"Do I get to surprise you, or do you need to know where we are going?" I think on it for a moment, I don't typically like not knowing something, but he looks so eager to keep our plans a mystery that I concede,
"Alright, but whatever you have planned better warrant all this mystery."
"What, buying you a car wasn't good enough?" I grin,
"Eh, it was pretty mediocre, I have to admit. I think you can do better." I tease, Benjamin get's that determined glint in his eyes, sharpening the playfulness in them just a little.
"Oh, game on baby girl, I'll show you. By the end of the day you are going to be admitting I am your favorite uncle." I laugh, enjoying our banter,
"That's a pretty bold statement. Also, one that will get you in trouble if I tell Landon and Lincoln."
"Oh, they know. We played Call Of Duty last night for the honor of first chance at wooing you to our side." I can't hold in the weird sound that escapes me at this revelation, somewhere between a laugh and a shriek,
"You what? Played for the honor? What is this medieval times Europe? Am I the fair maiden to be won in a contest?" I don't know if I am amused or indignant, maybe a little of both.
"Fair assessment. Yes, yes you are. We have never had a female in the family, one meeting and all of us love you already. You better prepare yourself for some intense spoiling and most likely smothering." I grimace, neither sounds pleasant. I knew this whole family thing couldn't be roses all the time, but I had hoped they would kind of let me do my own thing while living with them. It's not like I would be living there long, I go to university next year. Benjamin looks over to see my expression, his teasing grin morphs into something softer,
"Hey, don't worry about it. We just want you to be happy. And please, don't try to logic your way out of gifts like you did with the car. Let us spoil you, like I said it's more for us than for you anyway." We sit in silence for a moment while I turn over the implications of his words. I had kind of sensed that my uncles and cousins already felt protective of me, and if spoiling me made them happy, I couldn't really say no. I wanted them to be happy just as much as they wanted my happiness.
"Ok, I can do that." I agree.
"Huzzah! The Fair Maiden hath agreed to partake in the games!" Benjamin shouts. Despite my earlier misgivings, I find myself giggling. He grins at me before turning his eyes back on the road. It takes about forty minutes to reach our destination, mostly taking so long because we travel into the city, where traffic moves about a mile a minute. Finally, we pull into the underground garage of a huge skyscraper. I'm still clueless about why we are here but it becomes clear the minute we step outside of the vehicle. On the door leading out of the garage into the elevator bank is the same logo I saw on the plane yesterday. Rodenheim Enterprises, we are at the family company.
"What are we doing here?" I ask, running a little to catch up to Benjamin and his long legs.
"I thought you would like to see the company, and have lunch with mom and Landon." I smile, the prospect is exciting. I'm really curious to learn more about where my grandmother and uncle work. We take the elevator to the top floor, I'm surprised to learn that the whole building belongs to the company, when they had told me they owned a building near Wall street, I hadn't thought it would be this big. The doors open into a very comfortably decorated lobby. The gleaming wooden floors are accented by beautiful rugs made in the style of those fancy oriental rugs you see in videos about Morocco. The decorations seem to be in the signature blue, gold or black. It's stunning, high ceilings with several large leather couches seated around a reception desk where a woman in a stiff black uniform jacket mans a bank of phones with expertise. When she sees Benjamin, she immediately finished her call and comes out to greet him,
"Mrs. Steward and Mr. Landon are in conference room three." She says quietly, gesturing towards on of the hallways behind the desk. Benjamin nods at her,
"Thank you, Patrice." He takes my hand and tugs me towards the corridor. He's obviously been here before, if the confident way he weaves around the smartly dressed people milling around is any indication. He leads me to a door halfway down the hallway, a big number three inlaid directly into the heavy oak. Not bothering to nock, he opens up to reveal grandmother and Landon sitting at a large table, with more food than four people could possibly finish in one setting.
"Violet!" Landon exclaims, getting up to give me another feet-off-the-floor hug. He's dressed like he was yesterday, in a suit that was obviously tailored to fit. Today's suit is a rich navy-blue offset by starch a white shirt and black silk tie, black cufflinks in an iridescent material that reminds me of opals, finishes the look.
"Hi" I squawk. No able to say much else with my lungs getting crushed by Landon's massive arms.
"Sorry." He apologizes, putting me down. I give him a smile, patting his arm
"s-ok. I'm happy to see you again." I say, he looks like I've just given him the greatest gift ever. It makes me a bit self-conscious so I turn to grandmother, who gives me a much more refined hug.
"Good to see you, dear." She says, the reservedness that seems to be her mainstay melts for a minute as she regards me, pushing an errant curl behind me ear. I smile softly back,
"Good to see you too, but why am I seeing you here? It's Sunday, isn't' it?" I could be wrong, my sense of time got a bit screwed up with the hospital stay and then meeting Collin and learning, well, everything.
Benjamin rolls his eyes,
"Saturday, Sunday, most major holidays, these two would work at their own funeral if we let them." Neither Landon nor grandmother deny it, both look a bit guilty.
"But if it's important to us, and we ask, they drop work instantly for family." Grandmother smiles
"Family First. It's the Rodenheim motto."
"Since when?" Landon asks,
"Since Clarissa and I took over, of course." Grandmother sniffs at him. Benjamin laughs,
"Alright, alright. Family First. New family motto! It's better than the old one anyway."
"What was the old one?" I have to ask. Grandmother grimaces,
"Duty, Honor and Pride in Self." It doesn't sound so bad to me, but the way she says it causes me to think that there is a story behind that motto, and the need for a new one. I don't pry, though, it's too early for me to be digging up family secrets, even if I am one myself.
"Enough boring talk, let's eat!" Benjamin proclaims, pushing me towards one of the surprisingly comfortable office chairs around the table.
"So why eat here?" I ask. The building is huge, I have a feeling eating in the conference room is not a normal occurrence, there has to be a private eating room or something. I can't imagine grandmother eating here every day, even though it is a nice conference room. She smiles,
"I haven't officially announced you as one of my heirs or a member of the family. I will do so tomorrow, after we have had a chance to meet with my lawyer tonight. Until then, we need to keep your identity a secret. You really shouldn't even be here, but I couldn't say no when Ben said he wanted to bring you around for lunch, I find myself to be a bit greedy when it comes to time with my granddaughter."
"So, no tour?" Ben asks. Landon shakes his head,
"It would be better to wait until after the official announcement, less messy." Benjamin nods, I do as well. I'm not really well versed in the politics of family conglomerates like the Rodenheim's but even I know the value of controlling information release. We finish our lunch of seared salmon with a lemon glaze and Caesar salad. I'm sure the food is delicious, it looks expensive enough, but I barely taste it. I'm so wound up, the whole last 24 hours is starting to catch up with me and I haven't really had a chance to process it. Thankfully, both Landon and grandmother have to go back to work so they leave right after our meal.
After watching them go, Benjamin turns to me,
"You look like you could use some time out of your own head." I can't disagree with him, so I just shrug my shoulders. He grins,
"I had planned to introduce you to a few friends, but that can wait until school tomorrow. Let's go somewhere fun and pretend to be tourists." I smirk,
"I don't know about you, but I am a tourist. I've never been outside of Minnesota before." Ben's grin gets even wider, he holds out his hand. The muscles on his forearm are just as impressive as the rest of him, he looks like he could probably lift a car if he needed to. But the excellent cut of his tailored shirt and expensive looking jeans gives away his clothes-horse tendencies. I take his hand, returning the grin,
"Looks like I have a lot to show you today, please use me shamelessly as your fabulously wealthy tour guide." I can't stop the full out laugh that escapes, I'm starting to feel better already. Ben's playful personality and banter is working its magic on my overactive brain. I allow myself to push aside my worries and concerns, they can wait until later, for now I am just Violet Price, child of a single mother from Minnesota who has never seen anything outside of Minneapolis.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
We manage to hit a lot of the tourist traps in the city before dinner. Benjamin takes me to Time Square, which is loud and a bit dirty but still pretty cool. We also look at the Empire state building, Rockefeller center and we end the day with a walk in Central Park, which is by far my favorite part of the tour. It's in Central Park that I finally notice the effect my uncle has on others. I had been noticing the ladies stopping to stare at him all afternoon, but now I can see he has that effect on even the men. I don't doubt he is very popular at school, which brings me back to the anxiety I had early and the reasons for our impromptu tour. We are heading back to the estate, both of us sitting in companionable silence when I decide to broach the subject.
"What's it like?"
"What's what like?" Ben glances over at me, serious for once, most likely catching the hesitance in my voice.
"Woodridge." He smiles, the grin is bit wryer than his usual cheeky smirk.
"It's probably going to be nothing like the school you went to in Minnesota. Maybe the size of the class is comparable, but everything else will be different. I don't want to scare you, but it's better that you are prepared." I nod, saying nothing in hopes he will continue. To my relief, he does,
"Most of the kids that go to this school stay in the dorms. They are rich, powerful and famous. They come from all over the country and most of them won't see their parents except for at breaks."
"why..."
"Why are the Rodenheims allowed to stay off campus? Well, for one, kids whose parents live within driving distance can opt to stay off campus. But also, even if it weren't allowed, nobody denies a Rodenheim." He looks over and grins at my wide-eyed expression,
"Our family is one of the oldest and wealthiest in the US. We still have strong ties with our family back in England as well, it makes for some very powerful friends." England? I hadn't really thought of our family's ancestry. I'd always wondered where Mom and I came from, but with everything that had happened, family history was the farthest thing from my mind. Still, it was nice to know.
"So, basically. I should except a lot of rich kids but since I'm technically one of them, it should be ok?" I try to summarize what Ben had been trying to say.
"I guess. Definitely expect a lot of sucking up once they know who you are. Being a Rodenheim isn't always a good thing at Woodridge. The teachers will have high expectations and it will be hard to tell who is genuinely interested in friendship and what not." He looks a bit bitter, I can guess at how life had been like for him, at least the twins had each other, and our cousins were close enough in age to have been in school at the same time. Benjamin is alone. I realize, also, that as the youngest he has also had the legacy of his older brothers and cousins to uphold. I reach over to put my hand on his arm, which is rock hard with tension.
"Now there are two of us." I say softly, he doesn't turn to look at me, but the golden-brown of his eyes lose their earlier sharpness, warming into a more honey color as he relaxes.
"You're right. Woodridge isn't going to know what hit them. And don't worry, I run a tight court."
PART TWELVE
"court?"
"Haven't you heard? I'm the kind of the fucking school." His face returns to its usual good-natured grin. That boy-next-door smile is back, with a hint of something dangerous.
"The other kids call us the Court. I'm the King, Jonas is the Prince. There are others but you'll meet them tomorrow. I'll let you guess at their titles."
"What about Queen?"
"Nope. Never been a Queen since I don't have a need of one, I guess that title is yours now." I grimace, not really looking forward to a high school that gives titles to its popular crowd. Rich people are certainly different from the rest of us.
"What about logistics? Forget popularity circles, tell me about the classes, teachers, uniform. I want to be prepared."
"Well, it's pretty much the same academically as any other school, just more electives I guess. We have courses like water polo and horse riding." He laughs at my expression,
"Yeah, I know. Rich people stuff. But it is helpful since there is a course for basically anything you want to do. And all of our teachers are really smart, they all have to have a master's degree or higher. It's more like a university than a school, academically." I gulp, I'm not bad at school but neither am I particularity smart. I hope no one expects me to uphold the family legacy or they will be disappointed.
"There is a uniform, you'll find a few of them in your closet. We can order more if you grow." He raises his eyebrows at my short legs, barely touching the floor of his stupid sports car. I roll my eyes,
"Good luck with that, I've been trying to grow for years." Ben chuckles,
"Don't you dare, I like you tiny. Makes me want to put you in my pocket so you'll never leave me."
"That's weird. And creepy." Ben shrugs his shoulders
"I'm sure my brothers feel the same. Anyway, you'll visit with your advisor tomorrow to set your school schedule. I'll try to get you in as many of my classes. But you might not like all of them, especially my electives."
"What are your electives?"
"Advanced Fashion and Intermediate Marketing."
"Nope."
"Thought so. We'll find you something you like, like I said there is a course for almost everything you can think of. Our school prides itself on that kind of shit." I'm about to ask more questions, but we pull into the circular drive before I can formulate them. It's just as well, I think If I knew any more about the school, I wouldn't have the courage to show up tomorrow.
Inside, Ben helps me to my room, since the house is too big for me to remember the way from last night, and then leaves me to 'freshen up'
"Dinner is in an hour." He says before shutting the door.
I head out to my balcony as soon as he leaves, intent on watching the sun creep down to it's resting place. The colors of the sunset are gorgeous when paired with the vibrant hues of the turning leaves in the Rodenheim forest. I sit on the comfy chair, dragging a throw blanket I found on the foot of my bed out with me to ward off the chill. I look out onto the lake, squinting to find the lone few geese still swimming on the lake, they should be leaving for warming regions soon. I let my mind wander, not really thinking of anything, just letting it take in the beauty around me and process everything that had happened today. Ben's idea of a touristy day was a good one, it allowed me to forget everything for a while, but I still needed to process. I knew grandmother was going to talk to me with her lawyer after dinner, and I wanted to have a clear mind to deal with whatever they threw at me.
I thought about mom and how much she would love this place. More than me, that's for sure. She was always the one who like to go shopping and spend money. I remember all the fights we would have over her spending habits, I regret them now. I wish I had been a better daughter, not so caught up in trying to save money for my own things, University had seemed like such a noble goal at the time. I was determined to go, determined to get away from mom and our lonely life. If I had only known, if I had been less selfish, less, I don't know...something. Maybe we would have had more happy moments, more memories for her to look on as she lay there those last few months in the hospital. I remember her telling me that no matter what had happened to her, that I was the greatest gift she had ever received.
It's a corny line, but knowing what I know of my sperm donor, it had meant a lot. Still means a lot. Mom gave me everything, even though I came along and ruined her chances at getting out of her situation. She could have gone to college, could have done anything. She was smart, capable, and charming. But she chose to raise me, chose to work to give me the life that should have been hers. Even in death, she still keeps giving. She's given me a family, one to watch over me when she can no longer stand by my side.
"I wish it was you mom." I whisper, my voice hoarse from the unshed tears locked in transit.
"I would give all this up if you could be here instead." I feel guilty as soon as I say it, this new family had been searching for mom for so long, and here I am, the only connection they have to her, and I am acting ungrateful. With a shake of my head I resolve to be more accepting, to try my best to be the daughter, and granddaughter the Rodenheim-Stewarts expect. I owe it to mom to live up to her legacy and I owe it to myself to try and fit in here. I pull the blanket around me tighter, snuggling into the soft wool,
"No more pity party. From now on I'm a Rodenheim." I vow. It doesn't feel as weird or as disrespectful to mom's memory as I had thought. But I guess I shouldn't be surprised, she was a Price in name only. She would have loved to be a Rodenheim, I realize with a start that she would have fit right in here. She belonged with these people, and some sick man took that away from her. I don't know if I can take her place, mom and I are identical on the outside but on the inside, we couldn't be more different but I guess I will have to try.
I'm still sitting on my chair, staring out into the woods when I hear a soft knock on my door. With a sigh I unwrap myself to go answer. A young woman I hadn't seen before stand outside the door, looking way more nervous than she should, it's not like I'm going to eat her or something.
"Mrs. Stewart says dinner is ready, Ma'am." She stutters, I take in the crisp white of her shirt, pared with a blue overall-dress that matches the one on the Rodenheim logo. She must be a maid,
"Can you show me to where they are?" I ask, trying to smooth down my wayward curls and pulling on the jacket I had taken off when I went to my balcony. She nods, waiting for me to close the door before quietly trotting off down the hall. I am going to need a freaking map of this house if I want to go anywhere without a guide.
We end up in a room connected to the kitchen on the other side of the breakfast room. As soon as I enter, all of the people sitting around the table stand up. The inside of my mouth turns dry, I can't seem to move from my seat. The room is dominated by a long, beautifully made, table. The chairs surrounding it look old, made from wood and carved with beautiful slopes and decorations. They are all upholstered in really soft looking gold fabric, that doesn't sprout an ounce of stain but looks old as Jesus. There are twelve people already seated, and what looks to be room for about five more. The ends of the table are occupied by grandmother and her sister, with their husbands next to them. Clarissa's husband, Roger, is a heavyset man who looks about as jolly as she is. I'm briefly reminded of Santa and Mrs. Claus. He looks the part, at least, his long grey beard and shaggy hair giving him a more grandfather-y feel than my own grandfather.
Next to Roger is Collin, who smiles at me. I return the gesture and go to take the empty seat in between grandmother and a strange man I hadn't seen before. He is tall, like most of the people in the room, with skin the color of coffee and a very shiny bald head. He is dressed to the nines like everyone else in the room, grandmother and Clarissa are wearing gowns and the lady sitting next to the skinny man with tufts of white hair sticking out of his head is also dressed in a very nice looking pantsuit. I glare at Benjamin who sits across from me, next to his father. He has the decency to look guilty,
"sorry" he mouths. Grandmother catches the exchange,
"Did you forget to inform our newest member that Sunday dinners are a formal affair?" Benjamin's face grows a bit pink under grandmother's scrutiny. I, myself, resolve to never do anything to have that look turned on me
"Uhh, might have slipped my mind." He mutters. Grandmother tuts, Aunt Clarissa chuckles from the other end of the table,
"Leave the boy alone, we are all in a bit of excitement over meeting our dear Violet, there is bound to be a period of adjustment." Grandmother sighs, nodding to her sister, and lets the matter drop after one last stern glance to Benjamin. That must be the que since the door to the kitchen is suddenly opened by a stream of staff dressed in similar colors to the maid I had encountered earlier. I vaguely wonder how many people the Rodenheim's employ but choose to not ask. Especially since the plate that is set before me smells so good I can hardly think of anything else. I look around to see if the Rodenheims are religious, but nobody says anything, just starts daintily cutting their meat. I'm about halfway through my generous portion of roast beef when the Einstein look alike asks me,
"How are you doing, Violet?" I look at him, confused. Nobody had introduced him, and now he's acting like he knows me. Camden saves me by cutting in,
"This is Dr. Brown, he's going to start session with you and Aunt Christine and Uncle David next week, but we thought it would be good for you to meet him first in a non-professional setting. Or, rather, that's what he said anyway." He gestures to the man next to him, and then to the woman who sits beside the Einstein.
"and that is his wife, Betty." No other introduction, but none was needed. I study Dr. Brown, his eyes are dulled with age but hold a level of intelligence one finds in doctors and scientists, it's the same look in the eyes of Dr. Andrews, and he had been a brilliant man. I decide I can trust this doctor, if only for his insight.
"I'm doing fine," I say, not willing to go in depth. But it's not a lie, I am doing fine. I had sorted through a lot of my conflicting emotions this afternoon, I feel stronger, more settled. Dr. Brown considers me for a moment before nodding,
"You are adjusting remarkable well, I am confident you will not need my help for long." He says quietly. I grind, I trust him more now. With what I'm sure my grandmother is paying him, he could have tried to drag out the session but instead he's hinting that he might not be needed for long, it makes him more honorable in my opinion. Which is important if I am going to be trusting him with my secrets.
With one mystery guest uncovered, I turn to the tall man with the gleaming head. Before I can ask, grandmother graciously introduces us, too.
"This is Mr. Fawn, one of our attorneys. We have several on retainer but Mr. Fawn is the only one we trust with things closes to the family."
Like long lost granddaughters. I think to myself as I give Mr. Fawn a polite smile and nod. He returns the favor, though I'm not sure I'd consider that twitching of his upper lip a smile, the kindness in his eyes stops me from holding it against him.
After dinner, Mr. Brown and his wife make their exit swiftly, probably catching the impaitient way the lawyer kept flickering his eyes to the sleek looking black leather watch resting on his right wrist. I wonder is grandmother is paying him by the hour, I certainly hope not since dinner took ages once Aunt Clarissa and Collin started pestering me with questions. They wanted to know everything from my favorite color (Plum) to my favorite childhood memory (the day we got Munchkin, even though he quickly established his strong preference for Mom, to which grandmother assured me he was on his way with Kenya and the rest of my "personal items"). At one point, long after the maids had cleared away the desert dishes, I had looked to grandmother and then Pop in a silent plea to save me from the scrutiny, but the barely contained amusement in both of their eyes stopped me from holding on to that particular lifeline.
Which meant by the time the Browns left us, it was nearly 9pm. Knowing I had to get up at 6 for school, I secretly prayed to whatever gods would here me that whatever legal thingy the lawyer had to explain would be short and to the point. Thankfully, at least one of the gods likes me because as soon as the Doctor and his wife left, he pulled out a briefcase from under his chair.
"Don't you think we ought to..." Aunt Clarissa starts, Mr. Fawn sends her a glare
"I think you have wasted enough time tonight Clarissa, it's best we get this over with now so we can all retire for the night." The exasperated way he delivered the censure and the laughter in Grandmother and Clarissa's eyes told me two things. One, Mr. Fawn was more than a lawyer, he is a friend, and two, Aunt Clarissa had been wasting time on purpose. Sure, I'm positive she actually wanted to know the answer to all that stuff but I'd bet anyone that she and Collin were wasting time tonight precisely because it would annoy their attorney. My suspicions are proven when Aunt Clarissa leans forward, her dainty hands clasped around the edges of her now-empty coffee mug.
"Oh? But there are just so many questions I have for our dear Violet. I wonder if you would mind telling us about-"
"Enough!" She's cut off by a very irate Mr. Fawn. The color on his cheeks, originally a dark caramel, darkened a bit in his agitation. Both Clarissa and Collin grin. The rest of the family rolls their eyes, but Roger intervenes, taking pity on the poor man.
"Alright, dear. You can ask Violet your questions another time. Come on boys. You have work and school in the morning. Violet and her grandparents probably want to have some privacy for this part." He speaks gently, patting Clarissa's hand like she is an errant child. She gives Mr. Fawn a cheeky grin before hugging me goodbye and squeezing grandmothers hand. The couple usher the male offspring off as well, Roger practically dragging Collin away when he looks like he is going to protest. Surprisingly, it is Camden who lingers the longest, offering me one solemn look filled with an emotion I can't quite name before leaving us to silence.