Behind the Puppet Master

The Celebration

I look out over Orange County as the helicopter cruises over the heavy traffic below. Thankfully, Nick decided to take a helicopter ride back to the estate, because it would take at least three hours to get there by car. By taking the helicopter, it will only take fifteen minutes. I look over at Nick who is still on his phone. For some reason, I find myself studying his features. He has a square-shaped face, with jawlines sharp enough to cut a steak. His eyes are thin almond-shaped and they are a gorgeous, blue-green color. He has a perfectly straight Greek nose that I can honestly say, must have been sculpted by an artist. His hair is medium length and a dirty blonde color. He’s 6’2”, I’m 5’6” and I can see why people think we would make the perfect couple. Honestly, when he’s not talking, he’s extremely attractive. If I didn’t know him as a person, I’d probably even like him.

“We’re almost there,” he says without looking away from his phone, “most of the guests have arrived already.”

“Oh cool.” I reply, not really sure what to say.

“Obviously, you already know my dad, but you’ll have the chance to meet my mother, Elizabeth, and two sisters Alexia and Mackenzy. Don’t worry, the dress I got you is better than anything Alexia has.”

“Oh, of course it is” I think to myself rolling my eyes.

I turn around to look out the window, and immediately get blown away as we approach the estate. I don’t know what’s more impressive: the size of the property, or the beauty of the house. This mega mansion has to be approximately 25,000 square feet. The backyard has an enormous pool connected with smaller pools, and there’s an illuminated dancing water fountain at the center. They have a gorgeous garden, like the gardens you’d see at French palaces. There’s different sculptures and statues in the garden, all looking toward the main house. If I had to guess, I’d say this house is probably at least 250 million dollars worth of real estate. 

“Where are we supposed to land the helicopter? I don’t see a helipad anywhere.” I ask Nick.

“Oh, there’s this button thing the pilot presses when we’re close and it comes out.”

“Just- comes out?” I try to clarify.

“Yea, something like that, I guess.”

Just as we finish talking, the pilot hovers right over the dancing water fountain and says something into the headphones. He then presses a button on the control panel and I look down to see the water stop dancing. There’s a sound down below, like steam escaping a pipe. Then the fountains’ circle begins transforming, rising up out of the water so smoothly, and within minutes, there’s a helipad. The pilot lands on it and turns off the engines. I take off the headset and take a minute to let everything that just happened sink in. “Holy crap,” I think to myself, “I’ve never seen anything like this.” 

The pilot comes out and opens the door for me, helping me out of my seat. 

“Welcome to the Fay Estate.” he says with a smile. 

I thank him and walk around towards the house, Nick is standing there already waiting for me. I look in front and notice that the smaller pools now have clear glass covering them, creating a walkway towards the house. It creates the illusion of walking on water. Nick extends his arm, and I take it. We walk towards the house, arm in arm, mainly because I’m scared of the glass breaking and falling into the water. Obviously, though, it doesn’t because it’s made of tough laminated glass and is at least three inches thick.

“I forgot to mention, there’s gonna be members of the press at the banquet tonight. Father only allowed a limited amount though, so it shouldn’t be a big deal.”

"Great." I think to myself. 

As soon as we reach the entrance, we are bombarded by the press who saw the whole grand entrance. There's so many cameras flashing that I kind of went blind. Questions are flying out in all different directions, I don't know what to do. Luckily, Nick seems to be used to this so I let him take the reins.

"Mr. Nicholas, who's your date for tonight's banquet?" One of the reporters asks. 

"This is Alina Monroe, she's the daughter of the famous Henry Monroe."

The flock of reporters start jotting it down. He looks around at the reporters and seems to choose them based on attractiveness.

"Yes, you there, red top." He points.

"Who are you wearing tonight?" She asks excitedly. I already feel an eye roll coming.

"Oh, I'm wearing a custom Valentino suit, designed just for this occasion," he wraps his arm around my hips, pulling me closer, "and she's wearing a custom Bottega gown I had designed for her. A rose for my rose." He says with a smirk. 

More jotting from the reporters. He's scoping out another question to answer.

"Yes, you, blue dress." 

"You didn't call me back after last night, Nick-" I can tell by the panic on his face he didn't recognize her at first. I look at him, with a part of me really amused. 

"Uh, um, s- sorry we don't have time for more questions." He quickly grabs my arms and leads me away from the crowd. 

"HEY!" She calls out angrily, "so what? We spend one night together and the next night you're with someone new?" She yells more things out but soon gets lost in the sea of reporters. 

"They're not allowed in the grand hall until the speech. Sorry about that." Nick starts as he guides me to a giant hallway. He's getting ignored at this point, as I just follow him. While we walk, I take this opportunity to admire the architectural brilliance of this house. This house is so huge, I'm sure if I attempted to explore it, it would take a full week to see everything there is to see, and I'd get lost. "Finally." Nick says in relief as we reach the entrance to a giant hallway. It's surrounded by four security guards, and judging by the looks of it, we have reached the area the reporters are banned from. This hallway breaks off into many different corridors, I'm not even sure where it would lead to. Down the main hallway, there are chandeliers that reflect like diamonds. There's some classical music playing at the end of the hall. Nick checks his watch and says that dinner is about to begin.

He takes my arm again, leading me down the hallway, we make a left turn and I’m blown away by the grand hall before we even reach the entrance. The entrance itself is a giant marble arch that leads to stairs that go into the basement. The stairs leading down into the grand hall are covered with ruby red carpet. I take his arm as he guides me down the stairway and the music becomes more pronounced. We reach the bottom of the stairs and I immediately get intimidated by the number of guests at this banquet. 

There has to be about two hundred guests here. Some guests are already seated at their tables, with champagne or wine in their hands, chatting among themselves. There are guests by the open bar ordering drinks or socializing. At the back right corner, there is a professional string quartet performing for the banquet. The corners of the grand hall have even more impressive chandeliers, which makes the ones in the hallway seem shabby. At the center of the grand hall, is the most magnificent, colossal, diamond chandelier I have ever laid eyes on. There’s about 20 banquet servers walking around serving a varieties of hors d'oeuvres.

“My family is probably still welcoming some guests-” Nick says as he looks around the grand hall. “-oh, there they are. Lets go.” He starts leading me over to his family. I’m busy admiring the grand hall at first, but then I look towards where his family is standing. 

That’s when I see her at the end of the grand hall. Alexia, standing next to William, Elizabeth, and their youngest daughter, Mackenzy. They’re each personally greeting the guests, so she doesn’t notice me staring at her. She’s wearing a breathtaking sapphire blue gown that compliments her perfect figure. Her gorgeous light blonde hair is up in an elegant updo with loose curls. My heart begins beating faster and faster as Nick and I walk towards his family. I’m trying so hard to keep my heart steady as we get closer, but I can’t- I’m almost too nervous to even say hello. I steady my breathing and try to calm down- what’s the matter with me? My mouth starts feeling as dry as cotton, and- and- am I sweating? Jesus, I’m sweating. I pretend to grab my dress to lift it up a little, but it’s to dry off my hands before I greet them. “Oh get it together, Alina.” I soothe myself, “settle down, just breathe!”

We get close enough for me to see her face, and I swear I've never seen true beauty until I saw her. Aphrodite could not hold a candle to Alexia's beauty. I could keep staring into those perfect, round, almond-shaped eyes that glisten of shining emeralds, forever. Like her brother, she too has a square-shaped face with a perfect Greek nose, but her nose was sculpted by the Greek gods themselves. And her lips? Oh her sweet, sweet, irresistible, heart-shaped lips- I swear I feel like they're calling out to me. I'm so weak to them, like sirens calling out to sailors. "Jesus, Alina, calm down, calm down, deep breaths."

We reach Nick’s family and he is the first to greet them. He gives Alexia a quick peck on her cheek, then gives Mackenzy a hug and a kiss on her forehead, he hugs his mother with a kiss on each cheek, and then shakes his father’s hands.

“Hello, you must be Alina,” she says, bringing my focus onto her, and extends her hand out, “my name is Alexia Fay, I’ve heard so much about you.”

Her voice, so soft and soothing, it instantly calms me. “Good things I hope,” I shake her hand firmly, “it’s a pleasure to meet you, Alexia.”

She giggles, “The pleasure’s all mine, Alina; thank you for joining us this evening.” she smiles and I swear everything around me melts. 

“Hi, Ms. Alina, my name is Mackenzy Fay.” a soft little voice squeaks out and brings my attention back to earth. I see her hand is extended out.

“Hello Ms. Mackenzy,” I shake her hand, “I love your dress.”

She smiles an adorable little smile, I swear, she’s almost like a tiny version of Alexia, but the most noticeable difference is her crystal blue eyes and oval-shaped face. “Thank you, and thank you for coming.”

“Of course, I wouldn’t miss it.” I smile back at her. 

“Ms. Monroe, it’s a pleasure to finally meet you. William has been talking about you continuously this evening.” says Mrs. Fay, with a british accent. It's clear where Mackenzy gets her oval face from. Seeing Mrs. Fay next to her daughters, Mackenzy is a spitting image of her mother. Alexia got the best of both worlds from her parents, and Nick looks like William. 

“It’s an honor to meet you, Mrs. Fay.” I extend my arm out to shake her hand.

“Oh please, the honor is all mine. Please enjoy the party, it truly is a privilege to have you this evening.” she smiles.

William shakes my hand next, “I’m glad you were able to make it tonight.”

“I wouldn’t miss it for the world, Mr. Fay. Again, congratulations on closing the deal. I’m sure it’ll be huge.”

“Thank you, thank you, I got your father to thank for this one. He pushed hard for it and even used his previous military connections to close it.” 

“Military connections?” I ask him, confused, “why did he need to go back to that?”

“Oh- oops, I’ve said too much already,” he chuckles, “never mind me, please enjoy the evening.”

“O-Okay, thank you, Mr. Fay.” 

"By the way, your father wanted me to apologize to you for being late."

"Oh?" I start, "I thought he would be here already, where is he?"

"Well, a personal matter took longer than anticipated, but he should be here before or after the feast. Depending on the appointment. I'll see you at our family table later."

I have so many questions, but I don't have time to ask them, because that's when Nick takes my arm and leads me to the open bar. There are four bartenders, with a variety of alcohol on the elegant shelves. Nick orders an old fashioned, and the other bartender asks for my drink of choice.

“Oh, uh, I’ll have a piña colada please.” he asks for my ID, then if I wanted it iced or blended, to which I answered blended. 

After a few minutes we get our drinks, and make our way to the family table, which is at the center of the hall surrounded by other tables. Their table is decorated differently to signify they’re the hosts; as if we needed reminding of that. The table is round, with a lovely decorated bouquet at the center. Nick sits down in his seat and I’m seated to his right. There’s a menu set neatly on my plate. I try to hide the wide-eyed stare as I look at the menu. This feast is going to include a four-course dinner, and under each course there's four or five different choices. They all sound equally delicious. I feel a tap on my shoulder and turn around to see my father. I immediately get up to hug him.

"Hi, dad, I'm glad you were able to make it- I was worried you wouldn't." I try not to sound too worried.

"There's nothing to worry about, Alina. The meeting just ran a little late that's all." He says hugging me back even tighter. "I'm here now, besides, I wouldn't miss this particular banquet for anything." he pulls away, smiling and plants a kiss on my cheek.

My dad goes and finds his seat at our table. He also picks up the menu and reads it while waiting for the rest of Nick's family. After a couple more minutes, his family finishes greeting the last of the guests, and they start making their way to the table. Alexia is seated across from me, to the left of my father, and I start getting butterflies again. I keep looking at the menu to avoid staring at her. Hopefully my drink will help with the nerves. The family sits down, with William the last one standing. He picks up his glass, clears his throat and within seconds the room gets quiet. 

“I’m sure this is the moment we’ve all been waiting for-” he begins, and chuckles fill the hall, “I hope you all enjoy your meals. Let the feast begin, bon appetit!”

On cue, the servers from earlier come out of the kitchen doors to the left; each with their own food carts. The first set of carts contain an elegant assortment of mouth-watering appetizers. I ask for the smoked salmon with caviar on sliced potatoes. I don't even know what other options they had, but this was absolutely delicious. We enjoy our appetizers as the servers head back into the kitchen and bring out the next course. The second set of carts have four pots on them, each containing a different soup. I go for the Beef Bourguignon, I've never heard of it; but it sounded delicious. I make small talk with Nick's family and occasionally make eye contact with Alexia. We finish our soups just as the servers come out to take away our plates. We are served a palate cleanser while they head back in to prepare for the main course. This feast is very lively with laughter erupting here and there. Everyone seems to be enjoying themselves. 

The servers come out with the main courses. I go for the pan seared salmon. We begin enjoying our dinner when I feel Nick grabbing my thigh from under the table and giving it a little squeeze. I look up and that's when I notice that the subject is now about us.

"Well, I can’t see why we wouldn't." Nick says with that mischievous smirk.

"Why we wouldn't- what?" I try to clarify.

"A lot of talk has been going around, my dear Alina, and people are just wondering when we were going to make ourselves official."

Urgh the nerve of this guy, I can't believe he's doing this after the fiasco that happened earlier with that reporter girl.

"I'm not really interested in a relationship right now. I'm focused on building my career." I say, trying to be as polite as possible. 

"Why on earth would you need to focus on your career? No woman of mine would ever need to work a day in her life. You could do whatever in your free time." Nick boasts. 

"Luckily; that's not your decision to make." I say under my breath so only he hears it. 

I look at my dad who seems equally annoyed at Nick. He lets go of my thigh and I quickly change the topic. I can tell he's getting agitated, but I don't care. I learn that Mrs. Fay is from England and met Mr. Fay at University. Nick was sent to boarding school in England where her family had gone for generations. The girls were homeschooled right here at this estate with the top private tutors. Alexia is 23, engaged and is due to be married in about a year. That's when I finally notice she's seated next to a man in his late 20's. I was so busy admiring her, while also avoiding staring in her direction, I didn't even notice most of the people at the table. 

His family is apparently some business partner of William, and the two met at a previous party thrown by his parents. He's also pretty attractive and they make a good match. It's too bad I didn't know she was engaged. Mackenzy is 14, still being homeschooled, but they are starting to consider sending her to private school. 

We enjoy our dinner and soon the servers are back to collect the plates. Another small palate cleanser is served and out comes the dessert! I'm honestly stuffed, but I can't resist a delicious dessert. I choose the tiramisu, which is served in a martini glass. I begin enjoying the sweet, chocolaty, creamy coffee delight that is my dessert. Just as I'm about to finish, out of the corner of my eye, I see a guest get up and accidentally push his chair into a server. She trips and sends the tray of red wine flying in my direction. I feel some of the wine hit my shoulder and run down my back. The wine glasses shatter on the ground, breaking around me. I can't react; I'm frozen as I'm forced to watch the wine spread like blood across the fabric.