“Little Elizabeth has had the worst year at school, her teacher really hates her. I keep telling her Elizabeth is quite gifted, but the damned woman won’t listen. I’ve had to call the headmaster three times, and sometimes I feel she doesn’t listen either.”
“Oh that’s unfortunate,” John replied sympathetically, and it was obvious that he was used to his sister’s complaints. “Amy, before we get too caught up with catching up, I’d like to introduce you to my fiancée Mary, and her daughter Julianne.”
“How lovely to meet you,” Amy flowered, obviously not meaning a word she said. She came over and kissed first my mother’s cheek, then mine, and I’m pretty sure I could feel her recoil at having to touch me, no matter how lightly. No, this was not someone that I was going to like. I shook hands with her husband, who seemed nice enough, then excused myself to go find somewhere I’d be welcome.
Grabbing my coat and making my way outside, I was soon met by an excited, perfectly groomed miniature poodle who had obviously found a tennis ball somewhere and dropped it at my feet.
“Well, why let this huge garden go to waste?” I asked him as I picked up the ball and threw it as far as I could.
I’d played softball when I was younger, and still had a pretty good arm on me, so when the ball went around 100 feet I wasn’t too surprised. I waited for the dog to bring the ball back, but he didn’t, so I went after him.
I quickly discovered that the whole point of the game was for me to chase him until I managed to grab the ball off him, which turned out to be borderline impossible.
“Come on, little guy, let me have the ball,” I begged as we ran around in circles, his tail wagging the whole time. Finally he took pity on me and dropped the ball, only to pick it up again and run off as soon as I got to within a foot of him.
“Now that’s just cruel,” I scolded, but a minute later the dog got bored of the game and let me throw the ball for him again after all.
Stomping around the yard, eventually the second dog decided to join in on the fun, and the two of them started playing, trying to get the ball from one another, and then letting me throw it for them.
Eventually I had a look at my watch. I knew I’d have to be back at the house by noon, when the Christmas lunch was going to be served, after which time presents would be opened.
What kind of place has Christmas lunch instead of Christmas dinner, then has you open your presents afterwards? Crazy, that’s what that is, I thought to myself as the dogs launched after the ball once more.
At one point I threw the ball past a shed, and to my surprise, Jack came out from the other side, looking curious.
“What are you doing here?” he asked when he saw me.
“Playing with the dogs. They’re nicer than the rest of your aunt’s family.”
“Well it looks like we finally agree on something. They’re going to love you when you come back into the house covered in mud,” he continued, looking me up and down.
I looked down at my clothes and was suddenly extremely glad that I hadn’t changed into my nice Christmas dress yet. Jack was right, I was absolutely covered in it.
“What about you, why are you hiding out here?”
“Same reason. But they don’t expect me back for lunch. But off you go, sis, they’ll be getting started soon,” he continued, and I glared at him as I looked at my watch. He was right, I was going to be late.
“Speaking of the dogs being nicer than humans,” I started, and let out a whistle. The two happy poodles came running towards me, and I threw the ball back towards the house.
*
Thirty minutes later I was showered, dressed nicely, and ready to go down to have lunch with the rest of John Alcott’s family.
I couldn’t believe Jack was still being mean to me. Seriously? Even after the library? He was such a douchebag. At least I’d gotten it out of my system. Or so I thought. Was it the surprise at seeing him that had made my heart beat a million times faster when he came into view? I had to convince myself it was.
Thoughts of my brother were quickly erased from my mind when I made my way down to the main living area and heard the sounds of a number of different families.
It looked like the Miltons weren’t the only ones that had come over for Christmas.
I knew I was introduced to everyone except the help that had been brought over from other households, but everything started to kind of blend together after a while. I knew the kids were Ben, Thomas, Elizabeth, Charles and Alexandra, but I had no idea which ones belonged to who.
On top of Amy, John’s sister, there was also his younger brother Henry and his wife Sally with their kids. They seemed like a far more normal, down-to-Earth couple, a lot more like John than like Amy.
Everyone was sitting in one of the large family rooms – this one was quite frankly more ballroom-sized than anything else – enjoying chez d’oeuvres being served by Anita and another one of the housekeepers who walked around with platters carrying a variety of different delicacies.