Down With The Queen

Dinner With The Simons

Vi was overwhelmed with the beauty of the Simon mansion when she arrived in her mother’s three year old Ford which looked sort of mundane compared to anything within the vicinity of the mansion. She knew the Simons were wealthy, but she just didn’t know how much until now. The house was a gothic structure that had over the years been updated into a somewhat modern style, which gave it an alternative look to it that was both stylish and different from the way the old houses in Knox were structured. Its recent renovation job was done by Mrs. Simon who couldn’t bear to live in a house that was five seasons ago according to the Cosmo’s recent classification of stylish house structures and interior design. The house was surrounded by a thick brick wall three hundred and twenty meters high, and had a gate with thick bars and hand sized lion head silhouettes cast in between the bars. Inside the compound were a few trees and seemingly endless rows of flowers decorated the compound. They looked extremely well cared for, and the lawn was so green that you couldn’t find a single brown patch even if you tried.

At the far end of the compound was a wide tent-like structure erected as some sort of shade for the fleet of cars Mr. Simon owned, two of which belonged to Jennifer and her mother as Mr. Hugh Simon could not permit his vintage and expensive cars to be ridden by his wife or Jennifer for fear that one of them would make one wrong push on the accelerator and bash the cars. His cars were his treasure-or some of it at least-and Mr. Simon took his sweet time to make sure no harm befell them.

Surrounded by the finer things of life, Vi couldn’t help feeling insecure. She hadn’t totally changed from the girl she used to be, and some parts of the child she had been still lurked, waiting for some kind of trigger to propel it to the surface. She fingered her black velvet off-shouldered dress which was flared at the waist, doubting whether she had dressed adequately for the occasion, even if it was just to eat fancy food in a fancy house. She wondered why her mother had accepted the invitation, because if Vi could recall correctly her mother was not one to mingle with town folk. Her mother was from Manhattan, New York, where everyone minded their business and only cared about you when you were doing something that disturbed them. And when they had previously lived in Knox with her dad, she never made friends with the women, nor did she even explore the town because she was hardly ever around, and barely anyone knew she even had a mother. Maybe it was because she was trying to fix her mistake, trying to be there for her daughter now that she was divorced.

They walked up to the door and her mother rang the doorbell. Vi was surprised that they had a doorbell, because she was kind of expecting to see an intercom speaker which they would buzz and some butler or help from the inside would request them to identify themselves. Vi was starting to get finicky when the door was answered and Mrs. Simon stood the door.

“Emilia! How nice of you to come by. I’ve been expecting you,” Mrs. Simon said, reaching out to take her mother’s hand and gave her air kisses on both cheeks. Vi rolled her eyes, thinking Mrs. Simon wanted to seem fancier than she actually was. Vi changed her composure instantly when she caught a glimpse of Jennifer standing beside her father a few feet away, not wanting to be caught slouching or looking like an unattractive guest she saw in all those old movies.

“It’s my pleasure, Cherrie. Thank you for inviting me,” her mother replied with a smile. Cherie Simons ushered them in and Vi was not prepared for the magnificence of the mansion’s interior. There was a gold chandelier hanging in the door way, illuminating the room with a soft golden glow, and its light bounced off the steel banisters of the spiral twin staircases on either side of the room which led into more rooms above. If there was one word Vi could use to describe the house, it was ‘shiny’.

“...and this is my daughter Sh...”

“I’m Vi McCain ma’am,” Vi interjected before her mother could finish. Her mother always introduced her with her first name Shailene, and she had forgotten that Vi now wanted to be known by her middle name Violet in Knox.

Her mother glanced an apology her daughter's way and set a mental reminder to stop calling her daughter Shailene.

“How lovely to finally meet you Vi,” Mrs. Simon beamed at her. Even though she was one of those women that obsessed over how they looked, Vi was surprised to note that she didn’t get Botox. Perhaps, rich people weren’t all the same.

“It’s nice to meet you too ma’am,” Vi said as sweetly as she could. She braved a glance at Jennifer, who put on airs of grace and was standing with a smile. Vi couldn’t tell whether Jennifer was genuinely happy to see her, or whether she was faking it.

“This is my daughter Jennifer. You might see her around more. You will be attending Knox High, won’t you?” Mrs. Simon asked as she steered her over to where Jennifer and her father stood. It was obvious Mr. Simon used to be well built in his youth, as he did not have the usual beer belly that a lot of men his age had.

“Of course she is. St. Luke’s is just way overpriced,” her mother answered.

“It’s nice to meet you again Vi,” Jennifer said, putting both her hands on Vi’s shoulders to give her air kisses.

“You two have met before now?” Emilia asked looking surprised.

“Yeah, while I was out exploring town,” Vi replied quickly, before Jennifer could say that they met at a party which her mum hadn’t authorized her too. One of the disadvantages of having her mum around unlike before was losing the freedom she used to have. Nowadays, her mother had to give her permission before she went out because she was trying to implement advice she read in self-help books about good parenting.

“Yeah,” Jennifer concurred, confused but catching on that Vi did not want her mother to know she had been at the party. So little miss Vi wasn’t such a baddie after all.

“Hi. I’m Charles,” Mr. Simon stretched out his hands to shake Emilia, holding the shake rather longer than he should have.

“Thank you for having us,” replied Emilia, not noticing a thing as she wasn’t one to run after other women’s husbands.

“Let’s go have ourselves some dinner,” Mrs. Simon said and ushered them to the dining.

Fancy ornaments, pottery and paintings were scattered all over the house, which made the house even more beautiful. And Vi was right about the fancy food, because it looked like they were having a feast rather than dinner.

“The food looks good,” she commented, trying to make small talk as they sat.

“It is,” Jennifer smirked, taking a sit opposite Vi and next to her mother, who sat next to her father and opposite Emilia McCain.

The adults continued with their chatter while Vi and Jennifer ate in silence, neither wanting to speak first.

Jennifer subtly studied Vi, noting that the girl was pretty, and having her as a friend could wipe her out as competition. She also noticed that Vi did not seem all that blown away by their home, so she decided to give Vi a tour of the house, to show her what she really had.

Jennifer nudged Vi a little under the table with her toe to get her attention.

“Hey, watch it. The shoe’s suede,” Vi whispered a shout, not wanting to attract the adults’ attention.

“I’m bored. Want to take a tour?” Jennifer offered.

Vi thought about it for a second before she replied in the affirmative. Both of them stood at the same time and Jennifer announced, “I’m taking Vi on a tour of the house.”

“Don’t be long,” Emilia said, as she was planning on leaving in about fifteen minutes.

“No problem Mrs. McCain,” Jennifer promised and off they went.