The Marriage Contract

The Dinner

"Right this way." the host told us in a bored tone. He walked us over to my parents and my grandfather. Mr. Ian was also present. They stood up when they saw us.

         "How was your last final?" my dad kissed my cheek. My dad was a tall man. He had dark brown hair compared to my mom who had light brown hair. They were almost the same size, I was short compared to them. I took after my grandmother, Angeline. My grandfather was also tall and he looked like an older white haired version of my father.

      "It went well." I smiled at him. "Hi, mom." I leaned over and kissed her cheek.

      "Dear," she shook her head at me. "Did you roll out of bed this morning?" Her hand automatically reached for my hair to try to smooth it out.

      "Yes mom," I answered. "I spent most of the night studying."

My grandpa held out his arm and I hugged him.

      "Hi, Grandpa."

He kissed my forehead and released me.

"Now that we are all here, let's order." my grandfather motioned for them to sit down. He held out a chair for me to take a seat next to him. "When will your grades be posted?"

      "By the end of next week." I answered, lifting my menu. "A few of them have already been posted."

I looked up from the menu. Alexander was chortling to himself. I gave him a dirty look and glanced at the menu again. Everything on the menu sounded delicious.

      "Why are we having a meeting?" I asked them. My grandfather lifted his hand and the waiter came forward. I ordered an Italian dish. "I would like to go home and sleep." I stifled a yawn. I was really tired. My mind kept floating to my bed.

My phone vibrated and I knew it was Eddie. I felt bad for ditching him. Once I slept we could probably do something later. He had wanted to go to a party but I was still unsure. The effects of not having a good night's sleep were weighing on me now.

I didn't pull out my phone, my mom had a no-phone rule when we were eating.

     "I was telling Robert that you are a brilliant business woman and that you were going to graduate next year with a Masters in Finances." My grandfather tilted his drink into his mouth. I wanted something heavy too but I wasn't allowed to drink in front of them.

     "Umm yes," I looked over at Mr. Ian. There were a few folders in front of him that I hadn't noticed before. "I'm okay."

     "So humble." my grandfather laughed. "She doesn't get that from me."

    "Absolutely not!" Mr. Ian laughed. "I would like your advice Eva."

I was handed a stack of papers.

"Tell us what you think." Mr. Ian nodded at the stack of papers. "Your grandfather tells me you are brilliant and you are going to graduate with a 4.0."

    "Yes, sir."

     "How would you fix the situation?" Mr. Ian lifted his eyebrows. I wiped my hands and mouth neatly. I took hold of the folders, placing them on my lap.

I finished going through everything. They had only given me certain documents, not all of the details. From the looks of it, there was a lot of money missing. It didn't make any sense.

      "Do you want the good news or bad news?" I told them when I was finished. I closed the last portfolio and looked up at them.

      "Give me the bad news." Mr. Ian muttered. He leaned against his chair. Alexander was watching me carefully now with a confused expression. He probably didn't know the extent of the damage.