CHAPTER 9
DINNER DATE
Jim Young had just returned home after a couple of long work weeks traveling the world. It was Friday night and he was exhausted. He wished to see his family. However, it was 9:00 p.m. and he had to get up early in the morning after filling out some documents in his office upstairs. So, he made his way up the elevator and got to work. While working he heard a knock on his door. He knew it must have been semi-important, as he told his workers not to bother him unless necessary.
“Good evening Master Young. I am glad to see you have returned safely. ” Herald greeted with a bow.
“Thank you, Herald. Now what is it, can't you see I am busy?” Jim replied, slightly annoyed at the fact he was interrupted.
“Forgive me, sir. It seems that Officer Templeton is here and wishes to speak with you about important business.” Herald replied. Jim scoffed at the thought. He guessed that Templeton had anything but something important to say, as he was a major suck-up in the worst way. The reason he was kept around was that he was paid cheaply and did what he was told. It had been a long week, so he looked forward to hearing updates about what had happened since he left on his two-week-long endeavor.
“Very well. Send him up. Make sure he is aware he has but five minutes of my time.” Jim asked.
“As you wish Master Young,” Herald said and quickly exited the room and descended the staircase to the lower levels.
After arriving at the entrance, Herald opened the door and welcomed Mr. Templeton into their home. He informed him that he only had five minutes to speak with Jim. Herald noticed the officer had what he thought was a photography bag in hand as well as a smirk that stretched on his smarmy face from one cheek to the other. Soon the two were back upstairs and Herald and Templeton were standing at the door frame of Jim’s Office.
“Herald, leave us,” Jim commanded.
“Very well,” Herald said, leaving Templeton and Jim alone to their own devices.
“Well now, don’t waste my time Templeton. What is it that brings you here at this hour?” Jim asked.
“Yes sir. Thank you, sir.” Templeton said while nervously walking in. Although Officer Templeton wished nothing more than to serve as Jim’s right-hand man, he couldn’t have been more terrified and intimidated by him. “You see, some concerning things have come to my attention. It has to do with Ms. Freya, your daughter sir.”
“Oh? What are these concerns of yours.” Jim asked curiously.
“You see, she is in a relationship with a boy,” Templeton said with a gulp.
“I see. This is nothing new Mr. Templeton. Freya has been in plenty of relationships since she started high school. Did you really come up here to tell me that? I told you not to waste my time.” Jim said, slightly irritated.
“Well sir, take a look at these and decide for yourself,” Templeton said while taking out a few printed photographs and placing them on Jim’s desk. Jim looked at the pictures and jumped out of his seat in surprise. It was a photo of his daughter and some boy he did not recognize, embracing each other outside of a tent house. He recognized the location as well. It was at DistracoLand, the very amusement park he built for his precious little girl.
“The nerve of this kid,” Jim said aloud, breaking his elegant posture. “Who is he?” Jim asked.
“His name is Reighley, and here is everything we know about him,” Templeton said while handing Jim a file he pulled out of his bag.
It was a new day. Saturday had quickly snuck up on Isabelle, but she knew that today was the day she would find the truth. Isabelle was looking in her full body mirror in her room and pictured a detective outfit on herself, but in reality, she was in her pajamas.
“Today’s the big day!” She told herself. Isabelle was waiting all week for tonight's dinner as she had a plan to weed out any troublemakers trying to impede her brother from living a normal life. Isabelle had the entire day planned out from start to finish. This was a skill she prided herself in. The ability to plan extremely far ahead and organize. As much as she hated to admit it, she wasn’t as smart as her older brother, so she had to come up with a diligent student study guide to complete. The regiment she assigned for herself involved brutal amounts of studying, both in and out of school. Because of this, she was ranked top ten out of all the students in her middle school.
Isabelle woke Reighley up as part of her daily routine at 10:00 a.m. so the two of them would eat breakfast together. She then fixed Reighley’s favorite meal to butter him up to make him more prone to answering her questions. She fixed him chicken and waffles, smothered in syrup, which was usually something she saved for special occasions as it was unhealthy. Reighley came out of his room ready for the rest of the day. He had a long-sleeved red hoodie on and was wearing black jeans. He sat down in his seat at the table and started salivating from the food.
“Wow, you went all out today!” Reighley said with excitement.
“Oh, you know, I just wanted to pay you back for the money you gave me earlier this week,” Isabelle replied.
“I appreciate it. Thank you.” Reighley said while scarfing down his breakfast. After letting Reighley enjoy a couple of bites of his breakfast, Isabelle decided to pop the question.
“So, your boss, is she single?” Isabelle asked. Astonished, Reighley choked on his food and began coughing harshly.
“What makes you ask that?” Reighley asked.
“Just answer,” Isabelle told.
“No, she’s not,” Reighley replied. He technically wasn’t lying to her since he was her boyfriend but felt bad nonetheless.
“I see. That’s all I needed to know.” Isabelle said and stood up from her chair. Before Reighley knew it, her food was already gone and she entered her room. He had a sneaking suspicion that his sister was up to something. He had a premonition that something bad was going to occur in the foreseeable future and his stomach began to sink from the nerves, ruining his appetite.
Isabelle concluded that Reighley’s boss was trying to play him. She remembered the way she looked at Reighley and how nervous she was back when she picked him up the weekend prior.
“She is trying to swoon Reighley like a side chick,” Isabelle said while pacing back and forth in her room. “Sure my brother is cheap, but still that’s unacceptable! There is no way that she would look at him like that if she didn’t plan on making moves on him.” Isabelle slapped her cheeks with her hands and hyped herself up. “It’s up to me to stop this love tyrant and save my brother’s dignity and I have just the plan.” She thought aloud.
Freya was nervous. She had been acting at her movie shoot since 10:00 a.m. but couldn’t think of anything other than meeting Reighley’s sister tonight. She even dragged Destiny over to her place every day after school to help her pick an outfit for the visit. Freya was currently playing the role in a movie called Princess Charming, Sleeping Handsome. It was a twist on the old tale, where the princess would be locked away in an old castle trapped in a perpetual sleep and the charming prince would come in and rescue her while slaying a dragon. However, the movie roles were gender swapped and she was the princess on a quest to save the sleeping prince.
“Cut!” The director said. “Good work everyone. Freya, you were amazing. An absolutely stunning performance.”
“Did you expect anything less?” Freya asked.
“Of course not! Okay, now it’s time for the kissing scene.”
“The what!?” Freya said completely stumped.
“You know, the part where a kiss from someone who truly loves you will wake you up?” The director answered. “Here’s the scenario. You have just beaten the evil warlock, Mallace the dragon and you have found the prince sleeping in the castle. No matter what you try, he won’t wake up. So remembering what you were told about the magic of love, you bend down and give him a smooch.”
“A smooch…” Freya looked over at the other actor, his name was Deven Stallik and was also someone Freya despised. Although, she kept it professional during filming as it was all just show business in the end. Deven was laying on a bed of Delphiniums, a blue flower that was known for being a protective plant, and looked over towards Freya and gave her a wink. Freya’s face grimaced. It wasn’t as though she found Deven unattractive, but that he was one of her ex’s she dumped the year prior. She considered him creepy and a sleazebag. The reason she dumped him was because he cheated on her only a week into their dating. He ended up using their relationship to gain a cult following of girls on SocialLight, but this was WollyHood, the movie business, and things like this happen all the time.
“Have my stunt double do the kiss,” Freya asked.
“Yes, finally!” Freya’s stunt double screamed from backstage. Freya did all of her own movie stunts, like her favorite actress, so her stunt double was there for the show. Her father assigned her one to make sure she was safe, but he didn’t know about the extreme side of Freya’s life and how she had different plans. Freya would make it clear to those around her not to tell these things to her parents, with passive-aggressive warnings, saying things like her father would believe her over anyone else.
“What? Are you crazy!? This is the climax of the film. All hope is lost. You need to be the one who does it.” The director complained.
“Let me remind you who is in charge here. My father paid for this movie's entire budget. He can take those funds away at any time.” Freya threatened. It wasn’t simply the fact that she had to kiss Deven, that alone made her want to vomit, but also that it was her first kiss and she felt as though it was too important to just throw away at a movie she barely cared for.
“Yes of course. You are the star of the show. We will do things your way.” The director said in frustration while beckoning to the nearby stunt double to fill in the scene.
Freya pictured herself standing over the bed of flowers with Reighley laying on top of it, sleeping peacefully. She imagined leaning in to kiss him and immediately woke up from that daydream due to it being too embarrassing to think about.
The rest of the filming went by fairly quickly to Freya. Deven attempted to chat with her several times but Freya completely ignored him. Soon it was time to leave and Freya had all her things packed and ready to go. She changed into a separate outfit, one that was presentable enough to be seen by her standards. Freya was wearing a large salmon-colored cardigan, over a white and pink zig-zagged t-shirt, with blue skinny jeans and a pair of brown boots. She thought she looked as amazing as she could while keeping it casual.
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Herald picked Freya up at the entrance and the two began their route to Reighley’s house. Herald looked in his rearview mirror and could see a nervous yet smiling girl in his back seat. Freya could not contain her excitement, nor control her nerves. She was antsy in her seat, twiddling her thumbs. To her, this was new and exciting, yet mildly terrifying. If she messed up with her first initial impressions with Reighley’s family, then she might be rejected as his girlfriend.
“Just how am I supposed to face his family? What if they don’t like me?” She thought to herself. “If Reighley doesn’t see me as a good person, would they?” Up until recently, Freya had unshakable confidence in herself. She could always find her answers through a guide or some advice online, but there wasn’t an answer for the unprecedented. This was a brave new world for her. She tried dating advice from social media in past relationships but those all failed, partially due to her methods and lack of trying. Results were everything to her when it came to advice.
“Herald… May I ask you something?” Freya said while looking at the man through the rearview mirror.
“Of course,” Herald replied gently.
“How did you and Molly meet again?” Freya asked. Molly was Herald's late wife. Freya was far too young to remember her, but she was all he talked about when Herald and Freya were out together. He would tell her stories about their life from before Molly passed.
“We met thanks to your father,” Herald replied as he began to reminisce about the past. “It was when I first started working for him. Molly was a waitress at a high-end restaurant your father was attending and I just so happened to be the only butler available at the time. She was beautiful. I glanced into her eyes and the way she looked at me said everything. She didn’t want anything to do with me at all. The rest of the night was uneventful and we never even spoke a word.”
“What? You’re saying Molly wasn’t interested in you? Then how did you get together?” Freya asked.
“On my one day off I went back to the restaurant. Right when I walked in our eyes met yet again, and she continued to completely ignore me. As luck would have it, they were short staffed and she was assigned to my table. When she finally approached I told her something that got her attention. I said ‘It would be an honor if I could serve you for the rest of my life.’ Of course, Molly thought that was corny and all. If she were around today she would still be teasing me about such a quip. Nonetheless, it worked in the end. From then onward, I would use every day I had off to visit her until I finally mustered up the courage to ask her to dinner.”
“That’s sweet,” Freya replied.
“Don’t get confused Lady Freya. She said no to dinner as well.” Herald interjected.
“I don’t understand. If it was going well, then why say no?” Freya said.
“It was because she was unsure of herself. Uncertainty prevented her life from moving forward.” Herald answered.
“But, you didn’t give up did you?” Freya questioned.
“The ones that are hard to get are usually worth the effort,” Herald claimed.
Several words Herald said stuck out to Freya. She knew she was unsure of herself, but Herald's words sharpened her resolve. She needed to take that next step or nothing would change.
Meanwhile, while Freya was heading over to Reighley’s house, Reighley was sweating profusely. He prayed that Freya would show up before Kaede. Suddenly, he heard a sound from his phone, he checked and saw that Freya had sent him a text.
Freya: On my way. I’ll be there soon.
Reighley: Cool. I’ll let Isabelle know.
He quickly went from panicking to relief as his eyes glanced at the time in the corner of his phone screen.
“It's 5:35 p.m, hopefully, Freya will arrive around 5:50-5:55 p.m.” Reighley thought. He knew the sooner she arrived, the sooner he could get her out of his hair. The real test was to make sure Isabelle didn’t invite her inside. Reighley informed Isabelle that Freya was on her way when he noticed a feast that Isabelle was preparing.
“Woah now, isn’t this a bit much for just the four of us?” Reighley asked.
“Nope,” Isabelle said.
“Where did you even get the money to buy all this- wait, you didn’t use the money I gave you did you?” Reighley asked.
“Nope,” Isabelle said. “Mom paid for it. You didn’t want Mom to find out you’ve been making side cash. It would make it pretty obvious if money appeared out of thin air.”
“That is true. Also, you’re not planning on inviting my boss into our house right?” Reighley asked.
“No promises,” Isabelle said. Reighley realized it was a lost cause to attempt to persuade his younger sister. The only option he had left was to wait until Freya arrived and block the entrance if he had to. Reighley left the kitchen and went back into his room. He stared at his phone and the current time, waiting for a message from Freya. He hoped she didn’t show up unannounced. Soon it was 5:55 p.m. and Reighley received the long-awaited text.
Freya: I’m here.
“Crap,” Reighley said aloud. Swiftly Reighley rushed to his front door, but before he got there the doorbell rang. Isabelle was about to finish fixing dinner and was working on preparing the table when she heard the bell. With almost inhuman-like speed and skill, she finished setting the plates and then ran to the front entrance, not wasting a single second. When Reighley opened the door he was greeted by Freya, who was waving at him. To Reighley, Freya looked flawless. It made him second-guess how a girl of her stature would end up at his doorstep.
“Hi! I’m Isabelle. Nice to meet you.” Isabelle said, squeezing right past Reighley through the door frame. Freya took a few steps back and made room for a hasty Isabelle. She could smell the food from inside and the aroma was delightful.
“Hello. I’m Freya Young. Nice to meet you as well.” Freya replied.
“Won’t you come in for a bit?” Isabelle asked.
“Isabelle!” Reighley immediately interjected. He looked over at Freya, glancing into her eyes. Her aura was pointing past both him and his sister. She wanted to go inside their home. He could only hope Freya remembered what she agreed on when she asked to come over. Freya knew what she had to do. If she ended up lying to Reighley after saying she agreed, she guessed he wouldn’t trust her in the future. Deciding to make the tough decision, Freya answered Isabelle.
“Oh, that shouldn’t be necessary-'' Freya objected before she was abruptly interrupted. Her arm was grabbed by Isabelle and she was pulled through the front door. This action forced Reighley to step out of the way of his guest as Freya let out a shriek, narrowly avoiding him. Reighley groaned, and could only watch the horrors that were about to unfold.
“We’ll be in my room for a bit. Don’t bother us. Oh, and make sure that the food doesn’t burn” Isabelle called back towards him as she continued to drag Freya through the hallway, past the kitchen, into her room.
Freya was in a panic. This was all happening so quickly that she couldn’t get a chance to react or decline the offer. While passing through the kitchen Freya glanced at the dining room table and saw how much food was prepared. She was curious if there was a special occasion tonight. Once they entered the room the door was slammed shut behind her and she could see nothing. There was an audible click as the lock was set in place. It was completely dark and somehow Freya ended up seated on a cold metal chair. Alarmed, she decided to speak up.
“What’s going on here? Why did you put me in this closet?”
“It’s my room…” Isabelle muttered. Suddenly a single light illuminated the room slightly blinding Freya. In front of her was a silhouette of a figure in what appeared to be a heavy trench coat, wearing a duckbill cap, leaning back in a chair. However, Freya couldn’t know for sure. Freya realized that the source of light came from a small lamp placed on the corner of a cold steel table. It was like something out of a noir detective film. Before Freya could completely get her bearing, Isabelle’s voice emanated from the dark figure.
“So, tell me, chump, what are your intentions with my brother?” the mysterious female voice with a Brooklyn accent said.
“What?” Freya squealed.
“You’re his boss, right? I’ve seen the way you’ve been looking at Reighley. Don’t play dumb with me.” She replied.
“What!?” Freya said, completely confused. She lost her composer and began to freak out. “Just what on earth is going on?” This was the last thing Freya expected to happen this evening. She thought that the two girls were going to have a nice quick chat about getting together so they could go shopping. Instead, she was being interrogated by Reighley’s younger sister.
“C’mon now. Spill the beans. You have a boyfriend, right?” she said
“Uh, Yes…” Freya replied. Isabelle finally revealed herself from the shadows, as if it was a plot twist in a movie. Freya looked at the girl and saw that she didn’t have a trench coat, but an oversize winter coat that looked like it could fit her brother. The hat the girl was wearing was a scarf folded over on top of her head.
“Aha! I caught you red-handed. You are trying to play my brother, keeping him in your back pocket. While you have a boyfriend no less!” Isabelle shouted, pointing her finger toward Freya. Freya realized the situation and immediately decided to clear things up. She took a deep breath and spoke, while Isabelle stood there proud of herself.
“Isabelle. Reighley is my boyfriend.” Freya answered.
“What?” Isabelle said, taking several steps back, completely stumped.
“This is all some big misunderstanding,” Freya replied. “Yes, technically I am Reighley’s boss, but also he and I are dating.” Isabelle was standing there unable to speak. She had put so much effort into this interrogation and none of it mattered.
“That can’t be right. You must be lying! Reighley is way too mediocre to be your first pick!” Isabelle couldn’t accept the facts. She insisted it wasn’t the truth.
“It is the truth. Ask him yourself.” Freya replied.
Soon Isabelle turned the lights on and rushed out the door to see a very irritated Reighley standing with arms crossed in the hallway.
“Reighley is it true, is she your girlfriend!?” Isabelle asked.
“Ah, yeah…” Reighley answered sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. He couldn’t hide it from his perceptive sister any longer. A minute passed and Freya left Isabelle’s room, exiting back into the hallway. She was confused by the sound of a loud banging noise. Isabelle was slamming her head into the drywall from embarrassment. Her face was completely red. Freya giggled and thought back to when Reighley slammed his head into his desk at school. She could tell that the two were siblings. Soon Isabelle regained her composure and walked over to Freya.
“I’m sorry! Why don’t you stay for dinner to make up for my mistake.” Isabelle said to Freya.
“I’d love to!” Freya answered. She sent a text to Herald letting him know to return in an hour or so. After speaking the three heard the doorbell ring. Isabelle looked towards Reighley and smiled manically. Her plan was complete. She knew that the two were most likely dating in secret. It was obvious from the start, but she wanted to make sure. However, she stalled long enough for Kaede to arrive, and this was where her true test for Freya began.
“I’ll get it.” Reighley had daggers for eyes pointing at Isabelle. He realized that this was likely something his sister planned out. Isabelle felt shivers down her spine from her brother's leering eyes and immediately hid behind Freya only to stick her tongue out, making a crude face at Reighley as he walked away.
“Mission accomplished,” Isabelle muttered.
“What?” Freya said, confused by her comment.
“Nothing…” Isabelle smirked.
“My not-so-sweet sister is trying to ruin my life.” Reighley thought to himself. He walked towards the front door yet again and opened it, only to immediately be pounced on by Kaede who was wearing a business casual dress.
“Reighley, I missed you!” Kaede said with a gleeful tone. She wrapped her arms around Reighley and squeezed the life out of him. Standing behind her at the entrance of the house was Jericho. She had returned home just in time for dinner.
“Yep, definitely cursed.” Reighley thought. Suddenly, he felt a malicious chill down his spine. For the first time in his life, he could feel an aura emanating from behind him. He turned his head around to see a pair of deep blue leering eyes shrouded in a darkness that filled the entire hallway. It made his glare from earlier seem harmless. Reighley began to question whether or not he would survive the evening and regretted not having written a will.
“Dinner time!” Isabelle shouted from the kitchen.
“Great! I’m starving.” Jericho said, sliding past Reighley who was being smothered by Kaede. “You must be Reighley’s friend who happens to be a girl,” Jericho said to Freya with a mischievous tone.
“Hello. I am Freya Young. Nice to meet you-” Freya’s voice was drowned out by an overly obnoxious loud voice. Jericho told Freya that the two would talk more later, moving on toward the kitchen.
“You haven’t visited me in a while. Jerk.” Kaede teased, pulling Reighley’s cheeks.
“Yeah sorry, you can let go of me now.” He shrugged.
“No! Not until you promise to visit- Achoo!” Kaede said before immediately sneezing, letting go of Reighley. “Is that cat here?”
“Yeah, but he’s in my room. We tried to clean up as much as we could.” He replied. Reighley used this chance to escape her grasp only to turn around and run headlong toward a fuming Freya.
Kaede was shocked to see that Freya Young was there. Her dad was her boss’s boss. She had heard the rumors at school from the teachers. Many of the rumors ended up being true. Freya was the queen of Gilford High School. She made some teachers’ lives miserable in the past. She was the sole reason they lost their jobs. However, it was unlike Kaede to treat someone poorly just from rumors regardless if they were accurate or not. She thought it was best to treat everyone kindly, no matter their past. The last thing she heard was that Reighley was offered money to date her. She guessed Reighley had accepted that offer for one reason or another and wondered how serious he was about her. No matter what, she would support him in his endeavors like she always had. He was becoming a fine young man in her eyes.