With so much drama in the atmosphere... can we bring mother and daughter back together? I know Tori is craving a great mom in her life... why not Jade's besides Tori isn't convinced Jade's mom isn't missing her baby girl.- S.K.
Nine
The phone, when it rang, was a thin, discrete warbling. It echoed gently off spotless tile floors, and the eggshell walls that bore only abstract, thinly drawn art. After a moment, soft bare footfalls scuffed against the tile, and the phone was answered.
"Yes?"
"Ceci… are you there?"
"Of course I am.. Do you think this is the machine?" Cecilia sighed. "What is it, Richard… I have things I have to do this morning."
"Did you arrange to talk to Jade?"
Another sigh. "For all the good it's going to do for either of us, yes."
"C'mon, Cec… give it a chance, will you? She's not the kid you knew." Richard Edgerton coaxed. "Do you know what she's doing now?"
"I don't want to know." The slim silver blond woman stated sharply. "Richard, we've been through this. I'm only doing this because I think I'm obligated to, and why in the world you'd think she'd confide or listen to me, I haven't clue number one on."
"You're her mother."
"I used to be her mother, Richard." Came the quiet response. "And even then, it didn't work."
The lawyer sighed. "She's not a bad person, Ceci."
"I don't much care what kind of person she is, Richard… now, if you don't have anything else to nag me about, I've got things to do."
"She's coming here after she leaves your place." Edgerton commented.
Cecilia frowned. "Then you already knew she was coming here? Richard, I don't have time for games." She hung the phone up and straightened it's position, then glanced around the spacious townhouse, with its neutral toned, spare furniture and its air of almost painful neatness. "I really don't have time for this, either." She murmured, with a tiny shake of her head.
Or at least, she told herself that. She let her eyes run over the living room one more time before she moved into the austere kitchen and picked up a glass of vegetable juice she'd just pressed, sipping it slowly to settle her stomach. She leaned against the counter and watched out the window, putting everything out of her mind. Finally, the occasional car passing by outside became one that didn't pass, but turned into the small driveway instead. A rental car, with two passengers, and Cecilia closed her eyes at that. "You always have to find the most difficult way, don't you.?"
She remained where she was, as both doors opened, and the two passengers emerged, then her eyes and attention focused on the her child.
Richard was right about one thing.
Jade had changed.
Oh, she was recognizable, surely. The same, curvaceous frame, with its cap of dark hair, and the slightly tanned skin. Those same blue eyes.
But the dynamics behind it had all changed. The sullen, somewhat gawky, truculent young adult she'd last seen had been magically replaced by this confident, self assured woman whose poised movements bespoke an athleticism she frankly thought her sometimes impatient daughter would have given up by now. Today, Jade was wearing something a little more familiar, jeans that fit snugly all down the length of her legs and a stylish black silk shirt tucked into the waistband, the short sleeves revealing powerful, toned arms.
Cecilia watched them walk up the long driveway, and finally, briefly turned her attention to her daughter's companion.
So.
This was Victoria Vega.
Interesting.
She straightened, then set her glass down very precisely on the counter, and spared a single moment of memory for the last time she'd seen Jade. The awkward, stumbling speech she'd cut short, divining Jade's intent to go with her, and fulfill what she mistakenly thought was her father's responsibilities.
Just go. She'd said it simply. I don't want you around me.
And Jade had went, after a single, timeless moment of silent regard, in which she'd seen a glimpse of a hurt almost as profound as her own had been.
Academically, that has surprised her, but they hadn't spoken since, so she hadn't had a chance to examine what she'd caused, though in later years, she'd started to wonder just a little, what kind of person this spawn of hers had turned into.
Time to find out.
Cecilia brushed her hands off and walked into the hall, striding forward to time her hand hitting the knob of the door as the first chime disturbed the silence of the house.
"You all right?" Tori asked softly, as they came up the driveway.
"Yeah." Jade replied, desperately glad her wifewas there with her. She owed Tori big on this one. "Shouldn't take long… " Her eyes went to the white, neatly painted townhouse with black and gold trim. "She might ask you to leave."
Tori's eyebrows lifted. "Is it okay for me to tell her to kiss my ass?" She inquired mildly.
Jade couldn't help smiling. "It's all right… she doesn't know you, and god knows, she might have something she wants to say in private." A pause. "Then again, probably not. " They got to the door and Tori exhaled, then rang the bell.
The door opened as it sounded, and Jade's mother was standing there, dressed in a pair of soft, white cotton drawstring pants, and a silk shirt, with a delicate rose embroidery on one shoulder. She was barefoot, and even Tori felt suddenly large next to her.
"Mother." Jade's voice was cool and even, with its best boardroom cordiality.
"Come in." Cecilia pulled the door open and stepped back. "Ms Vega. " She inclined her head towards Tori, who decided to kick her friendliness gene in its recalcitrant butt.
"Hello… " She let the door close behind her and looked around. "Wow… what a nice place."
"Thank you." Jade's mother responded politely. "Please… sit." She led them into the living room and indicated the couch.
Tori circled the room instead, gazing at the walls. The precisely placed art hanging there had a certain geometric appeal, and she decided she liked the colors. "That's your work, isn't it?" She asked Cecilia, not missing her wife's slightly raised eyebrow.
Ceci had stopped on her way towards the other couch, and was now regarding Tori with a mildly surprised expression "Yes, it is." She murmured. "Are you in the art trade, Ms. Vega?" Her voice held a note of bemusement.
"No." Tori returned to Jade's side, and seated herself on the couch. "I've spent a lot of time in Washington... the museum of art is a favorite spot of mine." Jade's eyebrow lifted a notch further. "You had a mini exhibit there last year."
Cecilia felt very unsettled. "Yes, I did." She decided to move the scene along. "Well, I would love to discuss art with you, Ms. Vega, but there's something I need to discuss with Jade, so if you'd excuse us for a moment? There's some ice tea on the porch if you'd like." She watched the looks exchanged between the two of them, then Tori rose.
"Not a problem." She replied. "Jade, I'm going to go check my mail."
"Check mine." Jade responded, folding her arms over her chest.
Tori walked out, and the door closed behind her, leaving them both looking at each other in silence.
Jade waited, having learned patience over the years, and the value in letting others speak first. She studied her mother's face, noting the new lines, and the added silver in her hair, and withstood the same searching look being returned at her.
"There's no point in my going into long preambles, Jae." Ceci chose her words precisely. "I was asked by the family to speak with you, and for reasons I can't begin to understand, I agreed, though I certainly have no idea what good they thought it might do."
Jade chose not to answer. She merely tilted her head to one side.
"Aunt May's estate." Ceci paused. "It gets signed over to you in total today."
It was the last thing Jade expected to hear from her mother. "And?" She injected a bit of puzzlement into her voice.
"There's a concern… the estate might pass out of the family." Her mother bit the words off. "To someone who is, perhaps, taking advantage of you."
Jade blinked, going over the words two or three times. "Is that a reference to Tori?"
"I would suppose."
Jade felt anger easing the nervous dread out of her gut. She stood and walked to the fireplace, turning and leaning back against it. "In the first place, you can tell them from me, that I can leave my net worth to a tap dancing muskrat and they've got nothing to say about it."
"Mm."
"In the second place, unlike Uncle Mike's six bimbos, Tori's not a passing fancy."
Jade's mother glanced at her hands and pursed her lips.
"In the third place, her damn trust fund is four million dollars."
Cecilia stood up, regretting getting involved to an enormous degree. "Well, that's the point, Jade... it's a large amount of money, and frankly, I would have a concern regarding your involvement with that myself." She took a breath to continue when Jade did something very surprising.
She laughed.
Ceci gazed at her in surprise. "What exactly are you finding funny?"
"The idiocy of people who are too stupid to do some basic research." Jade's amusement disappeared, and she let her anger steady into a dull burn. "The incredible arrogance of you to ask me here, after not bothering to talk to me for how many years… and worry about what I'll do with a lousy inheritance, or who I share my life with?"
"Jade..."
"You can kiss my ass, mother, and tell the rest of the family they can do the same."
"It was a justifiable concern." Her mother's voice rose.
Jade flipped a card through the air, watching it hit her mother in the chest. "Not if you'd bothered to find out who I am now."
Cecilia glanced impatiently at the piece of white cardboard, then stopped, and read it more carefully.
Founder and Chief Information Officer? Jae…no. She exhaled softly. Jade West. Goddess.. Richard must have known.. I'll have his head for not telling me.
She tasted the knowledge that she'd made a fairly huge mistake. Question was, should she acknowledge it, or let it pass? After all, there was just so many levels of hate Jade could feel for her, right?
Her eyes lifted, to met a cold, angry stillness looking back, but her sense of fairness won out, and she lowered her gaze, and her voice. "You're right." She finally admitted, quietly. "I'm sorry, Jade… I should have checked before I took on the responsibility… I wouldn't have bothered to ask you to come here."
Ceci expected a sharp retort, something spiteful.. something nasty… but instead, her daughter leaned back against the mantel, and crossed her arms over her chest.
"It's funny." Jade remarked. "When you called last week, Tori speculated that maybe you were using this whole thing as an excuse to get back in touch."
Cecilia drew in a soundless breath.
"And I told her it was too late for that." A pause. "I was right." Jade pushed off the wall and headed for the door. "Goodbye, mother."
Let her go. A voice advised her in a mental echo. "Jae Jae."
Jade kept walking, taking the two steps up in a smooth motion.
"Jade."
Her hand on the doorknob, Jade turned and waited.
"I don't expect you to understand what I did." Cecilia put her slim hands on the back of the chair.
"Maybe that's the problem." Came the soft, bitter reply. "You never thought I was capable of understanding."
Her mother came forward, anger starting to surface. "You have no idea… you can't begin to realize what I went through…what is it to lose half of yourself."
"No." Jade replied, her nostrils flaring. "But I do know what it felt like to lose the only friend I had in the world." Her voice deepened. "The only person I could talk to.. who accepted who I was… " She paused, needing a breath. "Who loved me." Another pause, for the lump in her throat to relax. "Is that good enough on your scale?"
Goddess. Cecilia suddenly felt very tired. I don't want to deal with this. I don't want to deal with her. Just let her go, and forget about all this… let it fade out like everything else. It was so much easier that way. "I'm sure you think so." She murmured. "I hope.. for your sake, Jade.. that you never find out any different." She was too tired to dissemble. "It was cruel to you.. I know that." Her eyes lifted and met blue eyes so hauntingly familiar she had to look away. "But it was the only way I could survive." A quiet regret settled over her, and she forced herself to look back at Jade's face, seeing a serious quietude there that suddenly, unexpectedly made her see past the common stamp of her features, and through to the person her daughter had become.
This was not her beloved, this beautiful, strange creature, who smelled of sun warmed cotton, and a light, spicy scent.
Perhaps, even that echo was gone.
"I'm sorry." She finally said, simply.
There was a long pause, as her daughter studied her. "So am I." .
They were both quiet, then the door opened and Tori slipped inside, blinking at the silent tableau before her. Jade reached out blindly and touched her, bringing her closer by pure reflex.
"Hey." Tori glanced from one to the other, a hand on Jade's back revealing an almost unbearable tension. "Everything okay in here? "
"Yeah." Jade answered. "Seems my… family… was worried you might be sponging off me."
A brown brow lifted. "They should hear us arguing about who gets to pay the grocery bill, then." She remarked, slipping an arm around her wife, and leaning against her. "I'm going to hurt you if you don't stop switching that card."
The tension relaxed a little. Cecilia sighed. "Let's… ah, please sit down… "
"Sure." Tori started moving towards the couch, tugging Jade along with her. They all moved down the stairs, the atmosphere uncomfortable and strained.
"So.. did you two… meet at work?" Ceci fished around for something to say.
"Actually… " Tori smiled. "Jade showed up to fire me. I managed to talk her out of it, and we've been friends ever since. "
"Really?" The older woman murmured. "Well, I'll go get that tea." Cecilia walked quickly to the kitchen, and sanctuary.
Tori watched her go, a thoughtful look on her face.
She stood with her hands on the counter while the tea steeped, with her eyes closed. It had been worse than she'd expected, but... in a curious way, better at the same time. She'd thought to find Jade cold, and remote, her feelings locked down tight away just like they'd always been since her teenage years.
Instead, she'd halfway seen a glimpse of a child she'd thought long lost. Part of her… most of her wanted to forget that, and she felt a definite urge to send Jade on her way, and allow her life to return to it's sterile peace.
Surely, it would be better for both of them. It wasn't like Jade was in need..she'd done well, better , to be honest, than Ceci had ever dreamed she would. She had a good life, a nice home... she seemed happy with her companion…
Footsteps made her open her eyes and turn her head to see Tori enter the kitchen. The brunetter paused a few feet a way, and studied her.
"Can I help with that?"
Tori's voice was, Ceci noted, gentle and cultured, with a New England note in the vowels. It went with her wholesome good looks, and was at distinct odds with the gleam of intense intelligence glinting off the interesting brown of her eyes. "All right."
Tori took that as permission to approach and did so, setting a few blue tinted glasses on the small tray Ceci had taken out, and adding the pitcher to it.
"So." The older woman went to the white refrigerator and retrieved some ice in a separate pitcher. "What makes you hang around the capitol, Ms. Vega?"
"My mother." Tori replied quietly. "she's a senator."
Cecilia blinked, then her brows creased. "Not Holly Vega, surely?"
Tori nodded. "Yes."
"Interesting." Gray eyes studied Tori's face curiously. "Does she know about you and JaeJae?"
Another nod. "She does."
Ceci's lips twitched briefly. "Not her year, hmm?" She took the pitcher and walked out, leaving Tori to follow her with the tray.
She did, with an almost silent sigh, turning the corner to see her wife standing at the window, peering out, her hands clasped behind her back. Jade turned as they entered, and leaned against the sill, the sunlight outside backlighting her tall form and throwing her face into shadow. Tori poured two glasses, and picked one up, bringing it over and handing it to her.
"Thanks."
Tori gave her belly a friendly scratch and wrinkled her nose, her back turned to Cecilia. Jade's lips tightened, and she inclined her head, then pushed off from the window and returned to the couch, seating herself opposite her mother. Tori followed her, and they sat in an uncomfortable silence, the faint tinkle of ice the only sound as they drank their tea.
Then Jade put her glass down, and folded her hands together. She hesitated, then spoke. "I'm glad I had a chance to say goodbye to Gran."
Safer subject. "I promised her I'd ask you." Cecilia remarked softly. "She kept all your cards in a book… I know she always appreciated getting them." She considered a moment, then stood and glided over to a chest of drawers, putting her hand on the knob of one and pulling it open, pulling out a large manila envelope and returning to hand it to her daughter. "You never put your return address on them… I could never mail these for her back to you."
Jade held the package uncertainly, then put it down on her knees. "Richard knew where I was."
Ceci nodded. "Probably… but I figured if you wanted us to know what your address was, you'd have put it down."
"Mm." Jade had to acknowledge the truth of that. "Well, we need to get over and take care of things with him, then catch our flight." She stood up and took her envelope, taking in the sight of the slight, silver blond woman seated across from her. "Take care, mother."
"You too." Ceci murmured, allowing herself a long, guarded look into the pale blue eyes, and a single brief memory that made her heart clench, and was discarded out immediately. She stood and accompanied them to the door, pulling it open and waiting for them to go through it.
They did, and she shut it behind them, letting the silence settle comfortably around her again. She watched them out the window, though, unable to take her eyes off Jade until her daughter ducked into the passenger side seat, and the car pulled away.
Ceci turned around and stared at the now empty room.
It was over.
She was safe. She'd fulfilled a promise, and now she never had to see Jade again, if she didn't want to.
That was good.
Wasn't it?
It was hard to stand here, with the memories so fresh in her mind, and remember a time when it hadn't been like this. A time before she'd had to look up to her daughter.
When a small child had sat on her lap, and looked up at her trustingly with those big blue eyes as they watched fireworks over the cow fields, in air so thick and moist it seemed to flow over them.
It was faint, that echo. But she could, if she tried, remember loving her daughter.
Maybe, at some level, she still did.
Ceci looked around the emptiness, and found herself wishing they were still here. Painful as Jade's presence was, there was a link there, a solid, living, breathing link, that touched her down deep in places she'd kept shy from for years.
Slowly, she found herself drawn through the living room and into the plain bedroom, with it's low, platform bed and crisp white sheets. To her right was her closet, with it's seldom opened door and she stopped, with her hand on the knob for long time before her fingers turned it reluctantly, and she pulled the door open, closing her eyes as the scent hit her.
Why?
Why do this?
In that moment she hated Jade all over again.
But her feet carried her inside, and she simply stood, letting the memories surround her as her fingers touched remembered wool, and her eyes drank in the rich colors and remembered shapes of what was once her life.
His things. Their things. Neatly folded clothes in the blues and greens he'd preferred.
The chest with their wedding gifts, carefully packed away and saved, most from the friends they'd made in the south, or his service buddies.
Jade's cradle, and the baby blanket, a gift from her mother.
It smelled of wool, from his uniforms, and old polish, mixed with the faint tang of oil. She ran a shaking finger down a perfectly starched sleeve, then laid her cheek against it, feeling the scratchiness of the fabric and remembering what it had felt like with a living, breathing body inside.
Her legs folded, and she sat down on a box full of remnants, carefully hoarded and stored away here. She picked up the soft, cheerful quilt that had once covered their bed and pulled it around her shoulders, tears hitting her knees as she hugged it to her, burying her face in the fabric.
Tori drove in silence for a bit, casting the occasional glance at the tall, silent form slumped in the seat next to her. "Hey." Tori finally said, reaching over and tugging a fold in the knee of Jade's jeans. "You doing okay?"
Blue eyes picked up a bit of the sun's glare from outside. "Yeah... listen, I'm sorry you had to get in the middle of all that." Jade gave her an apologetic look.
"Well.." Tori watched the signs overhead, and changed lanes. "I know how it is with families... and I remember how I felt when I went home for Thanksgiving." A large tractor trailer whipped by, making the smaller rental car shake. "Jerk." She muttered. "I couldn't do much, but I was glad I was here."
Jade covered her hand, and rubbed a thumb over her knuckles. "Me too. Glad that's over, though." She faced forward. "You'll like Richard.. he's decent, even though he's a lawyer."
Tori nibbled the inside of her lip, debating on touching still sensitive nerves. "Jade, can I say something kind of personal to you?"
Her wife lifted an eyebrow. "Um...sure."
"Okay." Tori made a turn, and merged carefully into fitful traffic. "You're going to have to give me more specific directions soon."
"That's... personal." Jade remarked, with a wary smile.
brown eyes flicked very briefly to her. "What I was going to say was... I know we were talking before we left and all... and I don't know, Jade... I mean, I just met your mother... but I think I sort of figured out that I don't think she hates you."
Jade sorted through the statement, feeling it rub against her smarting defenses. She realized she really didn't want to talk about the subject, but found it hard to brush Tori's obvious concern off. "No.. .I... " She fingered the envelope, still sealed. "I never really thought that."
Tori remained quiet.
"Maybe that would have been better."
"Why?"
"Hate...is a lot more powerful than indifference." Jade murmured. 'I felt like.. after my father was gone, she was getting rid of an unwanted problem." A pause. "Not hate.. just an indifferent dislike...that made me feel pretty damn... insignificant."
"So you went out and conquered the world."
Jade consider that, then reluctantly nodded. "Yeah.. maybe."
"I think she loves you, Jade."
A head shake. "No.. she loved my father, Tori...I was just a part of that. Once he was gone... we had nothing in common, and all we did was hurt each other."
"No." Tori disagreed stubbornly "I don't believe that, Jade. I think she was trying to find a way back to you."
Oh yeah. Jade remembered the exchange they'd had. "Well, I'm out of relatives I give a damn about, so I guess she had her one chance." She folded her arms over her chest and gazed out the window.
Tori drummed her fingers on the steering wheel. "You could call her once in a while." She suggested. "Just to say hi.. now that you've seen each other and all."
A sigh. "She doesn't want me doing that."
"How d'you know?"
"Tori..."
"Jade.. you know what? I think the problem is you guys are too much alike..." Tori turned the wheel, paying attention to her route. "I saw her watching you... and I don't think she's indifferent, honey... honestly, I don't." She straightened the car out. "You're not."
Jade stared grumpily out the window, a half dozen retorts rising to her lips, only to subside unspoken. "Can we change the subject?" She muttered testily.
Tori glanced at her. "Okay." She agreed, feeling her shoulders slump in reaction. "Sorry... I know I...I can't fix my family... and I sort of really like yours. "
Jade turned her head, tracing Tori's profile with contrite eyes. "I appreciate that... and.. maybe you're right, Tor..." She plucked at the envelope, pulling the flap up. "Her birthday's next month. Maybe I'll send a card."
Oooh. Tori refrained from smiling too widely. "We can both send one." she offered. "I think she'd like that."
"Mm." Jade pulled the small stack of envelopes out and set them on her lap, turning the first over curiously and examining it. "Yeah... all right."
Tori leaned back, flexing her hands and exhaling in mild satisfaction. One down. Her thoughts turned to a much tougher nut to crack, and she started sorting her arguments, aligning facts and strategy for when she got back to San Francisco, and went in search of a certain James West.