Chapter 9
Lunch really was fabulous, just like Aunt Sophia had said it was. After it was all paid for, Aunt Sophia led us down the street to where the car was parked, but instead of getting in, she told the driver to meet us at the gate, whatever that was, at nine o'clock, and that until then he had the day off. "Well, come along, we have lots to do!" she said, strolling off down the street again to who knows where.
About three blocks away, we turned left, and we were confronted with signs of about sixty different shops stretched out over the next four or five blocks. Any and all of my friends back home would have died for this! An outdoor shopping mall in London! Way cool! "So, what do we need to get first…I think we should start at the top and work our way down." Aunt Sophia said, eyeing me like a hawk does her prey, which made me squirm a little in discomfort. "How about we start at Black and White. Michael, you have the option of sticking with us girls, or wandering around doing whatever you need, but I think that we need a guys' opinion. Fashion these days is based way too heavily on what guys are thinking."
"You mean that we are buying me cloths? Like a new wardrobe?" I asked in surprise.
"Didn't I tell you that earlier? Yes, you need English clothing. Your American style cloths are nice and all dear, but if you want to fit in, you have to dress like us!"
"I'll stay with you. I don't really need anything at the moment, but if I think of something, I might slip out for a few minutes. Plus, if I let you out of my site mother, you will have spent all of our money, just on my cousin!"
"Well, we can't have that now can we? Okay then, let's get too it! This way dears!" Aunt Sophia said, once again leaving us to follow her. By five o'clock, I had ten new shirts, fifteen new pants, five new skirts, four new dresses, three pairs of stockings, four pairs of bras, ten pairs of underwear, a nightgown and a bed cloak which I'll never wear and four new coats! Needless to say, we were all carrying a lot of bags. "Okay, time for supper! Now, where can we eat that is close? I know, we can go to Mickey D's!"
"What's that?" I asked.
"You have never been to Mickie D's? I thought you Americans had everything over there!" someone said from behind us. Turning around, and almost dropping my bags, I saw that it was West, the guy I met at the club last night.
"Hey West, what are you doing this side of town? I thought you hated shopping!" Michael said, as shocked as I was that he was there.
"Yeah, I do, but my mother's birthday is tomorrow, and my father is making me pick something out for both of us to give to her. I'm so glad I have a sister man, because she's in the store right now doing just that! Hello Lady Sophia, how nice to see you again!" West said, giving her a small bow. Okay, I'm really confused now! What the heck is going on?
"Nice to see you too Westley. How is your mother doing? I heard she has become quite ill!"
"Yes ma'am, that is why my father is making me do the shopping, he doesn't want to leave her side. We think that it might be pneumonia, but we can't be certain until the lab results come back."
"Well then, go get your sister, and I'll treat you to supper." Aunt Sophia told him.
"Oh, you don't have to do that; we can get supper back home."
"I insist. Now hurry up, we don't have all night."
"Yes ma'am, be back in a flash."
Three minutes later, we saw West and a girl I'm assuming was his sister come running up the street towards us. "We passed a Mickey D's on the way back here, and if we hurry we can get there before a line appears." West said.
"Well then, let's get a move on! Nice to see you again Olivia. Terribly sorry about your mother." Aunt Sophia said as we started to walk down the street.
"Nice to see you again too Lady Sophia. It is a terrible thing, but everyone gets sick at some time in their lives. I just hope that mother gets better!" Olivia replied.
"We all do dear, we all do."
"Hey Kit, those bags look heavy, mind if I take some off your load?" West asked me as we walked.
"Oh, I'm okay, really. They are just clothes." I told him, smiling at his offer though.
"What did you get? Knowing your Aunt, she probably forced some things on you that you don't even need, or won't wear probably." West said smiling, and taking some of my bags anyways.
"Thanks, I guess I didn't know how heavy cloths were." I said, suddenly feeling like my arms were feathers instead of bricks. "And yes, I got practically everything except for accessories! Honestly, I think she is going to have to buy me three new suitcases so that I can get all of this home!" I said, and we both laughed.
"Oh, don't worry about that dear, suitcases and accessories come after supper!" Aunt Sophia chimed in.
"Wow, you really know how to shop! Any of my friends at home would die to have a mother like you, or even an aunt!" I said, and all five of us laughed.
"Here we are, Mickey D's. I really can't believe that you don't have at least one of these back in the states." West said as we turned a corner.
"Oh, McDonalds! Of course have these! Heck, we have at least ten thousand of them! I've never heard the word Mickey D's before, and I never pictured my Aunt as the type to like fast food, so I never put two and two together." I said, sounding very stupid.
After dinner, Aunt Sophia was as good as her word because as soon as everything was paid for, she hustled us out the door and me into more shops. This time, I got four different hats, three different pairs of sunglasses, eight pairs of shoes; which Olivia was going pop-eyed over so Aunt Sophia bought her a pair as well; six different necklaces, five different bracelets, three different rings, four different pairs of earrings, five different belts, and four different purses. She tried to go for six, but I reasoned her down to four. After that, she took me to get new make-up! She said that it didn't look like I wore anything at all except for eyeliner, so Olivia and Aunt Sophia hired a lady to do my makeup at one of those makeup counters, then bought everything that she recommended, which included foundation, blush, three different sets of eye shadow, eyeliner, mascara, lip gloss, toner, make-up remover, and a special soap to wash my face with! Also, she did in fact buy me three suitcases to get all of my things home. Needless to say, all five of us were carrying our share of bags. But of course, I cheated and put some inside of the suitcases and wheeled them instead of carrying bags.
"Well, that was the most fun I've had in years! I do wish that I had a daughter to do all of this with, but my son refuses to indulge in his feminine side, so I don't get to shop like this ever!" Aunt Sophia said after we had come out of the last store.
"Aunt Sophia, I really don't need all of this!" I told her for the eightieth time.
"Nonsense! Do you like all of the things that we bought you?" I nodded my head. "Then you need them! It's as simple as that, so I don't want to hear any more about it. Now, who is up for ice cream? I think that I know where we can get some home made ice cream if anyone is up for it!
As expected, no one refused home made ice cream, so we all started off towards the gates, whatever that was, since it was almost nine o'clock. As we turned a corner, I got a glimpse of a bunch of men in red uniforms walking around in a courtyard, and to my astonishment, the gate turned out to be the front gate to the Buckingham Palace, and what I was seeing was the changing of the guards for the night shift! "Right on time." Aunt Sophia said softly next to me.
"You mean you did this on purpose, just so that I could see them?" I asked.
"No, well, yes, but also, here come the car. Okay now, everyone hop in, and don't get lost in the confusion of the guards! They may not show any emotion at all, but they don't take kindly to getting out of order when they are doing this exercise. Dashing to the car, we all hopped in, and pushed all of my bags to the front. Thankfully, this was a limo, just not a stretch limo, so there was plenty of room for all of us, plus my enormous amount of bags. Looking out the window so that I could watch the guards march around the courtyard, I was shocked when I saw that we were entering the gates, and not heading away from them!
"Aunt Sophia, I thought you said we were going back to the house. We are going the wrong way."
"No dear, I said I knew where we can get home made ice cream. Where we are going is inside the palace so that you can meet some of your other cousins." Aunt Sophia replied.
"I have other cousins? I thought that you were the only sibling my mother had. Wait, other cousins as in royal cousins? Cool!" I exclaimed. Everyone laughed at my enthusiasm.
"I am the only sibling your mother has Kit." Aunt Sophia said laughing. "But you have more than just one cousin on this side of the family. Michael is only your first cousin. You have second cousins once removed, third cousins, and even a third cousin once removed who was just born! Your third cousins are the ones that live in the palace."
"You mean to say that I'm related to Prince William?" I squealed in delight. Again, everyone laughed.
"Yes, and his brother, Prince Charles. William just got married and had a baby boy named Scott, so you might get to meet him as well. I guess you look alright right now since we are only having ice cream, but next time we come, I need you to dress in one of the new outfits that we bought today, so you look a little less American, and a little more like the English young lady that you are."
"Okay, wait, I'm a little confused. If I'm related to Prince William and Prince Charles, how is that possible?"
"You and Michael are first cousins because I and your mother are sisters. Grams is our mother, and Nana is her mother. Nana has a sister who is no longer living because she was killed, but just before she was killed, she had a daughter who was Grams' first cousin. She was also killed, but she also had a daughter, who is my and your mother's second cousin. She is the ruling queen, Queen Elizabeth, and she has two sons, William and Charles, who are your third cousins, along with being Michael's third cousins." Aunt Sophia explained, quite reasonably as if she did this every day to some fool walking around the streets. "I'm done talking about this. Okay, everyone out of the car!"
"Hey Michael, I have a question." I told him.
"Later, I said I'd tell you later." he replied.
Walking up the steps to the front door, I suddenly felt incredibly nervous. Okay, I love being on stage, singing and acting and playing the guitar and all, but my gosh, I've never met any member of a royal family! When the huge double front doors opened, I seriously thought I my stomach was going to burst of all the butterflies! The entrance hall was humongous, all made of sparkling marble. There were two staircases on either side of the hall, both going up to a balcony with a passageway underneath of it in-between the stairs. There was a man in a black suit standing at the top of the balcony and when he saw us walk in he said in a loud, carrying voice, "Announcing her Royal Highness, Queen Elizabeth, Queen of England, and her sons, Prince Charles, Crown Prince William and his wife Princess Caroline, and their son Prince Scott."
Aunt Sophia stopped when the announcements had begun, and now that they were over, she made a very deep curtsy, and stayed that way. Looking around me, I noticed that Michael, West, and Olivia were also in curtsies or bows, and staying that way, so I did the only reasonable thing to do, I mimicked them, but I kept my head tilted slightly up so that I could watch the procession walk down the stairs. When they had all reached the bottom, Queen Elizabeth said, "You may rise."
"You're Majesty, how nice to see you again!" Aunt Sophia said after standing up strait again.
"Ah, Sophia darling! It is such a pleasure to have you here again! I see you have brought your son again; I know that my boys do enjoy his company. I do not believe that I have had the pleasure of meeting your other companions though."
"Well, this fine young gentleman to the left of my son is Westley Prescott, the son of the Duke and Duchess Prescott." When Aunt Sophia said that, I was shocked because I hadn't known that West came from a prominent family. "The young lady to his left is his sister, Olivia. To the right of my son is his cousin, my niece, Kitiara. She is the daughter of my sister who now lives in the United States of America."
"Well, lady Kitiara, it is a pleasure to meet you. How are you enjoying my fabulous country so far?" the queen asked.
"Um, since I've only been here since yesterday, I seem to like it alright, but I have always admired England. Honestly, I wish my mother had never left, don't really know why she did other than for my father." I said nonchalantly. To my surprise, she laughed! They all did, just like in the car!
"My, you have quite a sense of humor! I like your niece Sophia. Now then, since we all know who each other are now, I suggest we get onto the ice cream!" the queen said.