Me & Mine

29. The Age of Innocence

Brunch at the country club is usually served with champagne, shrimps, and scandals. On white linen serving tables stand plates and bowls stuffed with colorful fruits and seasonal vegetables, the round tables decked with posh silverware and carafes with fresh orange juice. The grand windows reach till the high ceiling and are opened wide, the soft breeze playing gently with the ivory curtains.

Max takes my hand in his and pinches it slightly. "Ready?" He asks, standing in the middle of the large hallway leading to the dining hall. I smirk and watch the decent people in their prim outfits shuffling past us in polite manner. "Always," I say, and I take a deep breath. When I was just a little girl my mother taught me how to carry myself in social situations. So I raise my chin and smile, letting Max lead me into the buzzing room.

Most guests are already seated, old people with too much jewelry for their fat necks and too much color for their grey faces. The middle-aged couples are huddled together around the serving tables, and in the farthest corner there is a table with a handful of boys and girls my age. I cock my eyebrow as my gaze falls on two familiar faces.

"You never told me Cammie and Keira would be here," I whisper, a never-fading smile on my face. Max chuckles and pulls me ever so slightly closer to him. "I wanted it to be a surprise," he says softly and my smile turns into a devious smirk. This could be interesting.

"You are so considerate!"

Max smiles and leads us in the opposite direction, to a four-seater near the open windows. The couple looks busy studying some piece of paper. It's clear to see where Max gets his good looks from. The dark haired man wears a grey suit and has the same muscular build as his son. But the woman, in her greyish rose ruffled dress, she has his fiery red hair. She looks up at us and smiles. "Max!" She says, her green eyes widening. His father looks up too and they simultaneously stand up to meet us. "Good to see you, boy," his father shakes his hand and his mother pulls him in for a hug. I smile and watch Max awkwardly pull himself away from his mother's embrace.

"And you must be Fay," his father extends his hand to me and I take it with a smile, "Ben Sheffield, and my wife, Ellen Whitaker-Sheffield."

"Fay Diver," I say, "it is very nice to meet you." I shake his mother's hand too and admire her enthusiasm.

"Likewise," Max' father says, "please, please, sit down."

The four of us sit down. "Aren't you a beauty," Max' mother exclaims, "Max never introduces girls to us, you see–"

"Mom!" Max says and he looks a little lost. "Don't embarrass me, please."

"Oh, it's quite alright," I say. Max rolls his eyes and starts fidgeting at the table cloth.

"Max tells us you are new at Ridgeview High this year?" Ben Sheffield asks, and I nod.

"Yes," I say, quickly reminding myself of the little information Max had shared with me about his parents, "my brother and I went to Trinity in New York for our freshman year, but we wanted to see more of America and our culture than just the Upper West Side. So we took our sophomore year in Louisiana, and our junior year in California. And now we're here."

Max smirks at me and raises his eyebrows. I shrug lightly and turn my attention to his parents again. Little white lies never hurt anybody.

"How lovely!" His mother smiles. "I have always said the same thing to Ben, you know. These High School years are so important for the formation of young people like you, so it is utterly important to see as much of our cultural fabric as you can. That's why Max takes his schooling here and not in the City with us."

I smile and cock my head slightly to the side. "Oh yes," I say, "Max told me that you are both lawyers."

"I'm a name partner at Cravath, Swaine and Whitaker," Ellen says, her green eyes fixed on mine, "and my husband is a Defense Attorney."