The four of us took the main elevators to go to the induction party. Bram and I were in the middle. Chantal was on my right and Archie was on Bram's left. I felt Bram turn to me as we near the 5th floor. So I turned to him.
He lifted his right hand towards me and said, "Ready?"
I lifted my left and nodded, "Ready!"
When we entered the function hall a lot of heads turned to us. Some of them even clapped their hands. Archie came near Bram and whispered something to his ear.
Bram squeezed my hand and said, "Archie needs me," then he left me with Chantal. She guided me towards the left side of the hall and she took me to the table where Aunt Calla and George were seated.
Aunt Calla was wearing a shiny black dress with a V-neckline. It looked like what goddesses from Greece usually wore. I came near her and greeted her with a cheek to cheek kiss. Then I sat beside her. I noticed that some tables were big and some were small, like ours. By the size of it, it could only fit four people.
I looked at the direction where Archie took Bram. Other executives greeted him with a handshake. His table was at the front on the right side.
Aunt Calla leaned to me and said, "Your mother, brother and Alicia are at the back of our table."
I stiffened just by hearing Alicia's name. Aunt Calla was observing my reaction; so I nodded at her as acknowledgement and gave her a small smile, "Thank you for telling me, Aunt Calla."
"Of course darling," Aunt Calla responded and winked at me, "Credence is at front as well, at the left side."
I extended my neck to see my mother-in-law. She was wearing a wrap around black dress with short puff sleeves. Just like Aunt Calla she also looked well put together and very elegant. They dimmed the lights as the emcee opened the program for the night. He started by introducing and recognizing the presence of the VIPs. Then all of a sudden Aunt Calla moved to the empty chair in front of me.
"Sorry dear, I have poor eyesight," she told me. Then she clapped when another guest was introduced.
"So how are you?" George said from my right side. He was now seated on the chair that was left by Aunt Calla.
I turned to him and gave him a friendly smile, "I'm good thank you."
"Can I ask you a question?" George asked me. He leaned forward near my ear.
"Sure, what is it?" I answered him and leaned my head to my right.
"The guy who got my girlfriend pregnant is a dirtbag. He didn't want anything to do with her and the baby. What should I do?" He asked me. Then we both clapped together with the other guest.
"It's so nice of you to think of her after what had happened. It's up to you," I answered him with a small smile.
George shook his head and said, "Well I still love her, so I guess I will have her back and the alien inside her."
Then he gave a giggle after his last word. This made me laugh too. I just realized that George was a good person through and through. I nodded my head in agreement and turned at the stage where the emcee was. I accidentally glanced at the direction where Bram was seated.
He was staring at me with a scowl on his face. I returned my eyes back to the stage. I was thinking about what scowl was for. Then the server started giving us intricately plated meals. I wanted to take a photo of one of the meals but I stopped myself and just enjoyed the food.
George and I ended up the only ones on our table. Because Aunt Calla went to a bigger table where she appeared to be in the company of a close friend. Then George opened up about what had happened between him and his girlfriend.
"In the end, the alien would be mine after all?" George told me after swallowing his food.
"That's sweet of you," I commented then added, "I think you should stop calling the baby an alien."
George nodded, "Yes, I have another name for the baby."
I took a sip of my water, "Really? What is it?"
"The destroyer," George answered me. He was trying not to laugh.
My eyes widened, "Why?"
"Gotcha!" George said laughing. His shoulders were shaking, "I'm kidding."
I answered him with a mild laugh and shook my head. We both turned towards the direction of the stage. I scanned the people at the front and my eyes landed on Bram's direction again. He was definitely watching us and his face was full of displeasure. He looked away and averted his eyes towards the speaker on the stage.
I turned to George and gave him a small smile. We ended up talking about his modeling career. Then after we finished eating, Aunt Calla took George to another table. They went to the table of the businessman who owned one of the famous clothing lines in the country. I smiled, Aunt Calla would grab any opportunity just to help her models.
I was startled when I felt someone standing at my right side. I looked up and saw Chantal. She was looking in the direction to my left. When I turned in that direction, I saw my brother was walking towards me, beside him was Alicia.
I stood up and my brother gave me a bear hug before he introduced Alicia. Her black dress was made of a very thin fabric. The dress fitted her body perfectly. Her height was almost the same as my brother's. And her blond hair was up into a beautifully made bun. Her skin was tanned and she had prominent Asian features.
"Remember the girl that I told you about when we were on the island? This is her, she's back from the States," Roland explained to me.
"Hello nice to meet you," I extended my hand and smiled at Alicia.
"Hello," Alicia responded. Then she took my hand and squeezed it, "I've been looking forward to meeting you. He told me a lot of things about you."
"Did he?" I commented and widened my smile.
"Excuse me ladies. I'll say hi to my brother-in-law," my brother told us and then he walked towards Bram's direction.
I followed my brother with my eyes then I looked back at Alicia. I gave her a small smile.
"Bram said you're a gold digger," Alicia said as she glared at me. Her arms crossed to her chest, "I know everything and this is only the beginning."
My smile disappeared and Chantal went in front of me. She was covering half of my body, "Madam, I suggest you go back to your seat," she told Alicia.
Alicia picked up the right side of her gown and glared at us. Then she strutted away. I held on to the table for balance and sighed.
"Are you all right, Madam?" Chantal asked me.
I nodded and smiled at her, "Yes."
But deep inside I was shaken. I should have expected the hostility because I took Bram from her. I sat down when I felt my knees wobble. I looked at the direction where my brother went but I saw Bram instead. He was heading towards me.