I first met Jenny on the day she moved in. If I had known what I was getting myself into… well… I’m not sure what I would have done differently. I don’t think Jenny would have given me the choice. You could call it fate. Or an act of God. Sometimes I wonder if Jenny is God. Then I stop wondering because the idea is too scary.
My name is Leonidas, please don’t ask me why. Everyone who knows me calls me Leo. I still think my parents gave me my name as some cruel prank. At the time I thought it was the cruelest prank anyone could ever pull on me. Then I met Jenny and that all came tumbling down.
It was a nice warm summer day. I was drinking beer in my house, looking through a book, and thinking about nothing, which is what I usually like to think about. I live in a nice big house all by myself. It belongs to my parents. When I graduated high school they decided it was high time I had a place of my own and gave it to me. We’re pretty well-off, lucky for me. I was working a string of temp jobs, so it’s nice to have loving parents who don’t want you to pay rent.
So when I saw the moving van pull in next door it didn't register in my mind. I just looked up from my book, shrugged and went back to my reading. The moving van eventually drove off, and as I looked at it go I saw her for the first time. Jenny. Other than noticing her existence, I felt nothing. She’s short, skinny, and nerdy, none of which were attractive to me. Go ahead, call me shallow. I was once. I didn’t really have time to think about her physical characteristics, because that’s when the doorbell rang.
When I opened it I found myself looking down at her. She’s a diminutive Asian woman with big, thick-rimmed white glasses. I must have been a whole foot taller than her. Twice her size even. A big, fa… okay, well-built black guy also wearing glasses. I guess I can be intimidating if I want to, even if I’m nerdy myself, but I had no idea how helpless I was to be.
“Hi”, she said cheerfully. That’s something about Jenny. She’s always in a good mood. Optimistic. Upbeat. I guess with powers like hers there really aren’t any problems in life. Not even old age and death. I’m not sure how old she really is, and she’s never given me a straight answer, but sometimes she talks like she's been around for centuries. Permanently twentysomething is what I’ve always known her as. Fine by me considering I'm 25.
“Hi?” I said. I wasn’t sure what else to say. I wasn’t in the habit of greeting complete strangers who decide to show up for no reason.
“I’m Jenny, your new neighbor”, she said. She held out her hand and gave me a firm handshake.
“Oh, uh, I’m Leo”, I said. Her hand felt rough in mine. Workmanlike. Apart from her long, thick black hair, she was rather boyish and untidy. Not particularly feminine. Like I said, not my type.
“Mind if I come in? My house is a mess right now”.
“Sure?” I said, mainly because I didn’t know what else to say. Maybe I could have turned her out of my house and my life right then, but she squeezed between me and the doorframe before I could formulate a clearer answer. I could feel her brushing against my plump belly as she did, and it felt odd. Strangely tingly. That was to be the first time I felt that, and definitely not the last.
“Thanks!” she said with a big smile as she skipped into the living room. “You’ve got a nice place, Leo”.