Hello, it is Wednesday, and I am back with a new chapter! I had a lot of fun writing this one. Though it's a lot shorter than the last one, it gets done everything that I wanted it to. I don't think you can be in the Pokémon fandom without being aware of the ship of Jessie x Delia made famous by yamujiburo on Tumblr. While no romance between them happens in my stories, I often joke with Shannon that it should because we write that later in life James falls for Misty's mom so Jessie x Delia is the opposite of that! Having said that, I wanted to bring a friendship between Jessie and Delia to my stories. And, well, this chapter shows it. I hope you enjoy. There's a lot of stuff going down at the Christmas party :P
And so, Christmas was in the air once again! The tunes were belting out all around us, the tinsel high above our heads and the Christmas trees were decorated with lights, baubles, and festive shapes. At Delia Ketchum's Christmas party hosted in Professor Oak's Laboratory, the laughter was raucous, the chatter never-ending and the drinks were flowing.
This time of year, had so many reasons to cherish. But as I sat on a stool next to the buffet table and feeling like the guest of honor, which was delightful, I could not help but observe that not everything was so merry and bright.
A clear divide existed between Delia's guests. On one side were the people of Pallet Town and a couple of other, small towns over. Their backs remained permanently planted towards other people that had been invited. They chatted away to other townspeople. But their conversation was just for them. Jokes were kept under lock and key. No doubt was many of them at the expense of other guests.
On the other side of the room were people that I knew better. Jessie and James had enough children to flesh out the numbers and they all grouped together! One of their eldest, Jayde, reluctantly kept an eye on the twins, Jazmyn, and Justin, with the help of her new friend Cameron. He was far keener than she was, crawling under the table with the children!
Jayme had taken to being an older sister as naturally as she had taken to her duty to keep away from the gossiping townspeople. She kept Jayden occupied on her hip and now that the other one was free since Jaxon had been put down for a sleep in one of the other rooms, her spare arm rested loosely around Gary's shoulders.
He may have been a Pallet Town native but in between gently nuzzling his nose against Jayme's cheek, that nose of his stuck into the air, as exasperated as I was by the clear divide. He had problems of his own with the former Team Rocket Trio! But it was Christmas.
Jessie decided that she simply did not care. It was clear that the divide that was going on in Pallet Town was not due to the appearance of Ash as Frontier Brain and the fact that the town seemed to be forgetting its roots of a new beginning – it was now the place where experienced trainers from all over came to test out their skills.
But Jessie chose not to care. She had made a little family of her own once before with James and Meowth and time had continued to show her why she only trusted the two of them. Why she continued to trust either of them was beyond me! But I decided to let bygones be bygones as much as I could and not just because it was a few days shy of Christmas Day.
Delia opened her heart more than a year ago to the pesky ex-criminals that used to inconvenience her son daily. And if she could then – well – I figured that the townspeople should follow her open heartedness.
She would have never said this about herself, but she was a leader in her own way. Quiet and forthright. And I so admired her for it.
Jessie left the side of new friends and where Cameron was trying to entice Justin away from the presents under one Christmas tree to no avail. She made a beeline for her husband who was lingering near where I was at the buffet table.
Since he was standing there, none of Delia's so-called friends were going near it until he left. Another detail that Jessie discarded from her mind.
A mischievous smile plaiting her eyebrows together and swiping across her make up adorned face, her hand reached out to the red tie accompanying James' gray dinner jacket.
She gave it a pull with her red manicured hand, pulling him closer to her in an effortless manner.
"Come and dance with me, James." she commanded in a way that made the townspeople on the other side turn their heads. But it made James' lips scoot closer to his bejeweled earlobe in a smirk.
I could not help but notice that his cheeks absorbed some of the color of what was in the paper cup in his spare hand, the one that was not immediately reaching out to his wife's hip. He looked boldly at her up and down in a manner that told me everything I needed to know.
In private, he would have allowed this attitude from her and done whatever she wanted. But though he kept his eyes on his wife, he could feel gazes of the townspeople burning into his back. He could feel me watching his every move too.
James' head began to shake.
"Delia just poured me the last glass of her wonderful, mulled wine." his smile prevailed even though he was shaking his head. James did not say no. He learned a long time ago to never outrightly say no to Jessie!
It was, however, obvious that she was being let down. James' hand still on his wife's hip in her dark green velvet dress, his thumb softly stroked the textured material. To placate her, he held the paper cup out to her to share.
Fortunately for him, she did not take this as being assuaged. In fact, after a sip of what the host of the party had given her husband, she desired a dance with him even more!
After handing the drink back to him, her hand tugged on his tie a second time, this time higher up. If she wasn't careful then James' cheeks would match my own.
"I'm not opposed to a third party getting between us..." Jessie began, leaning closer to her husband before she heard her words in her own head and realized how they sounded. The shadow that cast over the two of them was not merely a need to correct the situation. "A-As long as it's alcohol."
Jessie and James were no longer standing alone. Ash and Misty had decided to see what the other couple were up to at the party. My best friend for one certainly was not put off from heading towards the buffet table and wouldn't have been even if one of the Morgan children had sneezed all over it!
Jessie's words stopped ringing in her ears after her correction but they haunted James' eardrums for the next couple of minutes. He smiled stiffly.
He was lucky that it was my best friend who came to his rescue. Ash had one arm draped around Misty and the other reached for a star shaped pastry parcel. Before he popped the morsel into his mouth, he used it to point across the room.
He interjected the conversation of Jessie and James.
"James won't dance." he began. Moments of pause happened as Ash put his mother's food into his mouth. Misty's eyebrows rose as he spoke through it stuffed into the side of one of his cheeks. "He's too busy staring at someone else."
Misty's eyebrows that had only just been breaking the distance with her hairline suddenly fell into their neutral position all over again before knotting together. James had just been taking another sip of Delia's mulled wine. He nearly choked, his hand that had long since moved off Jessie at the arrival of Ash and Misty moving to the base of his throat.
While the whites of her husband's eyes shone as prominently as the decorations twinkling above their heads, her hand that lingered on his tie wondered whether to let it go or hold it tighter, giving him a different reason to choke on his drink.
I was beginning to think that I was not quite the hero of Pallet Town that the haughty townspeople thought that I was as this time it was Misty who saved the day. She was surprised that Jessie looked at her long enough to follow her pointing motion as she gestured to what Ash was referring to.
From my position, James seemed as relieved as Jessie.
I decided that I still needed to keep an eye on him.
Ash's chuckles in between shoving another mouthful of pastry into his open beak clarified that he and his girlfriend were on the same page. Now that both of Jessie's hips were empty of her husband's hold, she found her own hands breaking the distance with them, studying where her husband had been staring.
It suddenly made perfect sense why he had not moved away from the buffet table even if he was hardly eating – and it was not to give the townspeople something else to huff about!
Jayden had been passed around like pass the parcel between Max who had eagerly accepted Tracey's usual invite and Meowth. Now that Jayme could offer her full attention elsewhere, Gary was making the most of gaining it for himself.
With a slow Christmas tune playing for everyone to hear, he had wrapped both his arms around Jayme's waist and as they swayed together, he was peppering the tip of her ear with kisses in between whispering assumedly sweet nothings to her.
In James' mind he was detailing how he was going to steal her away from her parents and give her an exhilarating life of romance! The sharp sigh of his wife stopped James from glancing over at his daughter in love and put a halt to the reverie that was capturing him.
"Nothing is going to happen, James." Jessie began sternly before she clearly felt sorry for more than just the townspeople looking over at the latest Pallet Town romance. With a revolving motion of her eyes, her hand forgot about latching onto James' tie and covered his eyes for a second to prove a point. "Don't be so protective that you forget how exciting it is to be a teenager."
Entwining his fingers with the ones purposefully covering his line of vision, James moved Jessie's hand out of his way right as Misty decided that she needed to look away. While the two of us filled our line of vision with her patent shoes, Ash decided to speak up once again.
I was worried he was going to end up choking if he kept on talking through mouthfuls of food!
"That's what happens when you're clueless about romance until later in life." Ash commented. Then, turning his attention away from everybody else, his gloveless fingers waggled as he decided which drink he was going to pour from himself.
His moment of thirst saved him from the deadpan stares that everybody shot him, including myself!
Then ignoring Ash's interjection, James decided to continue his conversation with his wife, his gaze darting between the woman in front of him and his daughter who had fallen for Gary Oak's charms.
"You're right. Nothing is going to happen because I'm right here watching." the deadpan of his previous gaze bled into his tone towards Jessie. For some reason this left her more exasperated than if he had actively done narrowed eyes and an I'm watching you gesture over towards Gary!
With Ash occupied with pouring himself and me an orange juice from the large jug in the center of the table, Misty's eyes were back on the interaction of Jessie and James. She stopped playing with the belt on her red plaid skirt when she saw the couple let go of each other's hands.
James' grip was back around the paper cup of his drink. He would need to hurriedly drain it if all of this carried on!
"He's actually a sweet kid." Jessie began. I could only offer my best friend a quick thanks for my drink because my eyes were as wide as James' had previously done when she praised Gary. I wondered if she just needed to see things differently to her husband that badly! "You'd know that if you actually took the time to get to know him."
James drained the last of his mulled wine and tossed the cup into the recycling bin next to the table leg. Perhaps it was the drink, or it was the townspeople and their stares scorching so intensely into his family's skin that he was sure that they would be left with a mark by the end of the evening.
Whatever it was, James did not wish to see the good in Gary that evening.
"He's a teenager and he has hands. That's all I need to know about him." he insisted. And with that, his arms folded over his narrow chest, and he leaned up against the buffet table as much as he could without knocking it over.
But it was not all that serious. And Jessie would have seen that if she stopped rolling her eyes at her husband long enough to see the slight smirk that overtook his features. It was, however, not lost on Misty and although she rolled her eyes in a similar way to the other woman, a smirk of her own swiped over her scarlet dabbed lips
From drinking my juice through a straw, I could tell that she was relieved at the opportunity to kid herself that all of this was all very ordinary. The truth was she did not know how to pipe up in the way that Ash did.
But she needed to try. Or things would be weird and stuck forever.
"Let him do what he wants." Misty began airily enough. But then it was like she had accidentally swallowed one of the tonic waters of the townspeople and her mouth threatened to become as puckered as theirs. "You can't make him do anything when his mind is made up."
And with that, James was left wishing that he had not tossed his empty cup into the trash. Though his arms were still folded over his chest, his fingers danced listlessly as if the rest of him could not keep them under control.
Misty felt Jessie's eyes burning into her as if she had once been a lowly criminal and it was, she that was not welcome in Pallet Town no matter how much time had passed. Her hand reached for Ash's even if he had his back to her as he was scanning the buffet table to see what he could engulf next.
But Jessie knew what to do. Both in the next couple of seconds and going forward. She proved this to everybody else by reaching for James' tie all over again, tugging it out from underneath his waistcoat and giving it a twirl.
Misty's hand twitched inside Ash's.
"I'll ask somebody else to dance instead." Jessie spoke. Before James could wish that she set her sights on Gary to keep him away from their daughter, his wife's lips were placed on top of his and he pecked her back.
But James knew that this was not the right time. Too many eyes followed their every move. His head half tilted towards where Misty was quickly turning away from them both, deciding that she needed to help Ash scan the table even though he would end up eating one of each thing eventually.
With one less gaze to worry about, James let Jessie's kiss linger. But then she moved on. And in between keeping an eye on things between Jayme and Gary, he was left wiping along his bottom lip with his thumb, no longer worried about it being red wine staining his mouth!
After Jessie left this little segregated group, Ash and Misty picked a few snacks and decided to go hand and in to where Max had been left holding little Jayden. With Tracey living with May in Hoenn, he had thought being alone in Kanto would lead to more excitement at the party than this! Letting go of her boyfriend's sticky hold, Misty did not hesitate to relieve one of her good friends and held the toddler on her own hip instead.
It seemed to me that Jessie wandered listlessly at first and I knew that she did not feel that she fit in with the little groups of people as much as she acted as she did. At least she knew to keep away from the other side of the room!
But the more that I focused on being an observer from perching on my stool next to the buffet table, I realized that Jessie made a beeline for the second time that evening.
Though she was the host of the party, Delia was standing alone. Hovering by the Christmas tree that Justin had previously tried to raid but not because of that reason, she had one arm folding over her chest and she held her elbow with her hand, that same arm pointing down towards the long skirt that she was wearing.
In the same way that Ash had busted James for doing as such, Delia had her eyes fixed on one scene of the gathering. Much like my best friend had done to Jessie and James, Jessie broke the ice and wheedled her way into making conversation with Delia by pointing out what was going on.
Jessie nudged her shoulder against Delia's, not needing to use her hand to gesture to Professor Oak skidding frantically along the wooden floor, going backwards and forwards in between guests over and over again.
"You sure do get your steps in at a Delia Ketchum party." Jessie tried to humor the other woman. Surely it was unbeknownst to her, but Jessie began to stand the same way, her own hand cupping over her elbow now that she did not have her husband's tie or his drink to hold onto.
As if Delia noticed Jessie mirroring her and did not want it to seem like she was copying her – or she did not feel worthy in her body that was in her mind shorter and much more middle aged – her hands swung aimlessly by her hips instead.
Delia did not have it in her to nudge her shoulder against the other womans despite the heartfelt conversations they had had over the years. But still, she did not dissuade Jessie from hanging out with her.
A girlish smile quirked both corners of her lips upwards and her eyes took in Jessie standing at her much taller height.
I had always recognized that a childlike quality existed in Delia though she had tried to bury that part of her when she became a mother at just aged nineteen.
"He just checked his computer and found out that the research that Meowth has been helping him with has been proven correct." Delia's eyes fluttered with happiness as she explained this to Jessie, but the upwards lift of her lips died down. She, however, took the chance to nudge Jessie but it was her shoulder against her upper arm. "I'm surprised your little friend isn't elated like Samuel is."
Leaving the sight of Professor Oak frantically darting between guests of the party and blurting out the good news before shaking their hands so hard their arms might as well have fallen off, both Jessie and Delia's gaze searched for Meowth who had just come back from checking the computer with Samuel.
It did not take them long to find him!
Jessie's expression was undeniably maternal as Meowth was forced to roll his eyes patiently towards the stars hanging above and then share the cupcake that he had found with Justin. I was almost certain that the look was for her son rather than the cat Pokémon, but I could not be so sure!
"Oh, I'm sure Meowth will get to bragging about it eventually." Jessie's smile long outlived Delia's as she watched Meowth wipe her son's sticky mouth with his tail. Then her eyes altered, showing off a look I could not read as she nudged Delia a second time. "You shouldn't have given the last of the mulled wine to James. You could have offered it to Professor Oak as congratulations."
Delia's smile swiped back on her face for another occasion, but this one was as painted as the eyeliner on her lids that Misty had helped her to apply for the occasion. Now that Jessie's hands were casually clasping each other's, the other woman's stance went back to how it was before.
She needed to hold onto her own elbow to keep everything together.
"Oh, I was happy to give it to James." Delia began. She kept her eyes on Professor Oak's antics rather than the other woman and not because she was worried about getting on the wrong side of her. She was the only person that was immune to Jessie's infamous wrath! "He deserved it after the impact he's had on my restaurant since he started working there."
Delia took a small moment to look up at Jessie. And then they were united in their urge to look elsewhere, seeing the physical proof that Delia's words were correct. They did not need to look very long a second time, and I knew that this would be the case because the last thing Ash's mother was, was a liar.
The locals at Pallet House might have been on the other side of the room with the other townspeople but if James looked in their direction for something to do other than keep an eye on everything else then the mustachioed, older men with tattoos from their younger days would give him a nod or a wink. Some offered both. Earlier on in the evening I had seen them take him out for a smoke on the grounds!
Delia was right. And not just because she valued telling the truth. This moment, however, was not the time for Jessie to pull flattery out of the other woman even if it was towards her husband rather than being just for her.
Jessie was slowly beginning to see where her son got it from when Delia thought that she had said this to start talking about James. She needed to try again and this time as she did it, she moved to face Delia rather than lingering side by side.
"Perhaps you should ask him for a dance to congratulate him." Jessie suggested. Though her back was now to me, the reflection of her in the baubles hanging off the Christmas tree told me that look that I had not been able to work out was back in her iris once again. "He needs to put those racing feet of his to better use!"
The apple really did not fall far from the tree! Standing opposite Jessie rather than side by side gave her the opportunity to allow her face to express as much as she liked and to allow her countenance to accompany her words.
Delia's cheeks flushed a similar color to her Mareep wool sweater for the occasion and she was unable to look Jessie in the eye anymore during this interaction.
"O-Oh no, I couldn't do that." Delia began. If she had been looking at Jessie rather than her matching shoes with Misty then she would have seen her grin immediately, nodding encouragingly as if to say you can. "I mean, James really is very sweet, but I could not impose in such a way after-"
Delia was forced to look at Jessie after she interjected her. Unlike how she would have done to other people, she did not do it meanly. In fact, I could have sworn that a glitter of amusement... even fondness... had taken the place of what had previously been unreadable to me in her iris.
Jessie shook her head from side to side, her hands resting on her curvaceous hips.
"I meant Professor Oak." she clarified. Jessie watched the warmth rising in the other woman's cheeks as she realized her mistake and she wanted to take hold of her hand as it rose to her mouth. But it was she and James who knew each other like that. Not the two of them. "I'm sure he would be delighted."
Jessie could have said that he would have been tickled by the prospect of this as much as his research being successful. But as tactless as she could be sometimes, she gathered that this might not be a subject to broach with Delia just like it was with Ash.
In my best friends eyes the two of them were friends and nothing more.
And they were. To my knowledge, they were.
But friends could dance, couldn't they? James might have rejected Jessie under the eyes of everybody else but even back in Team Rocket if she picked the right moment then he did his best to put his youthful dancing lessons to clever use.
And in response Delia could have said that she would not dream of asking Professor Oak to dance for one reason or another. Whether it was because he might find it inappropriate, or this would give Gary yet another reason to wind up her son. Or she could spill out that she did not even want to.
But Jessie watched Delia quieten down after recovering from the embarrassment of her misunderstanding. I did too. It was in that moment that I understood what that look in Jessie's eyes had been and why it had occurred.
She knew that Delia was lonesome on the quiet. And she knew that she wanted to connect with those who felt the same way and have them find each other – that was why she hosted that party year after year.
Jessie knew that Delia had been accustomed to pushing down her own feelings for the sake of everyone else. For the sake of her son. She wanted to be the person to help her. To help her reach out.
After she had given her and her family a place to live it was the least she could do.
Jessie and I were moved by Delia's response when it finally came. Not because of the hushedness of her voice. But because of the words she chose to say.
They summed up everything really.
"No... No, I don't think so, dear." Delia spoke. And then she painted that smile back on her mouth, both corners of her lips quirking upwards once again. And this time as a hand reached out to another, it was Delia who reached out to Jessie.
She only patted her on the top of her hand. But it was touching to me. They both did not yet know what was too much or too little. And even though these thoughts did not dare form, they both knew what it was like to be scared to reach out for the first time after always doing things on your own.
The older woman's hand warm was on hers and almost motherly - not that she would label it as such then because she could hardly remember what it was like to have a mom dote on her. Not being the one to break away from this contact, Jessie turned over her shoulder to look at the rest of the room. The rest of the party.
Brock had since returned from goodness knows where and assumedly seeing which one of the few Joys and Jennys would take his hand and give him the honor of a dance. But he had put those antics to bed for the evening and was on the rebel side of the floor.
He was letting Jazmyn dance on his feet while Justin became Misty's shadow, not conversing with her when she amusedly turned over her own shoulder but did not hide either. Jayme and Gary were still young and in love. James had given up watching the scene but was still by the buffet table, Jayden on his hip and feeding him crumbs from a mince pie.
This time it was Jayde and Cameron who had disappeared. But Jessie could hear Ash's loud conversation with Mr. Mime, annoyed that they had been allowed to sneak away from the party and see the Pokémon eggs that Professor Oak was storing.
Samuel himself was still darting back and forth, far more elated by his success of his research than the success of the party. Jessie even noticed Max had taken himself off to a quiet corner, observing the interactions away from home that he would surely bring back to Hoenn with him.
All the other townspeople may have still been keeping to themselves but that mattered less and less as time passed. Jessie and James' move to Pallet Town had been rocky in places – to see the least! But looking around, Jessie could not help but see that amid the chaos they had... created a new family for themselves?
And not just through the offspring of theirs that kept appearing! They had made a new family from the ground up. More than that, they had been welcomed into an existing one.
Jessie turned back to Delia. She was surprised to feel the younger woman's hand shifting under hers and not because she was brushing her lingering touch away. She altered her touch to clasp Delia's hand, giving her elbow an encouraging touch.
Jessie had a new idea.
"Would you like to come and dance with me then?" she inquired. No heat rose to her cheeks as she did so. A quality then existed within Jessie that was hard to find in anybody else. To her, asking this was as simple as asking how somebody took their coffee in the morning.
Delia's brown eyes that she had bestowed upon her son widened in surprise! Raising her spare hand to her mouth but ending up lingering in front of her neck, she let a laugh escape her lips that was amused. It was doubtful.
But Jessie's eyes of spring flowers remained fixed on Delia's. This and her hand not leaving the older women told her that she was serious. It was Delia to feel warmth tickling her cheeks as she wondered how she would say no to Jessie without coaxing impending doom!
Delia's shy titters were as natural as they were to diffuse a potential situation.
"Oh no, I don't think so, dear." Those words fluttered out of her again before being met with more. Her hand squeezed Jessie's to show her that she was not offended. She was flattered. But it was a no. "You don't want to dance with someone like me."
Jessie may have been a big mouth to most, but she showed a quality there that was one of hers that James and Meowth saw shine the most. She learned more about Delia in that sentence than she had while basking in her hospitality since her and her husband had moved to Pallet Town.
She suddenly saw things the way Delia did. Saw Delia how she saw herself. But Jessie still had a mind of her own. So, she did not believe the images when they flashed into her mind about how Ash's mother was just a mom. She may have a heart of gold but how far did kindness get you? She had done okay raising her son on her own and had worked harder at that than any of her forgotten dreams about becoming a trainer.
Whatever legacy Delia had; it was because her boy was The Chosen One.
Ash was the best thing she had ever done and would ever do.
"I do." Jessie insisted before she could stop herself. But she did not want to. For a rare occasion, she wished to hold nothing back. Did not care how sappy any of this made her seem. "I want you to dance with me."
Jessie had changed her words, catching Delia off guard. She could have melted into the floor then, forgetting her worries about hoping Professor Oak enjoyed himself at the party and the silent wistfulness that he would never ask her to dance in front of so many people.
Delia's head tilted to the side, seeing Jessie in her mind's eye as clearly as her words had caused the younger woman to see a part of her that she usually kept under lock and key.
She did not understand why so many people thought she was so brash. So heartless. If any of that existed in her, it was just an act. An act to keep people at a distance. That was the same driving force for Delia's own kindness.
Doing things for others meant she did not have to be vulnerable and let them do things for her.
Though she could have continued looking at Jessie, seeing more and more of the person who she had had living under her roof for quite some time, she sheepishly turned to glance over at the huddle of townspeople keeping their distance from everybody else.
Even her for that night.
Jessie knew what her next excuse would be before it even came. Her next concern.
"Don't you think people will talk?" Delia giggled nervously, looking back away from the crowd, and feeling Jessie's hand tighten on hers. She knew at once that Jessie would not take no for an answer because she guessed that she did not really wish to say no.
She watched Jessie not even waste her time looking over at the people who could not even let bygones be bygones just for one bloody Christmas party. Her hand was now entwining with hers, still tugging her encouragingly with the same force.
Jessie's lipstick swiped lips quirked upwards. She was already beginning to lead her to the dance floor.
"Let them." she shrugged. Other people in attendance moved out of the way as if royalty were coming through. It was - Pallet Town royalty. If only Delia saw herself the way we all did. "It'll be the most interesting headline the Pallet Town Gazette has yet."
And with that, Delia was left tittering for a different reason as her spare hand rose fully to her mouth, trying to suppress her laughter but she did not really want to. When that small hand of hers broke the distance with her face once more it was so she could rest it on Jessie's shoulder.
It was time to dance.
It crossed Delia's mind as one hand was still held in Jessie's and the woman's other one was in the middle of her back that she really did not think this would be the slow dance that she participated in!
The truth was, she had wanted Samuel to dance with her. To notice her. To see all the things about her that just needed coaxing out. She would have laughed if she had known that it would have been Jessie to see things – perhaps not the things she hoped would be given a chance to shine. But she had seen the other, deeper levels to her.
Yes, she felt very lonesome at times. She adored watching her son grow up and fall in love and learn in love. But she knew it would not be very long until he left Pallet Town for good.
Then who would she be?
As she danced with Jessie, feeling a younger, fresh-faced version of her beginning to emerge from a cocoon like a winged insect for the first time since Ash was born, she realized that she did not need to worry about this anymore.
She did not need to.
Ash becoming a well-rounded young man was proof of a job well done. His eventual departure could lead to an adventure of her own.
Look at Jessie along with James and Meowth. They had taken a big leap of faith, hadn't they? And why couldn't she?
As Jessie and Delia danced in the middle of the room, the younger woman smiling down at the older one, many eyes were on the two of them. The townspeople's eyebrows were shooting closer to their hairlines than ever before! Max's spectacled vision had a lightbulb moment, and he quickly pulled out his phone to immortalize this moment.
James next to the buffet table was tickled with amusement. And as Ash approached him along with Mr. Mime and Meowth to fetch himself a snack and help the Pokémon retrieve one too, he did not stop himself from nudging the younger male.
His touch lingered on his shoulder and Ash did not shove him off.
The Christmas spirit was getting to everybody!
"Looks like you've got a new dad on the cards over there, Ash." James teased my best friend, and I could not help but mirror his smirk, as much as I tried not to. It was still bizarre to hear his real name tumbling out of him.
Ash, too focused on seeing what was left of the buffet table ahead of the next replenishing by the girls from Delia's restaurant, screwed his nose up on his face at first, wondering what James was getting at.
As if he knew what his own dad was talking about, Jayden formed unintelligible words and pointed, earning a kiss on the forehead from James. He felt smirking lips pressing against his soft skin. After Ash followed the toddler's gestures, he pulled a face and decided he did not have an appetite after all!
At least he still had enough of a conscience to hand Mr. Mime a parcel pastry and lift Meowth up onto the stool next to me like he said he would.
"Ew yuck!" Ash announced, his words practically tripping over his tongue that was still poking out in disgust. If Delia had not been still dancing with Jessie, then she would have warned him that he would stay looking like if the wind blew. "If I had to pick any of you to be my dad then it would be Meowth. But I'd still feel like I drew the short straw!"
James actually laughed at something that Ash said, glancing over at Meowth who was still on the stool with me. Hearing his chuckles and his fingers plucking his own bottom lip as if to disguise his amusement but to no avail, Ash's expression could not help but sweeten from being so sour.
It was, however, Meowth's turn to lose his appetite as he looked over at Mr. Mime who in return, felt his cheeks burning protectively. Perhaps because I was the only other Pokémon out at the party, I found myself sharing in the glances.
But as time moved on and as Jessie and Delia continued to dance and the rest of the party celebrated the impending special day, the look between Pokémon become one of... union? And I could not believe that I was still feeling the same way as I looked between Ash and James too. My eyes took in Jayden's sweet little face, and I knew that forgiveness was in my heart.
At least for that moment!
Like Jessie, I knew that I too had formed my own family. A weird, infuriating, exasperating and drama-filled family! But a family all the same.
Then my eyes went over to the two that are the point of this whole story. And as I saw Delia's head trying to rest on Jessie's shoulder as they danced as much as she could, my thoughts ran away from me and I still remember them to this day:
Everybody needs someone. Somebody to see you when you feel the most unseen.
Delia never dreamed that it would be an ex-Team Rocket member to do that for her. The person who along with her other friends had nearly taken years off her son's life! But she had done that for them, hadn't she?
She had given them a home – given them a new beginning – when all they had previously known was destined to end.
And isn't that what Christmas is about? And, when you think about it, isn't that what being a human is about?
This Pokémon sure hopes so. It means that we have even more in common.
A wise, wide mouthed Pokémon once said that in life you just need to look at what is the same. And... well... do not tell him I said so... but that mantra of his from the beginning of his presence in my life and vice versa are what this story is about. It is what they are all about.
It is what my whole life is about.
And yes... I feel grateful to have spent my years with all these people. Everyday. And certainly, at Christmastime too.
The End.
There you go, thanks so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed! When I got the idea for this story, I was so excited to write it. The interactions between Jessie and James came to my mind very quickly - as well as the ones when Misty and Ash join the scene too. And the bit at the end! I liked showing a different side to James here, the one that is like a typical, too overprotective dad and watching Jayme with Gary :P Between me and you, he's actually keeping a close eye on Gary for something else. But that's between me and me xD I really do want to write more about Delia in the future. There's a lot of rich background stuff there in the novelisation that could easily give a lot of ideas. I like the idea here of Delia and Jessie being similar in keeping people at arm's length - one with brashness and the other with kindness. An unlikely friendship there. And yes, a lot to explore and write about :P Thank you again for reading and I will be back on the 28th to upload a Christmassy tale over on Misty's Memoirs. In the meantime, have a wonderful and safe holiday period and I will see you very soon!
Amy signing out :)