Pride, Prejudice and other bad first impressions

Chapter 6

Sometimes I wonder if my mother’s obsession with seeing all of her daughters married off to wealthy men is tied to her own failures and experiences. My mother was born into a middle class family in the midwest. She moved to Manhattan with dreams of being an actress, but was forced to deal with the reality of waiting tables. My father, on the other hand, was the scion of a wealthy family, and lived a life of leisure. He was brought up with every comfort of life, and educated to take a role in the family company. He fell in love with my mother, who was young and beautiful and desperate and they had a quickie wedding in Vegas only five months before Jane was born. They had a tony apartment on Central Park West, and in the early years of their marriage, my mother reveled in their status, trying to keep up with all the ladies who lunch. I don’t remember too much from those days, except that we spent a lot of time in the park or going to museums, especially the Natural History one, with all of the dinosaur bones and the planetarium.

When Lydia was around 3, my Father’s brother-in-law Thomas Collins decided to buy him out and begin a hostile takeover of the company. It was not a civil parting at all, but my father was content to cash in his shares and live the rest of his life in relative comfort. My mother, however, was horrified. She was faced with the prospect of not being able to keep up with her friends. When my father suggested that they sell the Central Park apartment for something more affordable, in Queens, my mother had a fit. She couldn’t imagine facing her friends if she had to take a bridge or tunnel into the city to meet for brunch. She insisted that we move permanently into the lovely Hampton’s home that we generally only summered at, and my father decided that would suit him as well, so we’ve lived in relative comfort ever since. Dad has a lot of money still, and his accounts parcel it out in a way that has allowed us to live in comfort, and will let my parents retire comfortably, but if Lydia and my mother had their way, and platinum credit cards, we would be living in a cardboard box.

Considering all of these things, I should not have been on harsh as my mother as I always was. She made it hard, however, to be understanding, especially the way she seemed to bully and push Jane around as she did. Mother was crossing the boundary by checking Jane’s phones for texts and emails, and badgering her daughter at every moment about Bing Li, and what he liked, and things Jane could do to “win his heart.” Jane had always been a bit shy, and had always succumbed to our mother’s pressure, and it bugged me to no end the way Mother would put everything on her.

I tried to keep my mouth shut and maintain the general peace in our family, but sometimes my mother and Lydia made it way too hard to do so. Lydia had spent the entire morning obsessing over the new lifeguards, who she had begun Facebook/Instagram/Twitter stalking thanks to Maria Lucas, who had somehow taken that years applications from Charlotte without her noticing. She was making a slideshow of her favorites ranked in order of “hotness,” when our mother interrupted her with a squeal.

“Jane just got a text inviting her to Netherfield for an early dinner!” Mother shook the phone in excitement.

“Mother!” I scolded. “That is so inappropriate.” I sputtered and looked at Jane who could only blush as she took the phone from our mother and looked at the text.

“Bing Li is already so taken with you! You should wear that Herve Leger dress, the gold one, and the Louboutins of course.”

“Bing and Darcy won’t be there.” Jane said, her finger scrolling through the text she received. “Caroline says they had to go back to the city on business, that it will just be a girl’s night.”

“Hmmm....” Mother stuck her finger in the air. “The Leger dress is still a good call, you want to impress Caroline. You should just have your hair down instead of up and wear more casual makeup. You want to look as impressive as you can to those women, especially if you are going to be welcomed as a family member.”

“Jane,” I pleaded. “Don’t you think this is all a bit much, I mean, c’mon.”

“Lizzie, I really like him,” Jane said. “And I really like Caroline too. I know she rubs you the wrong way but she has been really kind to me and I think she could be a great friend for me. I don’t think there is anything wrong with me putting myself out there a bit. I won’t find love if I don’t make myself open to finding it.”

“Whatever.” I turned to my dad and pointed at him. “Dad, don’t you think this is ridiculous.”

“Dad looked up from his Ipad for a minute and smiled at me. “The only person in this house who is not ridiculous is you, Elizabeth. I used to think Jane might have some sense, but now I’m certain she’s a hopeless case as well.”

“What about you, Dad?” asked Jane.

“Certifiable.” He said, without looking up from his screen.

I tried to drown out the hyper shrieks of Lydia and Mother as they fussed and preened over Jane’s looks. I had to admit, when they had finished, that she did look really beautiful.

“Can you even walk in that dress?” I asked honestly unsure whether or not my sister had any mobility in such a narrow skirt and such high heels.

Jane smiled and took a few steps forward, before almost stumbling.

“It doesn’t matter whether or not she walks.” Mother insisted, shaking her head. “She’s driving to Netherfield and the will probably be sitting around that fancy dining table. It’s not like she’s running a marathon or anything.”

“I’ll keep my walking to a minimum, I promise.” Jane smiled at me.

“You are so harsh sometimes, Lizzie.” Lydia snarled at my while adding a bit more bronzer to Jane’s cheekbones.

“You look beautiful, sis.” I begrudgingly offered. “You will knock them dead.”

I crossed my fingers as Jane picked up her little clutch bag and hobbled out the front door. I spent the rest of the evening suffering from a serious anxiety. Lydia was Facetiming with Maria and going on and on about “hotties,” while my mother flipped through bridal magazines and blabbed to a friend on the phone about her daughter, who was “pretty much” engaged to Bing Li of the Fusion Dynasty Li’s. Then I heard my phone beep two times, and when I  reached for it, I almost exploded with anger reading the texts from Jane.

“Jane fell and twisted her ankle!” I yelled, as I got up and grabbed my bag. “Bing and Darcy came home early and wanted to take the girls out, and she fell coming down the steps of the terrace at Netherfield. She’s lying in the guest room waiting for Dr. Hollis to make a house visit.”

“Oh, that’s great!” said Mother.

“Great?” I squeaked. “Your eldest daughter is lying in a strange bed, with her ankle possibly mangled far away from home and you think that’s great? What is your damage?”

“Oh please,” Mother huffed. “She just twisted her ankle. She’ll use crutches for a few days and then be all right. But think of the plus side!”

“What plus side could there be?” I couldn’t even contain my anger.

“She will have to spend the night at Netherfield, maybe even the weekend! And with Bing there to dote over her. There is no aphrodisiac quite like the damsel in distress!”

“You are delusional!” I marched up the stairs and into Jane’s room, choosing a few tshirts and yoga pants to put into a backpack and headed back downstairs.

“I need a ride to Netherfield. Where is Dad?”

“Your father had some business to attend to. So there is no one to give you a ride, just leave your sister be.”

A text interrupted my next words, and I had a moment to read it before I answered my mother. It gave me a chance to calm myself a bit.

“Jane asked me to bring her something more comfortable to wear, so I am. I’ll take my bike.”

I grabbed my helmet and started on my ride to Netherfield.