The Roots That Tied to My Feet

As soon as Melanie had stepped out of the airport, she was in utter amazement. The city was glowing in gold from the lights that sat promptly on each street’s side. The driver that had picked the couple up told them that Mrs. Reed had arranged for him to take the scenic route for Melanie.

They took many one way streets and Melanie let her mouth fall open as she saw all of the designer stores and women that walked out of them—everyone of the looking like models. People littered the cobblestone streets that were covered in falling snow wearing sweaters and large jackets.

They drove by a huge lake that had buildings with deep arches and beautiful, articulate décor, such as The Arc de Triomphe. Melanie gasped as she looked at the end of the lake and saw a huge glowing figure. It’s brown metal was shimmering under the spotlights and it stood higher than any building she had seen. Ben smiled and pointed, “The Eiffel Tower.”

Melanie bit her lip and squealed in excitement, “This is so amazing, Ben.”

Ben smiled as he pointed out other famous monuments and Melanie listened intently as he told her stories. “And The Panthéon. King Luis XV had a curious illness and he vowed that if he recovered from it he would create France a new church, to replace the ruined Abbey of Saint-Genevieve. Construction started in 1713 but didn’t finish until 1758 because of financial issues. Because of The French Revolution the church was changed into a mausoleum—then finally back to a church, but only a temple for the ‘great men of France.’ In 1851 Leon Foucault demonstrated the rotation of the earth through an experiment conducted in the Panthéon by building the 67 meter Foucault’s pendulum beneath the dome.”

Melanie stared at the tall columns that were in an aging white color. The shape of it reminded Melanie of American monuments, but just the fact that it was in a different country astounded her. She turned her eyes back to the front of the limo that they were picked up in and looked at the road. They had approached a home—from what she could see—and it was guarded by golden gates.

The driver put some numbers into the alarm system outside before the locks opened and the limo poured down the long, winding driveway. Melanie gasped once again as she saw the towering, three story house in front of her. “I forgot you were rich, my God.”

The house was very tall and every part was covered in red brick. The windows were plenty and were finished in a white trim. There were two sets of stairs that were leading up to the door, both on the left and right side. Green grass was in front of the house cut into intricate circles around a fountain.

Melanie stepped out of the car following Ben’s lead as he gripped her hand tightly. She automatically turned to get her bags but he waved her off simply telling her that it was the driver’s job. To say Melanie could get used to this life was an understatement.

Just as the couple approached the large wooden double doors the right one swung open and revealed a tall white haired woman.

Sophie Reed was beautiful. She towered over other women intimidating them by looking down from her 5’11 stature. She had silver white hair and stunning blue eyes that both of her sons had inherited. She was extremely thin having been one of England’s most popular super models in her past. “My babies!” Sophie yelled excitedly, grabbing both Ben and Melanie hugging them tightly.

“Hey Mum,” Ben grinned, his accent becoming thicker being near another Brit once again.

Sophie wrapped her arms around her son tightly and kissed his cheek, “My baby boy is home with his stunning fiancé.” The woman released her son and wrapped her arms around Melanie’s thin frame. “If it is possible at all my darling you look more beautiful than the last time I saw you.”

Melanie grinned and hugged the woman tightly, “So do you Sophie, it’s so nice to see you again!”

She used her hands and rushed the kids inside with them. “It’s freezing outside get in here!”

Melanie followed the woman and Ben into the house and her jaw fell open. The banister of the stairs was gold as well as the huge chandelier that hung from the ceiling, it’s diamonds shining in the lights. Pictures of Ben and a boy who Melanie presumed to be his brother William were plastered on the walls along with large expensive paintings.

Melanie’s heels clicked against the pure white marble floors as they walked to the foyer where she could hear laughter. She instantly felt nerves gather in her stomach and on cue Ben grabbed her hand tightly trying to comfort her. “Your grandmother is already here—and an old time family friend,” Sophie smirked at Ben.

Like clockwork a shriek was heard from the large foyer as soon as they entered it. “Well well, if it isn’t Mr. Benjamin Reed,” the girl said simply, smirking at the boy who walked in the room.

Melanie watched his eyes grow in size and his grin fall open in surprise. He released her hand suddenly and ran over to the girl engulfing her in a hug, “Emily!”

Melanie stayed in her place nervously biting her lip as she watched her fiancé hug ‘Emily’ tightly. To say Emily was beautiful was an enormous understatement. She had long, thin, porcelain legs that stretched her frame to at least 5’9. Her waist was a double zero, making Melanie suddenly feeling self conscious about her size one frame; Melanie was petite, but this girl was just skinny. Her long brown hair hung deep into her lower back and her high cheeks bones made her dark brown eyes smolder. Her lips were painted with a deep red lip gloss that matched perfectly with her tight brown dress and boots.

Emily looked at Melanie with a smile on her lips and held out her hand, “Emily Lennox.”

“Melanie Hendricks, soon to be Reed,” she smiled, adding the last part in confidently, claiming her name proudly.

Ben chuckled and looked at her with a smirk on her face, “I assume you got your invite in the mail yes?”

Emily nodded her head, “I won’t be able to attend though, I have a shoot in The Bahamas that weekend.”

Of course she was a model, Melanie thought to herself, her back slouching in self deprecation. She turned as she heard a woman clear her throat and all eyes looked at the elderly woman sitting on the couch. Much like Sophie she was thin and beautiful but her bones were frail and you could tell from her aged skin that her days were many.

“Nana,” Ben smiled going and hugging the small woman tightly, “This is my fiancée Melanie Hendricks.”

“American,” the woman said with an unreadable look in her eyes. She smiled a moment later, “You can call me Nana as well darling.”

Melanie grinned a flawless grin, whipping out her charm, “I have heard so much about you…it’s a pleasure, ma’am.”

Sophie entered the room once again from the kitchen she had excused herself to. “Dinner is ready! Shall we?”

Everyone left their places and followed the woman down the hall way and to a large dining room where a table that was big enough to seat twelve sat, decorated in reds and greens. In the corner of the room was a tall, towering Christmas tree that was decorated elegantly in whites, blue, and silvers.

Ben pulled out a chair for Melanie and she took a seat in it with a quiet thank you. Ben sat next to her accordingly and put his napkin on his leg. “Where’s Charles at?” He asked his mother.

“He is spending Christmas with his children,” Sophie replied, taking some ham from the serving dish in front of her.

“He has children?” Ben asked disapproving.

His mother chuckled, “Benjamin Reed stop it. We are both older and more mature than you. It is my choice to date this man, kids or not.”

“I just don’t want him to hurt you mother,” he grinned innocently.

Sophie shook her head with a laugh in her voice, “So, Melanie, how is your family doing these days? Ben mentioned that you are staying in Arizona until the wedding.”

Melanie placed her fork down and looked into Sophie’s eyes as she spoke, trying to show sincerity, “Yes we are. My family is doing very well, thank you for asking. My father has been working a lot at the hospital lately, he has always worked the night shift. My mother’s cancer hasn’t slowed, but it hasn’t progressed either so she’s just trying chemotherapy still.”

Sophie nodded her head, “Well, our prayers are with her I can promise you. Your father is a doctor?”

Melanie grinned proudly, “Yes, and an amazing one at that. He’s a heart surgeon.”

“So talented and wise,” Ben added in before taking a bite of stuffing.

“You still want to be a doctor, eh Ben?” Emily asked chuckling. “When we were younger I couldn’t decipher which you wanted more—that or super hero.”

He laughed and narrowed his eyes at the girl across from him playfully, “What about you miss ‘I am going to be the next Britney Spears’.”

Emily flung a green bean towards the boy, “She was a guilty pleasure!”

“Kids stop it!” Nana yelled chuckling. “Manners please, we have a guest.”

Melanie laughed quietly and took the silence as time to place food in her mouth. She couldn’t help but to notice Emily’s glances from across the table at her and Ben and things slowly started piecing themselves together; the way they hugged, the playful fights, and the subtle glances—Emily was Ben’s John O’Callaghan.

The door bell ringing interrupted her thoughts and after a few moments a maid led a boy into the room. He was much different than the rest of the family but Melanie could tell that this was Ben’s brother William instantly. She could see that if you didn’t know Ben or look at the eyes you would never tell that they were related. While Ben sat next to her in slacks and a classy sweater this boy had on skinny jeans and a leather jacket over a loose fitting Beatles t shirt. His hair was messily styled on his head and his combat boots dragged dirt onto the floor of the dining room.

Sophie gasped, “William darling, what are you doing here? I thought you were busy.”

As soon as his eyes lowered and glared at the woman tension filled the room, “You left me a message on my machine, mother. You didn’t even talk to me to know I was busy or not.”

Melanie could tell instantaneously that he was the black sheep of the family as soon as Ben’s eyes narrowed at the boy. “William, sit down and be respectful,” he spoke, causing the boy’s fists to unclench.

William’s gaze softened as he looked at Melanie and his lips were replaced with a smirk, “You’re the fiancé?”

She nodded and bit her lip, but she wasn’t nervous as she spoke to the boy as everyone else seemed to be as they stared at him in confusion. “You must be the brother.”

Everyone looked at one another uncertainly, afraid that he would say something rude or uncalled for because that’s who William was—the cocky misfit. “William Reed,” he smiled, relieved that the girl wasn’t nervous to speak to him.

“Melanie Hendricks,” she replied and he looked at her intriguingly.

“Good job Ben, I can tell that I’m actually going to like this one,” William chuckled as he grabbed some food and placed it in front of him. “A lot better than this one at least,” he said using his head to nod to the girl next to him.

Emily scoffed and Ben looked at him frustrated, “William, I swear.”

Sophie looked at her two sons and interrupted the argument that was waiting to occur, “Melanie! How do you like France so far?”

Melanie made small talk with the family throughout dinner but she couldn’t control her thoughts. She had a heart for the boy as soon as she saw him and she didn’t understand until now why. He was the underdog in the family the one who just wanted to live and have fun and in a lot of ways he reminded her of John.