September 23nd, 1983

11:41 am

Layla's lake house, Glenn Oaks.

Jackie and Layla were sitting on the couch going through the big folder of drawings and other papers layng on Jackie's legs, both talking enthusiastically. From time to time Jackie would make some notes on the margins of the drawings, or in the small notebook she always carried in her purse these days.

Steven was watching them from the terrace overlooking the lake with a smile on his face, happy to see his wife so energized and happy. He still marveled at the fact that Jackie was actually his wife… he felt like he was a whole other person from that dumbass that had told her "I don't know" over and over. Right now, he was happier than he'd ever been before, even after all of what had happened before Chicago and after Vegas… and the heartbreak of the past winter.

Just like Layla had predicted, after WB's birthday party, he'd kept his word and with a deep sigh had given Jackie his credit card and had let her redecorate his living room, den, kitchen and dining room not caring about expenses. From choosing fabrics, to painting walls and picking furniture and paintings, Jackie had finished the job in just two weeks. She'd done an amazing job and it had been way cheaper than any of them had thought possible.

Jackie had a natural talent for this kind of endeavors and a natural charm that got her the best deals in every possible store. Also, she wouldn't take no for an answer, and Steven knew that all right.

Jackie and Steven had taken a long time furnishing and decorating their own home. They hadn't taken many things from Point Place to Madison since they were keeping the apartment there, so almost everything in the house was new.

They had started with the basic furniture for their bedroom, the lounge, the foyer, the dining room, and the study. Over their first year at the house they had slowly added non-essential stuff for the main rooms, like side a side table and lamp for the lounge, plus a couple of small chairs and an ottoman; a sideboard and a china cabinet for the dining room, and two big comfortable chairs for the study.

Between Steven's constant travelling and Jackie's exhausting working hours they hadn't thought much about the two extra bedrooms on the second floor. They had beds and other essential furniture in there, but as guest bedrooms they were barely comfortable.

After their elopement and after Jackie quitted her job, she had taken the time to focus on her home. She'd bought beautiful chests of drawers and wardrobes for the two other rooms upstairs, as well as rugs for every single room in the house. She had asked Kitty to lend them her photo albums and had picked a bunch of photographs to have enlarged and framed. She put those on the wall of the staircase, the mantle, the small table by the door and the rooms.

They still hadn't decided on paintings or other decorations for the walls, but Jackie had changed most of the curtains and filled a whole corner of the lounge with plants of all shapes and sizes.

Now after only five months into her budding business she had two handyman and an assistant on her payroll. WB's house had been the first of many because all of his friends had been charmed by the results and the little lady behind them. She had bluntly approached the many people she'd met while working at the TV station to offer her services as home decorator and as a result she had also been approached by the TV station where she had worked for a little over two years, to re-do several sets – which led to many of the station's executives to hire her as well to re-do one or several rooms in their houses.

One of the perks of having her own business was that she could make her own schedule, so she'd convinced Steven to take a day off and go to the lake house early on Friday. Layla had been there herself for a couple of weeks now and Jackie wanted to have a quiet moment to go through her ideas and drawings with Layla.

After the disaster of a job done to her kitchen the previous year, Layla was delighted to see all the wonderful jobs Jackie had made in the past few months and had been waiting to see her ideas for her house. They had talked at length the last time everybody had been up to the lake house, but that had been over a month before.

Luckily for Jackie, that had meant more time to dedicate to Layla's house. She wanted it to be perfect. In August Jackie had taken several pictures and drawn a few quick sketches in different moments of the day, to account for the lighting. They had also talked at length about what Layla wanted.

Steven went back to the kitchen to fix them a quick lunch, smiling whenever he heard the two women laughing, giggling, or raising their voices with excitement. Jackie was on full hurricane mode.

/-/-/-/

September 24nd, 1983

1:19 pm

Layla's lake house, Glenn Oaks.

After showing Layla all her drawings and ideas, Jackie had spent a big part of the afternoon re doing some of her drawings and taking more notes and was double checking with Layla when everybody arrived. Soon, Red had taken over the grill and the first of many rounds of drinks was ready.

"So, you're also going to suffer from this monster, mother?" asked WB, pointing at the overflowing folder of drawings on the coffee table. He handed Jackie a glass of champagne and she gave him a playful punch in the arm.

"Oh, William, how dare you say that?" said Jackie, feigning shock. "I'm not a monster… you were just my guinea pig!"

It was common to see Jackie and WB banter. After their first meeting Jackie had forgiven him for his words to Steven, and not because of his cashmere sweater. As someone that had grown up with many riches, and someone that had grown used to those same comforts and abundance, Jackie and WB had a lot in common. Jackie was also happy to see how much WB cared for Steven and how their relationship had evolved since the day they met.

"Guinea pig?" asked WB, dramatically putting a hand over his heart and feigning shock, though everybody could see the amusement in his eyes. After a dramatic pause, he just shrugged, affecting defeat. "I've been called worse… and by you!"

After the laughter died down Angie cleared her throat to get everyone's attention.

"Here's to Jackie" she said, raising her champagne glass. "Happy birthday, sister!"

A chorus of here, here! echoed around and they all drank to Jackie's birthday. The two friends – sisters – hugged tightly and Steven smiled at them before taking Jackie into his arms.

"Happy birthday, Mrs. Barnett" he whispered in her ear.

Jackie was beaming, it almost looked like her smile was too big for her face. "Why, thank you, Mr. Barnett!"

As you may recall from a chapter updated long ago, Steven decided to change his lastname because he didn't feel represented by the name Hyde anymore.

And one thing I've been waiting for long .. a career switch for Jackie!