Jackie smiled thinking of her husband. He was so sweet, alright a little pervy, but sweet. It's odd they had all called him Fez for so long, she hadn't even scribbled her name next to his. Having a last name so odd would have been a handicap and she had been forced to keep her own. That bit of news had made Donna smile proudly, but in all honesty, Jackie would like to have a part of husband attached permanently to her reputation. Something more personal that pretty. Jackie looked down at her engagement ring, she had vowed never to take it off when Fez had given it to her. And for the first few months she had been dazzled by it. By now she liked to hide the stone and pretend that it was a simple trinket, even she couldn't understand why.
They had moved to California after they were married, she needed to get away from Point Place, and had send resumes across the country, trying to get a job. The beach in San Diego was wonderful, but she had had to ignore the last three seasons of winter clothing, settling for the lighter California versions. Jackie sighed, a Wisconsin girl at heart, she missed the seasonal change. Plus California casual, what evil fashion-handicapped nitwit had started that atrocity?
She looked up at the kitchen clock, it was only four-thirty, which meant Fez wouldn't be home for a few more hours. He had quickly become too popular for San Diego and now made the daily two and half hour trek to Los Angeles. She had learned long ago to not give up on the opportunities she was given, and just around the time he asked her to move to LA, the station had asked her to co-anchor the local morning show. This meant a 4am wake up call, but it also meant her day ended before noon. She had been humbled enough to know that LA (or possible somewhere better) could come along in a few years time, but she had to take it one step at it time, well not one step at a time, she was still aware of her ability to wow people, but she had been to the large cities, there beautiful people were in greater numbers, and Jackie had developed this need to be seen for more than her looks, especially if she ever wanted to make it to the national circuit.
She sighed it was Tuesday which meant Fez would leave the salon early today to try and make it back early enough to spend a few hours with her. She had to go to bed early, every night, she needed her beauty rest and that meant bedtime was at 8. Not very romantic to make love then go to sleep while her husband got up to spend a few hours watching TV, or very often from sheer loneliness go out. He had a whole group of friends he saw as regularly as they had hung out with the old gang. Jackie had only met his friends once or twice.
Jackie went to check the mail, their street was the postman's last stop so it often came very late in the afternoon. Spring was coming up soon, and that meant wedding card season, between Jackie's fans inviting her, and Fez's celebrity clients, they spent almost every weekend in the summer going to weddings. Last year, they had been invited to so many, they had to attend, and they often went to them separately.
Sure enough, 3 large envelopes were neatly placed inside the mail box next to all the clutter, Jackie had hired an accountant to take care of all bills soon after she had accepted her position, and thus very little mail came directly to the house. She went to the little bureau she had set aside for herself after she had decided they couldn't afford to have any children till she was closer to obtaining her goal. Sitting behind the desk, she opened the wedding invitations calmly. There was a time she used to open them standing next to the mail box, but by now she was so used to receiving the cards, the art of filing them according to date and importance had taken over any joy.
Her heart leaped into her throat, as she saw the postmark on the envelope marked Madison. It had to be Donna, there was no one else she knew in Madison. But the joy was short lived, an invitation to a graduation party, it was just like Donna to use wedding invitation envelopes to invite her to a graduation. Without Jackie, Donna was once again slipping back into her completely unladylike habits.
Still, an excuse to go back to Wisconsin was not lost to her. She would have to get Fez to give Eric a good talking to about the right time to propose though. If they weren't engaged by the time she left Wisconsin, she would advice them to go their separate ways. Sudden commitment-phobia was not a good sign, and no matter how much her best friend could forgive Eric for his past mistakes, Jackie kept them like armor, ready to pounce, if ever Eric fouled up again. Forgiving once too many times was Jackie's pitfall and she wanted to make sure her best friend would at least be spared that pain. Moron.
Jackie sat back, "huh, that was a strong reaction for a situation she had given so little time to the last few weeks" she thought to herself. Donna always limited their communication when the end of term neared, she was simultaneously earning both her masters and doctorate, it was a new program they had introduced and Donna had jumped at the chance. Jackie had thought Donna was taking on too much, but Donna had discovered a new love for knowledge, she claimed to be "the only satisfied student she had met". Jackie smiled to herself, Eric had gotten that part right at least, he had let his education take a seat on the back burner, earning his degree slowly, mainly at night and supporting Donna, and her superior education.
She couldn't wait for Fez to come home to tell him they were going to have to turn down more than one wedding to make a small party in Wisconsin.