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R.HAMILTON
The Hamilton Golf Clubhouse saw many recurring members and it ranged from families to solo players, from youngsters to the eldest, everyone in pristine clothing with top notch equipment. River enjoyed greeting those she recognised, and often played with the kids who chose to volunteer there so they got something other than people screaming at them for messing up, out of the experience.
The day ahead seemed busy. While the numbers meant a lot to the business, River felt most excited by the buzz it created near the hot spot. The restaurant packed, the mini golf courses and practice nooks in constant use.
"Oi, River!" she heard the familiar rumble of her brother from her side, then soon felt something slam into her shoulder. Soft. It fell to the closely cut grass without trouble. River glanced down to find her brother's glove by her shoes. "Your turn."
Once she tore her gaze from the front, she moved into position and completed her turn. Plenty of practice ensured her flawless hit, and with a smile at her audience, she tipped the front of her baseball cap. With that same movement, she leaned down and grabbed her eldest brother's glove, shoving it against his chest as she passed by him.
"You're awfully distracted today," said Kaia, River's sister-in-law, once she gave the second youngest Hamilton a look over. "Is something the matter?"
River's grip tightened on the top of her golf club while it helped her balance her weight, the question turning over in her mind before she said much. Nothing of worth bothered her, and she didn't feel bothered, to be precise, but something lingered in the air.
With a grin as wide as she could muster, she turned her head towards Kaia and said, "I'm feeling a headache coming on. Perhaps that."
"Riv," her brother called out and she turned, as did Kaia. He sniffled, wiggled his nose, then brushed against it with a finger as he said, "Too much fun last night?"
The slap on the back of his neck came right away as Jade scolded her fiancé. "Alden!"
"You're so annoying," River groaned but didn't deny what her brother insinuated. It wasn't like he said anything that wasn't true. "It's not that."
"Right—you're used to it by now, aren't you?" Dorian, her eldest brother commented, a smug smile stretching his lips whilst he fitted his glove back onto his hand. Before Kaia could've done what Jade did to Alden, Dorian caught her wrist and kissed the heel of her palm. "Too slow, darling."
River raised both of her hands and flipped each of her brothers off, the golf club falling flat against the grass with a quiet thud. "Both of you can do one."
Both of her brothers continued their teasing as they played. While the Hamilton siblings excelled at golf, Kaia and Jade always found it difficult to fall into the game. Kaia not as much as Jade, but River remembered the first time Dorian brought her out for an afternoon. River never laughed so much in her life.
Soon, they tired of the game.
Correction—Jade tired of being unable to use the golf club, and when she finally did find her grip, she continued to miss the actual ball with each of her swings. The group encouraged her, and let her have extra go's but Jade grew frustrated, both with the game and her rumbling stomach.
The equipment packed in the back of their golf carts, they drove back to the entrance of the course. As if the staff knew to expect them, they took over the cars and began to unload their belongings to store them in their separate lockers. River smiled at them and thanked them a lot more enthusiastically than normal people would've done. The overcompensation on her half felt more like a built-in reaction than anything else.
The boys went to one changing room, while the girls followed each other on the other side. River felt sticky from all the running around, and playing, so she chose to take a shower to freshen up. Standing beneath the shower head, doused in lukewarm water, reminded River of being wrapped in a blanket and cuddled. It made her mind wander and lose track of time, leading her to be all alone once she finished.
River made up a tune and whistled along as she got dressed. A similar white school skirt she wore earlier to play, a cream cotton shirt, and matching jumper loosely tied over her back, arms crossed over her chest. Socks and her shoes were next, then her phone and card holder. One of the cleaning ladies walked in just as she put her bag over her shoulder, and River smiled at her, greeting her in Polish.
As usual, it stopped her, and the staff, from getting where they aimed to go. If River had to be one thing, it was an absolute chatter box. No matter who stood before her, she could go on forever. Granted, her ability to speak Polish didn't go farther than greetings, the tiny woman before her spoke perfect English.
Only when something slammed shut loudly did River bid the woman goodbye. Through the doors, the first thing she noticed was how the early summer sun began to paint the sky a soft orange, a pale yellow, rosy pink. River enjoyed the warmth of its remaining rays with her eyes hidden behind black sunglasses, and smiled as the soft wind blew through her curls.
Chatter and laughter filled her ears, sending her heart to soar with happiness. Being out here felt the most like home. Memories clung to the cherry blossom trees, to the walls of the Clubhouse. Ever since she was a little girl, she spent her weekends out here, if not with her entire family, then some, and her friends.
As she got closer to her family, her brothers' laughter drew her attention, inspired her grin, and excited her rumbling stomach. If those two were sharing such chuckles, it meant they already ordered a pint—and were already sipping one glass each, she found.
The tiles—Mediterraneo Marmol, she recalled from when she enquired—felt smooth beneath her shoes as she stepped up one, two, three steps, her hand holding onto the thin, black railing that went around the slob of stone in a round shape. Covered on the top, the same thin, black railing ran upwards to keep the furniture intact all year around. The gazebo being a reminder of their villa in Italy, the very place where her mother and father had gotten married. A part of her parent's love that they brought home with them.
"Yay, finally!" Jade grinned, clapping, as she set her eyes on River. As usual, Jade took up her place on the farthest side of the rounded bench, sitting comfortably against the cushions.
River ran her eyes over everyone around the table with a little smile and a shake of her head as she sat on the edge. This sandwiched Kaia in the middle. Rewarded Dorian with River's immediate reach. Alden diagonal to her left.
"Have you all ordered food?" she wondered after she snatched one of the menus from the pile in the middle.
"Yes. You took forever," Alden responded, his voice slightly echoing as he spoke into his pint. The watch on his wrist reflected the sun and blinded River, the very same family ring she wore on her left index finger winking back at her from his left little finger. Dorian wore it on that very same digit. There was a knowing smirk on Alden's face, now repaid with a death stare from River.
"Asshole," she muttered, and leaned back with the menu in hand, face covered to keep the sun's reflection from her eyes. A long hum entertained her roaming eyes while the brothers and their significant others resumed their boring chatter.
Ever so slightly, the menu got changed every weekend. Thankfully, they kept some things on at all times and it made River a lot happier than she should've admitted. All the good memories that made this place her safe haven had very much to do with the food here.
When the appetisers came, River asked to order, only to be told it'll be a couple of minutes wait until someone can serve her as they had to tend to those who were there before her. Kaia felt bad for her, and shared her fries with her. The two of them chatted amongst themselves until River felt someone approach them and stand to her right.
The sunglasses pushed on to her head now threatened to slide and fall backwards because River glanced up at the person before her. She rested her elbow on the table, her chin sat in the palm of her hand.
"Hey, guys. How are we doing?"
"Are you new here?" she asked. The question came out nippier than she intended but it wasn't like she could rewind time and ask once more.
The man, dressed in black, clicked the pen in his hand in and out. He seemed to think over her question for a second, his jaw visibly tightening as he grounded his molars. Then, most unexpectedly, he responded, "Sure. What can I get for you?"
"Huh," River gave him a look over. Tall. Seemed like he frequented the gym. The muscles of his arms bulged under the short-sleeved shirt, and with every breath he took, his chest rose so much it caused his collarbones to stick out, the necklace around his neck to move and roll against his skin. A vein popped along the length of his bicep and River ran her tongue over her bottom lip as if on instinct. "What's your name?"
"Harry," he said. "Have you decided on your order or would you like another moment?"
"Oh, I've decided but—Harry," she smiled, all too entertained by this interaction. She heard Alden sigh, and from the corner of her eye she saw him go for another gulp of his beer. River tapped her index finger against her cheek while she said, "That's a nice name. Fitting, I'd say."
"Just order your food, Riv," Alden commented. "Let the poor man work, won't you?"
River looked over to her brother, bumping into Dorian's gaze in the process, and squinted at Alden.
"Alright, then," she sighed and sat back, her spine straight. "I'll have the Macaroni Cheese, the Fried Halloumi salad, with the Loaded Fries—please add bacon and chilli—and the Glazed Lemon Tart but please may I have it with Vanilla Bean Custard as opposed to the Raspberry Sorbet?"
"Sure," he nodded. Harry couldn't have sounded more bored if he tried, and River didn't enjoy the way his mood dampened hers. It was a beautiful afternoon, and this man got to work at one of the nicest establishments. What was there to be so grumpy about? "Anything else, Ma'am?"
Ma'am.
It made River chuckle. Her eyes met Dorian's, and he also smirked, Alden by his side bursting out in a laugh which was followed by a yelp. When River looked to her left, she quickly figured Jade kicked him under the table to behave.
"I'll also have a Strongbow Darkfruit and could you get me a straw, please?"
When she said that, Harry stopped writing. His face remained turned down but his eyes travelled upwards until he could set them on her. If looks could kill... oh, River would've been nothing more than ash.
"A straw?" he asked back like he didn't hear her correctly. It sounded like he teased her for her request.
River tilted her head. "Is there a problem, Harry?"
He cleared his throat. "No. No problem at all. Will that be all?"
"Yes," she said and held his gaze. Challenge shone in those bright eyes—almost blue. Could it have been green? It certainly wasn't green like Dorian's eyes. "Thank you."
Harry turned and left without saying anything else. River couldn't help but follow the sway of his hips. The raise of his arm as he shoved his fingers between his hair from the front. She imagined the movement caused those muscles in his arm to flex then relax and move deliciously into place once more.
"Don't even try," she heard Alden say when her eyes wandered over the toned thighs beneath the material of Harry's jeans. The words burst her bubble and knocked her head back from the tilt she didn't realise she held on to. River's eyebrows furrowed in confusion at the sound of what her brother said. "I actually like him."
"I'm not following," River leaned back against the cushion and crossed her arms over her chest, then her legs beneath the table.
"Harry."
"How do you know him?" she laughed. "He said he was new."
Alden and Dorian shared a look between them. The eldest Hamilton simply leaned back in his chair and put his arms on the sides.
"He is the manager," Alden said. River laughed again but her head fell backwards this time. She knew better than to throw it back—she'd done it before, and her skull collided with the bricks. "He has been the manager for the past two years."
"Fuck. Off."
"Promise you," Alden nodded, drinking from his pint again. The golden liquid swished around in his tall glass before he set it on the table again. "So, try not luring him into your bed and have him fired, alright?"
River scoffed. "Don't tell me he is your friend."
"He is not my friend."
"So, it shouldn't matter to you," she responded, grinning at her brother. The words made Alden lean forward as if he turned defensive over the manager. "Besides," she exhaled like it didn't matter to her, and picked off an invisible piece of lint from her shoulder. "He is grumpy."
Laughs and scoffs and Alden's 'Jesus Christ, Riv,' were the only forms of response she received. Thankfully, the conversation moved on easily after that but River didn't feel like joining. In her mind, she wondered how she never knew the manager of the Clubhouse. She knew everyone. By name. Remembered their little weekend stories. Wished them a happy birthday when she could.
A sort of bubble she wished to be burst out of surrounded her until she was served with her drink. Everyone else at the table got their food but her and she pouted sadly. Dorian ordered his usual Clubhouse Cheese Plate, and River felt more than comfortable helping herself to some of it. Her eldest brother didn't even bat an eyelash—he simply moved his pint out of the way and pushed the plate closer to River so she didn't have to lean over so much.
Amidst her conversation with Kaia, River didn't even notice when Harry came back with her food. While he set it down on the table—River clearing up some space for him—she couldn't help when the question, "Are you actually the manager here?" slipped past her lips.
Harry didn't bother to look at her as he put down her salad. "I am."
"So why did you say you were new?"
This time, he looked. Harry opened his mouth to say something, then he closed it. His eyes roamed around the table to find everyone following along the conversation.
He cleared his throat. He did that a lot, River noted. "We are busy today."
"You have staff, don't you?" she asked.
Harry scoffed then quickly homed his facial expressions in. He must've known who he stood around, and while he didn't appear intimidated, one word from anyone around the table could have him fired.
"Riv," Alden warned.
"What?" she groaned, her eyes on her brother. "Can I not ask questions? Especially from a man who's been managing this place for two years while I had no idea?"
"What your brother is trying to say is that perhaps you should choose another time to ask them," Kaia interrupted. Ever the mother to everyone in the Hamilton family. Perhaps that's what it meant to be married to the eldest of the family, to be the one to carry on the legacy. "Thank you, Harry," she said and nodded towards the table, now filled with plates of food and drinks.
"Sure," he dipped his chin. "Let me know if you need anything else."
River didn't mutter another word. Not because she felt hurt or annoyed but because the food before her drew her in completely. Hunger took control of her attention and she only saw the plates before her. The cider that she preferred to any and every other alcohol. Not that it meant she never drank anything else.
Filled to the brim and physically unable to move after everything they consumed, River, Alden, Dorian, Jade, and Kaia stayed to chat until the sun disappeared, and the outside lights turned up. Chatter continued to fill the outdoor space, waiters walking around as they served everyone.
The current discussion between the family had everything to do with Alden and Jade's wedding. It seemed everyone had something to say about it, and while River had her own ideas, she never felt comfortable pushing it the way some others have. Kaia in particular felt incredibly passionate about it and it very clearly put Jade in a position where she felt helpless.
"I think," River raised her voice and leaned forward. Her food baby made it uncomfortable to sit like this but after one too many extra cocktails, she felt she needed to change her sitting posture to get her defence across. "That if Jade wants to have roses, then she will have roses. Roses are great, and—" she gave her sister-in-law a knowing look. "—are actually more fitting for a wedding than sunflowers."
"You loved my sunflowers!" Kaia claimed, her eyebrows dipped as she feigned sadness. Then again, the way she couldn't handle her alcohol, her sadness may have been true. "Dee," she looked to River's brother, her husband, for back up but he just stared out of his head and nodded then picked up his pint and drained whatever was left of it.
"Let's go home, shall we?" he proposed and pushed himself out of his chair. Dorian had never been one to succumb to alcohol. It had no effect on him. That, or he never drank enough to get truly wasted. The one-time River saw him lose his marbles had to be when he finished his training to be a cardiothoracic surgeon last year.
Groaning and moaning, the crew wiggled themselves from beneath the table and made their way out of the Clubhouse Garden. River stumbled behind her brothers and their women, her heart annoyingly swaying in her chest. Longing spread through her chest, bitter and soul crunching.
River Hamilton never experienced love. Nothing other than what she knew to exist between her family. Parts of her never sought it because she feared she could never feel it and would never be loved back.
Something in her path made her nearly trip and fall on her face. It made her curse and look back to find a large rock in the middle of the road. Of course, it had to be her who nearly died.
In the meantime, some distance stretched between her and everyone else. The drinks she had didn't hold much over her yet she still didn't exactly feel sober. She didn't want to blame it on her decisions, so she had to conclude that whatever words passed by her ear were made with nothing but malice behind them.
"They call her the Princess of the Hamiltons for a reason," the unfamiliar voice said. "She was a bloody mess out there; did you see her? Practically falling off of her seat. Again."
The chuckle that followed—that sounded familiar. It sounded like Harry.
"A Princess, she is. Drinking her cider with a straw, my god," he said and it didn't sit well with her. For what reason, she couldn't tell.
None of that surprised her, though. People have said worse. Although, that didn't mean it made her feel any better.
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Aaand - we are OFF.
Chapter 1 has been sitting, saved away in my 'OLD MONEY' folder for absolute MONTHS. I am so excited to finally be sharing an over-edited version of it that could most likely still be edited but is now perfect for our circumstances.
We didn't only meet 3/6 of the main Hamilton family, but also 2 wives, and our lovely, though definitely grumpy, Harry <3 The difference between them is already mind-blowing, and I'm super excited to further explore their relationship, how they clash, then burn, and turn to ash in the end. :)
Regarding updates, I will most likely stick to Fridays. I think it's a pretty neat idea, and I've grown used to updating at the end of the week with DECEIVED, so it makes sense to go on with that.
I hope you enjoyed this first chapter, and the little moodboard I have chosen to go for this time, instead of the usual gifs. I think it adds more depth to the chapters, helps with the imagination - at least it's super helpful when writing :)
I promise to bring action, quite literally, as we dive into Chapter 2 next week. More Hamilton family, more Riverry moments. It's going to be great. I hope to see you here next time!
Love, B. x