Adjournment (The Fate Series) (19 page)

Yes, that was all them, because they’re immature asses.

“Didn’t you girls put hair remover in their shampoo bottles to get back at the blue water incident? And if I’m not mistaken was it not you girls who thought it would be funny to shoot their horse in the ass with a rubber band from your rubber band gun, spooking the other two horses and causing the boys to fall and break their arms?” our mother retorts.

Oh yeah…

“First of all only one of the trolls broke his arm. The other two sprained theirs, and it served them right! How were we supposed to know that the hair remover would remove all the hair on their body?” Morgan bursts into laughter as she relives that wonderful day. 

The memory of that day caused all of us to start laughing, including our mother. “Listen ladies, and I say that loosely. It is only if you can’t find someone to threaten to bring.” Our mother’s tone is filled with humor with a hint of sternness.

Now this is the woman I know.

Clearing her throat she continues, “I agreed to this to get that pain in the ass, Judith, out of my hair. I see her idiot sons on page six almost as much as I get phone calls about you three lighting people on fire. At least you three are smart enough to stay away from the photographers. Molly, for goodness sake, quit moving around before you fall off the damn table and break something!” she shouts.

“Well, I would just like to go on record and say that I have never lit anyone on fire. I have also never purposely caused someone injury,” I state, clearing my name.

“Oh, really?” they say in unison.

“You might act like Ms. In-Control-Of-Herself now. But what about when you threw Morgan’s snake in the pool to get Simon’s girlfriend to leave?” Molly lashes out.

Damn, I forgot about that one. I was sixteen… Besides, that girl was a bitch, and she was on my raft.  

“Ah, but no physical harm,” I point out.

“Or there was the time you and Molly told Simon and Dean to meet you behind the pool house to practice kissing, but it was so dark they didn’t know that you weren’t there and almost ended up making out with each other.” Morgan bursts into laughter again.

I was thirteen.

“Again, it was on a mental level.” I smile.

“Or there was the time you and Simon got tied together so you had to get along, but you got mad at him and pushed him over the side, causing the two of you to fall?” Molly joins while laughing.

He instigated that one.

The smile fades from my lips as I sink back down into my cocoon.

“Ok… there was some contact there,” I mumble.

“How many shoes have you hit him with?” Morgan snickers.

Clearly not enough…

“The pool stick innocent?” Molly tips her head at Morgan.

Hold it!

Not my fault!

“Who stands that close to someone when they are taking a shot? He stepped into it.” I close my eyes to block them out while clearing my name.

“Let’s not forget about the hunting trip,” our mother sing songs.

Dammit!

“Okay, we get the point!” I yell.

How had I forgot about all those things? These are all reasons to hate him that much more.

A deep familiar pain spreads through my chest one that I haven’t allowed back in for years, and I remember why I blocked them out.

I don’t need any more ammunition to hate him.

Pushing the pain down, I smile through it like I taught myself back then, back when I was a stupid child who believed in a made up notion of love.

“Oh, look at me, I’m little Miss Sidney Chandler, so refined. No, no, I can’t bother to go to my family’s house anymore since they are all animals unless Judith is there and then they are all snobs,” Molly says in an English accent, trying to mock me.

“I don’t even talk like that!” I shout at her. “And I will have you know I’ve done a very good job of staying in control because I don’t allow myself to be around triggers, which means staying away from Simon and his awful siblings and
that
house,” I fight back, struggling against the foil wrap.

“Ladies,” my mother yells out, causing the room to go still. 

“Now then. You will find dates or you will go with the boys, you will have a good time, and you will not shoot bottle rockets or paintballs at the triplets in order to knock them into the pool… again. Do I make myself clear? Because so help me I will see to it that you all marry them… and no, Sidney, you will not get Simon,” our mother snaps out, ending the conversation.

“Good! I don’t even like him! That man is probably a walking STD. Other than soaking him in disinfectant and every medicine known to man, there is nothing I could possibly do with him,” I mumble back, trying to get the last word.

“Yes darling, whatever you say.” Her voice returns to its regular tone.

“Oh now I get it… you have a type,” Molly laughs.

“No I don’t, Molly, knock it off!” I shout back.

“Oh, you so do… that’s why your hot actor friend is just a friend. He doesn’t look like Simon!” She squeals with laughter.

Staring her down, I try to stay in control, but it’s not working.

“Keep it up, Molly. Eventually I’ll get off of this bed,” I warn her.

“Ladies…” our mother tries to cut in.

Morgan cuts in, “Sidney, you don’t have a type, relax. You have dated a lot of guys who don’t look like him,” she says, trying to comfort me.

“Thank you!” I smile at her.

“The fact that they didn’t work out is just an odd coincidence.” She shrugs, giving Molly a wink.

“Ladies…” our mother repeats.

“You know what, Morgan, I think I will join the dark side and help Chase sweep you off your feet.” I grit my teeth at her.

With a gag, she squints her eyes at me. “You wouldn’t,” she growls.

Opening my mouth to answer, I’m cut off by our mother.

“LADIES! ENOUGH!” our mother shouts again.

Looking back down at the silver gum looking wrapper around me, I try to push them out of my head.

“They started it,” I mumble.

“And I am finishing it!” she growls, then smiles as she returns to her ‘Stepford Wife’ form. “Now then, what was I saying… oh yes, Grams and your uncles will be attending as well, and I know how much they love when you all are together.” She is once again filled with humor. “I expect you all there by Thursday since the party is Saturday evening. I would like to have the house in order before the tent company and the caterers get there. Mea and Josh will arrive on Saturday since he starts a new job the following week and has to get ready for it.”

“I know, they are moving out here for it. I never thought she would move back, she loves California,” Molly sighs.

Oh, Mea and Simon together… again…

Fantastic!

Little background about Mea… and I think she spells it that way to be different … She went to college with them and is Simon’s ex who married one of their friends.

Because yeah… that’s normal.

So let’s take a peek at the invite list, we have a lot of Upper East Side snobs—I mean friends of my parents. My pyro sisters, The McAllister Triplets, aka Satan’s spawns, my not-all-there uncles, Grams, and ah, yes, the ex with her new husband.

What could possibly go wrong?

T-minus four days until we leave for the Hamptons…

I can do this…

I will not allow this weekend to drag me down. 

Looking over myself in the mirror, I can feel my annoyance building up.

“Call me crazy,” I yell to my sisters from behind the curtain that separates us, “But I have a hard time believing that Mom suddenly thought it would be a great idea for her and Dad to renew their wedding vows.” I run my hands down the smooth material of my champagne gown, my nerves rising the longer I stand here. “I also find it extremely hard to believe that you two just so happen to have a dress that is perfectly my size laying around for such an occasion.” I twist around to look at the back.

Molly comes in to zip me up, and I realize this is no happy accident since she is wearing the identical dress.

“Really?” I deadpan. “You coincidentally have the same dress laying around in your, and I’m going to guess Morgan’s, size also?” I can’t help but shake my head at her as she checks the fitting.

“Sid, I would have gladly told you when we first came in but Mom didn’t want you to bail and ruin the day for them.” She stands back admiring her work.

Since when would I bail? I said I was going to the anniversary party even after I found out who I’d be stuck with.

Come on now, give me some credit.

Molly yells out to Morgan that I’m ready then pulls back the curtain. 

They’ve only been back for a few months, but they found the nicest loft to quietly work out of. Well, I should say I found them the nicest loft for them to work out of. They’re trying to keep their move quiet until after they find a permanent workspace. Which I’m also looking into for them since if they look, or are even suspected of looking, the fashion world will go wild over them coming “home”.

“Oh I was right the color is perfect on us. Champagne is definitely our color. I was afraid of it washing us out but my gut was right,” Molly brags about her good eye.

The dress is actually quite stunning. It’s a simple satin A-line champagne-colored gown, with a chiffon overlay that has a slight ruching in the bust to enhance what some of us may or may not have.

None of us have it…

A band of chiffon material runs from the front left breast of the dress around diagonally around the collar and down the back to the back left shoulder blade. It is simple, elegant, and completely designed by Molly. Morgan is a little… darker when it comes to dresses. But this is exactly what my mother would have asked for them to do. And she frightened me with a skirt suit. She knew exactly what she was doing when she said that. I would be mad if I wasn’t so relieved.

“Okay, so since she hid the fact that it’s a vow renewal and was kidding about my attire was she also kidding about the McAllister’s being our dates?” I say, as we all admire our dresses in the mirror.

“Uh no, that’s true.” Morgan puckers her lips into a frown.

“I say one of us take Jacob and the other take his boyfriend, and Sidney can take Lexi,” Molly says suggests.

“That would be great if Lexi and Jacob weren’t invited guests.” I sigh, plopping down into a loud green chair that is surprisingly comfortable.

“DON’T SIT IN THE DRESS!” they both shout.

I jump up quickly, looking down to make sure I didn’t ruin the gown by sitting in it.

How am I going to last a whole night in something so delicate?

“Am I supposed to stand to eat there also?” I huff, walking over to get them to unzip it.

“What’s it worth to you?” They give a light laugh. 

Turning my head I glare at them. “I will find a nail.” I look around.

“NO!” Molly shouts, throwing her hands out in front of her. “No, I will do it. And of course we don’t expect you to stand to eat. After the ceremony you can sit, dance whatever you want. Until then, don’t sit in it,” Molly says, unzipping me.

I quickly shuffle it off and place it back onto its equally beautiful hanger. Sliding my jeans and sweatshirt back on, I sit down to relax in clothes that don’t come with a warning label on them.

“No black pants?” Molly looks me over.

I would ignore her remark but instead I decide to humor her—err, myself, with an answer.

“I’m not at work… although dealing with you two feels like a job.” I laugh at my joke.

Exchanging a shrug, they let it go.

“I think maybe we should try to find dates or this is going to be hell,” Molly says, shifting out of her dress.

“If you think we are going to a club to find dates to our parents’ anniversary…vow renewal… thingy, you are crazy. Remember when we did that for the art exhibit?” Morgan begins to fight with her dress instead of asking for help. “We ended—up—finding mine—having a threesome—with members—of the wait-staff?” She stops fighting for a second to catch her breath. “Because I have that burned forever in my brain.” She inhales and tries again.

Clearly the memory has brought up some sour feelings, even though we thought it was funny. We being Molly and me, Morgan obviously wasn’t so amused. She ended up yelling so loud that a crowd formed around her date and his two lady friends. They were on show for all to see, but Chase was able to pull Morgan out of the way just in time before the photographers stepped in. Everyone called it “Exhibitionist at the Exhibit”. Molly and I laughed every time we saw the headlines. I still laugh about it now, come to think of it.

“Alright, there has to be someone in this town you guys haven’t lit on fire, and that we haven’t publicly humiliated in some way,” I say, thinking through all the men I know.

I have nothing.

“Maybe we should just suck it up and go. We only have until Wednesday night to find someone.” Morgan gets up. She walks out to the kitchen to grab a bottle of wine from the fridge.

Probably to help us think.

Wine always makes everything clearer.