visiting

Who: Jessie and Evelyn
When: late afternoon Jan. 24
Where: Evelyn's apartment at the boarding house

The first thing Jessie had done after her delayed walk home with Dodge was go right upstairs to her bedroom and conch out on the bed for a good few hours of a nap. Awakening renewed, even though she knew she'd be just as tired by bedtime than she would had she not taken a nap, Jessie contemplated her options. She could stay here and wait for her dad to come home and see what their plans for the night were, or she could go out for a little bit and be back home in time for dinner.

Standing up, Jessie pulled her jacket back on, securing a scarf around her neck, and headed to the kitchen table. She left a note there stating that she was going to visit Evelyn and check on her. The only thing she knew about Evelyn was that, one, she hadn't seen her aunt in a few days, and two, Jesse had mentioned she'd gotten hurt the last time they'd talked about Evelyn. She hadn't heard anything more about her aunt in the past couple of days, so she figured that she might as well head down to the boarding house to make sure she was all right, at the very least. She didn't like knowing that Evelyn was hurt and not knowing what had happened or how hurt she was, exactly. Her dad said things were all right with her now, but Jessie wanted to see it for herself.

So she took to the streets, looking down at her hand as she walked, seeing that the bracelet Dodge had lifted off her sometime during their walk, then given back, was still secured on her wrist. With a clear, rested mind, she wasn't exactly sure how she felt about Dodge's promise to see her afterschool the next day. While her plan after classes today hadn't been to take a walk through the park with the self-proclaimed Prince of Thieves, she could admit to herself that it wasn't as bad or awkward as she'd originally thought.

Luckily, she didn't really have to think about it for too long. She came up on Evelyn's boarding house fairly quickly, heading inside and straight up the stairs to the room she knew by heart as Evelyn's. She knocked three times then stood back once step and waited, wondering if Evelyn was at home or not.

Evelyn was very much home, and very much half-way through getting ready for her date, even if she still had a couple hours just before eight. Her hair was in curlers, and she had been walking about the apartment in a state of half-dress. Her skirt and stockings were still on, although the shoes were kicked off, but for a top she only had her underslip. Which meant that all of the major bruises she had received last week were visible; even if they were healing and a bit faded, her pale skin still put them on display. Not even her wrist was wrapped in the bandage, as it had only hindered the process with the rollers. Having skipped lunch in favor of shopping and having no desire to gorge herself on her date, Evelyn was in the middle of preparing a light meal when the she heard the knock. She frowned a bit, a part of her expecting it might be her brother and the another part ready to be greatly annoyed if it was Dodge. She grabbed a small throw blanket to wrap over her shoulders and around herself -- in case the guest was someone didn't want seeing her in her underwear. A quick glance through the peephole did away with any worries on that part, but an onslaught of new worries and troubles creeped in their place. But that certainly didn't stop her from opening the door. "Hey Baby J," Evelyn greeted with a warm if small smile, her face expressing concern but definitely not displeasure at seeing her niece. "What're you doing here?"

Any sort of greeting Jessie had had in mind was thrown out the window when she caught sight of Evelyn. Jesse wasn't kidding when he'd said she'd gotten herself hurt. Her eyes widened at the sight of her aunt, a sinking feeling in her chest. "Evie, what happened to you?!" All she could see were the bruises on Evelyn and yes, they weren't so bright in color that it meant she'd gotten them yesterday or anything, but she could still see them and that was enough. "Are you ok?" She was aware of just how frantic she sounded, but her aunt was standing infront of her with a ton of bruises on her and that was something Jessie did not like. She didn't wait any longer for Evelyn to invite her inside, instead just stepping into the apartment in order to get a better look at her aunt's bruises.

Closing the door, Evelyn winced internally as Jessie pointed the bruises but she didn't let it show on her face. She wasn't going to do anything to distress her niece further. "I'm fine, Baby J," she laughed a little bit, smiling warmly, and wrapped her niece in a soft hug. "I had some trouble heading home one night, but I'm fine." Again she said it warmly, reassuringly, as if it had been nothing more than a slight inconvenience. Because there was no way in hell Evelyn was going to worry Jessie further. She didn't mention the details. She didn't even mention that it had happened the Sunday of last week, after leaving her parents, only hours after Evelyn had seen Jessie last. Evelyn hadn't even disclosed that fact to Jesse: the fact that it had happened the night following their fight, that feeling so upset then drained from it along with the other stresses and difficulty sleeping had all lended to her just passing out, mentally exhausted, on that bus. Not that she had disclosed much of her troubles to her brother or anyone else, but she was more likely to give him details than her fifteen-year-old niece. "But how are you?" Evelyn asked, giving Jessie a smooch on the forehead before taking a step back.

Given details or not, Jessie wasn't so easily pacified by Evelyn's assurances. She wanted to know what happened, how it happened, when it happened, and so she watched Evelyn with curious eyes. "What do you mean, some trouble heading home?" There was that sinking feeling again, but a lot worse this time. She wanted those details that Evelyn hadn't given her. "Did something happen?" Her voice was a little softer, a little more serious, but her mind was still racing. She needed to stop jumping to that conclusion every time something untoward happened. Yes, she was worried, but the first thought that came to her mind had to stop being that something bad had happened. Especially after her fight with Jesse, she knew she needed to turn that thinking around.

"It was an attempted mugging," she answered matter-of-factly, leading Jessie down the small corridor, as if it were just some attempted mugging and nothing more. She walked over to the small stack of chairs for the sitting table and pulled two out, bringing them over, and motioning for Jessie to take a seat. "But you'll be happy to know that he didn't get away with it," Evelyn responded with another reassuring smile, ever-so-careful that it in no way hinted at how troubled she still was at the issue a week later. She didn't mention she suspected Jesse was planning on doing something about it, although Evelyn was inclined to think he dropped that venture the moment he told her to leave. But if he still was? Evelyn was already troubled enough by the idea of Jesse walking into trouble for her sake, she didn't need to put that burden on her niece as well. "How's school? And the family?" How's your father? she very much wanted to ask, but she didn't trust herself to keep the pain or worry out of her voice if she did.

Jessie's head was reeling. An attempted mugging?! And she was so nonchalant about it, like it wasn't a big deal. She'd be happier to know that it hadn't happened at all, but it had happened. The bruises on Evelyn were case enough. "How did this happen? Are you sure you're ok? You're all bruised up and..." What did she do? What did she do about this? She now completely understood why her father hadn't elaborated on Evie's state because Jessie didn't know what do even think about this. She hadn't come here hoping to dig at why Evelyn was hurt, she'd come here just to see her aunt because she hadn't seen her in a while. She didn't know there'd be a story about an attempted mugging awaiting her in Evelyn's apartment.

And now she wanted to talk about school and the family? Jessie wasn't sure she could handle this. All she could think of was how someone had hurt her aunt. "We miss you..." Was all she could say because even in her frazzled 'my aunt is hurt' mind, she knew that they did miss her. "I miss you. Why haven't you come around to see us lately?"

Evelyn felt a pained tug at her heart at the question, and she gave Jessie a genuine apologetic look. She had seen Jessie and the rest of her family a week ago, but of course she didn't expect Jesse to have mentioned her stopping by last Saturday. But even seeing her family a mere week ago and calling home once a week didn't compare to a lifetime of seeing them every day. "Work's been hectic," she answered. It was the truth, although it didn't at all scratch the surface. And now Evelyn couldn't justify stopping by to see her family as long as she still worked at the Drake. Hell, the fact that Baby J was here worried her enough, as she thought about what Jesse had said. "But what has everybody been up to this last week? Your dad managed to swing by yet?" The light tone masking how painfully she wanted to hear word of her brother. She didn't expect him to have told his daughter what was going on, but that didn't mean Jessie might not have picked up a bit as to how he was doing.

Work wasn't an excuse to her, or at least not a good one. Work didn't come between the James family, but maybe it was because Evelyn didn't want to worry her with all the bruises she was sporting. Or worry the rest of the family. That she'd understand, even thought it made her sad to think that Evelyn had had to deal with this all alone. But Evie was asking about the family and Jessie felt like she should answer. "Everyone's all right, but you should come by soon. We miss you a lot. Dad's..." Where did she start with how her father was? Did she say he was frazzled, that he was stressed, that he was worried? Or did she just not mention it and move on to another conversation piece. Like why Evelyn had curlers in her hair. Maybe she'd go with that. "Hey...you look like you're getting ready for something. Is this a bad time? Are you going somewhere?"

Evelyn eyed Jessie for a moment, very much aware that she hadn't finished what she was going to say about how Jesse was. "I'm going out tonight, with a guy from work," she answered, carefully. She didn't want to get into too many details, here. Because she wasn't going to try to ask for Jessie's silence on the matter -- Evelyn wasn't going to urge the girl to lie to or keep secrets from Jesse for her sake -- and even if she hadn't been lying about work? She still would be cautious about letting her brother relationship at such an early stage. She preferred to see if she actually liked the guy before putting him through that. "It's a first date, I guess," she added by way of explanation as to why she hadn't mentioned anything.

"But of course I've got time, Baby J," she smiled, just before letting her concern show through, "But what about Jesse? You didn't mention him." And, normally, Baby J definitely would have. Even had Evelyn not already known something was up, the lack of Baby J's response would have immediately clued her in.

And suddenly, Jessie felt pretty hurt. Really hurt, actually. Evelyn had time to go out on a date with a guy from work but not time to come visit the family? And not time to tell anyone that she'd been mugged. A frown on her face, Jessie turned to look at Evelyn. "I don't know, Dad's got a lot of stuff on his mind lately." She said, shrugging a little as she looked down. "I can just go if that's easier? You've got a date to get ready for, I don't want to keep you." Maybe she shouldn't jump to conclusions. She'd been doing that a lot lately and she was doing it now. Maybe this date really meant something to Evelyn. But still, she would have liked to have her aunt come visit sometime during the week.

Evelyn frowned lightly. "Baby J, if I didn't have time for you I wouldn't have just told you that I did," she pointed out. Her tone wasn't harsh, merely matter-of-fact. Although the guilt currently racking her pointed out that her niece had every right not to trust a thing she said. But Evelyn didn't know what to do about that. She was torn between wanting to protect her niece and wanting to be honest with her and not wanting to disappoint Jessie. A part of Evelyn also wanted to protect herself from Jessie's dissapointment, especially if Jessie -- like her father -- decided she had enough of her aunt. "You're not keeping me from anything," she added gently, leaning over and planting another quick peck on the top of Jessie's head. "Now I'm going to get the leftovers out of the oven and you can tell me about what's been going on -- or just your day, if you want. You hungry at all? We can make a light meal out of it." Since she hadn't been planning on having a full meal herself, the leftovers had been just enough to tide her over until dinner. But it was easy enough to heat up some canned soup with them and split the meal for two.

"A little hungry, but I can just nibble on what you're already making." Jessie wanted to believe her and it was hard not to, she was her aunt after all. But maybe she'd believe her more if she could get a promise out of Evelyn that she'd visit the family soon. Which she still hadn't gotten. "My day? Well, I went to school, and when I was leaving, Dodge had the sidewalk all blocked off because he was trying to hawk...whatever he was trying to hawk. Doesn't matter what it was, he was blocking the sidewalk. He insisted on walking me home," and making me take the longest route ever. "But when I got home I took a nap, played with Leo, and came to visit you. What about your day?"

Evelyn wasn't so much making something as she was reheating a diner meal and checking the oven to see she didn't burn it. And it was a really good thing her back was to Jessie during the process too, because as her niece recounted her day a sharp frown wrinkled Evelyn's brow at the mention of Dodge. What the hell? Dodge had insisted on walking Jessie home? Whether it had just happened or was intentional on the boy's part, the fact that it ocurred greatly disturbed Evelyn. Seriously. He had just been in here last night, going on about love and taking her out and whatnot, and now he was flirting and/or hitting on her niece. Yes, Dodge was seventeen and Evelyn would've been relieved to see him after a girl his own age but not Jessie. The saw the whole idea of the same guy (kid or not) going after the aunt and then turning around and flirting with the niece as tactless at best and callous play at worst. Either way, she was not happy. In fact the next time she saw Dodge he'd hear about how upset or pissed he was.

Unfortunately Evelyn wasn't paying attention as she reached out for the plate, and immediately afterward she swore sharply and her bare fingers whipped back from the oven and she nursed them briefly with her mouth.

Jessie was still sitting in the chair, watching Evelyn as she checked on the food when she'd heard the sharp inhale, heard the colorful swearing, and knew that her aunt had burnt herself. "Are you ok?!" She was out of the chair in a second, any reservations about whether Evelyn didn't want to visit them gone now, and was heading to the refrigerator's freezer section. She grabbed one of the trays for ice cubes in the freezer, pulled it out, and cracked a few out of the tray. Holding them in her hands, she searched for a cloth in the kitchen and wrapped the ice in it when she found one. "Here, Aunt Evie. Can I get you anything else? Are you ok?"

"It's fine," Evelyn answered, laughing a bit sheepishly, but she didn't mind makeshift makeshift coldpack. It wasn't a serious burn, but the fact that it largely got her fingertips ensured it would sting like one. They were certainly pink when she pulled them away from her mouth, and she clutched them firmly against the clothed ice. "Could you get the plate? And be careful -- it's hot," Evelyn joked. One hand was busy cooling down and she was still trying to be careful with her other wrist. Not seeing a doctor about it meant she didn't know how bad off it was, and she didn't want to push the recovery. Then, bringing the subject back to what had caused the slip-up in the first place, unknowingly to Jessie, "So... Dodge walked you home from school?" Evelyn asked, brows raised in pointed interest. That in and of itself wasn't unusual -- she would've asked that in such a manner about any boy Jessie mentioned -- but the fact that it was Dodge had Evelyn more concerned with the subject.

With potholders firmly in her hands, Jessie carefully pulled the plate out and set it on the counter, closing the oven after. Once her hands were free, she headed instinctively over to the cabinet where Evie kept her glasses and pulled two down, filling them with water and ice cubes from the tray still out. "Yeah. Apparently he decided I absolutely had to walk through the park because it's such a nice day out." Not that she'd admit it, but she was almost kind of glad he made her walk through the park. It had been a nice day out but it was getting a little colder now that it was getting later. It made her wonder if Dodge had some sort of sense about the weather, as if he knew that there weren't going to be too many nice days after this one or something. Not that that was possible, it was a silly thought anyway.

Turning back to Evie, Jessie shrugged a little nonchalantly. "He wouldn't shut up about it so I just decided to walk with him through the park so I could get home instead of trying to fight him on it. Why?"

Evelyn didn't like the way Jessie phrased that, like she was just 'giving in' or something. Although she didn't know if she would have preferred hearing her niece was interested any better. Jessie hadn't seemed too bothered with ideas of dating or anything yet... but one day she would be. And, like most other things in life, there would be experiences bringing joy as well as heartbreak. But, even though she didn't think he would intentionally play with her niece's emotions (he better not), Evelyn did not want Jessie's first heartbreak to be with a boy who had a crush on her aunt. And even when Dodge's crush passed? That didn't mean it wasn't awkward. But all of that was very much something she wasn't going to tell her niece -- explaining why she knew a seventeen-year-old boy so well anyway was odd enough without mentioning him knowing her secret about the Drake.

So instead she smiled over at her niece. "I was just wondering if it was time to prepare your Dad for the idea of you bringing boy's home," she teased. Because, yeah, when Jessie did get to liking some boy that was going to be a concern. Along with her sisters, Evelyn had to handle boys mixing with her brother very delicately. She didn't know what Jesse had said or done, but her first date practically flinched at the idea of holding hands afterward -- not a good mindset for a school dance. She already pitied the boys Jessie chose to date. And her choosing Dodge had been a real worry, because the kid was sharp and a charmer and pretty well liked by others. Even Evelyn, who wasn't a superwoman, might have liked the boy had she still been a high-schooler.

Jessie was getting pretty sick of this. First Dodge, now Evelyn. "Why does everyone think I need to have a boyfriend?" She asked, leaning against the counter with her glass of water in her hands. She had no interest in having a boyfriend, not now anyway. "Dodge seemed to think I already had one and I don't even want one. I'm not bringing boys home, Aunt Evie. It's not my fault he was being stubborn. I was going to walk with him either way because I figure even if I didn't pay attention to him, he was still going to walk with me." Turning, she pulled out the drawer that had silverware in it, brought out two forks, and placed them on the plate. She grabbed a potholder again and transported the plate to the table so that both of them could sit and eat.

Evelyn's brow shot up again, a bit surprised and then a bit amused by the response, but only a hint of a smile at her lips revealed that. "I did say you need a boyfriend, and I don't think it either," she admonished gently, "I thought you knew that." Because whatever their individual flaws, the woman in the James family were pretty strong-minded thinkers and weren't raised to think they needed to get boyfriends (or, well, Evelyn supposed 'husbands' was thrown around for girls her age now). "I was just curious, and interested, to know." As she answered she removed the ice from her hand and grabbed a can of soup from the cupboard and placed it on the stove.

"Because -- believe me --" Evelyn opened the can and poured it in "--a person can be perfectly fine one day and then seeing hearts and embarrassing themselves the next." She grinned over at Jessie, suggesting there was an interesting story there. "I'm certain if you ask your grandmother she'll happily give us all grief by sharing that dirt." Because, yeah, none of them were spared their own (now) amusing experiences. Even Evelyn, who had been pretty level-headed even as a teenager, had stories that could still make her blush and chuck a living room throw pillow at whatever sibling dared to recount it.

"But anyways, if any boy gets too stubborn I know your father taught you how to throw a punch... or I guess Jesse has always been going on about that shotgun of his..." her tone was still joking, and she flashed another grin at her niece just before covering the stovepot and walking over to sit with her. Evelyn didn't have it out for Dodge; it was just an amused reflection that Jessie had more than enough resources to deal with any stubborn boy, Dodge or not.

And she knew that. She knew she could have punched Dodge and walked away had she wanted to, but she didn't want to punch him. he hadn't, at least, because she had been so tired that she just wanted to get home. But if she said she'd been tired, Evelyn would ask why, and then she'd have to explain what had happened with her dad the night before and she just didn't want to get back into it. It was over now, they'd fixed the situation, things were fine. So instead of focusing on her, Jessie decided that she was pretty tired of getting asked about boys and having no one to ask questions back to, but now that Evelyn was going on a date she had the perfect opportunity to turn the conversation around. Ideas about her grandmother telling them stories about love at first sight was enough to make Jessie want to change the subject anyway. Maybe another time, when she was actually interested in someone, then she'd want to hear those stories. But not now. "So who's this guy from work anyway?" She asked in a not-so-subtle change of subject. "Does he have a name?"

"He does have a name," she replied a almost coyly, then followed it up with a deliberately drawn out pause. Part of it was simply her having a bit of fun, yes. But mostly it was because she needed time to figure out what she was going to say. "His name is Ian," Evelyn finally concede, anticlimatic after such a dramatic wait. "And he's a nice guy -- he only just asked me," which gave some explanation as to why nobody had heard about it yet. Well, that and Evelyn only brought up the guys she was truly serious about and had at least already been on a couple dates with to see her family. Otherwise the trouble of putting the guy through interrogations of father, sisters, and brother alike wasn't worth it -- although anyone who held their ground during that was a keeper. And at least those guys knew her real name and a bit about her family, which wasn't the case here. "But I like him, which is the important thing, or else I wouldn't have accepted," she smiled.

"But that's all I'm giving you there," Evelyn concluded, pushing back a chair to grab two bowls for the soup from the cupboard. If Jessie had been one of her sisters she would've revealed more, even considering that she had been lying for months about her job. Evelyn at least would've mentioned something along the lines of how -- though her affection for Ian were warm and certainly romantically-inclined -- she didn't see him as the future Mr. Evelyn James (or, well, Mr. Amelia Wright). Or about how that wasn't much of an issue (the lying was though), because something casual was the only thing she would break her single status for right now. Even when Evelyn hadn't been lying about her job to her family, there were some aspects she shared only with sisters and friends (sometimes Jesse, depending) that she didn't discuss with her fifteen-year-old niece.

Jessie smiled a little. It was nice to hear that Evie liked someone, to see a smile on her face. "He better treat you right, this Ian." She said, looking up from the plate to give a grin at Evie. "Or he'll have all the James' after him." Which she figured was a good enough place to segway into her next point of business. "So when can we expect you to come visit everyone? You have to come by this week." She wasn't asking and the look in her eyes showed that Jessie was very serious. "If I need to pinkie-promise with you, I will. Sometime this week, ok?" She could have told Evelyn that she didn't need soup, but her aunt was already up and on her way to making it so she might as well let her do so. "I'm not taking no for an answer. You have to come see everyone."

That was a problem. Because until Evelyn found a new job, she was extremely uncomfortable with the idea of seeing her family. The images Jesse had put in her head wouldn't go away, and Evelyn knew for absolute certain she would rather be killed or worse than bring anything like that upon her loved ones. And, even if she didn't know how to go confessing about the Drake or if she should or would, with the new job she would be able to tell her family about it. And, even if the lies she had already spouted could never be undone, at least she could begin the long journey of rectifying them. As she poured the soup into the bowls and brought them over, she gave Jessie a small smile that was a bit sad. Because Evelyn didn't want to make a promise and get her niece's hopes up only to let her down. She had already done that with the theater, and that act still killed a part of her. "I'm sorry I haven't been around as much, Baby J," Evelyn answered as she placed a bowl just before Jessie, "and I'm more sorry that I can't make any promises. But I will try to work things out." She maintained eye contact the entire time she said show, trying to emphasize how seriously she meant every word, before stepping around the small table to place her own bowl down and sit.

So it was Jessie who looked away first, because staring at Evelyn was only making this harder. "Why can't you make any promises? You haven't given a reason why and work being crazy isn't an option. It's not crazy enough for you to say no to this Ian guy." She didn't want to throw that out into the mix, it was wrong and a little low of her, but she'd just spent the last little bit having fun and joking with Evelyn and now she was refusing to come see them again. What was so important that was keeping her away? She took a breath, but just stared at the soup, having pretty much lost an appetite she had. Was she really saying that her new friend, or friends...because she didn't know if she was spending more time with people outside of the James family, was more important than them? She really, really didn't want to believe it but it was the only logical reason she could think of.

Evelyn didn't know what Jesse had told Baby J, but she knew that he had time to share whatever information he thought was appropriate for his daughter to know. She know if Jesse would be aware of how connected the Drake hotel was with the mafia -- Evelyn herself had known that the hotel was owned by the DiGiovanni before getting the job but hadn't realized just how close it was until she started deciphering the code spoked during 'family' dinners. Her niece didn't need to be worried with that, especially because Evelyn was concerned that Jessie -- like her father -- might try to do something about it, and Evelyn would rather have her niece drop her like Jesse had than do something like that.

But even if it weren't for her lies and the danger associated with the Drake, there was the matter that Evelyn's own nature pushed at her to try to make her own way... either for independence, or proving something to herself, or... whatever. It wasn't for the sake of working at the Drake or lying to her family that she had moved across the city, after all. And that was something that was even harder to explain. If she had to put it into words, she might say it was something about growing up, or becoming her own person, figuring out what she wanted... and some people managed to do it without leaving home, but some people needed to leave home to do it. Although it didn't mean the love of that home decreased, at least it didn't in Evelyn's case. She didn't know how to explain her reasons (although some she was aware were excuses) to Jessie without stepping on Jesse's toes as to what he thought his daughter should know, and the other part was more an intangible feeling associated with Evelyn's own self-discovery that she wasn't sure Jessie would quite get being so young.

But, even though she didn't know what to say, she tried to say something, "Part of it is work, yes," Evelyn admitted, "and the other part... it's hard to explain. And I know that those aren't satisfactory reasons." She was quiet for a bit, still trying to figure how to put things in the right words and not sure she was successful as she spoke again, "But I want -- I need you to know this: I love you, and I love our family. And believe me when I say I'm trying to work things out, and find that balance between new responsibilities and goals in my life and spending quality time with my family and the people I care about. I'm not very successful doing that right now -- we both know that -- but I am trying, and working at it. It's not going as smoothly as I planned, but I'll get there." She watched Jessie carefully, letting her words hang in the air before finishing, "I just need you to bear with me for now, understand?"

It sounded heartfelt, but Jessie was still mad. She didn't really understand the choice Evelyn was making or why it was so hard for her to drop by her grandparents' house at least once to just say hi to everyone. And she really didn't like the way Evelyn's excuses were coming out. Like it was just too much for little Baby J to understand. It's not like she wasn't trying to understand Evelyn's point of view, but she couldn't if no one gave her any details.

She knew that Evelyn loved them, no amount of being mad or annoyed or confused at her aunt would change that, but it sure felt like she was picking other things over their family right now and it just didn't sit well with her. She picked up the spoon in the soup, busying herself with that while she let Evelyn's words sink in, but really she wasn't hungry. Yeah, her appetite was gone. So she put the spoon back down and sighed, finally meeting Evelyn's eyes again. "...Fine...I guess. But I need you to know that I don't like this. I don't like not getting to see you, I don't like not knowing when the next time I will get to see you is. I just plain don't like this at all...and you also have to know that we all really miss you." She could have said more but she felt pretty strongly that that basically took care of what she wanted to say.

So she sat in her chair, feeling pretty awkward about the whole situation. She didn't want to make Evelyn feel badly before her date and Jessie knew she sure as hell didn't want to leave her aunt feeling this way, especially since she couldn't get a definitive answer on when the next time she could see Evelyn would be, but she just didn't know how to fix it.

Evelyn smiled sincerely at Jesse from across the table, "I know." And the way she said it showed that it was knowledge that she took very much to heart, and didn't brush off. And, even if she hadn't been able to give all the details, she actually felt a bit relieved... like a weight was off her chest. Because the sentiment, even if she thought she could have done better with the words, was very much genuine and heartfelt; and up until now she hadn't really expressed it. She had only mentioned that work was busy, or hectic, but hadn't really acknowledged the growing period of absence; hadn't mentioned how she wasn't proud of it, but that she loved her family as much as ever and was working to make things better even though it was taking time. And Jessie's honest response was actually better than had her niece just kept silent or agreed for the sake of agreeing. Evelyn was never one to begrudge her niece speaking her mind, after all.

"Ok then," Jessie gave a soft nod. She wasn't smiling, but at least she wasn't frowning. Evelyn really seemed to be telling her the truth, even if Jessie would have preferred to hear something else. And that was really all she could ask for. So she glanced back down at the soup. "I can just take this soup to go. I'm not really that hungry and I don't want to waste it. Plus you have stuff to get ready for." As much as Jessie would rather her aunt be around her than this random Ian guy, she knew this date meant something to Evelyn and she wasn't going to sabotage it.

"Alright," Evelyn nodded, "I'll take care of this and you can use the phone in the hallway to call a cab." She was a bit disappointed for Jessie to be leaving so soon. But maybe it was for the best. She certainly wouldn't be able to give Jessie answers that actually explained her situation in a manner that the girl deserved. And, more important than her date, she didn't want Jesse to head back to the opposite end of the city as the evening dawned. God, she really really did not want that. She stood up, picking up Jessie's bowl, and walked back over to the kitchenette area. From one of the cupboards she grabbed a thermos, and poured the soup in and then -- after a moment of hesitation -- she walked back to the small table and poured her own soup into the container. It didn't make up for anything at all, she knew, but there was enough in there for Jesse to have a small bowl as well.

Nodding, Jessie headed out to the hallway to call the cab Evelyn asked her too. She would have been fine walking but taking a cab would get her home quicker and she didn't see a problem in that. So she wandered back in when she was finished with the phone, straight to the kitchenette where Evelyn was. Having caught sight of Evelyn's now empty bowl of soup, Jessie glanced up at her aunt. "You aren't hungry either, I guess?"

"I'll be treated to dinner tonight," Evelyn smiled over at Jesse as she capped the thermos and reached into her person for a little bit of money. "I figure Jesse wouldn't mind a bit either," because even though he did decent with cakes, her brother was not a cook. Not by a long shot. Stopping just before Jessie she held out the thermos and some money for the cab, "Here you go."

Jessie had learned a long time ago to not try and deny money for cabfare, or money for anything, really. When she was offered it from her aunts or her dad or her grandparents, it usually just made everything easier if she took the money and thanked them for it rather than insist they keep it for themselves. So with a knowing smile, she pocketed the money Evelyn handed her, took the thermos and placed it on the kitchen table for a moment, then closed the gap between them with a hug. "I hope you have a good date tonight, Evie. And be safe."

"You too," Evelyn replied. And her tone meant she really meant that, as she leaned over and gave Jessie a hug and a kiss on the forehead. Then she leaned back a bit and, meeting Jessie's gaze, added, "and make sure you give your dad my love, you hear?" It took everything she had to reign in her emotion there, to reveal just how desperately she wanted Jessie to do that. But Evelyn would not let herself give Baby J cause to worry.

"I will, promise." Giving Evelyn a small smile, Jessie nodded. "See you soon." She said, making a point to say that it wasn't a question. It was a statement. It would happen, if JJ had anything to do about it.

Evelyn kept her discomfort at that down; she only needed Jessie to wait until she found a new job. That was all. But she couldn't actually tell her niece that... "You be careful," she only replied, smiling, holding open the door for her niece, "and good." Not that Jessie was anything but. Still, it was a sentiment worth repeating.

With thermos in hand, Jessie headed to the door and waved to Evelyn before she headed outside and downstairs to the cab that was waiting. Now to just head home, clear her head, and maybe get some more sleep. She knew she could do with some more.