Chapter Thirty Seven
Author's Note: Thank you so very much for my friend Kathy (kittie8571) who is the Beta of this story!
Chapter Thirty Seven: The Christmas that changed our lives (2)
When the clock hit 2 am, the guests started leaving the house, by 3 am Ennis and Jack were bidding goodnight to Edward and Matilda was already sleeping soundly in one of the living room sofas. A few of the younger maids, who had no family in New York, had returned to sleep in their respective bedrooms. There were plates of food everywhere and the house was a mess, but the tradition on the Twist family was to leave it all be. The next morning Ennis, Jack and all the rest of the staff would eat the leftovers together for breakfast and only after that it was acceptable to clean everything. Then everybody was free to exchange gifts and after an enormous lunch, where the family and all the staff would eat together in the main living room, everybody was free to do as they pleased.
Jack liked these traditions. They had been instituted by his father and were not common on any other rich New York family. Jack wanted to keep these alive.
"Is something bothering you?" Jack asked, when for the third time that night he caught a glimpse of a worrying expression on Ennis's face.
"What?" Ennis asked jumpy. "Nothing. Everything is alright. It's nothing really."
"I know. The night was insane and you're tired." Jack assumed. "I don't know if it's because it's Christmas but everybody is going nuts."
"Yes, it was intense." Ennis murmured when they reached their suite. "Crazy, really."
Although he was speaking Jack could see that his mind was on something else.
"I promise tomorrow is going to be a great normal day." Jack reassured him.
"You think so?" Ennis asked looking at him intensely.
"Well, calmer than today is going to be." Jack paused in thought. "I couldn't imagine in a million years…"
"Uncle Daniel…" Ennis murmured.
"What are we going to do? If dad forgave him what should I do? And if dad knew why didn't he tell him? Uncle Edward doesn't have any children, she'll be the heir of a very big fortune."
"Maybe your father didn't know that she was pregnant. Back then he wasn't very close to Daniel so he felt no grudge towards him. He blamed her for a while, but after some inner reflection he understood that she had to search for love in the arms of someone else. He had been still in love with your mother." Ennis conjured a scenario.
"You're really a great at conjuring possible scenarios." Jack chuckled. "That's a possibility. It's also possible that uncle Edward doesn't even remember being involved with her. He had a huge reputation for sleeping with every available woman after his wife's death. Dad and him didn't talk much during that period and after that he seemed to replace sex with food and gain a lot of weight. They return to their close relationship not soon after."
"They may have had an argument as far as we know." Ennis added. "You can possibly remind this period of time clearly. You were just a kid. We need to discuss this with Edward and Matilda. They'll remember it more clearly."
"It's also possible that since she changed her last name by marriage and Hanna doesn't look anything like him, uncle Daniel simply didn't remember who she had been. Even if she had been the reason for any possible fight between my father and uncle Daniel." Jack rationalized. "People change. All those photos that Mary kept showing me of Hanna's mother were taken briefly before her death. Even if uncle Daniel saw her, it's possible he didn't connect her to the woman he had a one night stand thirty years ago."
"How important had she been to your father?" Ennis asked curious.
"Honestly? As important as all the others. His sense of obligation must come from something else and I think it's the fact that he blamed her for being unfaithful. For breaking her heart. He rarely involved himself with women who had deeper feelings for him. He preferred casual gatherings with women of his social position. But she came in an earlier stage of his life. He made a mistake getting involved with her."
"What if you father didn't know who she was unfaithful with?" Ennis asked excited with his new line of thought.
"Yes. That's another possibility." Jack nodded. "So when he fond out she was married to another guy in Sweden a few weeks after they broke up he didn't suspect anything."
"God this is a real movie." Ennis murmured. "How are you going to tell all this to Daniel?"
"Let's wait for more information first. We're going to talk with Edward and Matilda tomorrow. Then I'm going to send all these conjunctures we've created to Mary, she'll find a way of confirming most of our suspicions and then we'll decide how and when to approach uncle Daniel."
"It's insane. If she's really his daughter, it's going to be a huge change in Daniel's life."
"I'm not sure how Hanna is going to react." Jack commented.
"After all this confusion with you and your late father, she's going to think we're insane."
"And we are." Jack search in his drawer and took out a key and the peace of paper that was found with it. "By the way, what am I going to do about these?"
"I almost forgot about that." Ennis took a good look at the old piece of paper.
"Yeah. Well we obviously need to find time to take a look at this 6th Avenue apartment." Jack thought out loud. "I'm just not sure when… It's Christmas then its New Years Eve…"
"Your father was a genius." Ennis exclaimed suddenly. "Look at this! The advertisement here is for apartments in the building complex called Serenity in 6th Avenue."
"This was probably from the day he bought it." Jack observed the piece of paper closely.
"The answer was right here. We just didn't see it!" Ennis was still astonished.
"God, I'm exhausted." Jack quickly thrown everything he held back into the drawer.
"You're not the only one. This dinner party was so intense I feel more tired than I was before." Ennis fell on top of the bed. "I barely talked with Veronica and Robert this evening."
"I even found time to get some help for Dave." Jack murmured laying down next to Ennis.
"Really? What did you do?" Ennis asked sleepy.
"I manage to convince Elizabeth to help him regain some confidence." Jack explained.
"The things you can do…" Ennis murmured with his eyes closed.
"We're going to sleep dressed?" Jack asked as Ennis moved behind the sheets.
"I think so."
"Great." Jack murmured.
They were both sleeping 5 minutes after those last words.
When Ennis woke up Jack was still sleeping. He look under the sheets and chuckled at his wrinkled clothes. He was itching from the fabric of his fancy polo and his hair was still sticky. Last night events flashed through his mind and Ennis felt suddenly tired. Sometimes it was still odd to think that this confusing mess of drama and glamour was his life. Nothing was certain and everybody had something to hide.
He sat on the edge of the bed slowly, trying not to wake Jack up, but his boyfriend didn't even stir. He needed to take a shower and then he was going to relocate Jack's Christmas present. He glanced at his watch, still on his wrist, it was 12 am. There were probably no leftovers left for Jack and himself.
Ennis dressed down to his underwear and look for a special set of clothes in his side of the built in closet. This wasn't Ennis favorite part of the mansion. He still kept feeling he needed to pay for his own clothes after he had picked them. He never turned on the huge light system it only aggravate the feeling. But Jack loved it and he couldn't find reason to mention his dislike.
The water of the shower was hot enough to turn his skin red. Just as Ennis like it. He closed his eyes as he though about Jack's present. It had been a last minute decision and he was still not sure. Either it was the best idea or the worst ever. The anticipation was killing him.
He stood out and dressed up quickly. In the bed Jack was still sleeping looking young and relaxed. It warmed Ennis's heart and he left the bedroom quietly. Ennis climbed out the stairs and moved to the kitchen where he located easily Matilda.
"Ennis, you're finally awake." Matilda greeted him. "I'm afraid the leftovers were already taken of the table, but I kept a few hidden…"
"Matilda we need to talk…" Ennis swallowed dry. "It's about Jack's present."
"About Jack's present? Is it going to be delivered now?" She asked confused.
"No… It's complicated." Ennis looked around. "We need to create a different atmosphere."
"Atmosphere?" Matilda asked.
And as Ennis explained what was going to happen, Matilda become very pale and soon she was taking support from Ennis in order to stay on her foot. Ennis feared that Jack would have the same reaction.
When Jack opened his eyes the house was oddly quiet. He sat on the bed and as his eyes adjust to the light in the room Ennis walked through the door carrying a small tray of food.
"Good morning." He murmured awkwardly.
"Good morning." Jack answered, scratching behind his left ear and the left side of his belly. "I'm dressed. What happened?"
"We passed out before we had time to take off our clothes." Ennis placed the tray of food in front of Jack.
"Breakfast in bed, how sweet." Jack leaned for a quick kiss. "Wait a minute… what about the leftovers?"
"None left. It's terribly late." Ennis explained. "They're preparing the living room for lunch. Almost everybody had exchanged gifts."
"That late already? I must have been really tired last night." Jack tasted the pancakes that Ennis brought him. "Is there something wrong with me? You're looking at me kind of funny."
"No. It's nothing, really." Ennis quickly stood up and paced around the room.
"It doesn't look like nothing." Jack was confused with Ennis's behavior. "You're actually very elegantly dressed for someone who just had breakfast at home. When did you buy those pants?"
"I'm… I…" Ennis paused. "I need you to eat your breakfast and get into your best winter outfit, because we're going out."
"We're going out?" Jack was getting nervous. "Is there something wrong at the firm? You're making me really anxious."
"Sorry. Nothing is wrong. It's for your Christmas present." Ennis was playing nervously with his fingers. "We need to go somewhere."
"Oh." Jack sprits improved immediately. "It must be nice."
"I hope so." Ennis mumbled.
"You've nothing to be nervous about. You always find me the perfect gift." Jack mumbled returning to his delicious breakfast. "I try, but my presents are just not as memorable."
"You're just saying that." Ennis returned to pacing around the room.
"There was the watch, the rings, birthday gifts…" Jack enumerated.
"This is different." Ennis sighed. "I'm going to wait outside."
And without another word Ennis left the room, looking like nothing Jack had ever seen. For a few second it made him nervous too. Usually Ennis would be collect and calm, while Jack was extrovert and nervous. He felt out of balance.
He barely ate the rest of his breakfast. Too anxious to see his present and put and end to Ennis nervousness. He was sure that whatever it was, he was going to love it. Ennis had a great eye for beauty, knew Jack's tastes very well and had a natural talent for picking gifts. There was no way he could have picked it wrong.
When he stepped outside of the bedroom Ennis was there, waiting for him. Jack almost laughed at his boyfriend's expression. Ennis was taking this much too seriously. He only wished Ennis hadn't put himself in debt because of his gif. He hated when money ruined good intentions. Christmas sometimes had the power to make the more reasonable person slightly insane. Perhaps Ennis was Christmas's most recent victim.
"Ennis, you're making me nervous again." Jack moved closer trying to read into Ennis expression. "I'm sure I'm going to like it."
"I just want it to be perfect." Ennis forced a smile on his face.
"So can you tell me where are we going?" Jack asked following Ennis down the stairs.
"No. But I'll tell you that we're going to grab an helicopter."
"An helicopter? It's been a while since you take me on a ride." Jack didn't comment further because at the living room they passed by Matilda who try to hide her happy expression from Jack.
It was obvious that she knew what his present was.
"Come on, we're on a schedule." Ennis moved him to the door, trying to move him away from Matilda.
"Does Matilda know where we're going?" Jack asked curiously.
"Of course, that's why you can't talk to her right now."
"Damn it!" Jack cursed. "If she's so excited it's probably even better than all the previous ones. My gift is going to pale in comparison."
"You're worried about your gift?" Ennis asked opening the car's door for Jack. "Priceless."
"It's an island, isn't it?" Jack sighed. "You're going to spend all your savings in sand and palm trees."
"Don't try to guess." Ennis warned.
"No, of course not. You would never spend that much money in a gift. It's a car." Jack reasoned. "You saw me looking at Mr. Warbled's car two weeks ago. The new Audi convertible is a beauty and you couldn't resist."
"Stop trying to guess." Ennis glared at him.
"Oh. It's really a car… Perhaps something vintage. You've been spending a lot of time with Nicholas." Jack observed as he entered Ennis's car.
"A vintage car, really?" Ennis was amused with Jack's last attempt.
"I guess not." Jack snorted looking at road.
"Definitely not." Ennis chuckled.
"Maybe a Ferrari. A shinny new one."
"You're really sure it's a car?" Ennis looked more relaxed and Jack smiled.
"Maybe it's something naughty."
"Naughty?" Ennis asked curiously.
"Are we going to join the mille high club?" Jack teased.
"It may prove to be a bit difficult, since I'm going to be piloting the helicopter. Not to mention the logistic problems we may find."
"Ok, maybe next year." Jack tried to hide his amusement. "Maybe something high-tech."
"You have no idea how much your attempts to find out amuse me."
"A fancy new laptop? Something to put on my desk and look at everyday." Jack observed Ennis carefully. "But why would we fly on an helicopter to fletch a laptop."
"You really are a material guy." Ennis commented stopping the car rather suddenly.
"We arrived at the heliport?" Jack asked, following Ennis out of the car.
"Right on time." Ennis checked his watch and gave Jack a nervous smile.
"Let's do this then." Jack grabbed Ennis arm and followed him to the helicopter.
No matter how many times Jack traveled in an helicopter he could never get used to the loud sound of the helix cutting the wind. Although his ears were protected with the right equipment, it never seemed to completely muffle the sound. Ennis on the other hand was always completely comfortable. The smile on his face told Jack everything he needed to know. Ennis loved to fly and piloting was something that always put him in great spirits.
Jack was happy to see that genuine smile on his boyfriend's face. Perhaps his own choice o Christmas present for Ennis had been right.
He looked trough the window to the top roof of some of the highest buildings in New York. It was clear that they weren't going to leave the boundaries of the city. Actually, for the last ten minutes Ennis had been flying round the same couple of buildings.
And that was when he realized that they were flying close to the Magnet Firm's building.
"We're going to the Firm? What the hell!" Jack asked confused.
"I was asking how long would it take for you to notice." Ennis smiled, making the helicopter shift to the left.
"We're going to land on the roof?" Jack asked confused.
"You have no idea how hard it was to get a permission to do that. I actually had the help of your secretary. Erulla made you sign a few papers that made it possible." Ennis explained, while touching a coupe of buttons on the control panel.
Jack looked outside again, noticing for the first time that there were decoration and flowers on one of the corners of the roof. He felt his stomach drop and his pulse race. There were huge glass lanterns lighten up by white squared candles. He took a deep breath and felt the impact of helicopter touch the floor. Right in the middle of the decorations there was a huge arch made of white flowers and greens.
Jack stood outside in three quick movements and not 1 minute later Ennis was right at his side.
"What is this?" Jack asked genuinely confused.
"Just follow me." Ennis took his hand and moved them to center of the decorations.
Jack had the sudden realization of what was going to happen and his body froze.
"We're here because this building had become very special to me." Ennis started. "It's not only the place where I gladly come to work everyday, it is also the place responsible for making me falling in love with you. So much of our time together was spent here. I just felt we should be here today."
Jack stared as Ennis drop to one knee in front of him.
"Jack, in this past year you've come to know me better than anyone else. So you know that words tend to fail me when they're coming from the heart. But I'm going to try the best I can."
"Ennis…" Jack murmured.
"You've changed me. There's no better way of explaining what happened. I put my eyes on you and it was like waking up from a deep sleep. At first I was slow… I was confused. But the moment I got my head straight I realized that I had spent all my live waiting for you. 30 years of being miserable without knowing what was wrong with me. But you came I was finally happy. You were the one for me. You make me whole… complete." Ennis took deep breath. "I found happiness, companionship and passionate love with you. I was suddenly a different person. A better person. All because of your love. Because it energized me, inspired me to be more outgoing, to be more sociable, to be more open minded. Basically to be the partner you deserve."
"Honey." Jack felt the ears rolling down his cheeks.
"And if I fought you in every step of the way, it was only because I was scared of how much you love me and how fast everything around me was changing. And I know that my love has changed you for the better too. And I can't possibly imagine having this connection with anyone else. So I decided that we should celebrate that. And we can do it in any way you want… I just wanted to ask you if you would give me the honor of being my husband for the rest our lives?" Ennis took a jewelry box with a single platinum ring, craved with sparkling diamonds.
"Oh my God!" Jack screamed throwing himself at Ennis and kissing him. "Yes!"
"Really?" Ennis asked relieved. "I was so nervous, thinking perhaps it was too soon."
"No. It's perfect. We're ready." Jack admitted watching Ennis placed the ring on his finger. "I'm so surprised. In a millions years I never though you would ask me this Christmas."
"Just, Veronica got me thinking and suddenly I realized that I was ready. It didn't really feel like a huge step." Ennis kissed Jack's hand. "Well, except for this part."
"Oh my God! We're engaged!" Jack kissed Ennis again. "I still can't believe you've asked me."
"Why not? We love each other. I don't want to be with no body else. We're already living together. It's Christmas…" Ennis smiled.
"I love you. You know that, right?" Jack felt tears coming to his eyes. "You talked about how much I changed your live… But I am the one who owns you his live."
"Jack, that's not true." Ennis caressed his wet face.
"It is. After my father passed away, I was lost. And I know that the only thing that kept going was the fact that I had broken your heart… and I couldn't go without making things right with you." Ennis kissed Jack's forehead. "You brought me back to life. And if it hadn't been for your love I would have never found the strength to take over the Firm. You're my inspiration. And the source of my serenity it's you."
"Jack Twist, you're the love of my live." Ennis smiled kissing him deeply.
"Ennis?" Jack asked breathlessly.
"Yes?"
"Take me home." Jack murmured against Ennis's lips.
"What about Matilda?" Ennis asked between kisses. "She knows what we came here for. She's waiting desperately at the mansion."
"She'll understand, besides she'll be happy for the extra time. I'm sure she's planning a mega celebration." Jack moved so he could whisper in Ennis's ear. "I feel like making love to my fiancé."
"Jack…" Ennis murmured breathlessly.
Jack knew that Ennis was powerless to resist him.
Author: I'm working as a dentist now so I have more free time. Unfortunately my beta is the one with less time now. I've been rewriting law and love, some big changes in the first 3 chapters. I'll post the new version on AO3 and on my livejournal. maisag87
I'm also in the need of 1 or 2 more betas for the rewriting of Law and Love. Not a lot of work since it takes me ages to write anything...
On the next chapter: Everybody wants to celebrate the engagement of the year. But Jack can't stop thinking about uncle Daniel's situation. What should he do?