Book

Never mind. I don't think I'll be able to turn what I wrote into a book. So here is the full story I wrote. Hope you enjoy it.

It had been many years since the death of Winnie Foster.  Jesse Tuck had mourned all those years, and had never even searched for a new love interest. He was stuck on Winnie. Jesse had known, 10 years after he said good bye to Winnie, that she was never coming. He figured she had forgotten him. But Winnie Foster didn’t forget. In fact, Winnie told the story to her kids, who told it to their kids, who told it to their kids. Jesse never even thought of trying to find Winnie’s relatives. He never thought about marrying one of them. He could only think of why Winnie hadn’t come.

Jesse was currently in a city called Redfield. He was looking for a job. He had been out of work for about 10 years now, just living off of the streets. He couldn’t even remember what year it was. Redfield was a major city, almost like NYC. It was raining out, and if there was one thing Jesse hated, it was rain. He groaned. He had wanted to find a newspaper stand- if that was what they were called- and find out the year. Now he trudged into a diner, where a lot of people came to have coffee, read, work, or wait for the train. He sat down at a booth and waited for a waitress to take his order. 

Presently, one came. Jesse read her name tag. Her name was Ruth. “May I take your order sir?” she asked politely. “Yea, I’ll take a sandwich with cheese, ham, and a little bit of mustard on it. And what year is it?”  Jesse inquired. “2012,” Ruth replied. “Is that all?” “Yup. Do you have a newspaper I could look at?” he asked. “Sure,” Ruth said, handing him one from the counter. “Your sandwich will be out in a second.” Jesse took the paper and gazed at the ‘Job Wanted’ section. He saw that there was an opening for a cook at this very diner. “Hmm,” he thought to himself. “If the pay is good, I just might take this job!”

Ruth set down his sandwich. “Here you go,” she said. “Thanks,” he replied. He hesitated before asking “May I talk to the manager?” Ruth looked absolutely alarmed. “Is the food bad? What is it?” she asked. “I was considering the job,” Jesse answered. “Oh,” said Ruth, looking relieved. “Right this way.” Jesse entered the manager’s office. It was a small room, with a desk and chair. Behind the desk was an older woman. Her tag said Mrs. Delven. “Here about the job opening?” she asked, without looking up from her computer. “Yes,” said Jesse. “How much is the pay?” Mrs. Delven looked up at him. “I pay my employees with what I feel they have earned, no more, no less. There is no set payment.” “Oh,” said Jesse. “That’s what everyone says,” muttered Mrs. Delven. “That’s why it’s so hard to get employees. Will you take the job or not?!?” “Sure,” said Jesse. “Good. Come to work tomorrow at 8:00a.m. Your shift begins then,” she said.

The next day, Jesse hustled off to work. He hoped he would be on time- this was, after all, his first day on the job. He didn’t want to flub up AT ALL. He walked in. Ruth smiled at him. “Here’s your apron,” she said, handing him a crisp black apron. “And your nametag,” she said, handing him a gleaming plaque. “Thanks,” he said.

 He headed for the kitchen. Breakfast was slow, but when lunch came around, Jesse was stormed with tons of lunch orders. He wore out quickly, and he was thankful when his shift ended and he got to go home to rest. The next day, he had a lunch break because he worked the late shift. “Hey Ruth, want to eat lunch with me?” Jesse asked. “Sure,” said Ruth. At lunch, they started talking. “How old are you?” asked Jesse. “17,” answered Ruth. She smiled. “How old are you?”

Jesse’s knees started shaking under the table. He hated this question! Fortunately, most people took his answer as a joke. “201,” he answered. Ruth laughed. “Yea, right!” she exclaimed. Then, a strange look came over her face. “You wanna hear something funny though? My grandma told me a story where a boy like you told her almost the same answer. Wanna hear it?”

Jesse’s face went pale. “M-maybe some other time,” he stuttered. “I have to get back to the kitchen.” He hurried off. “But lunch break isn’t over for another-“started Ruth. But Jesse didn’t hear the end of her sentence. He was too busy thinking about what he had just heard. Did this girl know who he was? No, he thought, it didn’t make sense. She said her grandmother- and Winnie had been dead for about a century- and this girl was so young- Jesse was very confused. “I guess I’ll have to wait for tomorrow to find out,” thought Jesse.

The next day at lunch, Jesse ran over to sit with Ruth. “Can you tell me the story now?” he asked. “Which one?” asked Ruth. “The one your grandma told you,” he said. “Oh, did I say my grandma? I meant my mother,” said Ruth. “Well, here’s how it goes. My mom used to tell me about this boy that she was in love with and how he could live forever. She only recalled his last name- Tuck. She said he gave her a bottle of magic water and said marry her, but she dumped the water over a dear little toad instead- and lived a happy life and died.

Jesse was shocked. Jesse was astounded. Jesse could not believe that his Winnie would waste magic water- ON A LOUSY TOAD!!!!!! If this was his Winnie. It couldn’t be … could it? No, not possible- this girl would have to be about 90+ years old to be the daughter of his Winnie, yet here she was. 17 years old. The exact same age he had asked Winnie to live forever at …

“You look annoyed about something.” Ruth interrupted his thoughts with a loud statement. Or perhaps it just seemed loud to him … he snapped himself out of it. “Huh?” he said. “Oh, nothing, just curious why you had a look of ABSOLUTE PAIN on your face after I told you the story,” said Ruth snippily. “You do realize that my mother was HALF INSANE when she told me that story, don’t you?” “I-I don’t know Ruth. I, uhm, heard a similar story from my mom. She was supposedly friends with the mom of this boy,” lied Jesse, trying to explain things to himself in his head. “Um, what was your mom’s name?” asked Jesse, deciding to settle things once and for all.

Ruth hesitated. For the first time, she looked scared and helpless. “Her name was, um, W-Whitney,” Ruth said, sounding reassuring. “Yea, that was it, Whitney. That was my mom’s name.” Jesse was a little surprised, but caught himself and said “OK, thanks. Talk to you tomorrow?” “Sure,” said Ruth. Jesse walked home. As he settled into bed that night, he thought about his day. He then found himself thinking repeatedly about how Ruth had stuttered as she said Whitney- almost as if she had to think a moment. And he knew one thing- no one that young forgets his moms’ name.

The next week or 2 at work went by normally. Unfortunately, Ruth was sick, and couldn’t come to work at all. On Thursday, Jesse heard from Mrs. Delven that Ruth was in the hospital. He decided to visit her. He walked to the hospital immediately after work. He walked into the Emergency Room. He went up to the nurse working the desk. “I’m here for Ms. Ruth- Ruth- “ It was then that Jesse realized he didn’t know Ruth’s last name.

“We have 3 ladies named Ruth in ER right now,” said the nurse patiently. “Just tell me her last name and I will point you to her immediately.”  “I don’t know her last name!” said Jesse. “I just know that she is 17 years old, and works at the Redfield Oak Diner.” “That’s just enough information to tell me that the Ruth you are searching for is Ms. Ruth Fenterson,” said the nurse. She led Jesse down a spotless white hall and pointed to room number 354. “Thanks,” said Jesse.

As he walked up to the door, he heard voices talking. “I’m so stupid to have done it. I can’t believe I actually followed my mom’s looney death wish.” Hmm. That had to be Ruth.  “I know. I was an idiot. Jean, you’re going to be the only person who knows this. But I can’t die.” That was Ruth again. Jesse stood there, still listening, and then realized what Ruth had just said. “I can’t die.” Woah! No one could “not die” unless they had magic spring water!

He waited until Ruth was off the phone to enter. “Hi,” he said. “Hey!” said Ruth with a smile. “I, um, heard you talking on the phone a second ago,” said Jesse. “Oh,” said Ruth. “I guess I should explain… you see, my mom’s dying wish was for me to drink this bottle of “magic water” when I was 17, and go search down this guy named Jesse Tuck. He was her boyfriend as a kid… and when she died she wanted me to marry him… but the water was real, and it has made it impossible for me to die. So now, I must spend my life forever looking for Jesse Tuck, and when I find him, he will wish I never did, for as I cannot die, I shall haunt him for eternity!

Jesse, at this point, had fallen in love with Ruth, and he didn’t mind her following him. But haunting him, tracing his every move, never leaving his side, that didn’t sound too good. He smiled and said, “I better get home to get some sleep.” And with that, he raced out of the building. He spent the rest of the night wondering if he should tell Ruth his secret, but common sense told him not to.

Epilogue

As the weeks drew on, Jesse fell more in love with Ruth. Ruth now had feelings for Jesse as well, and after many years of dating, Jesse and Ruth finally married. On their wedding day, Jesse told Ruth that he was Jesse Tuck. Ruth told Jesse the truth, and said that her mom’s name wasn’t Whitney Fenterson, but was actually Winifred Foster. Jesse and Ruth married, and lived on and on through eternity.