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Post by JAMES WILLIAM HOPKINS on Jan 19, 2011 9:16:19 GMT 6
James was generally nervous as he finally approached the café where Jenny had said to pick her up. He hadn’t driven, he had walked because he was too fearful his bad luck would kick in and he’d kill the both of them. James William Hopkins was a bit of a sad excuse for a man compared to everyone he met in Miami. He didn’t surf, he didn’t party every night, he tried to avoid trouble, and he was everything the general Miami guy wasn’t. This of course, was because he was a Connecticut boy. He had a high value for tradition, keeping his record clean, and sticking to plans. It would seem as of late though, he wasn’t much of a CT boy in the sense. He still valued traditions, but his record wasn’t sparkling and he was lucky there weren’t more spots on it. And James didn’t stick to the four year goal and plan with college. He fled miles and miles away to live in his field rather than listen to some old man about it.
As he held the bouquet of daisies he had brought for Jenny his palms sweated and he felt like he might pass out. James, was a bit of an awkward mess when it came to women. But he had a genuine interest in Jenny. She wasn’t like anyone else he had met during his time here. She was sweet and reserved. He wiped one of his hands on his blue and white button up shirt and then switched hands to wipe the other on his khaki pants. He looked at his watch, at least he was on time.
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Post by JENNIFER NOELLE MONTGOMERY on Jan 19, 2011 10:14:30 GMT 6
Jenny had never been on a date before. She was extremely excited for her first one. Although she was normally a very calm down to earth person, she felt her excitement growing past it’s normal limits. She was a bit nervous, of course. She had never been on a date before and was afraid of looking like she didn’t know what she was doing. But she was much more excited than she was afraid. It was why she went shopping with Kona for a new outfit to wear and couldn’t help but mention it to her sister one day, who reacted the way older sisters do. “Aww! My baby sister has a date! Who is he, what’s he like, what’s his name, is he cute, what kind of car does he drive?” Rebecca was lurking behind the counter at the moment, waiting for this boy to come pick her baby sister up for Jenny’s first date.
The whole thing was a little entertaining. It was like they had been set up to go on the date, but apparently it would have happened anyway. James was the best guy Jenny could imagine having her first date with. He was pretty cute, and he was very sweet and down to earth. Most of the guys she had met were nothing like that. James was actually a gentleman. It was becoming entirely too rare in Jenny’s mind. So she had gotten lucky when James had asked her on a date.
She had gone all the way over to Kona’s to let her friend do her make up since she couldn’t really drive in her condition. Kona had checked to make sure Jenny hadn’t backed out and was actually wearing the sexy underwear that they had gotten while shopping. Jenny had no intention of letting James see it, and she got the feeling he had no intention of trying, but it made Kona happy, and in her current state Jenny was glad to do something small to help.
Jenny twisted a loose blonde curl around her finger and waited patiently for James. She had been ready early. She didn’t want to be one of those girls that the guy had to stand around for ten minutes with her family and wait for. She thought he deserved the same respect that he gave her. She glanced over at the door every couple of minutes to see if James was there, and finally, right on time, he was approaching the glass front of the café. A smile formed on Jenny’s lips as she stood. Butterflies fluttered gently in her stomach. She glanced over at Rebecca, who was leaning over trying to see who the boy that was taking her baby sister out looked like. This was it.
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Post by JAMES WILLIAM HOPKINS on Jan 19, 2011 11:05:38 GMT 6
James took a deep breath as he entered the café. Of course he had a goofy grin plastered on his face once he saw Jenny. “You look…gorgeous Jenny.” he said looking at her. “Not that you don’t normally, or anything….” he added. Kicking himself he looked over at the girl leaning on the counter and smiled with a tiny wave. He had no idea who she was, but the least he could do is wave to be polite. It could be the sister Jenny mentioned having, but he didn’t want to make random guesses that were way off.
His hand with the flowers jutted out to give them to her. “These are for you.” he said nervously. Then the idea popped into his head that Jenny may just be allergic to flowers. Or daisies in particular. His eyebrows furrowed, why hadn’t he thought of that before? “I hope you’re not allergic. Or anything like that.” he blurted out quickly. His free hand stuffed itself in his pocket before he could do anything stupider.
Looking at Jenny, he didn’t know how he ended up quite so lucky. She was a pretty girl, with a level head. She wasn’t like anyone else he had met. And to be honest, James had encountered a lot of people during his homeless period. He was glad though, that he met Jenny after being in the Burton’s house, he wouldn’t have wanted to meet Jenny when he was at such a hard point in his life. He was finally settled, he had a steady job, and now he was taking an amazing girl out on a date. He felt like the other shoe should drop any second now, but it wasn’t going to. He may have had sweaty hands, but he was winning for once. "Ready?"
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Post by JENNIFER NOELLE MONTGOMERY on Jan 19, 2011 12:54:48 GMT 6
Jenny couldn’t help but giggle. James really didn’t need to be nervous. She was the one that should be freaking out, but Jenny managed to keep her wits about her. She glanced over at Rebecca, who gave her a thumbs up and a nod of approval. Jenny smiled at James. She was happy to be going out with him. She just wished he wasn’t so nervous around her. Jenny wasn’t used to people being nervous around her. She was a very easy going person. She usually provoked smiles.
“Thank you!”
[/color] she said, possibly with a bit too much enthusiasm. “You look very handsome,”[/color] she told him, not only because he had complimented her but because she really meant it. She took the flowers from him and her grin, somehow, grew wider. For some reason it hadn’t occurred to her that he was going to bring her flowers. She took them in and felt the butterflies flutter more in her stomach. James really was a sweet guy. “Thank you, they’re beautiful!”[/color] She giggled again. She still couldn’t understand why he was so nervous. “No, nothing like that. They’re lovely, really. I’ll take good care of them.”[/color] Rebecca had already disappeared to go get something to put them in. Jenny turned and waited for her sister to return. It only took a moment for Rebecca to return with a tall glass already half filled with water. Jenny put the flowers in the glass and placed them on the counter. She fixed their arrangement a bit and then turned back to James. She nodded. “Yes, I am.”[/color] She grabbed her clutch from off the table and waited for James to lead the way.[/size][/blockquote][/blockquote]
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Post by JAMES WILLIAM HOPKINS on Jan 20, 2011 11:48:55 GMT 6
James took Jenny’s hand and led her out of the café and out to the Miami streets. “I hope you don’t mind that we’re walking. I was going to drive, but uhm, it’s a really nice day. Was that your sister?” he said as they strolled. The day was really nice, it had been a cool temperature so there wasn’t humidity and there was a slight breeze to match. There were hardly clouds in the sky, and the sun was getting ready to set and subside to the moon. This time of day left the Miami sky a nice peachy color.
A chunk of James really enjoyed Miami, but seeing the sunny city at this time of year made him miss home. According to the forecast online central Connecticut was getting hit hard with snow. He missed his hometown and how perfect it was for pictures. Across the street from his house had been a park with winding trails lined with trees, in fall there was great foliage, and in winter the trees always had the right amount of snow on their limbs. James was the kid that quite literally had a camera lens for an eye; he looked at something and saw how it could be in a snapshot. Miami, although it was nothing to sneeze at, was not home. But James didn’t want to go to college and he didn’t have the money to move back home, so it was here he would stay. He wasn’t complaining though, he wanted to be here with Jenny.
As they waited for the light at a crosswalk to change James looked over at Jenny. “So I know we decided on Italian food, but things kind of, well, changed. Hope you don’t mind…but now we’re going to have a picnic.” he said with a nervous smile.
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Post by JENNIFER NOELLE MONTGOMERY on Jan 21, 2011 4:23:46 GMT 6
A tingle went up Jenny’s arm as James took her hand in his. She knew it was silly. Jenny really wasn’t the type that got crushes, but you couldn’t blame the girl for being excited for her first date. “I don’t mind,”
[/color] Jenny said. Actually, she liked walking around the Miami streets, but she rarely ever did it. She knew it wasn’t safe to do alone, and she didn’t really have anyone to do it with. So Jenny really didn’t mind. Jenny took a quick glance back at the café. “Yeah. That’s Rebecca.” [/color] Somehow Jenny felt that it was the perfect time for a date. The sky in Miami was spectacular, and getting to walk around beneath it with someone was one of the sweetest things that Jenny could imagine. She felt a smile tugging at her lips. She was doing her best not to look too overly enthusiastic about the whole thing, but she wasn’t doing a very good job. Jenny didn’t mind the silence. She knew there was a time and place for it, just like everything else. It wasn’t uncomfortable, anyway. They walked along the Miami streets for a bit before stopping at a crosswalk. Jenny caught James’ eye. Her smile somehow managed to grow and her eyes lit up. Maybe Jenny was old fashioned. Maybe other girls would be upset by this unexpected turn, but Jenny was not one of those girls. “A picnic?”[/color] she echoed. “Of course I don’t mind! That sounds like fun!”[/color] Jenny was game for pretty much anything right then.[/size][/blockquote][/blockquote]
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Post by JAMES WILLIAM HOPKINS on Jan 21, 2011 10:38:02 GMT 6
James smiled as she sounded excited for the picnic. He had meant to bring Jenny to the Italian restaurant but he realized rather suddenly that he was embarrassingly poor. Poor in the way that he only had $20 to his name, and $5 of it was in his pocket. James may live in a luxurious mansion with lots of nice things but he himself had very little. His boss had forgotten to cash their checks on time so he was out $350 dollars, and that was enough to make his heart stop. James knew what it was like to be without any money, he never wanted to go through that again.
As they approached the park he was more than relieved to see that everything he left behind was still there. Especially his camera. Right in the middle of the empty field there was a blanket laying on the grass with a picnic basket ready to be opened. His camera was sitting next to it, and James could feel the urge to take a picture growing. He wanted to capture moments with Jenny. She looked radiant, and adorable. James usually searched for people his age to date but Jenny just seemed more mature than her age. She was the kind of person he could imagine only finding once, especially in Miami. He wasn’t in love with her or anything, but he had that feeling about her.
“Here we are.” he said as they walked in front of the little picnic.
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Post by JENNIFER NOELLE MONTGOMERY on Jan 21, 2011 13:13:10 GMT 6
Jenny’s money situation was a little bit odd. Technically, the girl was rich. She literally had millions of dollars in a trust fund. The only problem was that she couldn’t touch it until she was eighteen. Her sister had spent her money on a house for the two of them, cars, opening the café, and her college education. Not to mention all of the lawyer charges that Rebecca put into Jenny’s custody case. But now they were living off the last of the money that they were making from the café. Ever since the last advertising boost, they had gone from just breaking even to a small profit. It meant things were looking up, but they were still a long way from being back to normal. Neither of them really minded. Rebecca was living her dream, and Jenny was happy to help her. It was just a matter of time before Jenny got her money and things were back to normal.
Jenny beamed at the picnic in front of her. She couldn’t help but admire James’ camera. Jenny had a camera of her own, of course. She loved it dearly, and it was a good one, but she always found herself craving a new lens and filters for cameras, but they didn’t have the money for it at the moment. It was okay. Jenny had a natural talent for photography, and she finding other people who shared her passion. She wondered if he intended on taking pictures or he just carried his camera everywhere with him. Jenny had considered bringing her camera herself, but she wasn’t sure if it was a good idea or not.
“It’s perfect,”
[/color] Jenny told him, smiling. She wanted to hug him, but she wasn’t sure it she should or not. Everything was so perfect and cute, better than she had imagined.[/size][/blockquote][/blockquote]
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Post by JAMES WILLIAM HOPKINS on Jan 23, 2011 2:47:09 GMT 6
James looked at the picnic and enjoyed Jenny’s reaction, she seemed surprised and content. "I think so too" he said smiling at her. He sat down on the blanket with her and looked out at the horizon. He wanted to turn on his camera and take pictures of the sunset; he wanted to take a picture of Jenny against the majestic backdrop. Suddenly, he remembered that having his camera with him may be seen as awkward. “I take my camera with me everywhere…” he explained looking up at Jenny. He opened the picnic basket and took out the contents. There were two peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, a few apples, an orange, and two bottles of water. He had to admit that it was pretty lame. But it was better than showing up with absolutely nothing.
As he sat James realized something. For as much as he thought he knew about Jenny, he didn’t know much. They had talked here and there while she was working, and with everyone else, but he was missing the important things. Or even the little things that made Jenny who she was. He supposed that this was why people went on dates, to learn about one another. “So. Tell me about yourself. I mean I know you, we’re on a date. But at the same time I feel like I don’t.”
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Post by JENNIFER NOELLE MONTGOMERY on Jan 24, 2011 2:52:08 GMT 6
Jenny took a seat next to James on the picnic blanket and looked over at the sunset. He almost sounded awkward with his explanation, but Jenny didn’t mind. “It’s nice. What kind is it?”
[/color] Jenny wouldn’t mind a better look at it. Jenny loved everything about cameras and photography. It showed everything exactly the way it was, but through the eyes of the photographer. Jenny loved documenting her life, everything that happened, the people that she loved, the places that she had seen. She had countless memory cards at home with all of the pictures that she had taken, CDs full of pictures, flash drives with pictures, not to mention prints throughout her house and even in the café. She smiled at the contents of the picnic basket. Simple, but still delicious. Jenny almost felt like she should have brought something baked from the café, but she hadn’t known. Plus, they could still go to the café and get dessert if they wanted to, no matter what time of night it was. “It looks good,”[/color] Jenny said, smiling. Jenny, for some reason, was unsure about how to answer his request. It was true. She really didn’t know much about him, and unless he had found some way to stalk her, he couldn’t really know that much about her. But what was there to tell him? Jenny had never really thought about it before. She was silent for a moment, thinking carefully. She started with basics, things he probably already knew, hoping that it would lead to something more interesting. “I’m a waitress at the café. My sister‘s cafe. I live with her. I’m a junior in high school, and I want to be a social worker. I love photography and old movies. I guess I’m not much like most of the people my age. I don’t smoke or drink or do drugs or go to parties or clubs. I like baking and sharing with my friends. And I try to help people. I like making people smile…”[/color] She trailed off and looked off into the distance. It took a moment before she turned back and looked at James. She wasn’t sure if that was what he wanted to know, or she had left something out. She figured he could ask if there was something she missed. “Is it your turn now?”[/color] she asked, curious to hear what he had to tell her about himself.[/size][/blockquote][/blockquote]
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Post by JAMES WILLIAM HOPKINS on Jan 25, 2011 9:01:42 GMT 6
He looked at his camera and picked it up to hand to her, “It’s a Nikon D3s. You can play around with it and look through. It’s the only thing I brought with me from home. I got it for Christmas from my whole family in high school”. He didn’t mean to ramble so he stopped talking and picked up and put the camera next to her. James became nervous and didn’t know what to do so he picked up an apple and began to toss it up and down to catch.
Mentioning his camera made him remember that Christmas morning. It seemed so far away now, being in Connecticut seemed like a dream some days. Miami was a completely different place, there were only a few faces he could pick out in a crowd. The way that people dealt with one another was different too; people gave a warmer reception while walking down the street here. In Connecticut, it was quick and painless; get where you’re going and avoid talking on the way there. He had heard that the further down the coast you go the more hospitable people were, but he hadn’t believed it until he experienced it.
James grinned at Jenny’s detailed answer. He supposed, that it was his turn. “Well, I’m James. I’m a photographer, and not in school. I’m nineteen and turn twenty on April seventeenth. I made it here on my own with just my camera from Norwich, Connecticut. I don’t usually drink. Or smoke, but it happens every now and then. It’s something I do socially more than anything. I live with the Burton’s, and……feel free to ask questions?”
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Post by JENNIFER NOELLE MONTGOMERY on Jan 27, 2011 4:20:07 GMT 6
Honestly, Jenny felt extremely privileged as James handed her his camera. Her camera was one of her most prized possessions, and even though she thought of herself as a pretty generous and relaxed person, she always felt a little wary of sharing her camera with others. She tried to take such good care of it, and she was slightly overprotective of it. Her sister had gotten it for her when Jenny had first moved in. Jenny was careful as she held the camera in her hands and turned it on. She began going through the pictures, and her mouth dropped slightly at how many perfect shots James seemed to get. “These are amazing!”
[/color] Jenny told him. She wasn’t really surprised, she had known he was a photographer, but she couldn’t help but admire his work. She couldn’t help herself. Having the camera in her hands and James next to her was too tempting. She brought the camera to her eye and focused in on James, the park slightly out of focus in the background, and snapped the picture as he tossed the apple into the air. She took a couple more shots as a smile grew on her face. It always felt so natural to be behind a camera, even when it wasn’t her own. She glanced down to review her work and giggled. “Sorry. I couldn’t help myself,”[/color] she told him. She handed him the camera so he could review her shot and deleted it if he wanted to. Jenny sat and listened. It was true. Even though they were on a date it was like they hardly knew each other. While Jenny found herself curious to find out more, she wasn’t sure exactly what more was. One question was nagging at her mind, but she wasn’t sure it was appropriate, so she modified it slightly to be a less sensitive question. “How did you decide on Miami?”[/color] Jenny had never heard of Norwich, Connecticut before, so she couldn’t help but imagine it as a small town in the Northeast, and extremely different from Miami. Since she had lived within twenty-five miles of Miami her entire life, she didn’t really know anything about living anywhere else. “What was it like in Connecticut?”[/color] she added, suddenly curious, since she hadn’t had a reason or opportunity to leave of Florida in years.[/size][/blockquote][/blockquote]
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Post by JAMES WILLIAM HOPKINS on Jan 27, 2011 23:02:06 GMT 6
James smiled as Jenny looked through his photographs, “No, no. They’re not that good” he said bashfully. He always felt self conscious about his photos, he knew they were good, but he didn’t know how to take compliments well. It was like a big spotlight was just shining down on Jamesy.
He smiled as she handed back the camera after taking pictures of him tossing his apple around. James replaced his apple for his camera, his camera was his life. He looked at the pictures Jenny had taken and knew that they would be on his camera permanently. He didn’t want to erase the memory Jenny had just captured. “There’s nothing to be sorry about, the best pictures are the ones you can’t help but take” he told her putting his camera down.
He didn’t really know how to respond to her next question. Why Miami? Well, there was the obvious answer, he had nowhere else to go. But James knew that if he said that it would just lead to more questions and then he would have to explain his prior homelessness, and he really felt out of breath thinking about it all. James took a deep breath to really think. “Well, Miami’s nothing like home. There’s this world of opportunity here and I felt like if I was going to do something, it might as well be something that pushed myself away from my comfort zone.” James said thoughtfully. It was true. He was trapped by the small town he came from, Miami just made sense. He honestly felt like when he was alone on the road, Miami was just calling his name.
He chuckled a bit when she mentioned Connecticut. “Connecticut’s nothing like here. It’s cold, the people are really reserved, and at this time of year there’s a foot of snow. It’s one of those places that’s amazing on the outside but on the inside there’s just as much trouble as there is anywhere else. I mean, Norwich is a small town with money, which already screams trouble, but all the money and pride changes people,” he paused realizing how horrible he made home sound, “But it’s not all bad. There’s a lot to do. There are cows to tip, which I don’t advise doing. And New England’s really scenic. It’s a great place to take pictures and it’s close to places like New York and Boston” he said feeling a bit better about his answer.
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Post by JENNIFER NOELLE MONTGOMERY on Jan 29, 2011 11:48:02 GMT 6
Jenny was the type that would always find a way to compliment someone unless they truly did not deserve it, but she rarely found that to be the case. Jenny was a nice person, but she was telling the complete truth when she told James his pictures were amazing. He had a great eye for a photograph, and he had captured places that Jenny had seen a million times in a new way. That was what good photographers did, and he had done it well. “Yes, they are,”
[/color] she argued, smiling. “You’re talented.”[/color] She smiled, glad that he understood, and taking a mental note that he hadn’t deleted the picture. She wasn’t sure it was particularly good, but it was fun, and Jenny knew if she saw the picture again it would instantly bring a smile to her face. She nodded. Jenny was pretty good when it came to adjusting to her surroundings, but she still couldn’t imagine leaving her home for somewhere like Connecticut. “There’s lots of things to do in Miami,”[/color] she agreed. It was a big city, a tourist trap, and it was somewhere that tons of people came from all over the world to visit. Not to mention that they had schools, entertainment, and all kinds of inspiration and chances to make a name for yourself, especially if photography was what James wanted to do. Jenny really was curious to know what it was like in Norwich. She honestly couldn’t remember ever actually seeing snow in her life, although she was sure she had when she was a child. She couldn’t help but think of Connecticut as some kind of distant, imagined land as he described it, because even with her imagination she didn’t know what it was like. “It sounds really different,”[/color] she agreed. And she couldn’t help but laugh at his examples of things to do in New England. “Cows to tip?”[/color] she repeated. She’d barely heard of it, and had little idea to what that actually was. “I’ve always wanted to go to New York,”[/color] she admitted. She wanted to play the tourist for once instead of dealing with the people constantly going in and out of Miami.[/size][/blockquote][/blockquote]
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Post by JAMES WILLIAM HOPKINS on Jan 31, 2011 0:58:40 GMT 6
James smiled nervously at her compliment. “Thank you. It means a lot” he said a little nervously. James still felt weird about being praised for his photos. She was such a sweet girl to compliment him like she did. James wondered what was on Jenny’s camera. He felt odd not being able to return the compliments.
Jenny was right, there was much more to do in Miami. But there was a lot that the citizens of Miami missed out on. Like snow, for example. James had experienced a lot during his journey down here but he figured that Jenny had probably never been outside of Florida. They missed out on the open fields for bonfires and snow days from school. People in Miami never got to go sledding or have snowball fights, there was never a need for fireplaces and hot chocolate, and as James continued to think about all the great things in Miami—he couldn’t help but think about the cons.
James tried not to think about home but when Jenny asked about cow tipping his face dropped. “You’ve never been cow tip—” It was then that James stopped himself, of course Jenny had never been cow tipping, this was Miami, there weren’t cows for miles here. “It’s just when you go to a farm at night and tip over a sleeping cow. But you have to run like hell when they get up. Cows are surprisingly fast” he said offering up an explanation. “However, it makes a great video” James said chuckling a bit.
“I’ve only been to New York once. And I guess it wasn’t really much of a visit since it was for a field trip in school” James confessed. In fact that field trip had been in the second grade, so New York had looked a lot like a playland then. Much more of his time had been spent around his home state than others. James wanted to go to New York desperately to take pictures, but he knew it was a trip that would have to wait. “Have you ever been outside of Miami?” James asked curiously.
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