Chapter 25
"Good Lord that girl has a lot of gifts..." Mark muttered, his eyes wide as he helped Jasina sort them, hesitating when he picked up marked From Randy. "What'd he get her?" He asked after a moment, squashing down any jealousy or anger he might've momentarily felt.
"I believe a new digital camera." Jasina answered, trying not to laugh at the disdain on Mark's face, snatching it away from him. "Relax, there is no gift in this entire pile that will mean more to her than that SUV and you know it." She chastised softly, heading over to the huge bucket she'd bought specifically for this reason, knowing Arielle was really popular with the high school. "You do realize you're cuter when you're jealous right?" When he growled at her, Jasina rolled her eyes and smacked his arm lightly. "Behave or else. He's not here, he simply got her a gift and asked me to bring it. You wouldn't want Arielle upset on this night because of your temper, would you?"
"Haven't blown a fuse yet now have I?" Mark shot back, pleased to know that Orton wouldn't be making an appearance. Not that he would have picked a fight at Arielle's birthday party with the other man, but Mark would remember it down the road. "Envelope from Trish and Steve...gift card." Probably to somewhere many expensive...Steve had probably just scrawled his signature, wait... "No, this is from Steve." He arched a suspicious eyebrow, half afraid to know what his friend had gotten Arie. "You might want to open that now and then re-tape it." He cautioned gravely.
Jasina simply snatched it away from him and put it with the rest of the cards, setting them aside out of Mark's reach. She couldn't believe Steve actually got Arielle something by himself, but then again she was practically his daughter too in a way, being her godfather and all. Jasina arranged the presents from smallest to biggest, which took a little while and forced Mark to help her with every single one of them, slapping his hand every time he tried taking a peek inside. He was worse than a kid in a damn candy store!
"Okay we're finally done, get away from the presents before I hurt you." She threatened, already shoving him away from them by pushing on his back, knowing he was allowing her to otherwise it would be like moving a semi-truck. "You'll find out when she opens everything, now stop being overbearing before I sick Trish on you."
"I'm tellin' ya now darlin', you're gonna regret not peeking when you see some of the things people give her." Mark teased, knowing he wasn't being overbearing so much as nosy and curious. "If she pulls out a naked man in a hula skirt for her SUV, courtesy of Steve, it'll be a told-you-so situation." Because with Steve's humor, the naked man in a grass skirt would be very anatomically correct and Steve would think it was hilarious.
"Whatever Steve got her will be fine with me and you have to remember that he has a pregnant fiancée, who made sure that the gift was not only acceptable for a seventeen year old, but also appropriate." Jasina pointed out with a smirk, standing beside him just outside on the patio, staring at him knowingly. "Trish would skin him alive if it was anything remotely embarrassing and you damn well know it." Jasina walked away to look out on the dance floor, smiling down at her daughter who was still dancing with Gary and now Toni, winking at her to let her know everything was fine when their eyes locked briefly.
Mark groaned, knowing Jasina wasn't really thinking outside the 'Trish Has His Balls' box and eyeballed Steve, gesturing for him. "I seen ya got Arie a present."
Steve smiled a bit too innocently. "How'd you know? I didn't sign it or anythin'."
"Beer can wrapping paper? Really Steve?"
Steve shrugged, still smirking. "Your point?"
"What'd you get her?"
"Two things, you'll have to wait and see."
"She'll love it." Trish assured him with a smile, winking up at Steve, deciding to let him have a little fun for once.
"I know she will, she knows how her godfather can be, so she won't be surprised whatever it is."
Jasina wasn't worried in the slightest, wishing Mark would take a chill pill and wondered how he was going to act when Arielle turned eighteen. She didn't even want to think about that, immediately pushing it out of her mind. Jasina went a little crazy with Arielle's birthday gifts, but knew everything she got her daughter would be much appreciated.
"Think we're pushing our luck?" Gary murmured in Arielle's ear while they continued swaying to the music that flowed over the dance floor, never wanting this moment to end.
Gary also didn't want to push his luck because if Mark so much as remembered anything about him, he would be chased off the property with a loaded shotgun. So far, Jasina had kept him occupied, but he also knew she wasn't with Mark anymore, so it would only last so long. If he was smart, Gary would leave now, but just one look in Arielle's emerald eyes and he knew he couldn't find the strength to pull away.
"Probably." Arielle said, having lost track of time, more wrapped up in this moment than anything else and reluctantly pulled away from him as the song ended. "I should go be mingling again before he- He's coming this way." Arielle knew better than to openly panic; that would be bad and when she went to look at Gary, Arielle was mildly surprised to find he had disappeared. She let out a sigh of relief when she spotted Gary at the refreshment table with his back turned to them; he was quick. "Hi Dad."
"Where'd your friend go?"
She shrugged, not answering.
"How about you have a dance with your old man?" Mark grinned down at her, deciding to take Jasina's unspoken advice and have a chill pill.
Jasina couldn't stop Mark from going down there, sighing with relief almost as the same time Trish did when they noticed Gary had disappeared to get some refreshments. The man was quick on his feet; she'd definitely give him that and smiled when Steve guided Trish down to the dance floor. All Jasina could do was stand there looking down at all the guests and how Mark danced with their daughter. Her eyes moved to Trish and Steve, seeing all the love they both felt for each other and wished she could have the same happy family Trish did. Suddenly, Jasina wished Randy was there so she could at least share this night with someone, the loneliness washing over her.
"Hi Ms. Jameson." Toni said, sidling up to the older woman, smiling shyly.
She liked Arielle's mom, but learned to respect the woman after the kidnapping weekend she'd inadvertently got involved in. She also knew Jasina was in on Gary being there, not believing Jasina would do that and thought she was a major cool Mom. Flicking her black hair, which was plaited into dozens and dozens of tiny braids, over her shoulder, Toni couldn't help asking about Randy Orton.
"I kind of thought Arie's boss, other boss, would be here. She said she invited him."
"Having Mr. Orton come to her party probably wouldn't be a good idea because Mr. Calaway doesn't like him." Jasina explained in a soft voice, hugging Toni when she first greeted her. "He did get her a gift though so I'm sure Arie will be happy with that. How are you? Getting excited for your senior year?" Jasina had to get her mind on something else, anything to push the loneliness away, knowing she had nobody to blame except herself for it.
"Sort of, it won't be the same without Arie." While sharp, Toni wasn't as smart as her best friend and would admit it without shame. She would graduate at eighteen like the rest of her class, still surprised that Arielle had actually skipped a year. "But it's cool that she's stickin' around to do the internship instead of just takin' off for-" She stopped and started again. "For college right away."
"You know Arie thinks of you as her sister, right?" When Toni nodded, Jasina grinned as she wrapped her arm around the girl's shoulders, guiding her over to sit down since the heels she wore started making her feet ache. "What are your interests as far as college goes? Do you know what you want to study or are you still just worried about being in high school?"
It was nice talking to Arielle's best friend and Jasina hoped they would remain close for the rest of their lives. They'd been through a lot together and Jasina could tell how fiercely loyal her daughter was to certain people in her life. Gary and Toni were prime examples of that.
"Oh, I don't know yet." Toni said thoughtfully, not about to tell her best friend's Mom that her chances of going to college were slim unless she took classes at the local college via a grant. Not to mention she wasn't sure if she even wanted to go to college. "I have a few months to think about it before needing to apply anywhere. Maybe somethin' with animals."
"Well if there's anything I can do to help you, just let me know."
Jasina patted Toni's hand gently and stood up from the table when the music ended, the DJ announcing it was time for everyone to head over to the special area designated for the presents. Jasina had everything set up as people headed up the stairs, Arielle finally arriving last along with Mark. Jasina had a special purple chair for Arielle to sit in, the huge table full of presents staring back at her.
The disappointment was obvious in Arielle's eyes, but she wouldn't be getting the ultimate gift until after she opened all of these. Arielle knew she shouldn't be disappointed; a car was a big thing, figuratively and literally. She knew when she seen the table, it wasn't like there would be a car parked right on it, she had just thought...maybe her Mom would get her one or definitely her Dad since he did sometimes sell calls he acquired from his garage. She was soon distracted by the presents she was opening, eyeballing one wrapped in paper covered in beer cans.
"Steve..." Arielle looked around for him, seeing his broad grin and hesitantly opened it, instantly hiding it under the table. "Seriously, Steve?"
"Seriously."
Of all things, it was a book called: Shit You Can Only Get Away with In College. Apparently, he had bought this BEFORE the internship. She cracked it open, smirking at the inscription and then seen the gift card taped to the jacket, smiling at him. Just in case, she sat on the book, wanting to look at it before showing her folks.
Jasina managed to pull it from beneath Arielle's rear and looked at the cover, immediately busting out laughing, covering her mouth with her hand. "Steve, you'll never fail to amaze me."
She tucked it behind a few of the other unopened gifts, thankful Mark had decided to take that moment to grab a beer, winking down at her daughter. The next gift Arielle opened was from Jasina, which ended up being a brand new laptop that Arielle asked for. It had a purple cover with black on the inside, state of the art Dell, which was the only computer product Jasina ever bought.
"Everything is already set up on it, but I put it back in the box and didn't remove anything. I just wanted to make sure everything was already set and loaded for you."
"Thanks Mom."
Arielle beamed at her, arching an eyebrow when she spotted a small box without a label and wondered who that was from. She shunted it aside for the moment before selecting one she knew was from Toni. The wrapping paper covered in the words 'Best Friends Forever', a dead giveaway and Arielle grinned, knowing Toni would find that amusing.
"It's a survival kit."
"I see that...Dad Repellent?"
"You did say he told you no datin' until thirty-five..."
Mark slapped his forehead with his palm, grunting when a laughing Steve smacked him between the shoulder blades.
"Mom Repellent, lockbox...pens, journals, a Magic 8 Ball and a Treasure Troll; cool, I'll always know my fortune and be able to make wishes."
"Hey, you don't need Mom Repellent!" Jasina argued playfully, loving how happy her daughter was with all the gifts as she shoved Toni's to the side, going to the next one.
She also didn't miss Arielle shoving the small box to the side either that didn't have a name. Knowing it was from Gary, Jasina took the opportunity to take it without Mark noticing. He was too busy wondering what the hell Randy had gotten Arielle as she began ripping apart the golden wrapping paper.
"Randy told me to tell you he's sorry he couldn't make it and he hopes you like it." Jasina said quietly in her ear, watching her nod and knew she understood, stepping back as Arielle's squeals echoed throughout the area seconds later.
"A DIGITAL CAMERA!"
"Randy knew you would need one eventually and has decided he will be training you sooner on taking photos because you can't learn without being hands-on."
"Liar, he hates digital cameras, this is him shutting me up because I want to use HIS camera!" Arielle laughed, already in love with the digital one she had been eyeing at a photography shop Randy had taken her too, knowing how pricey it was and swallowed hard.
He hated digitals, but as far as they went, this was the best. She carefully set the box down out of the way so nothing happened to it before continuing opening presents and finally was down to Gary's. Having so far accumulated several gift cards -one for a Carter's from Trish, an IPAD, a digital picture frame and a bunch of other things she hadn't even thought of asking for. Slowly, she cracked open the small box, wondering what Gary had gotten her, eyes widening.
"Oh my god..."
Trish could only gape.
Gary suddenly wondered if maybe giving her a promise ring was the smartest idea, locking eyes very briefly with Jasina, letting her know it was from him. There was no name on the package so Mark wouldn't figure out who it was from. It was a promise ring and had an Amethyst stone cut in the shape of a heart, two small diamonds on each side set on a silver band.
It looked very expensive and shined in the purple lights above, Gary dying to step forward to place it on her finger. He couldn't though, his heart aching when Arielle simply stared down at it. Jasina closed her eyes when Mark immediately demanded who that ring was from, doing the cut throat motion with her thumb, signaling to Gary it was time to vacate while he still had all of his limbs intact.