by Kaci Hart
“Wow. You didn’t expect any another reaction did you? I mean they only accept a select few people each year out of tons that apply.”
Chelsea felt the tears starting to form. She wouldn’t have started into this if she knew she would have ended up crying.
“I knew my parents and completely expected them to be upset but their reaction was uncalled for. When they found out that I decided to pursue dance, they forgave me but didn’t want to spend their money on it. My dad is a carpenter that owns a home improvement business and my mom is an elementary school teacher. They felt that they had worked so hard so that I could have a chance and then for me to throw it all away was childish and selfish. They had saved up money for years in case I didn’t get scholarships and I was hoping they would give that to me for dance school but they looked at me as if I was crazy when I asked. Instead, they said they would keep the money and I could have it if I ever decided to go to a real school. Otherwise they’d use it for retirement.”
“That’s a hard story for everyone. On the one hand I see your side but I also see theirs. They think you threw your life away.”
“Yeah. Well we made almost completely opposite decisions with the same type of parents. Do you think I made a bad decision?”
“It’s not for me to judge. I made my decision because I thought it was the right one for me to do. You did the same. They just didn’t want you to have it as hard as they did.”
“I know. The funny part is that for the past few years they have been completely right. Dance school wasn’t what it was cracked up to be for me and money was tight. That was why I started waitressing to meet the bills and that just wasn’t doing it. I was so far behind on some bills that if it hadn’t been for the studio, I would have had to go groveling back to them admitting defeat.”
“Well how do they feel about the studio now?”
Chelsea looked down at the ground. She knew what his response would soon be.
“They don’t know.”
“Huh?”
“I haven’t told them about it yet.”
“What? Chelsea, it’s been a few months now hasn’t it? Don’t you think they deserve to know?”
“Yeah, I know you’re probably right but I’m just not ready to admit failure to them.”
“Who says you failed Chelsea? You just need to make a decision on what you actually are going to do and do it. What I’ve learned now is that you are an extremely talented woman. Bright and beautiful and able to achieve anything you put your mind to. The question is, what are you going to really dedicate to?”
Chelsea placed her hand on his cheek and tilted her head to stare into his magnetic warm eyes.
“It’s funny how we both started out with similar pressures and responded to them differently, but still ended up finding the part of us that we ran from in each other. You’re lecturing me on being more serious and I’m telling you to smile a while and give your serious eyebrows a rest. We really do make a pretty good combination.”
“I, for one, am really happy about that.”
“Me too.”
“Like I said, tell me how you feel about me after meeting my folks. For now, I am going to take full advantage of you still seeing me as prince charming.” He took her hand. “I’m sure you’re pretty much starved since you worked me so hard today. Want to get something to eat?”
“I think I’d like that but for the record, I was totally easy on you.”
***
It was Saturday and Chelsea felt the butterflies flittering around in her stomach. Normally she was the last person in the world that even cared about what people thought about her but since she and Ryder had been getting closer and closer in their relationship, she found that she wanted nothing more than to make sure that she made a good, lasting impression on his family. She knew that his family was extremely important to him. Leading up until today, she had been pretty confident in herself that she would make a good impression. That all changed on the way over as he coddled her. Now she was wondering if he was thinking the same thing that she was.
“Don’t worry about me Ryder, I am going to be fine. You know me.”
“You’re right. Maybe I need to look out for my dad instead!”
Chelsea knew that would probably be their final laugh together before she had to meet his family since he pulled his tiny sports car up to the gate at his family estate. He looked at the camera and the gate immediately began to open, allowing them access to the place. As they drove onto the property, Chelsea didn’t expect that many people to be there. Judging by the numbers of cars and people she saw, she would guess there were at least fifty to one hundred people inside. Maybe more.
So much for only having to worry about embarrassing myself in front of his family.
“What’s going on Ryder? I thought this was supposed to be a smaller, more intimate gathering.”
He chuckled at her comment.
“Believe me when I tell you that this is a small one. Catch her on any holiday and it’s more like one hundred and fifty to two hundred people. The formal ballroom can fit over three hundred people alone. This will just be our family and a few close family friends. Of course when you add their kids and their dates, well you get the gist.”
“So you’re saying your childhood home has a ballroom in it that is big enough for over three hundred people. One room? Okay you did not grow up like anybody I know.”
Chelsea released a deep, heavy breath. What they had pulled up to was way beyond what she expected and as nervous as she was, she was also excited to meet his family. Moments later they parked and Ryder got her door, escorting her towards the doors of the giant building. It looked like a mansion. Or the white house. She wouldn’t be surprised if one of the “close family friends” Ryder talked about included a couple former presidents and first ladies.
The large, oversized doors were wide open as a lot of the guests seemed to be arriving at that instant. As she looked around the inside of the home, if it could be called that, she was floored. Super high ceiling. Low hanging chandeliers every few feet. They sparkled so much that she wouldn’t have been surprised if they were some form of diamond if that didn’t sound so ridiculous. The long greeting area had a burgundy carpet with flourishes all around the corners and trim. On either side of another set of large doors a good distance away were two sets of stairs leading to the second floor. She followed Ryder’s lead, silently as she walked through the palatial home.
“Ryder, honey how are you?”
Chelsea heard the woman before she saw her.
“Mother. It’s good to see you.”
He smiled as he enveloped his mother in a warm hug before being smothered by her kisses.
“A little old for that now mother. Embarrassing me.”
“Nonsense son. A man is never too old for his mother to treat him like her son.”
After he finished hugging his mother, Chelsea saw him turn towards a younger looking guy that had been standing next to him. He was very sharp looking.
“Royce.”
The young man whom she now realized was his younger brother responded in kind.
“Ryder.”
They stared at each other for about ten seconds, neither flinching nor saying a word until the younger Chatham grinned and grabbed him.
“You win! There has never been a time I could stare at that ugly face of yours for more than a few seconds at a time.”
“Whatever. You know I have all the looks in the family. Hey, I’d like you two to meet my date for tonight, and hopefully many nights beyond. Mom, Royce this is Chelsea Warner. Chelsea, this is my lovely mother and not so lovely brother.”
“Nice to meet you both.”
“It’s a pleasure.”
Royce smiled at her, taking her hand and kissing it on the back, before looking into the eyes of his less than pleased brother.
“Oh Royce, stop it before your brother hits you. I know you can see how he’s looking at you. Chelsea, I am glad you could j
oin us tonight. I hope you make yourself at home. Ryder has told me a lot about you.”
A deep voice came from behind Chelsea and she noticed Ryder and Royce both stand up a little taller, their facial expressions getting much more serious. She didn’t mean to but she found herself following suit as well.
“Funny, I haven’t heard anything about her at all.”
“Well dad, you will get an opportunity to meet her for yourself right now. This is Chelsea.”
“Yes son, I heard the introduction. I could have guessed there was a woman in your life with the way I catch you every other day staring at your computer screen pretending to work. I presume you, ma’am, are the object of my son’s affections.”
“Yes...well um no...well I mean it would be kind of presumptuous of me to speak for him like that but I am hoping that I am the woman that you speak of.”
He had flustered her a bit with his forthright question.
“Well if you don’t know by now, then maybe I need to take my Ryder here and teach him a lesson or two on how to treat a lady. He can run a fortune five hundred company and make millions in a day, but can’t make a lady feel special? Is this young man really mine Diane?”
His father is a sweet talker.
“A little too late to be asking that now, isn’t it R.L.?”
“Maybe so. Well it’s a pleasure to meet you Miss Warner.”
Chelsea smiled at him and responded.
“Thank you Mr. Chatham. Just to clear the air, you have done an excellent job with Ryder. I’ve never been treated with such respect like he has shown me.”
“In that case thank you for coming and let me know if he gets out of hand. Now, my family and my newest friend, come. Let’s get this thing started so that we can finish it and I can get back to work. There is always a deal to be done.”
A few minutes later the matriarch of the Chatham household had greeted all the guests and everyone had sat down to eat. Chelsea sat at the family table since she was Ryder’s date. Royce arrived alone so it was just him, Chelsea, Ryder and Mr. and Mrs. Chatham.
As their dining wound down, and the fuller conversations started, Chelsea remembered that Ryder had two siblings.
“I noticed that Ryder’s older brother isn’t here. I was really looking forward to meeting you all tonight.”
Royce laughed out loud at the table.
“That’s because he is off trying to be the savior of the world.”
Mrs. Chatham spoke up.
“I wouldn’t put it like that. I’m sure you will meet Ramsey eventually Chelsea. He’s just so busy with his political career right now. Honestly I can’t stand it at times. Who knew getting into politics could be so problematic. I had hoped to see him tonight too. It would have marked the first time that he’s been home since his divorce.”
“Diane come now. Don’t bring the mood down. You’re right that he could come home more often but I’m proud of him. I mean I did want my eldest to take over the business like I took it from my father but Ryder is shaping up to do that well. Ramsey is working hard for his goals. Nothing wrong with that at all.”
Ryder pushed his chair out from under the table and stood up.
“I agree dad. Now I am sorry to interrupt, but I did tell my mother that Chelsea had been giving me lessons to brush up on my waltz and she demanded the first dance with me tonight. You don’t mind, do you Chelsea?”
“Of course not, as long as she leaves one for me.”
Mrs. Chatham laughed at Chelsea.
“Dear all I am giving this boy is one dance. I just ate and I don’t even know if I’m going to make it all the way through that one. I’m a little rusty myself so just promise me that you taught him to not step on my toes.”
“I think I’ve got you covered there, Mrs. Chatham.”
“Ok then, one dance and he’s all yours again.”
The two walked arm in arm onto the dancefloor, leaving Chelsea, Royce, and Mr. Chatham at the table alone. The elder Chatham wasn’t nearly as bad as Ryder made him seem. If anything, he was pretty cordial and enjoyable. She had no idea what the big deal was with Ryder. She wasn’t thinking anything when he addressed her directly.
“So Chelsea, your face looks familiar to me. Have I met you somewhere before?”
That’s right. The first day I met Ryder his dad was at the restaurant too.
“Actually I’d forgotten until I saw you but we have sort of met once before. It was a few months ago when I used to work at a restaurant in town. You and your son came in with a big group. You were closing out a deal or something.”
“Ahh. That makes sense. That was right about when Ryder started to act a little different. So do you still do that now?
“No sir. I was going to dance school at the time but decided to take some time off and focus on teaching dance. I’m actually doing well enough that I don’t have to wait tables anymore. Which is fine because I never really liked it anyway. It was more of a means to an end.”
“I understand that. It may not look like it now but even my family has had to struggle at times to get where we are. I respect that. On the flip side of that, you never got a formal college education and you didn’t finish dance school, is that true. What’s your plan? Are you going to go back one day or are you running with the business now?”
“I don’t know to be honest with you.”
“You don’t know? So you are literally saying that you don’t have any idea what you are going to do with yourself and you aren’t in the slightest bit worried about it? Maybe I think differently but I don’t know how you can be so carefree regarding your future.”
“It’s not that I’m lazy or anything like that. I’m really good at what I do with the studio but I don’t really like to be tied down. I kind of just go with the flow on things.”
He stopped and looked at her for a second as if considering his words before speaking.
“Chelsea, you seem like a nice enough young lady but if you are dating my son for money or a secure future, I will be watching. Ryder already knows that any kind of marriage that he enters into will have to be approved by myself and a pre-nuptial will have to be drawn up to protect the company.”
Chelsea didn’t know what to say. She certainly hadn’t been expecting that and she had made the egregious error of letting her guard down. Luckily for her, Royce was there and he stepped in.
“Whoa, Dad come on. Was that really necessary? She’s our guest tonight. I’m not surprised that you just said that but I would have expected you to use at least a little tact.”
“Yes, this coming from my son that I can’t get to stay in one city more than two or three months. If she’s carefree, you are the extreme example of that. You need to hear the same thing I just said to her. You’re doing even less with your life than she is.”
“Fine dad. I’m a bad son but you still can’t just talk to her like that.”
“It’s ok Royce, your father is entitled to his opinion. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to use the ladies room.”
When she had made it to the restroom, Chelsea released a full sigh. Looking at her watch, she realized she had made it through what she assumed must be at least half of the get together and aside from Mr. Chatham doing exactly what Ryder said he would, it had been extremely enjoyable. She didn’t mind him so much either. He was just trying to protect his family’s fortune from women who might have less than true intentions towards his son. There was a new TV show about women like that popping up on television all the time.
Chelsea headed back out to the table, stepped up behind Ryder’s father and placed her hand on his shoulder, startling him. If he thought she was just some wallflower that didn’t care what was said to her, he was dead wrong. Just because she chose not to fight and struggle didn’t mean that she couldn’t. She spoke as straight to him as he had just done to her.
“I appreciate how much you care for your family, and your son in particular. I really didn’t care for what you said but I understand why
you did. I’m not out to join your family or swindle your son out of money. I’m just having a really good time with a wonderful guy. I’ll tell you this though. If I ever do have a father in law, I hope he is someone who protects his family with as much tenacity as you.”