Jack pursed his lips thoughtfully at her request, not really thinking it was such a good idea but in too much pain to go back and forth with her on it in the moment. And she seemed so certain, somehow managing to be both confident and soothing.
"Fine, fine," he sighed, gingerly moving forward again and to enter the building. The music was clearer, no longer muffled behind the wall, but Jack was careful to keep his head down as much as possible and look fairly inconspicuous. That didn't stop his mother from catching sight of him, of course. The matriarch of the West family made her way over to her eldest son, looking him up and down and frowning at the odd angle he seemed to be holding his arm at.
"Back already? We thought you might stay at home the rest of the afternoon, what's changed your mind?" She eyed him pointedly, noting the rumpled dampness of his clothes with a frown. Jack could already feel a thin sheen of sweat forming on his brow. He wasn't really in the mood to squabble with his mother and especially not if she was going to be invasive.
"Nothing, Ma," Jack grumbled, swallowing against the lump in his throat as he lifted his head to finally scan the room's inhabitants. "We, um... forgot something. We'll just be a few moments, go along and dance with Pa."
It was all the shooing he was really in any condition to do but his father blessedly stepped in to lead her away at his prompting with a muttered, "Come along, dear," noticing his son was at least uncomfortable and wanting to give him space.