THE ANNIVERSARY
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NARRATORS POV
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The frenzy in the house was quite infectious, the house servants in the Fernandez mansion had more work than they could handle but none of them dared to complain. Every one of them worked diligently to avoid being reprimanded by the owners of the mansion.
They dared not to make conversations, laugh or have fun as they worked, it was improper according to the mistress of the mansion Rosaline Fernandez and going against the rule could earn you a dismissal.
Caleb was not aware of such a rule so as he worked he tried to make conversations, he had no choice but to work with the servant since he had no job and could not afford to stay idle.
As Caleb helped hang some decorative lights in the spacious hall, he engaged Andrew who worked as a cleaner in small talk. But Andrew was always looking back before replying.
“Is there a problem you keep looking back before talking?”
“It's against the rules sir to chitchat while working. We can get punished.”
“Seriously, who made such ridiculous rules .”
“I did.’’
“Ma’am, good day, I didn't see you .” Andrew stammered
“How would you when you were busy disobeying the house rules.”
“It wasn't his fault grandma Rosa. it was….”
“It's Mrs. Rosaline to you; and why were you distracting my staff?”
“Mother don’t pay attention to him, we have to leave for the salon now, our nails and hair need to be made and there's little time left,” Helen said to her mother while giving Caleb the cold stare. She had married and divorced after three years and had only one son Sam.
“And you. Caleb or whatever you say your name is, the kitchen is understaffed so be fast with whatever you are doing there and join them. Stop lazing around.”
Caleb just stared at her stunned by her attitude towards him, the scent of her designer perfume lingered after she had left. He didn't know that marrying Sophie also meant that he was had become a household servant too.``
The invitees to the party were all high profile men and women in business, some high ranking government officials, celebrities, and foreign dignitaries. Caleb was star-struck by the people in attendance. Sophie's father had insisted that he join them in celebrating his parent’s wedding anniversary, he had not intended to come because of the way they talked and belittled him at any chance they had. But when Fred and his wife had insisted, he decided to honor their invite.
The party was in full swing before 2 pm, Gregory and his wife Rosaline were the perfect hosts, they had been hosting events in their ballroom for years, from the end of year Christmas party for their staffs, weddings of their children, birthday parties, so it was easy for them to mingle with the crowd and ensure all the guest were attended to.
Caleb had seen his favorite Hollywood star and gone to say hello to him, though he was star-struck and nervous he didn't want to lose the chance of meeting him.
As it was, Sophie was with her cousins, barely acknowledging him; so he had no choice but to mingle with guests on his own. When he noticed the movie star was alone, he went to him and introduced himself.
“You mean you are a son-in-law of this family, how come I haven't seen you before.''John Travolta drank from his wine glass while waiting for a response.
“We just got married last month.” Caleb swallowed hard, he tried to overcome his shyness as much as possible
“Are you married to one of their children?”
“No, I'm married to Sophie, their granddaughter.”
“I see, the daughter of Fred and May.”
“Yes. '' Caleb replied, happy to be in the presence of such a personality.
"Let me tell you a secret.'' John chuckled. “I thought you married Helen.”
“No, no. “ Caleb grimaced, that awful woman would have his head on a platter if she could.
“And who do we have here.” the deep voice of their grandfather filled the hall. “Good to have you here john.”
“Thank you, Gregory. Rosaline, you look gracious as always” john kissed her on her cheeks.
“I was just having a conversation with your son-in-law.’
“Who,” Gregory asked acting as if he couldn't see Caleb
“Him of course.” John pointed to Caleb.
“Oh, him. He is good for nothing.” Rosaline replied. “Caleb, are you not supposed to be helping the servants, not mingling with our guests.”
Trying not to look as though the words hurt him, Caleb shook hands with John and walked away, he met his dad on his way out, his father patted him on his shoulder and he walked away.
Caleb didn't know how long he could bear the humiliation as his mind wandered in different directions, the lawyer had not been able to prove him innocent yet, his ex-girlfriend was still sticking to her earlier claim of domestic violence, he still had not completed his last exams because of the impending case. Nothing seemed to be going well for him. His new wife hated him, his marriage was a sham. His eyes clouded with tears, to avoid spilling down his clean-shaven face he lifted his face and blinked them back in. Just then his phone rang.
“Mum,” Caleb whispered as he saw the caller id
“Caleb, how are you.” his mum said from her end, she had been worried about her son lately and tonight the feeling was too strong to ignore.
“I'm fine, mum. What about you, how are you doing..”
“I’m okay, just my arthritis.”
“Have you been to the doctor’s office to complain?”
“Yes I have, he gave me some drugs to take for the pain.”
“I will come over to see you tomorrow.’
“That would be great, I miss you so much.
“Me too mum, I love you.”
“I love you too honey, never forget that, and don't let anyone make you feel small okay.”
“Thank you, mum. Bye.”
“Bye, darling and take good care of yourself.”
When the call ended, Caleb walked back into the house. He wouldn't let them get to him, changing his clothes into a casual attire of jeans and t-shirt and his comfort cloth, he went to meet his father in the kitchen, and they both worked together till the last guest left.
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When all the guests had left, the rest of the family gathered together in the living room with gift items to present to their parents and grandparents. Every one of them had the intention of surpassing the other with a better worthy gift.
Helen, Sam's mother, came first to present her gifts. She was the eldest daughter of the family and had married early at the age of eighteen almost twenty-five years ago. Her parents had not supported the marriage so she eloped with her high school sweetheart, they got married and lived together for just three years.
Helen appeared in her father’s house one morning with a child in one hand and her small luggage in the other. They welcomed her back without asking questions; they were just relieved to have their daughter back home with them.
“This is beautiful Helen.’’ her mother held out the delicate piece of silver bracelet for all to see. She gifted her father golf clubs because of his love for the game.
David and Ella came forward to present their gifts, everyone in the family knew how they loved to show off so they were not surprised when they both presented their mother with a custom-made Birkins bag, and their father a gold special branded cufflink from Alvaro Castagnino. Their parents loved it for sure. David was their favorite son, he had married right and this pleased them a lot. Ella was the daughter of a gold merchant and her parents and David's parents were long-time friends so when they both agreed to marry each other, both families had a mutual benefit in terms of their business.
Sophie's parents were next. They were not the most favored part of the family. Fred had always had a mind of his own and treated people around him with fairness, all the servants in the household loved him as he had always spoken out against any ill-treatment meted out to them. To make matters worse he married Mary, the daughter of their mechanic.
His parents had objected and vowed to disown him and cut him out if he married Mary, but the heart knew what it wanted, he didn't elope with her as Helen had done rather he made his parents understand that it was all about his happiness which was supposed to come first and their ego. After some time, they agreed to the marriage, the wedding was low-key, May was not given the same rights as Ella, she didn't have much say in the house. But she didn't mind, her husband loved and treated her right and her daughter had grown in wisdom and was much ahead of her cousins.
Fred and May presented their parents with an expensive and rare African artifact, they were not surprised when much gratitude was not shown to them for their gift, every year their parents pretended that their gift was unworthy but still went ahead to display it in strategic parts of the house.
The cousins Sophie, daughter of Fred and May, Sam son of Helen and Kim, daughter of David and Ella had all joined their resources together to get their grandparents a two weeks vacation in the Maldives. The whole family and their grandparents agreed that their gifts were the best.