Worthington Wives

Chapter Thirteen

Cecelia was comfortable in the bed they had prepared for her. The room was lovely, decorated in pink, yellow and white. Big roses adorned her comforter. Phillip had bought her a bouquet of flowers and they were in a big white vase on the dresser. A bowl of chocolate covered peanuts sat beside them.

Cecelia wondered if Phillip had put them there for her or Agnes. Her mother in law to be seemed very pleased with her so far. But she knew if she didn’t do everything according to her wishes that her ‘golden child’ status could quickly change and she would face the Ice Queen’s wrath. She had heard of this for years and she was glad to be on her good side.

Cecelia fell asleep thinking about her fiancé. She dreamed of him instead of Ben for a change. She dreamed of his handsome smiling face and his kisses. In her dreams, The he held her in his arms and made everything perfect. Her best friend was her fiancé, Cecelia thought as the morning sun came in on her face. She woke up stretching and smiling, feeling contented.

Just then, she heard a knock at her door. Cecelia pulled a robe on and ran her fingers through her hair before opening the door. It was Ben’s fiance Reyanna. Cecelia was surprised to see her.

“Hi, I just wanted to make sure you were up because Mrs Worthington is a stickler for everyone being at the table on time. They serve breakfast at seven. I didn’t want you to get in trouble your first day here,” Reyanna told her, speaking quietly so Agnes didn’t hear.

“Oh, okay, thanks for the heads up,” she said. Before leaving, Reyanna turned around and thought of something else. “Listen, Cecelia, we don’t know each other, but we are going to be sister in laws. I’d like for us to be friends. I never had a sister myself, so I’m kindof psyched about it. So if you want to, maybe we can go for a walk or something sometime and get to know each other, just me and you,” she suggested.

Cecelia looked at the girl and decided she was right, it wasn’t her fault things turned out the way they did. They should get to know each other. To Reyanna’s surprise, Cecelia gave her a warm hug. “I think we should,” she agreed. They smiled at each other and Reyanna said, “Okay Sister, we better get ready. Don’t want to rile the Ice Queen,” Reyanna whispered and they both giggled.

Cecelia was seated next to Phillip and he pulled the seat out politely for her to sit. “Thank you, Phillip,” she said. He gave her a sweet smile and sneaked in a quick kiss on her jaw. Cecelia smiled up at him and touched the spot where he kissed her, causing her to blush.

Phillip took his seat beside her and she got a whiff of his cologne. “You smell nice,” she whispered. “So do you,” he whispered back. “Ahem,” Agnes said, warning them to stop the whispering. Cecelia blushed and dropped her head, but Phillip reached over and squeezed her hand to let her know it was okay.

Cecelia was enjoying all the new attention she was receiving from Phillip. She felt excited this morning when she saw him. For the first time ever, she was more interested in Phillip than what Ben was doing. In fact, she didn’t even look at Ben this morning.

Cecelia looked up and caught Phillip staring at her and they smiled at each other. “My fiancé Phillip”, she sounded it out in her head. She decided she liked the sound of it.

Agnes asked Cecelia how she liked her room, but she was too caught up in her thoughts, staring at her fiancé. “Honey, Mom is talking to you,” Phillip said. “Oh Mrs Worthington! I’m so sorry! I’m afraid I was daydreaming,” she explained.

“I have waited all these years for daughters, and now I am getting two at a time,” Agnes said. “It’s Mom from now on to you ladies at home, Mother in public,” she declared.

Reyanna and Cecelia both looked at each other in suprise at Agnes’ kindness towards them. “Yes, Mom, Cecelia said, what was it you asked me?”

“I asked how you liked your room,” Agnes repeated. “Oh! It was lovely!” Cecelia exclaimed. “And the flowers and candy were nice touches as well,” she said, looking up at Phillip. He gave her a little wink as he took a bite of French toast.

“Today I want you both to spend time with your fiancés and enjoy the day. But tomorrow we will all attend church services together. We always attend as a family and it is expected of us to be there every Sunday. We are pillars of this community and we must set a good example,” she explained. “Yes, of course,” Cecelia responded politely.

“You too, Reyanna, we will announce your engagements after services. And we will receive well wishers here after services. It is a big to do when a Worthington son marries. We will make it public tomorrow,” Agnes announced.

The Ice Queen actually smiled. “My sons are getting married!” she exclaimed proudly. The rest of the family happily congratulated the couples. Avery Sr smiled proudly, happy about his growing family.

Reyanna looked at Ben and smiled, happy that Agnes was accepting her. He smiled back and squeezed her hand. Reyanna got the courage to respond to Agnes and thanked her. Agnes gave her a curt nod in response. The Ice Queen was beginning to thaw, Reyanna thought. Ben kissed her hand and smiled at her. His mother was beginning to accept her, and that made him happy.

“Everything we do outside this home is in the public eye,” Agnes began. “Our family’s business is unfortunately “everyone’s business. So we must always maintain our dignity and perform respectably at all times. You will bear the Worthington name soon, so you must always walk worthy of that name,” Agnes explained.

“And that also means that problems in your relationships or in our private lives stays within these walls. We do not let family matters or business matters go outside the family,” she continued. “We maintain our dignity at all times. Have respect for each other. And family always comes first,” she added. “Family is everything.”

“Shouting is unacceptable,” she said. “We have discussions, we do not have shouting matches here, and we don’t air our dirty laundry in public. Do I make myself clear?” She said, looking around at everyone. “Yes, Mom, they all responded.

“If you have issues, you deal with them, but we do not divorce. We Worthingtons marry for life. Is that understood?” She asked, looking sternly at both girls. “Yes Mom,” they responded in unison.

“Very well, then, let us be dismissed and everyone enjoy your day,” she said. Agnes smiled at Avery Sr and he nodded in approval. “Our family is growing, Avery,” she said, smiling. “Good…fam…uh..family,” he said, lifting his fist victoriously in the air. Agnes kissed him on the jaw. “Oh, Reyanna is gonna have to shave you! That beard is grizzly.

Avery reached for her hand and kissed it. “You’re coming back out of this, aren’t you?” She asked with tears brimming her eyes. “Yes,” he responded, smiling at her. Agnes always put on a stern face in front of the family because she had to command order and respect in the home. But behind the scenes, she loved her family more than anything in the world. And she loved her man.