Jade looked at the three engagement rings being presented to her on velvet pillows by the saleslady at Harry Winston, her eyes comparing the designs and the reputability of the rings. After what seemed to be a very long moment, she pointed to the ring sitting on top of the red velvet pillow at the rightmost of the three.
The saleslady smiled as she put the other two back and went to the back of the store to encase the ring in its velvet box.
While waiting, Jade looked around the store and smiled remembering why she was here again. It seemed like such a long time ago when she entered this shop with Beck and picked out a ring with the biggest diamond and had the goofiest smile on her face. That cost him quite a fortune but they were in love and couldn't care less.
But then again, times have changed, and Jade knew that she just to pick out that special ring for the woman she loved and the one she is really willing to marry. Sure she had experience picking a ring out for herself, but she just hoped that Tori would love the ring.
The saleslady returned with a knowing smile on her face as she handed Jade the box and the bill. Jade wondered if the smile on her lips was of genuine happiness for her future engagement or because she made a good sale. Either way, she smiled back and took out her checkbook to write down the proper amount. She gave it to the lady who went back in a while with her receipt.
Xx
Cat: Jade just informed me of some very valuable information that I think we should discuss.
Beck: Is this about Tori?
Cat: Who else?
Andre: Well, speak up white girl.
Cat: Alright, well.. uhm.. She's proposing tonight.
Robbie: ..what?
Beck: You're kidding.
Andre: Damn.
Cat: I'm happy for them, I am, but we should take this into consideration for the girls sake. Not only do we have them meeting, but their reactions are going to be out of this world.
Andre: Hazel is probably going to throw the dessert down the waiters pants when Jade proposes.
Beck: Y'really think so, man?
Andre: Her mom did.
Cat: I think she's only going to storm out, possibly throwing a waiter out of the way. And during dinner, once she finds out about Vi, we won't be surprised to see her glaring the entire night.
Robbie: Violet is probably going to stay really quiet and Hazel will probably threaten everyone.
Beck: Knowing my girl, and I think I do, she's going to excuse herself and get up and leave. But she'll be too stunned to do anything when she finds out about Hazel.
Andre: I don't know Violet very well but if she's anything like Jade.. well, there'll be hell to pay that night and I probably won't be going to the wedding. Or their house. Ever.
Cat: Why?
Andre: I spent most of my school years dealing with Jade - now I gotta deal with three? Nuh-uh, no thank you. Now I can't speak for Violet, but I can speak for Hazel. I know my girl well, I know what she's capable of and what she isn't.. And I know for sure.. Shit is 'bout to happen.
Cat: Lmao.
Andre: What's so funny, red?
Cat: Just that you think you know Hazel better then I do. I know those two girls better then any of you combined.
Beck: You think you know my daughter better then I do?
Cat: I know I do.
Beck: You're hallucinating.
Andre: You do not know Hazel like me.
Robbie: C'mon, They are so predictable. I know their reactions better then all of you.
Cat: Oh, you guys wanna bet on that?
Beck: Ya, I do.
Robbie: Yepper-do.
Andre: Sound's like a plan - but what's the bet?
Cat: Whoever is right about the girls reactions gets to embarrass the other three, or two, considering there are two girls, publicly in whichever way they please.
Robbie: .. I'd like to confirm, I will not be in trouble if I win?
Cat: No Robbie, you won't.
Andre: I'm in.
Robbie: Perfecto. Count me in.
Beck: Deal.
Cat: :)
Xx
Tori sighed happily as she put down the phone and continued on applying her make-up. So far, her arrangements at The Gardens on Glendon were still in order and that they were already preparing the Thanksgiving turkey. She smiled remembering how Jade came up with the idea of celebrating Thanksgiving together as a family somewhere that was not "home" per se, but someplace just as special.
She was very happy with her pick because, if truth be told, she was really worried about what restaurant she might suggest. Jade then, sensing her doubts, took her to The Gardens on Glendon and she fell in love with the place immediately.
It was a beautiful garden restaurant with its brick walls, terra cotta flooring and the ficus trees that seem to reach up towards the sky since the top of the dome ceiling had a hole that let the moonlight (and sunlight) in and it gave the place a warm, cheery and airy ambience that will put anyone at ease. Yet it was nothing compared to the food – which was to die for, in Tori's view.
Her order of Warm Poached Salmon with Danish Cucumber Riata was heaven, if you could call it that and Jade's order of Prime New York Steak with Roquefort Butter left with her with a satisfied, almost serenely high, look. The service too was very laudable.
"Mom?"
Tori's reverie was broken when her daughter strode into the room and sat down on her bed. She glanced at her daughter from her vanity mirror which was just in front of her king-sized bed. Hazel was already wearing her chosen outfit for the night and she looked ready to leave. This meant that she was telling Tori, through her actions and gestures, that she was getting impatient and judging by the very bored and impatient look on her face, she had been waiting for quite a while now.
"Honey, just a few more minutes. I'm just applying my make-up." Tori told her daughter patiently, glancing at her from the mirror in time to see her raise an eyebrow.
"Mom, it usually doesn't take you forever to put on eye shadow." Hazel remarked emphasizing her point by looking directly at Tori's suspended hand which was holding the small brush. Tori realized that she had been holding it through the whole time she was thinking about Jade. She quickened her pace a bit and was surprised it took her such a short time to make everything perfect.
"Hmmm… I haven't seen you this dreamy ever since Dad took you on that…" Hazel stopped and Tori did too. They both looked at each other for a long time via the mirror, neither one breaking the gaze nor the silence that settled around them. Tori was suddenly feeling queasy about her daughter's relationship with Jade, and Hazel was reminiscing about her father.
The two shared a look through the mirror, Tori giving her daughter a small smile and Hazel responding with a very small one back.
Xx
"Aren't you two ready yet?" a voice asked from Jade's doorway and Violet looked up from her mother in time to see her very pregnant aunt walk into the room. Cat Valentine-Shapiro was a sight to behold. She was shorter then Jade, but she had the aura of a woman who knows how to wield power with a conductor's baton.
"Hi Aunt Cat!" Violet said standing up to give her aunt a hug, "I'm ready." she emphasized, glancing towards her mothers closet.
"Yes, I can see that." Cat smiled and gave her niece an once-over.
"Well forgive me for being slow…" Jade muttered from her closet earning a laugh from her best friend.
"I do forgive you Jade… I forgive you for falling in love again and having this 'I'm floating on Cloud 9' look on your face and moving like you are on cloud 9!" Cat joked and Jade poked her head out of the closet to give her a playful glare.
"Ha! Like you didn't have that look on your face when you were about to get married – although you looked more like you had the best pot session of your life and we were all worried you actually did drugs!" Jade retorted making Cat fake gasp and clutch heart in mock indignation.
"How dare you!" she stage-whispered and the three women started laughing.
"Oh hey! Hate to break up a good party starting but I think we have another one prior to that starting in half an hour." Beck announced standing at the doorway.
"Yes Beck, we are aware of that." Cat said laughing as she jerked her thumb towards Jade's closet, "Your ex though… well that's another story!"
"Hey!" Jade yelled as she got out wearing her outfit for the night. Finally finished, everyone laughed and headed out the room and met at the living room where Gregory was watching over two curly haired little boys in suits chase each other, while their sister and father quietly sat and watched them.
"Opa!" Violet cried making a beeline towards her grandfather and hugging him tightly.
Cat smiled at her kids as they gathered around her and stroked her daughters hair before pulling her phone from her clutch and sending a message to the group.
Cat: Let the games begin.
Beck and Robbie both looked down at their phones after getting a notification, then at her, their eyes twinkling with mischief as all three of their phones buzzed at once.
Andre: Y'all are about to go down.
"Are we all ready to go?" the authoritative voice of Gregory West rang around the living room and everyone consented quietly before walking out the front door to the awaiting limousine, Beck, Robbie and Cat sharing a look.
Xx
"David, button up your collar dear."
"It makes my throat itchy…"
"Well that's because your dress shirt's a tad too small. Why don't you change it?"
"But this is my favorite dress shirt!"
"And I'll frame it for you and hang it up on a prominent place on our wall but right now you have to change it."
"Fine… youcnntevshifavmi…"
"What!"
"Nothing dear!"
Holly rolled her eyes as she watched her husband grudgingly go back to the guest room to change his "favorite" dress shirt. The two were already down the hall when she noticed that her husband's collar button was open.
"Wow, I can't believe you stuck with him after all these years." Hazel teased as she came out of her mothers room and walked beside her grandmother towards the staircase.
"Yeah… I can't believe it either." Holly sighed and they both laughed.
"I mean seriously! You're both like Homer and Marge." Hazel smirked and Holly just shook her head smiling knowingly.
"Whoever we're both like; the important thing is that we stuck together and made our marriage work. Remember: Marriages are made in heaven. But, again, so are thunder, lightning, tornados and hail." Hazel nodded as the two continued their way down not noticing Tori who was standing a few feet behind them. She heard the banter and her mother's warning – which disturbed her on some level. True, she had experienced the "marriage made in heaven" part, but what rattled her the most was the feeling that during the second time around, if she and Jade ended up married, thunder, lightning, tornados and hail will come at greater forces than she could ever have imagined.
Xx
Since Gregory West was a man who was very strict about punctuality, the West's arrived a half hour earlier than the designated time for the Vega's and the West's to meet. They settled into their reserved table and Jade asked for the aperitif to whet her family's appetite. Violet, however, was asked to take care of her cousins who were now admiring one of the ficus trees. After chasing them around the restaurant, Violet finally needed a breather and asked them to behave in their respective chairs while she went to the bathroom to freshen up.
The Vega's arrived and Tori immediately noticed the imposing figure of Gregory West. She ushered her family towards the table while she assured the maître d' that they were the Vega's. Tori joined them at the table and reintroduced her parents and children to the West's. Pleasantries were exchanged and everybody seemed to get along with each other when both Jade and Tori (who were seated at both ends of the table) noticed that the reason for their current togetherness (which was their daughters) wasn't seated on their chairs.
"Tori, where's Hazel?"
"Jade, where's Violet?"
The two questions were asked simultaneously and made everyone look up and glance at the couple then at the empty seats.
"Violet went to the restroom." Luka piped up and smiled proudly for at least, being able to help. Cat ruffled his hair and smiled at him while Andre looked worriedly at Hazel's empty chair. Worried that he would miss her reaction to Violet.
"Something tells me, Hazel also went to the restroom." Trina stated following Andre's gaze.
"Oh boy…"
Xx
When Violet got out of the stall in the bathroom, the last person she wanted to see on earth was standing over a sink, re-applying her make-up. If she wasn't taught any hygiene, she would've gone straight out of the restroom ignoring her enemy but since it was too gross, she settled on quickly washing her hands.
"What are you here for?" Hazel asked coldly while she leaned closer to the mirror in order to see clearly, while she applied her eyeliner. This prevented her from seeing the glare being thrown at her.
"Thanksgiving dinner." Violet snapped as she took a paper towel and dried her hands.
"Ooh, all the burger joints must be closed." Hazel taunted as she replaced the cap of her eyeliner and put it back in her purse. She turned to leave just as Violet shot the crumpled paper towel into the wastebasket and also turned to leave.
"Are you following me, West?" Hazel snapped when she noticed that they were both going in the same direction. Violet stopped and gave her an eye roll.
"Gimme a break, if there's one person I'd rather not follow, it'd be you," she snapped.
"Oh yeah? Then I suggest that if you have a table of your own, you can go straight there!"
"Why me! When you're the one heading towards my table!"
"Excuse me? My family is sitting over that table having Thanksgiving dinner!"
"Your family? Mine's also having dinner… no."
Hazel looked over at the reserved table and saw her mother, grandparents, aunt, and uncle looking back at her. They were seated with Jade, and the people she presumed to be her family, her aunt Cat and uncle Robbie. Violet frowned at the abrupt silence and also looked towards her table where she was met with the same sight. The two girls stared in surprise.
"Your mother is Jade West…?" Hazel stuttered.
"And you're Tori…" Violet stammered.
"Vega's daughter – explains the singing abilities – yes." Hazel finished for her.
The two teens approached the table warily and took a seat directly opposite each other while the tension grew and silence, once again, overcame everyone. Beck, Cat, Robbie and Andre were staring at them heatedly, not blinking, waiting for their reactions.
"Mom… is there something you're not telling me… yet?" Hazel asked coolly eyeing her rival across her as she spoke to her mother. Tori looked at the two girls in the middle and coughed nervously.
"Well honey – you were supposed to find out soon enough," she said in a somewhat shaky voice.
"Right…" muttered Hazel looking very angry; she was really mad at her mother. Tori glanced at Jade who didn't seem to be as shaken as he was.
"You must be Hazel." Everyone stared at Gregory West who acted like there was no tension around, like this was something that happened every Thanksgiving dinner.
"Yes sir, that's me…" Hazel answered cautiously eyeing the man sitting beside her rival.
"I see and you also love acting, or so I hear?" Gregory continued asking before taking a sip of his wine. Everybody took this as a cue to try and defeat the silence around them.
"Yes sir." Hazel replied in a bit of monotone. The man seemed to intimidate her much more than anyone she had ever known in her entire life.
"She's the best playwright in her school." Andre decided to step in and save his niece the awkwardness of the situation. Gregory glanced at the man and decided to talk to him instead. More aggravation on Violet's part was lessened when the waiter arrived with the aperitifs and everybody started eating, the tension quickly vanishing as everyone at the table savored the scrumptious food before them.
Xx
It became clear throughout dinner that Hazel and Violet weren't so keen on the news that their parents were dating. Since they were rivals at the same school, the less contact they had with each other, the better… if only it could last.
It was time for dessert and everybody was already contemplating the mouth-watering dish the chef had prepared for them. Jade was especially fidgety and this was noticed by Beck, who instinctively knew that this time, dessert would be extra special. His eyes flicked from Cat, to Robbie, to Andre, then settled on the teenagers of the table.
Hazel couldn't wait to get the dinner over with so she can have a long talk with her mother and Violet also lost her appetite. She just wanted to go home and play with her cousins. The waiter came, his tray laden with the desserts and what seemed to be a champagne flute.
He distributed the dessert and set the champagne flute in front of Tori who gave him a confused look. As she turned to Jade to ask for an explanation, she found her kneeling next to her looking nervous. Suddenly a hush swept over the entire restaurant as all eyes settled on the woman pulling a velvet box out of her purse. Tori could only stare blankly at Jade as she presented to her the black velvet box and opened it ever so slowly. Inside lay the most beautiful ring Tori had ever seen. It was shaped like a spiral, studded with diamonds in the middle.
"Tori," she began in a slightly quivering voice, surprising for Jade West, "I never thought I could love again – but when I saw you again… I just knew and… this is just too incredible for me but at the same time, I couldn't let it just pass. I know this is really cheesy, but Tori Vega, you are the woman who brings light into my life and I'll be damned – I swear – if you don't marry me… not that I'm threatening you or something," this earned laughs from everyone as Jade took a deep breath and prepared herself for the question.
"Victoria Vega," at this point Hazel looked up at the hole in the ceiling and tried, but failed, to be amazed at the twinkling stars above. Somewhere deep in her heart, she was praying that this was a nightmare and her mother did not just date her rival's mother. Violet began fiddling with the hem of her dress and though she was happy with her mother's happiness, she was trying to live with the truth that one way or another she would have to stomach the would-be constant presence of Hazel Vega-Calligan, the perpetual thorn in her side.
"…will you," Holly gripped David's hand very tightly and her husband winced as his hand continued to grow numb. Nonetheless, he was happy for his daughter. Trina gasped and covered her mouth, not knowing exactly how to feel about the thought that Jade West would soon be her sister in law. Andre stared at Hazel, waiting for her reaction.
"…do me the honor of…" Robbie, Cat, and Beck were all waiting intently for Violet's reaction before Cat's eyes flicked over to Hazel. They could gauge by the way she was slowly stiffening on her seat with every word that she was trying to steel herself for some inevitable doom. Gregory West observed everyone around him with a critical eye and made a prediction that this moment of seemingly perpetual bliss would become ugly in a very hasty manner.
"…becoming my," Tori's heart pounded with every word and her breath came in quick ragged bursts as she struggled to contain the sudden rush of happiness surging through her. She wanted nothing more than to scream yes, jump into Jade's arms and kiss her senseless but she kept her composure and let her finish.
"…wife?" Jade looked at her expectantly.
"Yes!"
Everyone in the restaurant applauded, some wolf-whistled while others took pictures. Jade stood up as did Tori and the two kissed right in front of everyone.