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They walked into the big drawing room, which was beautifully furnished with intricate floral designs close to the inspiration of the rococo art style. It was not as heavy as some of the heritage homes she had seen, but it wasn’t the techy style of the modern era as well. It was a beautiful mix of vintage themes blended in with contemporary styles. In the center of the large room, there was a chandelier. Right behind it, on the opposite end of the entrance, was a grand staircase that led to the top floors. It was an extravagant work of art. It took Jessica’s breath away with its antique beauty and grandeur. Layered with a maroon carpet, the staircase paired with the chandelier truly stood out in the room. On the left side, the wall was taken over by extensive floor-to-ceiling windows that let in the natural light. The curtains on the windows were a very light aquamarine color that gave a cool filter to the room. Jessica spotted a big fireplace and an arrangement of sofas in front of it. On one wall hung portraits of people she guessed were Matt’s ancestors. Jessica found herself walking over to that wall to see the portraits closely. It was a mix of oil paintings and photographs, ranging from old monochrome ones to modern-colored pictures in frames. She found a few photos of Matt and Annabeth, along with an older couple that she guessed must be his parents—his family. It was a beautiful picture where everyone was genuinely smiling and not just posing for the photo. Jessica smiled as she studied it. Such a small but significant thing to have on this wall. She couldn’t take everything all at once. She felt like she wanted to spend hours and hours just studying the interior of this place.
Suddenly, in a flurry of motion, a small figure rushed into the scene, and before Jessica could comprehend who it was, she felt herself embraced in a crushing hug. Annabeth’s grinning face popped into her vision as she let go and ran towards Matt to envelop him in a crushing hug as well, but Matt was already waiting with his arms open, and he caught her running form into a bear hug.
A moment later, Annabeth let go and exclaimed, “Jessica! Matt! You are finally here. I have been waiting all morning, and I was so bored I think I ran a hole into Reynold’s old head!”
“I had a meeting earlier this morning. I came right after I finished it,” answered Matt.
“Jessica, how was the flight? Did you get bored with this dude? He can be awfully boring, especially if he gets to doing business on his phone,” she said, eyeing Matt suspiciously.
“I can assure you, sister. I am not boring. Not when I want,” said Matt before he gave Jessica a small wink. She rolled her eyes but felt the effects of that wink nonetheless.
“Let the lady speak for herself!”
“No, the flight was not bad. In fact, I really enjoyed watching the scenery from the windows. It was pretty comfortable,” Jessica answered Annabeth’s questions.
“That it is. The weather is so nice today, isn’t it? Though I heard you faced some turbulence due to some light rain,” said Annabeth.
“Oh, you know about that?” Jessica asked, confused.
“Yes, Natalie told me. I had told her to call me right after getting off the jet. I was terribly excited, you know,” Annabeth said, unapologetically.
Jessica laughed. This was the Annabeth she knew. She had met Annabeth for the first time on her wedding day. She was the main reason why the wedding took place smoothly. She did so much work, starting from being the only family member present to going on emergency shopping for the bridal dress and shoes, even managing the decorations and overseeing that everything went according to plan. She had flown out instantly to Matt’s hotel on hearing the news of their sudden wedding and had wasted no time and effort in making sure her brother got everything in perfect detail. What Jessica was most grateful about was that Annabeth was so nice and friendly with her. Annabeth seemed like a very nice person in general, but she had accepted Jessica with a full heart, and Jessica was glad that she and Matt had such a great relationship. It made it easier for her to be accepted as his wife because his sister was such a nice bridge between them.
Even though she didn’t like him romantically, it was still to her advantage to build a friendship with her husband, or so Jessica told herself.
Annabeth had told her stories about them growing up, how Matt was as a kid and how he was now beyond the persona. She gave Jessica some very important insights, which Jessica couldn’t have gotten otherwise.
“Matthew!” came a voice from over the stairs, and Jessica looked up to find a woman hastily walking down the stairs. She was of similar body structure to Annabeth, and she even moved in the same restless fashion as Annabeth did, so Jessica guessed Annabeth got it from her mother, but that’s where the similarities in their appearance ended. She had brown hair and pale skin. Her cheeks had spots of color, and she was breathing hard, indicating that she might have been hurrying to get to where they were. She quickly came down the stairs and, just like Annabeth did, was crushed into a hug by Matt.
“Mother!”
“Come here, you! It feels like I haven’t seen you in so long. You should visit more often, you know.”
“Mom, I was here just a few weeks ago,” said Matt looking at his mother fondly.
“Still, my wish is to see you more often,” said his mom and shifted her eyes toward Jessica. She instantly felt like she was going to melt right there.
“And you must be Jessica! I’ve heard so much about you from Annabeth and Matt over the phone. It’s a pleasure to finally get to meet you. How lovely you are! I feel terrible that I couldn’t make it to the wedding,” she said and hugged her as well. Jessica was taken aback by the hug. With Annabeth, she could understand, but being hugged in such a warm way by Matt’s mom was something she did not expect. They seemed to be a family of huggers and genuinely seemed really nice and kind people.
“Don’t say sorry! It was so sudden.”
“Annalyse. You can call me Annalyse,” she said and smiled.
“Annalyse,” repeated Jessica smiling back.
“Welcome to our home. I hope you find it to your liking. Oh, I almost forgot. You must be so tired. Reynolds! Reynolds, where are the refreshments?” she yelled at the old butler, who had excused himself to go to the kitchen.
“Coming, Mistress!” called out Reynolds, and a moment later, three servants came in carrying glasses of fresh lemonade, cookies, and extra sugar on another tray. Jessica gratefully accepted a glass of cool lemonade from a young maid in uniform. All the servants in this household wore uniforms. She usually liked a little bit of sugar with her lemonade, so she helped herself to some. She took a sip of the drink and felt the cool liquid slide down her throat and freshen her up from the inside. After the long jet flight, this was exactly what they needed.
They were made to sit on one of the couches in front of the fireplace, which was now empty of embers. Annalyse asked Jessica lots of questions about how the wedding went, complimented her on the photos she saw, and told her the wedding dress was absolutely gorgeous, to which Jessica said it was thanks to Annabeth. Both mother and daughter had that joyful attitude, and they rushed from one thought to the other like birds, always speaking fast and excitedly. Jessica found them both very charming. They had a way of growing into her. They were in the middle of a conversation when a male voice greeted them from the door.
“Matthew. Hello,” he said.
“Joseph, honey, come inside and meet our new family member Jessica. She’s such a delight to talk to!” Jessica turned around, expecting to see the man in the family pictures of the young Matt and Annabeth but was surprised to see a different person. She was confused but managed to hide her expression, lest it should make the situation awkward. She stole a glance toward Matt to look for some kind of explanation but found his lips stretched into a thin line. Something told her that Matt was not happy at the arrival of this person.
But Annalyse called him honey, so that would mean it was his-
“Hello, Joseph. Jessica, meet my stepfather, Joseph,” Matt introduced them formally. Joseph shook Jessica’s hand and went to sit beside Annalyse. Annalyse looked as if she was madly in love with Joseph. To Jessica, the way they looked at each other, it looked like they were happy together, but she couldn’t understand the look of discomfort on Matt’s face. She decided she would ask him later when she got the chance.
