《The Ties That Bind》Chapter 4
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Jayne and John made their way to baggage claim. As they walked toward the conveyor belt, they began to recognize that people were beginning to notice them. Jayne leaned towards her brother and whispered in his ear “Looks like the locals have noticed you're home". John adjusted his laptop bag and grunted in acknowledgment as he stuck his other hand in his pocket. Plateaux hadn't been home in quite some time. Not all of it anyway. Still, he had noticed the extra attention. It was only a matter of time before their mother caught wind of his arrival. "Its probably just because we've been all over the news lately. So long as you dont do anything stupid or embarrassing, I should be fine." Jayne elbowed her brother in his side."Now dont you start ." John chuckled. He missed ribbing his sister like this. "Oh God John, you didn't!" John smiled wide. The Big Green Bag had finally made its way into the luggage rotation. As it slid down to the main belt, it landed with a thud. He leaned down to pick it up as Jayne muttered under her breath about her brothers luggage choices. "Jay Jay, I love you but this bag is a part of me. We've been through a lot together. Its like an extra arm." John stood and slung it over his shoulder."An extra arm huh? Get it amputated."
It was obvious a crowd had begun to form as they turned to leave. People were whispering to each other, cell phones were out and up, and The hairs on the back of Johns neck began to stand on end. He hated feeling like he was being watched. He hated being under pressure. He didn't appreciate it when his mother did it and even though he had grown used to it when he visited, attention always made him uneasy."Come on Johnny, my car is right outside, we can get out of here before the paparazzi find us." Jayne nudged him forward and they exited the airport. Hector, Jayne's driver had the trunk popped and the doors open as they exited the revolving doors. Jayne got in and slid over as John handed his bag to him and got in behind her. He breathed a sigh of relief, removed his hat, and got comfortable for what was sure to be a hard conversation. Right on schedule, Jayne started in. "So have you heard anything? The cops aren't talking and they cant find anything at the house."Honestly, Jayne was the only one who told him anything had happened at all. Sure, the investigators had called, but that was about it. "Nah, haven't heard a thing. I suppose the best thing to do right now would be to get a hold of Geoffrey. Regardless, there is nothing we can do tonight, so lets just get to the house." They sat in silence for the rest of the ride.
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They pulled up to the house around 4:30. Jayne had a lovely home. Wrap around driveway, a big fountain in the middle of her yard, and intricately manicured shrubberies lining the fence. The bushes were a necessity though. when the boys were younger, they would push each other through the posts and hide in the woods behind the property. Jayne was worried they would get hurt so she lined the whole perimeter with these huge paintbrush looking bushes. She was very protective of her children. She had lost her husband before they were born so she was all they had. Due to her schedule, she was forced to hire a live in nanny to offset her workload. That was a fun day. John thought her head was going to explode over the phone when she called to tell him she needed help. She was so worried about being a bad mother because of how their childhood was. John kept telling her she had no reason to worry. The boys were in a great school, they had a lot of friends, and they were happy and healthy. The car went through the gate and pulled up around the front of the house. Hector made his way around to Jayne's door as John exited his side." Jayne stood up as John retrieved The Big Green Bag. He shut the trunk with a thud."The boys should be home by now so you may want to let Hector take that. I guarantee you the boys are right inside the door waiting for you. They almost died when I told them you were coming to visit." John laughed."I'd stand back if I were you Jay Jay, I'd hate for you to be collateral damage." Jayne took a big step back as John set his laptop bag down and started to open the door. He had barely made it inside when sure enough, two bumbling 6 year old boys came screaming toward the foyer. John rushed inside and immediately sat down on the tile before they caught him.
"Uncle John!" they screamed as they collided into him. Two eager sets of arms wrapped themselves around his neck as he held them close. Finally, they let him go and stepped back. "Uncle John, we've missed you so much! " Nathan went in for another hug as Jayne finally decided it was safe to come in. "Alright boys let him up. He will have plenty of time for you later but right now he needs to unpack." Jayne placed her purse on the table near the door and closed it behind her. "Lets show you to your room, come on!" Nolan began to pull on Johns shoulders. He stood up and held out a hand for each child to hold as they took him to his room. Hector followed behind them with his things.
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About two hours later, John was unpacking, and the boys were playing outside. He did miss them so much. He had brought each of them a Giga ball. Basically it was a giant soccer ball you could inflate and get inside of. They were always rolling around outside or running headfirst into things so at least this way they were safe and everyone got a good laugh. John thought it was an added bonus that Jayne would freak out.
No sooner had he put away the last of his stuff, but Jayne popped her head around the corner. "OK we have about 45 minutes and we have to be at the restaurant so get a move on and try to not dress like the Brawny guy," Jayne announced as she tilted her head to the side so she could put in her earring. John spun around. "We're going out to eat? I thought we would just order something or cook here."He raised an eyebrow as he tried to decipher the hidden meaning behind this "dinner." Other than work, Jayne was a homebody. If it wasn't for work or when they kids were away, she rarely ate out. "Where are we going, and how many people will be there?" "Just the four of us." Jayne walked in and faced the full body mirror next to the closet. John started to get the feeling she wasn't talking about them and the boys. "Jayne," he asked, kind of fearful for her answer to his question. "Who do you mean when you say "the four of us?" Jayne straightened her dress. " You, Me, a friend of mine from work and....." Her voice trailed off towards the end, only further catching Johns curiosity."I'm sorry, what was that?" He walked closer to her in an effort to hear what she was saying.
" You, Me, a friend from work and Leslie."
'"And Leslie is?"
"Just a girl in my Pilates class."
"And she is going with...?"
Jayne looked toward the floor."I meant to talk to you about that."
"Jayne, you didn't try to set me up again did you?"
"What do you mean again? Last time was a complete coincidence. I had no idea Rochelle was going to be there."
"Oh please, all she did the whole night was talk about everything you told her about me."
"What do you want me to do, stop bragging about my brother? I cant help it if I am proud."
"I dont mind you being proud Jay Jay, I mind you setting me up with strange women."
"Oh she wasn't that bad."
"Jay, she talked for 30 minutes about how she once ate a decorative grape."
"Well Leslie is nothing like that, you will love her, trust me. She's just like you, very outdoorsy, athletic. Just give her a chance OK? Its about time you found someone. Jason isn't gonna give me any nieces or nephews so you gotta get to it."
"Wow Jay Jay, you are such a romantic.I'll be good, but one grape incident and gloves are off.” On that note Jayne turned to leave. "Well I should probably change." Jayne piped up from the Hallway. "Wear a button down shirt and a belt! We aren't going to to some backwoods barbecue!" John tossed a shoe at the door in defiance of his sisters demand. Knowing better than to argue, he kicked his bag under the bed and got out his belt and retrieved a light blue dress shirt and black blazer from the closet. Jayne always kept fancy clothes here for him. If she didn’t they were just get all wrinkled up. She tried to get him a garment bag for Christmas one year and it mysteriously disappeared on the plane. Sure, she messed with his wardrobe and would try to set him up on occasion, but unlike his mother, she didn’t do it heavy handedly. If he said no she was respectful and would drop the issue If he was truly uncomfortable with her suggestion, she stopped bringing it up and wasn’t forceful about it. She would push his boundaries, but still respected them. On any normal day, he would put up more of a fuss. In light of recent events however, he decided to humor her. She needed a distraction from everything. He placed a few calls to see if anyone had seen or heard anything. Tomorrow he would go out to the house and see if he could pick up anything the detectives may have missed. He would bring Jason home.
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