#fearfulfledgling

- The boy in question was a wiry thing of perhaps 12, with sleeves an ill fit at his wrists, teetering at the edge of a growth spurt. At the approach of a stranger, he shifted his weight back, hoe in hand, cautious and careful in observation as his gaze landed on the pie.

“Ma’am.” he nodded politely. With a glance back to the looming, decrepit manor a ways behind him, he looked back to the woman with a hum. “You’re new to town here, I’m guessin’…forgive me my manners, I can’t let you in, on account of my granny’s in no state to meet anyone…but ure enough, that’s enough pie to share.” - “Oh, no no. If anyone needs to apologize for manners here, it’s me. I just showed up here unannounced. I should have called or,” she looked at the manor in the distance, wondering if they even had a phone, “wrote a letter?” Shaking off the confused look on her face, she smiled once more. “Anyway, I hope you enjoy the pie. I made it myself,” she looked down at the box, realizing he might think she was lying, due to the label, “I work at a bakery.” She chuckled. “And yes, I’m new here. Did my Michigan accent give it away?” - He nodded politely, accepting the pie. “It’s the accent, don’t worry…pretty hard to make a social faux-pas when you’re bringin’ a blueberry pie around. Tell you what…let’s have this out in the gazebo. I’ll bring out some tea, you can set a spell.”

Hospitality, after all, is what Georgia’s infamous for: he’d be no good as a neighbor not to offer, and since she’d brought a treat, she was already on the right track the the neighborhood. He nods toward the house, and if she’ll follow, he’ll lead.

“Frankly, I’m supposed to be the one bringin’ treats to you, if you just moved in.”

- “Oh, that sounds lovely~ I’ll take you up on that offer,” she chirped, following him. “Well, aren’t you sweet? You don’t need to worry though; I can make my own treats whenever I feel like it, really. Plus, I enjoy cooking for others, so it really is no problem. I just wish I knew more people here. I can’t cook some of my favorite recipes because I have no one to share them with. Can’t go eating an entire cake by myself, you know?” - “You could, just maybe not all at once.” he said, joking gently. “So, what all brings you down here to Georgia from Michigan, anyhow? That’s the whole other end of the country, missus…and to be honest, there ain’t much to Arlen.”

Their trek took them to a somewhat dilapidated gazebo, which has chairs and a small table in it, clearly intended for outdoor dining. Jon set down the pie square in the middle, and offered to tuck Audrey into her chair with a nod. - She gave a light chuckle at his joke. “Well, my parents recently moved to a bigger city in Georgia for my father’s job. I didn’t want to be that far from them and figured I could use a change of scenery, so I moved as well. I only recently graduated from college though, so Arlen was all I could afford.” She also moved for more upsetting reasons, but he didn’t need to know that. “My, my! What a gentleman!” Audrey exclaimed before sitting down in the offered seat.

“The girls at your school must be all over you~”

- “…ah…” he mutters, pursing his lips slightly as he digests that concept. “…I’m gonna go get some tea, please wait here, ma’am.”

With that, Jon pattered off to head inside, and returned in good time with a pitcher and two glasses on a tray, alongside plates and forks. He served Audrey first, then himself, and cut the pie into perfect eighths. Audrey gets the first slice, and then, he finally sat.

“Your parents live here?”

- “Oh, ah, alright,” her smile faltered as she watched him head off. Had she upset him? Maybe it was a sore subject. She decided she would drop it when he came back. Soon enough, he returned, as did her smile. “In Athens, Georgia, yes. Not quite close, but a great deal closer than if I had stayed in Michigan.” She took a bite of her pie and gestured towards the pitcher with her fork. “That’s iced tea, right? I’m still getting used to that when people say tea here,” she chuckled. - He nodded politely, finishing his first bite of pie before responding. “It’s got ice in it, yeah. ‘Round here, you ask for tea, it’s gonna be sweet tea unless you ask for hot tea, and then you’ll get what you’re probably after.”

He took a sip of his own before continuing. “It’s real nice that you moved all the way across the country to see your parents. They must be real good people, for all that.”

- “They are,” Audrey smiled softly. “I’m really grateful that I have them. I know not everyone is fortunate enough to have decent parents, but mine really went above and beyond for me. I can never thank them enough.” She took a sip of her tea. “Speaking of family, you mentioned your granny earlier. What’s she like?” - ‘Oh, she’s sick right now…she can’t be seein’ visitors.” Jonathan said, apologetic. “All laid up in bed: right now she sleeps a lot of the time. Don’t worry about her, though…the doctor says it’s just part of getitn’ old, so I mind most of the goings-ons around here.”

He has another bite of pie before continuing. “She’s pretty severe anyhow…I don’t think she’d like someone friendly like you.”

- “Oh… well… I’ll stay out of her way then,” she smiled awkwardly, deciding not to press on about his granny. “Do you run this whole place by yourself? That seems like a lot of responsibility to put on someone your age,” she frowned, concerned. - “Yes’m, I do.”

He sipped his tea, calm as he could be about that fact.

“What parts ain’t closed down, of course…just the parts we live in, and I take care of the fields and such too. It’s not so bad, so long as I keep on top of it, instead of lettin’ things lapse…but that’s just part of life, not slacking off. How about you, what’s your house like?”

- “Well, I appreciate your work ethic,” she smiled a little. “Just try not to overdo it, okay? It’s important to relax and enjoy life too. Otherwise, what’s the point of doing anything? Anyway… I’d say my house is pretty nice. It was a little run down when I bought it, but I’ve since done some sprucing up and such. It has two floors and an attic, plus a decent sized yard for my dog to run around in. I’m honestly surprised I was able to afford it, but homes aren’t as expensive here, it seems.” - “You got a dog? That’s nice…we got a dog park downtown, might be a good place to take ‘em.” Jonathan murmured, clutching his glass slightly. Nevermind that this is a poor city: of course real estate’s cheaper, probably…he wasn’t the best at law, precisely.

“Sounds like you’re just about all settled in, then, gettin’ that all fixed up, even got a pet and everything. I think you’ll get along just fine here, Miss Audrey.”