Fix Me, Fix You

The sun was only beginning to rise when the cab dropped Jesse off at the Quinn property a few days later. He began to make his way up the gravel road toward the shop when he saw someone on the porch of the second house. It was Jolie. She was standing on the side of the house facing away from the shop and her parent's house; she was facing away from the road. She held a cigarette between her fingers, and he could just barely make out the swirls of smoke as they floated out of her mouth.

She had the purest soul of anyone he had ever known. Sure, he didn't know her that well, but her virtues just radiated from her body in his eyes, and he was drawn to her because of it. His soul was wretched and ugly. Hers was immaculate. She was exactly the type of person he needed in his life.

"Morning," Jesse called softly as he walked over to her with his hands in the pockets of his leather jacket.

She jumped and whipped her head around quickly, startled by his sudden presence. Her wide eyes relaxed when she realized it was Jesse.

"Jesus Christ, you scared the shit out of me," she breathed, placing her hand over her heart. "I thought you were my dad."

He chuckled a little. "Sorry, didn't meant to startle you," he offered as he drug his feet up the stairs to her porch.

"It's alright," she exhaled then took another drag of her cigarettes.

"Mind if I join you?" He asked as he pulled a pack of cigarettes out of his jacket pocket.

"Not at all," she replied.

She couldn't lie to herself – she was fascinated by him. Physically, she found him attractive, with his short buzzed hair and slight facial stubble; she even liked his tall, thin stature and the way he dressed. But it was his personality she found the most alluring. He was always very kind to her, but he was vague and mysterious and dark and even a little broody. He wasn't the type of guy she was typically drawn to, but maybe that's why none of her relationships ever worked out; maybe she was going after the wrong type of guys.

Sure, he didn't have all the superficial qualities that society deemed important for a woman to seek out in a man; he wasn't rich or a businessman, he didn't have his life all mapped out for success, and he didn't drive a fancy car or have huge muscles from working out all the time, but Jesse was real and rare. He was genuine, and his heart seemed to always be in the right place. And that made him exactly the type of person Jolie wanted to be around – the type of person she wanted in her life.

Jesse perched a cigarette between his lips and lit the tip, sending a smoky trail overhead.

"Aren't you old enough to not have to hide cigarettes from your dad?" He wondered with a smirk as he leaned against the white wall of the house.

"You'd think so, but he'd still kill me," she answered. "I never smoked cigarettes before, but god damn, I can't start my day without one now."

"What changed?" He wondered as he took a long drag of his own, understanding the feeling.

"My brother and sister-in-law died a few months ago," she replied, exhaling a whirl of smoke. "It's been rough."

"Your dad told me what happened," Jesse said softly. "I'm so sorry."

"Thanks," she replied sincerely, appreciating his genuine sympathy. The compassionate words didn't roll off his tongue like he memorized them from a script. It sounded like the words truly came from his heart.

"He told me you've been taking care of their kids," he added.

"Yeah," she sighed. "I went from being a single career woman to being a single mom overnight. Quit my job, dropped out of grad school, moved into their old house, and this is my life now. Hence the midlife crisis. Hence the cigarettes."

"Ah," Jesse chuckled. "I get it now."

She smiled at him, making his heart race.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, indulging in the hazardous cigarettes and watching the sunrise as it turned the sky into a swirly mixture of clouds and reds and yellows and oranges.

"Any second now..." Jolie sighed as she flicked the cigarette butt into the yard. She pulled a piece of gum from her pocket and popped it into her mouth.

"What?" Jesse asked.

"The sun is their alarm clock," she replied.

"Huh?" He wondered, still confused

Before she could respond, a commotion came from the front door. The patter and shuffle of little feet came rushing in their direction. Jesse turned around just in time to see two little girls barreling past him.

"ESKIMO KISSES!" A little girl shouted as she rounded the corner, running straight to Jolie. It was the same little girl he saw yesterday who was running with the backpack. Her smile was as wide and as bright as the sun.

A younger girl, the one Jolie had been carrying yesterday, followed right behind her, less enthusiastically but still trying to keep up.

"Eskimo kisses for my girls!" Jolie called as she bent down with her arms outstretched. The two girls ran into her arms, laughing wildly. She hugged them and kissed them repeatedly then rubbed her nose sweetly against the oldest one's nose then against the youngest one's nose.

Jesse watched the adorable scene unfold in front of him, unable to contain the smile that spread across his face. He flicked his cigarette into the yard, not wanting the smoke to cloud around the young girls.

When their little morning ritual was complete, Jolie stood to her feet and the girls looked curiously over at Jesse.

"Girls, this is my friend Jesse," Jolie introduced. "Jesse, this is Lia, she's six years old," she said as she gestured to the older girl.

"Hi Lia," he greeted with a smile and a soft wave.

"Hi," the little girl peeped shyly, leaning into Jolie's leg.

"And this is Lucy, she just turned three." Jolie gestured to the younger one.

"Hi Lucy," he greeted sweetly.

She simply stared up at him.

A little confused by her lack of response, he looked up at Jolie.

"Alright, girls, go get changed for breakfast. I'll be inside in just a minute," Jolie instructed as she moved the girls toward the door.

"Okay!" Lia shouted then she took off. Lucy followed right behind her.

When the girls were in the house and out of sight, Jolie turned to Jesse as they walked to the front of the porch.

"Sorry about that," she sighed. "Lucy hasn't spoken since the accident."

"At all?" He wondered.

"Not a single word. She rarely even smiles."

"Oh, god," he breathed. "Don't tell me they were in the car when the accident happened."

She nodded. "They were. Lia has nightmares nearly every night. She wakes up screaming and sweating." The rims of her eyes lined with slight tears as she spoke about the trauma. "It's been tough for them."

Jesse's mouth fell into a frown. "That breaks my heart."

Jolie appreciated and adored the compassion he had for her family.

The light in the shop came on, signaling that Coop was there and ready to get to work. But Jesse wanted to stay. He wanted to stay and hug the beautiful blonde in front of him and hug the little girls and take away their pain. It was difficult for him to accept that such an amazing family was suffering from such a traumatic pain, just like he was. Except he was deserving of the pain; the Quinns weren't.

"I guess I better get to work," he said.

"Guess so," Jolie replied with a smile. "See you around, Mr. Respectable."

Jesse smiled and made his way down the stairs, but when he reached the second to last step, he stopped and turned around.

"Hey," he began.

Jolie, who had already turned her back to go inside, paused and glanced over her shoulder at him

"For what it's worth, I think what you're doing for them is really great. And I can tell you're doing a great job with them too," he told her kindheartedly.

Her legs nearly melted into the floor. Other than her parents, no one had said anything like that to her before. And though he didn't know it, she constantly questioned her ability to be not one, but two parents to Lia and Lucy, so his words meant the world to her.

"Thank you," she replied softly, worrying that her tears might fall at any moment. "That means a lot to me, Jesse."

He smiled at her then continued making his way down the steps. The fact that he was able to start his day with Jolie put him in a great mood. It had been a long time since he was that happy that early in the morning.

And little did he know, she felt the exact same way.

~

That night, the Quinn family sat down for dinner together. Cooper sat at one head of the table, scooping mashed potatoes onto his plate, while Linda sat across from him at the other end salting her corn on the cob. Jolie sat beside Lucy on one side of the table as she cut up pieces of rotisserie chicken for her young niece, and Lia sat across from them next to an empty chair, moving her green beans away from the rest of the food on her plate.

"You better eat those green beans if you want dessert," Jolie warned her older niece, noticing she was making a grotesque face at the green vegetable.

Lia's face fell in disappointment. "Fine."

"Did you and Jesse get a lot done today?" Linda asked her husband as she poured herself a glass of tea.

"Oh yeah," Coop answered. "We finished three projects way ahead of schedule."

"That's great," she replied. "He's a sweet kid."

"Yeah," he agreed. "I wasn't too sure about him at first, but he's a hard worker and a quick learner. I'm glad I hired him."

Though she was trying to act like she was more focused on cutting Lucy's chicken than the conversation her parents were having, Jolie couldn't help but smile softly at the kind words they were saying about Jesse, especially after their encounter that morning.

"How was school today, Lia?" Jolie asked.

"It was great," her niece answered excitedly. "I painted a picture of a tree in art, and I signed up for the spelling bee!"

"Wow!" Linda reacted happily for her granddaughter.

"Did you bring home the picture of that tree so we can put it on our fridge?" Jolie asked.

"Yep," Lia answered proudly. "It's in my backpack."

"When's the spelling bee?" Jolie wondered. "Did they give you a list of words to practice?"

"Yep," Lia repeated. "I don't know when it is, but my teacher gave me a paper to give to you. It has practice words on it too."

"Great, we'll have to start practicing then," Jolie replied.

"How was preschool today, Luce?" Linda questioned as she looked at her silent granddaughter.

Lucy simply stared at her.

"Did you color anything today?" Linda asked despite a lack of response. She raised her eyebrows eagerly, desperately wanting to hear her granddaughter's voice again. "Tell us about your day."

Lucy continued staring blankly at her.

"Mom," Jolie said quietly. "Dr. Martin said it's best to not pressure her to talk by asking a bunch of questions. She'll speak when she has something she wants to say."

Since the accident, Jolie had been taking the girls to see a child psychologist in Baton Rouge who specializes in overcoming traumatic situations. Lia seemed to be benefitting from the therapy greatly, but Lucy was not making much progress. The psychologist insisted that she would speak again when she was ready, and that it was best not to pressure her or trick her into talking, but everyone just wanted to hear her sweet voice again.

It was just one more beautiful thing the family had lost in the horrific accident – Lucy's little happy voice.