Chapter 20: Chapter 20

I put the handset down in its cradle.

Oh, my God…

What am I going to tell him?

Best get it over with…

I pour two stiff whiskeys then go in search of James and find him on the terrace in a sheltered sunny spot, reading.

He glances up at my approach, reaching to accept the offered glass. “Thanks. A bit early isn’t it?

Softening me up for something?”

Shuffling my feet, I take a sip from my own glass.

“You are softening me up for something.” His eyes narrow. “What is it?”

“Um… about that party…”

His eyes thin to slits. “Aha? What about it?”

“Well, I told Ben he could come so long as he was on best behavior, which he promised...”

“So you said. And?”

“… but then he went and told our mom, and the family… And… well, they’ve invited themselves along.”

“Who have? How many of them?”

“All of them, I think.”

His eyes register horror. “You mean… we’re going to have a re-run of the wedding? With all your aunts and grannies and the rest?”

“I think so, yes.”

“I thought we’d agreed on a small select group of friends?”

“What do I do, James? I can’t just tell them they can’t come…”

*****

Richard “Didn’t you tell me this would be a small gathering?” I look over the thronging room. “I think I took the last space in the car park.”

James looks glum, brooding into his glass. “Michael invited Ben, and Ben invited the rest of the Summerford Hoard.”

I’m struggling not to laugh. “An Agony of Aunts?”

“Is that the collective noun for aunts?”

“How about an Amalgamation of Aunties? Or a Condescension of Aunts?”

“Grandmothers too. Both of them.”

“A Grumbling of Grannies then?”

Accusation in his eyes, “You think it’s funny.”

“Damn right I do. Tell me, is Marie here too, to complete your evening?”

“No, she isn’t.” He swigs back a mouthful. “We must be thankful for small mercies.”

I slap him between the shoulders and he glugs on his drink. “Great party, James. Nice and buzzy. Just the thing to make Mitch feel welcome. And she gets to meet all her new family.”

James’ gaze travels the room. I follow it, over the swarm of Michael’s relations, settling on Ben, seated by the bar.

“You think he’s going to behave himself?”

“He’d better. Michael’s warned him he’s on parole. If I see any sign of him causing trouble I’ll throw him out myself.”

“I suspect Michael will beat you to it.”

He sniffs, scratches his nose. “I’d say you’re right there.” He makes the smallest of gestures to where Michael, a little way along the bar, is also watching his brother.

*****

I watch the scene unfold from across the room.

Should I introduce myself?

No… This is their time…

Hand in hand with her mother, Charlotte approaches Elizabeth.

The Three Graces…

All so similar; the same red-gold hair, the same bewitching eyes, the same family stamp.

Elizabeth offers her hand, not in the way of a man, to shake, but tentatively, fingers outstretched. And equally tentatively, Mitch takes them.

Charlotte stands back, a hand raised to her mouth. Party lights of flash and play over tears streaming down Mitch’s cheeks. Then I see that Elizabeth is crying too.

And so is Charlotte.

“It’s something to see, isn’t it,” says a voice next to me.

Jerked from my reverie, I find Chad standing by me. “It is indeed.”

He swings his head. “I always thought Jenny was the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen or ever would see. Never thought I’d see three of them together.”

*****

I watch them, Charlotte and her mother, both smiling and laughing and talking.

Both happy.

Michelle…

Mitch?

Shelley?

So similar. I’d gotten used to the weird similarities and differences between my wife and her…

What was it?

Second cousin…

Now I look at them, watch them, Mitch is in some ways more like my Elizabeth than her own daughter;

the way she holds herself, the way she moves. Gracefully, she sashays as she walks, her hips swaying. The movement is feminine and very alluring…

Courtesan…

But close by, her daughter moves like a predator, stalking like some big cat, beautiful but always with that sensation that at any moment, the game might turn to the hunt.

Michael moves in, carrying a tray of drinks, passing one to Mitch, another to her daughter. Then he casts around the room, sees me and heads across. “Red wine for you James, and I think you were on gin and tonic, Richard?”

A single glass remaining on his tray, he looks around again. “Mislaid your wife?”

“Not sure. Elizabeth’s around somewhere.”

“I’ll go find her.”

Tray in hand, he wanders off again. Almost immediately, Elizabeth appears, strolling in her high heels and a long gown which undulates with her movement.

Yes, very similar to Mitch…

Both are graceful and easy on the eye with only really the age difference showing between them.

My sweet Elizabeth…

No one will ever call Charlotte sweet…

And she has the two of them, James and Michael… together…

… as routine…

Something more than mortal flesh She must be zipped on lightning bolts…

Elizabeth speaks, interrupting my thoughts. “Great party, James, and isn’t Mitch lovely? I’m so pleased you found her. Charlotte’s so happy.” Her head swings. “Where’s Michael?”

“I believe your Lover is looking for you,” I drawl, head-pointing the bar where Michael is surfing with his tray.

She colors up…

… so charmingly…

… a hand raising to her mouth…. “Oh…” Then scuttles away.

Then I bite down on my joke.

Christ, what will James think?

James cocks an eyebrow but there’s a twinkle in his eye. “Interesting choice of phrase.”

I’m about to reply but clam up as Ben appears by my side. He gestures after Elizabeth. “She's a good woman isn't she, your wife? You must be very proud of her.”

James’ glass halts en route to his mouth and his jaw sets.

What is it about Ben? Even when he tries to be pleasant, there’s something in his manner…

And I understand completely why he sets James’ teeth on edge.

“I am indeed proud of her, very proud” I say, “but what are we talking about?”

“Well, she’s always well turned out. Always feminine. And… the way she always does what's expected of her. Such a lovely… I dunno… amenable girl… Biddable.”

Biddable?

She's my sub…

Not my property…

He’s trying to be pleasant…

But something in his tone grates on me. I can’t suppress the growl in my voice. “Elizabeth does as I ask her because she chooses to, not because I somehow own her.”

James grunts agreement and Ben's eyes narrow.

No… He’s still not happy about James…

Cool it…

Michael reappears, now with Elizabeth on his arm. They stroll together to join Mitch and Charlotte.

Charlotte’s face lights up as she sees him.

“Shall we join them?” I suggest.

*****