Commitment

Part 40

Regan put her car rug on the ground and put her torch on the ground, still on. She opened her mobile and pressed a button that started to play music. She put her mobile beside her torch. She recognised the tune and hummed as she unwrapped her takeaway. This had been her spot for as long as she could remember. She would come here when her parents made her feel insignificant or when she was upset. Here she could see that the world was beautiful and she was part of the scheme of things. She could see the Jones's cottage. She knew there were people there who cared for her. People, who cared about her. It was the Jones sisters who'd taught her to ignore life's foibles and to be who she wanted to be.

Tonight she would have gone to visit Lucy, but Lucy was visiting Jenny today. So, the alternative was to come here.

She sat, cross-legged, on the rug, and reached into the bag and retrieved a container. This is a surprise because she did not order this food. She prised off the lid and smiled. Wow. Prawns. It smelt wonderful. She licked her lips in anticipation. She used her chopsticks to pick up a large succulent prawn from her unexpected bounty.

This had been a good idea. Wonderful food, cheap, she reminded herself and smiled. Fabulous view, no cost! Beautiful night, good weather, just by chance. Now all she needed to make it perfect was the company of a gorgeous man. Smiling at her idiotic musings, she leaned forward a bit and turned the volume up and then settled back to enjoy her evening. This morning was terrible but this night was going to be glorious.

Life held many simple pleasures. She'd forgotten that in recent days. So, what if the Cardozo's didn't think she merited simple courtesy? What if she didn't matter to them? She still had Lucy and the rest of the Jones family in her life, and they love her. She looked across the stream, could just about make out the old Jones house in the darkness. She bit into another morsel and turned her head toward the house again. It had been her good fortune to have met up with that family. For without them she doubted she'd have realised that she could, and should expect, to be loved for who she was, and not who other people wanted her to be. Jenny's and Lucy's mother, Alison always said, be true to yourself.

Regan smiled whimsically as she remembered the shock she'd felt when she'd been so openly welcomed into their home. Alison had listened when Jenny explained why they'd brought this young stranger to their home. In essence they brought an unfamiliar person, albeit a granddaughter of a neighbour to their home. And without any prompts, Alison spoilt Regan: Alison gave her newly baked biscuits to Regan, and Jenny and Lucy shared their milkshakes by simply pouring some of their milkshake into another glass for Regan.The Jones' family didn't have much materially, but they'd had no difficulty in sharing it with her. Unlike her home, where there were lots of material assets but no idea about sharing. In the Jones home, the furniture was old and rickety, she remembered with a grin, but it didn't seem to matter to them.

It had taken a while to get used to the racket the young sisters made, with their usual loud conversation, and even longer to get used to their teasing and bickering. She'd felt like a real member of a family when she realised that the Jones family teased each other all the time, and that they were teasing her as if she was one of them. For the first time in her life she felt wanted. By a family who were, in essence, just neighbours.

Probably what Regan liked the best, was the fact the Jones girls had taken her in and made her an honorary sibling. They taught her to grab life by the wheel and steer it. So she had learned how to handle things, in particular, to find a way circumvent her parents orders without ending up in a more difficult position. Being noisy was normal for the Jones family so Regan learned to be heard! Albeit not in front of her parent! That is wisdom, she smiled, she found sagacity! Amazing how a simple review of her blessings had Regan leaning forward and she turned the volume up on her mobile as Jenny's favourite song came on.