Morningstar Manor

Travis had been out past midnight with Macy and they'd partied in his birthday. Which was why when Memphis had come in early, Travis was just falling asleep. The brothers had mutually slept in until noon, Memphis getting up first and making coffee, bacon and eggs. It had been enough to get Travis out of bed, groggy and grumbling about everything being too loud or too bright, but out of bed.

Memphis caught him up on the news of home, which wasn't all that much actually. There weren't any changes as of yet and he wasn't going to be home for good for a little while. There was some trouble at the shop now that the old man was officially laid up and Memphis didn't overlook the same things his father had. After the brothers bonded for the afternoon, Memphis called Jane and they agreed to all go out to dinner at the Lucky Mother Clucker. It was his favorite place to go and he'd done the legal drunkenness last night with Macy so he wasn't feeling compelled, or well enough, to do it tonight too.

Travis had looked over the menu and ignored the small talk of Memphis catching Jane up on the lack of change anywhere except the mechanic shop. "So I'm going to get that back under control at least. Maybe try to get a shop manager I trust to look after the place until Dad's fully recovered." He finished with, though it was a lofty aspiration right now given the crew already in place. The family garage had been turned into a chop shop and that was not sitting well on Memphis's shoulders.

Memphis couldn't feel anything right now. He'd just gotten a call from his brother, Tyler. Their father had been taken to the hospital for suffering a heart attack. Tyler said that no news had come back yet, but the ambulance crew hadn't sounded hopeful. Knowing that his mother was a nurse worried him even more because Memphis knew she'd try to take on too much. He had to go home.

Anxiety had his heart racing and his feet carried him to Jane's apartment. He paced a few moments before knocking on her door. What he was going to say he wasn't sure yet but he wanted her to go with him. He just wasn't so sure she'd come along.

He'd made sure Travis was out of the apartment this morning, then gone and done his morning at the shop. Now it was a little before noon, and he let Demon into the apartment ahead of him. He had a date with Jane and had planned on an extended lunch. Whistling to himself he washed up the dishes in the sink from breakfast as he waited.

Ang was settled in the pool, drifting and lapping alternately, an exercise that Alec had agreed to, and which she was making the most of having left Gavin with his father for a bath and bedtime routine they mostly had down pat. Her mind was racing though, through the essay due next week that she had almost finished, but was indefinably unhappy with. She'd missed something, something, "Conditioning!" She suddenly sat up in the water, unaware that someone else was in the pool house, "I forgot about the damn conditioning!"

----

Emma was in the Gym, the phys ed component of her year was not going well, and she was doing her best to improve that with a few miles on the treadmill, and some light weights, but, really, could she have known less about what she was doing? Just then, she was sat on a mat, supposedly stretching, but in reality, mostly in a dream about opening an exhibition in a gallery, her exhibition, a brilliant success...... strangely enough she was smiling, despite the hunched posture and oddly extended leg that she was bent over.

----

Icene had finished emptying her apartment. The last of her belongings had gone, either to Adams, or the local good will. She'd advised her parents of the apartment number change, but only her father knew what was going on. He'd confessed her mother was slipping still further, and Icene was now worrying over a black coffee, that thankfully remained such, whilst shredding a muffin into crumbs.... should she go home? Could she do anything? Would she just make it worse? And if her mother was as far gone as her father said, would she even realise who Icene was? She sat, without realising she was crying, as a single solitary tear drifted down her face, slowly freezing until a small bead of ice fell from her chin into the mess of crumbs on the plate.

----

Gregori was cheerfully stuffing mailroom boxes with small samples of chocolates, he'd left a box that first time for Ashlynn, and that had given him the idea, now he dropped half a dozen chocs, in bags, into each box in the apartment, complete with a business card, and a small copy of the 'menu'. He was humming a Christmas Carol, because there were no good halloween songs.

----

Cleo browsed the library shelves, wondering, not for the first time, why she'd picked the courses she had. All this studying was not helping her find a date, and with halloween coming up, surely a costume for the rumoured ball was far more important than an essay. She found the book she was looking for, and turned, only to drop the book as someone else was right there, "Oh madre de dios! You made me jump!"

----

Spencer had been in meetings, and was feeling tired and drained. But there were chores to be done, so tonight he was staring blankly at the washing machine as it revolved rhythmically before him, the towels tumbling in and out of the soapy water, his mind seeking only rest and respite from worry and stress. Christmas was coming, the store was gearing up, and yet, he just couldn't find any enthusiasm for any of it. It worried him.

----

Jane was quietly clearing up the daycare centre, slowly cleaning up the spilled paint, the ground in clays, and setting things to rights. Alongside her were a couple of the last remaining children, who's parents hadn't yet arrived to collect them, even though officially the daycare part of their work was over. She was happy though, because the children were helping, and it was all good, however imperfectly they did it, they really were helping! "That's it, one more brush into the pan, and yes! You've got it! Well done," she smiled at the young boy, "Now, can you get it to the bin without spilling it?"

She looked up to see another parent arriving, "Evening! We've had a lovely day, everything all right?"

Kris had almost a full day of hair styling scheduled, but he also had laundry to do, having had a bit of a mishap with a mug of coffee and the trailing edge of his comforter. So into the laundry and he began to stuff the machine, the skin of his back crawling as it had been all morning.

He glanced round.

Nobody there.

It crawled again so he glanced round.

Still nobody there.

###

Guy hadn't heard anything back from the Manor - but then it was only a couple of days and his application had been speculative. He still had his fingers crossed though and he opened the window and took a breath of air untainted by disinfectant. At least the cab no longer stank of vomit. He was heartily sick of picking up drunks.

Even though he was a little preoccupied he still spotted the raised hand of a prospective fare and pulled over with a grin.

###

Ben ticked another item off on his list and smiled at Kelsey as she passed with a tray of mugs of coffee from the Auberge. He had found the shop fitters worked harder and more willingly if they were supervised and if the coffee kept coming. It would be his turn to go in an hour.

"Is one of those mine?" he asked Kelsey and she grinned and nodded to a mug on it's own in a corner.

Tea.

But somehow significant, Ben thought as he took it, of certain aspects of his life. Yes, the mug alone in the corner fitted.

Jane was, for a change, in the library. All right, no so much of a change, as just in a different part of the library to her usual favourite reading corner. Today she'd had the afternoon off and was firmly tucked into a table, writing notes and reading through a number of text books she'd found on interior design. Well, she figured she was going to need all the help she could get, what with college starting up in a week or so, and evening classes were going to be hard work on top of the crèche job, but, she was determined to make something of herself. Somehow. It was just going to be very very hard for a bit.

Maybe too hard? She wibbled, and her confidence wavered, enough to make her bury her head in her hands, but after a few moments she lifted her head back up and muttered something firmly, if under her breath...

Emma had put the phone down after a long chat with Ang, and yes, Alec too, even Gavin had gurgled at her, and finished her cup of tea, then fetched up both dogs, and headed for the gardens. They needed a longer walk tomorrow and she was thinking of taking them out for a long hike, but for now the gardens and a dozen or so laps, along with assorted fetch and tug of war games would have to do. So for a while she was settled on the lawns, throwing tennis balls in various directions and laughing as Faith and Lily raced each other to bring them back.

Spencer was hiding out in the Gazebo, he was fairly sure his mother was likely to call, so had left his cell upstairs, and instead bought some paperwork with him to read while he sipped on his coffee. A whole batch of papers had just slipped from his grasp though, and were now drifting about in the breeze as he tried to catch them without spilling his drink - if only he'd thought to put it down.

Icene was basking in a secluded corner that had sunshine, not working on her tan as much as trying not to burn, but then, she had plenty of sun cream, at least on the bits she could reach. An ice cold, and staying that way, bottle of white wine sat next to her, along with the one glass she'd poured and was currently sipping. She had a veritable picnic in the bag by her feet, but, so far, no-one to share it with.

Jane was not too far from her apartment windows, in a more shaded spot, wearing a large floppy brimmed hat, and a long-sleeved but very cool loose cotton kaftan type thing. She'd bought it on a whim because the pale blue fabric was covered in little white daisies with yellow centres, but she really wasn't sure even now that it was a good choice. Bare feet peeked out from under it as she struggled to keep her attention on the book she was trying to read. Any distraction from a childcare textbook would probably be more than welcome!

Gregori was just outside the Mocha doors, on the phone to his builder, and slugging down a bottle of water fresh from the Mocha's fridge. He was not in the best of moods, but the sunshine was helping, along with abject apologies and promises of cost reductions... after a few more exchanges he hung up and sighed, then rolled his head on his shoulders before leaning back against the sun warmed wall and almost, but not quite, wishing he smoked or something.

Cleo was in the tenant gardens, admiring the plants, and occasionally pulling a random weed out of a plot here or there... and if she pocketed a few leaves of bay, or a sprig of rosemary, well, nobody would notice right? She did draw the line at pinching strawberries though, leaving those well alone in the plots where they were, just, oooh, garlic chives! Those would be good. She wondered how difficult it would be to get a plot, then she could maybe grow her own herbs outside, they usually tasted better than indoor grown...

Jane had just finished a morning shift in the daycare centre, and rather than going back to her apartment had treated herself to a sandwich and a cup of tea from the Mocha. Outside looked sunny, if not that warm still, so with her thick cardigan on she hoped to be warm enough. It wasn't that hard to find a bench in the sunshine, and the gardens weren't, for a mercy, full of breezes today, so it felt positively balmy as she ate her sandwich. Rolling the wrapping into a ball she stuffed it into a pocket, and leaned back to sip at her tea, holding the cup between both hands just so her fingers stayed warm. Was spring finally here?

Pleasant thoughts about summer, and of course the barbecue she'd seen posters for, distracted her, and only when she heard footsteps did she realise someone else was in the garden. She sipped her tea again as she looked up and smiled at the owner of the footsteps as they came nearer.

It wasn't until after dinner, a meal filled with laughter and teasing as well as excellent food and for them an unusual amount of alcohol - even if that was only two bottles of wine and a couple of beers - that Jane realised something. She was happy, and not just happy, but comfortable with being happy. It felt, for one moment, horribly strange, but then, as she settled back against Memphis, it snapped back into feeling just right.

Travis was setting up the games machine and they were ribbing each other about who was gonna get slaughtered and who was gonna be the champion, and it was all Jane could do to keep up with the muttered and interrupted description of how to play, but then, she wasn't planning on playing much, just relaxing and maybe having a little nap.... She was quite prepared to let the Raines Brothers massacre each other at whatever the game was, and she could laugh and relax and just enjoy the fact that it was Christmas, and it felt good. Which was how Christmas should feel.

Memphis had been swamped with work this week. One customer had complaints over a job, another was adding on more work to his order already, and a third had come in needing body work after a collision. It seemed like forever since he'd seen Jane.

When he emerged from the garage, he'd made up his mind to go see her. So he walked through the lobby then down the hall to apartment L-C and knocked.

Travis needed help. He didn't know anybody better suited than Jane to help him either, he just hoped that he wasn't disrupting her by calling her. He didn't know her work schedule which was not very helpful. When he got her machine, he left a somewhat odd message.

"Jane, it's Travis. I was wondering if you maybe had a recipe for worms in dirt so I could make it for Memphis's birthday... I'll be home for the rest of tonight if you wanna call or stop by. Either way is okay with me. Thanks." After he hung up, he wondered if she knew Memphis's birthday was on Saturday...

Starting out earlier this morning with a home cooked brunch for two at Jazz's, Jane had to admit they'd had a blast of a day. Costume shopping was fun, and throwing in a manicure each had just made the day extra special. Now though, laden down with bags, and not all of them costumes either, they were coming back to the Manor, "So, do you want a muffin or two in the Mocha before we get to putting things away? Or I have some cookies I made yesterday at home? We could have tea and muffins at my place instead?"

Jane grinned, four of these large carrier bags were hers, new clothes for winter, and even some boots and a new coat as well as her Halloween costume.

It was taking a while to get used to the new routine. Jane wasn't entirely used to having two days to herself, and consequently she'd done all her housework and laundry yesterday, and was now wandering about the gardens with a hot cup of tea and wondering what she should do with herself for the rest of the day. She did have her phone on her, just in case there was a daycare emergency, but so far everything was very quiet. She didn't feel like baking, and besides, there was only so much sugar you could give kids before their parents got cranky about it, so Jane was bored. An unusual feeling for her, and not one she wanted to admit to either.... in all honesty, she felt a little lonely without the people she'd cleaned for to talk to, and she just wanted some company that wasn't under ten.

Jane had rushed through her apartments this morning, abandoning in some cases her usual standards, but not so that the clients would notice. Anything to get finished faster and able to see Jazz. Now it was her lunch break, and depending on how Jazz was feeling Jane had already decided to skip out on her afternoon appointments if she had to.

She tapped on the door lightly, waited, tapped again a little harder, then gave in to fear and let herself in, "Jazz? Are you awake?" It was a soft call, and she closed the door behind her just as gently as she could, then headed towards the lounge.

"Hey, Mizz Franklin, this is Vincenzo Orsini. I know you're friendly with Mizz Gonzalez so I thought I better let you know that she had a bit of a - a situation last night. Was mugged in fact. Er - you might want to check on her? Let me know if you need anything, okay?"

Dear Miss Franklin,

Many thanks for your application for the position of part-time nursery assistant.

As you can imagine we have had a lot of interest in the post and many very good applicants. It has been very hard to make a choice. However, I am pleased to offer you the post on three months probation. I am taking on two people to split the hours between then and at the end of the probationary period I hope to offer one person the post of permanent part-time deputy manager and confirm the other as permanent part-time nursery assistant. I hope that this is acceptable to you.

I have enclosed details of schedules etc and look forward to seeing you on your first day,

Yours sincerely,

P Pascuale
Morningstar Day Care Manager.

The last several weeks had been strange for Jane, partly because she had gone to work on the Sunday after the wedding to find Avery had been removed from her worksheet, and a very down at heart colleague was preparing to take him on. The general reshuffle of clients had in fact left most of hers intact, only giving her an extra in a Mr O'Connor on a Friday afternoon, and still having Monday off, although there was a note about switching that back to a Sunday.... She'd sighed, rolled her eyes and got on with the laundry and then the days had seemed to roll into each other, and she drifted by, hiding in the staff elevator, ducking round corners, even crouching behind her trolley to not be seen by the tenants. In short, she went back to being invisible, frightened of her own shadow, and desperately worried about everything.

She'd also spent a lot more time with Memphis and Travis, often taking up home-cooked meals and sharing them, and then on the weekends, having to have help with carrying all her dishes back down! It had been easy to spend time with them, they were safe, untainted by the violence that had erupted at the wedding, even though she knew Memphis at least was probably capable of it. The truth was, she didn't want to acknowledge that, didn't want to be scared of him, or Travis for that matter. Tonight found her outside their door with a roasted rack of lamb, potatoes, and all the trimmings for a really nice dinner, including an apple pie made with some very nice Apple Brandy she'd found in a little liquor store near the Foundry. She knew Travis was out, something he'd said about tonight the other day having lodged in her head, and she'd even bought a bottle of wine up with her, just a basic red, she really didn't know that much about it, and only hoped Memphis hadn't taken this opportunity to go out and do something else instead of staying in. She tapped on the door with one elbow, both hands being busy holding dishes and bags, and hoped he was home.

( Knock Knock! Anybody home? )

She'd left him, but Thomas' words still rang in Jazz's ears as she slumped against the wall of the elevator as the car began it's slow descent.

She felt so stupid, what had she been thinking? She'd known, even as he'd asked, that he wouldn't like the answer, but she'd said it anyway because...because she'd been dumb enough to think that she, that they, the present and whatever future they might have been able to have would be more important than her past.

She swiped at her face and looked up at the glowing floor indicators above the doors. She didn't want to go home. She didn't want to be trapped alone with her thoughts and his voice telling her was nothing more than an attractive piece of ass. But where could she go? What could she do?

She looked at the buttons for the different floors and before she could think about it and change her mind she hit the button for the Lobby.

A slammed door and an "I told you so" would be nothing more than what she deserved, it's what her brain was telling her now after all, but Jazz could hope that Jane - gentle, sweet Jane - would be more understanding.

Technically they shouldn't have put it in the pool, but the Manor could afford to replace it if necessary and it had to be admitted that a genuine floating pirate ship was a lot more fun than one on the grass.

Nick tied it off securely at one side of the pool so the prow was in the shallow end and the stern over deep water for jumping in, and wondered who would be the first to find it. There were plenty of posters up, that was for sure.

{Standard party post - get your pups' scantiest swimmers on and come and say 'Aaaaar'}

The ballroom was decorated in the colour scheme Roxy had chosen, and the gardens between it and the gazebo had been divided off from it by rope tied with ribbons in the same colour scheme, and flowers were bound into the ribbons. The gazebo itself was festooned with ribbons and flowers, so much so that the wooden structure itself was barely visible, and the scent of freesias and gardenias filled the garden. Spencer found himself fixated on one set of ribbons, desperately ignoring the jibing of his brother, busy teasing Jazz about being on the wrong side of the party, and now she had to dance with the bridesmaids. He was conscious of his father, conversing gently with his mother, and of Erika holding John's youngest and playing rock paper scissors. He shifted his weight from one foot to the other, and again wondered why collars had to be so tight when you had a tie on. He turned to ask his mother if everything was all right, and stopped, stunned, because there she was, Roxy, walking down the path towards the gazebo, towards him, and she was, she was perfect. It was the only word that worked, perfect.

It was time. She'd seen Mrs. Sullivan walk ahead of them all, then Lexi just ahead of her, but Roxy was waiting like she'd been told to. It was tradition and she wasn't going to go against tradition. As the music changed and the people stood, she walked down the aisle to Spencer. Roxy wanted to run. She just wanted to be there with him and not have every eye on her. The fear of tripping came back briefly, until she looked up and saw Spencer. Her jitters subsided and she smiled brightly as everybody but the celebrant and Spencer started to fade from her mind. At the altar, she handed her bouquet to Lexi and joined hands with Spencer as directed. It seemed like a fairy tale to her, but it wasn't. They were actually here, getting married, and it wasn't a dream.

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