Thank you for the support, I love you all!
Chapter Fourteen
(Chow Garden)
Jackson was losing his mind.
This morning he had to witness Ryan, who might have some unresolved trauma during his childhood, running around the babysitting center with a gigantic pink box in his hands. The second Jackson settled the twins into their cribs, he was attacked by the box which was bigger than his head and with a closer look he realized the box wasn't just pink, it was coated with tiny red glitters and bright sparkles. He didn't want to associate anything with it and kindly removed himself from the spot but the box was back at his face, a big grin was seen on Ryan's face.
"What is it this time," Jackson grumbled loudly, a glass of vodka would be good for a situation like this.
"It's finally here!" Ryan exclaimed emptily, Jackson wasn't aware little Tina was following her father until an excited squeal coming from below. Today Ryan dressed his daughter in a yellow princess dress with a headband made into small plastic crown on her head, it seemed awfully familiar to Jackson but he couldn't pin-point which Disney princess had this dress. Upon greeting her, Tina returned a toothy grin at Jackson and thanked him for the compliment.
"I'm Belle!" Aha, Jackson thought to himself.
"You look pretty in it." A part of him was grateful he had sons instead of daughters because he had zero knowledge about Disney princesses, although his mother didn't believe in the gender stereotype idea but growing up with three brothers wasn't really all sugar, spice and everything nice. There was still a scar near the edge of his left eyebrow from falling off a tree, he was pushed. Still, he would like to have a daughter...
Maybe not, he lost count how many times Tangled was repeated on his television when Dustin was babysitting the twins.
Oh god, Dustin was his 'daughter'.
"Dude, are you okay?"
Jackson shrugged forcibly and took a sharp breath, that was a dangerous thought which he would never venture further into. Yet he could not believe he was getting a bit sentimental by the thought of having another child. A few weeks ago the reality of taking care two children had nearly screwed his life over and those sleepless nights were dragging him down like dead weight day by day. Right now looking at Tina and the twins, the bubbly feeling in his stomach was enough to tug on the tip of his lips up. The twins were messing up with his emotions, pulling out a side that Jackson did not know he was capable of having.
The box was in his face again, "anyway, please take a random paper from the coloring table and write down the name of your favorite restaurant and then put the folded paper into this box."
"Okay..." Jackson was wary but obliged silently, he couldn't find a decent pencil around so he used a blue crayon to write 'Lumiere' down and obviously Ryan was peeking over his shoulder. Once he folded the paper twice, he dumped into the box without looking, "are you going to tell me what this is all about now?"
"Nope," and there he went out the door with a twirling Tina trailing behind.
He was back at the office after Andrienne arrived (clearly there was still some tension between them), the rest of morning went uneventful with more papers to sign and more meetings to go. Mama Ford wasn't quite amused to hear her youngest son was making a mess in her company, warning him all the way from Iceland to keep his personal shit to himself and fix the mess up before she came back from her vacation. One said even hell was pale in comparison to the wrath of a mother, even he did not want to admit to himself but Dustin managed to lessen the burden on his messy life for now.
It was funny how these pile of papers in front of him actually made him less angry at the world, he needed a break from the twins even though he missed them very much in between the hours. The silence in the room sounded a bit out of place after few weeks of crying and giggling was all he could listen to. During a conference meeting, he excused himself and called Ryan in his private washroom to check up on the twins. Hebe knew what he was doing and she did not appreciate it, telling him she could do it for him instead running off in the middle of someone's presentation. He waved her off and stood back into his seat, looking blankly at the screen in front of him. The man, Gerald, was the Creative and Art Director and he was solely in charge with this year's winter showcase since it had always been the biggest event for CM Ford Mall.
"This year we managed to collaborate with two of the world's top-leading fashion brands, both Versace and D&G have expressed their liking to be part of our annual winter showcase. As we all know two of these companies have different styles and tastes so I have come up with a non-biased and neutral shade of ivory and flaxen for the theme color, as well as the entire settings and decorations. Here you will see we're aiming for a 1960s Victorian style as the backdrop for their timeless collections and instead of putting the stage in the middle we have prepared separate stages for both brands to display their couture. We have talked to each representative team of designers and they've agreed to our concept. If there's no question, my team will push forward the project and begin the procedure with the help from all departments."
It had been a long day and the directors and chairpersons seemed eager to just put the approval forth so they could leave early to enjoy the beginning of their weekend. Jackson noticed Finn, the asshole who punched him, was quiet and already gathering his stuff as if the meeting was done. Letting out a big tired sigh, Jackson instantly gained everyone's attention in the room and he could see Gerald's smile dropped from his face. The truth was almost the entire company hated his gut, they had their reasons to but they should think twice that Jackson would ever come up with unnecessary comments.
"I won't approve it," Jackson took a sip of his coffee, "change the color and the backdrop."
Standing, Jackson picked up his file, "meeting's dismissed," he said before heading for the door.
"But it is the best color and backdrop without offending both of the companies," while voicing out his reluctance, the redness slowly crept its way up from Gerald's neck.
"I don't care, I won't approve until you fixed them." The entire conference room fell silent as he exited it with Hebe in toll.
Then as they stepped out, Jackson asked under his breath, "What's he doing?"
Hebe glanced back and winced. "He's charging."
"Fuck," Jackson whispered and prayed for the second time in a day.
"What do you know about art and fashion?" Gerald came out of the room screaming. Jackson sighed and glanced around. The entire office had gone silent and everyone was watching them. "You know nothing! I have poured my blood and soul into this project. I even flew to Paris to talk to the representative and back in a day! You are such an arrogant man. You think because you're some hot-shot CEO that you can just do whatever the hell you want? That you can bully me into doing shit just because you feel like it?"
Hebe glanced at Jackson, who looked tired but on the verge of getting angry. She leaned away from him and against the wall and held her breath. Jackson did not trust anyone and she wasn't saying that he trusted her, but Hebe was the only one who had seen the broken mirrors and vases behind the room. She knew how angry he could be.
Instead, Jackson said, "Three problems. First, have you even gone through the designs they are going to showcase for the winter collection? The ivory and flaxen clash with every color of their couture and that's the first class you should have learnt in your Fashion degree. Color matters. Second, by setting a 1960s timeline is going against their theme which you have already mentioned, timeless. Finally, Victorian style is a London architecture in early 1950s when both of the brands are founded in Milan, Italy. You care too much of not offending them that you missed all the important and necessary details, normally your incompetence does not interest me but you should have known better. You're getting lazy, Gerald, a mediocre employer at best. The boss has assured me your replacement will be not placed if you're actually doing your job."
The boss, his mom, did not even know about the showcase was coming up, "I'm on vacation, honey, I don't need to know what's the time."
Sometimes Jackson wished he stayed in Bali and ignored her calls.
"I--"
"Go," Jackson grumbled. "Do your job before I find someone who can. We'll have the final meeting next week."
Then he was walking away and Hebe rushed after him. When they entered into his office, Jackson motioned for her to shut the door behind her. When Hebe did, Jackson sighed in relief, "I'll be taking the evening off and I don't want to hear it. Not today. I deserve a break and do not contact me unless it's emergency during the weekend."
"How about-"
"No, I want none of the clients thinking I could be summoned just because they want me there. Clear them or push them to Monday. Now, I need you to send me Gerald's proposal this weekend and give me your thoughts on them by Monday."
"My thoughts?"
Jackson stopped typing and focused on his secretary, "I know you graduated in Fashion and Textiles, so is that going to be a problem, Hebe?"
"No." she ducked her head. "I'll send it to you once he's done."
Once she left the office, Jackson shoved the keyboard away and called Ryan again, he bit his lower lip as he waited for the line to connect.
"They are fine, Jackson." Ryan shouted exasperatedly, "stop calling, Jesus!"
He hung up on Jackson, he knew he was going overboard but a part of him still tempted to call back for reassurance. It didn't take long for him to call Hank and in twenty minutes, he was back at the babysitting center. The children weren't in the playroom so he was making his way toward the napping room when someone cleared their throat from behind and his head spun around. Oh. It was Andrienne and she caught him tiptoeing like a thief. He winced. "Came early to see the boys."
Andrienne tried not to smile, instead she just rolled her eyes. "Ryan told me some maniac kept calling every hour to check up on the twins, I wonder who."
"Bastard," he muttered to himself and cleared his throat at the quizzical look on Andrienne's face. As the time stretched, it was getting more awkward to both of them as no one knew what to say to each other. Jackson wanted to apologize for the tenth time but he was more relieved to see Ryan burst out from the kitchen, it seemed Andrienne was too as her facial expression softened. There was the guy again, Andrienne's brother, Jackson swore he had seen him before the first class where he introduced himself as the new baby counselor. Of course he noticed the way the guy looked at him, like he was a ghost or something, and like he knew exactly who he was. Never mind the headache, Jackson was pretty sure Andrienne was raising a brow too at the two laughing guys who came out from the kitchen shirtless and wet.
"I remember sending Andy in with his shirt on, Ryan." No one could miss the scandalized tone and what she was trying to imply. Surprisingly, the smile grew bigger on Ryan's face while Andy rolled at his sister's terrible attempt on getting them together. It didn't take long for Andy to notice Jackson standing there, immediately the guarded look was on his face again. Maybe it was the fight between Finn and him, great, now Andy thought Jackson was a gangster and a bad influence for the twins.
"The pipe is fixed! Andy was a great help," Ryan winked at the older boy, throwing his arm over Andy's shoulder. Jackson coughed lightly and moved away his gaze, they stood there looking like the intro of the video Dustin sent to him during a ELLE photo-shoot. Let's just say it wasn't a car wash advertisement.
"I won't send him in if he's useless, you on the other hand are no longer permitted to fix stuff up by yourself."
"I'm just proving my point we don't need a plumber, it saves cost!"
"Next time do call the plumber, we can afford it." Andrienne smirked and she definitely felt great saying that, heading back to her office. Andy removed himself from Ryan's side and followed his sister into the office, with Ryan protesting in the background for awhile before the door was closed. The breath he did not know he was holding was out in a whoosh, meeting his former future-in-laws wasn't even this intense. Ryan released a huff and grumbled something under his breath. Jackson was pretty sure he caught Andrienne's name, and the word 'Wastrel' somewhere in there, but he wasn't positive.
Soon the children were awake and one innocent sentence coming from Alex asking where was her dad had opened a flood gate for the rest of the children, minus the happy Tina. Apparently his early presence was questioned and it stirred up a huge problem among the kids that they started to doubt if their fathers would come back for them. Jackson tried, seriously tried real hard to explain the fact the twins were younger and they needed more interaction time with him but it did not work but worsened the situation as Leo began to wail. For them, Jackson was there and their father were not, simple as that. Eventually Andrienne came in and distracted them with a story, silently judging Jackson who ended up in the corner of the room feeding formulas to the twins.
Well at least the twins weren't the ones crying and thanked God for that.
After two hours of distracting the kids with coloring books and Lego blocks, the fathers finally arrived for the night class. The moment the kids were in their arms, questions of doubt were spewing out from their mouths more than the fireworks at Forth of July and Jackson avoided all the hot glares heading his way by gladly shielding himself with a cheerful Ryan standing in front. It wasn't really his fault and everyone knew that, still it did not stop the kids from being in tears again.
Thankfully, the pink box was back to take the attention away from him. It confused Jackson further at how natural the other fathers were treating the box like it was tradition, folded papers already in hands to put into it.
"We have this thing," Jackson jumped at the voice beside him, it belonged to Nick Josse. He might be a super model but it still bewildered him to be casually talking to fucking Oscar-winning actor Nick Josse like they knew each other for a long time, "oh sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."
"It's alright," stay cool, "so about this thing?"
"Yeah, Andrea likes to spice things up for the night classes so every month we'll be having one class outside the classroom. Sometimes the venue changes according to the lesson on the particular day, I heard today they are doing 'Table Manner' to teach the fathers how to behave when they are eating outside with the kids."
"You're kidding, right?"
"I hope I am, some protested the first time the idea was raised but Andrea has her ways of getting things she wants, as you might have witnessed for the past weeks being here." Jackson agreed completely to that with a nod, he thought it was only him who had this image of her in his mind.
Watching the box returned back to Ryan's hands, he quickly bowed and handed it to Andrienne and Jackson could see the way everyone held their breath, except the children busy minding their own business, as if the queen was about to announce the champion in a brutal battle. Okay, Jackson would be lying if he didn't care but he wanted to win this because it had been God-know-when he was able to enjoy his favorite restaurant.
"What you picked?" Nick whispered, gaze focusing on Andrienne's hand reaching into the box. Jackson couldn't leave his gaze too, gulping involuntarily when her hand began to rustle around in the box.
"Lumiere."
"Fuck, I like that place too. The mashed potato is perfect; I should have written that to increase our winning chances."
Jackson couldn't agree more, the place was literally food heaven.
"How about you?" After a good minute, she took out one of the folded papers. Ryan made sure all the papers stayed the same, that scheming bastard.
"Keinz & Mila."
"Dang, that's a good choice too."
And finally, Andrienne announced the chosen venue for today's class.
"Chow Garden."
There was a collective of groans in the air except a big victory cheer coming from the winner.
~-~
"I think Ryan rigged the box," Nick commented, "I mean he was the one holding it for the entire day."
"Oh I would punch him in the shin if he did."
The sun had set behind the skyscrapers and the city began to come alive in the burning lights. Jackson never really liked the city, it was too big and it felt empty to be called as home. So they decided to walk instead of taking cabs since the restaurant was around China Town which was near the babysitting center. Unfortunately they gained unwanted attention as they walked down the street, a lot of people actually stopping to stare at them. Having the actor Nick Josse by their side might have flared up the reason but without him they were still a very attractive bunch. Besides, there were children among them as bonus points.
Andrienne was ahead of the group with her brother beside her, the woman was in a velvet pencil dress with a fur coat hung loosely on her frame while the man had a black trench coat over his gray dress shirt and black jeans. Closely behind was Ryan in his nice purple Polo shirt and worn-out jeans and little Tina who changed out the Belle dress into a pink feather dress, the small crown still attached on her head. The Simmons brothers still had their uniforms on but their daughters were actually wearing the smaller version of the matching uniforms too, it was definitely a family goal. Randy on the other hand looked like he was trying not to fall asleep, yet the messily tied man-bun and black turtleneck was stealing glances here and there which he was not aware because he had been focusing on his son's rambling on dinosaur facts. Finn was in his usual business suit, he was holding Alex in his arms and those biceps were no longer hidden. At the back of the group would be Nick and Jackson, they decided to take it slow since they were the only ones pushing the strollers. Nick wore a pair of sunglasses, duh, and the similar clothes as Ryan, a white polo shirt but paired with a biege slacks. Leo fell asleep in the stroller so as the twins, both of them tried to walk slowly to avoid any bumps on the street.
It was really hard to take your gaze off this group of people, women or men.
The attention began to lessen once they headed into the deepest part of China Town, the aroma of spices and garlic was lingering in the air. Ryan took the lead and swerved through the alleys like he owned the place, saying hello in Chinese to those people he knew. It felt weird for most of them since they never usually came to this part of China Town before, if they really want to try something new normally they let delivery handle the rest. They arrived in a small restaurant and the smell of onion was extremely strong, there were barbed wires surrounded the lot and tables and chairs were seen scattering in the front of the shop. It seemed there were a lot of customers laughing and talking loudly in the shop, Jackson took a peek into the stroller to make sure the noise didn't startle the twins.
"You sure we're in the right place?" Randy voiced out his concern, holding Leo tightly in his arms.
"Of course, come on!" No one was eager to enter except Ryan and Tina who already stepped into the restaurant. They waited for the longest second before Andrienne decided to take the first step, she mumbled 'Men' under her breath and they all knew it wasn't meant in a positive way. Everyone eventually followed in her footsteps, Nick just smiled weakly at Jackson before entering. Jackson was last to enter, he seriously wanted to run away because this wasn't what he had in mind on spending his Friday night with the twins.
In the restaurant, the interior design was far different from what they had been to a normal Chinese restaurant in New York. There was no dark red lighting from hanging paper lanterns but normal lamps covered with flowers and calligraphy. More calligraphy were seen on the walls written on long red papers and in the middle stood a bigger calligraphy in a golden frame. The room wasn't big but it looked cozy like a house rather than a restaurant, there were three wooden shelves full of fine China decorations at the far left of the room and on their right was an opening draped with red curtains. As they entered through the right opening, Jackson saw Ryan talking to a lady in a hallway full of cherry blossom paintings hanging side by side on the walls.
"Took you guys long enough, this is Mrs. Wong." Ryan gestured the lady next to him, she seemed to be in her late 50s with silver hair and to be honest, Jackson expected a younger woman as the hostess. Mrs. Wong greeted them with a short bow, Andrienne bowed and everyone followed suit awkwardly including the children.
"Hello, welcome to Chow Garden. Ryan told me a lot about his friends and it is great to finally meet you all. Please come in and make yourself at home, your table is ready in room 3 and your dishes will be arrived shortly. Ryan, show your friends the way and the kitchen needs me so I'll see you later." Ryan gave a warm hug to the lady, she bid a short farewell to Tina before making her way to the end of the hallway.
"Shouldn't the restaurant call Wong Garden since she's Mrs. Wong?" Paul rolled his eyes at his brother's question, Jackson kept quiet but damned he was tempted to ask too.
"This way, gentlemen," Andrienne stopped walking, "and lady."
"You didn't tell me you like Chinese food," she asked accusingly.
Ryan shrugged, "I like the food here, it just happens to be Chinese."
"Count me in," Randy grumbled next to Jackson and Nick, "he totally rigged the box."
Room 3, the children piled into the room first before the adults. Right in the middle of the room was a massive table and chair and high chairs were seen around it. The table covered with a white lace cloth and on top of it was a spinning glass table, two plates of peanuts were served as appetizers. Everyone took their seats and the kids seemed to be in good mood, even Leo was smiling at Jackson now. The twins were thankfully awake and he gently settled them into the high chairs, Jeremy was speaking incoherently to his twin brother even though James was still a bit drowsy. Andrienne clapped her hands once to get everybody's attention.
"Don't forget why we are here the first place, this might be a dinner but we're also having a class here. Andy here will demonstrate how to handle your kid when eating out." There was no response from the said man, he seemed to be in deep thought before Ryan elbowed him at the side. Jackson frowned when the man realized he was supposed to do something now.
"Oh yeah," he stood up and paused, "wait."
"Any problem, Andy?"
Jackson couldn't hear the conversation between the siblings but there was a look of horror dawned on Andrienne's face, she gritted her teeth and shot a glare at Ryan who hadn't noticed the danger as he was too caught up with the steamed peanuts in front of him. Jackson wasn't sure what to feel but the annoyed facial expression on Finn wasn't a good sign, something must have happened or changed that the class couldn't go on. It didn't take long for Finn to lose his patience and stand up, Finn tried to remove Alex from the high chair but she refused to let go and even started to wail.
"Stop! You're hurting her." Andy ran towards Finn and the other fathers were instantly on their feet too, the wailing was getting louder and it scared the other kids to see the adults were surrounding Alex and leaving them. Soon the cry fest exploded among the kids, Jackson scooped the twins out the high chairs and into his arms. He peppered some kisses on their cheeks and held them close to his chest so they wouldn't listen to the loud screaming, both of them whined and sniffled softly after a few moment.
Finn managed to take Alex out despite the protest from the other fathers. Her screams echoed off the walls, deafening in the small room as Alex struggled in her father's grip around her.
"Stop it, Alexandra." Finn did not sound angry, just tired.
"NO!" Alex released an earth-shattering screech and punched her father right in the mouth with a flail of a fist. No one could stop them since they had their own children to take care of, Andrienne was nowhere to be seen and Andy was the only one pulling at Finn's arms and yelling him to give Alex to him. Jackson noticed Finn's face grew dark and Alex kept screaming, kicking and punching him in the neck. For a split second, Jackson was terrified that Finn was going to do something violent, something he wouldn't forgive himself later, but all he did was grab the hand that was hitting his face. With forced calm, he looked at his daughter and said firmly, "We're going home, Alexandra."
"I dun wanna!" Alex writhed, kicking her father and then trying to reach for Andy. Finn looked like he was a few seconds away from snapping entirely and losing all patience.
"Please, Finn." Jackson heard Andy pleaded, "you're hurting her."
"Why's Alex's dad so mwean?" Leo sniffled at his father. Finn stoned as his eyes locked on Nick, and it riled up Nick's anger because Leo was now hiding his face in Nick's shoulder. Good grief, Jackson had to stand between them before that bastard got himself a punch again.
Jackson would have intervened if the twins weren't here, but he had a feeling that it was likely he might just make everything worse. Finn hated his gut and Alex was having a full on tantrum now, screeching and fighting against her father, face wet with tears while Finn tried to get around the baby counselor and head to the door.
"This does not concern you, Mr Walker." Finn tugged away his arm from Andy's grip.
"Well it definitely concerns me since your child is screaming at the top of her lungs in my restaurant." They didn't notice Mrs. Wong standing there with her arms crossed.
"I apologize for disturbing your restaurant, we'll go." Finn was already moving toward the entrance.
"I dun wanna go!" Alex sobbed, "I wanna stay wif them."
"Nonsense, you sit down and let me take care of her. Everyone," she gestured the table, "please sit and enjoy your dinner if you don't mind an old lady's cooking."
Mrs. Wong ignored the reluctant Finn, approaching the crying Alex and lifting her up like a doll from his arms. She set her down on the floor, lifting again when Alex's knees buckled and making the child stand up. She smoothed her hair down and her rumpled dress, letting the sob to die down to a hiccup.
"Thank you, Mrs Wong." It was Andrienne who called her in, she then made her way to her seat and glared at the rest as a warning for them to defy her and leave the room. Once seated, a young waiter began to serve the food. They looked delicious and the smell was wafting into their noses, the kids stopped crying once they saw the colorful dishes on the table.
"Alex, right? Do you want to try Mrs Wong's food?"Alex choked on a sob, hiccuping and stuffing a tiny fist into her mouth. Mrs Wong waited until she was quieted before continuing, "you're okay?"
Alex had gone utterly still for awhile and nodded, whispering, "I don't like it when daddy yells," with a sad voice.
Jackson kept quiet but he noticed how in pain Finn looked as he listened in what his daughter was saying. Jackson did not know Finn well enough except he worked for him, but he could relate the anger he was feeling. It started to dawn on Jackson that it seemed like the men around here didn't really know how to act with their kids. Andrienne knew that, she knew she had to make sure the fathers come for the Friday night class to avoid shit like this from happening.
Alex whimpered, and Mrs. Wong started tugging at the rumpled skirt that Andrienne had to stop her from cutting it. Alex stopped crying immediately, smiling lightly as the old lady pulled the thing off, leaving her in just her pants and tee shirt.
"There, you're feeling much better now?"
"Yes." Alex announced cheerfully and Mrs. Wong carried her back to her father. The strong arms wrapped around Alex and this time he was taking it slow until Alex nuzzled her face into his neck, he thanked Mrs. Wong and continued caressed Alex's head. The rest gave them some space and focused on the food in front of them, but Jackson felt relief for Finn as he held the twins closer to him.
"A bit of fragrance clings to the hand that gives flowers," Mrs. Wong wiped away the remaining dry tears on Alex's face when she faced her, "A bit of love clings to the hand that carries children. She's a good kid, Mr. Trevor."
"I know," Jackson swore he heard Finn's voice broke a little.
At that moment, Jackson just realized something. "Ryan."
The slurping noise was definitely paired with an unattractive face covered by sauces, Ryan held a hand up and continued slurping in the noodles until it was done. "Yeah, what's up."
"How do you know this place?" Jackson handed him a tissue paper, the dripping sauces from his face was very distractedly disgusting.
"I'm a college student, searching for great food is kind of our job." Ryan picked the shrimp up with his chopsticks, "and Mrs. Wong came to the club I'm working in one day to find her son. I helped her and after that, she asked me to drop by sometimes when I'm free. I did one day and it was the best decision in my life, after Tina though."
"That's all?"
"Yeah." And the gobbling continued.
Mrs. Wong excused herself for a minute before bringing in a mysterious-looking brown box.
"Ms Walker here told me about the class you all supposed to have but something happened," she chuckled lightly, "so I'm here to teach you how to take care your children when dining in a Chinese restaurant. First, you should never gobble down your food in front your kids."
Ryan choked and everyone laughed, the twins were clapping happily at the change of atmosphere and when he caught Andrienne's gaze, she was even smiling at him.
Jackson felt maybe the city wasn't as empty as before.
+_+
My uni life has started but I will definitely finish this story, so do continue to support me by voting and commenting on this story so I know you guys are there for this story.
I love you guys and I appreciate all the kind words you have said.
Vote, Comment & Share the Love.
Love, ET.
+_+