Legend

The party

I helped Alfred a little in the kitchen preparing for Thanksgiving, mostly prep work. There were a lot of vegetables to peel. "I'm sorry I never asked about your family, Alfred," I said, picking up another potato.

"You have nothing to apologize for, Miss Alex," he said, pulling out a tray of croutons from the oven. "I rarely talk about my nieces because I regret the circumstances of my estrangement from my brother. But they are nice girls and I hope to assist them building their futures." He efficiently tipped a tray of cooled croutons into the food processor and pulsed until they became crumbs, destined for the stuffing. "I speak with them often, but I can't say that I know them well. I am hoping that perhaps the eldest, Nora, will wish to attend college in this area. I could get to know her better, evaluate her suitability for the position."

"Are you sick, Alfred?"

He smiled at me. "No, Miss Alex, I am in excellent health. But one must keep an eye on the future. Eventually, I will need a replacement, and that person must be chosen carefully as the Waynes require more than someone to answer the door and prepare the meals. My niece is young, but she has promise. And she may choose otherwise. But I would first like to consider family."

"How much younger is the younger girl?" I asked, agreeing with him.

"Two years younger than her sister. She is interested in attending flight school, becoming a pilot."

"Bruce has that private jet," I said thoughtfully, and he smiled.

"Exactly so, Miss Alex."

Mom, Dad, and J came for Thanksgiving, and together with Dick and Barbara, it was the largest table we'd had since I came to live at the mansion. The food was excellent as always and the conversation was lively. J stayed a few more days and I was sorry when he went back to school. But the next week I made room in my schedule to go dress shopping with Aslyn, her mom, sister, and grandma, and a few other friends who could take the day off, including Karen. It was a lot more fun than I'd expected. There was something kind of bonding about helping Aslyn choose a dress to mark this monumental next step in her life. And when we had lunch next, she asked me to be a bridesmaid. Her maid of honor would be her sister, and I'd be joining Rill, Karen, and a couple of her newer friends. The colors were light green, robin's egg blue, and gold, which was nice; I looked good in green and blue.

It started to get cold and dreary right after that, with snow starting to accumulate as holiday parties started. Damian and I went to our share, including his company party and mine, and he came with me to meet the plane when it brought my grandma over for the holidays. She was a little surprised by the house and the butler, but it took about three seconds for her to strike up a firm friendship with Alfred and she liked Bruce. Whew. Mom and Dad came a couple days early for my engagement party and J made it up the day of, just after finals. After J arrived, Damian and I went upstairs to get ready. I chose a silver and green brocade dress that had a full tea-length skirt, long sleeves, and a simple V neck. It made me feel pretty. I didn't have a necklace to match, but the dress was special enough without one, and I wore my pearl earrings. The double strand of pearls was just too much with the dress. "I'll have to think about what kind of necklace to get you next," Damian said, touching the base of my throat gently. "Maybe a diamond pendant."

"You keep this up and I'll have a collection to rival Elizabeth Taylor's," I said lightly, but this backfired as it seemed to have given him ideas. We went down before I could do more damage and joined the family in the library. Bucky and Emma had arrived while we were upstairs.

Alfred served Champagne and Bruce stood, coming over to stand by his son and me. "I'd like to thank you all for being here, not just for the engagement party, but also for Christmas. I'm enjoying getting to know you all better and I'm very pleased that my son is marrying into such a wonderful family. I think that Alex and Damian are an excellent match; they complement each other beautifully and they give each other strength, support, and joy in abundance. I couldn't ask for a better daughter-in-law." He picked up a case from the desk and handed it to me. "I'd like to mark this occasion by giving Alex something significant from my family. It was my mother's most cherished possession, after my father, and I look forward to seeing another exceptional woman wearing it." I opened the case and saw a beautiful single strand of pearls, with deep luster and orient, the white softly washed with pink. He took it out of the case and fastened it around my neck.