Love Me (editing)

The Dinner Disaster

I get home around four o'clock. I have one hour and forty minutes to get ready for the dinner. I take and shower and look in my closet. Maybe I should borrow something from Dayna. I head to her room and look in her closet. If I didn't know Dayna and I had to judge her based on the clothes in her closet, I would think she was a prostitute.

I sigh. Well, this is useless. I remember a black jumpsuit Dayna wore once to a funeral. That would be perfect. I go digging in her closet and spot it in the back. I pull it out and try it on. It looks better on me than it does on her, I think to myself. I put on a few silver bracelets and silver earrings and it comes together. Dayna is not here to do my makeup so it's all up to me. When I'm done, I'm very proud of my work. I add a silver clutch and I must say I do look very classy.

The doorbell rings exactly at five forty. I grab my coat and open the door. A short white man dressed in black with a driver's hat stands at my door. He ushers me into the car and opens the door for me. He then hops in the driver's seat and drives off.

I arrive at Noah's house around 6:15. The driver opens my door and I walk toward the house. Every step I make toward the house makes me more and more nervous. The house is beautiful. This is probably the biggest house I've ever seen in person. It's a stone mansion. It's about three stories high, but the height of the house makes it looks three times that. The front has two large french doors placed between two tall pillars on each side. The windows are large and from the looks of it, there are at least three fireplaces. I won't even try to guess the number of acres of land this house is built upon. It is jaw-dropping beautiful.

Before I can ring the doorbell, somebody answers it. From the looks of it, he must be some type of server. He bows to me, "Welcome Ava." He leads me towards the kitchen where sits Noah, a man who I assume to be his brother, a woman I don't recognize and his two parents. I am relieved that Devlin isn't here. Everybody stares at me. Even though I know I am on time, I feel late.
I wave "Hi, I'm ava."
No one says anything at first. Noah gets up and pulls me a chair between him and the woman I cannot identify. I sit.

"Ava, this is my brother Eric," He points at the man who I assumed was his brother. Eric says hi and shakes my hand. His brother has the same toffee-colored skin as he does, but instead of gray eyes, he has brown eyes. He is good-looking but nowhere as good-looking as Noah.

"This is my sister Sasha," he points to the woman I couldn't identify. She looks young. She's a little lighter in skin colour than her brothers but I can still see the similarities. She shares the same gray eyes as Noah. She smiles and says hi to me and her two dimples become visible. She really reminds me of Noah.

"And these are my parents, Michael, and Nina Knight," he says with a smile. His mother is a shade darker than Noah and his father is an olive colour. I see how the colours combine.
"It's very nice to meet you," his father says. He seems very nice.

The first course comes in and that's when everybody starts to talk. Micheal talks a little about the company with Noah until his mother suggests a change of subject. They bicker a little before Micheal agrees.
I'm glad no one has really turned the attention to me until his mother Nina asks me what I do.

"Well, I will be graduating from university this year." They all congratulate me and ask me about my major. "I completed an English degree. Right now, I work as a waitress at a café downtown."

When I say this, this room becomes stiff. Sasha and Eric both look at their mother. I'm guessing she's the one who would have a problem with where I work.

"But I'm sure you're not planning to do waitressing forever dear," she says to me.
Micheal looks at her. "Nina, she just finished school. Do you expect her to have a well-paid full-time career already?" They start to bicker again. This is not what I expected coming here.

"So, how many weeks pregnant are you?" Sasha asks excitedly, interrupting the fighting. Everyone focuses their attention on me again.
"About Nine weeks now," I say.
"Wow, so have you found out the gender yet? I'm I going to have a niece or nephew?" She sounds very excited.
I look at Noah. "We haven't found out yet,"
"And you've taken a DNA test I assume," his mom says.
"MOM!" both Sasha and Noah say at the same time.
"God, Nina," his father says, dropping his fork."
"What?" She asks. "It is a perfectly reasonable question. It is no secret that Noah comes from a very wealthy family. I just don't want to see my son being taken advantage of. Where are your parents dear?"
I look down. "I've never met my mother and my father died when I was six years old."
The room is quiet. They look at me, their faces showing sympathy and pity. Noah looks the most affected. I guess I never told him.
"I'm sorry to hear that," his dad says.
No one speaks. I think she's going to stop asking me questions but she doesn't. "Dear, how old are you now?"
Both Noah and his father give her a look as if to say be quiet.
"I am twenty-one, I will be twenty-two in May," I say.
"If I do say, twenty-one is quite young to be starting a family. Are you sure you're ready dear? Because I know with Noah marrying Devlin, they would be more suited to raise this child. You do know he's engaged don't you?" She takes a bite of her salad. "It's a shame she couldn't be here tonight."

"Actually, mom, Devlin has already met Ava."
"Oh has she now? Were you also aware my son was engaged when you chose to spread your legs to him?"
I go still. Noah chokes on his food. Eric looks like he's amused. And I thought Devlin was evil. I wish Dayna was here with me. I wish I could speak my mind like she could.

"Nina, that's enough!" Michael is standing now. He looks at her, his face displaying total disgust toward her. "Whether you like it or not, Ava is family now. She is having our first grandchild. This is a miracle that we should be celebrating. Our son, after surviving cancer, is having a child." He looks at me. "Ava, I'm sorry about tonight," he picks up the rest of the bottle of scotch and leaves the dining room.
Noah speaks now. "Dad is right Mom. Ava didn't have to keep the baby, but she chose to keep it for me. This may be my only chance of ever having children. She's the most selfless person I know, and if anything," he looks at me. "I owe her."

She picks up her napkin from her lap and places it on her plate. She looks at me and then at Noah. "I'm sorry Noah," she says before she walks out of the dining room.