Mi Princesa

Part One - Chapter Sixteen: The Family Dinner

Fernando took a deep breath as they stood outside of Bruckstone Palace, he peeked at his parents knowing that this wasn’t going to be easy for them; they were about to meet Vanessa’s family for the first time.

Vanessa grinned spotting her younger sister, she hadn’t seen Charlotte since she had left for London; it was wonderful to see each other again after such a long time.

Fernando watched as Vanessa moved to hug her sister, he had yet to meet Vanessa’s siblings and he hadn’t expected them to be at the dinner; he had just thought that it would be them and her father and grandmother.

“It’s so great to see you again,” Vanessa gushed, she had thought that her sister would be busy studying; she hadn’t known that she had come back from America.

Charlotte grinned, she hadn’t been able to stay away when she had heard of her older sister’s engagement; she was so happy for her and she had to meet the lucky man.

“Nando… this is my sister, Charlotte,” Vanessa said wrapping an arm around her younger sister and turning to face her fiancé and his parents; she grinned knowing that this couldn’t get any better and she wondered if her younger brother was coming as well.

“It’s nice to meet you, Nessa’s told me so much about you,” Fernando said smiling, he was sure that the dinner would be fine and he knew that his parents would love Vanessa’s family; he didn’t think that they acted any differently than any other family.

José and Flori shared a look, they had no idea what to expect and they hoped that they wouldn’t be forgotten about; it was their first meeting with their future in-laws and it made them nervous.

***

George sipped on his wine as he looked at José and Flori, he had no idea what to make of them but he knew that he had to play nice; Vanessa was happy and that was what mattered to him.

“Have you seen much of Andorra?” Elizabeth asked trying to keep the dinner from falling into silence, she smiled politely at the guests; she was sure that they could all get along wonderfully for the sake of Vanessa and Fernando.

Vanessa brushed some hair from her face, she was a little glad that her grandmother was here; she didn’t know what she would have done without her.

“Not yet… Vanessa has arranged a tour for us tomorrow,” Flori said politely, she offered a weak smile at Elizabeth before looking down at her soup; it was only the starter and she was amazed how slow the meal seemed to be going.

Elizabeth nodded her head, she was very proud of her country and she was sure that José and Flori would simply love it; she was sure they would end up buying a second home here to be closer to Vanessa and Fernando.

“Our capital is a wonderful city,” Elizabeth continued shooting a look at George, she didn’t know why he wasn’t trying to get to know their in-laws; Vanessa would marry Fernando in a year’s time and there was no avoiding that.

The room lapsed into an awkward silence again allowing Fernando look at Vanessa and smile at how beautiful she looked; she had opted to wear a black jersey blouse and black stretch pinstripe suit trousers paired with grey scalloped heel court shoes.

“How’s school going Charlotte?” George asked looking at his youngest daughter, he hadn’t seen much of her since she was currently studying in New York City; he was proud that she had managed to get into Dartmouth University.

Charlotte smiled, she had decided to study Comparative Literature and she had been glad to get away from the family for a little while; she wanted to grow as a person like her sister had.

Charlotte was only two years younger than Vanessa and like her sister had put off attending University so that she could focus on charity; she spent nearly a year in Africa working with aid workers.

“It’s going well. Henri and I are looking for our own place for next year,” Charlotte said with a smile, she had been with her boyfriend for over five years now and Henri was someone that she had always been able to rely on no matter what.

George nodded his head, he had always thought that he would be watching Charlotte marry before Vanessa; it was a surprise for him that Henri didn’t seem to want to take that next step.

“How’s wedding planning coming along?” Charlotte asked curious about how much had been done for her sister’s wedding, she was excited especially since she was going to be the maid-of-honour.

Vanessa grinned before she started to tell Charlotte about the wedding plans that had already been made, it wasn’t much but she knew how important this wedding was to her country.

“No wedding dress designer yet?” Elizabeth noted, she looked at her granddaughter knowing how big the dresses were now in the public domain; people would want replicas of the dress that Vanessa would marry Fernando in.

“Not yet,” Vanessa said peeking at her grandmother, she was a little relieved that this was going smoothly; she had no idea right now who she wanted to make her wedding dress since she wasn’t sure what she wanted to wear just yet.

“What about Sarah Burton from Alexander McQueen… he did the Duchess of Cambridge’s dress?” Charlotte said offering up a suggestion, the dress was important and couldn’t be taken lightly.

“Or what about Giorgio Armani, he did my wedding gown and he just did the Princess of Monaco’s dress?” Elizabeth offered, she was sure that they would be able to find the perfect designer for Vanessa; she would have to look perfect and all eyes were going to be on her and Fernando.

Flori blinked at the big names that were being thrown around, she wasn’t sure why she was surprised that Vanessa would have her dress made from scratch since she was royalty the dress would have to be unique.

“You could always opted for a unknown designer… that way no one will find out who is making the dress,” Flori said without thinking, she blinked as everyone at the table turned to look at her; she hadn’t even realised that she had spoken.

Fernando chuckled softly, he was a little pleased that his mother had joined the conversation; he didn’t want his parents to feel put off by the talk about the wedding.

“Or a Spanish designer… it would be a nice like to Fernando’s heritage,” Flori rambled peeking at José for help, she wasn’t sure what to say next and her husband suddenly seemed fascinated with his soup.

The room was completely silent for a moment, no one being sure about what to make of the sudden interjection from Flori.

“What a wonderful idea,” Elizabeth said breaking the silence, the dinner was awkward enough but she had to admit that Flori had a point; it would be a fine link to Fernando’s heritage if Vanessa wore a Spanish designer’s dress for her wedding day.

Flori blinked a little surprised that Elizabeth had agreed with her, she hadn’t been expecting it since she was sure that her idea would be dismissed; she was even more surprised when Elizabeth started quizzing her on Spanish designers and other ideas for the wedding.

Fernando took Vanessa’s hand under the table, he hoped that this would make things better for the two families; they didn’t need anyone feeling unwelcome right now.