The Pea and the Pod

"OH, MY LORD! TURN THAT CRAP DOWN ALREADY!" Jamie shouted against the wall, Old lady Pea's constant record playing drove him up the wall. 

" YOU YOUNGINS' HAVE NO IDEA WHAT "GOOD" MUSIC IS ANYMORE". Jamie instinctively ground his teeth, he waited for her to turn up the music.

"1...2...3" nothing.

"4....5.." nothing, he just needed to get to six, maybe she wouldn't turn it up even louder if he got to six. 

"s-s-sssssssss" Jamie wheezed, waiting.

"RAMBLING ROSE" blared even louder through the apartment's thin walls. 

"For the love of every greek god known to man!" Jamie sighed, he slumped down onto his sofa, covering his head with a pillow, in an attempt to drown out the record. After about an hour, he heard the record spin to a stop. Jamie let out a large sigh of relief. Suddenly the pillow he had had on his head was lifted by a delicate hand. 

"Oh, Jamie!" Katelyn his girlfriend stood over him, her long caramel-colored hair gently tickled the end of his nose as he sat up. Katelyn sat down next to him.

"Baby?" she asked softly, Jamie remained stiff, his ears ached from the constant rhythms dancing through his ears. 

"Baby?!" Katelyn said again, this time more insistent. Jamie turned his eyes found Katelyn's, she smiled gently. 

Katelyn touched the side of his face, her finger caressing his jawline. He looked back at her, forcing a half-smile.

"You know you can't let that annoy you so much!" Jamie sighed again this time shifting his posture towards Katelyn's outstretched arms, he settled gently into her embrace, resting his head against her chest. 

"I'm sorry Kates it's just... 2020 was such a piece of shi-

"Jamie!" 

"Sorry, piece of crap year that I just can't seem to cope normally with 2021, and you know... little things bother me, and she has her music on nonstop, it's like she's living in the '20s." Katelyn wrapped her arms more tightly around her boyfriend, ever since she had first met Jamie, she knew he was a very kind person but had demons inside, big ones too, maybe even bigger than himself. She shushed him, gently stroking his already messy hair. 

"I know, but, she's an old lady love. Really old. She isn't used to the modern twist in society. And if she wants to play her music, then we can go out!" 

Jamie nodded, intertwining his fingers with hers, he replied.

"Thank you, Kates." Katelyn sighed too, she loved Jamie, and she knew little things would always bother him and it was extremely draining on his mental clarity, just last week he had had a near panic attack from seeing the two towels hanging on the towel rack in their bathroom, she had just gotten out of the shower and had cleaned the toilet and the sink up a bit, replacing the dirty towels with clean ones, the usual yellow towels weren't clean, so she had replaced them with the other available ones, a white one and a blue one, this, of course, made Jamie go into a frenzy. Katelyn relaxed and as her eyes closed, she felt the day's stress weigh down on them forcing them shut, she eventually fell asleep to the sound of the silence within their apartment and the feeling of Jamie's hand stroking hers. 

*The Next Morning* 

  Jamie woke, he smiled when he saw that Katelyn was still sleeping, he got up and checked his watch. 

6:30 am. Surely, Old lady Pea would still be up. Jamie grabbed his coat, quietly zipping it up. Before he left, Jamie walked over to the sofa and kissed Katelyn's cheek lightly. Then he closed the door. Jamie took a deep breath, he walked the few feet that divided Old lady Pea's and their apartment, he knocked on her door. 

"JUST A MINUTE!" The door opened and Old lady Pea greeted him, she was a short old woman, dressed in a teal coat and a flowery apron, she straightened her large glasses. 

"Oh! Jamie Peterson! I would have never in a million years thought you would be dropping by, heh heh!" As much as he was against Pea's music, Jamie couldn't help but smile at her laugh. 

"Well, come in, come in boy!" He did, wiping his shoes carefully on the welcome mat outside. Pea's apartment was something straight out of the '20s, he had been right after all! The old carpets, doily's covering every surface, dried flowers, chandeliers, and he gritted his teeth at the sight. An old red record player.

"You do live in the past!" Pea smiled.

"Heh heh, I get told that every day, Oh! I do hope my music doesn't bother you, I can't hear very well, so I have to turn it up louder so I can!" Jamie sat down,

"Please forgive me Pea but your music is very loud, I was wondering if I could help you move that table with the record player to a different spot in the house?" Old lady Pea shook her head.

"No can do sonny!" That was my Grandfather's desk, and I haven't moved it since 1997!" Jamie sighed.

"Well, can you please put on some different records then, maybe not the party ones?" Jamie and old lady Pea talked quite long, and when he wished her goodbye and returned to his apartment, he found that Katelyn was still asleep. Jamie took off his shoes, and jacket and crawled back to the couch, wrapping his arms around Katelyn once more he fell into a deep sleep.

"JAMIE! WAKE UP!" Jamie was shaken awake by Katelyn, as his eyes adjusted he realized it was morning. 

Katelyn continued.

"OLD LADY PEA PASSED AWAY LAST NIGHT IN HER SLEEP!" 

"WHAT?!" Jamie said he could feel guilt weighing down on him, he had just seen her...

"Yes, the police came when you were still sleeping, she didn't have a will but she had written this note, Katelyn read it aloud,

"To Jamie Peterson" Katelyn came and sat down she was holding a package wrapped in brown wrapping paper tied with a red bow. 

"What do you think it is?" Jamie asked.

"I don't know love!" Katelyn replied. She gently rubbed his back as he opened the package, ripping the brown paper and string. 

Jamie's stomach lurched, and tears began to sting in his eyes. Katelyn gasped, she too was now silently weeping, she squeezed his hand as it trembled. 

"I was just with her!" 

Katelyn rubbed her boyfriend's back, painfully feeling his heaving breaths.

"I know lovey I know." 

"She really was living in the '20s wasn't she?" He asked.

"Well, she's living in a much better time period and place now Jamie!" Jamie smiled, half laughing at the thought of the little old lady who lived next door.

As the day grew to an end, Jamie and Katelyn settled down for the night, right before he climbed into their bed, Katelyn kissing him gently on the cheek. Jamie carefully set Old lady Pea's present on the nightstand next to them, Jamie smiled as he placed one of the presents in the other and as Katelyn and Jamie kissed each other goodnight, each pulling their lover into their arms, they both fell asleep to the soft sound of Nat king cole singing and a record gently spinning in Old lady Pea's red record player.

THE END

_Written by: 🌹The rose Witch✨