Nick would have strange dreams every now and then. Some were scary, some were just random. But the night they had moved into their new house, he dreamt of something vivid. He wasn't sure what it was, but all he remembered was seeing a dark shadow standing right in front of him. 

The shadow was short, skinny, and it took frail steps towards Nick.

By the time the shadow got closer to Nick, though, he had woken up. His shirt was covered in sweat, and he was glad that Jennie wasn't next to him to question him endlessly. He quickly got out of bed and freshened up.

He came out and was surprised to see that most of the boxes were unpacked, the rooms were clean, and Jennie had already made coffee and breakfast for both of them.

"Jennie?" Nick walked towards her. She turned around after flipping the eggs and smiled, "Hey, hon. Morning."

Nick kissed her cheek and looked around the house.

"What happened? Why did you start without me?"

"I couldn't sleep properly, so I woke up early and decided to just get these things done. Honestly, it was fun."

Nick sighed and shook his head. "You should have woken me up."

Jennie pursed her lips as she handed over the plate and coffee mug to him. "I didn't want to ruin your sleep, and trust me, I didn't strain myself. I made sure to work slowly and carefully."

Nick was annoyed because while Jennie may look strong, her body was as fragile as an eggshell. He sat at the dining table and only started eating when Jennie came with her breakfast. 

"Hope you had a good sleep, though," Jennie asked.

Nick nodded as he bit into his toast.

"You should get some rest now; I'll finish the rest."

"Nick, come on, I'm okay--"

"Jen, please?" Nick interrupted with pleading eyes. Jennie inhaled deeply and nodded.

"Alright, but first, let's go and get some groceries. I'll make dinner tonight."

"Sounds good."

"Oh, and um, our neighbor next door knocked this morning and welcomed us."

"Really?"

Jennie nodded. "They seem to be nice people."

"Yeah, well, it's better that we just be by ourselves; you never know how these neighbors are."

"Nick, come on, we've come to a new society, we should give them a chance--"

Nick looked at Jennie with a slight glare. Jennie paused as she clutched her coffee mug tightly. 

"What I meant was..." She cleared her throat, "Not all neighborhoods are the same. Some are different...some neighborhoods are safe."

Jennie placed her hand on Nick's to reassure him. She could see the hurt in his eyes...the pain that would appear whenever some stranger would try to get close to them. 

When Nick was ten years old, something had happened. He wouldn't tell Jennie what, but Jennie assumed by the look on his face, and by his sudden change of behavior, that it must have been something sinister...

She never asked him why, and she never will. 

That was an unspoken agreement between the two after one night, Nick had broken down crying in his sleep. 

Nick and Jennie came out of their house to go grocery shopping as Nick had promised. They were just about to get inside their car when suddenly, Jennie noticed an old woman wearing a light pink skirt with a light pink cardigan walking towards them. She had a warm and gentle smile, and she held a medium-sized casserole.

"Excuse me, you both," The old woman called out. Nick looked at the old woman and frowned softly as he glanced from Jennie to the old woman.

"I'm Clara Campbell. I live just a few blocks from here," She stepped closer to Jennie. "I'm sorry to have popped by so suddenly, but I wanted to give you both this as a welcome gift."

"Oh, you really didn't have to," Jennie smiled.

"Please, it's just a neighborly gesture," She smiled, "I couldn't help it."

Jennie smiled back warmly and took the casserole from her frail hands. "Well, it's really kind of you. Thank you so much, Mrs. Campbell."

Clara smiled and nodded. She glanced at both Nick and Jennie. "I'm sorry I couldn't come yesterday; my husband had fallen off the stairs, so I had to take him to the hospital."

Jennie and Nick's eyes grew wide in surprise. "Oh my, I'm so sorry to hear that," Jennie said. "I hope he's doing alright now."

Clara nodded with a sigh of relief. "He is; he's just bedridden at the moment."

"I hope he gets better soon...I know it's too soon and we haven't gotten to know each other well, but if you need anything, please, let us know."

Clara smiled with a soft chuckle. "Oh, it's so sweet of you to say that, dear. Sure thing."

Jennie smiled and looked at Nick, "I'll put this inside and come."

Nick nodded, and Jennie went back inside the house to put the casserole in the kitchen. Perhaps it could be their dinner for tonight. 

Nick looked at Clara and smiled, hoping that she would leave, but she didn't. She smiled back at Nick and seemed as if she wanted to start a conversation. Nick was pretty bad when it came to socializing with others, so he felt anxious upon having Clara around and just looking at him.

"How do you like this house?" Clara suddenly asked.

"It's, um...it's great," Nick cleared his throat.  He was still clutching onto the door handle, ready to leave as soon as Jennie came out of the house.

"I'm glad to know that. I was friends with the previous owner, and they kept the house pristine."

Nick simply smiled and nodded. 

Fortunately, Jennie came out of the house. She walked over to the car but was surprised to see Clara still lingering in their driveway.

"Um, Ms.Campbell--"

"Oh, just call me Clara."

Jennie smiled reluctantly, "Okay...Clara, we actually have some errands to run, so we'll talk to you soon?"

"Oh, of course! I'm so sorry to bother you both!"

Jennie immediately felt guilty for shooing Clara away so suddenly. 

"No, I'm sorry, but maybe you can come back, and we can have a cup of tea," Jennie proposed, hoping to have a good connection with her neighbor.

"That sounds lovely, dear, thank you for inviting me." 

Jennie smiled and nodded. She opened the car door and looked back at Clara. "Thank you for the casserole." 

"Let me know how it tastes!" Clara said as she waved. 

Nick got inside the car and waited for Jennie.

"I will." Jennie eventually sat inside as well and closed the door. Nick began to carefully pull away from the driveway. Clara waved at them cheerfully. Jennie waved back at her. 

Nick and Jennie left their drive, but Nick noticed from the rearview mirror that Clara was still there at their driveway, waving at them from behind until they took a turn. 

"She seems nice," Jennie said.

Nick didn't say anything. Clara sure seemed a little...nosy, would be the word. 

He thought better to stay away from her, but he wasn't going to say that to Jennie just yet. She was sensitive with these kinds of things as she cared about others and wanted to have good relationships with them.

Nick drove to the grocery store in silence while Jennie shared her thoughts about random things such as shoes, books, and the dreams she would have about her mom who passed away a year ago. 

"Don't tell me you're going to invite her to our house?" Nick asked.

"What's wrong with that?" Jennie asked back.

Nick didn't say anything. Jennie waited.

"Nick, what's wrong?" 

"Nothing..."

"She's our neighbor, and I think we need to be good with everyone here. It's a small neighborhood after all."

"Yeah..." Nick hummed and continued to drive in silence.

He was glad to have reached the grocery store soon as he could easily escape Jennie's questions and doubts. The good thing was that Jennie would get immersed in grocery shopping like an artist immersed in his painting.

Nick followed Jennie while she walked forward with the cart. 

Their ride home was filled with radio songs, mischief, and munching on chips.