The Other Side - Chapter 4

"The Other Side - Chapter 3" 

"Excuse me? You're -" Becky's eyes went wide. Suddenly it clicked. Of course she had recognized him! Oh. My. God. It's Jacob Jones. I have Jacob Jones standing in front of me. I have been yelling at Jacob Jones for the past five minutes. Jacob Jones ran me over!

Jacob shrugged one shoulder. "Heh... yeah... um, surprise?"

Becky found herself unable to respond, her entire body tense. No wonder the guy who ran her over acted like a hoity-toity brat - he was one. So much for an honest, heart-felt message in a bottle. The shock of recognition froze Becky’s body, creating an unpleasant, nauseous feeling. She felt the heat of embarrassment on her cheeks. Instinctively she went on the defensive. What is he doing here? What does he want from me?

Before she could speak, the front door swung open. Delany stuck her head out, looking at the visitor. "Excuse me, do you - oh, Becks! Ha, no wonder. I noticed someone pulled up but never knocked on the do - OH MY GOD."

Becky and Jacob winced in unison. Delany had apparently recognized Jacob ages before Becky did. Delany leapt out onto the porch and slammed the door behind her. She ran up next to Becky and said in an excited whisper that was at the volume of a freight train, "Becky! Do you know who you are talking to?"

Becky gave a half sort of smile, not wanting Delany to feel the hostility between them. "Um, yeah, now I do."

Delany turned to Jacob and, while adjusting her hair, smiled brightly. "Wow, Jacob Jones! I can't believe I get to meet - oh my gosh. I know why you are here!"

Becky winced again as Delany continued, "You got Becky's letter! And here I thought she had been crazy when she fished that stupid bottle out of the Moa... you have to tell me, was it a Bardolino?"

Jacob flashed an uneasy, superstar smile. "Pardon me?"

Becky's anger flared. Now that they knew who he was, he was the perfect gentleman. But anonymous, when worried about his money, he was a scumbag...

Delany laughed, flushing under his gaze. "The wine bottle you put your message in. Bardolino, right?"

Jacob shook his head and connected eyes with Becky. She looked away quickly, refusing to think about how stunningly green his eyes were.

"I really couldn't tell you, Miss...?" Jacob asked.

"Oh! Delany, Delany Wilder.” Delany giggled like a schoolgirl and jabbed Becky in the ribs. “He called me Miss.” She then turned back to Jacob. “Wow, it is so nice to meet you - come in, come in. I don't know where Becky's manners are..."

Jacob hesitated but when Becky didn't do anything to stop Delany from inviting him in, he obliged. He got to the front door but stopped beside Becky, looking down at his mud-soaked clothes.

"Oh, maybe I shouldn't -"

Delany shook her head. "Nonsense. You can take some of Jim's clothes."

Becky broke into the conversation. "Well, you can take off your shoes before you go in, anyway."

Becky felt slightly guilty as she watched Jacob stop short, bristling at her cold words. She wasn't normally a hostile person. As Jacob bent down to slip off his shoes, Delany cast her cousin a look to kill and then directed Jacob down the hall to the shower. Jacob kept looking over his shoulder at Becky who followed silently behind. Becky could tell Jacob felt awkward and she smirked. He should.

"Wait -" he said to Delany when he entered the bedroom. "I don't really, I mean - Becky, you can clean up first. Please."

Becky raised her eyebrow at the first courteous thing Jacob had said to her. She quickly gathered some clothes and went into the bathroom.

--

Jacob stood alone in the bedroom as Delany went to go gather him some clothes from...Jim? He shifted his weight uncomfortably. This was not what he had hoped would happen. He had wanted to go to her poised, he had wanted to - oh, who was he kidding? He didn't know anything. He never planned anything. He had no idea what he would say to this girl living in a completely different world.

Jacob sighed. For all of his acting abilities, he sure did suck at improv.

Suddenly, his cell phone jingled. Relieved by the distraction, Jacob flipped it open, ignoring the smudges of mud on the outside. "Jones here."

"Hey buddy boy, where are you?” came Chris's voice. Without letting Jacob reply, Chris continued, "You’ve been gone a while. I figured I should check up on you before you go and do something stupid."

"Thanks for the faith, man, though I can't blame you."

Chris paused. "Well, did you find her? Or are you completely lost?"

"I'm at her house."

"That's great. How did you find her?"

He chuckled. "It's a really long story, I'll tell you when I get back tonight."

"Was she worth it? What does she look like?"

The corners of Jacob's mouth pulled up in a grin. So far the only image he had of Becky was mud soaked in a baseball cap and poncho. But standing on that porch he noticed her long brown hair framing her naturally attractive face. Small chin, slender nose, but big brown eyes. And even though her legs had been covered in half-dried mud, he appreciated how toned they were.

"Good... very good." He shook his head. "But, Chris, I already told you. I'll tell you when I get back. Right now, I've got some problems to work out."

"Oh, all right. Keep me updated where you are though; it’s my duty to know."

"Yeah, Chris. Bye." Jacob shoved the phone back in his pocket. Jacob raised one eyebrow when a huge pile of clothes on legs walked into the room. Delany threw the clothes on the bed with a grunt.

"Well, here you go!" She caught the humor in Jacob's eyes and flushed. "I didn't know what you would like... or what would fit... so I kind of raided it all."

Jacob was about to tell her to thank Jim, or whoever he was, when Becky stepped out of the bathroom. She wore a khaki flared skirt and long red tank top with embroidered yellow flowers. Her damp brown hair curled into a natural wave. Jacob stared at her for a moment before she pointed to the open door.

"Towels are on the right and you have to pull pretty hard on the hot water knob in order to actually get hot water." She then noticed the huge pile of clothes on the bed, and he watched her smile for the first time. He instinctively mirrored her smile as he saw a playful light dance in her eyes. "I see Del has given you a large selection." Her smile faded once she looked into his face. Jacob felt his spirits dropped in response.

"We'll be out in the kitchen when you're done." Becky said, her voice frosty.

"Thank you," Jacob murmured, watching as she grabbed Delany's hand and pulled her out of the bedroom, closing the door behind her.

For a few seconds he stood in the middle of the room, dazzled. There was no question about it. Becky’s beauty matched—no—surpassed that of movie stars. Not because she had a perfect face and an immaculate make-up, but because she wasn’t a fake. She was a real person, naturally beautiful, in no need of layers of foundation and eye shadow. Genuine awe filled his mind as he shook his head and strolled to the bathroom. It had been a long time since he’d been touched by a woman’s true beauty.

Too bad she hates me.

The heavenly touch of the warm water rinsed the mud off his skin while he lingered on under the shower, reluctant to turn the tap off. Visions of ghastly creatures, of the almost invisible parasites and nasty bugs that inhabited the African rivers sparked in his mind. Fervently he scrubbed the remains of the dirt off his skin and hair, and almost jumped out of his skin when a lump of grass floated down the drain, resembling a hairy spider.

Eventually, after an almost too thorough clean up, he stepped out of the small cubicle shower and eyed the pile of clothes Delany had brought him, lifting up and stepping into the first things that resembled something he would wear.

Jacob paused to take a deep breath before reaching for the doorknob. His stomach felt tight, the back of his neck tingled. The thought of talking with Becky again raised similar tension as a stage fright. Jacob quickly composed himself, and took a deep breath.

“Okay. Take two.”

It took his whole professional ability to remain calm as he re-entered the kitchen to face the others. The conversation between Becky, Delany, and a male who could only be Jim quickly halted. Jim smirked as Jake stood awkwardly in a pair of jeans too long for him and a royal blue button down shirt.

"I hate it when other people look better than I do in my clothes." Jim winked. "Nice choice, that's my favorite shirt."

Jacob gave a half smile and shoved his hands in his pockets. "Yeah, I'm sorry about this. I didn't really intend to steal your clothes..."

Jim waved it off. "No worries, man. So long as I get them back. Or get to use your credit card for a day or so. Whatever."

Jacob felt the tenseness in his muscles dissolve. It was bizarre; he couldn't remember when someone had talked to him so naturally. Delany stood up from her spot at the table and grabbed hold of Jim's arm.

"Well! Jim and I have all sorts of things to do. Have fun kids!" And within moments, despite the look of death on Becky's face, they were in another room. All of a sudden Jacob's nervousness came back full force. His steps hesitant, Jacob approached Becky.

Becky took a deep breath and crossed her arms in front of her chest. "Yes, Mr. Kilmer?"

Jacob cringed at the harshness of her tone. "I apologize for running into you and being more concerned with my car than with you," he said, hoping the sincerity came through in his voice.

She stared at him, her eyebrows lifted high on her forehead. "You're only saying that because I'm the one you came here for."

Jacob felt his brow furrow. "Hey, that's not true."

"Are you sure? What is true?" Becky snapped. She avoided his eyes, glaring down instead at the uneven wooden tabletop. "How can you know what's true when your whole life is a lie? Why did you have to come here and turn a girl's life upside down?"

He felt his nerves spark. "Well, that was harsh. I may not be certain about my career choice, but I am certain about my sincerity."

Becky's eyes narrowed into a glare. Jacob held his breath. Okay, so that probably wasn't the best way to answer to get her to calm down. He took a deep breath.

"This wasn't how it was supposed to go." He said slowly. "I didn't mean to... turn your life upside down. Believe me, I never would have hit you - or anyone - with my car if I could have helped it."

"Then how was it supposed to go? Do you expect me to worship you like everyone else in the world?"

The entire situation was spiraling out of control. He had apologized - shouldn't that have caused her to calm down? He hated thinking this way, but he had to admit that he wasn't used to be treated like this.

Before he had the chance to respond, Becky sighed. "Look, I'm just confused where in my letter you saw an invitation to track me down and fly halfway around the world." She paused, looked up into his eyes for a moment and then turned her head quickly. "To be honest, it's a little creepy."

Jacob's stomach turned. This was awful. Why couldn't he just walk out and door and start all over again? The corners of his lips pulled down into a frown. "First you won't accept my apology, and now I'm creepy? Well, you're insulting."

"Real mature." Becky's eyes met him this time, unyielding.

The tension radiating in her voice made his defenses rise. "Oh, come on, Becky. You can't say you didn't want me to react to your note in some way."

"Actually, I can. Don't talk to me like you know me."

Jacob pressed his lips together and hooked his thumbs in his jeans pockets. He eyed Becky for a second - taking in her body language. She was turned away from him slightly, her arms crossed over her chest. He needed to remedy this situation and fast. I didn't come all this way to fight with a stranger. Be honest. If she's the same person who wrote that letter, you can talk to her.

"I kind of feel like I do know you. At least a little. You put a lot of yourself into that letter, Becky, and I guess - well, too be honest, if I were to make a list of people I felt like I knew, even with the little bit in that letter, you'd probably make the top five." Jacob was dismayed to feel his throat tighten a little. He wasn't used to telling people how lonely he was. When he looked up, it seemed like Becky had the same kind of alarm on her face as he was feeling.

"I don't want to fight. We're strangers, we can't fight. All I know is that I flew here to meet you." Jacob sat down at the table across from Becky who bit her lip.

"Why did you come, Jake?" She sighed and pinched the top of her nose with her fingertips. "Do you even go by Jake?"

Jacob nodded. "Yeah, Jake is great. And I just... I don't know. Your letter was the first letter I've ever had that actually felt like you were writing to me, for me, not for you. If that makes any sense."

Becky hesitated. Jacob watched as a slightly frantic look came over her eyes.

"Listen, Jake, I have to admit I'm kind of flipping out. I feel like I'm on some kind of reality TV show. I understand what you are saying but this is all so - well it's crazy. It's crazy in so many ways. I never, ever thought that my letter would bring you here. And if I had known I don't even know if I would have sent it."

Becky rose from the table and began to pace. "It's overwhelming! You just arrive on my doorstep, saying you came here for me... what do you want me to say? What do you want me to do? Your letter talked about... about saving you. Jake, I can't save you! I can't -" Becky stopped. Her brown eyes locked with his. He felt his heart jump with an extra beat.

“I think you can, you’ve already started,” Jacob said, his voice soft.

“But how can you ask me to do that? I don’t know you –“

"You don't have to do anything -"

"And you don’t know me! I don't - you can't just show up like this on someone, even if you are the famous Jacob Jones – Kilmer – I don’t even know your name! This is nuts, and I can't handle it." Becky wrung her fingers together. "Listen, I think you should go."

Jacob blinked. "Did you just tell me to go?"

She nodded frantically. "No, really, you need to go. I don't even understand why you are here. You can't just start visiting girls who write to you - at least not girls like me. I already did everything I could to help you. You said you flew all the way across the world to see me, but you had no right. Just because you are who you are doesn't mean you can do anythign you want. At least not in Sierra Leone."

Jacob stood from the table. So that was it. He supposed he could not have expected any more - what did he even expect in first place? She was completely right - he had invaded her life. And it was time to leave.

"Fine, I'm gone."

Quickly, he gathered his muddy things, and without as much as a backwards glance, he left the house.

"The Other Side - Chapter 5"