A/N: I promised you two updates at once, so here's your reward for being patient. J
Chapter 10 - Band-Aids, Hugs and Jam Hands - Part I
Jessica sat, making full use of her new sketch pad while Jess worked on the dishes. There was a knock at the door. Jess and Jessica exchanged flummoxed glances. No one came to their door. Who on earth would come to their door?
"One way to find out," Jess mused to her aloud, with a half-shrug, hands outstretched, amused that the first part of the conversation was telepathic…or maybe he'd made that part up. Still, it was fun. He made use of the peep-hole, and his eyebrows shot up. He unfastened the chain and opened the door to reveal a backwards baseball cap, a perpetual 5'oclock scruff, a gift bag, and a whimsically wrapped gift box, held up by beflanneled arms.
"Luke?" Jess' soft gravel voice asked in confusion. Oh, there was no question it was him, but everything else was one big question mark.
"Thought it was about time," Luke said awkwardly, "I came, and…met my niece." His eyes shot past Jess momentarily to the little girl sitting at the table, continuing, "…great niece…saw the new apartment." Jess nodded, eyebrows raised - still a little too stunned to realize this was his cue to invite his uncle in. "These are, uh…" Luke stammered, nodding toward the gifts, "…housewarming…sort of…um…for later-they're for later." Jess almost laughed at this, recalling all-too-vividly the last apartment his uncle had visited him in.
"Well-" he half-stammered in return, "come in. Um, I'll stash these - if they're for later," and he relieved Luke of his light burden, looking for a place to put them, momentarily grimacing at the dishes in the sink and the laundry he hadn't finished folding, and stepping aside to grant Luke access to the tiny apartment.
Jessica's eyes darted around uncertainly. Jess hung back, placing the gifts by his bed, eyes flicking back and forth, watching to see what Luke would do - what Jessica would do. Luke stepped hesitantly to the middle of the room, shuffled back and forth a bit, and then went down on one knee, looking as if he were going to say something to the little girl at eye-level. He cleared his throat and nodded, his jaw working in a circular motion as it often did when he was extraordinarily nervous, or under strain. Jessica watched him keenly. Eventually, Luke flung his arms wide in a dramatic shrugging motion - completely at a loss for what to say. Jessica turned puzzled eyes to Jess. Luke did the same, shrugging his shoulders as he did so. Jess chuckled and glanced at the floor for a moment before looking at his little girl with a smile, nodding as he did so.
"Jessica, this is your Grandpa Luke," he said softly, and with affection, following through on a decision he'd made the week before. Luke's face suddenly went slack in disbelief. Jess smiled at him, more with his eyes than his lips, looked down and back up, nodding a small confirmation. You deserve it, Luke. And, he knew he'd done the right thing when he saw stone-faced Luke go misty, swallowing hard and beginning to blink rapidly.
He turned his gaze to Jessica, whose whole demeanor seemed to shift at the introduction. Her expression was…eager. Her whole little self suddenly seemed like a small bird, bright and flitting, tilting her head back and forth, taking in this new information cheerfully. She looked up at him with blinking inquiry. Jess couldn't quite make out the reaction. He'd never seen this look before.
He smiled at her and nodded deliberately, finally inclining his head toward Luke, encouraging her to make some kind of contact. A moment later, his jaw hit the floor. Jessica flew into Luke's still outstretched arms, hugging him tightly. A look of astonished bewilderment flashed pure joy across Luke's features. His arms wavered awkwardly in midair for a moment before enveloping the little girl in plaid flannel, a reverent hand drawing the soft curls to rest against his heart. He slowly looked up, overwhelmed with emotion and took in the completely dumbfounded expression on his nephew's face. Jess' open hand covered his gaping mouth, wide eyes unable to recover from the shock. He had yet to learn that his little girl would never cease to amaze him.
After a few moments, Jessica pulled back from the embrace, grasping Luke's flannel clad forearms and looking straight into his face with upturned eyes and a tiny smile that betrayed a little quirk of a dimple halfway between her nose and the outermost edge of the smile. Luke gazed back with a shy smirk that twitched at the corners of his mouth. The little girl seemed well pleased, and gave his arms a tiny squeeze with both her hands before turning back to the table, hopping up and resuming her artwork. Luke rose a bit unsteadily. Jess clapped him on the shoulder in silent congratulations.
"Looks like you're in," he told his uncle, drowning the tiny twinge of jealousy he felt at the instantaneous display of acceptance and affection. He was glad that she'd taken to Luke so readily. This little girl was going to need all the family she could get.
"I…wasn't expecting that," Luke admitted fumblingly. Jess chuckled.
"I think that's the only thing I've learned so far," Jess said with a sigh. Luke turned to him with inquiring eyebrows. "When it comes to kids, you never know what to expect." Luke nodded with what was almost a laugh, and stood there for a moment beaming at his newly acquired grandchild. Jess' voice kept repeating in his head: Grandpa Luke. It was wonderful and a bit dizzying. After all, he'd only been called by his new title of Dad within the last three weeks. Those two don't usually come in such rapid succession. Luke let out a long, contented sigh. Jess liked to hear it. His uncle didn't usually get his fair share of contentment, particularly considering how much he did to make everybody else happy.
Turning his gaze from Jessica back to Luke, Jess could see the older man look suddenly down at his arms, contentment shifting to mild distaste. Odd. Luke pulled at his sleeve, and then quickly wiped his hands on his jeans - looking up at Jess, perturbed.
"Jam hands!" he exclaimed, with a dramatic gesture toward the little girl, who looked up with interest to see why she was being pointed at. Luke's expression was strangely triumphant. He gestured at Jess as if to say, See!
"Don't look at me!" Jess countered, "I don't have any jam in the apartment!"
"Exactly!" exclaimed Luke in jubilance, as if making an important point. Jess' eyes darted back and forth in confusion, thinking momentarily that his uncle had finally flipped his lid, though at what possible provocation, he couldn't guess - other than…imaginary jam.
"So-" Jess said abruptly, praying that he could turn Luke's attention from the cause of his perturbation/elation, and on to more steady ground, "the grand tour!" he announced. His eyebrows flickered, accompanying an impish smile. He turned slowly on his heel with arm outstretched toward the apartment's various attractions. "The kitchen," he said in a grandiose tone, gesturing toward the sink and miniscule counter, "the parlor," toward the futon, "the library," bookshelves, "the lavatory," bathroom door, "Miss Jessica's sleeping quarters," her bed, "Miss Jessica's private library," her tiny bookshelf, "the foyer," apartment door, "my own sleeping quarters," the mattress and box spring, "the dining room," the card table where Jessica sat, amused at her father's antics, crayon poised above the paper as she watched, "and finally, our own private exhibition hall, featuring the masterpieces of internationally known artist, Jessica Mariano," pointing to the butterfly magnet secured sketches on the refrigerator, with a small bow of acknowledgment to the little girl at the table, who was now beaming. Luke smiled and nodded appreciatively throughout the tour, and ended by finally squinting at Jessica's drawings. "No. It's not a bicycle," Jess told him, before Luke had a chance to say a word about the profusion of rainbow-colored circles on the paper in front of him.
"I like this one better," Luke announced, comparing it with the abstract art in Truncheon that Jess was obviously alluding to.
"So do I," Jess agreed, clapping Luke on the shoulder once again.