Things Change

"Oh, right. Yes. I'm ready," he let her know with a smile.

She reached for a black coat, but Jared said, "I can get that," before she got to it.

He picked it up and held it out for her as she gently lifted her hair. Once the coat was in place, her very soft, silky hair cascaded over the collar and Jared caught a very pleasant whiff of her shampoo mingled with a perfume he liked but didn't recognize.

Jaclyn thanked him then did so again when he opened her door and helped her up into the Wrangler.

Other than being beautiful, the first thing Jared realized about her was how easy it was to talk to her. The ride was right at 70 miles and took about an hour and fifteen minutes. They talked the entire time and covered a ton of the basics that people typically asked when getting to know someone they were interested in.

"So when my dad passed away unexpectedly, that was my last straw. I dropped out of college and joined the Marine Corps."

Jaclyn was clearly saddened and told him how sorry she was.

"Thank you. My dad was my best friend, and when he died so suddenly it just...blew me away."

Jared's hand hand been on the gearshift, and although he sensed movement, it wasn't until Jaclyn's was on top of his that he realized what was going on.

"I really can't imagine. Both of my parents are still alive and well, and..."

"And I've already lost both of mine," Jared replied as he debated taking her hand or just leaving it there.

Jaclyn moved hers back a few seconds later, and he felt like he'd made the better decision. Rather than stay mired in the saddest chapter of his life, Jared looked over at her, smiled, then said he'd rather talk about her.

"Oh, my. You must be a glutton for punishment," she told him with a little laugh and a smile that made something stir somewhere deep inside him.

Jaclyn wasn't just easy to talk to, she was so open and transparent. Jared had never met anyone so willing to share things of a personal nature, but by the time they got to the city limits of Charleston, she'd shared most of the details of her failed marriage with him. He hadn't tried to pull anything out of her, but they'd already talked about her childhood, her parents, and other little things like favorite movies, favorite foods, etc.

"I can't help but wonder if your husband just didn't realize what he had," Jared told her once Jaclyn summed things and up with, "And that's pretty much it about boring old me."

"Oh, I don't know," she replied almost shyly. "It's not like I'm some famous actress or..."

"I'd choose you over any actress, model, or...anyone," Jared told her, unaware of how corny that sounded.

And yet it didn't sound that way to Jaclyn at all. It sounded like one of the nicest things she'd ever heard, and as he words sunk in, she found herself wondering who this very handsome, much younger man was and how he could have this effect on her.

She swallowed the lump in her throat then said, "You made me feel really good, Jared. Thank you for that."

No relationship guru by any means, Jared was instinctively aware of how deeply Jaclyn had been hurt by her former husband. He was also aware that she was very easy to please and was the kind of woman who would appreciate the smallest little thing, and that only made him want to get to know her even more.

"We're almost there," she said once she recognized their turn.

"I've never been here before," Jared warned her.

"That's okay. I've been here enough times for both of us," she told him sweetly.

"Mind if I ask how many times?" Jared said with a little wince in anticipation of the answer.

Jaclyn laughed then told him, "Oh...maybe a hundred?"

"Oh, geez," a dejected Jared said.

"No! I truly love this place. It was my favorite place to go when I just needed to get away and think."

Jared glanced over at her, and when he did, Jaclyn said, "And that was pretty much every day after he started drinking again."

Not sure how to reply, Jared looked for a place to park. As he pulled into an open spot, Jaclyn smiled as she looked out over The Battery.

"It's so beautiful here," she said as she scanned the familiar scenes.

Jared shut the engine off then looked at her and said, "It's very beautiful...here."

It took Jaclyn a second or two to get it, but when she did, she laughed that soft, easy laugh again. The look in her eyes told him he'd just made her feel good again, and that made him feel good, too.

"I'll come around and get your door," he let her know when he saw her reaching for the handle.

"Oh. Wow. I...almost forgot what that was like," she told him with another amazing smile.

As they began looking around, Jaclyn began pointing things out with the caveat that she didn't know much about them. Jared took his roommate's advice and had memorized enough to impress anyone who was interested and began dropping little tidbits of history on her.

"That's amazing! I thought you said you've never been here," she told him after the third major surprise.

Jared laughed then told her he had a confession to make.

"I uh, I kind of studied up on this place. You know, so I could maybe make a decent first impression."

Jaclyn's beautiful blue eyes sparkled as she smiled and said, "You already did that on the way up here."

Again, Jared realized he didn't know much about relationships, but he did know that look. It was the one that said, "I like you, and were you to try and kiss me, I wouldn't object."

But in spite of how badly he wanted to do that, he only smiled back and told her she'd done the same. His sweet words touched her deeply, and when they did, she looked down for a moment.

When she looked back up, Jared smiled again then held out a hand with a look that said, "Is this okay?"

Jaclyn tilted her head a little then smiled at him before placing her much smaller hand in his.

"So what's the history on this cannon?" she asked as they held hands for the first time.

Jared put his other hand under his chain then pretended to be stroking a beard as he tried out his South Carolina accent.

"Well, there, young lady," he began. "Back in eighteen hundred and thirty-eight, the city realized the importance of this here location."

Jaclyn laughed as he continued the schtick which was, at least, historically accurate.

She then did her best Southern Belle imitation when she replied.

"Why, I do declay-uh, suh, that is the most interestin' thing I have evuh heard!"

Jared laughed and Jaclyn joined in as he turned toward her and said, "You uh, you need to get out more."

He saw that same look on her face as she continued laughing, and again, he held back.

"Come on. You can show me the rest of this place," he told her as he again took her hand.

She gave it to him then pulled it out in order to slide it under his arm as she pointed out where she used to come and sit.

"I'd just look out into the water and see boats going by and try and imagine this place as it was during the Civil War."

She laughed before saying in faux accent, "Or as we suthenuhs say, 'The war between the states'."

"So why don't you actually have a southern accent?" Jared asked once he realized for the first time that she didn't.

"I don't really know. But it's probably because my father is from Michigan. He was a Marine drill instructor back in the 1970s, and that's when he met my mother who is as southern as southern can be."

"So a case of opposites attracting?" Jared asked rather carefully.

"Um...geographically, yes. But otherwise they seem to have pretty much everything in common."

"Nice."

"I think so. And for the life of me, I still can't understand how I managed to end up with someone so...wrong for me."

They were standing next to the bench where Jaclyn used to come and sit, so Jared put his arm around her and said, "There's still time to find the right guy."

She put her arm around his lower back then laid her head over on his shoulder and said, "Yes there is," in a way that also said something deeper than the words themselves.

They sat down for a few minutes, and the topic of dating came up.

"Have you done much dating since your divorce?" Jared asked.

"No, not really. But I bet you do plenty."

She could have said, "I've been asked out by a dozen different men since then," but that wasn't how Jaclyn saw it. Most of that was flirting or being hit on, something that happened quite often. But neither impressed her, and the only offers she accepted came from decent, level-headed men. She'd had her fill of 'dangerous and exciting' and would gladly go out with someone who wasn't all that attractive to her physically if he was a kind, caring man.

In a similar display of modesty, Jared told her he dated 'here and there' without mentioning how 'dating' meant hooking up pretty much any time he wanted and nothing more.

"That surprises me," Jaclyn told him. "You're very handsome, Jared."

"Oh, gosh. Thank you, but you're the one who's..."

He turned her way then said, "Gorgeous."

Jaclyn was looking his way when he looked at her, and she could tell he meant what he said, and that not only surprised her, it made her feel happy.

"You are, you know," Jared told her without taking his eyes off of hers.

Again, she didn't say anything, and this time she turned away.

"Jaclyn? Do you not believe me?" Jared asked quietly as he continued looking at her.

"No. It's...it's not that," she finally said.

"Is there something that's bothering you?"

"I'm not sure," she admitted as she couldn't exactly put a finger on it.

"Is it me being a Marine?"

"What? No! Of course not," she told him as she turned his way again to make sure he knew she was serious.

"Then maybe the age difference?"

"No. I was honest about that. It doesn't make the least bit of difference to me."

Jared gave up probing and turned to look out at the water the way Jaclyn was when she asked him if it bothered him.

"If it did I wouldn't have asked you out," he told her with a little smile she saw out of the corner of her eye.

It was then that she understood what was bothering her. She honestly didn't care how old Jared was, but she was convinced that he'd lose interest once he realized how much older she was than him.

"I'll be 38 on May 15th," she said without turning her head at all.

Jared turned as far as he could on the bench and put a hand on her shoulder.

"And you'll be just as beautiful and amazing then as you are now and will be every year after that."

Jaclyn's entire body tingled as his words hit home.

"You say that now," she said, trying to keep things light.

He put his leg back down, slid as close as he could to her, and put his arm around her. When he pulled gently on her arm she slowly turned his way and saw him smiling.

"I'll say it for as long as you'll let me," he told her very quietly before leaning over and softly kissing her deep-red lips.

The tingling sensation became a one that burned deep inside her as she kissed him back.

"You hungry yet?" Jared asked, the smile back as they looked at one another from just 3-4 inches away.

"I think maybe I am," Jaclyn told him.

"Come on. Let's see if we can find someplace to grab a bite."

He'd done some checking on restaurants, too, so unless Jaclyn suggested something, he knew exactly where he wanted to take her. There was a place called Magnolia's on East Bay Street, and when he suggested it, Jaclyn told him she'd always wanted to go there.

"Then follow me," Jared told her with another smile as he stood up and held out his hand.

The way she looked at him was different. He wasn't sure how or why, but he was certain that something had changed, and his instincts told him the change was good.

Lunch was every bit as pleasurable as walking about Battery Park. The conversation was pleasant and light, and the food was superb.

"I'm surprised you haven't been here before," Jared told her at one point.

"Money was always a big deal," she replied without saying anything more about how deeply in debt they always were and that going out to eat was a luxury she rarely ever enjoyed.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to bring up...bad memories. In fact, I hope coming to Charleston was okay."

Jaclyn smiled at him then said, "When you mentioned there was still time to find the right guy, I was thinking how being here with the right guy could create a whole new feeling about this beautiful town."

Jared smiled back then said, "I'm not going to assume that's me, but if you've had a nice time, then I'm very happy we came."

"I'm happy, too. And for what it's worth, I've never had a first date that was anything as nice as this one's been."

Jared got more serious before replying.

"Yeah. I was just thinking the same thing."

Jaclyn wasn't flirty or forward, so when she heard herself say the next thing that came out of her mouth it really surprised her.

"I've had such a good time, I might even agree to a second date."

Before Jared could tell her how happy he was to hear that, she said, "Jared. I have no idea why I just...blurted that out. I...I never say things like that and I..."

Jared laughed politely then held up a finger to 'shush' her.

"I'm glad you did, and I would love to go out with you again, Jaclyn."

The tingle returned as she smiled happily and said, "If you're sure then I accept!"

On the ride back to Beaufort Jared's future plans came up, and Jaclyn told him she was very interested in hearing what he had in mind.

"Do you think you might stay in?"

"Maybe," he replied before adding, "but there's no way I'd re-enlist."

She gave him a puzzled look, so he explained.

"I like what I do okay, but I don't love it, and I don't want to do this for 20 or more years. But when I finally get my degree, I could possibly see myself coming back on active duty."

"Oh, gee. Duh!" she said with a laugh. "My dad is a retired Marine, so I should have put that together right away."

"But that's not set in stone. It's just something I've been thinking about lately. I'm just a little concerned about what I'll be able to do with a bachelor of arts degree at 27 and no experience."

"I understand. Military experience doesn't always translate to the civilian world."

"Right. At least not unless United starts hanging bomb racks on its planes," Jared quipped, causing Jaclyn to laugh.

There was a moment or two of silence before she told him how pleasant it was to talk with him.

"Dittoes on that," he told her as he held out his hand which she took after smiling at him in a way that caused him to have to shift his weight.

"How about you? What are your plans?" Jared asked.

"I work full-time. It's a necessary evil, but work isn't my life," she began.

"No. Life is definitely more than a job," Jared agreed. "I hope this doesn't sound shallow, but I can't think of anything more important to me than having a family someday."

When he turned to look at her, Jaclyn looked...sweet and maybe even fragile. He could see again how deeply she'd been hurt before and how much having someone in her life meant to her.

"I don't think there's anything shallow about wanting a family. In fact, it seems like the most important thing anyone could do," she said.

She paused then asked a question. "So the thought of having...children? That...doesn't scare you?"

The truth was that Jared had barely started thinking about the possibility of a wife. Children, other than a distant concept, had never even crossed his mind. But as he looked over at this beautiful, older woman, the thought not only didn't seem frightening, it seemed like the most natural thing in the world.

"No. That doesn't scare me at all," Jared told her. "If, of course, it's with the right woman."

Again, something made Jaclyn saw something else she just wouldn't ever say.

"Well, there's still time to find the right girl."

Now it was Jared who felt emboldened.

"Who says I need more time to find her?"

He squeezed her hand when he said it, and the look on Jaclyn's face told him he'd made the right call.

"Oh. Okay," she replied sweetly and happily as she squeezed his back.

They saw a sign telling them how far it was to Beaufort, and Jaclyn repeated something her father had said many times.

"Beautiful Beaufort by the sea 26 miles from Yemassee."

The look on Jared's face, and the way she was feeling, made her laugh.

"You haven't heard that?" she asked.

"No. Is it...a thing?"

"It's from a poem by Candice Glover from back in 1962. My dad still says it although he had no idea where it came from until I found it on the internet and told him."

Beaufort was the second oldest city in South Carolina with Charleston being the first. Yemassee was a small town of just over a thousand people that's surrounded by both Revolutionary and Civil War sites. Its most famous landmark was the Old Sheldon Church Ruins that was once known as Prince Williams. It was burned by the British in 1779, rebuilt in 1826, then burned again by General William T. Sherman in 1865.

"Sounds like a thing to me," Jared told her playfully.

Running dominated their conversation the rest of the way back, and before Jared dropped her off, they agreed to meet the following morning and go for a run together.

Jared walked her to the door and Jaclyn told him she'd had an amazing time with him.

"Same here," he said back before reaching up and using his index finger to lift her chin before kissing her goodbye.

"Thank you for...everything," she told him, her eyes seeming to twinkle with happiness as she did.

"Thank you for agreeing to go with me."

"My pleasure."

"I'll see you here tomorrow at zero-seven..."

Jared laughed then said, "I was going to say 7am, but as a Marine brat, you understand 'zero-seven'."

"I do!" Jaclyn told him with a happy laugh. "Just don't ever add 'hours' to it."

"No. Never." Jared said as seriously as he could.

"Right! Wouldn't want anyone thinking you're a..."

Jaclyn looked around as though others might here before whispering, "A...soldier!"

Jared slapped his right over his heart as though he was having a heart attack.

"Heaven forbid! The only worse thing you could call a Marine would be..."

He said 'sailor' while Jaclyn said 'squid', and both of them laughed loudly when they heard the other's response.

"You're pretty amazing," Jared told her as he moved closer again.

"Well, I think you're pretty great, too."

"Well, sure. I mean, I'm...Jared Quinn. How could you not?" he said with all the phony smugness he could muster.

"Okay! It's getting very deep around here!" Jaclyn teased as she went to push him away before pulling him back and kissing him.

"Bye, Jaclyn," he said when she ended the kiss.

"Bye," she said as Jared let go of her, something she almost didn't want him to do.

The following morning Jared had a sweatshirt on when got to Jaclyn's and planned to take it off before the run. His legs never got cold in Beaufort, even on the coldest of days. But Jaclyn was often cold or at least chilly, so she was wearing a pair of long, black Spandex leggings that hugged her legs like a second skin.

"Good morning!" Jaclyn said in a happy voice when she opened the door.

"Hi," Jared said before an awkward moment in which he wasn't sure whether or not he should kiss her.

Jaclyn solved the problem when she kissed him before inviting him in.

She was also wearing some other Spandex-looking top that was a very light pink along with a sports bra that made her look downright sexy. Well that and the white ball cap she had on with her hair pulled through the opening in back.

"Dang, gurl! You even look amazing in PT gear!" he said using the Marine terms for physical training.

Jaclyn was so happy to see him she couldn't help laughing.

"And you look...naked," she teased as he stood there in a pair of shorts and a tee-shirt, the sweatshirt open and ready to come off.