"Complete with matching shoes, Dear. Now if you will excuse me I have another dress I need altered. I must get it to the delivery people before they leave." With that Lady Jane hurried upstairs and returned a few minutes later with a small box and another garment bag. She ran outside and gave them to the delivery boy along with a long list of instructions. "I do hope it is ready in time." She mumbled when she returned.
"Do you need it for New Years?" Alexis wondered how the woman could possibly need more clothes so soon.
"Oh heavens no. I need it for tomorrow." Worrying about a dress that wouldn't be needed for a full week yet, seemed a little ludicrous.
Alexis looked puzzled. "Didn't you buy the second dress for Christmas day?" She vaguely remembered that being the plan.
"Of course, Darling. The dress isn't for me. It is for the surprise." Jane sighed. Then, thinking she had given away too much, she rapidly changed gears. "We must get ready we have a million things to do today."
Alexis started to protest but before she could open her mouth Lady Jane had left the room. "Great." She sighed.
"Something wrong, wife?" Jax asked as he walked into the room and poured himself a cup of coffee.
"Do you have any idea what your mother is up to?" She hoped he had learned something from John the day before.
"I imagine she is getting ready for the days activities. She did give you the itinerary while you were off enjoying your post shopping entertainment, right?" He never understood why his mother felt she needed to relax in a mud bath after spending a day at the mall. She rarely took more than a long soak in the tub after spending the day rock climbing or whitewater rafting.
Alexis glared at her husband. "I would like to see you survive a day of shopping with your mother." Jax loved to buy gifts for his friends and family. However, he always stuck to small shops or merchants who delivered. She couldn't imagine him in a mall.
Jax cringed at the thought. "More strenuous than a plane crash in the Sahara?"
"But less strenuous than not knowing what your mother has up her sleeves. Didn't John give you any clues?" The pair did not return until after midnight. Surely they must have talked about something.
"Honestly, it never came up." In reality, he had spent the majority of the day grilling his father. Jax was extremely curious about Lady Jane's plan. His father, however, remained tight-lipped.
"You should push harder son. Your father always cracks when I interrogate him." Lady Jane glided into the room with a knowing smile. Jax hated surprises at four. As a grown man, he was no different.
"Now you both should go get ready. We must arrive at the Welsley's before eleven, or else we will never arrive at the Parkinson's before one, which means we won't have prayer of making it back here before our guests arrive at three. Everybody is excited to see you, Jasper and they are dying to meet your enchanting wife. We would hate to disappoint." She all but shooed Jax and Alexis out of the room.
---
By eleven o'clock all four Jacks were mingling amongst the holiday guests at the Welsley's. Lady Jane's tight schedule kept everybody moving at full speed until the moment they arrived at the party. Once they were there, however, Lady Jane's commanding demeanor melted away.
Jax stayed close to his mother. He worried she would be at a loss if somebody brought up Jerry's unfortunate situation. This wasn't the first time his brother had messed up and landed himself in jail. However, it was the first time that everything had been so public. Most people didn't hear about it when he was arrested some foreign country. When they did, there was always some romantic story. Jerry was chasing the Turkish police commissioner's daughter. Or Jerry was posting anti-military literature in a country that had recently been taken over by a military coup. He always had some angle. People thought it was funny, charming, or exotic. His most recent arrest was none of those things.
Then there was his father. In the years since his heart attack, John had truly improved his health. For the most part, he looked and felt better than he had in years. Still, by late the day before John was visibly fatigued. Jax worried that another long day would cause his father more harm than good. John always insisted he could keep up with his energetic wife. He hated ending a good evening simply so he could rest. He refused to slow down. Jax intended to keep his father from over doing it. He would spend the entire night watching for signs of fatigue if necessary.
Soon he realized it was not. It had been years since he really studied his parents. He took them for granted. When he was a boy, his mother seemed a little too demanding. His father came off as much too stubborn. He loved and admired them both, but he never understood how they worked together. Watching them at the party, he saw it all.
The title was not all that was regal about her mother. With her athletic agility she could work her way through a crowd with ease. Her dignity allowed her to shake off the most ill willed comment with ease and grace. She withstood many years of poverty, Jerry's teenage rebellions and countless Alaskan winters. Dealing with the bad taste of a few ill-mannered party guests was child's play.
Jax smiled as he watched them compliment one another. John could disarm anybody with his quick-witted comments. When she needed him, he was always at her side, ready to diffuse any situation with a winning smile and an offhand remark. His mother in turn watched her husband's demeanor for any sign of weakness. If he gave off any indication that he was tired, she was ready with a glass of water and a shoulder to lean on.
Together they surveyed the entire room. They knew exactly when to enter a conversation, and exactly when to end one. Jax wondered if they missed anything. By the time they arrived at the Parkinson's Jax learned they did not. Soon after they arrived Lady Jane pulled her son aside. "Are we that entertaining, Dear? Don't you think there is somebody at this party who needs your attention more than your father and I do?"
"Whatever do you mean, Mum?" Her question slightly perplexed Jax. He had known many of the guests since his boyhood. However, he was not particularly close to any of them.
Jane sighed. One day he would learn; she hoped. Jane took her son by the waist and turned him so he faced his wife. "She is doing well on her own; but I am sure she would love the company of her husband."
Jax caught sight of his wife carrying on polite conversation with a couple across the room. "I am already on it." With a few fluid movements he had picked up two glasses of wine and was at his wife's side. "Would you mind terribly if I borrowed my wife?" He was already leading Alexis away before the couple had a chance to respond.
"About time." Alexis shot annoyed grin at him. "I thought I was going to have to break the heel on my shoe to get your attention."
Jax laughed. "I am a whiz at fixing those."
"So I hear." She smiled. "I doubt I will be needing that service, though. I almost always manage to keep my attire in working order."
Jax smiled. He never figured out how Chloe managed to break so many shoes. "You are a talented woman."
"In more ways than one, husband." She took his hand. "Let's mingle." She pulled him off towards another conversation before giving him a chance ponder what she had meant by her previous statement.
Jax enjoyed watching her play the part of dutiful wife and daughter in law. She was on display from the time they arrived back at the family estate until the last guest departed. Everybody wanted to meet the woman who stole Jax heart. She preformed flawlessly.
The dress she wore accentuated all of her best physical features, the color set off the read highlights in her hair, which was pulled up to show off her long graceful neck. Every man who entered the room was drawn to her beauty and her glowing smile and sharp mind kept them hanging on every word.
Jax was no exception. He always thought Alexis was beautiful. She flaunted it less than women like Brenda or Chloe, but he knew it was there. However, seeing the effect her looks had on the men around her bothered him. She didn't just dazzle them with looks. She could talk anybody into anything. He found himself moving closer to her. Eventually he wrapped an arm around his waist. He tried telling himself he was simply trying to make it look real. But if that was the case, why did it hurt to let go?