Not Your Fairy Godmother

5 - I'll Keep Dancing on My Own

Suffice to say, Matilda did not stay at Alton's house after that. Ursula and Mal had come over to see what was wrong. Matilda had swatted their concerns away with, "What are you talking about? Nothing happened. But I have to leave, yeah? I'm not feeling well."

Matilda reasoned that Alton was still Sebastian's brother and he did not want a fight between his friend and his family. After she had calmed herself down in the toilet, she realized she had nothing to be upset about.

It was just words. They don't mean anything.

Still, she had found she couldn't sleep that night and instead spent the whole time recounting Mal and Phil's engagement party, where she had first met Alton.

Things had gotten a little out of hand that night.

Phil's side of the family were all legacy politicians, high profile lawyers or snobby academics who could afford to study all their life since they didn't need a job. Mal's side of the family were contractors, small grocery store owners and blue collar workers.

The stark contrast between the two families was noticeable right from the start. The people from Phil's side looked glamorous and expensive even from afar; champagne gold, beige or white, over the top gowns specially made for the occasion (and never to be worn again), flawless, natural looking makeup, sleek suits and slim bodies the expensive jewelry.

Mal's side of the family by comparison looked worn and downtrodden in their overused formal wear of mismatched pinks, greens and yellows that covered saggy bodies, with faces painted in cheap, unnatural looking makeup and plain printed dresses. Many of them seemed lost in the cloud of the Swarovski glint and Gucci glamor. Even their attitudes were different. Phil's side of the family all had straight spines, graceful movements and restrained speech. Mal's family were all slouches, relaxed postures and rambunctious laughter.

These people had nothing in common. Bringing them together in one party hall of the highly exclusive High Table Country Club and forcing them to mingle, ended up being a bit of a disaster.

Mal's uncle Gerard got into a fight with one of Phil's cousins Jeremy over the fact that some big corporation was building a toxic plant in his district and Jeremy had been the congressman who allowed it to happen. One of the little girls from Mal's side got into a fist fight with one of the boys from Phil's side over whether girls could be just as tough as boys or not. Then their mothers got into a fight over "proper upbringing", as one of them put it.

And this was before Matilda had arrived.

"Tilly! Ursula! It's a disaster," Mal had cried.

"Okay, calm down." Ursula told her, "I will go deal with whatever that is over there," she was talking about the mothers who were still having a shouting match.

"I'll go deal with Gerard." Matilda had said. She had an easier time separating Gerard and Jeremy—with her resounding, loud voice declaring "Shut up! Both of you are equally toxic to every space you occupy!"—than Ursula had calming down the mothers whose children, ironically, had by this point become friends and were discussing the errors of their elders.

Mal's mother, who had no choice but to circulate, smiled in relief when she spotted Matilda.

"Oh Matilda! Thank God!" The woman gave Matilda a warm hug. "Finally someone I can talk to. I can't make heads of tails with these people! One of them asked me whether I choose my vacation homes depending on how sunny it is. I didn't know what to say! Mal told me not to embarrass her but I feel no matter what I do, I come off as a silly hillbilly." The woman shook her head and Matilda laughed.

"Not at all Mrs. A. You're doing fine. They're just people. You'll get used to it." Matilda assured her and they made their way to Mal's father who was gorging down on a plate piled with hors d'oeuvres. The man greeted Matilda with a mouthful smile and she waved back. She grabbed a flute of champagne as a waiter whizzed by and placed it in front of the man.