The Escort

“You feeling better, Gabrielle?” Mr. Pembroke asked his daughter on one of the few occasions that they were sitting all together at the dinner table.

“Mm,” was Ellie’s half-hearted reply, her mouth full with the yam that was served.

“Don’t talk with your mouth full, hun,” Mrs. Pembroke said, not looking away from her fork, with which she gracefully ate some of the yams for herself.

It wasn’t really talking, Ellie thought bitterly to herself, though she kept her face completely straight, as she had learned to do around her mother. Mrs. Pembroke was astounding at reading facial expressions, but so long as Ellie looked pleasant, her mother could not tell.

Family time in the Pembroke household was different than most. There was hardly any talking, and if there was, it was stiff and forced. How was everyone’s day (a question always answered with “good”, no matter the circumstance)? How was mother’s campaigning going, though Ellie always knew because her mother was constantly on television. A question that used to always be asked was how school had gone, but now that it was summer, that was one less question asked and one more silence that entered.

To put it quite simply, it was boring.

Now, Ellie didn’t dislike her family. Her mother was a prick who always looked for attention and to impress—and wished her daughter would do the same. Her father, though he means well, was too busy to get to know his children; the only things he remembered, quite clearly, about his children were the essentials: birthdays, names of a few close friends, their grades in school, and even sometimes a few of their hobbies. Needless to say, though he had his moments, Mr. Pembroke was all together was just too busy. And Henry, though as close as Ellie was to him, had his own life. He was top of his class as well as the president of it, most popular in his grade, and everyone was always impressed by the things he accomplished; he, unintentionally, always managed to outshine his little sister. But, really, she didn’t dislike any of them for any of that. In fact, as weird as it sounds, she loved them. After all, they were her family, so how could she not?

Ellie actually admired her mother for the successful women she had become; she had started out plain and ordinary, and now she was running for her second term in the Senate. Besides her somewhat snobbiness, she was classy in a way Ellie could never be. She could jog a mile in heels and still look comfortable. She could carry a conversation for hours with a stranger (but ironically enough, not with her own family), and charm almost anyone to see her way. Ellie could almost say she was jealous of some of the many gifts her mother had.

And her father was well-liked, too. Persuasive, just like his wife, he could make anyone, even the worst of enemies, agree with him. Yet, somehow, Ellie seemed to not have gotten that gift from either of them. Mr. Pembroke was also great at sympathizing, and if not a business man, could have had a career in therapy. He could relate with any man—or at least appear to. At the very least, this made him much more down-to-earth than his beautiful senator wife.

Lastly, there was Henry, the big brother who always looked after her, even if it wasn’t in all the stereotypical ways brothers usually looked out for their little sisters. He had been the one to finally drag her to the park for some fresh air—fresh air that had surprisingly helped clear her head of thoughts on him of whom she refused to say by name. His success, much like their mother’s, was one that Ellie admired. It may have looked easy, but really Arthur worked his butt of to get where he was. And Ellie truly respected him for that.

That was how her family was, and considering there was no other family to compare it to, Ellie thought of this all normal, though she knew it really wasn’t. Yet, she had become accustomed to the sometimes empty house, and the awkward conversations at the dinner table, and the lack of affection shown. As horribly strange as it sounded, Ellie couldn’t imagine her family any other way. She liked them this way. Even her mother.

Of course, she was about to eat her words.

“Oh, I almost forgot,” Mrs. Pembroke said, eyes widening a little as she dabbed her mouth with the napkin that had been sitting in her lap. Ellie looked over at her mother, assuming that this had something to do with her. “Gabrielle, do you remember Mr. Humphrey?”

“The old man who was senator before you. Yeah,” Ellie answered.

Mrs. Pembroke sighed. “Elderly man, Ellie. But, yes him. He’s celebrating his 90th birthday.”

Ellie’s nose instinctively crinkled. “He’s that old?” she asked.

“Gabrielle…” her dad said, in a soft warning.

“What? That was a compliment,” she said to him. “I’m just saying. He doesn’t look that old.”

Her mother almost laughed, which was accomplishment enough for Ellie. “Anyways, he’s invited our family to come,” she said. “He says he’d love to meet you.”

Ellie nodded, eyebrow cocked. “Okay? That’s fine. I’ll go.”

“With an escort?”

Her nose crinkled again. “Escort?” she asked. “What for?”

“Elle, darling, it’s a party. You can’t go alone,” Mrs. Pembroke insisted.

Ellie never saw why it was such a big deal if people didn’t come to a big fancy rich people party without a date. Of course, it had never really made a difference before, because by the age she was expected to bring dates to these fancy parties, she had Kurt. Don’t think about him, she quickly reminded herself. However, now that he was… gone, she now wondered what the need of a date was. Why couldn’t she go alone?

“Alright, then,” she said, sitting up straight, because she knew her mother took her more seriously when she presented herself nicely. “Then, can’t I just go with Henry?”

Henry made a guilty face, but before he could say anything, Mrs. Pembroke spoke, “Darling, Henry has his own date. He can’t tag along with his little sister everywhere. You are sixteen, honey.”

Henry frowned. “Really, it wouldn’t be a problem otherwise,” he said. He gave me an apologetic look. “But you remember Penelope, don’t you, Ellie?” She did, and she didn’t like her much. “I’ve already asked her to go with me. I’d hate to stand her up.” Not only would he hate to, he’d die before he’d do it. He was totally smitten for Penelope. Everyone knew it.

Ellie fiddled with her spoon, moving around the remains of her yams. “So what do you want me to do, exactly?” she asked her mother.

There was a pause as Mrs. Pembroke pressed her lips together. “Well, I was hoping that you had gotten over your issues with Kurt and that you were friends, so you could attend it with him. He’s already going, so—“

“No!” Ellie said immediately, tensing up at just hearing his name said aloud. All three of her family members stared at her, completely silent. She sunk a little in her seat, and mentally told herself to calm down. She coughed. “No, we aren’t friends.”

Mrs. Pembroke coughed to, ignoring what just happened. She smiled softly with a smile so genuine looking that it was hard to believe anyone could fake it. “Well, I do always have a Plan B,” she said to her daughter.

Ellie, wondering what her mother was up to, crossed her arms and decided any plan was better than going to the party with him. She kept her eyes from narrowing at her mother. “Okay. What is that?”

“There’s a very nice young gentlemen I met recently. Of course, his family is Democrats” –Ellie’s mother was a very conservative Republican—“but besides that, he’s seems to be a very nice boy.”

“And you want him to be my escort?” Ellie asked.

“I don’t’ see anything wrong with the idea,” Mrs. Pembroke said with a shrug.

Honestly, neither did Ellie. She really didn’t even have to talk to the guy much. She would just have to walk in with the guy, sit next to him a dinner, and if there’s dancing maybe dance a song with him. Then, he’d be out of her hair. Easy as that. Perhaps another girl would actually be excited to meet this guy. Of course, if Mrs. Pembroke thought he was a “very nice boy”, that meant he was no doubt cute. Ellie knew a lot of girls who loved the idea of an escort—a guy at your side at all times, opening doors for you and linking your arm with his. Ellie thought it more of a bother, and she was in no mood to meet guys so soon after her break up. However, in the end, it was harmless. One party wouldn’t kill her, and then her mother would be content to leave her alone for a little while.

“Okay, Mom,” she said.