Lana stood in front of me at the door. I think I was hyperventilating. Lana just smirked at me and rubbed my shoulder. Three quick raps against the door. It's answered immediately. A woman appeared, she looks like a decadent housewife from the 50s, wearing pearls, a 100-watt smile and gripping a cocktail. It's my stepmother Maeve, my second stepmother actually. When they started the cliché 'about as deep as puddle', they had her in mind. She had no children, but then again, she was 34 to my father's 57. She married Daddy for his money. Little did she know she was only getting a small sum.
Lana smiled confidently and shyly at the same time at the hostess. Maeve commented on Lana's Irish accent, politely asking where she was from. Lana answered charmingly and smoothly. Maeve then commented on 'odd' her clothes She wore black slacks and a white button down shirt that hugged her body. I had told her before we left the clothes made her look like a waiter, a fun one though. She just smiled at Maeve, who just looked peeved.
The family usually gets together with Daddy's work and golf friends on Saturdays. It would start off as a cocktail party. People would meet and greet and get drunk. Then later on in the night, there would be dinner. I wasn't sure how many people would be staying for dinner. But the whole family would be there. I had asked them to because this was the day. I was going telling my parents I was getting married, getting married to the woman I said was my roommate for the past five years. And I was going to do it at dinner. Then may Daddy and his friends would stop flinging their sons at me.
Daddy was sitting in the parlor with the rest of the family. He jumped up when he saw me, careful not to spill his glass of gin. Daddy is an old man and a drunkard and damned proud of it. But when you've made as much money as he has, what else is there to do but drink to your heart's content. He hugged me and said that he missed Daddy's little girl. As far as I knew I was his only little girl. I reintroduced Lana, whose hand he shook and then pulled into a hug. I rolled my eyes when he asked if she anything about boxing. I mentally groaned when Lana said that she knew some boxers in the middleweight division.
Shortly after, I was swept away by one of my cousins, Isabelle. She chattered incessantly about her baby and her husband who couldn't make. I made a face at the baby boy. He was cute, really he was. Babies just aren't my thing. All the while I kept my eye on Lana. Daddy was whisking her around different pods of people. He introduced her to some business associates that were invited and their sons. And to some of his golf cronies and their sons. And of course to relatives and their sons. I felt sorry for her a little. But she asked for it. Maybe now she'll realize that I was right: she is lucky to have a small family. I saw her dazzling smile and knew I was wrong.
I had lost sight on Lana when Isabelle pulled out baby photos of her baby whose napping in a baby chair by her feet. I swiveled my head around discreetly and looked for Lana. She was animatedly talking to Scottie, my brother about sports. I walked over, after excusing myself from the conversation with my cousin, who just inanely smiled and looked for someone else to talk about her baby to.
I heard Scottie excitedly taking about a football team. Lana's mellow voice chimed in when appropriate, she was always smiling graciously. "Lana, I'm thinking that if the Broncos can get first picks of choice college kids they can easily achieve the greatness the once had in the Elway and Davis eras."
Lana nodded, and raked her fingers through her choppy dark red hair. "Yeah, maybe, but, football teams often lose that spark, they might gain it back but it takes time and massive renovations. Are you willing to lose Shanahan as head coach? He does have the best win record in Bronco history".
Scottie sipped his drink. "You're right, but I'd give my right hand to the devil to get John Elway back." He spots me standing behind Lana and grinned widely. "Hey big sis, great 'roomy' you got here. Better than the last couple."
"You're right Scottie, I think she's a keeper." I genuinely smiled.
We stood there chatting about our family. Lana listened, soaking in as much information as she could. She had only met Daddy and Maeve once, five years ago, when we were moving in together. She had never met my mother. She knew about Scottie, Dirk and Sammy. Only Scottie knew her as my girlfriend. Lana never had a big family, it was just her and her mom. I told her to be grateful. But she always said that she wanted a big family. So I had have her prepared, I didn't want her to embarass herself or me. I drilled her on the intricacies of my family weeks before the date was even set. Often jumping out at her from a dark corner to ask an obscure questions like: When did my mother drop out of school to marry Daddy? Or How did Daddy make his first million? At first she would stared at me like I was insane. Then she accepted it, like many of my other quirks, with a smile and a peck on the cheek.
Lana was nervously glancing around the parlor, it caught my attention. She jumped when I asked what was wrong. "Oh nothing. I was just looking around for your mum. Is she here yet?"
Scottie frowned and grinned at the same time. "Why are you looking for Mom?"
"I want to meet her." Lana said, like it was common sense. "Des said that she lived with your father, I thought she would be here."
"She is," Scottie said, simply.
"She only comes down for dinner. These parties aren't her thing anymore." I said. I looked down at the floor, pretending to be interested in something my shoes had done. I felt embarassed, my mother was holed up in her room because Maeve wanted her there. My mother was holed up there because everyone thought she was crazy, mainly for staying with my father even after he cheated on her, divorced her and then married another woman. I didn't want Lana to see me me clenching my jaw and my forehead crease in supressed rage. But calm and cool Lana knew better. I felt her warm eyes on me.
She was smiling when I looked up. Her perfect teeth stuck out slightly as she nibbled at her bottom lip. "It's fine." She said softly. "I was just wanting to meet her before you made yer announcement. But I could talk to her after dinner, I guess."
I looked into her chocolate eyes. I felt the corners of my lips curl in respone to hers. Scottie scoffed at our display. "Do you two need some privacy?" He wagged his eyebrows suggestively. I turned and narrowed my eyes at him. "This is worse than Prom!" He groaned.
Lana's eyes went wide. "You went with a girl to Prom?" She asked scandalized.
A/N: story i've been writing, let me know what you think if i should continue or not