Danielle Steel - Southern Lights

His father sounded tense and exasperated when he called and invited him and Scarlette to dinner. “Things are a little rocky around here,” he said honestly. “Your mother is upset about Savannah. Very upset. You know how she is.” Travis knew her raging temper tantrums only too well. She had them about everything, although he could imagine that the current one was a lulu. The only thing worse, in her mind, would have been to bring Alexa back instead of her daughter. But having Savannah there was bad enough, to her. Travis could easily imagine how unpleasant the atmosphere was at the house right now, and felt sorry for his father. “I thought if you and Scarlette came to dinner, it might distract her a bit, and ease things up.”

“Sure, Dad. I’ll see what Scarlette’s doing. She just got off work an hour ago. I’ll call you back.” He did, and said they would be there at seven-thirty, in time to sit down to dinner, and Tom called the cook to tell her, after he thanked his son profusely. He announced it to Savannah and Daisy when he cruised past Savannah’s room a little while later, and found both girls there, still talking. Daisy was excited to see Travis and her future sister-in-law.

“You’ll like her,” Daisy assured Savannah. “She’s really nice. And Travis is great.” Savannah barely remembered him after almost eleven years. She was six the last time she saw him.

The two girls trooped down to dinner together at precisely seven-thirty, just as Travis and Scarlette walked in. She was a pretty girl with features like a cameo, and long straight black hair, and he was the image of his father, but younger and even better looking. The young couple were both wearing jeans and nice sweaters, which apparently was allowed. Savannah had worn a skirt, sweater, and high heels, and looked very proper. Her long blond hair shone after she brushed it. And Daisy was wearing her school uniform with slippers. Tom had taken off his jacket and rolled up his sleeves, so apparently dinner at the Beaumonts’ was not as formal as Savannah had feared.

Tom introduced Travis to Savannah, and the two stood smiling at each other, shyly. Travis said she had just been a little squirt the last time he saw her, and he didn’t say it, but seeing her reminded him totally of her mother, just as it did everyone else. She was the image of Alexa. She and Scarlette chatted easily while they waited to be called in to dinner, and Scarlette talked about how busy her mother was with the wedding, which was going to be huge. She said they were inviting eight hundred people, which sounded like most of Charleston.

As they were talking, Luisa came down the stairs and walked into the living room, stunned to see her oldest son and his fiancée.

“What is this?” she asked coldly, fearing that Tom had organized some kind of dinner party to celebrate Savannah, and hadn’t told her.

“Travis called and said he wanted to come to dinner,” Tom said quickly, and Luisa wasn’t sure she believed him. “I didn’t think you’d object. It was half an hour ago, and you were resting.” They both knew she hadn’t been resting, but they hadn’t been on speaking terms either, and still weren’t, except in public. Privately, they were still furious with each other.

“Of course I’m happy to see Travis, and Scarlette,” Luisa said, gushing as she rushed toward them. Her eyes were still smoldering, but she smiled broadly as she embraced them both, and made idle chitchat with them, while she totally ignored Savannah, which was a relief to her. She had no desire to talk to Luisa.

They went in to dinner, and Luisa sat between her husband and son. She put Scarlette next to Travis, and Daisy next to her father, lest he needed to be reminded who his “real” daughter was, and she seated Savannah between Scarlette and Daisy, by simply pointing to the seat and saying nothing. Savannah was well aware that if Luisa could have seated her in the garage, or someone else’s home, she would have. But Savannah had a nice time at dinner talking to Scarlette and Daisy. She liked Scarlette a lot, as Daisy had promised. She was warm, kind, well brought up, compassionate, and unpretentious. She was an oncology nurse and worked with people with cancer, and said she loved what she did. Travis was very proud of her and looked very happy. And they talked about the wedding a lot during the meal. Luisa was obviously very excited about it. They were giving a rehearsal dinner for three hundred at their club, and Daisy was going to be Scarlette’s flower girl. Scarlette had already ordered a dress from Badgley Mischka, and the bridesmaids’ gowns were being done by Vera Wang. Her own mother was planning to wear a very elegant brown satin coat and gown by Oscar de la Renta. And Luisa hadn’t told anyone what she was planning to wear yet, but Daisy knew because she had seen it in her closet and overheard. Her mother was planning to wear red.

Everyone seemed to relax during dinner, and Tom’s plan to have Travis there had been a good idea. Luisa seemed to have unbent a little by the end of dinner, and looked less angry. She said nothing to Tom after Travis and Scarlette left, but at least she made no vicious comments. She went back up to her room, and this time closed the door and didn’t slam it. Tom said goodnight to his girls and went to his study, where he had moved his things. Daisy went to her room to finish her homework, but promised in a whisper to sleep in Savannah’s room again that night so she wouldn’t be scared. And Savannah went to her own quarters and collapsed on the bed with a groan. Being here was a lot of work. And she was starting school tomorrow.

She called her mother and told her she had met Travis and Scarlette, and they were really nice to her. Savannah and Alexa chatted for a while. Alexa was really busy. And as promised, Daisy showed up in her room at ten o’clock and sneaked into Savannah’s bed. Her mother had already said goodnight to her, so the coast was clear.

The two girls held hands again after chatting for a few minutes, and this time, even faster than the night before, they fell asleep. For Savannah, it had been one hell of a first day.

Savannah was nervous when her father drove her to Bishop England High School the next day. Daisy had already left on her school bus when Tom and Savannah drove away. Luisa was still in her room, and as she always did, Savannah had gobbled a quick bowl of cereal, and had been ready for her father promptly at eight a.m.

She said little on the drive north on Mark Clark Expressway. And she was obviously worried about it, as he tried to reassure her. Once they reached Daniel Island and the sprawling fifty-acre campus on Seven Farms Drive, he put his Jaguar in a space in the parking lot and walked her into the principal’s office, where they congratulated her on her good grades in New York and welcomed her to the school. The assistant principal handed her a schedule, which looked reasonable to Savannah, and offered to take her to her classroom for her first class, and Savannah quickly kissed her father goodbye.

The school was much larger than the one she’d gone to in New York, and looked like the schools she’d seen in movies, with miles of lockers lining every hall. There were students congregating in little clusters, with books in their arms, laughing, and then hurrying to class. A few of the boys glanced at her with her lithe figure and long blond hair. She had worn jeans because they said it was allowed, Converse sneakers, and a plaid blouse that hung out of her jeans, with a sweatshirt from her volleyball team in New York. She knew it was too late to join the team here, but she was hoping to play intramural sports if she had the chance.

The first class on her schedule was French. She took AP French classes in New York and had gotten good grades for her boards. The teacher was reading a paragraph from a book as Savannah slipped into her seat. She glanced up, looking slightly annoyed by the distraction, nodded, and went on. There were thirty students in the class, and most of them looked bored. The class lasted for fifty-two minutes, and when the bell rang, after the teacher had given them their assignment, everyone bolted for the door. The teacher smiled at her as she left, and Savannah wandered down the hall. She had been given a map, but everything was confusing and she had no idea where she was. She was turning the map around and around, with her books still in her arms, when a girl with bright red hair in a pony-tail and freckles came over to her with a smile.

“Looks like you’re lost. Can I help?” Like everyone else except Savannah, she had a heavy South Carolina drawl.

“I think I have history next. Thanks,” she said as she handed the pretty redhead the map.

“You’re on the wrong floor,” the girl explained. “The class is straight up, right over our heads where we’re standing, and Mr. Armstrong sucks. He gives too much homework and has bad breath. Where’re you from?” She was still smiling and Savannah was grateful for the help. No one else had asked, although several boys were staring at her from their lockers across the hall, and Savannah thought they were cute. She hadn’t had a boyfriend since the end of junior year. She just hung out with friends. And she knew that if she’d had to leave a boyfriend in New York to come here, it would have been worse.

“I was from here originally. I was born here. But I’ve been living in New York for ten years.”

“Welcome back.” The girl smiled broadly. “I have to go upstairs anyway. I’ll walk you up. I have chemistry. I always flunk. I can’t wait to get out of school. I’m taking a year off.” Savannah nodded as they hurried up the stairs. The girl was wearing a sweatshirt and jeans, and so were most of the boys. It was no different than New York, although she felt out of place here somehow, as though there were a sign over her head, “I’m new.” “Why’d you come back?” the girl asked her.