Southern Hospitality

The air in the yellow house is a cool, still air. But because the temperature if quickly falling, Sydney is digging through one of the bags of clothes she brought with her, in order to find a pair of sweatpants. The time is just past 9 in the evening and she is just now getting ready to fall into bed. Jared came over around 5:30 like he said he would, walking with her and her dogs across a vast field where he lived. She had a nice time talking to Jared and getting to know his mother, Sherry, who was in town for a couple of days visiting her son. Sydney's three dogs also got along well with Jared's two god, Harley and Sadie.

With Harper laying on the floor besides the air mattress, Jet laying at the foot, and Chase on his pillow besides Jet, Sydney pulls the sweats on over her sleep shorts and lays down on the mattress. Grabbing her journal from her purse, she rolls over onto her stomach and starts to relive what she did for the evening.

“So, where are you moving from?” Jared asks as they cross the street and head into the field.

Sydney, keeping an eye on her dogs, sets Chase down and lets him walk besides her, hooked to his leash. “I'm from Indiana. Born and raised.”

“That is so different from the way people talk around here.” Jared says with a some what shocked expression on his face upon hearing Sydney's response.

Sydney just raises an eyebrow. “The town knew I was coming?”

“When a house sits vacant for nearly six years, the town comes alive at the thought of someone new moving in.”

“What has everyone been saying about me?”

“Probably just random rumors.”

“Like?”

“Why are you so curious?”

“Well, I want to know what I should shout from the town-hall rooftop in order to set things straight.” Sydney says and starts giggling when Jared's booming laughter fills the warm air surrounding them. “What? I'm serious!”

“Oh, I bet you are.”

“No, but honestly, I just want to know so I can give you the correct information.”
“Well, let me think. The first one was you were some swanky real estate agent from California coming to buy the house so you could fix it up and sell it. Then a single mother from New York moving down to start a new life with her family.”

“If you count my dogs as my children, which I do, then yes, I am a single mother that has moved out here in order to start a new life with my family.” Sydney interrupts. “But I am not from California or New York. And I worked as an accountant in Indiana.”

“Oh wow, I bet that was a boring job.”

“You can say that again.” Sydney giggles. “Is there anything else?”

“One more. You went through a nasty divorce and lost everything, having to move out here to start new.”

“Well, almost half of that is true.”

“Which part?”

“The nasty divorce part.”

“No way! You look way too young to have been married.”

Sydney just nods. “I'm twenty-four years old, married my high school sweetheart, who was three years older than me, two months after I graduated. Worked in the local credit union while putting myself through school and after getting an associates in accounting, they promoted me.” Sydney says with a shrug, stopping since Chase has stopped a few feet behind her.

“Wow, I'm sorry to hear that.” Jared says honestly, stopping just in front of Sydney. “Divorce isn't a fun thing to go through.”

“You'd know?”

“No, but my best friend, Jensen, who lives in the house next door to you, went through one while he was still in Texas. So, after the dust cleared, he moved out here. I followed soon after.”

“Wow, the two of you just uprooted and moved out here, why?” Sydney asks as they start walking, the house a few yards in front of them now. “If I'm prying or anything, just let me know.” Her voice filling the silence that had fallen around them.

“No, I'm just trying to pick around my story and his.” Jared says. “He and I have been best friends since high school, so when he made the decision to leave, I did as well. I didn't have anyone holding me down in Texas, so I figured moving out to the middle of nowhere with my best friend, to make sure he's okay, didn't sound like such a bad idea. But now I'm glad I did.”

Sydney nods and smiles. “I'm starting to like it more and more out here. The quiet, the weather, the fact that my dogs can run around without being yelled at. It's so nice.”

“It's called freedom.” Jared says as they climb the steps to his two story, white paneled home.

“Oh wow, your house is gorgeous.”

“Thanks. After we fixed up Jensen's, he and I worked on this one.”

“Both houses were fixer-uppers?”

“Not nearly in the shape that yours is in, but yeah, a little work needed to be done on bother houses.” Jared smiles as he unlocks the dark green, wooden door and pushes it open. The barking of two dogs inside instantly starting up.

“Harper! Jet! Come.” Sydney calls before entering the house. She lets Chase walk in so he can sniff the two new dogs while she waits for her other two to climb the stairs. Grabbing a hold of their collars, she follows Jared in, letting him grab his two dogs as well. “Nice, babies.” She says softly to her dogs after making them sit in the middle of what seems to be the living room.

“This is Harley.” Jared says patting a brown. floppy eared, black nosed dog. “And this is Sadie.” He says, ruffling the pointed ears of the German Shepherd mix. “They're both rescues.” He says with pride as he kneels down in between his dogs.

Sydney smiles, releasing Harper's collar and slowly reaching her hand out to Harley who sniffs and licks. “Nice to meet you Harley.” Sydney then repeats the motion to Sadie who sniffs and nudges her hand, asking to be pet. “And you too, Sadie.” Shifting back after petting both of the dogs for a moment, Sydney pats her hand on Harper's head softly. “This is Harper. She was a birthday gift from my ex-husband. I think she was about three months old when he found her in the shelter and brought her home shortly after.”

Jared reaches forward to let Harper sniff him before running his hand over her fur. “I always loved Husky's.”

“Oh, I did too. My mom and I had one when I was growing up. His name was Leo.” Sydney smiles and nudges her big black pit-bull playfully, who in turn rolls his head to give her a look before licking her cheek. “And this mean looking kid is Jet. He looks mean, but he really is the sweetest thing on the face of the earth.”

“Where did you get him?”

“I found him outside, in an alley behind, my old friend's house. He was nothing more than a year old, so I took him in.” Sydney says placing a kiss to Jet's head. Jared reaches out and rub Jet's chest which earns him and lick on the arm. “Now, for the little one who has manages to snuggle himself up against you, that is Chase. A six month old golden retriever puppy.”

“His back story?”

“Found in him a box, buried in the bushes outside of my old work place. Kyle swore he didn't want anymore dogs, but I couldn't just leave him at a shelter, so I took him in anyways.” Sydney smiles down at her little baby before letting her other two dogs go. “He thinks he is a cat.”

“Really now?” Jared asks, his eyes wide with amusement as he lets his dogs go as well to reach down and pet Chase.

“Hence why he is snuggled so close to you. I'll wake up some morning and he'd be snuggled between my head and shoulder.” Sydney stands and rubs her knees.

“Let me get the dogs outside, then we'll go see my momma.” Jared says with a smile before picking Chase up and handing him to Sydney.

“Thanks. I'm not ready for him to go play with a big dogs yet.”

“I know. And it's fine.” Jared smiles warmly at her before turning and wading his way around the dogs to open the back door. “I have a fence, so they won't escape.” Sydney nods and watches as the four larger dogs run through the house and out the backdoor. After shutting the door and walking to stand in front of Sydney, Jared unclips the leash from Chase's collar. “Wanna meet my momma?”

“We haven't even been on a date yet and I am already meeting your mother.” Sydney jokes as she follows Jared through the living room and into the kitchen.

Jared laughs and opens the door leading into the kitchen. “Ma?”

“In the pantry, son. I'll be right there.” Her voice calls as the pair walk into the pale blue kitchen.

“Wow, this is a huge ass kitchen.” Sydney says quietly as she looks around at everything the room contains. Matching appliances, beach decor, and a huge window above the sink. “You can see the back yard.”

“Yeah, it's nice to be able to watch Harley and Sadie while I am cleaning up dinner.”

“Is she here?” Jared's mother asks shutting the pantry door behind her, still not fully into the kitchen.

“Yeah, Ma, she is.” Jared rolls his eyes at Sydney before turning to grab the boxes his mother grabbed. “Sydney, this is my mother Sherry. Ma, this is my new neighbor, Sydney. And the cute little guy in her arms is Chase.”

Sherry looks around her son to eye Sydney. “Oh wow, you're gorgeous!” Her eyes widening as she walks around Jared to stand in front of Jared. “Your completion is flawless. And your eyes are a gorgeous color. Your hair, please don't get my started on that color. Is it your natural color?”

Sydney feels herself blushing a deeper and deeper shade of red with every compliment Sherry hurls her way. Looking up at the woman, Sydney nods. “Yes, ma'am. This is my natural color.”

“It is just gorgeous!” Sherry's clean hands run over the curls before looking down at Chase in her arms. “Now isn't he just adorable!”

Sydney smiles and shifts the tired puppy in her arms. “He's a cutie pie alright.”

“Now, you and Jared go relax and watch some television or something. I've got to get dinner finished.” Sherry says before turning to her son and shooing him out of the room. Sydney followed close after.

Dinner went by fairly quickly after that. Jared, Sydney, and Sherry all sat around the table, making polite chit-chat about their lives. Jared filled Sherry in on the gossip about Sydney before allowing the redhead to speak the truth about herself.

“You were married? How old are you?” Sherry asks after taking a drink of her lemonade.

“I am twenty-four years old.” Sydney says while wiping her hands on the napkin rested in her lap. “I married a couple months after I had graduated.”
“What this boy your age?”

“No. Kyle is three years older than me. We met in the math club.” Sydney says, a blush coming to her cheeks. “We just kinda hit it off and went from there.”

“So, he was a senior while you were a freshman?”

“Yes ma'am.”

“Stop calling me ma'am. It makes me feel old. You're more than welcome to call me Sherry.” The woman smiles over at Sydney. “Now, the two of you were together throughout the time you were in high school, then divorced six years later?”

Sydney nods. “So total Kyle and I were together for just shy of ten years. We married on our four year anniversary.”

“Wow, I'm sorry to hear of the divorce. You sound like you were happy.” Jared pipes up, looking over at Sydney with genuinely sad hazel eyes.

“I was extremely happy. I had a great paying job, Kyle was a lawyer. Our life was good.”

“And then?” Sherry presses, as she continues to eat.

“And then I caught him in the bed we shared with my best friend.” Sydney says as she shifts in her seat, leaning back in the chair.

Sherry's eyes grow wide and she looks up at Sydney. “Oh sweetheart, I'm sure that was just heartbreaking.”

“It was. But it opened my eyes. Kyle had been my world so so long that I hardly had time to grow up and live my own life. So I see him sleeping with my best friend behind my back as a blessing. I've moved on with my life.” With a shrug of the shoulders, Sydney dismisses anything else that can be said about the subject.

Shutting the journal, Sydney recaps her pen and sets the two items back into her purse before turning to lay on her back. Eying the ceiling, Sydney starts to think of color schemes she would like to use in the blandly painted living room. While she was running through all of the neutral colors, her mind lulled itself into a peaceful, dreamless sleep.

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The next morning, Sydney is up at 7 and shaking an iced coffee when her cell phone rings. Walking over to the kitchen counter where the phone was resting, she answers. “Hello?”

“Sydney? It's Jared.”

“Oh, hey Jared. You're up early!”

“Yeah, I know. Momma wants me to go run some errands for her. So since I am heading into town and I was calling to ask if you needed anything, seeing as you're kind of stuck there.”

Sydney smiles and opens up the coffee before taking a drink. “No thank you. I'm doing pretty well actually. As soon as the movers get here with my furniture-”

“Are you going to need help?”

“Well, I've got two guys where are coming to unload, but if you want to come over and help me move it around, you're more than welcome.”
“Sweet! I'll see if Jensen wants to come help.”
“Alright, that's fine.” Sydney says, still curious about this Jensen character Jared talks about.
“So, should I keep a watch out for a moving truck?”

“Nawh. I'll call you whenever they get here.”

“Okay, cool. So I'll see you soon.”

“Sure!” Sydney says, walking over to unlock and open her front door. “I've gotta call the electric company to see about getting some electricity over here, so I'll talk to you later.”

“Sounds good. I'll see you later.”

“Bye Jared.”

“Bye Sydney.” And with that the call disconnects.

Thirty minutes later, Sydney is plugging in her charger so the phone can charge while she waits for the movers. Busying herself with carrying all of her clothes up to the master bedroom, Sydney starts to hang some of the clothing she knows for a fact she is keeping. Half of her wardrobe was already donated to a shelter in Indiana, but moving out here, Sydney planned on downsizing her lifestyle. She has gotten the walk in closet half filled with her old work clothes when the sound of a rumbling diesel engine sounds outside of her house. Her dogs barking in the living room alerts her as well.

Leaving her clothing bags in the closet, Sydney hurries down the stairs to meet the two movers on the front porch with a warm smile. She gives them the go ahead to start unloading everything. Turning, Sydney goes to deflate the air mattress and attempt to stuff it back into the box when the two guys are standing in the doorway with the couch she ordered before moving. Shoving everything out of the way of the far wall, Sydney motions for them to set it there.

Sydney let the movers work, following the list of what she wanted where, knowing she would take care of moving it around herself. She in turn, went up stairs and continued to go through her clothes. Hanging up what she wanted to keep, and tossing what she wanted to donate into a box besides her. While she works, Sydney thinks about how she would want her dream bedroom to look like. Smiling when she envisions it then rushes it right it down and make herself a map to follow. Chase barks from where he lays on the bed.

“What buddy?” She asks softly, smiling when he stands and wags his tail. “I'm not doing anything!” Her giggles fill the space around her as she walks over to the bed. Chase nudges her hand with the piece of paper in it. “Oh this? It's just a floor plan and design ideas for the room. When Nana gets here, you'll see how great it will look!” She smiles, setting the piece of paper on the nightstand before laying in bed. She keep an ear focused on the locked hall closet where she's store the possessions she brought in the SUV with her knowing the movers are still bringing in the furniture that belongs on the upper level of the house.