“How old is the child?” Adrian asks firmly.
“William is almost five,” Adrian exhales and I watch as the colour drains from his face. I feel that something is wrong but I don’t know what. I stare at him, hoping that I can figure it out. My eyes instantly draw away from him as Chad and his family enter the room. My heart is pounding at the sight of them and at the sight of Zara. She walks in with her head in the air. Her grace is impeccable and her dress sense is magnificent. She is dressed in a tight black skirt and red blouse. Her dark blonde hair is perfectly draped down her back and her dark blue eyes have a sparkle to them. Her face looks stressed and she seems older than thirty-six. Chad is dressed in black and I gasp when I see the child. He is a small child with light brown hair, his little round face is plump and his clothes are extra smart. He is dressed in light brown chinos and a black Ralph Lauren sweater. However, it is not his hair or his clothes that made me gasp, it was his eyes. They are bright green and glowing. I stare deeply into the little boys eyes and then I gaze at Adrian. His face is white as he stares at the boy.
“Welcome, please sit.” Mr Jenkins instructs his son and his wife. They sit and I try not to make eye contact. The servers begin to dish out the food and I carefully begin to eat. The table is silent but Mr Jenkins has the courage to break it.
“Now, how is everyone?” Michael is the first to answer.
“Well, I am doing great, don’t know about the rest of you.” I shoot him a little smile and he quickly returns my gesture.
“I am also good, but may I ask who our guests are?” My heart races at the sound of Zara’s posh voice. Mr Jenkins nervously clears his throat as he tries to answer her question.
“These are our American friends from New York, Alanna and Emma.”
“Yes dear, the dark haired one is Adrian’s sister and the blonde is his girlfriend.” Chad quickly informs his wife. Zara smirks as she stares at us. She briefly smiles at Emma and then she focuses her eyes on me. She tilts her head to one side as she takes in my looks. She briefly gazes at Adrian and then back to me again. Her eyes are dark blue and have a sense of evil in them. She smirks deeply as if she knows some private joke that no one else does. I feel uneasy as her eyes fix on mine. I conclude that Zara might be trying to intimidate me so I desperately try to show her that I am strong so I break the silence between us.
“I don’t believe we have met, I am Alanna and you must be Zara? I have heard so much about you.” Her smirk fades as she takes in my bittersweet words.
“You have? That’s funny I haven’t heard a word about you.” She quickly fires back. I am stunned by her forwardness and now I am beginning to get angry with her.
“Really? Can’t think why, after all I am Adrian’s girlfriend and Michael’s close friend. Did your husband not tell you that we met yesterday?” I say harshly. She tries to search for something to say but she cannot. Chad is glaring at me and I feel Adrian’s hand on mine. The tension is building and Mr Jenkins tries desperately to clear it.
“Now that we have all met, let’s talk about the party tonight.”
The next half hour of my life consists of mindless chitchat between family members and, on my part, pure hatred of Zara. I can honestly say that I have never met anyone like her - and not in a good way. She is rude and obnoxious, she seems ultra-selfish and she does not even feed her son even though he asked her four times to help. She talks freely about her family and their trips. Her designer clothing and her sports car and it is obvious that she cares about no-one but herself. She never mentions her little boy when she talks about all the wonderful things that she is doing. One would think since she is a mother she would surely give her son a mention when she talks about her passions in life. However, she claims that Art is her main craving and she could not live without it. This woman sickens me to the core and I despise her. I gaze at William as he nibbles at his food. His huge green eyes are glowing like a little lost cat. His plump cheeks are rosy and have dimples on them. He smiles at me and I cannot take in this child’s beauty. I look at him again as I try to conclude who he looks more like – his mother or father. He has similar features to his mother but he does not share her eye colour. I quickly look at Chad and I try to see what features the child got from him. However, I cannot find one. His hair is so dark and his eyes are a darker shade of blue. Chad has very strong features - his nose is quite large and his lips are very full. But as I stare at him more I soon realise that the little boy does not resemble him in anyway.