Chasing Mr. Carlton ( The story of a Shrew's Son)

One Summer...

Strange when Ruth thought of it. Legally, her big sister and her sister's baby daddy(as Ruth liked to tease) were her parents. Once she had the Carlton name, Ruth loved it and wore it like a shield. There were few people who were willing to mess with a Carlton. Her first real family. She would always be grateful.

"Yeah, whatever." Bobby said, "This really isn't my thing."

"I know but trust us, it'll be great. It's already much smaller than anything we had for my sister or myself." Vada said, taking photos of the dress with her phone.

"That's true." Bobby said, thinking of the big wedding she'd helped with for Vada. "I just think Matt and I would have done just as well at city hall."

"I'm sure that would have been fine but this way you'll have all sorts of pictures and video to show Bea when she gets older." Ruth said.

"Her dress is ready too." Vada said, looking at the attendant now, "Right?"

"All the dresses are ready." She replied.

"Thank you." Bobby said with a smile, turning back to herself.

"If ever there was a day to wear those contacts, Bobby- this would be it." Vada said and Bobby sighed.

"Yes, I know." Bobby said, turning to glance at herself from different angles. "Speaking of Bea, we should get going."

"I thought you said Matt was picking her up today?" Ruth asked with a raised brow.

"Yes but he's like another child for me to be worrying about." Bobby said, shaking her head.

"Yikes. Wish I could defend my brother but you're absolutely right." Vada said with a chuckle. "I'm sure she's fine though."

"Me too." Bobby said, "It's him I worry about. That man gets carried away playing with that little girl and she has him wrapped around her finger."

"It's true. He's father most likely to give his daughter chocolate for dessert after a chocolate based dinner." Ruth teased and they laughed. It was true, Matt was a huge softy when it came to Bea, although she couldn't blame him. Beatrice Carlton was the prettiest little girl you had ever seen and she didn't look a thing like Bobby.

She was the walking, talking, spitting image of Nora... down to the dark hair and blue eyes. If you thought Georgina Carlton was her mother's clone, this was a whole other level. They might as well have just cloned Nora which meant that by default, and despite his assertions otherwise, she was the proverbial favorite for Brian. Now that was a man that knew how to spoil a child.

And Bea? Well she was smart, very smart and had the type of common sense and logical nature that her mother displayed. She was very rational for child and liked to do things the "grown up" way.  She too had caught on to how the men in her family doted on her and she enjoyed every second of it.

"I have to get going too." Ruth said, standing and taking her dress off the rack where it hung. Bobby wasn't having any real bridesmaids, she'd insisted that she wasn't doing anything that big but somehow Vada, Ruth, and even Georgina had managed to color coordinate... "I have a dinner tonight."

"Don't stay out too late." Bobby said but Ruth was already walking out of the store. They stared after her for a second. Ruth was still living in the large house with Matt and Bobby but if she had her way, she'd have moved out by now.

It was Matt who insisted she was too young to live on her own and that it was ridiculous of her to pay rent when she already travelled so much for work and was never home. Instead, he'd convinced her to stay in her room, telling her that she would have her space and freedom. That speech had warmed Bobby's heart when she heard it. Matt had really taken his responsibilities as her guardian seriously and wanted to make sure that Ruth was well cared for. In the end, Ruth agreed to stay for them and because, if she was honest, she liked coming home and laughing at the way they endlessly, but lovingly, fought. Besides, she could move out in a couple of years... she was still only 19.

"Well, Davide hasn't stopped texting me all day." Vada said, looking down at her phone. They  had driven to the city so that Vada could run errands for the wedding with Bobby but that man was very clingy.

"I noticed. Whenever Matt gets that way, I make sure to give him a piece of my mind. It drives me crazy." Bobby said, making Vada chuckle.

"Me too but I like it. It reminds me how much he adores me." Vada said dramatically and Bobby laughed.

"Would you like to come over and have dinner with us?" Bobby asked as she finished changing.

"Sounds great. Around 7?" Vada asked.

"Yes." Bobby said, handing the attendant the addresses. "I want the dresses delivered on time."

"Yes Ms. Darling." she replied, handing her the receipt.

"I'm sure Bea will be excited to see you." Bobby said, looking down at Vada's perky tummy. "She just goes on and on about your baby these days. She doesn't understand what's taking so long."

"Oh my, how careless of me to make her wait. I suppose Davide and I took our sweet time before finally deciding to have one." Vada said, patting the belly.

"I don't blame you. I love Bea but those two have a way for forgetting all about me." Bobby said with a frown. "Who would have known they'd be best friends?"

"I could have told you that." Vada said with a grin. "Ride?"

"No, I have my car. But thanks. See you tonight." Bobby said as Vada waived and climbed into a black car. She watched them drive off, thinking how strange it was that Vada always had at least two men with her. She knew Davide and his family were very traditional and that they were also extremely paranoid. She'd never met a man who always insisted his wife travel like that. Even today, in the bridal shop, There was one man who stood by the front entrance. She supposed it was one of those things that rich people just did but the Carltons never seemed to be quite as paranoid as the Peroni family.

It was just one of those things, she thought. After all, Vada was a billion dollar heiress and Davide was the only son of Matteo Peroni, a man who had a considerable fortune of his own. You just couldn't be too careful and besides, Bobby had seen firsthand just how crazy people could be.

She remembered that incident, all those years ago and she sighed. She'd thought maybe Ruth would need therapy after all that. The way she'd gone off with that pot... she shivered. It should have been traumatizing for her, especially since she seemed to be acting out in school. Then, according to the therapist, it turned out that Ruth wasn't traumatized at all from the incident. She just had some anger management issues stemming from her complicated upbringing and because of that, Ruth had managed to get into a few odd scraps.

Like the time she managed to glue three girls together during a trust exercise, or when she cut the gym class rope short while another girl was still up there. Then there was the time she'd put green hair dye in a classmate's shampoo, laxatives, impromptu hair cuts, taping one girl to the door of the science lab. Bobby still couldn't figure out how she managed to do these things...

She looked at her wrist, it was getting late and with a sigh and a subsequent smile, she made her way home.