we keep this love in a photograph

Chapter 55

Friday evening Jennie found herself restlessly pacing the length of the private jet as she cracked her knuckles and waited in anticipation of the landing. She wasn't sure why she was so nervous to take her new family to the sprawling mansion she'd grown up in, only that it was a different world to the life Jennie had cultivated for herself in San Francisco. A modest brownstone in a wealthier area and an expensive sports car weren't exactly out of reach for doctors or lawyers, and while they knew Jennie was a CEO of a tech giant, seeing the extravagant display of wealth on the Kim estate was another thing entirely.

Not to mention that her mother would be there and Jennie was still trying to work out how to feel comfortable in the place she'd been made to feel the exact opposite for the vast majority of her life. Even Alice's offer of Diazepam wasn't enticing as Jennie left the other three women to relax after a day of work - Clare sleeping off a sixteen hour shift on a made up bed in the corner - and tried to guess at what her mother would say. Surely she wasn't going to keep Jennie away from the company she'd worked hard to rebuild and rebrand over the past three years.

She didn't keep still until it was time for them to descend into Seattle, snow providing low visibility and the anticipation of the frigid January weather an altogether disgruntling prospect as Jennie buckled herself in and eyed the thick winter coat dispassionately. It was a stomach- lurching moment of unease for her and her fear of flying as the wheels touched down and she feared the tires wouldn't have enough traction to stop, before they eventually came to a gentle standstill on the private airstrip.

A car had been arranged to meet them there and Jennie dragged on her warm coat and descended the steps before making her way into the back of the car. The heater smoothly blew out warm air and she watched snow fall beyond the window, the darkness of midnight giving the illuminated airstrip a ghostly grey quality to it. Their luggage was quickly loaded and Jennie hesitated as the driver pulled away, glancing at Alice with a certain shyness to her wary look.

"Hey, um, the house is a lot to take in, so can you just ... I don't know. Don't comment on it."

Giving her a bewildered look, Alice laughed, "what do you mean?"

"I mean what I said. Just don't be a dick about it."

Snorting, Alice rolled her eyes, "you're so cranky. I think you need to sleep more."

"I don't need to sleep more," Jennie tightly replied, tense and brimming with nervous energy as she stared out the window, watching the freeway fly past.

They weren't heading into the city, they were heading away from it, a few miles out in the acres of land that was removed from the suburbs and any semblance of normal life, and it made Jennie more tense as the anticipation of coming home grew with each mile. It was late so no one said much as they drove, the movements of the car lulling them all into a stupor, and Jennie picked at invisible lint on her coat as she shifted restlessly, eager for it to be over.

Eventually, the car pulled up outside the gates and they were buzzed through, starting the long drive up to the house. The trees that overarched the long driveway were bare of leaves this early on in the year, and the headlights illuminated skeletal branches as Jennie's agitation grew. It was one thing to come here alone, but it was another thing to introduce her new family to her childhood, a sort of meshing of two worlds that Jennie wasn't sure would mix well - like oil and water. She'd been intent on keeping it separate to her normal life in San Francisco that they'd only had a glimpse into the sort of upbringing she'd had via stories and snippets here and there. Boarding school and money were about all they'd needed to know, all Jennie had willing divulged.

There was a palpable tension to the quietness of the car as gravel crunched beneath the tires and they made their way towards the house, before headlights eventually highlighted a narrow portion of the huge, sprawling house. Squinting, Alice leaned through the partitioned area, trying to see it clearly, and let out a low, appreciative whistle before she turned to look at Jennie.