A Little Different

"Yes of course. Welcome dear. My you are exceedingly attractive."

"Thank you Mrs um Jack's mom. It's already said around here already that I'm a little different."

"Well thank god for that. You might be just what Anna needs and she's unusual enough to almost be called odd. But very talented. Are you talented Jess... oh please call me Daphne."

"I could scrape through if you accepted the meaning of talented as meaning I do a lot of things well."

"Hmmm. Something tells me you are quite a character Jess. Now let the games begin. Let me introduce you to these other six people. First this is my eldest child Aveny."

Jess took an instant liking to the beautiful brunette and hoped they'd become friends.

Later she and Aveny exchanged phone numbers.

Jack drove Jess home around 9:00 and said, "I watched you carefully. You were playing at half pace and could have beaten any of us and two of the girls and Jason are pretty good."

"You see too much young man. As it is some of those people there will remember who I am and might wish to see me again. The opposite would have happened had I unleashed and anyway, it was only social tennis. Do you have a car?"

"Yes but it's a bit untidy but is reliable."

"Want to take my somewhere tomorrow evening and have sex? Jesus Jack you almost sideswiped that parked car."

"You shocked me. I had thought of asking for a date but you are a couple of years older than me and I... well I feared rejection. And you offered sex."

"Well I've neglected that part of my life lately and am feeling a bit horny. But I'm sorry if I disgusted..."

"Like hell you did Jess. I'm almost blown away. I can believe my luck."

"Well Jack be in the right place at the right time looking good and you'll strike lucky with other women of your age. And learn to ask for it Jack and learn not to worry about being told no. Once you cross those hurdles well... just cross those hurdles Jack."

They had a long kiss and he said, sounding rather disappointed, that she'd not attempted to touch him.

"That's another thing Jack. When you are working on a woman, don't rush her. Just apply a little push here and there and let it happen."

"God I'm glad I've met you. Oh Aveny is rather excited about you too. Her impression is you are very mature for your age and appear an exceedingly pleasant person. You don't think that means... um?""

"I'm sure it doesn't Jack. Unlike guys, we women only think sex some of the time."

An hour later Jess received bad news.

Jack called her and sounded quite upset.

"Mom forbids me to date you?"

"What because I'm not local?"

He sniffed. She says you have too much horsepower for me, that I need time to mature.

"What?"

"Don't get upset. My sister wishes to chat."

Aveny proved to be a calming influence. She advised Jess not to take the ban personally and she would continue to be welcome at their home.

"Mom had a rumble with a guy four years her senior when she was eighteen and her relationship with grandma was never the same again. She fears this happening with Jack.

"God Aveny, I was only after a fuck."

Aveny laughed and spluttered. "God Jess, you're upfront. I'll come over in the morning and introduce you to a near neighbor who is also a little different. Some months ago he completed a masters in English Lit, intending to go on to become a university lecturer in writing but instead is holed up in the basement of his parent's home and is writing short stories for his Blog site that interested people can download for five bucks and is already scratching a living from that. He's good-looking and rather nice but is, er, different."

"In what way?"

"Well we all appear to have our opinions. I leave it to you to decide for yourself. Actually perhaps you might see him as thinking much like you."

"I think like everyone else."

Aveny laughed and said, "Oh yeah? You are a very full-on person Jess. Believe me."

The tall Scott Wright opened the door and leered at Aveny and then switched to looking polite when noticing she had someone with her.

"Well are we being asked in for coffee? This is Jess Jason who's from Chicago."

"Oh Mrs Chester's minder. I expected she would be oldish and thin-lipped with spectacles and leaving a trail of violet scent."

"Spectacles?" Jess said. "Are you quoting from Victorian literature?"

Scott looked at her in surprise.

"Please come in Jess, oh and you too Aveny."

"Have you and Aveny been lovers?"

"Jesus," said Scott and he and Aveny flushed.

"Jess!"

"Oh sorry guys. I came to the conclusion and to me is seems logical to express it if we are alone like this to avoid possible embarrassment but why should people be embarrassed about such a thing is beyond me."

"Jess is a little different," Aveny whispered but Scott said eh? She repeated the comment whispering louder and of course Jess overhead that but gave no reaction.

Scott closed the door behind them and said, "Welcome to the neighborhood Jess. My impression is you'll be quite an asset."

"Yesterday, soon after her arrival here, Jess drove mom's car at least 25 miles an hour up our driveway and completed with a 180 to park it."

"Jesus. Did you mother have kittens?"

"Yes and I have bruising on my arm where she gripped me. Jess conned Jack into letting her drive when he arrived to pick her up because she told him what the vehicle was and the model when they were some distance off so her assumed she was an authority on sports cars. He said he almost wet himself when she sped up the driveway with only minimal braking going into each tight bend."

"Very impressive Jess."

"Do you have a 911?"

Before he could respond Aveny chipped in, "See what I mean?"

"Yes a 1995 coupe."

"Ah the 993. Rear-wheel drive or four-wheel?"

"Rear wheel. How do you know this?"

"Mom has the model before yours, a 1992 Carrera 2 painted midnight blue pearl. I drive it had occasionally read up on the history to keep up to date. Yours will be black."

Scott shook his head. "That is just an outrageous guess. There's no way you could know that... oh unless Aveny told you."

Jess pointed to a picture on the wall behind Scott. Aveny laughed and he looked sheepish. He said that was a great day in his unspectacular driving life, the day he finished third in a club open hill climb.

After coffee Jess said she must go before Mrs Hester began her day at 10:30.

"She's agreed to help me to brush up on my painting technique this morning."

"Omigod," Aveny cried. "Do you mind if I tell mom that. This is a great coupe for you and will impress mom. Mrs Hester has refused all attempts to persuade her to pick up a brush again."

"Yes but it's no big deal. All I did was to ask."

"Perhaps but it's how you asked I bet made the breakthrough," Aveny said.

At the door Scott said, "Hey guys come to dinner this evening."

"Sorry I can't but Jess can," Aveny said before Jess could reply for herself.

"Great, come at 7:00 Jess."

Aveny kissed Jess goodbye.

"Enjoy yourself tonight. Scots great at sex but I was discarded just like all the others Do you need condoms?"

"Er yes," Jess said, a little taken aback.

"He's had many women darling, and one never knows where they've been."

CHAPTER 2

Anna appeared at 10:30 and Jess ran to her and kissed her.

"Omigod, affection. Thank you dear. You are not required to do that."

"I want to because I already like you very much and I need to because you have to be dragged kicking and squealing back into the real world. The world and the people around you didn't stop to mark time while you went through your crisis."

"How simplistic and forthright you are darling. You really are great company for me. Please ask Lily to bring coffee up to the studio."

"Um Anna, perhaps I might be rushing you..."

"Darling don't back off now. I'm committed to try doing what you ask because you instinctively appear to be pushing the right buttons."

"Right I'll go and find Lily."

"Excellent. The studio is the main attic."

Jess entered the huge, white-painted studio with windows permanently blocked out but the entire northern wall that never saw the sun was all glass and flooded the room with natural light. There were framed paintings in piles under dust clothes.

"Are these works in progress or unsold?"

"They are my investment. I have collected well-known artists, past and present, for years. Better-known quality artists are an excellent investment. I have a small stack of works in progress on that far table. God it's good being back in here."

"May I look at what you have on the easel?"

"Of course. Nowhere in this house is forbidden to you except my panty drawer."

They laughed.

Jess knew she was being watched closely as she lifted the canvas protective cover and threw it back over the top of the easel.

She stepped back to examine the work.

"Well?"

"It's of your late husband in his prime."

"And?"

"It is beautifully executed so far."

"I would have thought I would have received better than sweetened praise from you."

"You might not like hearing it."

There was no response.

"I cannot believe anyone could marry the likes of you and be such a sad sack. You wouldn't have gone 100 feet of such a person if expecting romance."

There was no response.

Jess turned and rushed over calling, "Anna I sorry, I'm so sorry."

Anna's face was a huge scowl and her hands on her lap were clenching and unclenching. She sobbed, "Don't touch me."

Jess held Anna tightly and slowly Anna hugged her and began sobbing.

"Coffee is here Miss Anna," Lily said. "I can see Miss Jess is succeeding with you."

Lily looked at the painting. "Miss Anna, what have you done? Mr William never looked like that in repose. He was a very happy man."

Anna burst into tears and Lily said, "I guess you have said something like that to her Miss Jess. I would be much obliged if you can make her paint Mr William how he was. She's the one who's unhappy, not Mr William."

Lily left and Jess served coffee after covering the canvass and making no further reference to it.

"Daphne Harlow called this morning for her usual chat. She said you are a most impressive lady."

"She seems very nice."

"She also asked that you don't misunderstand her action in telling Jack she didn't want him dating you because he's still immature and she had a bad experience herself with an older date when she was eighteen and..."

"Yes Aveny explained that to me this morning. I think Aveny and I are going to be good friends. She introduced me this morning to Scott Wright. He seems interesting."

"Yes I know about Scott Wright. He abandoned becoming a scholar to write trash on a website that people buy for a few dollars. His mother is horrified that he's thrown away his education like this."

"Well he can always resume an academic career but would need a doctorate. Shouldn't he, like you, do what he wants to do?"

"Um well since you put it that way, I guess so."

"He's invited me to have dinner with him tonight."

Anna said, "Jess I must warn you he's a user of women."

"Providing he's not an abuser of women I have no problem with that."

"I've not heard adverse comment about his behavior, only about the number of women he's seduced."

Jess looked steadily at Anna who flushed and finally said, "No not with Scott. But his father caught me once at a weak moment."

"Omigod Anna, you're human after all. That's such a relief to me."

Anna smiled and looked at Jess quite fondly.

"I've set up that small easel for you and drawn two bisecting squares and placed some pastels there. Show me what you can do quickly and accurately in coloring in each division with judicial use of colors so the overall effect is harmonious."

Anna went to her work and uncovered it and sat looking at it.

"Are you planning how to change the expression with minimum reworking?"

"Yes and so you can work and concentrate and talk at the same time."

"Yes, I'm female."

Anna laughed but said usually to required refinement of skills to operate at several levels simultaneously.

"Oh I wouldn't know. I just do things like that without thinking."

Jess sat back and Anna can over to inspect the work.

"You get a pass. It's very neat with the coloring evenly spread. As for the choice of colors, well young people are not so rigid about color clashes.

"You mean red and green should never been seen?"

"Yes and blue and green and brown and black. I suppose it's rubbish but there's no doubt many color combination do appear absolutely perfect but I concede that might only be in some eyes of beholders. The point is you have displayed some obvious skills. Now here's one of my landscapes I began and discarded and here's the photograph of the scene. Let my get you started on this."

"It's rather insipid."

"Oh really? That was the very reason why I decided to cease working on it. But for you it is elementary painting, a useful exercise."

They worked through till Lily arrived to call them to lunch at 1:30.

"God this has been so exciting, so creatively challenging for me. You ought to be an art teacher."

"No thank you darling. All pupils will not be enthused and loaded with basic skills like you. You are attempting to wind me along but I find myself not resisting your wiles."

* * *

Jess, with her hair done up and wearing a short black cocktail dress with gold string belt, approached Scott's basement home when a voice called, "Up here Jess. We're having dinner up here. I couldn't resist changing arrangements when Scott said that at last he's met my intellectual superior."

Rather taken aback Jess hammed it up. She screwed up her face, half-close an eye and dropped the other corner of who mouth and said, "Who me."

The mother almost jumped backwards. "I'm apologize miss. I've mistaken you for the young woman who's living with Anna Chester."

Scott appeared at the woman's side and said, "Hi Jess. Come up. That's only mom's weird sense of humor."

Mrs Wright kissed Jess and introduced her banker husband Hammond and then watched Scott kiss the guest and Jess closed her eyes to give the impression she enjoyed being kissed by the womanizer. God she was glad she'd dressed up. Meredith was wearing a full length gown and diamond and gold jewelry and her husband was in a dark suit and tie. Scott, who probably didn't own a suit, was neat in a fresh polo and clean blue jeans.

Hammond, handing Jess her requested Martini said, "It is rare for Scott to be impressed by a woman."

"That suggests his judgment is spiked by his overwhelming respect for his mother."

Hammond grinned and said, "You have a silver tongue young lady."

"You have only been here in Charleston for two days. I can't understand how you could have met my son so quickly."

"I can suggest only two possibilities Mrs Wright. The first is I emit some kind of scent strong enough for Scott to track down or we were introduced by a mutual acquaintance called Aveny Harlow."

"God Jess, you are provocative," Mrs Wright smiled. "Yes I can see how it occurred. You are staying with Anna and she is friends with both mothers who have a child roughly the same age as you."

"Well enough of this piffle," said Hammond. "What is your opinion of America's involvement in Middle East police-keeping Jess?"

"Is police-keeping a polite way of avoiding direct military intervention to protect oil supply?" Mr Wright

"Um well the two rather bisect I suggest."

"Well any belief of Americans that American military might would bring peace to the Middle East will never be fulfilled. There are too many factions and too many ideologies involved and America is the unwelcome interloper. Could you imagine how you'd feel if Middle East financiers invaded Wall Street and said to the American people, "We are your friends, here to sort out your financial follies and to return your great country to economic stability through reforms you'll find acceptable, we believe."

"I need another drink," Hammond said, swallowing two fingers of whisky in a choking gulp and hurried to the bar.

"Wow that's defused him," Meredith smiled. "Dear according to what Anna told me, she expects you to be more than a companion to her, that you will be the person who gets her back to normal. If you don't mind me saying this, I find her confidence difficult to accept."

"That's fine. The only person to cure Anna is Anna herself. The only support she requires is someone who can stimulate her self-belief and then to motivate her."

Meredith said, ""Are you sure that's enough? What training have you had in handling deep-seated grief and depression?"

"Absolutely none at all but commonsense can be a more powerful tool than many people appreciate. Just be patient. I'm confident you'll soon notice change for the better."

"Like what?"

"She's already laughing more and I had her tutoring me in painting this morning."

"What? She absolutely refused to go up to the studio."

"Well something or somebody has led to that change. That's all I need to say."

"Omigod."

Later as Jess and Scott were leaving, she kissed Meredith and whispered, "Please keep this to yourself but within a month I expect Anna to be throwing a coming out again party for family and close friends. Then she and I will be off on a tour of Florida."

"Please try to achieve those two goals," Meredith said, hugging her. "You are such a sweet young woman."

* * *

"Do you want me to walk you home or do you want to do something else?" Scott asked.

"It's not a real date unless there's lots of kissing?"

He grinned and pulled her to the basement door.

* * *

When serving Saturday lunch Lily said, "We are low on vodka ma'am."

"Thank you Lily, I'll instruct Tom."

Jess said, "Yes do that Anna but after lunch you and I will don sunhats and walk down to the village and buy just one bottle."

"Walk?"

"Yes it's something you do with both feet."

Lily, who'd appeared horrified, was now suppressing her mirth.

Anna said very well.

"I'll ask Tom to drive down to the liquor store and you can ride back."

"That won't be necessary. I'm a mental invalid, not a physical invalid."

Jess said sweetly, "I'm so glad you can recognize the difference."

"Bitch," Anna said sweetly and added, "Lily ask Tom to get six bottles of vodka when he's next out. You may tell him of this conversation. He'll either laugh or say I'm being bullied, or perhaps he'll laugh and said both. Young Jess here is getting into my head."

Meredith was passing the window when she looked down and stopped abruptly and said, "Omigod."

Hammond finished his luncheon wine and said, "Can you see a naval vessel going upriver?"

"No something far more dramatic. It's Anna and she's strolling down the sidewalk arm-in-arm that the audacious young woman. Sweet Jesus."

"Yeah sweet Jesus," Hammond said, rubbing his groin against his wife's thigh. "That's really something to see."

Meredith cupped his balls and said, "Which one would you like to have darling, one of those two or me?"

"Come with me," Hammond said huskily, dragging her away from the window.

Jess began walking Anna most days and she received her art lesson. On the first wet day of that routine Anna said, "Come on it is walk time."

"It's raining."

"Come on, don't be chicken shit. We have umbrellas."

Jess laughed and Anna said, "Omigod."

"Come on, saying chicken shit is not really bad language."

"No, it's not that. I...I just exhibited slight aggression."

"These things happen. It's no big deal. Your progression back to normal is underway, that's all."

Anna look annoyed, and Jess was pleased to see that.

"It's all very well for you Jess but..."

"Hush Anna and yes for you it's a very big deal. But Adviser Jess says it could be best to play everything cool and restrain the excitement. She thinks it's best to even out the highs and the lows."