I’d all but forgotten Grandma Davenport in my self-reflection, but once the niceties with Cody’s parents were over, it was time to get to the true reason for being here. If I could turn back time, now would be it. I’d have warned Cody about this side of my family, but really, how many shocks can the poor boy take in one week?
“Let’s get down to it, shall we? Cody, how many years do you plan to play in the NFL?” If her question coming right out of left field shocked him, he didn’t let on.
“If I plan to keep Lisa in the style she’s accustomed to; I’m guessing even fifty years won’t be enough.” Good, humor is good. Keep the old tyrant on her toes.
“Don’t be flippant with me, young man.” I peeped at Cody from beneath my lashes. He didn’t look chastised, so we were still treading water.
“Do you have a manager? Do you have a team of people around you taking care of your affairs?”
“He’s a college student Grandma Davenport. He doesn’t need an entourage.”
“Quiet!” I retreated from the battleground but stayed close enough to intervene if needed.
“Right now, I’m still being scouted. I should know something in a couple of months tops. That will be soon enough for me to get a team of handlers in place.”
“No, that won’t do.” That’s all she said, nothing more. As if her word was final. I thought grandpa promised to school her on the fact that the world doesn’t answer to her; only us poor mortals sitting around the table do.
I looked at him, but he wasn’t looking at me. I’m on my own. They’ve decided to gang up on me, but their approach was a bit different from the norm this time around. I almost relaxed, almost told myself if they kept on that track, this wouldn’t be so bad.
She hadn’t threatened anything, and her goon squad hadn’t broken down the door to drag poor Cody off somewhere to never be seen again. That’s a bit of an exaggeration on my part, but not by much. I still think she’s responsible for a lot of unsolved mysteries from the news.
As soon as I had the thought, I felt guilty. She’s not that bad after all, and her heart’s always in the right place, this I know. Maybe she was just being her usual grandma self where I was concerned; no need to sweat yet. It was only natural for her to want to know about him. And besides, he was going to have to meet them at some point. I told myself all of this to put myself at ease, and then she brought out the big guns.
“What is this about an apartment?” I looked at Grandma Astor, but she was doing her rendition of a Buddhist monk who’d taken a vow of silence. I don’t trust them, not one of them when they get together. It’s obvious she’d snitched. The world may wish for a glimpse into the lives of the so-called elite, but all it would take is a trip to the nearest loony bin, and they’d get the idea.
I think I’m the first normal one in the bunch, and lucky me, I’m the only grandchild on either side. My grandparents have brothers and sisters, of course, who themselves have produced plenty of offspring; they’re nuts too. But it was either my blessing or curse to be born to the children of the most prominent members of either family.
Plainly speaking, it means I stand to inherit everything at some point, some distant point in the future, I hope from both families. This is only one of the reasons they’ve both smothered and spoiled me all my life…. “I’m waiting. Why haven’t you answered me as yet, young lady?”
“You told me to be quiet.”
“Insolence. Is this one of the things you learned from your young man?”
“Grandma!” That look I know only too well had me sitting back in my seat.
“About the apartment. There’s no room in the dorm, and I wanted to live off campus anyway.”
“With Cody?” I wasn’t falling into that trap.
“Annalisa Amelia Astor-Davenport, you cannot shack up with your college boyfriend. That’s tacky. You either get married, or you don’t live together.”
“Wh…what?” I looked around the room at the rest of the culprits. What am I missing? There’s no way this coven got together and decided it was okay for me to marry the first boy I met and fell in love with.
It will take years before I can break them down. Years of pleading and manipulating until I was able to stand on my own without them when they no longer had any say in my life. I know; I’d already worked it out in my head. Cody will be gone next spring. Only a few short months of sharing the apartment, I could’ve pulled it off if given the chance. I side-eyed him to make sure he didn’t take the bait, but he didn’t look like he even understood what was going on.