Chapter 2: Jasper & Sunny

Chapter Two: Nostalgia

Sunny drank coffee on the small balcony of her room. She took in the view of the river, which was partially iced over. She’d just gotten off the phone with her cousin Kim and they squealed together as she told her to story of meeting Jasper. It brought her back to their many sleepovers where they’d spend hours listening to the music of The Boys Around Town.

Thirteen-year-old Sunny lay sprawled out with her cousins Kim and Marianne in her bedroom at her grandmother’s house. It had been almost a year since her parents died in a horrific ski accident and when her cousins came over it took her mind off the hard times. Her grandmother had taken her and her sisters in after the loss and it was starting to feel like home. Listening to the music of the new boy band and swooning over their pictures helped her with her grief.

Oh girl, you’re the one

the one I been waitin’ for

the one I need

the one I love!

Oh girl, where you been

while I been lookin’

for the one.

I was in pain

my heart was broken

So many pieces of me,

until you...you...you

Came into my life and healed my heart

Oh girl,

I am a new man,

a new man...

your love has made me...

a new man...

you are…

the one.”

The girls had the lyrics memorized. Marianne’s braces shone in the light of the desk lamp as she strained to read every word.

“His heart was broken guys! I swear sometimes I feel like Jasper is singing just to me with that falsetto voice of his!” She threw herself on the floor with a sigh staring up at the poster she’d found in that month's issue of Teen Beat. It had all four Boys smiling back at her, brothers Jude and Jasper, baby blue eyed Josh, and of course Delaney, the tough guy. Sunny smacked her gum as she rifled through the pages of the album cover enjoying the poetry behind the lyrics.

She always looked for the beauty in music. “Someone was in pain when they wrote this. Jasper is only singing the words.” Both girls stared at their cousin. Kim’s voiced boomed at her, “Jasper makes that song beautiful Sunny!”

Sunny got on her knees and rushed toward Kim, shoving the album cover on her face. “Look at Song 3! ‘Your lips are the only thing that can quench my thirst. I’m in the desert without your love!ʼ That’s pain from a poet-“ Kim snatched the album cover from her and pointed. “Um, girl it says ‘Lyrics by Jasper Sheridan and Delaney Warburton!’ They are the poets!”

Sunny grabbed the album back and stared at it incredulously. She then slumped down with a sigh next to Marianne her voice high. “He wrote those beautiful words? He is a true poet.” The girls laughed at her, and they raised the volume of the cd player and there they stayed for hours swooning and fantasizing.

-

What girl didn’t fantasize about meeting their celebrity crush and being swept off their feet? But as an adult, trying to process the pain of her loss, it was as if Jasper Sheridan didn’t belong in any part of that reality. She was older and sadder, burdened with issues and life and he was a retired superstar skateboarding and knocking over typewriters disrupting her painful creative flow. It was most definitely not what she’d envisioned. But there she was, the next morning trying to pick out an outfit to wear to brunch.

She couldn’t believe it when he’d asked her after accompanying her back to the hotel. She was a little excited but she just didn’t feel like herself, not anymore. She knew she was about to share a meal with Jasper but the teenager in her was buried deep behind all the adult problems she faced lately. Her grandmother hadn’t been that old, barely 80, but lung cancer had taken her away.

Sunny had been 12 when her parents died, and her sisters were only 1. It was a sudden accident and completely devastating but their grandmother stepped in and saved them from being alone.

She grew up writing her way through any pain and trying to be positive and happy as she hoped her parents would’ve wanted. The memories of her parents turned into a longing, for a certain kind of love that she knew could never be replaced, but her grandmother was wonderful with her and her sisters. They were a sweet family and the only life they knew.

Her grandmother had a very carefree nature about her. She was open with them about love and sex, brought home condoms and cursed freely. But she hugged them when they had bad dreams, kissed booboos when they fell and had heart to hearts whenever needed. She had been done raising her only daughter and didn’t intend on more but Sunny always knew that her grandmother sacrificed so much of her freedom to care for them, but she did it with an easy going smile, and beautiful heart and a loving home. When she got sick, Sunny and her sisters Vicky and Valerie didn’t know what to do with themselves except trip over each other trying to care for her.

Her death was a shock even though it was expected by the end. Her sisters were back to California in college right after the funeral so Sunny had to clear out her grandmother’s apartment alone. Her cousins and other family offered to help and her best friends Kiki and Manuel were always there for her, but Sunny felt so alone for the first time in years. She felt like no one really understood her. The DIY writers retreat seemed to be exactly what she needed.

She had tried to get back to normal, by working and writing but she felt disconnected from everything around her that used to bring comfort. So, after a quick internet search she was in her car, driving across state lines to Willow Creek, Massachusetts, a small town with Christmas lights and cute little shops.

Little did Sunny know that after only a couple of days away her life would change entirely. She approached the restaurant Jasper had invited her to. She had chosen to wear a simple sweater, Uggs and jeans since the snowfall wouldn’t allow for much fashion. But her curls were free and wild and she did take extra care with her makeup. The last date she’d been on had been a disaster. A guy she’d met on Tinder that clearly only wanted to hook up and all she could do was cry about her sick grandmother.

But what this brunch an actual date? She remembered dreaming of dating him, fantasizing, even writing short stories where she was the main character, and he was her Prince Charming. Who knew what this thing was with Jasper but she was more than curious to find out.

He looked amazing in his dark jeans and black boots, a leather jacket unzipped showing a button-down shirt. Looks like he tried to look good too. He smiled warmly at her as she looked both ways before crossing to meet him. She felt her heart flutter, not because of who he was but how that smile of his made her feel.

He held his hand out to her. “Shall we?”