According to the original plan, they will go to William's house on Privet Drive to have dinner next. Jessica hadn't thought of going there before, so she couldn't prepare suitable clothes due to time constraints.
Fortunately, she was about the same size as Hathaway. Hathaway generously lent out a long dress, and Britney found shoes and hair accessories.
Dressed up properly, after Jenkins confirmed that the gas valves in the house were all closed, the family set off together. Of course, a party of eight in one carriage was too crowded, so Jenkins hired two carriages.
Although many things happened that evening, they still arrived at the door of the house at the appointed time. This was just a family gathering, and it also meant that Jenkins brought his fiancée and distant relatives home, so Robert, Mary, and Jenkins' two brothers did not come out to greet them.
But when Jenkins and the seven girls behind him really entered the house together, Mary, who originally said she would not care about Jenkins' emotional life, still seemed a little unhappy. She believes that her son has become "this kind of person" because of a serious problem in family education, and she is at fault as the mother of the three brothers.
Fortunately, the family is a believer of the sage, and the church of the sage does not have too many dogmatic restrictions on the marriage of believers. In the churches of the righteous gods [Mother Earth] and [Lightless Moon], believers abide by strict marriage contracts. If the William family were believers of these two, Jenkins might be in big trouble today.
Overall, this family dinner went very smoothly. Because of the preparation for a long time, there was no mistake in the reception of the William family. Even anticipating that one table would not be enough, Mary prepared another long table in advance to ensure that everyone could sit at the table.
During dinner, the conversation around the candlelit table was mainly about Sigrid, a distant relative. The family seemed to have suddenly forgotten about Jenkins and his fiancées, and talked about the history of the Williams family and the relocation of Shire's "other Williams".
Mary asked about Sigrid's specific situation, deliberately avoided the orphan's life experience, and only talked about her recent life. Probably because she had no daughter, Mary liked Sigrid very much. She even wanted to invite Sigrid to live in her home on Privet Drive, but the latter cautiously refused.
Jenkins sits with his brothers, with Newman on his left and John on his right. The three were also communicating in low voices. Of course, most of the time, John was talking about his mother often telling him about the sanctity of marriage at home recently:
"She was worried that I would become like you, oh, how could this be?"
John complained in a low voice, of course not complaining about his mother, but because of Jenkins, he had to be warned over and over again.
"So when are you going to get married?"
The eldest brother Newman is very open, because he lives in the school, he will not be implicated in this matter:
"I've decided to get married next spring. How about you, Jenkins?"
"Two years later."
This is the first time he has discussed the issue with his family.
"Why?"
Newman Williams covered his mouth with a cup to prevent his parents from discovering what the three brothers were communicating in private:
"It seems a little too late, you know, John can't get married before you."
It was the custom of Fideticelli that, if there were two boys in a family, the older must be married first. Although it's just a custom, it doesn't matter if you don't abide by it, but the Williamette family is a relatively traditional family, and they still tend to let the three brothers get married in order.
"If you choose two years later, then John will have to wait two years."
"It's okay, I won't be 20 years old in two years."
The youngest of the three brothers shook his head:
"Aren't you and Jenkins getting married after the age of 20? I'm not in a hurry."
"But they'll be in a hurry."
Newman pointed to Mary, who was talking to Sigrid, and Robert, who was talking to Jessica about the weather in Beldyland this year, and Robert.
"Jenkins, they won't let you wait until two years later."
Newman said with certainty, and then saw Jenkins manipulating the knife to split the steak into two, and gave part of it to his cat.
After dinner, the family went out to the opera house to watch a play. During the period, Mary finally remembered that tonight's guests and Jenkins' fiancées, in the box, asked everyone about their family and work situation in turn, and presented everyone with a gift Different styles of jade pendants.
She has no problem with Jenkins' fiancées, but has a big problem with Jenkins. Therefore, when Jenkins went out to ask the waiter for more glasses, he talked with Jenkins again in the hallway.
Jenkins saw that behind his mother, his younger brother John Williams carefully closed the door of the box, first gestured to his brother to cheer, and then signaled Jenkins with his eyes to ask for blessings.
"Jenkins, I think we need to talk."
When going to the Opera House to watch a play, you have to wear formal attire. Mary’s aesthetics are somewhat different from those of young people. She chose a dress that matched the color of her husband’s shirt, and she was dignified when she spoke in front of her son.
"Okay, what are we talking about?"
He squinted at the cat on his shoulder, and actually guessed the next topic.
"Talking about your problem. Why is there an extra person? Is she the Duke's daughter? Why have you never heard of this girl before?"
Because of the need to prepare appropriate tickets and the number of meals for dinner, Jenkins explained the number of guests in advance, and Jessica was not included in the original plan.
"It's very complicated. To put it simply, I took Jessica home this evening, explained the situation to others, and then she came along."
"Bring it home this evening? Oh, my sage!"
The years have left a lot of vicissitudes on the face of this middle-aged woman, but in Mary's view, this is her "medal of merit" for successfully raising three outstanding boys. At this moment, she was looking at her son with surprised eyes, which quickly turned into condemnation:
"Little Jenkins, I didn't expect you to become such a person."
In her opinion, Jenkins announced his cheating to his fiancées before the family dinner, and used rhetoric to keep them from having conflicts, which is no different from the playboy that people generally recognize.
"No no, I'm not that kind of person, I just... want too much."
At first I wanted to explain, but when the words came to my lips, I felt that this was no different from rhetoric, so in the end I just explained my own views on myself.
There was more kindness in Mary's reproachful eyes, she looked at her second son:
"If this kind of life is what you want, then I will not stop you. But you are very sorry for those girls. Everyone has their own parents. I can accept my son doing this, but their parents , can you really accept that your daughter was cheated by you?"
"It's not a lie...well, it's a lie."
The words of objection were changed in the eyes of the mother:
"I'll fix that."
At this moment, he lowered his head and looked at his toes.
"Be nice to them in the future."
"Of course. Oh, I do know I was wrong, yes, I know it, I just... don't want to let it go."
Seeing Jenkins' expression, Mary finally smiled:
"It's good if you can understand. Your father and I are very satisfied with the fiancée you have chosen. They are all good girls, of good background, well-behaved and well-spoken. We will not object, then, you What are you going to marry?"
"Two years?"
He said in a tentative tone, and immediately saw his mother's dissatisfaction:
"what are you waiting for?"
Of course, Jenkins couldn't say that he was waiting for Dolores to be eighteen. The standard of adulthood in this world is not 18.
"One year at most. I want to see you get married. There is no room for negotiation. Do you know what age you are this year? Your brother Newman got married so late, we have already broken our hearts. Now you Do you know how much pressure Robert and I have had to deceive so many girls and then postpone the wedding
Also, since there are so many people around you, you must get married as soon as possible, otherwise one or two conflicts will run away, how do you solve them. "
Mothers are always toward their children.
She didn't give Jenkins a chance to refute at all, and almost forced Jenkins to agree to get married within a year. Considering that the wedding of the eldest brother Newman is tomorrow spring, that is to say, Jenkins will hold the wedding next summer.
Jenkins didn't tell the ladies about it until after tonight's family reunion when everyone was back at home on St. George's Street. But no one has an opinion except Jenkins.
"Next summer? That's a good fit."
Of these Dolores is most in favor:
"Father's body won't last long. He hopes to see me get married, hold my hand through the aisle, and hand me over to you. So, I don't think you will object, will you?"
She gave an unassailable reason, and of course Jenkins could no longer object. Looking at the other girls, they all looked at her with a smile. He knew that if he raised his opinion now, he would become everyone's enemy. So let's stop talking about this topic, and promise to start preparing for the wedding next summer after finishing the recent affairs.
It was very late, and although there was one more person in the family gathering tonight, overall it was very successful and harmonious. Sigrid meets her few remaining relatives in the world and promises to visit often. Jenkins also brought his fiancées to meet his family and received their blessings on marriage,
He couldn't think of anything else that could affect his good mood tonight.