Chapter 5 Jayne
LeRoy, still keeping his gaze averted, nodded. “There is quite a lot of you on display, Princess. I promise I can fix that. For the moment, however …”
He disappeared but returned a few seconds later with a panel of white silk and lace. “If you’d like to just tuck this into the neckline?”
I took it and adjusted it so that while my chest was still hanging out, there wasn’t so much skin visible. What could I say? Boobs get bigger when you have a baby. It’s a fact of life. “Okay, that’s better.”
LeRoy looked at me again. “Yes, definitely. Now, let’s consider the rest of the dress. The silhouette is lovely on you. What do you think?”
“I like it. Other than the cleavage issue, obviously.”
He whipped out a pen and notebook and started sketching.
“What if we did something … like … this?” He turned the notebook around and showed me a new version of the dress with a completely different neckline and a slightly fuller skirt.
“I added some volume in the skirt so the gown would be slightly more proportionate.”
I studied it. “To balance out that I’m bigger on top now.”
He rolled his lips in, obviously not wanting to comment on my chest.
“LeRoy, it’s me, Jayne. You can say what you mean. It’s not going to offend me or my delicate sensibilities, which you should know by now I don’t have.”
He laughed. “It’s true. A fuller skirt will balance out your shape on top.”
“Then do it. I trust you when it comes to stuff like this.”
“Anything else you’d like to change about the dress?”
I walked out of the dressing room to stand on the raised platform and get a better look at myself. It was a beautiful dress. “A few more sparkles wouldn’t hurt.”
He nodded and made a note. “What if we added some crystals to the cape as well? Really bling it up to match the dress?
“Oh, that sounds great. I love that.”
He jotted that down. “It’s going to be spectacular. I wish I was going to be there to see it in person.”
I turned, frowning. “Why won’t you be there? Do you have another engagement?”
“No, but I haven’t received an invitation, so I just assumed I wasn’t invited. It’s all right. I’m sure every elf under the sun is angling for an invite.”
I had no idea, actually, but LeRoy should be there. “You’ll be invited. I’ll see to it. You have my word.”
“Princess, I wasn’t angling for an invite.”
“I know, but you should be there.”
“Thank you doesn’t seem like enough, but thank you.”
JJ started to fuss. I hurried back to the dressing room. “It’s okay, baby boy. Mama’s here.” I rocked the carrier while I looked at LeRoy. “Do you have everything you need?”
“We’re good.”
“Great.” I changed as quickly as I could, grabbed JJ’s carrier, and headed for the door.
LeRoy walked with me. “I’ll send word when I’m ready to do another fitting.”
“Thank you. And I’ll make sure you get that invite.”
Charlotte opened the door for me. “Lovely to see you, your highness.”
JJ turned up the volume. I gave a wave and started for the crawler.
I didn’t know if Joshua heard JJ or saw me, but he hopped out and got the door, helping me get the carrier in and the door shut.
He slid behind the wheel. “Back to the palace?”
“Yes, please.” I got a bottle of sugar formula out of the diaper bag, which I’d left in the crawler, and placated JJ with that for the time being.
Joshua did an admirable job of returning us to the palace without crashing or running anyone else off the road. I thanked him, rushed inside, and went directly to our apartment. I fed JJ, which was a relief for both of us.
Once he was full, I changed his diaper, something Spider and Sugar never seemed to be interested in, and put him down for a nap.
Sin was nowhere around, but I figured he was with his family. Didn’t bother me. I felt a bit guilty for not hanging out with them more, really.
The day’s deliveries had arrived. I grabbed a Dr Pepper from the fridge, then took a fork and a mini cake and sat down in front of the TV.
I turned on the local news to see if I’d missed anything exciting.
The local North Pole station had only been launched a year ago, and I was curious to check it out.
“You can see behind me the stage is being erected for the upcoming Naming Day, something the entire North Pole is looking forward to.” The reporter held her smile like a true professional. “And with good reason. It’s going to be a day for the history books. Back to you, Annette.”
Spider and Sugar left the nursery and joined me on the couch. Maybe they wanted to watch TV, too.
The camera switched to a woman in the studio.
“Thanks for that, Clarice. This Royal Naming Day will be celebrated across the kingdom. Already smaller, local festivities are being organized in homes, businesses, and communities throughout the North Pole. If you’re planning one, let us know by leaving a comment on our website. ”
She smiled. “You never know when WNPN might show up at your party.” She looked off-screen. “Skip, what’s the weather going to be like for Naming Day?”
A man in a blue-and-yellow-plaid sports coat appeared in front of a weather map. “Well, Annette, it looks like all of July is going to be bright and sunny. You couldn’t ask for better weather, really. As for Naming Day—”
I changed the channel and put on what seemed to be a Twilight Zone marathon. I was always up for that. Because I’d seen most of them, if I fell asleep or zoned out, it was no big deal.
I watched while I ate my cake and drank my Dr Pepper. I supposed I could have eaten something healthier, like a salad, but then I started laughing and ate more cake. I’d become a mother, not a lunatic. I needed my sugar.
I thought about texting Sin to see where he was at, but I didn’t want him to race home on my account. He deserved to spend time with his family, although I knew he’d be missing JJ as well.
The cake was gone, Spider and Sugar were asleep, and I was tired of being inside so much. And I had promised LeRoy I’d get him an invite. Shouldn’t be hard to do, but I couldn’t remember who was actually in charge of the Naming Day guest list.
I bet Ezreal would know. Ezreal Zur’dar had been my father’s office manager but had been promoted to Palace Steward some time ago. He knew everything about everything, and I considered him a friend.
I picked up the phone. Yes, the North Pole still had landlines. I pushed the button for his extension.
“Palace Steward Ezreal speaking. How may I assist you?”
“Hi, Ezreal. It’s me, Jayne.”
“Princess Jayne! It’s so wonderful to hear from you. What can I do for you today?”
“Do you know who’s in charge of the guest list for Naming Day?”
“That’s Flora Merriweather.”
I squinted. “I don’t think I know her.”
“No, I don’t suppose you do. She was hired about a year and a half ago. She’s the Royal Events Coordinator. Would you like me to have her call you?”
I didn’t really want to talk to her. Mostly because I thought she’d rope me into all sorts of decision-making, and I’d rather spend my time with JJ, Sin, and his family than pick out the right napkin colors. “Do you think you could just get me a copy of the guest list?”
Probably best to see if LeRoy wasn’t already on there. If he was, I could just have an invite reissued.
“I’ll have it delivered to you as soon as possible.”
“Thank you so much.”
“You’re very welcome. Anything else I can do to help?”
“You don’t happen to know where my husband is, do you?”
“I believe he and your father-in-law have gone to the Transportation Museum.”
That tracked. Anson was crazy about the crawlers. “And Lila and Zinnia?”
“A driver took them into town. Something about a yarn store, if I remember correctly.”
“That sounds exactly right. Thank you.”
“Have a good afternoon.”
We hung up, and I stared at the screen. JJ was still sleeping. I should probably be napping, too, but I didn’t feel like it.
A soft chime sounded through the apartment. Someone was at our door. Ezreal was fast, but that couldn’t be the guest list so soon. I’d only just hung up. I went to see who it was.
A footman with a load of gifts. This time on a cart. “Afternoon, your highness. Where would you like these?”
“The dining room table is fine. Thank you.” There were still gifts there I hadn’t gotten to yet.
He deposited two large boxes, several gift bags, and two rectangular containers of smaller gifts and cards. With a bow, he left.
I sighed. So. Many. Gifts.
I appreciated the thoughts and caring of the citizens of the North Pole, and I understood that they were showing their love for the next heir in the only way they knew how, but wow. It was a lot.
JJ didn’t need any of this stuff. I realized I hadn’t unwrapped a single package, but he was well supplied with anything a baby could possibly want.
But I had been looking for something to do. Might as well start unwrapping and cataloging the gifts. My notebook and pen were still on the table. I wrote the date down, then went to the first box.
It was large and heavy. I took off the card, noted who’d sent it, then pulled the wrapping off and found the biggest set of blocks I’d ever seen. They were beautiful, carefully crafted from wood and painted with animal faces in an assortment of bright colors. Any child would love them.
But it would be a while before JJ was playing with blocks. Another item that would have to go into storage. I wrote down what the gift was next to the name of the elf who’d sent it.
I was nearly through the gift bags when the door chimed again. I went to answer it and was met by another footman, who handed me a dark blue folder with paper in it. “From the Palace Steward, your highness.”
I took the folder. “Thank you.”
I opened it as I went into the kitchen. Opening and recording gifts was hard work. I’d earned a truffle. I sat at the counter with my truffle and had a look at the guest list Ezreal had sent up.
There were a lot of pages and a ton of names, something that just underlined what a major event this was.
It was moments like this when computers would have made things easier. I slowly ran my finger down the list of names on each page, looking for LeRoy’s.
I stopped when I came to a name I couldn’t read. I could see the letters, but they danced and moved every time I focused on them, making it impossible to tell what the name was.
I sat back. That was so weird. And such a rare occurrence. But there was an explanation for it.
The name had been magically redacted.