xxvi.
They went down the back steps, around the expertly trimmed shrubs rather than walking straight up the tree-lined cobblestones to the front door. Rikki stifled a snicker at the elaborate spread set up under a giant awning by the pool. Maybe she could have worn her bather after all.
A woman with softly curled blonde hair and manicured nails was putting the finishing tweaks on a colourful centrepiece mostly comprised of pineapples and cherries. When she stood up to survey her work, it was clear that she certainly didn't believe in hiding her assets. The dress she wore was clingy as it was short, and the pink-orange of the pattern was barely a more vivid hue than her unnaturally tan skin.
"Malibu Barbie?" Rikki whispered in Zane's ear as she approached, earning herself a barely contained laugh from Zane.
"Uh, Rikki, this is Candy, my dad's... um... what exactly are you doing here, Candy?"
"Oh!" Candy seemed delighted by Zane's question, making Rikki wonder if all her artificial tanning had fried her brain cells. "Well, your father wanted to make sure everything was set up nicely, seeing as you said you had a special announcement and were bringing a guest. I had no idea she'd be such a glamorous guest! You sly, sly bloke!" Her trilling laugh ended with a merry squeak. "Right this way, kids. Harrison will be out any minute. Said he forgot something in the house. Men," she giggled, shaking her head at Rikki, "always forgetting something, right?"
"Sure," Rikki replied, not at all following what was so funny.
Dr Bennett came out by way of the sliding side door, depositing a tiny square box into the pocket of his suit jacket. Introductions were made, and it did not escape Zane's notice when his dad didn't tell Rikki to address him as Harrison. That wasn't a great sign, but he was willing to overlook it for the sake of an easier dinner.
Their dinner itself began pleasant enough, if not a bit awkward. Dr Bennett asked Rikki about her favourite classes and future plans, all of which she averted answering as graciously as she could.
"So, Zane. What's the big announcement?"
"I suppose," he began, looking to Rikki for a nervous smile of encouragement, "the best thing is just to out and say it. Rikki and I are getting married."
"Zane, this isn't the time to make jokes."
"I'm not joking, Dad. Rikki and I are getting married. With or without your consent. Maybe it won't be legal without you, but it'll mean something to us."
"Did you knock her up? I can't imagine why else you'd insist on marrying someone you barely know before graduating high school."
"Dad..." Zane warned, but he didn't correct him.
"What? Are you telling me she is pregnant? I can't believe this, Zane!"
"Mr Bennet..." Rikki started, about to interject that her pregnancy was not Zane's fault, but considering the lack of explanation she'd be able to provide, she let herself be silenced by Harrison's threatening glare. It took everything in her not to snap back with a clever put-down. She wanted Zane to be proud of her. She wanted to prove she could get through this without embarrassing him any worse than her very presence must.
"Zane, may I speak to you in private for a moment?" he glowered.
Their supposed private conversation took place a few kilometres away and went on loud enough for both women to hear perfectly from their seats at the table.
"What do you know of this Rikki?" He said her name like she was a newly discovered feral species.
"Enough to know that I love her and want to spend the rest of my life with her."
Rikki ducked her head, unable to hide her blush from Candy who winked, smiling brightly at her as if there was nothing awkward about their eavesdropping.
"And what about her background? Her family? Do you know who they are?"
"That doesn't matter to me," Zane replied impatiently.
"It should. I have a strong family image to uphold. We have an image to uphold. I can't have you letting mistakes like this bring us down."
"And what about Candy? How does she fit into your strong family image?"
Rikki cast a glance her way, but Candy was completely unconcerned with everything except catching the cherry from the bottom of her glass.
"Candy may not be the sharpest tack in the drawer, but she's from an affluent family and knows how to carry herself. She saved me a lot of money tonight when I might otherwise have had to hire a caterer."
"Right. A live-in caterer. So you're using her as much as she's using you. Great relationship advice, Dad." He took a single breath. "Thanks for the chat, but I think it's time Rikki and I left. Dinner was great. We won't be wasting your resources again."
Harrison stopped him by grabbing hold of his arm.
"Zane, you're being unreasonable. Think about what this means. This isn't a situation you can fix with a shotgun wedding. If things go sour, you'll be paying child support for the rest of your life. Marry the girl and there's no getting out of that. How far along is she?"
"What?"
"She's not showing yet," he said with a cursory glance Rikki's way. "It probably isn't too late to take care of the problem before it gets any worse."
"The... problem?" Zane shook his way out of Harrison's grip, near to bursting with ire. "I see how it is with you. Anyone who doesn't fit into your perfect little plan is a problem. Is that why you chased Mum away? She didn't suck up to your stupid business partners or pull her punches when your head got too big for that hundred-dollar haircut. You know, I used to think I was lucky. That as hard as you were on me, at least I had one parent who didn't abandon me. But you turned out to be the worse of the two."
Harrison watched in stony silence as Zane ushered his fiancée away from the dinner table and back the way they'd come. It wasn't until they'd almost left the perfectly tended property that they heard Harrison running after them. He confronted Zane again, acting as if Rikki wasn't even there.
"How dare you do this to me, Zane."
"How dare I? What is in the water you're drinking that you're turning this on me?"
"You've ruined what was supposed to be a lovely dinner between family at the end of which I intended on proposing to Candy and having you welcome her as your stepmother. But clearly, you're too selfish to let anyone else have a little bit of the spotlight because you have to throw a childish tantrum as soon as you don't get your way."
"Propose? To Candy?" Zane laughed derisively. "Is that what's in your pocket, Dad? Tell me that's not Granddad's ring."
"It is. And why shouldn't I be in possession of such a thing?"
"Because Granddad gave it to me. He knew you'd try to take it for yourself, so he put it in writing that the ring was going to me. I hoped I wouldn't have to resort to dragging the law into this, but you have no claim to that. Why do you do this? You could buy a hundred rings, but you take the one that means something to me!"
"That's ridiculous! Fine. You can have your trinket." He threw the box to the ground as if he honestly didn't care what happened to it. "Like you said, I can afford a hundred just like it. You know how, Zane Bennett? Because I worked hard to keep my position and wealth, and here you are, about to throw it all away on some gold-digging slut."
Zane pulled his arm back, readying to swing a punch, but Rikki held him back. Although she was not about to let Harrison have the last word.
"Hey!" she snapped, "Why don't you back off, and stop running your mouth like you know anything about me, okay? I may not have two loving parents and a fancy mansion with a housekeeper, but neither does Zane as far as I can see. The way you behave, Zane can't have any of this without you breathing down his back and making him miserable. And if the choice is for us to be together in a dumpy trailer, or living separate lives rolling in money, I know what my choice would be. And I think you'd be surprised at Zane's choice too if you'd ever bother getting to know your own son.
You can think me a gold digger all you like, Dr Bennett. But I'd take a good long look in the mirror at your own priorities before accusing me of being after the money. I hope you're happy together," she added, nodding back towards the pool where Candy was most likely still trying to make sense of the drama that had just transpired in her hearing. "But I think she deserves someone better than you."
She maintained a haughty stroll, surprised at how moveable she was in her dress, until they'd more than certainly passed out of sight of Harrison Bennett, and the grand house no longer loomed in the background. Then, after a time of nervous lip-chewing and replaying the confrontation in her mind, she broke down.
"I'm sorry!" she cried abruptly. "I'm so stupid! I should have just... let you punch him. No, I should have known how to talk him down before it got to that point. I'm sorry. I'm an embarrassment." Rikki covered her face with her hands, blushing furiously.
"Rikki, you gorgeous idiot, come here," Zane insisted, tugging on her wrists until she ventured to look up at him. "I swear, I have never been more proud of you."
"But I ruined dinner."
Zane chuckled. "That was the best 'family' dinner I've ever experienced. I got you in a stunning red dress, saw my dad knocked off his high horse, and it ended before the weird desserts came out."
"Desserts?" Rikki raised an eyebrow, "As in multiple? Maybe we should go back and apologise," she suggested, only half joking.
"Hah! Not a chance! I am hungry, though..." Zane pat his stomach mournfully. "Those portions were inhumane."
"Burgers?" Rikki grinned. "And then ice cream?"
"At least two scoops..." he grinned back, drawing her in to walk sidled up to him.
"...of each flavour!" she ended, more than happy to oblige him with their closeness.
"Just promise me you won't let him upset you," he said with meaning. "This," he motioned to her and their growing Guppy, "this is my family now. I don't care what Dad thinks, as long as the two of you are happy."
Rikki snuggled even closer into his side and let him lead her away to a real family dinner and the promise of multiple desserts. She was certainly happy. And if the impertinent kick she felt from Guppy was any indication, so was the smallest member of their family.
A/N: Speaking of multiple desserts, today I had an authentic Belgian Waffle with berries and cream, and I just about died of happiness. I mean, the moment of first biting into this waffle compares to living in Scotland with your best friend and being proposed to by the man of your dreams. And those things happened to me, so I can say that with confidence. Seriously, go find somewhere that sells real Belgian Waffles and "treat yo'self." You won't be sorry!