Falling in Place
Jake petted his dog, Fluffy. “If I don’t do well on this job, my entire career will be finished. I have been waiting for this opportunity forever, and now I think I’m going to fail miserably and make a complete fool of myself. I’m good with the camera, but not at the decision-making. Maybe, I should just go with the location my boss suggested. We don’t have much time before the shooting starts.” Jake sighed.
Fluffy looked at him with big brown warm doggy eyes, thus boosting his confidence. “On the other hand, that neighborhood looks starved, not simple. It doesn’t suit the scene at all. What do you think I should do? I miss the days when it was just Harry and me running the studio.”
Fluffy, put his head on Jake’s lap and licked his hands. In spite of his worries, Jake couldn’t help but smile. It was good to know that Fluffy would always love him, no matter how he did on this assignment.
As he rubbed Fluffy’s belly, his eyes fell on the dial of his wrist watch.“Okay Fluffy, we have to go to Anna’s house now,” Jake said, lifting the dog from his lap. “My sister will get cranky if we’re late.”
Fluffy slumped his shoulders and reluctantly walked towards Jake’s bicycle basket. He liked to listen to Jake confide in him, especially since these sessions seemed to help Jake cheer up. “Anna will be excited to see you,” Jake said, lifting Fluffy and gently placing him in the basket.
Anna had just moved into an apartment near a botanical garden. Jake had never been there before, so he planned to stop by the garden on his way back home. He stuffed his camera into his backpack, hoping to get some pictures of some exotic flowers and trees.
He got onto his cycle and rode off onto a nice empty tree-lined road. Preoccupied with his concerns about the shoot, Jake was taken by surprise when he saw a car speeding towards him.
Jake swerved sharply, trying to get out of the way. “Mister, look where you’re going!” Jake shouted as he fell over into a thorny bush next to the sidewalk. “Ouch,” he groaned as he got up. He saw Fluffy sitting on the ground a few feet away. “Fluffy!” he called out. “Are you alright?”
He rushed over to the dog who had rolled out of the bicycle basket. Fluffy was whimpering. He was frightened, but not hurt. Jake said, “It’s okay. We’ll be fine.” He petted Fluffy until he calmed down.
Jake tried to put Fluffy back it the basket, but he refused to budge. That’s when Jake noticed the thin red line. “Oh, no! I’m bleeding,” he mumbled.
“Okay,”Jake nodded. “Fluffy, stay there. Don’t move. I’ll be back in no time.”
Jake looked around wondering where he could go wash his wound. He was on a small street with little red-roofed cottages. The cottages were all either white, cream or light pink. He didn’t recognize the place.
With blood still trickling down his arm, Jake walked up to the nearest door and knocked. To his disappointment, no one answered.
As he walked further down the street, he noticed the houses were quite old. Most of them had a lot of ivy growing on the walls.
Jake thought, How come I’ve never come across this neighborhood before? It’s so quaint and charming, almost like a fairy tale in the middle of New York city! In fact, this is how I picture a simple neighborhood.
His eyes lit up, as he was struck by a sudden brainwave.Wait, this might be the right place to shoot the movie! He did a little jig causing a drop of blood to fall onto the pavement.
“Right! I have take care of this first.” He looked ruefully at his injury. As Jake walked on hoping to find some help, he noticed that most of the houses were empty. “It’s a weekday morning. So I guess most people are at work.” He sighed.
In one of the cottages, he saw the lights on. He approached it and knocked on the door.
An old lady with twinkling eyes peered at him. “Hello. Are you lost? I don’t remember ever seeing you in this neighborhood before, but then again, my memory is not what it used to be.” She laughed.
“Hello Ma’am. You’re absolutely right. I’ve never been here before. Such a charming place too. I’m Jake, by the way. I just need some water to nurse my wound.” Jake showed her the cut on his arm. “Would you please get me some?”
“Of course, Dear. Come in. Your cut looks serious! How about I get you some bandages?” The old woman trotted into the house.
Jake followed her in. “Yes that would be very nice, thank you.”
When the old lady left the room to get the bandage, Jake smiled. She reminded him of the grandmother in the movie that he was working on. In the movie, when a little girl’s parents died in a car crash, she went to live with her grandparents.
The old lady returned with a glass of water, two cookies and a first aid kit.
Jake said, “Thank you so much.”
He drank the water and then turned to his wound which covered the full length of his upper arm.
The old lady said, “I used to be a nurse, a long time ago. Maybe, I should bandage up your wound for you?”
Jake nodded. “Thank you. You’re very kind.”
The old lady dressed Jake’s wound carefully. Jake thought, This lady has kind eyes. In the movie, the grandmother nursed the girl’s wound making her feel loved for the first time, after her parents’ death. I always pictured the grandmother to have kind eyes.
“There, all done. Does it still hurt?” The old lady asked packing away the kit.
Jake examined the bandage. “It’s perfect, thank you. I don’t feel any pain at all.” He smiled and started munching on the cookies. They were warm and buttery.
The old lady said, “You remind me of my grandson. He’s the same age as you are. And he really devours those cookies. I make them myself. Would you like me to get you some more?”
Jake said, “No, thank you, I’m quite full.”
Jake looked around as he chewed the last bit of his cookie. His eyes fell on a clock hung up on the wall. It was very late.
Jake said, “I’m so sorry, but I’m really late. I was supposed to be at my sister’s house a while ago. I must leave, or she’ll be really angry. Thank you so much for your help and the cookies were delicious. Your grandson is very lucky.”
The old lady said, “Yes, but unfortunately, I rarely see him. Actually, I’m quite lonely. Won’t you be a dear and visit again. I’ll give you more cookies.” She winked, her eyes twinkling.
“Of course. How could I resist? Thanks again.” Jake walked back to the main road, humming to himself absently. He was thinking about the movie.
When Jake reached his bicycle, he was shocked. Fluffy was gone! Jake had only been away for around ten minutes. He scratched his head and looked left and right. He thought, Fluffy wouldn’t have gone far, right? Right? He started sweating.
Jake ran down the street. He looked in all the bushes, behind all the trees, and fences.
As he neared the end of the street, he noticed a shiny red car in front of one of the houses. He started to go towards it. Perhaps, Fluffy was hiding there.
As he walked up to it, Fluffy bounded out from under it. “Thank God! Don’t ever hide like that again, Fluffy!” Jake hugged Fluffy. “I told you to stay next to the bicycle! What if something happened to you?” Jake chided.
Fluffy put his head down. Then slowly he looked up with sad eyes and droopy ears. He even whimpered a little. Jake couldn’t help but forgive him. He thought, After all, Fluffy did almost get killed by a car today. He deserves a little fun. Speaking of cars, this red one is quite fancy. Good heavens! It’s a BMW just like the one belonging to the parents of the girl in the movie. After their sudden death, the chauffeur drove her over to her grand parent’s house in the Beemer. This is amazing. Anyways, I’d better takes some pictures of this place and give them to my boss. I’m sure he’ll love it.
Besides, he thought, if we do the shoot here, I could visit Grandma and eat more of her yummy cookies. His mouth watered at the prospect.
As soon as he was done clicking pictures, he looked at his watch. “Yikes, are we late or what? Anna is going to be livid.”
He put Fluffy back into the basket and rode off.
He turned around to take one last look at the neighborhood, before leaving. In his annoyance, he hadn’t noticed that the thorny bush he had fallen into was full of pink roses. The missing piece, thought Jake. Now the girl can be happy. This place is perfect.
In the movie, when the girl moved in with her grandparents she was scared and upset. Unlike her rich and glamorous parents, they had a frugal lifestyle. They didn’t want their children’s money, so before the girl came over, her grandparents decided that she would get the money when she turned eighteen.
One day, while the girl was staring out of the window, she noticed her grandmother gardening, like her mother. She skipped downstairs to see the garden.
She smiled when she saw the pink roses in the garden. They were the same ones her mother used to grow. She went to her grandmother and asked for one.
Her grandmother put it in her hair just like her mother used to. Tears streamed down the girl’s cheeks. Her grandmother hugged her with the same warmth her mother always had. That’s when the girl thought, perhaps, she could be happy again.
Yes, this is the perfect location! Jake decided.
He picked a rose thinking, Maybe if I give this to my sister, she won’t be too mad at me for being late.
