What They Left Behind
Gennie dressed more formally for dinner than she normally would, wearing a peach colored dress with a wide beige belt. Michele wore a navy blue jumper dress with a white blouse. She didn’t want to wear anything as fussy as she did the last time they were there.
Gennie was a bundle of nerves as she drove to the Davidson mansion. She knew it was showing because Michele was constantly looking at her, her face filled with concern. This was it, she thought. She had to face the music. There was no turning back now.
Peter still had a key to the house so he unlocked the door and they entered the mansion. They were quickly greeted by Sylvia, the fair-haired maid.
“They’re all waiting for you in the dining room,” she said.
Gennie walked toward the dining room as if she was walking toward an electric chair. Sherisse was the first one to greet them.
“Don’t worry,” she said, “you’re not late. We’re just having drinks and chit-chatting.”
Sherisse seated Gennie between Peter and Michele, on the left hand side near the door.
Peter took Gennie’s hand. “Wow, you’re really sweaty.”
“Yeah, I know,” Gennie replied. “Sorry.”
“So, I see you finally have a girlfriend that isn’t a slut,” the vaguely familiar man sitting opposite her said to Peter.
Peter scowled. Gennie had the feeling Peter didn’t particularly like this guy.
“Well, aren’t you going to introduce me?” the man asked.
“Gen, this is my Uncle Antony, but everybody calls him Tony the Phony.”
Now she remembered him. He was a character actor. He looked to be about fifty years old, on the thin side and he sported a thin well-groomed beard.
Antony flashed Peter a look of annoyance but it quickly disappeared when he turned to Gennie. “It’s such a pleasure to finally meet you. And my condolences.”
Gennie was about to ask what for, but when she saw Peter crossing his arms and give Antony a look of death, she figured it out. “Uh, nice to meet you too. Um, didn’t you play an FBI agent on an episode of In Pursuit?”
“Yes, I did. Excellent show. So sad it ended the way it did.”
“My husband was on that show. I imagine you probably met him.”
“You’re married? Does your husband know about Peter?”
“Don’t get your pants in a wad,” Peter replied, a hard edge to his voice. “Her husband was Rory Fox.”
“Oh,” Antony said, looking a little surprised. “I’m so sorry about your loss. He could’ve been a great actor, almost as great as I am now.”
Peter scoffed.
“I see you’ve lowered your standards just a tad,” Antony replied.
Peter didn’t say anything but shot him an angry glance.
Oh god, this is turning out to be fun, Gennie thought.
“No, not at all,” Gennie replied. “Peter is a wonderful guy.”
“Well you’ll find out soon enough,” Antony said to her. “Did he tell you his dirty little secret yet?”
“Hey!” Peter replied, his eyes glaring with hostility. “Why don’t you keep your mouth shut like you’re supposed to?”
“Maybe you should tell her about all your past girlfriends…all um, two hundred and fifty of them. All races, colors and creeds, just like you.”
Peter looked like he was about to strangle him when his mother came over and intervened. “Okay, enough is enough. Can we please act like adults?”
“Well, one of us isn’t an adult yet,” Antony said, looking at Peter.
Peter jumped up and Gennie was afraid it was going to get physical until Damien spoke.
“Sit down!” he ordered Peter. “Your mother went to a lot of trouble to get this dinner put together on short notice.”
“Hey, I didn’t start this. And why did you invite him here when you hate him?”
“We didn’t invite him. He was visiting.”
“Why is it always my fault when he’s being a jerk?”
“I don’t want to hear about it. Let’s just eat in peace, okay?”
Peter sat down. Antony smirked at him.
“You’re lucky you’re eating at this table,” Antony said.
“Shut up!” Damien yelled. “You’re lucky you’re eating at this table. I should have thrown you out on your ass the minute you came to the door.”
Though the ensuing silence was very awkward, Gennie had to admit the dinner, brandied pepper steak, was delicious, almost as good as Ben’s cooking. She chatted a bit with Sherisse, hoping to lighten the mood. Antony didn’t say another word, though it looked like he was bursting at the seams to talk. Damien didn’t talk at all, unless he wanted something passed to him.
After everyone was done with dinner, the maid took their plates away. She then came back with a bottle of Dom Perignon and filled every champagne flute about half way. When the maid left, Sherisse stood up.
“As you all know,” she began, “I arranged this dinner at the request of Peter, for a very special reason, though I have no idea what that reason is.”
She chuckled nervously and then continued. “Peter told me he has a special announcement to make. Peter, tell everyone what your big surprise is. We’re dying to know.”
Peter stood up, looking as nervous as Gennie felt. “Well…you know how I feel about Gennie and how special she is…um, uh…actually, she’s so special that two weeks ago we went to Las Vegas and got married.”
The room was silent as the message sunk in. Sherisse’s face brightened. She walked over and kissed Peter on the cheek.
“Oh, that’s wonderful, dear,” she said. “I was hoping you’d pick a decent girl for a wife and you did.”
Sherisse then hugged Gennie. “Welcome to the family, dear.”
“I suppose I should be happy for you, I think,” Antony said.
Gennie wasn’t expecting Damien to come over, but he did. “You didn’t look like a gold digger.”
Sherisse slapped her husband on the shoulder. “Is that all you can say? Why don’t you act normal for once?”
“Well, I’m glad Peter has married a very attractive woman. Congratulations.”
A few hours later, Gennie arrived home feeling relieved Peter’s parents approved of their marriage, even if they weren’t overjoyed about it.
“Sorry about my crazy family,” Peter said, sitting down on the couch.
“Well, compared to my family, they’re perfect.” She never told him about Bryan, but he knew Malcolm and Colleen weren’t related to her.
“There’s a lot of history there,” Peter said. “Tony the Phony dated my mom before Dad did and he’s still pissed about it. He’s also pissed that my Dad cheats left, right and sideways. I’m sort of a reminder of that. He’s also a major racist. When I was a baby he told them they should take me to the border and throw me over it.”
Gennie sat down next to him and put her hand on his arm. “I’m so sorry, Peter. He shouldn’t be taking it out on you.”
“Well, he’s afraid of my Dad, but he’s not afraid of me. He still thinks of me as a puny little kid, though I could probably beat the shit out of him if I wanted to.”
“If it makes you feel better, I can empathize. Me and Ben were bullied by a member of our real family. Before we were thrown away like garbage, that is.”
Peter kissed her on the nose. “At least we got that over with. We don’t have to go there again if you don’t want to. You, me and Michele, we’re a family now.”
Chapter 71: August 23