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“Ah, you two are in for a treat tonight,” Daddy said. He smelled the wine, looked at it in the light, and then sipped it. Mia stood by with the bottle, just like a waitress in a restaurant, waiting to see if Daddy approved. He nodded, and she poured Lucille a glass. “Our new chef suggested this French wine for tonight,” Daddy explained, more to Ethan than to me.
“A real chef knows what’s appropriate to drink with certain food,” Lucille added.
Mia hurried around to pour us each a glass. Ethan gazed at me with a half-smile on his face. Neither Daddy nor Lucille had made a comment on how formally we were dressed, and neither had yet seen my ring. I deliberately lifted my wineglass with my left hand so the ring would be quite visible, glittering in the light of the chandelier, but just at that moment, our new chef, Gerad Bolud, appeared. Lucille introduced him to us. He nodded and began to describe our four-course dinner. He had managed to prepare a French onion soup, which he said was a bit rushed but should be fine.
“Gerad didn’t even unpack his things,” Lucille explained. “He went right to work on tonight’s dinner.” She beamed as proudly as an artist next to her painting. He bowed again and returned to the kitchen. Lucille had successfully turned our meal into a show.
Catherine appeared with a tray carrying our salads. Mia helped her serve them. Unlike our usual salad, this one contained fruit. I had to admit to myself that it was delicious. Daddy was so involved with his bread, wine, and salad that he still had not noticed my ring. Ethan kept throwing me impish little grins, while Lucille continued to describe Gerad Bolud’s background, empha
sizing how lucky we were to have captured him before someone else could do so. She wanted us to understand and be impressed with how in demand he was and how she had found out about him and outmaneuvered everyone else, using some of her best connections. Daddy couldn’t have given her more compliments.
Finally, when the soup was brought out and we all had begun to eat it, Daddy paused, lowered his spoon, and leaned forward.
“What is that ring I see, Semantha?” he asked.
Lucille looked up. I held my breath.
“It’s an engagement ring,” Lucille said. “Isn’t that an engagement ring?”
“Yes,” I said.
“I gave it to her tonight,” Ethan said. “We wanted to surprise you both.”
“Surprise? I’ll say,” Daddy said.
For a long moment, no one spoke. Here it comes, I thought, the fatherly advice or Lucille’s wisdom. At the very least, I expected to hear her ask, “Isn’t this a bit quick?” or, “Shouldn’t you first have discussed this with Mr. Heaven-stone?”
“Well,” she began instead, “we seem to have quite a bit to celebrate tonight.”
She looked at Daddy. He digested all that was happening in front of him and then slowly nodded and smiled and lifted his wineglass.
“Congratulations to you both,” he said.
Ethan reached for my hand. I looked at Lucille. She lifted her glass as well.
“Just think,” she declared, “so soon after our wedding, we’ll be planning another. Have you two decided on a date?”
“No,” Ethan said. “I thought it best to look at our calendars together. I know there is so much going on for the Heaven-stone Corporation, that new construction you were discussing, new personnel . . .”
“Well, you don’t plan a wedding like this in a few weeks, anyway. Semantha already has a good idea what goes into the planning of a well-run wedding, don’t you, Semantha?”
Since Ethan and I hadn’t discussed it, I was reluctant to say anything, but there was one thing I didn’t need much discussion to decide, and I thought I’d make that clear right then and there, right at the start.
“I don’t want a wedding like yours.”
She recoiled with surprise.
“I want a small family affair.”
Lucille stared at me a moment. “I see,” she said. She wore an incredulous half-smile that quickly evaporated as she looked at the rest of her soup. “I’m sure you’ll change your mind when all this settles in,” she said without looking at me.
“I’m sure I won’t,” I replied, and looked at Ethan. He tried smiling, but his eyes were two pools of fear. The surprise was veering off like a plane that had lost its tail end.
No one else spoke. Mia returned and took away our soup bowls. Moments later, Chef Gerad came in himself with the tray of entrées. He was proud of his creation and stood back to watch us taste the veal chop. Everyone, even I, who was still quite upset about the dismissal of Mrs. Dobson and Doris, had to admit it was delicious. Daddy once again congratulated Lucille for getting us Gerad.
The two De Stagen sisters hovered behind us during the entire meal, ready to jump and pour more wine or pass something on the table. Dishes and glasses were removed as soon as they were no longer required. I looked to see if anyone else was bothered by their intensity, but no one was. When Mrs. Dobson and Doris were there, dinner had still felt like a homemade meal in a home. This dinner gave me the feeling that I had been transported to an elegant and expensive French restaurant. I half expected to see Daddy get the bill and pull out his credit card. I almost said so but thought it would only upset him. Later, however, I did tell Ethan how I felt.
“You’ll get used to it,” he said.
