The Mischievous Mrs. Maxfield

Chapter Fourteen: Decisions and a Dance

A/N: Hello everyone! Thanks for all of you who read and waited patiently. Sorry for the slow upload (although technically, it’s only been a week) but I’ve just had a lot of things going on and I’m so tired. I’ve decided to shorten my word count to about 10k words per chapter just because it’s easier to produce each week. As much as I’d love to write all the time, I have a job and a life and I don’t want to burn myself out way before this book is finished so bear with me.

As always, please vote and comment if you liked this chapter. I thought the last scene was particularly sweet but that’s just me. 

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“This isn’t one of those real housewives shows, is it?”

I cautiously eyed the elegant, plum-colored invitation Felicity handed me and scrutinized the gold, cursive text written on it.

Felicity smiled and shook her head, her shiny blond curls bobbing around her shoulders. “No. Not at all. The Lady Championettes Society is an old and esteemed group of influential women in the state who campaign for charity, social reform and many other important advocacies. Many of them use their financial and social connections to further their cause. To be invited as an honoree in one of their monthly tea parties is a big deal because that usually means they’re thinking of recruiting you.”

I wrinkled my nose and thoughtfully tapped one corner of the invitation on the patio table. 

It was a couple of days later, on a warm, clear-skied summer afternoon, and we were out on the nirvana-like balcony of Martin’s hospital suite going over our weekly update. It was when Felicity would run through my schedule and a bunch of things I never even really worried about before. Now that I was officially Brandon’s wife, the interest in me came like a tsunami.

One of the meeting’s agenda was the invitation to a tea party hosted by the Lady Championettes Society who congratulated me on my wedding to Brandon and promptly expressed an interest in friendship with me.

From what I knew and heard of them, they were an event-planning powerhouse of socialites who threw really high-profile parties and fundraisers. The events were always highly successful but then they only catered to the wealthy and famous who had money to burn for a variety of causes. 

While I appreciated their benefits to charity, I couldn’t help but feel that a lot of it was for show—and that wasn't something I wanted to sign up for. I didn’t want that kind of attention for myself especially since I knew that they only extended the courtesy to me because I now had Maxfield for a last name.

If I hadn’t married Brandon, they would’ve never heard of me and they would’ve never considered asking me to help participate in their charity campaigns—which was fair enough, I guess. If it wasn’t because they suspected there was nothing I could offer, it would be just because we wouldn’t really get along as well as any of us could hope.

They were the tweed-jacket-pencil-skirt-wearing types who most likely didn't approve of ripped-jeans-sneakers-wearing misfits like me. I could roll with it most of the time but I didn't relish the idea of being treated like the unwanted sixth toe that they had no choice but to drag along with them, harmless or not.

But you have different responsibilities now as Brandon’s wife. You knew this when you agreed to marry him and you promised you would do your best. 

Whether my best was good enough, that was yet to be determined.

“Do you think Brandon would want me to go to this thing?” I asked Felicity before picking up my tall plastic cup of multi-colored layers of slushies and taking a long sip up the giant fat straw. “He might think this is kind of silly.”