Interviewing Jessica-Lesson Two

Character Exercise - Lesson Two - An Interview

Author- Please come in and sit down. I’d like to get to know you before we tell your story. What was your name, again?

Character- Jessica Lynn Patterson. Everyone calls me Jess, though.

A- I understand you’re married, Jess?

C-Yes, Andrew and I have been married for almost six years now. We have a little boy, Ethan, who’s four and our daughter, Chloe, who just turned five last month.

A- You seem very young to be married that long and have two children.

C- Well, we married right out of high school, actually a month before graduation since Chloe was on the way. Andy and I were high school sweethearts.

A- So you’ve always lived in this area?

C- Native Floridians. Parents, too. We like it here, especially the beaches. The kids are regular water rats.

A- And you’ve never wanted to live anywhere else?

C- No…I’d like to travel, though, but Andy is sort of a homebody. I’d love to go to New York City and San Francisco and Honolulu. Not much chance of that happening, though.

A- Do you work outside the home, Jess? Or do the kids keep you too busy?

C- Andy prefers I stay at home so I babysit for a couple of families for extra money. He has a good job for a shipping company, but I like the idea of having some money of my own, and it gets us some extras.

A- So you like a lot of kids around?

Jessica avoided looking at me with her pale blue eyes, then, she gave me a sly smile.

C- Well, let's just say it's worth it.

A- What do you do just for yourself?

C- For me? Not much time for me right now, but I like to read when I get a chance…romance novels, don’t tell. And we have friends we play cards with, and we go to the beach a lot on weekends. Like I said, the kids love that.

A- Do you live in a subdivision?

C- No. Andy likes his space so we bought a house out in the country right after Ethan was born. My dad helped us get it. He made sure it was worth the price. It’s close to stores and all. Florida’s nice that way.

A- So your dad must be well off.

C- No, not really. He's just a real saver.

A- You have lovely blonde hair. I’ll bet that brings you a lot of compliments. Andy’s not the jealous type, is he?

C- Uh…thank you. No, not usually. It’s natural. I’d never color it. I usually wear it in a ponytail because it’s so fine.

A- And I guess being as tall and thin as you are, you don’t have to deal with any weight issues?

C- Gosh no. Between the kids and Andy, I go nonstop all the time. Who has time to eat?

A- Do you ever wish you hadn’t gotten married so young, had some time to be yourself so to speak?

Jess looks down at her hands and starts spinning her wedding band around. She wore only the band, no engagement ring. She has those long fingers a piano player needs. Her nails were closely clipped.

C- You know, I have thought about that, in fact, a lot recently, but then I think of my kids, and I try not to go any farther with it. I always wanted to go to college and become a teacher, but it just wasn’t meant to be.

A- But you do love Andy, don’t you?

C- Well, of course, I do, but it’s just natural to wonder what it might have been like, isn’t it?

A- I guess both your parents live nearby? Nice for the grandchildren.

Jess’s eyebrows go up here, as she becomes more animated.

C- You would think so, but it can be a pain sometimes, coming in and out of our house like they live there, too. And Andy’s mom is so bossy. She just takes over sometimes. I’m not the best housekeeper in the world what with tending to four kids everyday, and she’ll flounce in and commence to vacuuming or putting things away, who knows where. She doesn’t even ask me if I want any help. I lost my temper with Betty once, but Andy made me apologize. He said I wasn’t respectful. I guess she’s just trying to help. Sometimes, though, I feel like it’s not even my house. His dad is nice, though. He’s an artist. You should see some of the pictures he paints.

A- I’d like to. What about your parents?

Hanging her head, Jess seems embarrassed.

C- Well, I love my parents and all that, but they’re a little old fashioned. My dad never lets me forget I “had” to get married. People don’t care about that anymore, but he acts like we’re back in the 1900’s when you had to have a chaperone on a date. He’s embarrassed me a few times, I can tell you that. My mom just goes along with him. She’s sweet but invisible if you know what I mean.

A- I guess it was tough growing up with your dad so strict.

C- You can say that again. I guess that’s why I only had one boyfriend. Andy’s the only one who made the effort.

A- Any brothers or sisters?

C- No, Andy and I, both, are only children. I would have loved brothers and sisters. That's the main reason we had Ethan. We were lonely growing up. We didn't want that for our kids.

A- Well, Jess, I’ve enjoyed our chat, and I feel I know you well enough now to start your story.

C- Thanks. I’ve enjoyed it too. I’m in your hands so make them like me.

Jess gave me a big smile that showed almost perfect white teeth. She seemed glad the interview was over.