missing my entire life. And now she’s here.
A few days after Jade’s arrival, Alex began to learn more details than a typical neighbor
should know. He began listening to her conversations from across the street with the other
neighbors, learning her daily schedule (what time
she would leave for work, what time she would
return home). It was all coming full circle. I’m…
I’m falling in love, Alex thought to himself. That
must mean she’s falling in love with me! Finally,
a goal to work towards! Something to achieve!
But this would be no ordinary love story. After
Alex’s stalking sessions, he would grow angry
and scared, especially at the sight of Jade with
another man. The minute she spoke a word to
someone else, Alex’s heart slowly ripped to pieces. She’s mine you coward! Mine! I won’t let
anyone take her away from me! However, there
was one particular man she would speak with on
a daily basis. One she would enjoy her lunch
with and spend her evenings with. Who was this
man and what were his intentions? This question
deeply concerned Alex as he asked it to himself
over and over again, like a broken record. I don’t
know who you are…but if you try to steal my
Jade, I’ll have your head on a pike. Believe it.
She’s all mine.
The next morning, Alex thought it would
be neighborly of him to perhaps ask Jade on a
dinner date. She did ask him to come over that
morning to help work on some paintings she had
been developing before her moving. This would
be the perfect time to ask her out. Alex exited his
apartment, looking at his reflection in the silver
mailbox Jade had retrieved Alex’s mail from. He
moved a few stray hairs hoping that his appearance would not disgust Jade. He then approached
her door, lightly tapping it. “Come in!” her voice
slid past the door. Her voice is so beautiful. Like
fresh melted chocolate. It’s so sweet and gentle,
Alex thought to himself. He slowly opened the
door, peeking in to find Jade. “Hello?” his voice
rang through the entire apartment.
“Alex! I’m in the kitchen, come on in!”
she responded. After removing his shoes, Alex
made his way to the kitchen area only to see Jade
working on one of her masterpieces. Her other
29
works surrounded her on the walls and floors.
“These are amazing, Jade. Where did you
learn to paint like this?” Alex lightly grazed his
hands over one of the paintings, feeling the rough
edges of dried acrylic.
“My dad used to teach art classes at the
local school back in Washington,” she replied, “I
guess it’s just part of my bloodline! He taught
me everything I know from watercolor to acrylic.
I’m not a bad portrait artist, either! My dad knew
everything. He could do charcoal, watercolor,
pastels, graphite. You name it, he made one of
his pieces with it. They were always so beautiful.
He recently just died of cancer, it was tragic. It
scarred my entire family. On the bright side, a
museum back in Washington picked up all 300 of
his pieces and put them on display! I always like
to stop by while I’m in town just to reminisce in
the moment.”
Alex slowly pulled his attention from her
art to her face. “That’s amazing. Wait, you said
you were a pretty good portrait artist right? Any
chance you could draw me?” He smiled lightly.
Jade broke a smile, which turned into a
concentrated face. “I could certainly try,” she
responded nodding her head. She put up a new
canvas and grabbed some materials. Alex only
recognized the basics, since his art skills were a
bit lacking.
“So, um, Jade. I was wondering if maybe
you’d like to…have dinner tonight. There’s a
fancy place up in town that I think you would enjoy.”
She got a puzzled look on her face as she
began sketching out Alex’s facial features. “You
mean like a dinner date?” she laughed. Her
laugh…It’s everything I expected. It’s so gentle
and warm.
“Well…I suppose you could call it that,”
Alex said in an awkward tone.
“Well,” Jade responded as she sketched in
a few more details, “I should probably let you
know I have a boyfriend, but hanging out as
friends would be great!”
Alex screamed in his head, holding a collected facial expression on the outside. No.
There’s no way. She…she couldn’t have said