Lena’s mouth hung open for what felt like an eternity. Ever so slowly, her astonishment faded and transformed into a beautiful smile. “Thank you.”
“Yeah, well, it needed to be said.” Jess needed to get away before she embarrassed herself any further. She pointed at Kayla. “We’re on our way to the park. See you later.”
She waved at Kayla to follow and started down the driveway again.
Kayla caught up to her before she even reached the street. “Do you want to tell me what that was about?”
“No. I’d rather forget it ever happened.” Jess couldn’t possibly outrun her, as she was already short of breath. She slowed to a much more prudent pace.
Their friendship wasn’t so deep that Jess would feel comfortable talking about her idiotic behavior. So she did what she always did when life got too complicated. She reverted to work. “How’s the situation at the free clinic? How is my star patient? I miss Mrs. Jameson and her cookies, even if I wouldn’t be able to eat them now.”
As the sun dipped behind the tall trees next to the main house, the shadows on the flower bed lengthened and Lena had difficulty seeing the minute details of the leaf she wanted to include in her drawing. Should she get a light or resume her sketch whenever she could next steal an hour of time?
She stood and sighed as her knees and spine protested. Okay, no more sketching tonight. She raised her arms in a stretch.
“Um…hi.” Jess’s voice came from behind her. When had she gotten so close?
Lena turned around, and Jess’s gaze shot upward to her face. Had Jess been looking at her ass? She probably had some grass clinging to her. She shifted her pens and sketchbook into one hand and brushed over her wide pants with the other. The linen was wrinkled from sitting too long in one position, but whatever had distracted Jess must have fallen off already. “Hi.”
Jess gently rocked Ella’s stroller. “What are you drawing?”
“Nothing special, just some flowers.” Lena clutched her book to her chest and hoped Jess would leave the topic alone. She was out of practice and didn’t intend to give Jess a reason to make fun of her.
“I was about to start a walk. Do you want to join me?” Jess looked down at the handle of the stroller and no longer at Lena.
Did that mean she was asking to be polite? But polite wasn’t really Jess’s style. She would have just said nothing if she didn’t mean it. And Lena’s stiff legs would definitely enjoy the movement. “Sure. I’ll grab a jacket and leave my sketchbook inside. Are you going down the road?”
Jess nodded. “I wanted to go to the park.”
“Then I’ll cut through the garden and meet you at the back gate.”
“See you in a minute.” Jess flashed a genuine smile.
Lena knew she had made the right decision. She hastened back to the house, placed her sketching supplies on the kitchen table, and grabbed her olive-green wrap jacket from the back of a chair. The well-used cotton was soft as she slipped inside, and she left the sides hanging open for now. It wasn’t that cold yet.
When she emerged from the small gate at the end of the garden, Jess was still a few yards away. She pushed the stroller and mumbled something to Ella that Lena couldn’t understand.
“Which way are we going?”
Jess looked up and shrugged. “I don’t have a specific route, just toward the park. Ella seems to like the movement. I think it helps her fall asleep.”
“She’s still awake? May I say hello?” When Jess nodded, Lena leaned over and peered into the stroller.
Brilliant cornflower blue eyes stared back at her, full of innocence and happiness.
Lena wiggled her fingers in greeting and grinned when Ella gurgled back. “Hi, cutie. How are you? Enjoying your walk so far?” She reached out with her finger and lightly touched one of the tiny hands.
Ella opened and closed it around her finger, holding as tight as she could.
“Sorry. Your adorable daughter won’t let me go.” Lena couldn’t stop smiling.
“Adorable? Hm.” Jess smiled back.
For the first time, Lena saw the resemblance between mother and daughter, especially as Jess’s eyes shone in the same shade as Ella’s.
The soft grip around her finger loosened, as Ella let go in order to move her hand to her face. She yawned and almost swallowed her fist in the process.
Lena and Jess both chuckled.
With a sigh, Lena drew back her hand and straightened. “We better start our walk. She seems ready for bed.”
Jess nodded and began walking at a brisk pace, wordlessly pushing the stroller.
It wasn’t what Lena had expected from a relaxing evening stroll, but she enjoyed the chance to stretch her legs.
All too soon, Jess slowed. She was breathing deeply in an overly controlled way. Was she out of breath already?
They hadn’t walked that fast and hadn’t gone far at all. Maybe her illness had something to do with it? Lena wanted to ask if she was okay, but experience had shown that Jess wasn’t open to concerned questions.
They walked at a slower pace until Jess’s breathing had settled again. As they were still in a residential area, most of the houses had lights blazing in at least one or two rooms. A woman walking her dog on the other side of the road held her hand up in greeting, and Lena reciprocated. Kids’ laughter came from behind a hedge, and a few houses down a man talked behind a fence. The voices blended into indiscernible background noise.
The peaceful atmosphere washed away Lena’s stressful day. “This is nice. I’ve never taken a walk out here in the evening.”
“I never used to either. Usually, I wouldn’t even be home from work at this
