getting on with things

Jax knew he could get this done. If only he didn't have Molly to put up with.

Yes, it was a hell of a mess with Halie's mum. She was hung over and so was Rufus. It was not the best Christmas. And by the look on Archie's face..well, Jax was ready to get in a shoving match with someone. Mainly Rufus.

Jax couldn't believe it.

They'd been invited over to Christmas dinner, and no one did a thing about it.

"OK, I get it.  Halie's mum isn't herself lately." Jax knew this, but he thought Rufus was the sane one. Obviously, not.

"Don't you worry a thing. Bash and I will take care of the kitchen." No one had cleaned the place in ages.

So the three got to scrubbing and the trash taken out. Christmas was late, but they could still have it.

If only Jax could do the same for his own parents, but they were split and weren't speaking to him.

"Honestly, Arch, this is the only family I got. Bash too." Yes, they'd make do. At least, Rufus was always generous. Yet, it was usually booze. Jax could get why Archie felt so jilted. He was an up right bloke.

"Maybe, next year, we'll just invite them." He shrugged and cleaned on a pot in the hot  sudsy water in the kitchen sink.

"Dunno. They're so reckless, they might kill someone, on the drive over." Archie gritted as he did his best to dispose of some rank dish that had been sitting for a week or so in the fridge.

Jax could smell it too. "Where did Mol, go?" Jax snarled his nostrils.

"She's giving Halie a full report." Archie sighed as he stuffed more crap in a trash bag.

"Damn, that girl. Always getting off, on chores to be done, when it needs it so much." Jax scowled.

Naturally, Bash elbowed him. Letting him know, that was the wrong thing to say about Archie's wife.

"Well, she's in bed right now." It was best Molly could do with Halie's mum. She wouldn't dare ask Halie to come home. No way, did she need to put up with this kind of life. "They were drunk, I suppose."

Halie told her to check the medicine cabinet. Her mother still took a lot of pain pills.

This was definitely, not what Molly signed up for when she took Archie for her husband. It was all so pathetic. Why couldn't either of them (Liz and Rufus) see how childish they were?

Oh, if anyone needed a real family it was Archie. It was clearly not here.

She walked around the rooms. Cluttered. Practically trashed.  It was overwhelming.

"So how was Christmas?" Molly wanted to know. They'd had a splendid Christmas eve at Jax's. Of course, Bash made something French and Molly told Halie it was wonderful.  Archie got her jewelry for her FITBIT. They'd made a CD mix for each other, and of course, got new pajammas.

"You two..are such love birds." Halie laughed. Not even a thought about her mum. "We've been watching Alec with his new toys. We didn't really get each other a thing." Then she paused. "Well..Gage did give me an engagement ring."

"Aw, that's great." Molly missed Halie so much, but there was that stumbling block..Rufus and Halie's mum.