The Boy In The Bow Tie (edited)

1. Invitation

I was done with Junior year and had three months to do whatever the hell
I wanted. But I wasn't actually going to get that luxury because I had to go to a family reunion in the Hamptons. And I wasn't looking forward to it at all. Don't get me wrong, I was definitely looking forward to spending my summer with the privileged people of the East Coast, but I was not exited to spend it with my relatives. Saying my family is dysfunctional is an understatement. My parents who married when they were eighteen are divorced but still share a home, my brother is having an affair with their former marriage counselor, and my older sister we suspect is an "exotic dancer". Oh yeah, and I'm pretty sure my cousins are products of incest.

The dive from our house in Iowa to The Hamptons is eighteen and a half hours long. Can you say, "family roadtrip"? I wish I didn't have to. Do you understand what eighteen hours in my family's Honda Civic can do to someone? You don't want to know.

After what seemed like an eternity in the car with my siblings and parents, we arrived sweaty, smelly, and irritated. My brother and sister fought the whole way and my mom and dad refused agree on a radio station, so we ended up listening to the fuzzy sound that you get when you're in between two. I tried to sleep the whole way, but no one can sleep through constant shouting and fuzz.

The house we were staying at was nice. Nicer than nice, actually. When I stepped out of the car and saw the huge, beautiful grey cedar shake sided house with tall glass french doors, I felt out of place. Everything I had seen there so far was so beautiful and pristine, and sophisticated. We were soon greeted by my grandparents, Marge and Benjamin, who unlike the rest of my family, were sane and I loved being with them. Every Christmas since I can remember, we would go to their home in Vermont and it was really the only time of the year that my parents and siblings got along, and we actually felt like a family. My grandparents were my safe place. They came out of the home and hugged us all and when we went inside, I was surprised to see all of my family already there.

My aunt Mae was sweet and hilarious, but of course, she had to go and marry my uncle, Louie. Who is also her brother, I suspect. I always felt uncomfortable around those two. Then there are their kids-my cousins, Danny, Riley, and Gina who were triplets. They were cute, but due to their parent situation, they were a little strange-okay, a lot strange and I felt uncomfortable around them, too. Then there was my mom's older sister, Alice who is tall, and beautiful, but also a complete mess. She married her high school sweetheart when she was nineteen and when they got divorced, she fell apart and hasn't been in a serious relationship since. She's fifty-five now. My grandparents have four children, and my mom is the youngest.

After we all greeted each other, Marge showed me to my room. It was exquisite. White from top to bottom, huge glass windows covering almost every inch of every wall but one. A king bed was pushed against the plain wall, covered in a grey duvet and furry pillows. A grey rug was laid on the brown wood floors. It was so simple, but it was so beautiful. I was in love. I unpacked all my t-shirts and athletic shorts which were all that I had thrown in my suitcase. We were having a family dinner at this country club that overlooked the beach, and I had nothing that seemed appropriate. I changed into a pair of somewhat nice jeans and a lacrosse shirt which was the nicest quality top I could find, and threw on my flip flops and went downstairs.

"Oh Charlotte, you've grown so much! You look so beautiful," said Mae, tucking a lock of my hair behind my ear. I shuddered a little bit.

"Thanks, aunt Mae. It's good to see you," I replied with a fake smile, trying to find an excuse to end this conversation. Just then, my grandparents announced that it was time to go.

We arrived at "The Fitzpatrick Country Club" and I felt even more out of place than I had at the house. Everyone was wearing white dresses with floppy brimmed hats and heels. I was wearing flip flops because I was from Iowa. We sat down for dinner, receiving some stares from the other people dining and shortly after, a handsome man took our orders.