Shall We Go A-Shearing?
A.K.A. Jamie Buys A Clue
By Elena
Note: Sorry for the delay everyone, I was into producing music videos for a while there then ran into a bad spot with what my doc thinks was a mini stroke. Writing though has always been a therapy for me so hopefully you’ll see updates more often.
Thanks to all of you who have been reading so far. As always please send comments to elena@beltran.nu. J
Now, on with the show….
Saturday October
16th, 1999
Interior of cabin
7am
skitter
Jenny: … mumph….
Skitter chitter SCRAPE!
Jenny (blinking slightly): Wha?….
Chitter
Jenny (sitting up a bit and becoming very still): Who’s there?
Jamie (annoyed that her heater has moved):...mmmmph!
Jenny (looking down at her friend and deciding Jamie is the origins of the noise): Never mind, go back to sleep.
Jamie (snuggling in to Jenny’s side, still mostly asleep): Okay….
Jenny settles down again on her back, quite enjoying the sensations radiating from the dark haired woman at her side. Eventually Jenny’s eyes fall shut again and her breathing becomes deeper.
Jamie and Jenny: WHA!!!! @#$$!
Both women jump from their bags to see three raccoons skitter run
across the couch in front of them. Another squeak and crash from the direction
of the kitchen draws their attention as they turn to see yet another raccoon
running around after knocking over some plates left out on the counter.
Jamie: Eek!
Jenny: Eek! There are raccoons in here!
Jamie has jumped back from the couch where the other three intruders have just been. Jenny is trying to get out of her sleeping bag and she almost succeeds.
Jenny: Ow…okay, that hurt.
Jamie (looking from the fleeing raccoons to Jenny who is now sprawled out on the floor after tripping out of her bag): Oh goddess! Are you all right, Jenny?
The four raccoons make a hasty escape out an open kitchen window as Jamie sits down to check if Jenny is all right.
Jamie: Did you hit your head? Did you break an arm? Twist a leg? Your elbow okay? Why are you shaking?
Jenny (looking up at the dark disheveled haired woman and whipping a few tears of mirth from her eyes): Oh, Jamie, I think they got the best of us that time. They made you screech too!
Jamie ponders this as her mind finally wakes up and realizes that her friend is unhurt. Jenny watches as the werewolf’s lips thin and then twitches into a smile of chagrin as the dark woman helps her into a seated position.
Jenny (with a smile): Oh yeah! But, knowing you I don’t think you’ll have any problems making them up.
Jamie: Well, then how about now?
Jenny (holding her breath as Jamie moves a bit closer to her): Really?
Jamie (pausing for breath as she prepares herself): “Yup! Naw git in that kitchen and make me some breakfast, woman!”
Jenny’s eyes widen as she stares into the grinning face of her friend. Realizing that it’s all in good fun, Jenny smiles gamely and stands up, walking towards the kitchen.
Jenny (swishing her hips slightly): “Ah’m a goin’! Ah’m a goin’! What you fixin’ to do? Put me over yer knee?”
Jamie: Uhh….
Hearing Jamie’s loss for words, but continuing on to make breakfast Jenny wrinkled her nose in a smirk.
Jenny (reaching for various breakfast making stuff and thinking to self): You can dish out, but can’t take it, eh Jamie? Well then, this should be fun!
Jamie: Uhhmmm…. I think I’ll go grab a shower while you’re at that and get dressed then. Uhh…. that okay?
Jenny (sweetly over her shoulder): Okay, take your time. Not too long, mind you. I just might come looking for you. (This with a chuckle)
Jamie: Ummm…okay. Uhh…yeah.
Escaping the scene and practically running to the back bedroom to pull out clean clothes and toiletries, Jamie nearly trips over her own to feet in her haste. The dark haired werewolf wonders how long she should spend cleaning up. If she took too long, not only will her food be cold, but also Jenny might be just brazen enough to come looking for her.
Jamie was naturally in a quandary…
11am
Jenny (over her shoulder): This was a good idea. I haven’t been canoeing on a lake in ages, and this one is so nice and clear.
Jamie: Uh-huh.
Jenny: And the pine trees! Don’t they smell lovely? The woods around here are just filled with them, and the leaves on the trees are so pretty with their changing colors.
Jamie: Yup.
Jenny (having stopped paddling a while ago as she stares around serenely at all of the scenery): Wouldn’t you just love to live out here? No traffic or hassle, and hardly any people. Well, I suppose there are some people, but they’re probably just here for the remote weekend or something. It must be gorgeous here in the wintertime!
Jamie (sighing quietly and continuing to paddle): Probably.
Jenny (turning around to look back at her friend): Ooh! We should come up here in the winter! I bet Jessan would like to come too, and some of our other friends. We could go snow shoeing, sledding, cross county skiing. You should really be able to see the Northern Lights up here in the winter at night. Wouldn’t that be fun?
Jamie (steadying the canoe a bit as Jenny moves around): You want to come here in the wintertime?
Jenny (blinking at the odd tone in Jamie’s voice): Uh, yeah. It would be nice, if we don’t have anything to do back home that is…Don’t you like it here?
Jamie: Yes, I do like it here. It’s just hard to think that far ahead I guess.
Jenny (puzzled): What do you mean? You think about the future don’t you?
Jamie (letting the canoe drift towards the shore): A little, but not that far ahead. There usually isn’t much for me to think ahead about. I usually pay attention to what’s happening at the moment.
Jenny: You mean you live in the ‘here and now’. I don’t see how that would work.
Jamie (trying to think of how to explain herself best): Not really, I don’t know how to explain it. I guess I never really worried about what might happen next to me. Here we are.
Jenny (regarding her dark haired friend for a moment before getting out of the canoe): Well, I’ll have to worry for you, I guess.
With that the small blond stepped out of the canoe, which had slid up on to the shore. Taken a bit aback Jamie followed quietly.
Jamie (pointing ahead of them slightly): How about at that ridge there? It’s fairly flat.
Jenny: Okay, but I think I need to strip a bit when we get there.
Jamie (eyes near bulging out of her head): Pardon?
Jenny (reaching the ridge first and taking off her jacket): Between the canoeing and the hike up here, I’m learning just how out of shape I am.
The blond woman spreads her jacket out on the ground and plops down onto it, lying down on the cool earth to dump some of the heat off her body.
Jamie: Oh, okay. I get it. You’re overheated. Gotcha!
Jenny (panting a bit still and giving her friend an odd look): Yeah, thought I was in better shape than this. I use to jog more, but got lazy these past few months. We had a huge deadline my old job and I was coming home and passing out just about every night.
Jamie (sitting down beside her friend and pulling out food items from the day pack she had carried up on her back): This was the place that fired you?
Jenny (rolling over to one side and taking a sandwich that Jamie offered to her): Thanks. Yeah, they worked my group till the big project was completed. Then just before it was released, they fired a bunch of workers so that their earnings would look even higher for the stockholders.
Jamie: What the hell? That makes no sense.
Jenny (smiling up at the dark haired woman): Welcome to the world of corporate America. Though, you do realize something.
Jamie (frowning slightly in query): What’s that?
Jenny: We wouldn’t have met each other if they hadn’t fired me.
Jamie: I suppose so, though I’m sure I would have met you another time. Seems like I should know you anyhow.
Jenny (realizing suddenly that she felt the same way): You mean, you were supposed to meet me then, or earlier?
Jamie: Probably then, like fate I guess. I had the weirdest feeling when I first saw you at Ted and Diane’s bookshop. It was like my whole world and life was rushing together to that single moment. Nearly made me…not dizzy, faint I guess.
Jenny (incredulous): You almost fainted? Though I seem to remember you did have an odd look on your face.
Jamie (finished eating and whipping her hands on her trousers): It was the oddest thing. But anyhow, I do think it was fate that brought us together. For what ever reason.
Jamie smiled at the blond haired woman and Jenny smiled
back. Finished with their lunches the two packed up their remains and headed
back down the hill.