(Josie Sayz: This is my most recent piece to my 'Jane Chronicles'. This ongoing series is loosely based on JM Barrie's 'Peter Pan'. Oh and I have no idea why Blogger has decided to format my writing in strange paragraphs.)
House Hunting
The car began to slow, as they pulled up at the front of a red light. Flickering her eyes from the traffic light to her mobile, in her lap, the red head prodded her thumb into the phone’s side button, illuminating the screen. “Jane, are you sure you want to look at a house on this side of town?” asked the man, with sandy-coloured hair in a sweeping quiff, sat in the driver’s seat.
“Uh huh,” Jane replied, sat beside him.
“You’ll have a five mile walk to work every day, you are aware,” he pointed out, as he tapped his fingers against the steering wheel. Pinching her lips in, Jane hummed in agreement, as she nodded. “I know you like walking,” he added, with a chuckle. “But I don’t want you worrying about the cost. We can afford to live on the other side of town, you know.”
“I know,” she sang.
“What about that house that I showed you, online, the other night?” he asked. “That one is next to a park too, a much bigger park at that,” he added. “And it has a big garden. Think of Rufus and all of the running around he could do.” Upon hearing his name, the golden retriever gave an excited bark, from his place on the back seat. “You’d only have a mile and a half walk to work, max, and it’s detached. The garage is converted, so you could have that little crafting room you’ve always dreamt of.” Letting out a soft giggle, Jane gave her driving companion’s elbow a gentle squeeze.
“Rob-ert,” she sang, giggling. “I know,” she told him, with a soft sigh. “We’re only going to look at this house. We’re not committing to buying it. I just…” Jane’s voice trailed, as she gazed out of the window.
“Does this have something to the road having the word ‘daisy’ in the name?” Robert asked, with a chuckle to his voice, as the traffic light changed to green, and they pulled away.
“Maybe. Kind of,” she muttered, with a frown.
“Because, you know, no matter what house we buy, we can apply to change its name to Daisy Cottage, if you really want to,” Robert told her. Curling a hand to her mouth, Jane let out a giggle. “Look, I just want you to be happy,” he said, with a forced smile, as he flickered her a glance. “And I don’t want you thinking we have to go for the cheapest place, okay? We can afford a mortgage for the other house.”
“I know,” she whispered back.
“I took this new job, so we could spend more time together. No more ten o’clock finishes. No more working all day on the weekends,” Robert went on. “I don’t want you spending all your time walking to and from work, when you could be home in twenty minutes. No more two and a half-hour commutes and long train journeys.”
“I know,” Jane muttered again. She forced a swallow, as her intestines spiralled into knots. “I really do appreciate you moving over thirty miles away, I promise I do,” she said, stiffening her shoulder blades and her brows slanted together as she sank into her seat. Jane’s heart hammered in her chest. Her stomach flopped. Sniffing, she shuffled herself away from Robert, to look out of the passenger window. An eruption lathered in the pit of Jane’s stomach. Lines wrinkled her brow, as she pulled her arms tight around herself.
The fields, barns and cobbled side streets that they drove passed, at the beginning of their journey, turned into villages full of houses and shops. Small bakeries and grocery shops soon became supermarkets and shopping centres, as they left the countryside behind and travelled towards Jane’s hometown, in the heart of Neverland.
As they pulled off the motorway and drove by a small field beside a pub, a white Ford Fiesta passed by the red head’s line of sight, sending a shudder down her spine. Jane forced a swallow at the lump in her throat, as stinging in the corners of her eyes caused her vision to blur. “I’m sorry,” she muttered, twisting back around to face her driving companion. “We can cancel,” she blurted out, her eyes wide. “We don’t have to go.”
“Don’t be silly,” Robert chuckled. “I know you really want to. It’s all you’ve been talking about all morning, and besides,” he added, “we can’t deny Rufus his play date with your mum. He gets so excited when she looks after him.” Realising where he was heading, Rufus’ head shot up from the seat he had been napping on and let out an excited bark. “We’ll still go and look around, but I want you to think logically here, okay? I’m making all these changes to make it easier to be with you, not for you to have to walk ten miles a day just to get to and from work,” Robert reminded her. “If this is what you really want, that’s fine,” he paused, as he swallowed at the lump that formed in his throat. “But please try to think of the long term,” he told Jane, as he placed a hand on her knee and gave it a quick squeeze, before returning his hand to the steering wheel. “Yes, you could look for another job, but I know you really like it there. I just-”
“I know,” said Jane, with a sharp tongue. Snapping her eyes shut, she inhaled a shaky breath, clenching her hands into fists on her lap. “I know,” she said with an exhale, as she fixed her eyes on a loose thread on her skirt. “I know,” she repeated in a whisper, shaking.
“Jane?” Robert cautioned, flickering her a glance. “Jane?” he repeated, worry creeping into his voice, as his throat tightened. “Please speak to me. I’ve never seen you like this, well, not since that first night you stayed over,” he reminded her, as he forced another swallow. “You went quiet on me, and I held onto you until you fell asleep and we promised to always talk to each other when something was wrong. No secrets. No bottling things up. I hate seeing you upset,” he muttered. “Do you need me to pull over?”
“No,” she sniffed, tightening her grip around herself and daggering her nails into her biceps. “I’m fine.”
“Okay,” mumbled Robert, as his shoulders deflated. “I’m right here,” he reminded her, as he placed a hand to her knee, giving it another quick squeeze, before returning his hand to the steering wheel once more. “Whatever is going through your mind, you can tell me. We can talk. Nothing is ever off limits, you know that. We can double back to that pub we passed. There’s an island up ahead.” Shaking her head, Jane sniffed, as she scrubbed her fists to her eyes, bumping her glasses up her nose.
“I’m sorry,” Jane managed to murmur. “I just want everything to be okay.”
“And it will be,” replied Robert, prodding the right corner of his mouth up. “Any house will be perfect, so longs as I’m with you.”
“Thank you,” she squeaked, beaming back at Robert, with blotchy cheeks and sparkling eyes.
“I wish I could hug you right now,” Robert confessed, as his brows slanted upwards.
“I told you, I’d make you like cuddles,” Jane giggled, curling a hand to her mouth.
“I’ll always accept cuddles from you,” he beamed back. “Bonus if they’re naked cuddles,” he added, with a wink. Feeling her cheeks burn, Jane pressed the backs of her fingers against them, as she giggled.
*
Having dropped Rufus off at her mum’s, Jane remained silent throughout the remaining journey to the house viewing. The spiralling in her stomach increased, as they drove along a familiar road that she had walked thousands of times, when she had been with Peter Pan. Memories of her old life fluttered to the front of Jane’s mind. Walks in the Kensington Gardens and Hangman’s Park, with Peter and Wendy’s dog, Barrie. Blanket fort picnics in the back garden. Snuggled up movie sessions on a rainy day. Feeling safe, and warm, when he rescued her from her troubles at home. Fun adventures in the computer game that he had designed. The excitement and laughter they shared, as they sat in his office room, bouncing story ideas off each other. The bubbling of excitement in Jane’s stomach at Peter’s beaming smile, as he got just as excited about her story ideas as she did, caused a dreamy sigh to escape her. Warmth tingled from Jane’s heart, spreading throughout her body. Giving her fingers a wiggle, as they tingled, Jane pinched in her lips, in attempt to hide her glowing cheeks from Robert. She flickered a glance in her partner’s direction, as they drove beneath a bridge. Jane’s heart panged, as a sad exhale escaped her. ‘I miss that,’ she told herself, closing her thoughts off from her reminiscing daydream, as her eyes dropped to her lap. ‘I miss having a friend,’ she told herself, with another sad sigh. Thoughts of their adventures, and Peter’s friendship, danced their way back to the front of her mind, as they drove on.
*
The houses grew smaller. With the barns and farmland long gone, even the detached and semi-detached properties from the edge of the village, where Jane’s mum lived, grew few and far between, as rows of narrow terrace houses and blocks of apartments came into view. Flickering a glance around at his surroundings, Robert’s intestines began to knot, as they drove past two boarded up buildings. A vicious bark sounded, causing him to jump, as they drove around the corner. Anger snarled around Robert’s nostrils, as a gang of hooded youths encouraged their dog to growl at and chase an elderly man. As the road began to narrow, and they took a left, into a maze of old, rundown council houses, Robert forced a swallow at the police tape that wrapped between a tree, letterbox and the front gardens to three houses, on his right. Wood boarded up the windows of the upstairs window of a house on the opposite side of the road. Ahead, litter lined the street, as the melted, plastic casing of what was a litterbin lay overturned and misshapen, from a recent fire. Stiffening his shoulder blades, lines creased Robert’s brow. ‘The house is around this corner,’ he told himself, forcing a swallow, as he followed the satnav’s directions. Horizontal, metal bars lined all of the windows on the far stretch of the road. ‘I know I said anywhere would be home if I was with you, but I didn’t think it would be quite so rough,’ he thought, as the silence between them grew. ‘As a temporary means, it’s fine,’ he admitted, with an internal shrug. ‘But why would she purposely want to permanently live here, when she knows we can find a home elsewhere?’ Flickering Jane another glance, upon seeing her twisted away from him, tightening her arms around herself and shaking, Robert felt his heart drop to the pit of his stomach. ‘I’ve never seen her like this before,’ he realised. Robert’s shoulders deflated, as he exhaled a silent sad sigh.
*
Jane had never spoke of her old life to Robert. She had not seen the need to. When Jane and Robert met, it was a fresh start for both of them. They had one, small conversation, the first night that Jane stayed over, regarding her fear of Robert changing, of being abandoned, and he held onto her all night, in hopes of helping her let go of old fears from old troubles, old loves and to let whatever was to happen between them happen. They left the past in the past, or so Jane had thought she had. Since she moved her life thirty-six miles away, to Forgotten Hollow, to live with Robert, for the first time in three years since they had been apart, Jane had not given Peter Pan a single thought. That was until a few weeks ago, when Robert had given her a lift to work, and he had noticed someone was staring at them through a car window. It was Peter Pan, who had dropped off his fiancée, Bell, in the same carpark. Jane had heard that Peter was dating someone new and that they had become engaged very fast. She did not realise how much it bothered her, until she saw them together. Since that moment, Peter Pan crossed her mind more than she dared admit. Her heart was no longer panging for his love, but the loss of his friendship had left a huge hole in her heart. It was not her fault that the house next door to Peter Pan happened to go up for sale right as they began house hunting.
As they pulled onto Peter’s road, a sad sigh escaped Jane, as her shoulders sank. ‘Robert’s right,’ she realised. ‘This is an awfully long way away from work, now they’ve moved our office to the centre of town.’ The right corner of Jane’s mouth prodded down. ‘It’s not a crime to want to be friends with Peter, surely,’ she told herself. Lines wrinkled Jane’s forehead, as Robert pulled into a space to park the car along the roadside. ‘And Robert doesn’t need to know why I want to live here. It’s not like we’ll even see Peter today.’ As Robert fastened the crook lock around the steering wheel, a shudder crept up Jane’s spine, as her heart raced.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” Robert asked, holding a hesitant hand out towards Jane. “I don’t want to keep pushing you, if you need space,” he added, retracting his hand.
“I’m fine,” Jane muttered. As she flickered a glance over at Peter’s house, an explosion of butterflies fluttered in her stomach. Pictures of Peter Pan’s smiling face clouded her vision. Balling her hands into fists at her sides, Jane sniffed, swallowing a lump that lodged in her throat.
“I’m sorry,” Robert murmured, as his shoulders sunk. “I’ve just never seen you like this.”
Ignoring her partner, Jane unbuckled her seatbelt and hopped out of the car. Her sparkling eyes hovered over the bonnet of Robert’s Land Rover, resting upon his private numberplate. Inhaling a shaky breath, her heart hammered in her chest. She flickered a glance over the road. Warmth tingled Jane’s cheeks, as she gazed over at Peter’s home. A two-story house, with ivy creeping up the side, an arched front door and a white picket fence outlining the property sat at the end of the road, at the entrance to Hangman’s Park. Peter’s white Ford Fiesta, complete with dirt coating the boot, sat on the driveway. ‘We’re really here,’ Jane realised, her eyes shaking as she stared ahead at the house on the opposite side of the road. ‘Peter is within talking distance. What if I see him?’ she wondered dreamily. Her intestines swirled. ‘What if I do and he still hates me?’ she worried, as her bottom lip began to tremble. ‘You’re my best friend Peter. You were always my best friend, whether we were together or not,’ she thought, with a sniff. ‘I miss that. I miss you. Yes, I have Robert and I love him, I really do,’ a melancholy sigh escaped Jane, as her eyes wandered towards Robert, who stood facing the house they were about to look around. ‘It doesn’t mean I don’t want a friend.’ The right corner of Jane’s mouth prodded down, as she walked around the car to Robert’s side. ‘I want someone to talk about stories with and characters, who gets just as excited about my thoughts as I do. Robert doesn’t get that.’ Jane sniffed, scrubbing her blotchy face against the sleeve of her cardigan, before shuffling up alongside her partner.
Stepping to Robert’s side, Jane hugged her arms around his left bicep and rested her head against his shoulder. “I love you,” she whispered, with a sniff, squeezing his arm tight.
“Hey, I love you too. Okay?” he said, reaching over to give her left shoulder a gentle squeeze. Prodding her mouth into her cheeks, Jane nodded. “I was going to get us play a game, see how many dirty words we would fit in conversation, without anyone noticing,” he told her, with a chuckle, “but I can tell you’re not up to it today.” Humming, Jane gave Robert a tight squeeze. “Doesn’t mean I’m not going to try and make you laugh, or squirm,” he added in a whisper and a wink. The colour rushed to Jane’s cheeks as she exhaled a nervous laugh. “So, what’re your first thoughts?” Robert asked, as they looked over at the house opposite them.
A mirror image of Peter’s, the windows sat to the left, the door to the right, but instead of an archway, the front door was an ordinary rectangle. The driveway was plain tarmac, with enough room to fit two cars. The ivy that wrapped around Peter’s house had turned brown and crisp upon the mid-terrace, sandwiched between Peter’s house, on the left, and another on the right. Lines puckered Jane’s brow and her bottom lip pouted, as she stared ahead at the house that lacked so much character that had made her fall in love with Peter’s. Loosening her grip around Robert’s arm, a pang tugged at her heart. Warmth drifted to her back, as Robert rubbed his hand to the hollow of Jane’s back, before resting it on her bottom and giving it a squeeze, as a black mini, with the estate agent company logo on the side pulled over outside the house. Dropping her eyes to the ground, Jane did not register Robert’s gesture, as a knot twisted in the pit of her stomach ‘This house makes me feel sad,’ Jane realised, as a lot of the character that made her fall in love with Peter’s house was absent from the house next door. ‘I just want a friend… is that so bad?’ she sniffed, as she flickered her eyes between Peter’s house and the one next door.
“Are you ready?” Robert asked. Pinching her lips in, Jane nodded.
As they stepped inside the house, the excited bubbling that Jane had felt in her intestines all morning faded. Lines creased her brow, as they were lead over the threshold. ‘Of course, the house is backwards,’ she realised, as the staircase lay to the right of the front door, and the door to the living room to the left. ‘I have never lived in a house this was around before,’ she realised. Before Jane had the chance to say anything, the lady showing them around, led them straight into the living room.
“As you can see, it’s in need of a little TLC,” the estate agent told them, as she walked them through the living room. A teal carpet, imprinted with various circles and lines, from heavy furniture covered the floor. Motheaten patches of carpet bared the floorboards beneath in various spots throughout the room. Flickering her eyes up to the walls, Jane’s eyes darted from the peeling wallpaper, to the built-up lump of crumbling plaster, gathering behind a warped, botched wallpaper job, in what looked like a pregnant section of the wall.
As the estate agent led them through to the kitchen, a waft of damp saturated their nostrils. The lino, underfoot, puckered at their feet. Taking a step into the kitchen, Jane felt her shoes sinking into the floor. Warped, outdated cupboard doors, swung from their hinges. A rusted tap dripped with water, in the sink.
Leading them back through the living room and to the stairs, the estate agent warned, “Watch your step,” as they climbed up to the first floor. The carpet was worn and frayed at the edge of each step. Eerie creaks sounded as they each placed a foot up the stairs. Jane let out an involuntary squeak, as noticed an alcove in the next step up, where a dead mouse lay.
The master bedroom and box room were a mirror image of the living room, with the paint chipping from the old wooden, single framed window, in the back bedroom. Robert gripped a hand to the back of his neck and wrinkled his nose, as they pocked their head into the bathroom. Black mould coated the walls of the once white tiles. “It’s nothing we can’t fix,” Robert said, with a nervous chuckle, as Jane felt her heart sink further to the depth of her stomach, the more they looked around. “It has potential,” he added, with a shrug. “It’s bigger than the two rooms we currently have.” Catching Robert’s weak smile, Jane returned to hugging his arm, as they circled around the property once more alone without their chaperone, before the next couple arrived. “We can go,” Jane whispered, sniffing, trying to hide her disappointment from him. ‘I knew it was backwards. I knew an old couple lived here,’ she scolded herself, as they thanked the estate agent for showing them around. ‘I know we could make it look nice, it's just not the same,’ Jane sighed, as she felt her energy drain.
Stepping outside, Jane laced the fingers of her right hand through Robert’s left, as she gazed up at the patchy clouds. Water sploshed nearby. Jane felt her arm stretch, as Robert took a step forward. “Nice to meet you,” beamed Robert over the fence, as a tall man, with dark, curly hair sploshed a soapy sponge against the bonnet of his white Ford Fiesta.
“You too,” smile the man, with a nod, as he straightened his back. Dropping his sponge back into his bucket of water, the man took a step towards the fence. Hearing a familiar voice, Jane’s heart leapt, as she shot her head towards him. Her lips parted. Her eyes widened. The smile drained from the man’s face and a snarl crept around his nostrils, as his eyes fell upon Jane. Loosening her grip from Robert’s hand, Jane’s arm flopped to her side and she lowered her head, to stare at the ground.
“Janey,” Robert breathed, feeling her fingers loosen from his, as he twisted his head over his shoulder. Rooted to the spot, lines creased Jane’s brow and a lump lodged in her throat, as she shot her eyes to Robert’s. “Are you okay?” gasped Robert, as he took a step towards her. Mouth ajar, Jane flickered her a glance from Robert to Peter and back again. Her legs trembled. Her heart hammered in her ribcage. Robert spun his head around, glaring at the man stood before him. With her boyfriend’s back to her, feeling her chest jitter, Jane seeped in a shaky breath, as the trembling adrenaline gave her the courage to dart past the men, running into Hangman’s Park.
“Jane!” Robert gasped, as a blur of copper hair ran past him. “Jane!” he called again, as he ran after her. Not too far, up ahead, Jane had stopped at a bench, opposite a statue of her favourite author, with a book in his hand. Slowing his jog, Robert’s shoes scrapped against the dusty pebbles underfoot, as he dropped into the space on the bench, beside his girlfriend. As Robert sat on her left, Jane lifted her knees to her chest, jabbing her heels into the edge of the bench’s seat. “Jane… what’s wrong?” Robert asked her, as she wrapped her arms around her legs and buried her head in her knees. “Janey,” he murmured, as he placed a hand upon her shoulder. “Please talk to me,” he asked, as he gave her shoulder a squeeze. Jane’s body trembled beneath his touch. “You were so excited about coming here this morning, but you haven’t been yourself since we left,” Robert said, with a quiver to his voice, as he slid his hand to her back. “Do you know the man washing his car?” he asked. Raising her head, Jane sniffed, as she pinched her lips in and nodded. “And seeing him made you sad?” he asked, with a puckered brow. Again, she nodded, her sparkling eyes dancing. Jane’s pupils grew wide and bright, as she gazed at him. Her chest trembled, as she inhaled a slow, shaky breath. “But you want to live here?” Robert asked, the lines on his brow deepening. Swallowing the lump in her throat, Jane squeezed herself tighter, as she turned her head towards Peter’s house. Although he appeared no bigger than a magpie, with his head down, Jane could see that Peter had returned to washing his car.
Inhaling a shaky breath, Jane gazed ahead at the man washing his car, as she told Robert, “That’s Peter Pan.” Her chest trembled, as she sniffed. Her vision began to blur, as she forced a smile, watching Peter. “He was my best friend in the entire world for almost five years. For a long part of that, my only friend.” Shifting her sight from Peter, to the statue ahead of them, Jane let out a nervous laugh, before slipping her feet to the floor, and twisting herself around to face Robert. “When you asked me if I’d ever been in love before, he’s the one I was in love with,” she whispered, prodding the right corner of her mouth down, as her heart twinged. Lowering her vision to the loose thread on her skirt, Jane inhaled another shaky breath. “He let me believe that everything was perfect. He was working on making it just the two of us. He said I just had to give him time to talk things over with his housemate, Wendy. He told me to trust him. So, I did.” Pinching her lips in, Jane shrugged, as she shifted her sight to her shoes. “The next day, he woke up and didn’t want to be with me anymore. I guess Wendy meant more to him than I did. It was fine,” she shrugged. “She’s his best friend. I was only his girlfriend,” she added, with a sniff, stiffening her shoulder blades. “He promised when we broke up that we were always going to be a part of each other’s lives, forever. That meant everything to me,” she said, swallowing another lump that jumped into her throat. “He was my only friend, and I treasured his friendship more than anything. But then Peter met Iridessa, and everything changed. He told me to leave him alone forever and I meant no more to him than a stranger on the street. Things became horrible between us,” she said with a shudder. “He told me he hated me and to leave him alone forever. I have no idea why. I don’t know what I did wrong, but three years later, we haven’t spoken since.”
Twisting herself back around to face Robert, Jane exhaled a long sad sigh, before chuckling to herself. “That’s was a long time ago,” she murmured, resting a hand on Robert’s chest. “He has a whole new life now, with Bell, and I have you,” she said, with a soft smile. Beaming back at her, Robert placed a hand on hers. “I’m sorry,” she sniffed, lowering her eyes to his hand. “It’s just, you have James, Matt and Barry. I don’t have that,” she said with a puckered brow. “I miss having a friend to talk about story ideas with, who gets just as excited over my characters and ideas as I do,” she confessed, smiling back into Robert’s green eyes. “My creativity works so much better when I have someone to bounce ideas off of. I miss that,” she added, as her brows slanted together. “I thought if I lived by Peter, I could have that again,” she told Robert, with a deflating exhale.
“I’m sorry,” Robert breathed, rubbing a comforting hand up and down her back.
“But Peter’s a different person now,” she whispered, shuffling herself around to rest her head on Robert’s chest. “When he got with Iridessa, he was so horrible. I got such bad anxiety and he made me feel horrible about myself,” Jane went on, as Robert wrapped his arms around Jane and placed his chin on the top of her head. “The closer we got here, all of the anger and upset where we left things, kind of took over, and I was scared that I’d made a big mistake,” Jane said, pinching her eyes tight, in hopes of pushing away the painful thoughts that crept into the front of her mind, and had been tugging at her heart all morning. “I loved Peter’s house so much, I thought that everything would feel just as magical if we lived next door, but it only made me feel sad and insecure again, and I hated it. All I wanted was to leave and be back in our flat, bundled up in a blanket, with you and Rufus.”
“I guess that’s a good thing.” Robert replied, with a nervous chuckle.
“Don’t worry,” Jane muttered. Lifting her head, to face Robert, she gave his bicep a squeeze. “I don’t have feeling for him anymore,” she said with a giggle, shaking her head, as Robert slid his hands to her waist. “It doesn’t mean I don’t still care about him though,” she murmured, lowering her eyes to his chest. “I guess I thought, if I lived next door to Peter, we could be friends again. I know, it was a silly idea,” she sighed, frustrated with herself.
“It’s okay,” Robert told her, as he stroked a hand to her cheek. “I didn’t know you felt that way,” he said, his voice soft. “I’m sorry.”
“I love you and my life with you is perfect,” Jane said softly, as she wrapped her arms around Robert and squeezed him tight. “Sometimes I just miss having a friend.”
“I understand,” he whispered, rubbing a hand up her back. “But you can do much better than someone who doesn’t care about you and makes you an anxious, insecure mess. You’re so bright, happy and full of confidence, anyone who takes that away from you isn’t worth being friends with, or holding on to, okay?” he asked, leaning out of their embrace, to look at her.
“Okay,” she sniffed, with a nod.
“Good,” he smiled, stroking a thumb across her cheek.
Gazing into Robert’s caring green eyes, as her smile stretched across her face, Jane felt her warm vibration return to her chest. “I love you,” she whispered, stroking a thumb against the back of his hair. Fluttering her eyes closer, Jane pressed her lips onto Robert’s.
“I love you too,” he beamed, as they parted. “Now, how’s about we go home and book a viewing at the other house we saw online the other night?”
“Yeah,” Jane nodded. “I’d like that.”
“We could leave Rufus with your mum a little longer and head back for some cosy cuddles,” suggested Robert. Blushing, Jane giggled. “And if you’re a good girl, maybe I’ll massage your poorly back for you,” he added, with a wink, as his fingers brushed against a bare patch of skin, on Jane’s lower back, as her blouse crumpled beneath his thumb.
“That sounds perfect,” she giggled.
The aching in Jane’s cheeks, from her growing grin, turned into a puzzled frown, as a person-shaped shadow covered Robert’s face. “Is she okay?” asked a familiar voice. Jane’s heart leapt and a gasp escaped her, as she spun her head around.
“I think so,” Robert replied with a smile, as he hooked his right arm tight around Jane’s waist, holding her near. Lips parted, Jane nodded, as she gazed up at Peter.
“You caught me off guard,” Peter muttered, dropping his sight to his shoes. “I didn’t mean to make you cry again,” he said, with a puckered brow.
“It’s okay,” Jane whispered, as she leant against Robert.
“It isn’t,” mumbled Peter. Clearing his throat, he slipped his hands into his pockets and looked back up at them. “So, you’re looking at the house next door?”
“There’s a few we’re looking at,” Robert told him, in an assertive tone. “I wanted Jane to be closer to work, on the other side of town, but she insisted on looking around, despite it being at the lower end of our budget.” Curling the fingers of his left hand into his palm, Robert tightened his fist at his side, as he continued to stroke the thumb of his right hand against Jane’s waist.
“I’ve always been drawn to this road,” Jane said in a soft, dreamy voice, as she looked up at Peter and hugged her right hand to Robert’s stomach.
“You did always say you wanted to live on a road with daisies in the name,” Peter chuckled.
“Yeah,” Jane sighed. “Oh, Peter, this is Robert, Robert, this is Peter,” she said as she straightened her spine.
“Nice to meet you,” Robert said, with a nod, his expression stone and unreadable.
“You too,” Peter replied, with a forced smile.
“How long have you and your wife lived here?” Robert asked, his voice a lot warmer, as Jane wrapped her left arm around his right.
“Oh, erm, I, er,” stuttered Peter, as he ran a hand across the back of his neck. “Not married,” he blurted out, before muttering, “yet,” under his breath. “But, yeah, I’ve lived here five years. Are you from nearby?”
“No. This is my first time in Hangman’s Hill,” Robert confessed. “We live in Forgotten Hollow at the moment.” Peter’s eyes widened, hearing one of the posher towns in Neverland. “I worked there,” Robert went on. “But I’ve changed jobs, and we’re looking to move to stop Jane having a two-hour train journey to work – especially with all of the strikes, recently.” Robert smirked at Jane and gave her knee a squeeze.
“Well, err, good luck with the house hunt,” Peter said to Robert. “And if we do happen to be neighbours, maybe we could have a catch up some time?” he asked Jane. Locking eyes with her, Peter’s ears turned a deep scarlet.
“I’d like that,” Jane whispered. Prodding his mouth into the left corner of his cheek, Peter felt his cheeks burn, at Jane’s comment.
“Maybe the four of us could go to dinner, sometime?” Robert suggested. Jane’s eyes widened, as she spun her head to face him. “I don’t want to deny you from seeing your friend. And I love seeing you get all excited when you talk about your creative things,” he added, poking Jane on the tip of her nose.
“I’d love that,” Jane giggled, as her beaming smile at Robert grew.
“It’s good to see you happy again,” Peter muttered. “I wasn’t particularly good at that, was I?” he said, as he returned his hand to the back of his neck.
“You’re both in a happier place now,” Robert told them. “You’re both with people who make you happy. You may not have made a great couple, but that doesn’t mean you won’t make good friends.”
“Yeah!” Jane beamed at Peter, before sharing her big grin with Robert.
“Yeah,” she heard Peter mumble, beside her. Peter’s shoulders deflated, and his heart gave a sharp pang, as he returned his stare to the grass at his feet.
“I love you,” Jane beamed at Robert.
“I love you too,” he grinned back, rubbing a hand to Jane’s thigh. “I’m glad you’re feeling better.” Humming in agreement, Jane nodded.
“Right,” boomed Robert, as he straightened his back and leapt to his feet. “We should get going. It was nice to meet you,” Robert said to Peter.
“You too,” replied Peter, pinching his lips in and widening his eyes, as he nodded at Robert.
“It was nice to see you again Peter,” Jane said in a quiet voice, as she stood at Robert’s side.
“Yeah,” replied Peter, flickering her a glance, feeling his ears burn. “Sorry it’s been so long,” he said, lines creasing his brow, as he forced a swallow. Heat tingled Jane’s cheeks, as she smiled back at him. “Take care,” Peter said, as he forced another swallow, from a dry throat.
“You too,” Jane sang, as she laced her fingers in Robert’s. Robert gave Peter a nod and the two walked back through the park.
“There you go,” Robert said, as they arrived back at the car. “Looks like you have your friend back, and we didn’t have to move all the way out here.”
“Yeah,” Jane giggled. “I’m sorry today’s been a bit of a mess,” she confessed, as they clambered into their seats and fastened their seatbelts.
“Nonsense,” Robert beamed, as he placed a hand on her thigh. “Now I understand you even more,” he said as he gave her leg a squeeze. Jane felt her stomach erupt, with an explosion of butterflies, as she beamed back at her boyfriend. “Wanna head home for some cuddles?” he asked, with his cheeky grin poking into his right cheek. Nodding her head, Jane giggled. As Robert put the keys in the ignition and they pulled away, Jane’s eyes fluttered to the wingmirror, as she watched Peter standing at the end of the road, staring after them, as they drove away.
The end
- Josie -
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