Dinner With The Kingsley's

Sadie looked at herself in the mirror, her eyes moving up and down the dress she’d just bought. It had cost a fortune, but she had to make a good impression, and she wanted to look and feel comfortable and good about herself. After all, she didn’t want to feel like a fish out of water, so that justified her expensive buy. She turned to the left, then to the right, and tried to get a good view of how the dress looked from the back. The dress fit perfectly, and it was her favourite colour of teal. She put the new evening shoes on and thought navy blue looked great with the colour of the dress. The dress came with a waist-length jacket, three-quarter-length sleeves, featuring a Chinese-style collar, very chic, she thought. She pulled her hair up onto her head, pursed her lips and gave a pout, smiled, and thought, yes, she will do nicely… she hoped!

Sadie had met her boyfriend Alex at a mutual friend's party six months ago. Alex was charming and talked, as she put it, very ‘posh.' It was obvious he came from a wealthy upbringing, but he never mentioned it much. Whereas Sadie had been brought up in a middle-class home, which she was immensely proud of.

When Alex had asked her to meet his dad and stepmother, she’d said, “I would love to, Alex, but are you sure your parents would be okay with this?”

“What do you mean, okay”? Alex had asked, frowning, not having a clue what Sadie meant.

“Well, we come from different sides of the coin,” Sadie replied, never one to beat about the bush.

“Ah, I see, you are worried that my parents won’t approve of a girl from your side of the coin,” Alex had said, taking hold of her hand. “Don’t worry about that, they will love you, I’m sure.”

Sadie did not want his parents to love her just to accept her as a decent person, and although she would be disappointed if they snubbed her, she would not allow them to treat her like a second-class person either; she was far too outspoken for that.

As the day grew closer, Sadie started to get nervous about it. Then she told herself to stop it; it was a dinner, and if the Kingsleys didn’t like her, there was nothing she could do about it.

When the day arrived, Sadie got ready, taking time to make herself look glam for the occasion, and was pleased with her efforts when looking one more time in the mirror before Alex rang the doorbell.

When she opened the door, he said, “Wow, Sadie, you look stunning.” His comment made Sadie feel special and more confident about the evening ahead.

Sadie knew from what Alex had told her that his father and mother divorced years ago when he was a teenager, and that his mother had gone back to her native America and was now married again. And, although he got on well with his stepmother, Vivienne, she could sometimes get above herself and be a bit snobby, and it was the one thing that annoyed him.

“By the way, Sadie, don’t take any notice of Vivienne if she starts to get too inquisitive about what you do or where you come from, my dad will sort her out, he has this knack of rewinding her neck in, before she gets carried away,” Alex said, with a laugh.

“Thanks for the warning,” Sadie replied, feeling a bit uneasy about Vivienne.

“Oh, and there is something I want to talk to you about before we part company later,” Alex said, glancing at Sadie.

“Oh, okay,” Sadie replied, looking confused.

“Don’t look like that, it’s not anything terrible!” Alex added, squeezing her hand.

When they arrived at the Kinglsey mansion, Sadie’s stomach had an attack of butterflies. “Oh my goodness, Alex, what a beautiful home!”

“Yes, it is, but I honestly prefer my cosy one-bedroom flat to this mansion,” Alex replied, matter-of-factly.

They walked up the steps to the front door, and as they approached the final step, the door opened and Alex’s stepmother stood in the doorway with a big smile. She was a very attractive lady with dark hair done up in curls on her head. She looked model-like, wearing a long, deep pink low-cut dress that must have cost the earth; her only jewellery was drop earrings that looked like platinum gold, and a bracelet. She was truly beautiful.

“Alex, darling, it seems ages since you were home, and this must be your little friend Sadie. I’m Vivienne, so pleased to meet you.”

Sadie did not care for the ‘little’ word but smiled gracefully and accepted the rather weak kiss on the cheek.

They all entered a massive hallway, where the staircase was as wide as her apartment, and then into a lounge area that she could fit her entire flat into at least three times. Alex’s father was waiting to greet them. “Alex, my boy back home, splendid, and this is Sadie, nice to meet you, my dear, I’m Gyles.”

Gyles looked a lot older than Vivienne. Sadie could clearly see Alex in his father; they had the same hazel eyes, full mouth and definitely the same smile. Gyles had a warmth about him that Sadie was grateful for.

Sadie found Alex’s father comfortable to converse with, but she still had a nagging feeling at the back of her mind as to how this evening was going to pan out. She could see Vivienne out the corner of her eye, looking her up and down, and she wondered if she was criticising her dress or her altogether!

“Would you care for a glass of wine, Sadie?” Gyles asked.

“Yes, please, a small glass would be nice,” Sadie answered, needing a bit of something to get through this meal.

When they entered the dining room after drinks, Sadie felt a little more relaxed and was pleased to see she had been seated next to Gyles, on one side, and Alex on the other.

Several people were serving the dinner, Sadie had not expected that, and thought it was just like being in a restaurant.

Then Vivienne looked Sadie straight in the eyes, saying, “So, what is it you do?”

“I’m a business consultant, I work freelance,” Sadie answered, smiling and looking directly back into Vivienne’s eyes.

“Really, I expect that can be quite profitable,” Vivienne replied, taking a sip of wine.

“Well, it can be, but I always think ahead about times when I may not have a client, so I put money away to cover my bills and other expenses, or I take on other work to keep me going,” Sadie said, hoping that would be the end of the conversation.

Alex interrupted Vivienne’s line of questioning, “What have you been up to, Dad? I haven’t caught up with you and your projects for ages.”

“Well, I started a new project abroad in Portugal some time ago, and it's finally coming to the finishing stages. It's a new holiday complex, it will be stunning and already got buyers for every single flat, can you believe that? They will be ready for occupation in around two months,” Gyles replied, smiling at both Sadie and Alex. “When I do my next project, I will be asking for your advice, Sadie,” Gyles added, patting her hand.

Vivienne was determined to find out as much about Sadie as she could. She smiled sweetly at her and asked, “What does your father do?”

Alex shot Vivienne a disapproving look and squeezed Sadie’s knee under the table.

This was the crunch time, Sadie thought, this will either make or break the evening when she tells them. She calmly replied, “My dad is a supervisor in a car factory, and my mum is a cleaner.”

Vivienne almost choked on her wine. “Are you okay?” Alex asked, trying to stifle a laugh.

Then Gyles said, “That’s a bit like Vivienne’s parents, her father was a postman and her mother worked in a supermarket checkout. Lovely people, I really miss them. They were good, honest, down-to-earth people, and I loved their company.

Sadie then had to stifle a laugh when she looked at Vivienne’s face, which had gone every colour of scarlet imaginable.

Vivienne glared at Gyles and then composed herself for the rest of the meal, barely uttering another word.

As the evening continued, Sadie knew Vivienne was feeling uncomfortable, which switched her empathic nature on. “Your dress, Vivienne, is beautiful, and I love the colour. Unfortunately, not a colour I can wear with my skin tone, but you look perfect in it”

Vivienne’s expression changed from a frown to a surprised look of delight. “Well, thank you, I was not sure if it would be too much,” she said, flattered by the comment.

“The colour looks great on you,” Sadie answered, giving Vivienne a warm smile.

Both Alex and Gyles gave Sadie a look that said, ‘thank you.’

When Alex was driving Sadie back home, he said, “My dad met Vivienne when she started working for his company as a secretary. He'd been divorced for a few years and was smitten with Vivienne’s looks and her easy-going nature. But she can be a bit of a snob now because she is surrounded by wealth, and sometimes, she needs to be reminded of her own middle-class upbringing. I fail to see why she tries to hide it. There is nothing wrong with people working in whatever job they do.

Sadie laughed and said, “Don’t worry, Alex, I had a lovely time, and I think I eventually won Vivienne over... just a bit!”

“Yes, you certainly did. I could see Dad was impressed,” Alex replied, pulling up outside Sadie’s flat. “Now that talk I mentioned earlier.”

Sadie did not know what to expect. Alex’s expression had turned very serious, and she wondered what on earth he was going to say.

I was wondering if we might think about getting a place together. I really love being with you… And I love you. There, I’ve said it… well, what do you think… feel… ?”

“I think,” Sadie replied, “I would love to share a place with you, because you’ve captured my heart, Alex Kingsley. Just promise me one thing, we will make our own way in life, and be just as we are now.”

“It’s a deal,” Alex said, pulling Sadie close to him.

Sadie thought how strange this had all turned out, from fish out of water to swimming in a tide of pure bliss. Yes, she thought, life was definitely bubbling over with the excitement of things to come!