The House of Allen

Eight

Several years ago.

The young boy around the age of 7 pouted as his nanny broke the bad news to him.  Bea, his fiancé, would not be able to make it to the party today because she has a cold. 

Many would think that it is odd that a young boy like him would already have a fiancé, but Levi is not like any other normal boy.  He was the eldest son of Frederick Allen, head of the House of Allen, which made him the heir of the entire business and estate.  It was only last year when he was introduced to Bea Gibson, the heir of the Gibson estate, and was told that they should get along with each other because they will be married one day. 

Since then, they would always visit each other’s place to play with each other.  The two would also be spotted hanging out together at social gatherings, and would not interact with the other kids without the other.  They were inseparable, and Levi thought that it was what is normal.  He was supposed to marry Bea in the future after all, and love each other like his mama and papa.  The reason why the news of Bea catching a cold and not being able to make it to his dad’s birthday party was pretty upsetting to Levi.  He does not talk with the other kids much and he does not want to be seen next to his brother Erwin who peed in his pants at school that one time.

Unexpectedly, Levi spent most of his time sulking at the corner by the veranda, minding his own business and staring in envy as the other kids played amongst themselves.  He does not have anyone to hang out with and these kids do not want to invite him to play games with them because of that one time Bea freaked out when she saw him playing with the kids without her permission. 

“Can I sit here?” A young girl’s voice startled Levi back to the present.  He lifted his head from staring daggers at the kids playing tag around the ballroom and stared at the speaker who was a young girl – probably as tall as Erwin – who he has never seen before at these parties.

“Who are you?” Levi asked brusquely, hoping that she will go away.

“My parents are guests.” She replied and not waiting for Levi’s response, she plopped herself down on the loveseat beside Levi, her legs comically dangling off the edge of the seat.

“So?  Are you not going to play with the other kids?” Levi asked, eyeing the girl suspiciously.  Surely, she was just like the other kids who will not pay him any attention lest they become the reason for Bea’s rage.

“I don’t know anyone.  It’s my first time being brought to a party since I was always too sick to come with my parents and the kids here have already formed groups, as you can see.” The girl replied, waving her hand to indicate the other children playing games around them.

“So you want to form a group with me or something?” Levi raised an eyebrow at the girl.

“No.  My feet hurt because of these fancy shoes my mom made me wear and I saw your seat is really big.” The girl smiled at him kicking her feet as she did so as if to show Levi her sparkly red shoes that were causing her predicament.

“But, wouldn’t your fiancée be angry if they saw you with a boy?” Levi asked.

“Fiancée? I’m too young for that!  I’m only six!” The girl laughed.

“Surely, your father had already introduced you to your fiancée.  I was introduced to mine when I was six.” Levi stated matter-of-factly.

“Oh, no.  My dad did get into an argument with grandpa about that, though.  I think grandpa wants to set me up with someone – I don’t remember the name – but my dad wants me to choose when the time comes.  I hope I choose someone who likes dogs, though.  I love dogs.” The girl replied.

“How can you help your family if you are not going to marry, though?” Levi asked.  The girl revealing that she was not yet betrothed to someone is puzzling to his young mind.  It is unheard of in their society.

“I heard this when dad and grandpa were arguing.  Dad said that girls are as capable of running a business on their own as boys.  Grandpa called dad crazy, though.” The girl said, and Levi had to agree with her grandpa.  As far as he knew, girls are weaker and shorter than boys.  How can they run a business if they are so short?

“Alex!  Come here and wish Mr. Allen, happy birthday!” A woman called out, beckoning for the girl to approach her and the girl responded by jumping off the loveseat.

“That’s my mom.  See you!” The girl waved at Levi and ran towards the direction of the woman who was currently conversing with Levi’s father along with a man who he assumed would be the girl’s father.

---

Alex arrived early at the office, to see that Levi was already in as indicated by the bag on his desk.  This puzzled Alex as Levi was not an early riser based on what Erwin had told her and his attendance at work where he only comes in a few minutes before the clock strikes eight.  Deciding that he might have just gone to the bathroom, Alex decided to go to the mess hall and get herself some coffee to start off the day.

As she neared the mess hall, she could hear several men laughing which made her smile at the thought of the workers starting off the day on a good note.  Maybe something good happened over the weekend that she would find out during her rounds later.  She was surprised, however, when she saw there on the long table was Levi laughing along with Bert and the other guys that were with them at the pub last Friday.  The men joked among themselves as they had their morning coffee and they all perked up and waved at Alex when they saw her enter the hall.  Alex returned the gesture and proceeded to get her coffee and make her way back to the office.  Levi came a few minutes later and Alex raised her eyebrow at him, clearly expecting him to spill the beans on what she just witnessed at the mess hall.

“I was getting my coffee and they came and invited me to their table.  I apologized for my behavior last Friday and we ended up talking a lot.” Levi answered sheepishly.  Alex smiled at him and patted his shoulder.

“That’s a good start.” She remarked, to which Levi nodded and smiled back at her.