Southern Hospitality

There is a house planted in the middle of a rural part of Webster, Nevada. This house is the color of a dandelion, with sky blue shutters, and normal, square windows. The deck that surrounded the house was a bright fire engine red. The house has three acres behind it. Woodlands take up a little over half of the large three acre land, while the one-fourth is good for planting anything andeverything under the sun, and then the last quarter of the land is purely a backyard, complete with and in ground pool. There were houses about half a mile to the left and right, both having the woodland, crop sufficient soil, and pool in their backyards.

The yellow house had sat abandoned for half a decade before a young woman from the suburbs of southern Indiana bought the house, intending to move down in order to start a new life. After a pretty nasty divorce with the man she assumed to be her highschool sweetheart, the young woman really needed to move away from her hometown in order to clear her head. So, what better way to do so than to move to, nearly, the middle of nowhere Nevada? It nearly a two day drive from her hometown, no one would know who she was, and she is forced to start all over once again.

Sydney Marie Ellis, a twenty-four year old accountant, bought the yellow house and is currently on the last leg of the drive from Indiana. Why drive almost two days in order to start your new life? For one, she wanted to get one last road-trip in with her precious SUV in before having to trade it in once arriving in Webster, to get the most precious belongings to the house safely, the kids (her three dogs) wouldn't last on a flight with three different lay-overs, and she is terrified of flying herself.

Pulling over for the last time before entering Addison, three towns away from her new home, Sydney parks her SUV at a rest stop and kills the engine before opening the door. Sliding from the driver's seat, Chase, a six month old Golden Retriever puppy, in her arms as she proceeds in stretching her legs before walks around and opens the trunk, allowing her two other dogs. The first out is Harper, a four year old, blue eyed Husky who was quickly followed by Jet, a two year old, black pit-bull to jump down and run to the grass. Keeping a trained eye on them, Sydney straps Chase's leash on him before walking over and setting him in the grass. Walking around the perimeter of the grass, Sydney watches her three dogs while doing some time math in her head. Figuring she is about forty-five minutes outside of Eaton, there is an hour drive through Eaton to Brown County, before she arrives in Webster. Giving her almost two and a half hours of driving around.

“Harper! Jet! Come.” Sydney says firmly once she and Chase have reached the back of the SUV. The two dogs bark in response and then start a race from where they were playing in the grass to where Sydney was pouring water into a giant bowl for the three of them to drink. When Harper stands straight, Jet soon following, Sydney gets them both a treat and pats the blanket that is laid down for the dogs. Jet hops up, taking up a majority of the available space before Harper jumps in and weasels her way in. Chase barks, causing Sydney to giggle and hand him a treat as well.

Making sure the bowl is dumped out and stored back in its place, Sydney hands her dogs the another treat, kissing both of their furry heads, making sure their paws are clear of the tail gate, she shuts the door. Picking Chase up off the pavement, Sydney stretches her legs once more before opening the driver's side door and climbing behind the wheel, letting Chase lay on the blanket covering the leather covered passenger seat while he chews on his treat. Shutting the door once her legs are in, Sydney reaches over and takes the leash off him as she starts the car. The dogs start their excited barking once more as Sydney buckles up and puts the SUV into gear and backtracks so she can get herself back onto the interstate that leads her to the new place she is going to be calling home.

A few minutes later, after the dogs have calmed down, rolls the far back windows down some her larger dogs have air in the back of the SUV while she adjusts the air conditioning of herself. Cursing for not grabbing her sweats for the last part of the drive, Sydney turns the temperature down before turning the volume of her stereo up some, smiling as “Drops of Jupiter” by Train starts to play from her iPod. Chase is already asleep, curled up into a tight ball as the field of beans, corn, wheat, and soy pass by.

The decision to move to Webster came a couple months after Sydney walked in to see her ex-husband, Kyle, in best with her best friend, Tonya. The married couple spent about a month and a half in consoling, but Sydney made the decision one day at work after getting passed up a promotion she had been talking about since the position opened. Figuring that her marriage, friendship, and her career were at their final points, Sydney filed for divorce, told Tonya that she could go to hell (with a few more colorful words), and started the process of quitting. What she means by this is working through the Christmas and Valentine's season in order to get some extra money, before putting in her two weeks. The divorce was finalized after three months of Sydney and Kyle negotiating who was going to get what. Neither signed a prenuptial agreement of even thought of one. So that meant a long two months of figuring out what to split in half, arguing over who was going to keep the dogs, and getting all of the finances in order. That last month was Kyle helping Sydney find a place to live and get her a head start in the moving process, judges orders. And that is only because Sydney grew up with the guy.

Shifting in the leather seat of her SUV, Sydney sighs and runs a finger through her red hair, a smile coming to her lips as she sees the sign telling her she only has about an hour before she will be in Webster. Flipping through her iPod carefully, Sydney decided on Velvet Revolver as she settles in for the stage of the drive. Grabbing her iced coffee, she takes a couple drinks, trying to chase the sudden fatigue that captured her, Sydney reaches over to stroke the soft fur of her Golden puppy as he stirs awake, and tries to crawl over to lay in her lap. Picking up the puppy, Sydney lets him rest in her lap before she reaches back to pet Harper and Jet. Both turn and take turns in licking her hand before turning and laying their heads back down.

“I wish I could sleep for the last part of this drive.” Sydney says quietly down to Chase with a smile. “You babies are going to love your new house. Plenty of space to run, probably some squirrels to chase, and there's a pool as well as a lake down in the woods” Harper barks quietly, turning her blue eyes to look at Sydney before getting up and crawling as close as she can, laying on top of a couple bags before resting her jowls on Sydney's right shoulder.

“I know how much you love the water, Harper.” Sydney runs her hand over the dogs soft black and white peppered fur before giggling as she feels Jet lick her arm. He's followed his older sister and crawled to lay over some of the bags Sydney brought with her to get closer to his owner's voice. “And Jet, you love those squirrels.” That earns a playful growl from the hazel eyed dog. Hearing a soft whimper, Sydney looks down from the road to see Chase looking up at her. “You're going to be mommy's little helper. We gotta keep these two in check. But there will be plenty of swimming and birds to chase for you as well, baby.” Her fingers sliding over his copper fur.

And that is how Sydney and her three babies spend the last hour of the drive. When she exits off the interstate and enters Webster, Sydney turns the music down some, in attempt to concentrate some. Stopping at a red light, she adjusts some of the bags behind her so she can roll the windows down without letting anything fall out. Giggling when Chase starts to paw at the driver's side window, Sydney wraps a hand around his small body and rolls the window down. Sensing the way everyone looks at her while she drives through the small town in order to get to her home, Sydney looks around whenever she is stopped at lights or signs.

“This is own new hometown babies.” She says to the dogs before taking a leg turn on Whickery Ave, her street address. “Five more minutes.” She sighs softly and heads down the street before turning off the main road and onto the dirt road that will lead her to the yellow colored house. She passes a couple of houses on the way, wondering if she will meet her neighbors. Sydney and Kyle always lived in apartments, so she never really knew what to do when you lived more than six feet away from one another. Her momma says that if they are decent enough people then they will travel to see her, just to extend a welcoming into the neighborhood. “Yeah, we'll see about a welcome party.” Sydney scoffs as she pulls off the dirt road and into her new dirt driveway.

Seeing the yellow house about a quarter mile up the drive, the dogs start to bark and stand up. Sydney giggles and pulls into the yard in front of the house, parking the SUV before shutting it off. “Alright, I'm getting out.” Sydney says as she gets out, setting Chase down before quickly walking around to let Harper and Jet out. “Go explore!” She exclaims and giggles as Harper and Jet take off to start playing in their new year. Chase stays next to Sydney, looking up at her and wagging his tail. “You wanna come in and see the place with me?” That earns her an excited bark in response. Grabbing her purse, Sydney starts walking towards the house, digging for her keys.

Climbing the steps, Harper and Jet run around the deck and stand besides her, ready to run and explore the inside of their new house. “I'm getting to it!” Sydney giggles as she unlocks the white, wooden, door and pushes it open. Just as she is about to step into the house, there is loud country music and the sound of a car driving down the dirt road. Looking behind her, she sees a black pickup truck driving slowly past the house. And from what she can see, a young man behind the wheel, checking out the SUV like he was trying to get a peek at his new neighbor.

The dogs barking snaps Sydney out of her reverie. Turning to look at where they are all standing in the kitchen, looking out the back door, identical to the front one. “What? Did you not go venture in the back yard?” Sydney asks, leaving the front door open so the house can air out. Opening the living room windows as she walks through to unlock and open the back door. “There, go play some more.” Instantly Harper and Jet are racing through the back yard, making sure to steer clear of the empty pool.

With a pleasant smile and a shake of her head, Sydney sets her purse down on the counter and fishes out her cell phone, dialing her mother's number. While she waits for her to pick up, Sydney walks around the kitchen to open the windows. Just as she is pushing through the swinging doors that lead to the dining room, her mother's voice sounds.

“Please tell me you made it to the house okay.”

“Yeah, momma. I just got here and let the dogs out.”

“Oh good. Opening the windows?”

“Yep. I'm in the dining room now. It's a lot bigger than the pictures show. But it's amazing.” Sydney says as she climbs the stairs, Chase right behind her, to start opening the doors on the second floor. “I can't wait for you to get here to help me out.”

“You always needed my help when it came to decor.” Her mom giggles from the other line. “So, everything went okay? The drive and everything?”

“Of course. My handy GPS was on and kicking, so no problems.”
“Babies behaved themselves?”

“Yes, momma.” Sydney smiles and walks back down the stairs. “How's everything home?”

“By that , I know you mean Kyle.”

“No-”

“Sydney Marie. You know this isn't going to help you at all. This dwelling on him and trying to make sure he's miserable. No matter how much he deserves it.”

“I know... I'm still just really bitter about it.” Sydney admits as she walks outside to start loading some of her things in.

“Throw yourself into the house. Focus on it, starting a life there in Nevada. Don't worry about life here, because besides me, the life here is in the past.”

“This is why you just need to move out here with me. There is plenty of space in the house.” Sydney goes back to an original offer she made to her mother. She knew moving out here would take her two days away from her mother.

“Sydney, this is about you. Trust me, I'm loving the empty house, having my small part time job at the retail store, and the cats.” Her mom giggles. “Is any of your stuff there?”

“Nope. The movers said they would be here tomorrow around 10 in the morning. I brought the air mattress, so I'll let it fill up and just sleep in the living room for the night.”

“You had this all planned out.” Her mother smiles, proud of how much effort her daughter has put into this move.

“Had to be. Everything here is so new to me that it just had to be planned before I even got here.” Sydney smiles when she sees Chase out on the front porch watching his older siblings run around the yard. “Harper, Jet! Come.” She says firmly, making sure to hold the phone away from her mouth as she shouts for her dogs. “They've been out here running around since we got here.”

“Get those babies some water!”

“What do you think I am doing momma?” Sydney asks as she sets the giant bowl on the pathway leading to the front of the house before pouring whatever was left of the water into it.

“Alright, well, I'll let you go so you and the babies can get settled in for the night. But be sure to call me after you eat, okay?”

“Okay, momma. Love you”

“I love you too, baby girl. Talk to you later.”

“Bye, momma.”

“Bye, baby.” And with that the call to her mother ends.

“Ugh... Momma's worried about us.” Sydney sighs as she runs her hands over Harper and Jet's fur to knock some of the dried grass off. “So glad we took care of your shots before coming out here.” She says before standing and grabbing some more bags and the box holding the air mattress. “Feel free to grab a something.”

“Don't mind if I do.” A sudden voice sounds from behind her.

“Holy shit!” Sydney exclaims, startled enough to drop the box in her hands.

“Oh, I'm so sorry!” The man who owns the voice says, quickly walking over to pick the box up.

Sydney looks up and smiles warmly at the man, who is dressed in a plain white t-shirt, worn jeans, and brown work boots, as he now stands in front of her. “Um, thanks. And don't worry about it. I scare easily, so it's nothing new really. I guess I just didn't hear you or my dogs.”

“Oh,” The man chuckles and motions to where the dogs are playing, Chase running after his siblings. “They were playing when I walked up here.”

“Which was?”

“You were digging around for this.” The man says with a bright smile, holding up the box. “No furniture yet?”

“All of that is on it's way.” Sydney adjusts the bags and sticks her right hand out. “I'm Sydney Ellis.”

The man takes her hand in his much, much larger one, and shakes it softly. His hazel shining as he speaks. “I'm Jared Padalecki. I live in the house across the field.” He says pointing to a white house in the distance.

“How did you know I was here?” Sydney asks, a little curious as to how he knew.

“Not hard to spot a white SUV when all you're used to seeing are trucks and minivans. So I figured you were my new neighbor.” Jared says with a chuckle, following Sydney into her house. “Um, care if I help you unload and get settled? Ma would kill me if I didn't offer.”

“Um, if you don't want to, don't worry about it.” Sydney says dropping the bags onto the floor, against the wall bordering the kitchen.

“I don't mind. Gives me a chance to get to know my new neighbor. Who has awesome dogs, might I add.” He responds and as if on cue, all three of them saunter into the room and right over to sniff Jared. “Harper and Jet, get over here.”

“No, no! They're fine, really. I love dogs. My two are over at my place.”

“Aw! You should have brought them over!”

“Well, if we get everything packed in, get your mattress set up, and your pups settled, maybe we could grab dinner together.” Jared offers politely.

“I, um, would cook but I haven't even been to the store.”

“I can see that the place is pretty much bare of everything but the counters, windows, and doors.”

Sydney nods as they walk out to grab some more of her things. “Yeah, I was planning on doing that the day after tomorrow. Furniture comes in tomorrow, so I figured I could live off pop-tarts, lunch meat, and cheetos until then.” She says with a smile, pulling a trash bag full of her clothes so Jared can get the cooler. “Lemme drop this off and then come and help-nevermind.” Sydney starts but is cut short when Jared pulls the cooler out of the trunk with easy. “You're pretty strong.” Sydney states honestly.

Jared laughs as walks in to set the cooler on the floor in the kitchen. “I'd like to think so too.” He takes the pump that Sydney is digging out of a box. “Let me.”

“Thank you for helping me out.” Sydney says as she walks into the kitchen, lining up the temporary bowls for her dogs, filling it with their food, and getting the bigger one for their water. “This just cut my time in half.”

“So this means you and the pups can come by my place for dinner. Ma's over and is going to make me help her cook some chicken dish.” He says with a shrug. “Kinda why I was sent over... To invite you to dinner.”

“Please tell me I am in the right state. This whole 'southern-hospitality' vibe feels like it is something straight out of Texas.”

“Well, it helps when I am from Texas.” Jared chuckles and reaches up to rub the back of his neck with his hand.

“No way! I'm so sorry if I said anything-”

“Nope, Nothing offensive.” Jared lets his hand fall to his side. “So, what do you say?”

“Sure! I'm sure a home cooked meal will be the highlight of my meal schedule for the next few days.”

“Great! I'll just go let her know, and I'll be back around 5:30 to walk you and the dogs over.” Jared smiles, those hazel eyes shining once again as he walks over to the door.

“Thank you.” Sydney offers him a genuine smile and walks over to stand in front of him. “I'll make you dinner one night, to repay you for helping me out.”

Jared just shakes his head. “Don't worry about it, really.” His smile never faltering. “So, I'll see you in a couple hours.” Sydney nods and waves as he turns and walks down the front steps, patting Harper's head on his way down.

Smiling, Sydney watches the man walk across the dirt road, but stopping and turning when the black pickup truck from earlier honks, causing all of her dogs to bark and stare out to where Jared and the young man behind the wheel are talking. “Come eat, babies.” She says, turning just as Jared and his friend turn to look back up at the house.