Page 2 of Degradation
I watch my new stepfamily for a few more minutes. April talks to the girl, pointing things out on the property like she’s trying to make the girl want to be here.
My stepsister, as far as I can see from up here, looks unimpressed.
I snort a small laugh. Yeah, I like her already.
The clock on the mantle chimes six and I sigh. Dinner will be in thirty minutes and Pop said we have to dress to impress, so I leave the room, my shoes hardly making a sound on the Parquet flooring.
I take the back stairs, even though we aren’t supposed to because it’s for staff. I don’t want to run into anyone. In my room, I decide to take a quick shower. I do actually want to make a good impression, not just with my new stepmom, but with her daughter too. I pick one of the pressed Oxford shirts and a pair of chinos off the hangers at random.
I make myself presentable, taking extra care with my hair, and I’m ready by six twenty-five, walking down the grand staircase and stepping into the formal dining room at exactly six thirty.
I find my father and April already there. They’re talking quietly with glasses of wine in their hands. The girl isn’t there yet.
Andy walks in just after I do and frowns at April who smiles when she sees us.
‘My sons.’ Pop says, gesturing at us. ‘On time for once.’
My new stepmother comes forward. She’s in an evening gown now and her hair is curled around her shoulders.
‘You must be Andrew,’ she says, her face softening as she glances at my brother and then at me, ‘and Jack.’
‘Yes, Ma’am,’ we say almost in unison.
‘You can call me April. I understand this might all be a bit of a surprise. I know Marguerite was a little shocked when I told her.’
‘WhereisMarguerite?’ my father asks. ‘I said six thirty.’
He sounds casual but, I lock eyes with Andy, she better show up soon. Dad hates waiting on other people.
‘She’ll be here in a minute, I’m sure,’ April says with another smile, this one a little forced. ‘Shall we sit and chat while we wait for her?’
Pop sits at the head of the table with April to his left. We sit on his other side.
‘So, your dad tells me you’re coming back to Richmond for school,’ April begins. ‘That’ll be nice. We’ll be able to get to know each other. Marguerite will be in class with you as of Monday, of course. She’s around the same age as you both, so I’m sure you’ll get along great.’
Andy and I share another look. No more boarding at Birchwood? This is the first we’ve heard of it. John Novelle strikes again. I don’t know whether to be glad or not.
We make all the correct noises in the face of April’s seemingly unflappable cheer, and I can’t help wondering where my father found her. She’s not like the society women he usually dates who always seem so far up their own asses that they can’t see that my father doesn’t give two shits about them. I do like April, I decide, but she’s very different from my father.
A door creaks open, and we all turn to look at the girl who comes in quietly.
‘There you are, sweetheart.’ April says, rising. ‘Did you get lost?’
The girl says nothing but her eyes flick over me and Andy. They avoid my dad entirely.
‘Come and meet Jack and Andrew.’
She steps forward and I see that she hasn’t changed clothes. She’s still wearing the jeans and the long-sleeved green shirt with the arms that are a little too short.
She doesn’t say a word as she sits down next to her mother and looks down at the table.
April doesn’t seem surprised by Marguerite’s behavior, and I chance a look at my father. He hasn’t said anything, but I see his jaw tic.
‘There are new clothes in the closet in your room. Didn’t you see them?’
Marguerite doesn’t look up and I see April give John Novelle a speaking glance and, for the first time in my life, I see my father back down.
Holy crap.
