Armed with a new hairdo, shave, and armful of Jon's old castoff clothes that Dru seemed to think fit Jack's new look, personality, and lifestyle, Jack made his way back to Ivy Lodge before Tommy and Lena got back to Willow Grove. They'd eventually catch up with him and see the "New Jack", but it was Jasmin he wanted to reveal his new look to first. She was ultimately the one whose opinion counted the most and whose approval he so desired.
Jasmin, who was still out and about, having had an afternoon gig at one of the many hotels in town. It wouldn't be long before she was home, though, if the roar of a familiar V-Dub Love Bug was anything to go by. The rattling hum of her very nearly clapped out engine grew louder before the car came into view, undercut by the sound of Neil Diamond blaring from the sound system through the open window. "...got the way to move me, cherry, she got the way to groove me ..."
By the time Jasmin arrived home, Jack had already found his way up the stairs to the bedroom with plans to shower and change. Hearing the familiar roar of the car outside, accompanied by the blaring sound system, he panicked, not only terrified by what she might think of his new look but by the fact that he wasn't quite ready to reveal himself to her yet. He fumbled through the pile of clothes Dru had laden him with, picking out a shirt and pants at random and hurried toward the bathroom in hopes of making it to the shower before she got in the front door.
He knew her routine by now. He had plenty of time to get to the shower, since stopping the car, cutting the engine, and just getting out onto the icy driveway was a task and a half for Jaz most days. It could take anything up to ten minutes to get from pulling up to the house, to actually walking over the porch, and today was one of those days, including a small side trip onto her rear end into what had been a bush a few months before. Laughing at herself as she brushed the lingering snow from her coat, Jaz picked herself up and trumped over the porch, struggling with the key to get herself inside and out of the cold weather.
He knew her routine, but that didn't help his nervousness any, knowing that the time for revealing his latest transformation was at nigh. He tripped over his own two feet on the way to the bathroom, thankfully not doing himself any noticeable damage, other than to his pride, unaware that she had done nearly the same thing on her way toward the house. He just managed to get into the bathroom as she was stepping onto the porch, slamming the door shut and for the first time since moving in, locking it.
Finally getting the door open, Jaz burst inside like a cork popping out of a bottle, her first thought for her guitar as it swung wildly in her grasp. Kicking the door shut, she looked around, noting the signs that the house was occupied with a half smile. "Hey, Jack?" she called, shrugging out of her coat to hang it up before advancing into the house itself. "I'm home, baby."
If she listened closely, she'd hear the shower going in the upstairs bathroom as Jack washed the final evidence of his haircut and shave away, scraps of hair and shaving cream disappearing down the drain. Unfortunately for him, in his haste, he'd picked a mismatched pair of trousers and shirt, but at least, he wouldn't be revealing his new look to her in a worn out sweatshirt and blue jeans.
"Ah, scrub-a-dub-dub," Jaz nodded to herself with a smirk. Ordinarily, she might have gone upstairs to join him, but tonight, she was smarting over a flub on stage that had put her off for the entire performance. It was a relatively simple chord combination that had thrown her completely when she'd failed to make it; she'd been impatient to get home to prove to herself that it was just a fluke. So rather than skip upstairs and bounce under the shower with her favorite person, she thumped down onto the couch to tune up her guitar, checking her fingering obsessively.
With the sound of the shower drowning out everything else, Jack couldn't tell where Jasmin had gone, but as far as he could tell, there had been no knock at the bathroom door or even her voice calling him, and he realized she probably thought he'd just rolled out of bed and was showering and dressing for the day. She wouldn't have been too far off with that guess, except that he'd snuck off to see Dru before he'd showered. He smiled a little to himself, despite his nerves, hoping she was pleased with his little surprise, and making plans for another to take place in the not too distant future.
Of course, like any good musician, Jasmin could lose herself in obsessive fingering and going over chords for hours at a time, but once she had satisfied herself that her flub had just been a fluke, she turned her attention to one of the Christmas songs she was learning for this season. It was usually played on piano, which had made it something of a nightmare to transcribe, but now she had it, all she had to do was learn it.
Jack heard her playing as he stepped from the bathroom, the strains of the guitar familiar to his ears, though it took him a minute to recognize the tune. He took a last glance at himself in the mirror, his stomach twisting and turns nervously at the prospect of revealing his new look to her. He hoped she at least recognized him and didn't pass out when she saw him. He drew a deep breath to gather his courage and made his way slowly toward the stairs, painfully slowly, each step bringing him closer to the moment of truth.
The slow rhythm of the guitar accompaniment followed the piano pretty accurately, making it a fairly easy song for most people to recognize, even before the voice joined in. With the words printed out and laid on the coffee table in front of her, Jasmin was in the zone, picking her way carefully through the fingering as she sang quietly along with her playing. "....forgot to mention one little thing, a ring; And I don't mean on the phone, Santa baby ..."
Jack frowned a little from the stairs, hands shoved nervously in his trouser pockets - or more accurately, Jon's trouser pockets - unsure if he should interrupt her playing, but the longer he waited, the more nervous he became. He blinked as he caught part of the links of the song. A ring" Had she chosen that song on purpose or was it just some strange coincidence?
Jasmin, who was still out and about, having had an afternoon gig at one of the many hotels in town. It wouldn't be long before she was home, though, if the roar of a familiar V-Dub Love Bug was anything to go by. The rattling hum of her very nearly clapped out engine grew louder before the car came into view, undercut by the sound of Neil Diamond blaring from the sound system through the open window. "...got the way to move me, cherry, she got the way to groove me ..."
By the time Jasmin arrived home, Jack had already found his way up the stairs to the bedroom with plans to shower and change. Hearing the familiar roar of the car outside, accompanied by the blaring sound system, he panicked, not only terrified by what she might think of his new look but by the fact that he wasn't quite ready to reveal himself to her yet. He fumbled through the pile of clothes Dru had laden him with, picking out a shirt and pants at random and hurried toward the bathroom in hopes of making it to the shower before she got in the front door.
He knew her routine by now. He had plenty of time to get to the shower, since stopping the car, cutting the engine, and just getting out onto the icy driveway was a task and a half for Jaz most days. It could take anything up to ten minutes to get from pulling up to the house, to actually walking over the porch, and today was one of those days, including a small side trip onto her rear end into what had been a bush a few months before. Laughing at herself as she brushed the lingering snow from her coat, Jaz picked herself up and trumped over the porch, struggling with the key to get herself inside and out of the cold weather.
He knew her routine, but that didn't help his nervousness any, knowing that the time for revealing his latest transformation was at nigh. He tripped over his own two feet on the way to the bathroom, thankfully not doing himself any noticeable damage, other than to his pride, unaware that she had done nearly the same thing on her way toward the house. He just managed to get into the bathroom as she was stepping onto the porch, slamming the door shut and for the first time since moving in, locking it.
Finally getting the door open, Jaz burst inside like a cork popping out of a bottle, her first thought for her guitar as it swung wildly in her grasp. Kicking the door shut, she looked around, noting the signs that the house was occupied with a half smile. "Hey, Jack?" she called, shrugging out of her coat to hang it up before advancing into the house itself. "I'm home, baby."
If she listened closely, she'd hear the shower going in the upstairs bathroom as Jack washed the final evidence of his haircut and shave away, scraps of hair and shaving cream disappearing down the drain. Unfortunately for him, in his haste, he'd picked a mismatched pair of trousers and shirt, but at least, he wouldn't be revealing his new look to her in a worn out sweatshirt and blue jeans.
"Ah, scrub-a-dub-dub," Jaz nodded to herself with a smirk. Ordinarily, she might have gone upstairs to join him, but tonight, she was smarting over a flub on stage that had put her off for the entire performance. It was a relatively simple chord combination that had thrown her completely when she'd failed to make it; she'd been impatient to get home to prove to herself that it was just a fluke. So rather than skip upstairs and bounce under the shower with her favorite person, she thumped down onto the couch to tune up her guitar, checking her fingering obsessively.
With the sound of the shower drowning out everything else, Jack couldn't tell where Jasmin had gone, but as far as he could tell, there had been no knock at the bathroom door or even her voice calling him, and he realized she probably thought he'd just rolled out of bed and was showering and dressing for the day. She wouldn't have been too far off with that guess, except that he'd snuck off to see Dru before he'd showered. He smiled a little to himself, despite his nerves, hoping she was pleased with his little surprise, and making plans for another to take place in the not too distant future.
Of course, like any good musician, Jasmin could lose herself in obsessive fingering and going over chords for hours at a time, but once she had satisfied herself that her flub had just been a fluke, she turned her attention to one of the Christmas songs she was learning for this season. It was usually played on piano, which had made it something of a nightmare to transcribe, but now she had it, all she had to do was learn it.
Jack heard her playing as he stepped from the bathroom, the strains of the guitar familiar to his ears, though it took him a minute to recognize the tune. He took a last glance at himself in the mirror, his stomach twisting and turns nervously at the prospect of revealing his new look to her. He hoped she at least recognized him and didn't pass out when she saw him. He drew a deep breath to gather his courage and made his way slowly toward the stairs, painfully slowly, each step bringing him closer to the moment of truth.
The slow rhythm of the guitar accompaniment followed the piano pretty accurately, making it a fairly easy song for most people to recognize, even before the voice joined in. With the words printed out and laid on the coffee table in front of her, Jasmin was in the zone, picking her way carefully through the fingering as she sang quietly along with her playing. "....forgot to mention one little thing, a ring; And I don't mean on the phone, Santa baby ..."
Jack frowned a little from the stairs, hands shoved nervously in his trouser pockets - or more accurately, Jon's trouser pockets - unsure if he should interrupt her playing, but the longer he waited, the more nervous he became. He blinked as he caught part of the links of the song. A ring" Had she chosen that song on purpose or was it just some strange coincidence?