Through It All

TWENTY NINE

Adam checks his list for the West Hotel and sighs in exhaustion, taking the offer from the West Hotel was not such a good idea like he first thought. Making furniture for over twenty rooms was insane, especially when they are made by two people. He checks his calendar and realizes they had three weeks to complete the order, he rubs his eyes, where was his father? He was supposed to be helping. He takes his list and crunches it in his hand. He doesn't have the heart for this anyway.

He walks towards the window and looks out the streets of Lakewood. The funeral was a week ago but the streets seem to have stayed dark and gloomy.

He wonders how Sophia's doing. Ever since her sister's tragedy, Sophia hasn't been feeling too well. She wakes up very early in the morning feeling nauseas, sometimes she vomits. Just two days ago, she actually fainted. Adam finally convinced her to go see Dr. Harris, the situation was starting to scare him. He hopes it's nothing serious, he hopes it's just some bug going around. He looks out the window, the cloudy day mocking his emotions.

"You won't believe the great news."

Adam doesn't move.

His father continues, his excitement radiating from his voice. "The Mayor wants us to join him and his family for lunch. Ever since the deal with the West Hotel, Mayor Smith has been extremely interested in our business, I suspect he wants to make some kind of agreement with us. How do I look?"

Adam turns and sees his father with a giant smile on his face, he feels happy for him, even though business with the Mayor could only mean one thing: favors. Any wish and want the mayor may want, they would have to comply. The Mayor was well known for his "favors". If anyone did anything with or for the mayor, he will bring it up and make them feel like they owe him. Adam's not ready to be anyone's puppet. But his father is so enthusiastic about the whole situation, Adam doesn't want to be the one with the bad news.

"You look great," Adam replies.

His father smiles then furrows his eyebrows. "Is that how you're planning to go?"

Adam takes a look at himself, his stained and wet from sweat work clothes aren't suitable for a lunch date with the Mayor's family. "I shall go change," he says. But he doesn't want to his empty house. The house without Sophia it's just that, a house.

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"Well, isn't this is nice," Adam's mother awes. "I've never been in the Mayor's house before." She holds Adam's arm tightly as the butler leads the Lancaster family into the drawing room.

"Ah! Mr. and Mrs. Lancaster welcome to our humble home," Mrs. Smith greets them fanning herself with a hand held fan. "I apologize for my husband. He's been held back at the office. But my dear daughter in law will sing and play the piano for us as we wait," she finishes, Adam feels like her greeting was rehearsed but he shrugs it off. For how many families have they done this charade for their personal gain, Adam doesn't dare to even think about it.

The woman with the long dark hair smiles and curtsies as she makes her way to the piano. He barely recognizes her from the party, her fake smile seemed vaguely familiar.

Adam wants to go home. He doesn't want to be in this extravagant house with these irritating family. He turns to his brother, he's looking out the window admiring the horses that Adam assumes, are being trained. He finds himself looking out the window along with him and realizes he has barely payed any attention to his own horses back at home, which Adam mainly see as means of transportation, but as he watches John admiring those horses, he wonders if he was missing out on something.