As soon as I'm on the plane, I open up the letter Owen said he wrote before we confessed we had feelings for each other.
Jenny,
I wish I could tell you this to your face, but every time I try, I feel like something gets in the way. So I'm writing a letter, old-fashioned style. I really like you. And NOT as friends. Jenny, no one has ever made me feel like you do. I know I'm filming a whole TV show, but being with you really makes me feel like I'm living in a movie. You know, the ones where everyone is rooting for the two main characters to get together, and every time they get close to confessing, they get interrupted. Okay, maybe that's a weird analogy. But I really was about to confess my feelings for you that day Savannah walked in on us and asked for medicine. I really want to tell you how much you mean to me. Because I don't know if I'd make it without you. I love our binge sessions of Miraculous, I love watching you get all smiley when Adrien transforms into Cat Noir. I love watching you dance in the studio. I love hearing you sing Ruel extremely off-key. I love cuddling with you and keeping your nightmares away. I love staring at you when you aren't looking. Jenny, I like you so much. I want to take you on romantic dates and give you kisses. Jenny, I wish I could explain to you how amazing you are. I know you don't believe it because of your parents, but it's so true. You're amazing in so many countless ways. Maybe one day I'll work up the courage to tell you this or give you this letter, but for now, I'll just keep admiring you from a distance, and hoping that you feel the same.
He didn't write his name at the bottom, but by the time I finished reading it, I was crying in front of all the people on the plane. A few minutes into crying, some really sweet-looking old lady came up to me.
"Is this seat taken?" she asks, pointing to the seat beside me.
"No, it's not," I manage to say. She sits down beside me and offers me a sad smile.
"Are you okay, honey?" she asks, and I pick up on a slight southern accent.
"Um, yeah," I say with tears still rolling down my cheeks.
"What's your name?"
"Jenny," I say, realizing that's probably the first time I've introduced myself as Jenny and not Jennifer.
"Well, Jenny, I've lived seventy-four years. I can tell when someone isn't okay. Tell me what's bothering you."
I sigh. "I just left my best friends. I've been living with them for three months, and we all left today. And one of them- he's a... more-than-friend, and he gave me these letters, and..."
"Oh, a more-than-friend?" she smirks. "So, are these letters love letters?"
"Yeah, they are. Well, I've only opened one, but I'm guessing the other one is too."
"What are you waiting for, then? Open it," she urges me. I do as I'm told and hesitantly open Owen's second letter. I can tell he was more in a hurry to write this one- his handwriting isn't as neat.
Jenny,
I don't want to leave you. Even though I know you're not going home to your toxic parents, I still worry about you. I like being right next to you, being able to protect you from anything that could possibly hurt you. I hope you know that I'm going to be FaceTiming you every single day, because I can't stand the thought of not being close to you. I'm literally already getting separation anxiety, and we haven't even left yet. I just want to hold you forever, be with you every second of every day, even though I know we can't. Maybe that makes me a bit too attached, but it's true. I want to keep you safe, I want to be able to touch you and hold you. You can't do that over the phone. I'm rambling... Jenny, I don't want to leave you. I want to be with you, watch Miraculous with you, dance in the rain with you. Listen to Apple Pie while baking an apple pie (totally making that our song, by the way). I know you say that I'm your home, but you're my home too. And I already know I'm about to get really homesick. You make me so happy, you can turn even the most boring of days into something special. I love just being around you. I love how your eyes light up every time a Ruel song comes on. I love it when you can tell I'm sad, and you play with my hair to try to get me to tell you what's wrong. I love how you refuse to cuss, and always get on me and Charlie whenever we do. I know I can be a pain to deal with, but you do it anyway. Words can't explain how thankful I am for you. I really hope I get to see you in person again soon, because I know I'm going to miss you SO MUCH. These have been the best few months of my life, and I can't wait to make more memories with you.
Love, Owen
He actually signed this one. And I'm crying even more because I already miss him so much. And the poor old lady beside me is witnessing the whole thing.
"I'm hoping these are good tears," she says.
"They are, I just... I miss him a lot."
"Oh, Jenny," she says, putting a hand on my shoulder, trying to console me. "Tell me about him. What's his name?"
"His name is Owen," I tell her, still crying. "We worked on a TV show together, that's why we lived beside each other. We only just confessed our feelings a few weeks ago, and we've only been on one date, but it was perfect. He's helped me through a lot."
"He sounds very nice," she smiles. "You should hold on to him. If he's as good as you say, don't let him go. Young love is too precious."
"Thank you."
"Course, Jenny. I'm Glen, by the way. My granddaughters call me GG, and you're welcome to call me that too."
"Nice to meet you," I smile.
"So, tell me more about this Owen. Give me some stories, we do have a long flight ahead of us."
So I do. I tell her about how we lived with Charlie and Savannah, and how we filmed a whole Netflix show. I tell her about me and Owen's strawberry syrup run, and that's how we became close. I tell her about watching Miraculous with him, and taking care of him when he was sick. I tell her about how he slept with me every night after he learned about my nightmares, and how he gave me Kitty and his hoodie the one time he had to leave for a weekend. I tell her about how I kissed him, and how we confessed our feelings. I tell her about our first date, about how it was laid-back but perfect. She listens intently throughout it all.
"Well, Jenny, it sounds like you found yourself a really good boy," she says when I finish. "I love hearing your stories. Makes me feel young again."
I look down at her hands and notice that she doesn't have a wedding ring on. I don't want to pry, but I am curious. "Have you ever been in love?" I finally ask.
"Once," she says. "We got married, had kids, who have kids now. He died several years ago. Heart attack. He was a bit older than me. His name was Paul; his parents wanted to name him after someone in the Bible. He was the best husband I could've asked for."
"I'm sorry for your loss," I say, not really knowing what else I could say. "How many children and grandchildren do you have?"
"I have two children, Rebecca and Jacob. Rebecca is married and has two kids- Emmy and Alyssa. Jacob says he's better off single. He travels a lot, I rarely get to see him."
"What about Rebecca, what does she do?"
"She's a teacher, bless her. I hear too many stories," she says, looking off into the distance like she's reminiscing on said stories.
I continue to talk to GG throughout the flight. She is surprisingly easy to talk to, considering I only just met her. She tells me a bit more about her family, and I tell her about mine. She seems understanding and tells me that her parents had very high expectations for her also, and she felt like she'd never live up to them. It was honestly quite refreshing talking to her, and getting my mind off of how much I missed my friends.
She gave me her number before we got off the plane so that we could keep in touch. She gave me a hug before she left, which made me cry all over again. I finally calmed myself down and texted my aunt to tell her where I was at, and Owen to tell him I landed safely.
My aunt finds me a few minutes later, and after a little heartfelt reunion, we make our way to her house. It feels weird being back home, because it doesn't even feel like home anymore.
