Two - An Important Announcement (Pt.2)

It was half past six when Xavier dropped Jules at her home. Jules lived in a quite large and luxurious colonial style mansion, with five bedrooms, five bathrooms and a small restroom on the ground floor. The mansion was situated in one of the wealthiest neighborhoods in Hartford. Her father, a neurosurgeon, enjoyed going on morning golf matches each Sunday and relaxing at his office while reading the newspaper and drinking a glass of fine whiskey on the afternoon; her mother, the chief editor of a well-known American fashion magazine, threw tea parties each Saturday at five o'clock, remaining loyal to her British heritage. Everything in Jules' life was in perfect order: her father was the son of wealthy Latvian immigrants and her mother got a recommendation letter to Hartford University from her college in London. Her parents met and their love bloomed like in the fairytales; her father was on the top ten at the dean's student list and her mother was the president of the debate club.

But, of course, life isn't always a whimsical fairytale, as much as it can resemble one. When they got married, they tried conceiving children, but, unfortunately, Jules' mother was sterile. They never gave up though, and when Jules was two years old, she got adopted by Nikolajs and Evelyn Galante.

She never felt curiosity about who her biological parents could be. According to her facial features, the caretakers from social services said she most probably was a descendant of Mediterranean people. With olive tanned skin, chestnut brown hair and a hawk nose, the fact she was adopted was pretty obvious, compared to her parents' light skin tones and blonde hair, but there was a specific feature she shared with both of them: her deep ocean blue eyes. She still remembered that one talk she had with her grandmother when she was six or maybe seven, "Never let anyone say you're not your parents' daughter, my precious princese", she said, with a warm smile that emanated no other feelings than adoration and care, "You have beautiful blue eyes, just like us".

With that precious memory, Jules unlocked the backdoor and entered the house. She heard muffled chattering coming from the dining room, nothing too relevant: her grandmother asking her mother how work was going after one of an indie designer's new collection.

She rushed upstairs to her room. Her bedroom wasn't exactly large, but the en-suite bathroom with a tub and a shower and the walk-in closet made it look like it was indeed huge. Considering she had already showered after her hockey class, Jules proceeded to take off her clothes and change to the dress Xavier had advised her to put on. It was one of her grandmother's birthday presents for her sweet sixteen party: a pencil skirt sleeveless purple dress, with a slightly darker wide band resembling a belt and a zipper on the back area she always had a little trouble reaching. She put on natural-colored tights and a pair of black Mary Jane's before heading to the vanity mirror. Her mother's motto regarding fashion was: "simplicity is the key. If you overdo anything in this industry, it'll end up looking grotesque. The less, the better", following mom's advice, she drew two small wings at the corner of her eyes with the eyeliner, applied rimmel and picked a matte lipstick of a nude pink tone. For her hair, she untied the ponytail and fixed her bangs backwards with bobby pins —Jules never wore bangs, she always felt more comfortable without them, then she grabbed a small portion of her hair and clipped it, making it half up half down. She fidgeted a bit with the tips of her straight strands while turning the lights of her room off and heading downstairs.

Jules walked through the arch that connected one of the hallways to the dining room and was immediately greeted by her grandparents.

"Ah, there you are! My little princess. Look at how much you've grown up!" Her grandmother, Inese, approached her and squeezed her in an affectionate hug which was reciprocated.

"Indeed, you've grown into such a refined young lady with an exquisite taste, just like our daughter-in-law." Her grandfather, Anatolijs, remarked.

"Thank you so much, vecmāmiņa and vectēvs, I haven't changed that much since last year, but I always try my best." Jules replied, politely and still with an informal tone.

"Sweetie, please take a seat, Mariana has prepared our favorite lobster pot pies and your grandparents have brought the most delicious chocolates from Riga." Evelyn said.

And with that, the feast began. Family reunions usually lightened Jules' mood up, she felt loved and cared for. Maybe it was because of her first two years of life in solitude. Little she remembered from those times, but now she belonged somewhere, and she was proud of carrying the Galante last name, of who she had become, with all of her virtues and flaws, with all the good memories and misadventures.

"So, Nikolajs, when are you going to tell her?" Anatolijs was cutting a piece of pie when he blurted that out.

"Tēvs!" Nikolajs almost dropped his cutlery.

"Ah, but that's what all of us are waiting for you to say, dēls!" Inese seconded with a mischievous smile.

Nikolajs sighed, leading a hand to his forehead.

"Tell me what, dad?" Jules asked, a tad worried about the response.

"Jules, my dear, your mother and I have decided to sign you up in an all-girls private school." He replied.

Jules' heart almost seized.

"An all-girls private school? But, why? I'm doing great at my current school." She questioned, struggling not to burst in tears.

What about Cassie? What about graduating with her best friends…?

"I know, darling, but private education is the best education, you'll find people of your same learning level there." Evelyn chimed in.

"What about my friends?" Jules asked again with a cracked voice.

"School is for learning, darling, not for making friends." Her mother affirmed, "You can always make new friends, and if you don't, don't worry, you can see your old friends on weekends and vacation days."

Jules sulked, feeling a knot in her stomach.

"Don't make that face, my princese, I went to an all-girls school as well, I promise it'll be the greatest experience you'll ever have." Inese attempted to cheer her up, "I brought you your favourite Latvian bonbons, do you want to open the first box?"

So this was the important announcement, she could sense something bad coming, but never something like this. She felt betrayed, she wanted to lock herself in her room and cry until falling asleep.

"No, thanks vecmāmiņa, I'm not hungry anymore…"