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The next morning, we left the boat and went back to Pearce’s to shower and change to go to his parents’ for New Year’s Day dinner. The guys would be watching football, but I had no idea what would be expected of me. I was nervous to the point that my stomach was doing a gymnastics routine. Eating wouldn’t be possible.
“You look perfect,” Pearce said as I came down the stairs, dressed and ready to go. I had on a simple black dress with black tights and black boots. Nothing special because I didn’t have anything special in the clothing department.
I gave him a half-smile.
“What? You don’t believe me?”
I shrugged.
“Sweetheart, you could be dressed in rags, and you’d look great.”
“Well, that’s good because that’s about what my wardrobe consists of.”
“Alexia, stop it. There you go again.”
“You don’t understand. I don’t buy clothes that often because my checkbook doesn’t allow it. I usually go to consignment shops. There’s one over on Savannah Highway that has good things to choose from. Terri told me about it.” Why was I always so sensitive about everything?
“Would you like me to take you shopping? We can do that if it would make you feel better. But honestly, I don’t think you could look any better than you do right now.”
He was being honest with me, and it did make me feel better. I suppose I was more worried about what his mother and sister would think of my attire.
“No, but you’re very kind to offer that.” I walked over to him and kissed his cheek, and he hugged me right back. “Let’s go,” I said.
He took my hand and off we went. His parents also lived downtown, but they lived too far to walk … or that’s what Pearce said anyway. When we pulled up to their house, I almost started hyperventilating.
Their house was on Murray Boulevard, right on The Battery, overlooking the Charleston Harbor. It was one of the grandest homes on the peninsula. My hands shook and turned clammy.
“I know what you’re thinking, but please don’t.” He got out and walked around to open my door. When he reached for my hand, I moved it away from him to wipe it on my tights first.
“Sorry,” I said sheepishly as I put my hand in his.
“Honey,” he said as he brushed my hair back from my face, “I would never put you in a situation that made you feel uncomfortable. They’re super excited to meet you. Especially Grams. Lisbeth has bragged so much about you she’s acting like a kid getting ready for a playdate.”
I laughed a little at that.
We walked to the back entrance. You couldn’t really call it a door because it was quite grand. It had a porte cochere that we parked under. The door opened into an entryway where there were two servants waiting to take our coats, except we hadn’t worn any.
Pearce hugged one of the women and introduced me to both. The first one, Betty, had worked for the Middletons ever since Pearce was three years old. She was extremely pleasant, and I briefly wondered if maybe I could hang out with her for the day. No luck on that one because Pearce moved me right along, past the ginormous kitchen and down the hall where I could hear lots of booming voices. We finally reached our destination, but my mind was overwhelmed by the exquisiteness of this mansion I was seeing.
“Did you grow up here?” I asked softly as I looked around, trying to absorb what I was seeing.
“I did,” he answered as he watched me closely.
“What was it like?” I lightly ran my fingers across the polished wood of a table that sat beneath a majestic painting. I gently fingered the elaborate frame that held the painting I inspected. I was caught in the dreamlike quality of my surroundings. It was indescribable. Beautiful antiques that were no doubt priceless and I’m sure dated back to the 1700s; paintings of what looked like the original Middletons that settled Charleston and artifacts that cost more than I would make in my lifetime. The thing about it all was that they fit in perfectly and didn’t look stiff like most mansions you would expect to be. This place looked comfortable … exactly like Pearce’s home.
He lifted a shoulder. “It was my home. I didn’t know any different. That’s all I can say,” he said with a smile.
“I can tell. It’s perfectly gorgeous yet inviting.”
“You really think that?”
“I do.” I smiled back at him. I turned back to a lovely vase that held a gorgeous display of flowers and dipped my head down to breathe in their fragrance.
We were interrupted by a loud voice calling out, “Are you two going to join us or are you just going to stand out there all day?”
We glanced over to the source and saw a man who looked very similar to Pearce, but perhaps a bit younger. Pearce shook his head and whispered to me, but loud enough for the other man to hear, “Ignore him, Alexia. He’s nothing but a pain-in-the-ass brother of mine.”
