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CHAPTER ONE: SALVATION ARMY

SALVATION ARMY. The only store to get decent enough items for cheap. Naturally, it was first on Jesse's list.

Already irritated from the lack of sleep, Jesse huffed in annoyance as he had forgotten to bring coffee. Heading back over to the sofa bed, he dumped the remainders of the boxes onto the small table, pulling out a clean shirt and pants.

Once dressed, Jesse rummaged through the kitchen cabinets, finding an outdated box of Captian Crunch, a half-ate burrito and a box of false teeth.

"Doesn't smell that bad, " Jesse spoke to himself, pouring himself a bowl of the cereal.

Yet after one spoonful, he ran over to the bin, spitting it all out, wiping his mouth of his shirt, " Damn, Aunt Nessie's chicken pie tastes better than that, at that's saying somethin'."

Settling for a two-meal day, Jesse grabbed his truck keys, throwing his cell down on the passenger seat. Pulling out of the driveway, he drove down the path, doing a double-take when he saw the house next door.

"Now how, did I miss this yesterday?" he thought to himself.

This house was huge. Humongous. You could house all of Greenland in it. The front walls were almost all glass, allowing you to peek through the what looks like a huge kitchen.

Jesse couldn't help but feel jealous, " Every town has its snobs.", continuing on his excursion.

The store was located around halfway between Forks and its sister city, Port Angeles. He pulled up in the parking lot, grabbing a shopping cart before heading in.

Pulling out his list of items to buy, Jesse wheeled the cart over to the crookery section, "Now, plates, where would I find plates?"

Walking through the aisles, he eventually found the plates. Not being fussy, Jesse just grabbed any two large plates and any two smaller ones. Next were coffee mugs. Again, Jesse just picked up any two.

Yet as he was checking the items off his list, Jesse noticed another shopper following him and it seemed she noticed too, walking over to the man.

"Sorry to follow, but I noticed you were struggling to get matching sets." she pointed out his mix-matched crookery.

"Oh that, " Jesse replied, rubbing the back of his neck, " I'm not fussy when it comes to things like these."

The woman laughed, " Still, it's nice to have everything the same."

Looking over at her cart, Jesse noted the large a ray of decor, " You doing up a house?"

"We just moved here, my family and I. I'm an interior designer so Salvation Army is my Alladin's cave." the woman joked, finding a matching set of plates.

"Thanks, I just moved here too," Jesse added, putting the set of mugs she gave him into his cart.

"Really? Whereabouts?" she questioned.

"A bit outside town, the second turn off on the left."

"What a coincidence, we're neighbours!"

"Ding ding ding! The snobby house belongs to her." Jesse thought to himself.

"I'm Esme Cullen by the way." She put out her hand.

"Jesse Blake, a pleasure to meet you, ma'am, " He shook her hand, flinching at the coldness but brushing it off with the weather.

"A Southerner, " Esme commented.

"You sure know your accents."

"One of my sons was born in Texas, I guess the accent never left him."

"Well, it's great to know I'm not the only Texan living here. So what part did he come from?" Jesse inquired, using this distraction to slip back one of the more expensive cups.

"Houston."

"Wow, so it is a small world,"

Surprised by this, Esme quizzed Jesse further, pretending to not notice him put back some items,  "You're from Houston?"

"Yes ma'am, one of the few youngsters not to be named after Major Whitlock."

"Guess my son went with the crowd huh, though I'm sure Jasper takes great pride in the name." she teased, finishing up her shopping.

Trying to think of topics to keep the conversation going, Jesse couldn't deny, Ms Cullen was some beauty. Everything about her was breathtaking, the way her hair sat on her shoulders and how her eyes looked as though they've seen a lifetime.

"I was just admiring your house on the way down here, you must have one big family."

Nodding her head, Esme responded with a laugh, " That we do. The kids take up most of the room though, "

"Oh, " Jesse replied gloomily, " Your husband's very lucky to have you then."

Esme quickly started to giggle, confusing Jesse as she spoke through the smiles"Oh no, I'm not married. My brother and I are adoptive parents."

Now that made a lot more sense. The two ended up chatting for another half hour, mostly about the holiday season, only halting to check out their items.

"So what brought up you north then Jesse?" Esme asked, packing her last few lampshades into her cart.

" Job searching, mostly. Got the AP Art and Photography post at the high school so I'm not doing to bad." he joked, dumping his change into the donations jar.

"Alice will be pleased to hear that. She's my oldest daughter and is obsessed with all things art."

Awkwardly smiling, Jesse lulled at his collar, "Gosh, I hope I live up to the expectations then."

They walked out together, stopping in front of what looked like her very expensive car.

"If you ever have a free moment, " Esme began, putting the bags in the trunk, " there's a lovely cafe just across from the store, and we could chat more."

"That'd be great, I'm free on Thursday if that suits you of course?" Jesse rushed, his cheeks redding slightly as he mentally gave out for being too eager.

"Thursday it is then."

And with that, she pulled out of the parking lot, leaving Jesse in her vacant spot and his jaw at his feet. Did that just happen? What?

The man was utterly amazed and the smile painted across his face never left. Even sleep was easy, filled with pictures of the brunette beauty.

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1010 words

Author's note: AHH! The first chapter is out. I don't know why but it's always so hard to write the first one, expectations to be met but hopefully, this one is some good!

*The_lost_flower*