The Adventures of Jack Thornton Jr - 7 - Jack plays dress up
Please allow me to thank every single person who has taken the time to give feedback in the number of different ways possible. To everyone who shares my story with others either on Facebook or retweeting it on Twitter or sharing elsewhere, I can't begin to describe how grateful I am. It truly means so much to me that you do so for my stories. Thank you. xoxo
Jack Thornton Jr held his mother's hand tightly, part of his body was obscured by the folds of her skirt. Both stared upward, slack-jawed at the towering pile of trunks and suitcases. This pyramid of well-traveled suitcases could only mean one thing, it was move-in day for Lucas.
Jack wanted nothing more than to share his home with Lucas, so he eagerly volunteered to help.
Originally it was agreed that Lucas would move in after they return from their honeymoon family adventure, but when the Archibald family traveled to Hope Valley in need of a home, they decided it would be better for Lucas to move his things into Elizabeth's home right away so Lucas' cabin would be available to the new family.
To Jack's dismay, Lucas would be rooming with his Uncle Gustave rather than with himself before the wedding. The young boy gave his new uncle strict instructions like how he shouldn't keep his papa up too late, and to make sure he ate all his vegetables. The thoughtful boy even drew a picture of himself on his pony for Lucas to keep beside his bed so he wouldn't feel lonely.
Lucas moved from behind the pile of suitcases, he greeted both of them before giving Elizabeth a peck on the cheek. "Now when I left my old cabin, I had five trunks and two suitcases. Jack, could you count these to make sure I still have that many?" Jack sprang to action, "You got it, buddy! Let's see… one, two, 'free, four, FIVE! That's five trunks," cried out Jack with five fingers wiggling. He ran around the other side, "One and TWO suitcases," shouted Jack. He came back around and stood in front of Elizabeth and Lucas, his mother brushed back his soft hair, "Can you add five plus two for me?" Jack scrunched his face in concentration, he put up both his hands so that he could count with them, after a pause he triumphantly shouted, "Seven! Five plus two is SEVEN! See, I'm a big boy." Elizabeth reached to kiss him, "That is correct sweet boy." "Well done," praised Lucas.
Jack turned back to the suitcases, "I don't 'fink I can carry these, mama. This one is bigger than me!" Lucas chuckled while Elizabeth reassured her son playfully, "Don't worry sweetie, Lucas will bring them inside, we will just help unpack. The best part of having Lucas live with us is that he can handle any heavy lifting."
Lucas faked an outraged expression, "Wait a minute! Is that the only reason why you want me to move in? Well, if that's the case, I better get to work. I don't want you to change your mind. I think I'll start with…," Lucas finished his sentence by quickly lifting Jack into his arms and flying him around the pyramid of luggage while making plane noises. Jack squealed in delight as Lucas cried out, "Here comes a dazzling new airplane! The absolute peak of modern aviation, the amazing Thornton Nighthawk!" Jack threw his arms outward and enjoyed the feeling of being flown around. When the pair made it around the pile, Lucas slowed down and moved Jack near Elizabeth so that she could lean over and kiss her son.
While setting Jack down, he spoke, "I should start on getting these cases inside. I have more I need to get into storage at the Queen of Hearts afterward." Elizabeth cried out with her hands on her hips, "More? Lucas, just how much clothing do you own?" Jack giggled as he watched the two. He may be young, but he inherited his father's perceptiveness. He could tell his mother smiled and laughed more when Lucas was around.
The older man winked at Jack, "Well, there is a certain someone who seems to 'simply adore' every single thing I wear. That makes it awfully difficult to get rid of things. Perhaps I could donate that gray twill suit with the burgundy accent, you remember I wore it with my brown paisley tie? Or, that dark suit that I wore with the slate-colored vest—"
Elizabeth clamped a hand over his mouth and gave him a cheeky smile, "Alright Mr. Bouchard, you've made your point. You know I don't think you're materialistic, I just don't want to clear out more space from my wardrobe for you." She felt his grin form under her hand so she released her hold, "Don't worry, Mrs. Thornton, the majority of items going into storage are books, family mementos, or off-season clothing. And several items packed here are things I collected during my early travels along with my childhood travel journals. I thought Jack might like to see them before our trip. It can give him ideas for the travel journal we will help him keep," explained Lucas. Being a prolific journal keeper herself, she heartily approved of his idea.
He toyed with a strand of her hair while leaning over to whisper to her, "Mother also might have brought the rocking chair she used to lull me to sleep. She regrets that I was an only child, and doesn't want that for Jack. Don't worry, that will be going to the Queen for storage – for now." Elizabeth turned a little red but grinned brightly, "I'll have to thank her when I see her next. Jack certainly would love to have siblings to play with. And, I want more children with you." Jack listened with joy, "I can't wait to have brothers and sisters to play with! They will wait until we move, right? My room is too small for six babies."
Elizabeth made a choking noise, "Six babies?! Sweetheart, you will not have that many siblings, please don't get your hopes up!" Lucas looked expectantly, "But, maybe four more children?" Elizabeth looked back and forth between the two pouting faces, "Why don't we start by getting these things into the house? The front of our home looks like a storage room at Bloomingdales!"
Unfortunately for Elizabeth, Jack was on a mission. He steepled his hands and met her eyes with a steady gaze, "How about four babies and a puppy, mama?" She was stunned to see her son's precious face mimic Lucas' when he had to deal with investors.
"Lucas, have you been teaching him how to negotiate?" Jack and Lucas grinned at each other as Lucas answered, "I can't help it if he learns a few things shadowing me in the office." Elizabeth glared incredulously at Lucas' unrepentant face, "Please begin bringing your things inside. Jack, it's time for your snack." Jack quickly obeyed his mother, he walked through the door of his home with Elizabeth following, "Okay, but can we circle back to this topic later, mama?" Elizabeth tossed a dirty look over her shoulder at Lucas who was laughing uncontrollably. Once he was able to regain control he reached for the nearest trunk.
The first thing the trio unpacked was Lucas' gramophone. It played lively music while Jack carefully passed neat piles of sweaters to Lucas. His little body unconsciously moved to the rhythm of each song. "Thank you, buddy. This is going much faster with your help," commented Lucas as he threw a sly smile in Elizabeth's direction. She was comfortably seated in the chair by her bed, with her dainty feet propped up as she read a magazine. She had helped for a few minutes before declaring she earned a break. Her last act before abandoning her two boys was to snatch one of Lucas' comfortable sweaters to put on. She unapologetically met his gaze from above the top of the magazine, "You two are working so well together, I don't want to get in the way."
Jack pulled the last sweater out of the trunk and held it up to Elizabeth, "Auntie Rosie got me a sweater just like this, right mama?" Elizabeth looked up from her magazine, "You're right, sweet pea, you have one just that shade of blue, and even the knitting pattern is the same. If you haven't outgrown it by wintertime then the two of you will match!" Jack nodded his head happily and passed it to Lucas who put it away. "All done, papa. What's next," asked Jack.
Lucas surveyed the room, "It looks like one small suitcase is left. I just have some toiletries and other things in here." Lucas began to lay out a few items on the dresser when Jack reached out to grab a small box, he opened it curiously, "What's this?" Lucas reached inside and pulled out a cufflink and a tie pin. "Well, a cufflink is something men wear to hold the cuffs of their dress shirts together. You see how I have two, one for each sleeve. When you're old enough to need one, I'll show you how to use them. This tie pin belonged to my grandpapa. He would use it to secure his cravat… that's just a sort of fancy tie men used to wear. It's out of style, so I don't use it, but I like to keep it with my cufflinks. I remember him whenever I open the box." Jack nodded and gently placed them back.
Elizabeth lifted a pot of pomade from beside Lucas' hairbrush, "Arbre Guerrier pommade - what is this?" Lucas picked up Jack and set him on the dresser, angling his body so that Jack was safe from falling off. "That is my hair pomade. Don't be surprised if Fiona asks you where I order it from." Elizabeth raised her brow, so he continued, "She's been hounding me to tell her ever since she opened up the salon. It was formulated by a friend of mine, his name is Pierre. He only makes it for select people and prefers to remain anonymous. Since you're going to be my wife, I figured he wouldn't mind if I let you in on the secret. Anyway, I don't think she believes me, and I can't say I blame her. Pierre was always eccentric." Elizabeth returned the pot to its place on the dresser, "Hmm, you leave her to me." Lucas smirked at her reaction and leaned over to place a kiss on her cheek. Jack pulled his arms up to cover his eyes, "Yucky!"
Lucas tickled Jack before helping him down, "I guess I'm all set, I just need to get these empty trunks in storage." Jack looked at the smaller trunk which looked much older than the others. "What are these for," asked Jack as he pointed at the luggage labels. "These are labels for different hotels I've stayed at. Sometimes when you stay at a hotel, the porters, people who help carry your luggage, like to stick these on. Then when other people see your suitcase they know you've stayed there and maybe they'll want to stay there too. They call it advertising," explained Lucas.
Elizabeth added, "These other labels show the different boats Lucas traveled on as a boy. The people who put them on used them to help know where the suitcase should go. It made it easier for them to do their jobs."
Lucas chimed in, "See this one here, I got that when my parents took me to China, and this one is from one of my trips to Paris. This one over here is my favorite, it's of a bell tower in Italy. Look at the ground, and then look at the tower." Jack took a step closer and studied the label, "It's leaning kinda funny!" He started to lean his own body as he stared at it.
Elizabeth and Lucas grinned proudly, Elizabeth spoke, "That's right, sweet pea! They call it the Leaning Tower of Pisa. It's leaning because the ground they built it on was too soft, so over time one side started sinking." Jack looked concerned, "Is it going to fall down?" Elizabeth answered, "It might one day if they can't do things to make it more stable."
Jack looked sadly at the label, "But I want to see it! It can't fall down!" After a spell, his face brightened, "Is there where you are taking us on our trip?" Lucas avoided Elizabeth's curious eyes, "Well that's a surprise for you and your mama. Once we are on our journey, I will share where we are going. I'm also going to bring books that will help us learn about the places we will visit."
Jack beamed in delight, "I can't wait! I love surprises!" Elizabeth's face soured, "Normally I love them, but right now I don't."
Lucas grinned, "Patience, my darling. Well, all this hard work is making me hungry!" He took out his pocket watch and Jack pulled his arm down so he could look as well. Elizabeth watched as Lucas patiently explained how to tell time. They knew it would be a while yet before Jack would pick up how, but they never discouraged him if he showed an interest in learning.
"Why don't you quickly put away the suitcases and then join me while I make lunch. Jack, you may play in your room." Lucas nodded and Jack smiled, "Okay, mama, thank you," and he was off to his bedroom.
Jack left the door wide open so he could listen to music wafting from below. He opened his toy chest and surveyed his options, his little tongue stuck out as he tried to decide what he wanted to play with first. While he was doing so the song suddenly changed. The music was too energetic for Jack to ignore, he grabbed his teddy bear and giggled as he danced around with Bear in his arms.
The whimsical quality of the song inspired Jack to put on a show for Bear with Lucas' old puppet theater. He pulled out random characters from behind the curtain and started spinning outlandish tales of bravery about a young boy with pale-colored hair. After ten minutes, he stopped to look more closely at the different puppets available to him. He paired the king and queen puppets together so that they could be Elizabeth and Lucas and then pulled a childlike puppet that could pass for himself. He laughed at how the boy looked like he was wearing clothes much too big for him. Jack's clothes fit much better, but that wouldn't do. This puppet was supposed to be himself!
An idea popped into his mind, he dropped the puppet and ran back into his mother's bedroom. He was sure his new papa wouldn't mind if he borrowed some of his clothing. He already shared his old toys with him, so of course, he would share his clothing too! Jack put on a vest and patiently fastened each tiny button. He realized it was so much harder without help. He moved to pull on a suit jacket, but since the sleeves were so long he had to scrunch them up to his elbows. He grabbed a tie and draped it around his neck. He looked at Lucas' shoes and realized they were way too big for him, so he grabbed a pair of socks instead and pulled them up to his thighs over his pants. He looked at himself in his mother's tall mirror and smiled. Now he looked more like the puppet boy!
He started to run back to his room, but the tall jacket and too-large socks caused him to trip. He hit the ground with a grunt. He was stunned for a moment but pushed himself up. He realized he had to slow down so he wouldn't fall again.
"Jack, are you okay," asked his mother from below. He could hear the concern in her voice so he quickly reassured her, "I'm okay, mama!" "What are you doing up there," she asked. "Just playing with my puppets, mama." She was satisfied by his answer, "Alright, but be careful." Jack replied, "I will!"
After carefully walking back to his room, he began to put on a new show for Bear, this time with a king, queen, and little prince.
Lucas placed a lid on a large pot, "This needs about ten minutes and then we can eat." Elizabeth hugged Lucas from behind, "I've got the salad ready to go. Gosh, this smells delicious. Gustave taught you some great recipes."
Lucas blushed at her compliment, "Thank you. He didn't want to teach me some of them, but I told him I wanted to expand my culinary skills for you and Jack. He didn't have any problem sharing after that." Lucas turned serious, "He did warn me that he will take Jack from us if Bill starts making some of his signature dishes."
Jack's riotous laughter interrupted their conversation, "I wonder what he's up to. He's either quiet, falling, or laughing hysterically," commented Lucas. Elizabeth slipped her shoes off and motioned for Lucas to do the same. Once their shoes were removed, she took his hand and slowly led him up the stairs.
They softly tiptoed towards his bedroom and looked inside the open door. They saw Jack kneeling in front of his puppet theater with Bear sitting in attendance. "And then Queen Mama told everyone they had to go to bed or they'll be gwounded!" The sight of Jack in his clothing coupled with his impression of Elizabeth caused Lucas to explode in laughter.
Jack dropped the queen puppet in alarm and spun toward the door. "Buddy! Mama! Do you wanna play with me," asked Jack. Tears began to pool in Elizabeth's eyes, she clutched her belly as she laughed. Her son looked so ridiculous and so adorable in Lucas' jacket. "Jack, why are you wearing Lucas' clothes? Goodness, he even has your socks pulled over his pants!"
Jack looked innocently at his clothing, "I wanted to look like the boy puppet. See how his clothes are so big for him. I borrowed some of papa's clothes, you don't mind do you," asked Jack as he held the puppet up for them to see.
Lucas smiled at the boy, "I don't mind at all." He noticed the tie draped around his neck, "Just remember you aren't allowed to tie anything around your neck, okay? You could choke yourself. Do you understand," asked Lucas seriously. Jack nodded in earnest, "Mama told me I'm not allowed to. That's why I put it on me like this. I promise I won't, papa."
"Good, now how about we put on a show for your mama," asked Lucas. Jack nodded his head happily, excitement shown in his eyes, "And for Bear."
"And for Bear," Lucas confirmed.
Lucas helped Elizabeth sit on the floor of her son's bedroom. She gathered Bear in her arms and watched as Jack and Lucas whispered between each other.
Curiosity got the better of her so she began to lean forward to hear what they were planning. Lucas noticed and teasingly said to her, "Madam, young master Jack and I are trying to plan a special play for you. If you could please remain patient, thank you." Jack giggled and echoed Lucas, "Yes, mama. Please wemain patient." Elizabeth playfully pouted as she leaned back and then sheepishly apologized. Jack gave her a gentle kiss on the cheek, "It's okay, mama, we forgive you."
Once Jack joined his side, Lucas covered his mouth with his hand as he whispered in Jack's ear, and the boy did the same when replying. After a few moments, they nodded to each other and broke apart.
Jack cleared his throat, "Once upon a time, there lived a little boy named Prince Jack. He had a Queen Mama and a King Papa. They lived in a magical place called Hope Valley."
As he held the prince puppet forward, Lucas lifted the king and queen. Jack was focused on his mother so Lucas mischievously had the king puppet plant a few cartoonish kisses on the queen. He stopped once he saw Elizabeth bite her lip to prevent herself from laughing.
"One day, the Prince and King were outside playing ball." He took the king puppet from Lucas and mimed two figures throwing a ball back and forth.
"They had lots of fun for a while but a scary man came from nowhere!" Lucas quickly grabbed the villain puppet and mimed a menacing figure looming near the prince and king.
Jack was pleased to see his mother react, he could tell she was enjoying the play.
Lucas spoke in a mean voice, "Stop your ball playing! Give me all your food!" Jack continued, "King Papa got upset, 'Don't shout at my boy!' And the Prince yelled, 'Yeah! That's not nice!" Elizabeth's eyes widened in mirth, her son was just too precious for words.
The villain continued, "I'm not nice, I'm hungry! Give me your food, or I'll take it by force!" The prince stood his ground, "We won't be bulled!" Lucas quickly corrected, "Bullied." Jack looked at Lucas, "Bullied? We won't be bullied!"
"Well, in that case, I'll have to tie you two up and take your sandwiches!" Jack placed the puppets on the floor and used Lucas' tie to wrap around the prince and king puppets. Elizabeth gasped at how quickly the story escalated.
He continued, "Oh no! Now the prince and king are tied up, who will help them?" Lucas pulled the queen puppet from behind his back. He adopted a feminine voice, "Who dares bully my boys?" Laughter exploded from Elizabeth and Lucas threw her a mock glare.
Jack took the villain puppet and spoke in as mean a voice as he could, "I'm hungry and I want food!"
The queen asked, "Did you ask them to share?" The villain answered, "I didn't ask, I said I would take it!" Jack shook the puppet angrily.
Lucas took the queen puppet's hand and placed it on her hip, "Well, you should always ask if you can have food. They would have shared their meal with you if you did!"
Jack moved the prince puppet's head, "Queen Mama always says it's good to share, but you were mean to us." Then he moved the king puppet's head around, "Untie us and apologize, and we will share our food with you."
The villain hung his head in shame, "I"m sorry I didn't know you'd share. I'm just so hungry." After the prince puppet was untied, "Well now you know, it's better to be nice than mean."
Jack turned to his mother, "Once everyone had some yummy sandwiches, they all played some ball together. Mama, Papa, and Jack lived happily ever after, and the mean ole man learned to be nicer. The end."
Elizabeth broke out into applause as Lucas taught Jack to bow. She pulled Jack into her arms, "My wonderful, sweet boy, I really enjoyed the play. It's important to teach people to be kind and to share."
After they put away the puppets, Lucas spoke, "Speaking of something yummy, lunch should be ready. Shall we?"
If anyone is curious why I picked the two suits that Lucas teased Elizabeth about, they were pulled from the Twitter poll Lucabeth_Writer held a few months ago where we picked our favorite Lucas looks. When I was plotting out this story, I realized that would be a nice tie-in.
I know the play itself was really silly, but I wanted something that a small child would imagine.