It's Always Summer on the Island

22. The Debutante Ball

Charlotte

"Good morning, Lottie," her father, Aaron, greeted from behind his imposing mahogany desk where he rifled through The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Boston Globe. She appreciated her father's habit of purchasing his three favorite newspaper subscriptions every year, keeping alive the era of classic print.

"Hi, daddy," she answered, flip flopping into the room. Her father gestured to one of two leather wingback chairs opposite his desk. Charlotte sat in the seat closest to the window for the sake of basking in the early morning sunshine. "You...remodeled." The words unexpectedly caught in her throat, remembering how the desk used to sit across from the window so that her father could appreciate the view every morning. Now it was positioned in front of the domineering dark wood bookshelves adjacent to the magnanimous wall of arched windows. A giant rustic chandelier had been replaced with something far less likable, and the decorations on the wall had all been changed. That old leather couch that Charlotte used to sink into had been removed. Now there was a Chesterfield sofa, two tub chairs in matching upholstery, and a circular live wood coffee table collected in the corner of the room underneath a black and white family photo of the Thorpe family - minus Cordelia - at Georgia's engagement party in London, much more suited to her mother's taste rather than her father's. When they first built this home, this was the one room that her father had his way. He picked the wood, the floors, the windows, the massive desk that never aged out of style, and the wall decor.

Of course, her mother changed it all. She was trying to cover all of the horrifying events that transpired there in that very room.

"Your mother," he replied shortly, drawing his attention away from the newspaper to glance about the room. His eyes settled on that dreaded family picture on the wall. His expression didn't give away any inclination to his thoughts. "I hope you slept well knowing she frantically paced the room for hours at your debauchery and depravity."

"Direct quote, I'm assuming," Charlotte said, curling one leg underneath the other in her seat.

"Correct."

"Because Mum has never made any mistakes in her life, huh," she mumbled. Realizing she said that out loud considering the look her father shot her, Charlotte smiled to ease the tension in the room. "I am sorry, you know. It was immature of me to assume I'd be able to host a small gathering - " her father cleared his throat at that. She continued anyways. " - without your permission, and that it would be okay with you and Mum. I realize now that I should have asked for approval. As a young woman of the age of eighteen, I would have to accept either the responsibility of privilege or the humbling of dismissal with both grace and sophistication which I assure you I am capable of. Beyond my grave oversight, I apologize as well for the broken ceramic plate that I now understand was very important to Mum. It was selfish not to think of the consequences of allowing so many young teenagers into the home. Had I been thinking of everyone but myself, I believe the night might have proceeded much differently."

An amused smirk lifted the corners of her father's lips. From a very young age, Charlotte knew that her father was a handsome man. She admired him the way that young daughters cherish their fathers but also comprehended that he attracted many female gazes for his prestige, class, and command. He walked with an air of authority that matched his typically firm and stoney expression that, overtime, caused the crease between his full dark eyebrows and his forehead. She was gifted the same slim straight nose and cheeky grin from her father. She learned to control her facial expressions like a poker player and express her boldness with a simple twitch of her lips, the lift of a groomed eyebrow, or the narrowing of her eyes all like her father. Well into his fifties, he still sported a full head of hair, swept away from his face like George Clooney, modeling salt and pepper streaks around his temples much like the famous actor as well.