The Palmers

The voices of family members, friends and well wishers who had come to pay their condolence to the Palmers could be heard echoing from the main hall of the massive Palmer mansion; exquisite chandeliers hung from several angles of the roof shining brightly, reflecting sparkling glitters on the wine glasses that most of the elite guests in the hall had in their hands. All in the hall were on black outfits.

Lord Richard Palmer one of the wealthiest men in Granada Hills and the founder of Palmer Pharmaceuticals had just been buried. He died after a brief illness at 85.

“So sorry for your loss Lady Palmer.”

“Oh thank you so much.” Mrs. Alice Palmer responded to the  man in stylish black suit and a black moccasin shoe to match.

“Accept my deepest condolences Lady Palmer.” Said a lady putting on a black felt hat.  She handed  her a bouquet of roses, Mrs. Palmer took the roses with a smile.

“Where the hell is that leech of a son-in-law?” Scouring through the hall, her eyes glaring with high contempt Lady Alice walked for a while in her stylish manner and stopped before a young man with blue eyes and curly hair putting on a black shirt and pants. His sleeves were folded.

“There you are! Now take this, make yourself useful instead of standing aimlessly like a statue.”

Lady Palmer dumped the roses into Jason’s hands, turned and left him standing without any further expression. That was no other person than her Grand-son-in-law who was married to her last and favorite Grandchild.

Jason walked over to a long table by a corner of the hall and kept the bouquet beside some other flowers and cards; the large picture of the deceased stood tall in the middle of two lighted candles. Resting his back on the wall, he heaved a heavy sigh of relief; totally exhausted from serving drinks to the multitude in the building.

“Here, he is wet. His diaper needs to be changed.”

Jason opened his closed eyes to behold Isabella his wife holding up their toddler Henry right before him. The baby cooed softly at the sight of his father who seemed really exhausted but still managed to smile back at him.

“Please hurry up.” Isabella's face expressed disgust probably from the smell from the diaper. She hurriedly handed over the baby to Jason and walked away in her black chiffon gown and Gianvito Rossi heels.

When he had successfully cradled the baby to sleep after changing his diaper, Jason lay on the bed in the bedroom to rest for a while but there was a heavy bang on the door forcing him to startle in shock.

“You come here to lie down. Who would attend to the guests in the hall?”

“But Mum…”

“I am not your mother! I would never birth a lousy parasite.”

Mrs. Fiona Palmer had always despised Jason from the first day her daughter introduced him to the family two years earlier as her fiancé. Finding out that he was poor and had no notable career came as a great shock to the entire Palmers.

 Her eyes met Jason’s with despicable expressions running through her gestures. She had come to check on her Grandson. Taking a peep and discovering that the child was asleep in his cradle she took another glance at Jason firing shots of displeasure at the young man who sat up from his lying posture. 

“Oh well, you came to rest while we still have unattended guests. I wonder what must have intrigued Isabella to consider you as a partner. For all I know, you are unfit to be her chauffeur.”

That was Clara, Isabella’s cousin. She was married to the son of the owner of the most popular casino and hotel in Granada Hills; her husband was also a popular basketball player for the Lakers Basketball team.

“Grandma has requested for your presence. Now!” She yelled and stormed out of the room. Fiona took one last look at Jason and  walked out through the door.

Gently placing his hands on the bed, Jason struggled to push his weight off the bed. Getting up, he adjusted his black shirt and left for the hall.

Lady Alice was addressing all those in the hall who had come to condole them for their loss; there were about thirty people in the hall elegantly dressed in stylish attires.

Jason walked right into the center of the hall and when he saw that Lady Alice was making a speech, he decided to go to the back and wait till she was done talking. Taking a turn, there came a lady approaching completely clueless of the man before her because she was waving at another lady at a distance. Jason and the lady collided and the wine glass she had in her hands fell off, shattering to pieces all over the floor. 

The sound of the broken glass called the attention of everyone in the hall forcing most of them to turn.

“Are you blind? Why don’t you watch where you are going?”

Jason found no words to reply the lady who had pushed over the blame of the incident over to him. At that point, all eyes were on him.

“Please forgive the clumsy fellow. I guess he needs to be spanked before he learns to be careful.”

There was an uproar of laughter following Lady Alice's utterance. The guests burst into laughter taking mocking peeps at Jason who stood right in the middle of the hall surrounded by whispers of mockery and looks of disdain.

“He is so pathetic, I wonder what Isabella saw in such a poor fellow.”

“He doesn’t even meet up to her standards, looking all grungy and hungry.”

The scornful remarks continued to lash at Jason; some of the whispers and giggles were so loud that Jason could hear them audibly.

“ Make yourselves comfortable, we have enough food and drinks. Once again, thank you all for coming; we the Palmers are grateful.” Lady Palmer said to the guests trying so much to maintain a steady face.

The old lady of about 72 years walked through the aisle of the hall towards Jason who stood cold right where he had been from the time of the collision with the rude lady.

“Out of every other day, you choose today to embarrass us with your awkwardness. You nitwit!”

Lady Alice’s face squeezed as she shot fires of disgruntle at Jason with her eyes. Her teeth grinding with strong vexation. The young man just bent his head in shame unable to speak. 

“Hello Grandma, hope he isn't giving you so much trouble.”

“Hello my dear, just him being his usual self trying to draw more attention to his wretchedness.”

Lady Alice extended her hands to embrace Sarah her favorite grandchild after Isabella. She pecked her on her two cheeks while still holding on to her hand.

“Don’t let him ruin your mood Granny, I am sure he is overwhelmed with the number of rich fellows around. He has never been in a gathering of elites I suppose.”

“Make sure to clean that up; at least provide help in tidying up since you can’t provide financial assistance.”

Sarah said to Jason shrugging her shoulders at him. They giggled and started walking away leaving him at the mercy of some of the eyes which were still glared at him.

Sarah was married to the son of the owner of Dias Homes; one of the leading companies of interior decoration and construction in Granada Hills. Her husband Philip Dias recently took over from his father shortly before his marriage to the beautiful  grandchild of the Palmers. The perfect match for the two high-class families.

Jason picked up the broken glasses from the floor and went inside the kitchen to keep them, next he came out with a mop stick and a bucket to clean the floor. He had to be quick; the guests were leaving gradually and there was a lot he needed to do. From washing dishes to tidying up the hall.

Just as he was done cleaning the wet floor, Jason turned around to go drop the mop stick and bucket when his eyes caught the attention of his wife from a distance. He saw her through the casement Windows in the hall.

She was talking excitedly to a man in a classy black suit standing very close to a G-Wagon. Isabella was so engrossed in whatever she was discussing with the man, smiling in a dallying manner to the man’s teasing. They were just few inches away from each other and the man couldn’t get his eyes of her caressing her arms ready to eat her up at any moment .

The man had a striking resemblance but Jason couldn’t get a clear view as the sight was blurry and only his side face was visible.

He hurriedly kept the things he was holding in his had but before he could turn to head towards the door, the man had gotten into his car and zoomed off.

‘Who the hell is he?’ He thought.

Isabella walked in through the large door, most of the guests were already on their way out. She exchanged pleasantries with some of them as they left. Turning after a remark with the exciting smile of the moment she had with the man still on her face, she met eyeball to eyeball with Jason almost jumping in agitation. Her smile vanished.

“Who was that man all over you?” Jason questioned, his gaze expectant of an answer.

“I see that you have gotten a job; to spy on me!” Isabella retorted putting up a demeanor in annoyance. She wanted to play  the card to her advantage.

“You do realize that you are married right!” Jason said fighting with the annoyance inside of him.

“Oh well, if you were one inch of a man he is, maybe I wouldn’t have found his company so soothing.” Isabella said unapologetically.

“You had better find better things to do. This place won’t tidy itself will it?” She said and rolling her eyes at Jason she walked away ignoring his inquisitive countenance.

Jason just stood there wondering what really had occurred.