Vieux Riche

ii

There's a buzz in The Prendiville that doesn't quite match the usual peace and quiet of a Sunday morning. Cameron has long since abandoned the tradition of coming to the country club for Sunday lunch. He's part of the new age heirs who protest the privilege and nepotism that comes with wealth, much to my father's disapproval.

I'm not brave enough to rock the boat. I still want my inheritance.

Diana waves at me from across the room. She's wearing a light blue linen sundress and her jet black hair is done up in a loose French braid. I beeline towards her so she can fill me in. Before I ask her, the family that sits down at the table near the door answers my questions.

They have a son and daughter around my age. He's wearing light brown chinos and a white Ralph Lauren button up with the sleeves rolled up just below his elbows. The girl is in a knee length floral dress and Chanel espadrilles. I have never seen them before, and it's blindingly obvious that they're nouveau riche.

"I hear they moved in near you," Diana says, sipping from her glass of champagne.

"I hear that stuff's not good for you," I nod towards her glass.

"You're one to talk. Besides, I need to have at least a couple before I can tolerate a couple of hours here." I look back at the new arrivals. The girl is sitting there, fidgeting with the chain on her classic black Chanel flap bag. She's looking around and pretends to be checking her phone. She also subtly bounces her knee.

The boy looks much more in place. He leans back against his chair before getting up to introduce himself – first to Benjamin Walsh, aka Benji. He sure knows how to pick his targets. Their parents have also gotten up to make the rounds, leaving the girl sitting there.

Not long later, she gets up and beelines for the main hall, undoubtedly heading for the bathroom to hide for at least a couple of minutes.

"What do you know about them?" I ask Diana, picking up a mini spinach and ricotta roll from a platter that the waiter beside us is carrying.

"Deriviere family," she says. "I think they've opened a couple of chain supermarkets."

"Oh." I've heard of them. With the boom in organic goods and the sudden health craze they've made a fortune promoting the 'green lifestyle'. They sell the idea of being able to live like the rich and famous by shopping there. Admittedly, Lydia does a lot of her shopping at their markets.

Nate is fast walking towards me in a very unlike himself manner. "Heads up. Mum and her new toy boy are coming this way." I can see her walking in with a man beside her.

I eye the suspiciously bubbly liquid in his champagne glass and give it a whiff. He pulls it away. "Relax sis, it's lemonade."

"Quinn!" My mum gushes, pulling me into a one-armed hug. "It's unusual for you to be up this early Nate," she remarks. "Where's Cameron?"

"He's opted out of these Sunday lunches," I respond.

"It's nice to see you Diana. You look lovely."

"Thank you Mrs – Ms Dumont," Diana replies.

"Please just call me Amelia," my mum says, for the millionth time since Diana's run into her. Diana tells me it's because in Asian culture, adults are usually addressed more formally.

"I'm going to find my mum quickly," Diana says, excusing herself, which is something I would've done, if only my mother weren't the one causing the awkward situation.

"I was hoping Cameron would be here too, but since you two are, I'd like you to meet Joshua. We've been seeing each other for a couple of months and I figure it's about time," she says. The guy behind her steps forward and shakes my hand. "This is my second eldest, Diana," mum says. "And this is my youngest, Nate."

Someone calls out my mum's name and she cranes her neck back to give them a quick wave. "You guys have a chat. I need to catch up with someone quickly."

I can imagine the tumbleweed rolling past as Nate and I stare at Joshua. He's a tall, well-built guy with a strong jaw. And definitely at least twenty years younger than my mum. It's as if my parents were competing for youngest new partner.

"So it's nice to finally meet you guys. Your mum talks about you a lot," Joshua says.

"Ok...dude," Nate says.

"Excuse me, I'm just going to head to the bathroom. It was nice meeting you Josh-ua." It's weird when your mum's new boyfriend has the same name as one of your exes. I run into the new girl in the bathroom trying to clean something off of her bag.

"Oh hi, I haven't seen you around here before," I smile.

"We're new the club," she replies.

"Oh, well I'm Quinn Armington."

"Oh my gosh!" She gushes. "It's so nice to meet you. I'm Emily Deriviere."

My phone buzzes. It's a text message from Nate. What the fuck Q – wtf am I meant to do with this guy I shove the phone back into my handbag.

Emily is staring at her feet and starts nervously picking at her nails again. "The more confident you act, the more you'll fit in here." She nods slowly. "You wear the bag, don't let it wear you." I adjust the strap over her shoulder and spin her to face the mirror. "Chin up, back straight." She blinks a couple of times as she looks at herself in the mirror. "Ok, now I need to pee. I'll see you around," I say.

When I come back out, Nate is practically staring daggers at me. "Thanks a lot big sis," he says. "Also, the guys' thirty. Cam is what, twenty-three?"

"Cam is twenty-five." I roll my eyes.

"That means you're like over twenty," he gasps.

"I'm twenty-one. Relax kid."

"Ok, either way that was super fucking weird, and next time we run into Joshua, you're on your own."

"Look on the bright side. At least she didn't say 'meet your new daddy'."

With a quick look around the room, I can see Emily's found a crowd. Indeed her head is held high. She spots me and smiles in my direction. I nod back. "Making friends with new money. That's very unlike you," Diana remarks, handing me another glass of champagne.

"I don't know," I shrug. "Guess it could be interesting."

"Well, if you think so, let me go meet her too." Diana loves doing the rounds and making new friends. She's very easy going and everybody loves her. She links arms with me, and we walk over to Emily. I recognise a couple of the girls Emily's talking to, but they all look quite surprised that we know her.

"I hear your name's Emily! It's nice to meet you – I'm Diana," Diana chirps. "I love your outfit!" The tension eases in Emily's shoulders and she gives her a comfortable smile back.

"Thank you. It's nice to meet you too!"

I zone out not long after the conversation starts but I'm brought back in when her brother arrives.

"Hey Em," he says to his sister.

"Oh, this is Diana and Quinn," she says to him. "And this is my older brother Nick."

He looks exactly like my next mistake.