Chapter 6: Mach 10 vs. The Speed Limit
Lajos realizes a little wine goes a long way. Jazz, meanwhile, keeps his thoughts to himself.
"Did you take the last bottle of wine?" Jazz's eyebrow raised as he turned his head, watching Lajos's expression turn from chipper to slightly panicked.
"Well, not intentionally - I'll buy some more, okay?"
"Doesn't Takakura have wine you can steal?"
"Why did you have six bottles in there anyway!?"
"Pete left them!"
"So you're stealing Pete's wine!"
"So are you!"
"Nooo, I'm stealing your wine that you stole from Pete."
Jazz's hand hit his forehead as he closed the fridge door. "Look, it's not important. I'll get my mom to bring me a case of wine, and then I'll lock it in a safe so you can't have any."
"In which case, I'll skim a couple grand from the shipping profits to buy my own case of wine." Lajos laughed.
"Whatever..." Jazz chuckled. "Did you water the plants?"
"Yep. Potatoes are waiting in the basket for you."
"Oh! Thank you, Lajos." Jazz grinned. "Are you planning on...?"
"I mean, I guess I could." he shrugged, "Where are you going, huh?"
"Oh, I told my mom I'd bring her a couple potatoes; good thing you picked 'em all already!" he said with a smile, tipping his hat. "Make sure the potatoes get planted, okay?"
Lajos nodded, "Of course, your highness!" he said teasingly, the two of them laughing as Jazz left the house, grabbing a few potatoes from the basket and walking down the hill again.
Down the hill and to the... west? Jazz thought to himself, turning and walking. He'd only gone this way to go to the bar; he wasn't sure what was beyond the center of town.
Of course, his attention was drawn to the large, ornate mansion at the top of the other hill in town. It was a stark contrast to his own home; the same amount of land, sure, but more of it occupied by the massive home plopped on top. That can't be Mom's house... he thought to himself, walking up the hill and up the large stone steps.
He was relieved - somehow - to find that his mother's house was not the giant mansion in front of him, but rather the tiny log cabin next to it; purple smoke rising from the chimney as he heard a soft whistling coming from the walls. Knocking on the door ceased the whistling, replacing it with quick footsteps as she opened the door.
Her blonde hair was down, tumbling along to the middle of her back as she adjusted the tie on her cloak, her purple dress covered in various ingredients as she grinned, welcoming Jazz into the room.
"Ah, thank you for the potatoes, Jazzebel." She smiled as he handed her the vegetables. "I'll be heading out in about an hour or so, was there anything you needed?"
"Actually, yeah - my roommate stole all my wine trying to flirt with one of the guys in town; could you pick me up another case?"
"I suppose I can - you're not drinking it, are you?"
"Oh, no - I use it for cooking; sometimes I drop bottles off with one of my friends when he needs it, though." Jazz said with a laugh.
"That's good. Much as I love causing chaos, the last thing I need is you getting hurt." She smiled, giggling. "I heard you visited your auntie before visiting me."
"She's really good at rubbing it in, isn't she?" Jazz laughed. "I didn't wanna seem like I needed help, you know, two days into moving here."
"Visiting your mother is not being weak for wanting help, Jazzebel." She shook her head, still smiling. "That said, well... are you doing okay?"
"I'm doing great, mom." Jazz shook his head, "I've made a couple friends, been visiting one fairly often..."
"Oh?"
"Actually!" Jazz perked his head up. "That old necklace you have..."
"Oh, on the wall?" she pointed. Sure enough, it looked a lot like Carter's necklace - replacing the fresh leather with old, tattered leather and the turquoise beads with deep black obsidian beads. "I've been meaning to ask if you wanted it."
"R-really? I thought it was, like, a mark of your nobility or whatever..." Jazz scratched the back of his neck as his mother laughed.
"Oh, goodness no - it's just a necklace. Made with the stones the mountain produced decades before you were born, and definitely in need of new strings, but... ultimately just a piece of jewelry."
"I guess I'll take it, then..." Jazz laughed awkwardly as she got it off the wall, gently placing it around his neck.
"Might as well see what your friends think!" She grinned, "After all, it's not often you find someone walking around with a Grey Ashrose original~"
Jazz laughed, gently touching the stones as he walked out the door and back down the hill. Maybe they'll think it looks nice...?
He walked across town again, head perking up as he heard two familiar voices.
"...I appreciate the gifts, but don't you think you're rushing things?"
"Am I?"
"Maybe you are. I'm all for being your friend, I appreciate the time we've spent together! But I think, if you're serious about.... wanting to be serious, you should slow things down."
Jazz looked over. Marlin and Lajos were leaning against the fence of Vesta's farm, talking. Lajos looked like someone had just socked his grandmother in the teeth, and Marlin was giving him a patient smile, even though his eyebrows conveyed the same amount of worry as Lajos' entire face.
When Marlin walked away, Lajos limply hopped the fence and lumbered over to Jazz, face quivering as he fought back tears.
Jazz quietly wrapped his arm around Lajos, walking him back to the house.
"Do you think he... hates me?" Lajos' voice was quiet, "I mean, I thought he was cool..."
"Lajos, I--" Jazz took a deep breath. "Hey, look, I'm sure it's fine."
"He told me to stop bothering him! He told me to leave him alone! I... He must hate me, doesn't he??"
"...Do you want me to go ask him?"
"NO!" Lajos yelped, "No! If you ask him, he'll-- I mean, come on, he'll hate me for sure!"
"Alright, I won't then." Jazz said, smile betraying his true intentions. Lajos's face softened as he slumped towards Takakura's house.