Chapter Seven – Meeting the "Family"
The next day I woke up to a knocking at the door.
"Come in," I groaned.
Maria threw open the door already looking dressed to go to a fancy event.
"Breakfast is in a half an hour, you'll meet my family today," she told me, "We'll be in the dining room," she turned to leave.
"Wait," I stopped her.
She turned around.
"Where is the dining room?" I asked.
"Down the stairs, first door on the right," she said and was gone.
I fell back on the soft pillow and wondered if I had just been in a dream. But the faint smell of Maria's perfume still hung in the air, insisting it was real.
I noticed how huge my room was. It had pale pink walls with oak furniture. There was a dresser with a mirror and chair as a place to do makeup, a desk, two bedside tables and in the corner near the large window were two soft chairs and a table. It looked like a little apartment. It was almost as big as the apartment back in St. Thomas.
The bed I was lying in right then was the same light oak. There was a flimsy pink canopy hanging over the four posters of the king sized bed. The comforter was a white duvet and very puffy. It felt like I was lying on marshmallows.
For a moment I wished my father were here to wake me up a few times but he wasn't so I stood up and realized I had slept in the jeans and sweater I had worn the day before.
I saw that my suitcases were on the floor empty beside the closet doors. Someone must have unpacked for me. I felt a little uncomfortable about a stranger touching all my things.
I walked over to the closet doors and opened them. I gasped in surprise at the size of it. It was bigger than any closet I had ever seen. Not even Lana had a closet this big. In fact, her house was a shack compared to this mansion.
My clothes were hanging in one corner of the closet while the rest of it was empty. The two pairs of shoes I brought were on the shelf underneath my clothes.
I changed my clothes and brushed my hair quickly. I didn't want to be late for my first breakfast with my mother's family. I found my way to the dining room easily enough. I was expecting an elaborately set table with piles of food I had never heard of but that was not what I found. The table was rectangular but not so long that if a person sat at either end you wouldn't be able to talk. It had a beige tablecloth covering it. Eight chairs surrounded the table but only five of them were occupied.
"Lucky!" my mother said standing up, "Please sit,"
I smiled politely and sat in one of the empty chairs.
"This is Lucky Sinclair everyone," Maria said, "Lucky this is my husband Randall," she gestured towards a handsome man with graying black hair and very dark eyes. He had a nice smile and a few wrinkles around his eyes. He was wearing a business suit- and it was Saturday.
"Our daughter Julianna," Maria continued. Julianna had her father's black hair and her mothers ice blue eyes. It was a beautiful combination. She was staring at me intently and I smiled back at her. She didn't return the smile.
"And my parents, Marcus and Nadine Campbell," my grandparents almost looked alike. My grandfather had light gray hair that I assumed used to be the same shade as my mother's and mine. His eyes were blue and I could feel them burning a hole in my face. He couldn't wait to see what was going on in my head. He also wore a business suit. My grandmother was dressed as impeccably as my mother with her light brown hair (which I'm sure had been coloured) pulled up into a bun at the nape of her neck. Her intense brown eyes told me I would have to suffer her wrath if I let the secret about me out.
"Nice to meet you Lucky," Randall said smiling.
"Nice to meet all of you," I said.
At that the servants began bringing out the food. I thought it all looked delicious. There were very thin pancake like things that had whip cream and fruit on them, bacon, eggs, toast. Every type of breakfast food that you could think of, aside from Captain Crunch which is what I was accustomed to having back in St. Thomas.
"These are crepes Lucky, have you ever had them before?" Nadine asked, she was pointing to the thin pancakes. For some reason I felt as though she were testing me.
"No, but they look wonderful," I said taking one.
"So, Lucky, where are you from?" Randall asked.
I glanced at Maria who nodded. She obviously hadn't told him anything about me.
"I'm, uh, from St. Thomas," I told him.
"Small towns," Marcus grumbled shaking his head.
"Oh Daddy just doesn't like small towns because there isn't enough business for companies like his," Maria told me.
"Oh, what kind of business do you own?" I asked.
Marcus looked happy that I showed an interest, which made me think back to the comment Maria had made last night about him wanting me to take over his company.
"It's a computer software developing company," he answered, "very successful," he added.
I nodded.
After breakfast both Marcus and Randall stood, "We're off to the office," Randall said, "no weekend for us,"
They both kissed Maria on the cheek and I noticed ignored Nadine who had a scowl on her face.
"I'm going to the mall," Julianna said standing up.
"Okay dear," Maria said, "Wait, I have a fabulous idea, why don't you take Lucky along?" Julianna's eyes widened.
"No, that's alright," I said.
"Nonsense, I'll give you my credit card and you can get whatever you need," Maria insisted.
Julianna's face brightened a little at the mention of a credit card but she crossed her arms over her small chest defiantly, "Mom, please,"
"You're taking her," Maria ordered.
Julianna rolled her eyes, "Fine, I'm leaving now, Gary's driving," she said.
I got up from the table and picked up my plate to take to the kitchen.
"No, no dear, the servants will take care of that," Maria said.
"That's okay, I'll take it," I said. I followed a servant into the kitchen where I found a man with a chef's hat on.
"Bonjour!" he said. He had a goatee and very dark brown hair.
I smiled at her, "Hello,"
"I am Pierre, you must be Lucy," he said.
"Lucky," I corrected him, "the breakfast was wonderful,"
"Merci!" he said.
I smiled and said, "I have to go, but maybe we'll talk again," I left the kitchen. I wanted to ask Pierre how he had made those delicious crepes. I knew Dad and Jesse would love them. But Julianna would be waiting for me so I thought it'd be better if I asked later. The servants were busy cleaning up the breakfast dishes. I fought the urge to help them and continued out to the front of the house.
Gary was waiting beside the limo. He smiled when he saw me. I smiled back. His was pretty much the only genuine smile I'd seen all morning besides Pierre of course. He opened the door for me and I climbed in. Julianna already had some type of rap music that I didn't particularly like playing.
"What is this?" I asked her, trying to show some interest.
"It's Nelly," she answered, "Do you like rap?"
"It's okay, I prefer rock," I told her. Carter had gotten me hooked on groups like Good Charlotte and Finger Eleven,"
She put on a sour face and tuned herself out to anything else I had to say. I realized on the way to the mall that Carter hadn't come to say goodbye. I didn't know how I felt about that. I guess it meant he didn't want to be friends. It saddened me to think that he wouldn't even hesitate to throw away our friendship just because I only wanted to be friends.
Before I knew it, Gary was opening to the car door and Julianna was climbing out. I got out after her.
"See you later," she said to Gary.
"Thanks for the ride," I told him.
"No need for thanks, a jobs a job," Gary said.
Julianna was already hurrying towards the large front doors. I had to run to catch up.
"We have my mother's credit card," she said not bothering to look at me as she weaved her way thought shoppers. I struggled to keep up and hear the rest of her speech, "We are going to use it right," she said grinning.
I was about to ask what she meant when we came to a group of people crowded around a bench.
"Julianna, hey," a girl said. She noticed me after a second and looked me up and down. She had a smirk on her face, "who's this?" she asked.
"Everyone, this is Lucky Sinclair, she's a friend of the family and is staying with me for awhile," Julianna introduced her friends quickly. I assumed she didn't want to spend much time on me.
"This is Amy O'Reilly, Lauren Wright and Jaime Kirkland," she said.
"Welcome to Ottawa," Lauren said smiling warmly. She was the only one who even spoke to me the whole time we were at the mall.
"Thanks," I smiled back.
"So, what are we looking for today?" Julianna said proudly holding up Maria's credit card, "Anything and everything," she said. They all laughed and headed to the first clothing store on the right.
"Choose what you want and we'll meet at the register," Julianna said. She and her friends rushed through the racks picking up anything they considered decent and hurried to the change rooms.
I glanced around, not really sure what to do.
"Do you need anything?" a deep voice asked from behind. I turned around to find a tall, find of skinny guy with glasses looking at me. He had a straight nose and nice lips. His eyes were a beautiful hazel colour and he had long eyelashes. His hair was dark auburn and curly.
"Um, I don't know yet," I admitted.
He laughed, "Well if you figure it out, come get me," he said, "I'm Adam by the way," he turned back to the change rooms to get Julianna and her friends to calm down. I stared after her a minute before choosing a pair of black jeans and a red blouse. I didn't look at the price. I just wanted to leave the store. I used to love going to the mall with Lana; we had fun together. But my half sister, I could already see, was spoiled. She would max out our mother's credit card today. Something I was sure she'd done before.
"Did you find anything?" Julianna asked. She was holding a stack of clothing. Her friends held more stacks. Lauren caught my eye and smiled apologetically. She was used to carting around Julianna's things.
"Yes," I said holding up the clothes I had chosen.
She eyed the clothes, "Maybe I should just let you have some of this," she said disdainfully.
"I like the blouse, it's cute," Lauren piped up. Julianna gave her a look and she stopped herself from saying anything else. I saw then that my half sister was the leader of this little group. They all did what she said.
She headed to the register. Lauren held back for a moment, "Don't pay attention to her, she can be a little bossy," she whispered so her leader wouldn't hear.
A little?
Adam was behind the counter ready to ring up our purchases.
"Good morning Adam Goody-Good," Julianna said,
"Hello peacocks," he said smirking. He glanced at me ad grinned.
"Ring us up," Jaime piped up, speaking for the first time. It took awhile for him to get everything but when the total came up I gasped in surprise.
"What? Didn't you know that much money existed?" Julianna said. Her friend laughed. She handed over the credit card and waited impatiently, tapping her nails on the counter.
I wondered how Maria would feel about her daughter spending this much money in one store. She had after all given the card to me to get what I needed. I hoped she wouldn't be upset with me for letting Julianna get her hands on it.
"Next store," she said grabbing her bags. She shoved my one bag into my hands and hurried out of the store, friends in tow.
"She forgot this," Adam said holding out he credit card. I smiled, turns out she wasn't as clever as she thought she was.
I took the card and said, "Thank you,"
"Do you go to White Hills?" he asked before I could leave.
"If that is where Julianna goes then yes, I'll be starting on Monday," I told him.
"I guess I'll see you there then," he said smiling.
I smiled back and left the store. I didn't see Julianna or any of her friends anywhere and truthfully I didn't really mind. I had the credit card. I wasn't going to let her drag me around anymore. I was going on my won shopping spree! I couldn't wait to get home and write to Lana.
I went to all the stores that I recognized from home and bought all the clothes I had never been able to afford before. I also got a few school supplies. A couple hours later, weighed down with tones of bags, I went outside to see if Gary was back. He was. He opened the trunk for me and I got into the car, I grabbed a snack from the fridge and waited for Julianna. Finally she crawled into the limo. When she saw me she frowned.
"Why did you leave?" she asked.
"You left me, so I took the credit card, since you seemed to have forgotten it," I told her.
She glared at me, "Just remember, this is my territory, Just because you are staying here for while doesn't mean you belong," she said.
If only she knew how very much I did belong.
The next day I woke up to a knocking at the door.
"Come in," I groaned.
Maria threw open the door already looking dressed to go to a fancy event.
"Breakfast is in a half an hour, you'll meet my family today," she told me, "We'll be in the dining room," she turned to leave.
"Wait," I stopped her.
She turned around.
"Where is the dining room?" I asked.
"Down the stairs, first door on the right," she said and was gone.
I fell back on the soft pillow and wondered if I had just been in a dream. But the faint smell of Maria's perfume still hung in the air, insisting it was real.
I noticed how huge my room was. It had pale pink walls with oak furniture. There was a dresser with a mirror and chair as a place to do makeup, a desk, two bedside tables and in the corner near the large window were two soft chairs and a table. It looked like a little apartment. It was almost as big as the apartment back in St. Thomas.
The bed I was lying in right then was the same light oak. There was a flimsy pink canopy hanging over the four posters of the king sized bed. The comforter was a white duvet and very puffy. It felt like I was lying on marshmallows.
For a moment I wished my father were here to wake me up a few times but he wasn't so I stood up and realized I had slept in the jeans and sweater I had worn the day before.
I saw that my suitcases were on the floor empty beside the closet doors. Someone must have unpacked for me. I felt a little uncomfortable about a stranger touching all my things.
I walked over to the closet doors and opened them. I gasped in surprise at the size of it. It was bigger than any closet I had ever seen. Not even Lana had a closet this big. In fact, her house was a shack compared to this mansion.
My clothes were hanging in one corner of the closet while the rest of it was empty. The two pairs of shoes I brought were on the shelf underneath my clothes.
I changed my clothes and brushed my hair quickly. I didn't want to be late for my first breakfast with my mother's family. I found my way to the dining room easily enough. I was expecting an elaborately set table with piles of food I had never heard of but that was not what I found. The table was rectangular but not so long that if a person sat at either end you wouldn't be able to talk. It had a beige tablecloth covering it. Eight chairs surrounded the table but only five of them were occupied.
"Lucky!" my mother said standing up, "Please sit,"
I smiled politely and sat in one of the empty chairs.
"This is Lucky Sinclair everyone," Maria said, "Lucky this is my husband Randall," she gestured towards a handsome man with graying black hair and very dark eyes. He had a nice smile and a few wrinkles around his eyes. He was wearing a business suit- and it was Saturday.
"Our daughter Julianna," Maria continued. Julianna had her father's black hair and her mothers ice blue eyes. It was a beautiful combination. She was staring at me intently and I smiled back at her. She didn't return the smile.
"And my parents, Marcus and Nadine Campbell," my grandparents almost looked alike. My grandfather had light gray hair that I assumed used to be the same shade as my mother's and mine. His eyes were blue and I could feel them burning a hole in my face. He couldn't wait to see what was going on in my head. He also wore a business suit. My grandmother was dressed as impeccably as my mother with her light brown hair (which I'm sure had been coloured) pulled up into a bun at the nape of her neck. Her intense brown eyes told me I would have to suffer her wrath if I let the secret about me out.
"Nice to meet you Lucky," Randall said smiling.
"Nice to meet all of you," I said.
At that the servants began bringing out the food. I thought it all looked delicious. There were very thin pancake like things that had whip cream and fruit on them, bacon, eggs, toast. Every type of breakfast food that you could think of, aside from Captain Crunch which is what I was accustomed to having back in St. Thomas.
"These are crepes Lucky, have you ever had them before?" Nadine asked, she was pointing to the thin pancakes. For some reason I felt as though she were testing me.
"No, but they look wonderful," I said taking one.
"So, Lucky, where are you from?" Randall asked.
I glanced at Maria who nodded. She obviously hadn't told him anything about me.
"I'm, uh, from St. Thomas," I told him.
"Small towns," Marcus grumbled shaking his head.
"Oh Daddy just doesn't like small towns because there isn't enough business for companies like his," Maria told me.
"Oh, what kind of business do you own?" I asked.
Marcus looked happy that I showed an interest, which made me think back to the comment Maria had made last night about him wanting me to take over his company.
"It's a computer software developing company," he answered, "very successful," he added.
I nodded.
After breakfast both Marcus and Randall stood, "We're off to the office," Randall said, "no weekend for us,"
They both kissed Maria on the cheek and I noticed ignored Nadine who had a scowl on her face.
"I'm going to the mall," Julianna said standing up.
"Okay dear," Maria said, "Wait, I have a fabulous idea, why don't you take Lucky along?" Julianna's eyes widened.
"No, that's alright," I said.
"Nonsense, I'll give you my credit card and you can get whatever you need," Maria insisted.
Julianna's face brightened a little at the mention of a credit card but she crossed her arms over her small chest defiantly, "Mom, please,"
"You're taking her," Maria ordered.
Julianna rolled her eyes, "Fine, I'm leaving now, Gary's driving," she said.
I got up from the table and picked up my plate to take to the kitchen.
"No, no dear, the servants will take care of that," Maria said.
"That's okay, I'll take it," I said. I followed a servant into the kitchen where I found a man with a chef's hat on.
"Bonjour!" he said. He had a goatee and very dark brown hair.
I smiled at her, "Hello,"
"I am Pierre, you must be Lucy," he said.
"Lucky," I corrected him, "the breakfast was wonderful,"
"Merci!" he said.
I smiled and said, "I have to go, but maybe we'll talk again," I left the kitchen. I wanted to ask Pierre how he had made those delicious crepes. I knew Dad and Jesse would love them. But Julianna would be waiting for me so I thought it'd be better if I asked later. The servants were busy cleaning up the breakfast dishes. I fought the urge to help them and continued out to the front of the house.
Gary was waiting beside the limo. He smiled when he saw me. I smiled back. His was pretty much the only genuine smile I'd seen all morning besides Pierre of course. He opened the door for me and I climbed in. Julianna already had some type of rap music that I didn't particularly like playing.
"What is this?" I asked her, trying to show some interest.
"It's Nelly," she answered, "Do you like rap?"
"It's okay, I prefer rock," I told her. Carter had gotten me hooked on groups like Good Charlotte and Finger Eleven,"
She put on a sour face and tuned herself out to anything else I had to say. I realized on the way to the mall that Carter hadn't come to say goodbye. I didn't know how I felt about that. I guess it meant he didn't want to be friends. It saddened me to think that he wouldn't even hesitate to throw away our friendship just because I only wanted to be friends.
Before I knew it, Gary was opening to the car door and Julianna was climbing out. I got out after her.
"See you later," she said to Gary.
"Thanks for the ride," I told him.
"No need for thanks, a jobs a job," Gary said.
Julianna was already hurrying towards the large front doors. I had to run to catch up.
"We have my mother's credit card," she said not bothering to look at me as she weaved her way thought shoppers. I struggled to keep up and hear the rest of her speech, "We are going to use it right," she said grinning.
I was about to ask what she meant when we came to a group of people crowded around a bench.
"Julianna, hey," a girl said. She noticed me after a second and looked me up and down. She had a smirk on her face, "who's this?" she asked.
"Everyone, this is Lucky Sinclair, she's a friend of the family and is staying with me for awhile," Julianna introduced her friends quickly. I assumed she didn't want to spend much time on me.
"This is Amy O'Reilly, Lauren Wright and Jaime Kirkland," she said.
"Welcome to Ottawa," Lauren said smiling warmly. She was the only one who even spoke to me the whole time we were at the mall.
"Thanks," I smiled back.
"So, what are we looking for today?" Julianna said proudly holding up Maria's credit card, "Anything and everything," she said. They all laughed and headed to the first clothing store on the right.
"Choose what you want and we'll meet at the register," Julianna said. She and her friends rushed through the racks picking up anything they considered decent and hurried to the change rooms.
I glanced around, not really sure what to do.
"Do you need anything?" a deep voice asked from behind. I turned around to find a tall, find of skinny guy with glasses looking at me. He had a straight nose and nice lips. His eyes were a beautiful hazel colour and he had long eyelashes. His hair was dark auburn and curly.
"Um, I don't know yet," I admitted.
He laughed, "Well if you figure it out, come get me," he said, "I'm Adam by the way," he turned back to the change rooms to get Julianna and her friends to calm down. I stared after her a minute before choosing a pair of black jeans and a red blouse. I didn't look at the price. I just wanted to leave the store. I used to love going to the mall with Lana; we had fun together. But my half sister, I could already see, was spoiled. She would max out our mother's credit card today. Something I was sure she'd done before.
"Did you find anything?" Julianna asked. She was holding a stack of clothing. Her friends held more stacks. Lauren caught my eye and smiled apologetically. She was used to carting around Julianna's things.
"Yes," I said holding up the clothes I had chosen.
She eyed the clothes, "Maybe I should just let you have some of this," she said disdainfully.
"I like the blouse, it's cute," Lauren piped up. Julianna gave her a look and she stopped herself from saying anything else. I saw then that my half sister was the leader of this little group. They all did what she said.
She headed to the register. Lauren held back for a moment, "Don't pay attention to her, she can be a little bossy," she whispered so her leader wouldn't hear.
A little?
Adam was behind the counter ready to ring up our purchases.
"Good morning Adam Goody-Good," Julianna said,
"Hello peacocks," he said smirking. He glanced at me ad grinned.
"Ring us up," Jaime piped up, speaking for the first time. It took awhile for him to get everything but when the total came up I gasped in surprise.
"What? Didn't you know that much money existed?" Julianna said. Her friend laughed. She handed over the credit card and waited impatiently, tapping her nails on the counter.
I wondered how Maria would feel about her daughter spending this much money in one store. She had after all given the card to me to get what I needed. I hoped she wouldn't be upset with me for letting Julianna get her hands on it.
"Next store," she said grabbing her bags. She shoved my one bag into my hands and hurried out of the store, friends in tow.
"She forgot this," Adam said holding out he credit card. I smiled, turns out she wasn't as clever as she thought she was.
I took the card and said, "Thank you,"
"Do you go to White Hills?" he asked before I could leave.
"If that is where Julianna goes then yes, I'll be starting on Monday," I told him.
"I guess I'll see you there then," he said smiling.
I smiled back and left the store. I didn't see Julianna or any of her friends anywhere and truthfully I didn't really mind. I had the credit card. I wasn't going to let her drag me around anymore. I was going on my won shopping spree! I couldn't wait to get home and write to Lana.
I went to all the stores that I recognized from home and bought all the clothes I had never been able to afford before. I also got a few school supplies. A couple hours later, weighed down with tones of bags, I went outside to see if Gary was back. He was. He opened the trunk for me and I got into the car, I grabbed a snack from the fridge and waited for Julianna. Finally she crawled into the limo. When she saw me she frowned.
"Why did you leave?" she asked.
"You left me, so I took the credit card, since you seemed to have forgotten it," I told her.
She glared at me, "Just remember, this is my territory, Just because you are staying here for while doesn't mean you belong," she said.
If only she knew how very much I did belong.
