Oops, I Did It Again – Chapter 33
Two days later, Maura's parents were due to arrive. Constance had arranged for a car service to pick up Jane and Maura and bring them to the airport to meet them. She knew they would have some luggage and didn't want to mess with multiple cars. Maura knew this is how her parents liked to travel and explained this to Jane, who had wanted to drive them to the airport to pick up her parents.
Constance was the first to arrive and meet Jane. Once Jane saw Constance she understood. Constance had a look about her that exhibited royalty. She was impeccably dressed, just like Maura. Now she knew where Maura got that from. She wasn't snooty at all, she was rather polished and proper.
She gave Maura a kiss to each cheek and then shook Jane's hand as Maura introduced them. They reviewed the flight arrival board and discovered that Arthur's flight was delayed two hours. They retrieved Constance's bags and then decided to go to a coffee shop and sit down and chat while they waited for his flight to arrive. Constance had instructed the young man with her bags to please wait standing in baggage claim. She gave him a rather large tip so he gladly stood by, actually she told him to have a seat with her luggage as Arthur's plane was delayed.
Constance seemed to be interrogating Jane which Jane and Maura found amusing. Jane was a sport and ran with it. She was expecting to be questioned she just thought it would come from Arthur not Constance, and when they were all together.
"How long have you been a police officer? Do you plan to continue being a police officer? What college did you attend? Do you find education to be important? What is your stance on the arts?" Constance bombarded Jane with her questions.
Maura placed a hand gently on her mother's forearm and stated, "Mother give Jane a chance to answer your questions, please. One at a time"
Constance took a deep breath and replied, "Sorry, darling, I wanted to make sure I asked my questions."
"It's no problem, Mrs. Isles. I am more than happy to answer any and all of your questions. Can I ask you one question before I reply?" Jane smiled and asked.
"Of course, dear, what is your question?" Constance asked as she smiled back at Jane. Maura reached over and took Jane's hand. She knew Jane was nervous about meeting her parents.
"Will I need to answer the same questions when Mr. Isles arrives and I meet him?" Jane responded, she would answer them all again if needed, she just asked so that she would be prepared. Maura squeezed her hand letting her know that things were going good so far.
"No dear and please call me Constance." Constance offered. "We can wait to answer the questions though until my husband arrives. I am sure he would love to hear the answers from you instead of me." Constance offered as she sat back a little and got comfortable in her chair. She drank some of her tea as she looked at the pair in front of her and smiled. Constance's first impression was that she liked Jane.
Maura decided to ask her mother a question, "Mother, how have your art installations been going?"
Constance immediately replied as her art was her life and she loved to talk about it, "Just fine dear. Quite a few of my pieces have sold and I find I will need to get back to painting soon. I have been dabbling in a new style of art as well. I find it rather interesting but my first love will always be painting."
"Did you remember to take pictures for me to see some of your work before you sold it?" Maura asked remembering that Constance had sold about twenty pieces without Maura getting a chance to see the pieces.
"Yes darling, but you know as well as I do that pictures do not bring out the true essence of the picture. You really need to see them in person. I have a show in New York in a few weeks. You and Jane should come up and see the installation." Constance loved that idea she would have to talk more to Maura about the two of them coming to New York for a few days to see her art installation.
The two hours flew by quickly once Constance started talking about her art. Jane could see how much the woman loved her art. She was very passionate about it. From the pictures Jane was impressed, she liked the artwork.
"Arthur, darling it is so nice to see you." Constance said as she greeted her husband with a kiss to each cheek.
"Daddy." Maura said as her father took her into a hug and kissed both of her cheeks.
"Father, this is my girlfriend, Jane Rizzoli. Jane this is my father, Arthur Isles." Maura had a huge smile on her face as she introduced Jane to her father.
Arthur offered Jane his hand and Jane offered hers in return and gave him a very firm handshake. They smiled at each other as they walked to baggage claim. "Jane, can you accompany me to the carousel to retrieve my luggage?"
"Yes sir, Mr. Isles." Jane immediately replied.
"Please, Jane, call me Arthur." Arthur instructed her.
"Yes, Arthur." Jane replied as Arthur laced his arm with hers and then proceeded to the carousel with the young man with the luggage cart following close behind. In a matter of minutes, they had his two small bags and added them to the cart and then headed to the waiting car.
Maura had called the driver earlier to let him know that her father's flight was delayed. So, he had moved the car and asked if she could call him back when they were in baggage claim and he would bring the car around. Maura agreed and she called him once her father arrived.
Once the bags were loaded in the car they got in and headed to the Isles house in Boston. Constance had said dinner would be at seven but they decided to move it up so they called the chef and asked if he could move dinner to five. He said he could do five thirty and they agreed.
At 5:30 PM sharp they sat down and ate dinner. They had light conversation during dinner and then after dinner they retreated to the living room to chat. Jane thought to herself, 'and now the interrogation begins.'
And so it began. Constance repeated her earlier questions, this time one at a time and Jane answered each question. When Jane talked about being a detective, she informed Constance and Arthur that she was scheduled to take the Sergeants exam the next month and planned to go up the officer ranks. Jane knew that she couldn't continue to chase down criminals as she aged but wanted to stay on the police force and going up the officer ranks was the best course of action to achieve that.
This pleased Constance, she knew Maura worried about Jane being out chasing down suspects. Maura would never stop Jane from doing her job and Jane knew that. Jane loved that Maura didn't want to change her, she loved her for who she was as did Jane. She didn't want to change anything about Maura. Their dynamic worked for them. They seemed to be a perfect fit for one another.
Arthur automatically loved Jane. "Can I borrow Jane? I want to show her around." Constance and Maura both nodded and he turned to Jane and said, "Jane, can you walk with me?" Jane looked at Maura and she smiled back at her letting her know it was okay. Jane stood up and followed Arthur. He took her into his library and showed her all of his prized books and then they went into his cigar room. As they sat down, he asked her, "Do you smoke cigars, Jane?"
"No, I have never attempted to smoke. No one in my family smokes." Jane replied. She really never liked the idea and didn't understand why people smoked. She thought people that don't drink probably wonder why people drink.
Arthur offered her a cigar. Jane asked him, "If I don't like it, can I hand it back and not have you be offended?"
"Of course, Jane. I think everyone should try somethings before they give up on it entirely. I mean somethings you should never try but an exquisite Cuban cigar, is one I thing you should try at least once in your lifetime." With that said she took the cigar that was offered. He instructed her on how to cut the tip off and light it. She followed his instructions and then tried it.
As she very slowly brought the lit cigar to her mouth, she inhaled and choked immediately as the smoke lingered inside of her mouth. She coughed and handed the cigar back to Arthur. "I'm sorry, my body seems to be reacting poorly to the cigar."
"It's okay Jane. It is an acquired taste and not for everybody. Let me extinguish it for you and then we can continue our conversation." Arthur said as he took the lit cigar from Jane and extinguished it for her. He would smoke it later. He didn't want to waste a perfectly good Cuban cigar.
"Thank you, Arthur. I am sure we can find something else we can do together."
"Maybe golf? Do you play?" Arthur suggested. He wanted to find something that he and Jane shared an interest in.
"I have never tried that either, but I am willing to try if you give me some pointers." She had thought about trying it before but just never got around to it.
"Fine, I would like that. I have a tee time at 10 AM tomorrow. How about you join me?" Arthur offered.
"Maura and I have the next two weeks off so I can join you. What will Constance and Maura do while we are golfing?" Jane was curious. She knew Maura liked to shop, she wondered if her mother did also. Maybe that was where she acquired her love of shopping. They both certainly dressed eloquently.
"Oh, I am sure there is some art exhibit that Constance can drag Maura off to while we are busy. If not, they can always go to Newberry Street and do some shopping. Don't worry about those two, they always manage to find something to do. I am more interested in getting to know you. My daughter talks about you every time I talk to her on the phone."
"I rather like your daughter. She is so wonderful." Jane admitted.
"She is rather taken with you. Follow me, please I have something that I would love to show you. I think Maura stated that she had shown you my prized possessions but I would like to show them to you myself." Arthur led Jane to the garage where he had six British sports cars.
"Yes, she has shown me these beauties. I love them."
"Would you like to drive one?" Arthur asked. Jane was eyeing the TRV Chimaera and the Austin-Healey "Frogeye" Sprite.
"I can't. they are so expensive I would hate to damage one. Maura said they are all original parts and that you have had them expertly restored."
"I have, and yes, they are expensive but they are also just cars. They are meant to be driven. Maura told me you love to drive and that if I wanted to win you over, I should let you drive one."
"You don't have to let me drive one to win me over. I already like you and Constance."
"Well, let's do it anyways because I would love to go for a little drive and I am afraid I am suffering from jetlag so it would be most appropriate for you to drive me. Let's take the Frogeye. Maura said she had taken the Chimaera out for a spin last month." Arthur reached over and grabbed the keys for the Austin-Healey and handed them to Jane.
"Do we need to tell them we are leaving?" Jane asked as she didn't want Maura to be concerned.
"No, they will hear us after you beep the horn as we leave." With that they hopped in the car and drove off. Jane beeped the horn as soon as they cleared the garage. She had such a huge smile on her face. She had always been fascinated with cars since she was a young child.
They drove around for about twenty minutes when Arthur asked, "So, do you like this car?"
"Yes, very much. It handles very nicely. How long have you had it?"
"This particular car I bought brand new so I have had it for quite some time. This is a 1961 model. I didn't have to restore this one because I never let it get run down. I have taken very good care of it. My father-in-law bought the car for me as a wedding present when I married Constance. We were only 18 years old when we got married. We were both in college at the time. I was so excited." Arthur had a dreamy look in his eyes as he reminisced about when he received the car. "He had put a get big bow on it and when he handed me the keys he said 'Welcome to the Family.'
Jane pulled the car back into the garage and before she could get out of the car, Arthur reached over and placed his hand on her forearm and asked her, "What are your intentions with my daughter?"
Jane looked at him and replied, "I had this big speech plan and I had wanted to talk with you and Constance at the same time but I guess I can tell you. Arthur, I would like to marry your daughter and I would like yours and Constance's blessing to ask her to marry me."
"Jane, I believe I can speak for my wife on this matter as we somewhat discussed the possibility already. Yes, Jane, you have our blessing. Now, before you freak out thinking that we have just met and how can I possibly give you our blessing so fast, let me tell you that we know our daughter and she is so in love with you. We both believe that first impressions are lastly and very important and you, young lady have impressed us. We are pleased that you want to advance in your chosen field. We love the way you fiercely love and protect our daughter. Had we expected her to marry a man? Quite possibly but then we know that love is love and you can't help who you love. It doesn't matter to us that you are a woman, what matters is that you love our daughter and you have demonstrated that over the time you have known her. So, yes Jane you have our blessing to ask our daughter to marry you."
"Thank you, Arthur."
"You are welcome. Now, may I ask you a question?"
"Yes, please do."
"When might you be asking her? We were wondering if this might happen while we are here so we can celebrate with the two of you."
"I still have to get her a ring but yes, I can ask her while you are still here. I would still like to ask Constance for her blessing. Nothing personal I just feel it is the right thing to do."
"That's fine Jane, let's go find our women. I am sure they are wondering where we ran off to."
They went inside and found Constance and Maura. All four were smiling and Jane and Arthur sat back down beside their women and continued to talk. Arthur stated that he was taking Jane golfing in the morning and Constance said, "Perfect, Maura and I are going to go see my friend's art exhibit. I was just trying to figure out how I could break Maura away from Jane long enough. I guess this works out. Jane and Maura, because it is so late already why don't you spend the night here and then in the morning you can go grab whatever you need and we can start our day with a nice breakfast at the club before tee time."
Maura led Jane up to her bedroom. She was so happy that her parents loved Jane, as she planned on having Jane around for quite some time.
