes to kiss.

  <><><>

  Mr. and Mrs. Brierly were sitting on the front porch drinking iced tea and waiting for them. They were excited to hear how their dates went. Jake and Madison sat outside with her parents, and proceeded to tell them the whole story, from start t
o finish, leaving out the part about their kiss.

  Jake and Madison were prepared to get an ear full from her parents, however, what they thought would be a scolding was surprisingly an approval.

  "I wondered what took y'all so long." Mr. Brierly said putting his hand on Jake's shoulder. "Jake, I'll be honest, I didn't like you at first, but you've grow on us, and I think my daughter has chosen a good guy. Treat her well, and don't do anything stupid—or else!" He looked at his daughter and resumed "Madison, I love you honey, with all my heart, and I'm happy you're happy. Your mother and I have seen the interest for Jake in your eyes. As a matter of fact, we were discussing it tonight, and wondered how long it would take y'all to finally get together."

  They all heard footsteps, and noticed Big Paul walking up holding a small box of books recently borrowed from Mrs. Brierly. He greeted everyone, and handed the box to Mrs. Brierly. "Did I do something wrong?" Big Paul asked, noticing the grin on their face. "What am I missing here?"

  Mrs. Brierly took the box and set it on the ground. "It seems Madison and Jake have officially became a couple, Big Paul."

  "Is that so?" he said, smiling from ear to ear. "Y'all will make a wonderful couple, maybe the best in town."

  "Awe, thanks Big Paul" Madison said, giving him a hug. "Any words of advice?"

  As Mrs. Brierly poured him a glass of iced tea, Big Paul looked at the new couple, now sitting together and holding hands.

  "You know" Big Paul started "The best thing about starting a new relationship is, everything's new. Your first kiss; the first romantic walk, your first time introducing yourself as a couple, and so many more firsts are ahead of you. My advice is this; always keep the firsts close to your heart. Make each kiss seem like your first, every time you introduce yourselves as a couple, every romantic walk, even your first argument—