The Kidnapper's Wife

28. Before

                   

I'm putting the finishing touches on the shrimp puffs when the doorbell rings. It's a half hour before the party and I'm almost all set. Eiffel Tour statue behind the buffet table? Check. Array of Parisian pastry themed appetizers to start off the night? Check. Glamourous champagne colored sparkly dress? Check. Ruby in a stack of pearl necklaces with a puppy size beret? Check.

I spin in my stilettos to face Connor, who I catch swiping a canape from the appetizer table.

"No!" I practically shout, "No eating until the guests arrive! Go get the door." I instruct him, mostly to get him out of the dining room and away from the food.

I bend over to rearrange the canape's, filling the spot he took one from when I hear a voice behind me, "Well aren't we quite the little baker today."

"Elizabeth!" I smile, accepting a tray of chocolate croissants she's holding out to me. "Did you make these?" I ask her, surprised.

She nods, "I guess we both pulled out some dormant cooking skills huh?"

"They look amazing! Better keep them away from Connor or there will be none for the rest of us." I joke.

Our conversation is interrupted by my mother's loud voice entering the room, "- and I told Jade, she should have let us come even earlier to help, but- oh Jade! This looks marvelous!" she leans into me for a hug.

"Thanks mom!"

"Now where's the present table?"

"Mom! This isn't a child's birthday party!" I take the box she's holding out to me, then reluctantly walk over and put it on a side table in the living room.

Elizabeth raises her eyes at me and I shrug, "Okay, okay, maybe a table would work for presents."

Turning back around, I see Connor making a reach for one of Elizabeth's chocolate croissants. "Connor! What did I tell you? Those aren't for you!"

"What do you mean they aren't for me? This is our party! Of course they're for me! Who else would they be for?"

"The guests!" I exclaim in exasperation.

"I hardly think your sister spent all day baking these so a bunch of strangers she doesn't even know can eat them, now did you Elizabeth?" he turns to her imploringly.

"Well..."

"Exactly!" Connor gives me a triumphant smirk and grabs the croissant back from my hand.

Rolling my eyes, I mutter under my breath, "Apparently never heard the word 'presentation' before..."

Connor grabs my waist.

"Hey." He looks me in the eye, "Everything looks incredible babe. Really. They're going to be floored when they see it." He waves his hand to indicate the twinkling lights covering the ceiling and the flower bouquets all over the room.

"Thanks Connor," I smile at him, my shoulders relaxing into him as I take a deep breath for the first time all day, "I really hope so."

He leans in for a kiss and I see Elizabeth turn and make herself busy fixing a flower stem in one of the vases.

The doorbell rings again and I rush over to open it. This time, it's a group of parents from Connor's robotic club at the high school.

"Mr. and Mrs. Ellis! So great to see you! And Mr. and Mrs. Carlyle!"

"Please," Mrs. Ellis gives me a quick hug, "It's Alyssa and Josh!"

"And Carla and Kyle!" chimes in Mrs. Carlyle.

"Of course!" I accept the gifts they hand me, turning to the couple behind them.

"I'm not sure we've had the pleasure of meeting!"

I didn't realize Connor was behind me until now, "These are some parents of a young boy I've been tutoring from the high school, I told you about how I signed up for the mentorship program through my work when they added the relationship with Frederick High."

I am almost positive Connor has never mentioned this, it must have slipped his mind. Connor steps around me to shake the man's hand, "So glad you could make it Mr. Harris!"

"Glad for the invitation! We really appreciate all the time you've been spending with Thomas. When his computer science teacher recommended we ask you if you'd be willing to try tutoring, we didn't expect you to be as dedicated as you have been."

"I'm happy I could help! Thomas is a bright young boy, and it's been a pleasure getting to know him, as well as you two."

The two step into the house and follow the other couples down the hallway.

"You never told me you were tutoring now." I mention idly as Connor and I head towards the living room.

"I could have sworn I did! Mr. Navigare, you know the staff mentor to the girl's robotics team, he mentioned he had a student who was struggling, and he said that after seeing how much I'd helped the girls with coding, he wondered if I'd be willing to take on a student to tutor. I figured I might as well give it a try. We do it on Wednesdays, so I knew it wouldn't interrupt my time with you anyways." He adds the last bit as if he thinks I have a problem with him tutoring.

"Oh no, I wouldn't care even if it did cut into time we normally spent together, I think it's great you've gotten so into volunteering and giving back!" I turn to give him a quick smile and kiss, before I'm ushered into a conversation with the Ellises by mother.

All too soon the living room is glittering with diamond necklaces and sparkly gowns and the low tones of the renaissance era music I've chosen can barely be heard over the pleasant din of polite conversation. 

Elizabeth startles me by clinking her champagne glass, getting everyone's attention.

"I just want to say congratulations to my baby sister Jade, and her wonderful fiancé Connor. From the moment we met Connor, I could tell he was the one for Jade, he complements her perfectly, and they have so much in common. It makes me so happy to see you, her eyes find mine in the crowd, so deliriously content. I know the future will be a long and happy one for you both, and I can't wait to have Connor join our family officially." She pauses, then raises her glass, "I love you Jade, and congratulations!"

Congratulations echo around the room, and I run over to give Elizabeth a quick hug.

"Thank you so much," emotion seeps into my voice.

"Of course sissy! I'm so proud of you!" she gestures around the room of smiling people in fancy dresses, snacking on quaint appetizers and desserts, "You have it all now! The perfect life."