White Tie, Black Leather

16: Salon-Talk

"A dark red," I say, looking away from my book for a split moment, "to go with the chalet theme."

"Interesting!" She smiles. "I think Soledad is wearing sage."

"That will go well with the theme also!" Mother reasserts herself once more.

"So, how many more days until the gala?" Mrs. Majewska pipes in.

"Only two weeks. It's always on December first, which is a Thursday this year," Mother informs as her stylist rolls her hair into large pin rollers. "I'm thinking about making it more inclusive this year. What do you ladies think?"

"As long as you don't invite the... middle class, I think you're alright."

"Maybe only extend it to the lower upper class, like Mrs. Tanton over here," Mrs. Castillo gestures to the woman who referred to Mother's party as a "ski lodge" theme.

"Invite a few 'new money' people, but not many. They're too green and don't know how to behave at a party," Mrs. Majewska advises and I roll my eyes.

"What do you think, Blythe?" Mother directs all attention to me. "You're going to be the matriarch one day, you should get some practice."

I internally shudder and protest at being the party-planning matriarch she is. "I think you should include all classes," I say, which earns a few gasps. "It will display the generosity of the Ragin family which will create a better public image of you, since many tabloids paint you as a selfish, greedy witch."

More gasps are heard but instead of anger from Mother as I expected, she's smirking with a proud expression on her face. "Blythe, dear, you are a genius! We'll invite all classes, but only a few. We don't want to be overrun. Also, we can't be too generous or they'll think it's okay to come back when they need something. That would be horrendous!"

All the ladies fall into high-pitched, faux laughter and I roll my eyes once again.

Hell is empty and all the devils are here.

♔

When I step into my house, after finishing my hair appointment, the strong scent of orange spice and ginger hits my nostrils and stings my eyes. This can only mean one thing— Daniel's here.

"Why's Daniel here?" I turn to face Mother who's closing the door behind her.

"I suppose he's here for tea," She shrugs, hanging up her peacoat.

I sigh. I wish someone would tell me he's coming so I wouldn't be blindsided.

I guess they didn't tell me so it's impossible for me to make a quick escape.

I slowly embark into the sitting room, tugging at the top of my corduroy pants before entering the room.

Father and Daniel are seated opposite one another, Father's nose in the Wall Street Journal and Daniel's nose in his phone. I stand at the door for a moment, simply looking at them. They don't notice my presence until Mother comes bursting in around me.

"Hello gentlemen! Sorry we're late for tea. Blythe's hair took a little longer than expected."

That was your hair, but okay.

"Quite alright, Mrs. Ragin," Daniel flashes a bright smile and stands to his feet to greet her.

I meander over to Father's side and prop myself on the arm of his chair, leaning in to look at his paper.

"What are you reading about?"

"The economy," He says, his eyes glued to the page.

"Good or bad?"

He slightly shrugs, "So-so."

I read from the top of the page, which has the headline: "Student-Loan Debt Inhibits Home-Ownership".

"Blythe?" Daniel catches my attention and I spare him an impassive glance.

"Should I wear a tie or a bow-tie to the gala?"

"Tie," I respond, then move my focus back to the article.

"Do I need to get a haircut before then? Or would you prefer my hair longer?"

I sigh, "Get it trimmed."

"Perfect," He flashes me a smile but I don't respond with one.

"Harrison, what should we have for the hor d'oeuvres? I was thinking about doing smoked salmon crisps for the opening, but I'm not sure. What do you think?" She drapes her hand atop Daniel's chair.

"As long as we have duck for the main course, I'm set," Father mutters, flipping the page and cutting off my reading.

"Why don't you wear your hair up for the gala, Blythe? To show off your neck," Daniel suggests, his eyes trained on my throat.

"It looks best with my hair down," I respond, not wanting him to be lusting after my neck all night.

"Maybe you should wear it up, Blythe," Mother suggests even though she's the one who commanded I wear it down in the first place.

"Let the girl wear her hair as she wants, Nancy," Father breaks in, his tone emotionless yet firm enough to make a point to Mother.

"Hmph!" Mother says, standing and tugging on her blouse. She then stomps out of the room, calling Daniel after her in order to go over financial details of the wedding.

I stare at the side of my father's head and admire him for a moment. Sometimes, it seems like he's the only real family I have.

"I love you, Dad," I kiss him on the cheek and go to exit the room.

"I love you too, Blythe."

I stop in my tracks at his sentiment and smile to myself before continuing in my path to my room.

I haven't heard that in a long time. It feels good.

A/N: so, no jesse this chapter. More of a filler to set things up! Plus, I don't want the chapters to be the same thing over and over ya know?
Anyway....
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bella_salvatore