Weathering Jack Storm

Chapter 1-3

CHAPTER 1-3

"TEXT ME, THE SECOND you get there! And call me ASAP?" Olivia's eyes shimmered, and Marissa felt her lids stinging as they stood hugging on the tiny porch of her home.

The new luggage, Jack had surprised Marissa and Tristan with, strained at its seams and lined the hallway just inside the front door. Since Jack hadn't been able to find a set in any one of Tristan's favorite themes, Tristan had ended up with a variety; a rolling Hot Wheels duffel, a bandit backpack, and a rolling Scooby backpack.

Jack appeared, bustling at high-speed, the mode he had been in all morning, and grabbed up all three of Tristan's bags before shouldering around Olivia and Marissa with a grin. The smile had rarely been off his lips in the last hours, and Marissa knew he was anxious to be back in LA, and seemed just as anxious to have them there with him.

Them.They. Us. Words that still seemed unfamiliar in relation to the three of them as a tiny family unit—even though she had dreamed of it for so long. He bent, slightly shuffling his own bags in the trunk of the rental to make room for theirs, and when she tore her eyes from the pockets of his jeans, she found a broad smile had joined Olivia's teary countenance.

"I'm so happy for you Rissa! Gosh, what am I going to do without you guys? Without my little guy?" Olivia had spent a quarter of an hour saying her goodbyes to Tristan while showing him how to use the new drawing app she purchased and added to his electronic tablet.

"I will take good care of 'em," Jack promised, having walked by in time to hear these mournful words, and he even paused to pull Liv into a light hug. Olivia actually blushed and had to rivet her own gaze from him as he bent for more luggage.

This time, Marissa was the one who knowingly smiled. Liv might be married, but who could be immune to Jack?

"And you take care of my dog," Marissa told Olivia. Bally would be joining them in California within the next couple of weeks, but until then, the dog was boarding with Liv. Tristan had spent a day with Olivia picking out new toys for Bally and adding them to the rest of the lab's things at the home away from home.

Watching Tristan's face at the airport was as exhilarating as the upcoming trip. Marissa had only flown once before, but this experience was vastly different from the get go. Jack turned off of the main terminal access road and, almost immediately, small jets became visible on the tarmac and inside open hangars.

"Do you see hangar numbers?" he inquired while squinting through the windshield. "We are looking for forty-five, but I don't see numbers..."

"There!" She pointed to a metallic eleven glinting in the sunlight.

"Do you have a passport?" Jack inquired as they rolled closer to the designated number.

"Do I need one?" Airport security was ever changing, and she panicked thinking requirements possibly had changed for domestic flights.

"You will need one," he answered, stressing the 'will' with a curve of his lips. "And Tristan too. We have ten Europe dates on this next tour."

Parking the car in front of hangar forty-five, he popped the trunk and hopped out. Jack hoisted Tristan, piggyback style, before grabbing as much luggage as he could carry. She followed suit, and they headed to the tiny entrance in the back of the hangar.

Before they closed the distance, the door burst open, and Jack's father, wearing a broad grin, advanced on them. Quick greetings were exchanged, and he gallantly insisted on divesting Marissa of her load, leaving only the messenger bag hanging on her shoulder. Inside, Jack deposited Tristan on a chair next to his mom, and the men went out for the rest of the things.