The Life and Death of New York Dreams

Chapter Two

Stella Hilliard waited for her father to arrive later that evening. The girl was seventeen had rich brown eyes and chocolate colored hair with an evenly fair tan. Her hair was short, a little past ear length in a stylish cut with fringe and was fairly tall. She was cute.

Snowball, her hopelessly overweight cat, purred as she lazily lounged on Stella’s lap. In a pale yellow summer dress, she hummed a song that she’d heard on the radio.

A closed door sounded.

“Daddy!” She beamed, “You’re home!” Mr. Hilliard’s aged but youthful glow filled the otherwise sullen room.

“Stella, you’re here!” He chuckled and removed his coat, which a butler then took. “I thought you’d be with Edward or something.” He gave a hearty chuckle and joined his bubbly daughter at the tea table.

“Did you tell Thomas that I said hi?” Stella asked in a momentous tone.

“I did, I did.” Mr. Hilliard said while he loosened his tie.

“What’d he say?” Stella asked with warm enthusiasm. Mr. Hilliard loved his daughter for this. “Dad, what’d he say?”

“Nothing really. You know the boy; he’s quiet but sincere. He smiled and left.” Stella looked disappointed. Snowball leapt out of Stella’s lap and landed on to the pristine marble floor.

“Oh.” A boy emerged from the hallway and looked at Mr. Hilliard with surprise. Mr. Hilliard’s grin widened. “By the way, Edward’s here.”

“I should’ve known he was.” Edward made his way to the table where the two Hilliards were seated. Mr. Hilliard patted the boy’s back and winked. “Good to see you, my boy. I’ll leave you two to whatever it was you were doing. I must find your mother anyway.” Mr. Hilliard walked away into his the hallway and left the two. Edward smirked.

“Your dad loves me. But which parent doesn’t?” He joined Stella and sat.

“Yeah, I know.” Stella waved off.

Edward Ferry was a tall brunette boy with brown, almost black eyes. He had a classic, all American look and an equally inflated arrogance. Edward had a lean face, somewhat gaunt, and a slightly hooked nose. He was a handsomely fine man nonetheless.

“I hope Tom’s knee heals up soon. I don’t want it to be injured when he plays this year. Burdette’s gonna take the championship!” Stella exclaimed with delight. Edward looked intently at Stella.

The two had both lovely brown hair locks and eyes. They were both successfully involved in extracurricular activities and ruled in whatever they did. Their families knew each other all too well and the two looked perfect together. They were meant for each other; at least in Edward's mind.

“Lacrosse doesn’t even start until fall. Don't worry about him just yet.” Edward’s lips pouted. He was known to be fiercely independent but seemed to take an eager
clinginess to Stella.

“But it’s his dream to finish Burdette off by taking the championship as captain. You know that.” Edward looked irritated but Stella hardly seemed to notice.

“Isn’t that a pity?” Edward frowned. “Thomas' the first thing on your mind but you’re probably the last thing on his.” Stella glared at Edward. Edward shrugged her look off with a sigh.

“I’m not in love with him or anything.” Stella said. “I just care about him. You should too. We’re all like family.”

“It looks like someone has a crush.” Edward jeered. “Just admit it.”

“No!” Stella barked. “I don’t and I’m pretty sure you know that too.”

The two quarreled but it was just that, a quarrel. Unlike many, Edward and Stella had been very close for what seemed to be ages and still remained. They got along great and sometimes argued but of all the friendships out at Burdette, theirs was possibly the most honest and stable.

“So how’s your sister?” Stella asked in order to change the dreary tone. Edward happily obliged to the switch.

“Katherine? She’s okay. Actually, she invited the Baileys over for dinner tonight." He rolled his eyes. "You know what that means, don’t you?”

“Wow,” Stella said with wide eyes. “Brooklyn and Philip? Eating together at a table?” She covered her lips with her neatly French manicured hands.

“Yeah. I’m want to see myself how that’s gonna turn out.”

“The worst of both worlds in one house…” Stella shrugged, “I wonder when Brooklyn’ll come back to us. You know, be his old self again.”

“It’s been three years. I bet everyone’s just as impatient. I know I am.” Edward stated harshly. “Anyway, I’ll let you know how things turn out later.” Edward took one last sip of tea and raised the cup. “On with the show.”


While it approached seven, Edward returned home for the dinner that Katherine so unexpectedly decided to whip up. The Ferrys dining room was filled with the most pleasant of aromas. There was a diverse amount of luxurious food and the best of all kinds of wine and drink. The Ferrys loved to impress people with their exotic choice in food and classy interior design. The family was well known for that. The Ferrys; Katherine, Edward, Mr. and Mrs. Ferry sat opposite of the Baileys; Philip, Brooklyn, Mr. and Mrs. Bailey.

Looking at the Baileys, Edward noticed something peculiar about the mother. Mrs. Bailey had a modish hairstyle but lacked the zeal to pull off the style. She was sickly pale and seemed very finicky. She looked like an advocate of botox and plastic surgery with blood red lips. She wasn’t at all ugly. No, she could be beautiful. She just looked fake.

In regards to Mr. Bailey, he was detached from his family. Mr. Bailey had a venomous air to him and hardly spoke; Mrs. Bailey attempted most of the talk. The animosity of the head Bailey undoubtedly reflected their offspring. Mr. Bailey was somewhat of an enigma. He was so highly regarded yet so intangible.

Edward then looked away and placed the dining napkin on his lap.

The adults crammed the night with distasteful, meaningless chat. It was a formal dinner with everyone looking clean and fresh. Katherine was dressed for the evening with colorful dress of blues and yellows while Edward wore a plain white dress shirt and black slacks.

Katherine, his lovely sister, had told Edward to keep an eye out for the two Bailey boys. As she loved both dearly, she wanted Edward to distract Brooklyn so the two wouldn’t fight. She knew that they fought hard for her attention.

Quite frankly, Edward detested both Philip and Brooklyn. Philip was too arrogant and Brooklyn was too gloomy. Though the two were so different, they had one thing in common: they hated each other.

“That’s wonderful!” Mrs. Bailey chuckled with high spirits as her pink cheeks glistened. The adults seemingly enjoyed themselves; even Mr. Bailey had unwound with a drink or two. While the adults talked and gossiped, Katherine took control of the younger group.

“Are you enjoying yourself?” Katherine politely asked Brooklyn. Edward eyed Brooklyn.

“It’s okay.” He tried to smile but failed to do. Philip rolled his eyes. Brooklyn was the worst at socialization. He made everything sound a lot worse than it actually was.

“If you ask me, Kathy, I’d say it’s a lovely night.” The two exchanged looks of longings and then glanced away. Brooklyn smoldered.

Brooklyn had always baffled Edward. Brooklyn was a loner when he wanted to be but knew how to win back affection whenever he wanted. Like they all said, Brooklyn had become a totally different person. There was a time when everyone loved him for his genuine, clownish behavior; even Edward liked him then.

As the night progressed, almost everything ran smoothly however with one slip of the mouth, the night ended in ruin. Mrs. Ferry’s words went amiss. The mere mention of her name was the worst of all possible situations. Mouths dropped like flies and eyes darted at the reaction of Brooklyn.

“Rosetta is missed greatly.” Mrs. Ferry said blatantly. “I’m sure that she misses all of you just as much as you miss her.” The room fell silent. Even Edward felt misplaced. “Oh dear…”

The comment ultimately was left alone. Dinner was served and appetites were filled. The adults caroused with each other leaving the boys to do what ever they wanted. Philip, being the charmer he was, lured Katherine to himself just before the night ended leaving Brooklyn in Edward’s care. Both were not pleased.

Edward took Brooklyn into his room where he had a very vast amount of free space. Brooklyn sat on a plush chair that lined the wall and then smiled genuinely at Edward. Edward looked at him, baffled, and sat opposite of him.

“Stella was talking about you today.” Edward said, “I was with her earlier. She wants me to say hi for her.” Brooklyn nodded and stretched.

“Tell her I say hi too.” Brooklyn’s attention was brought to a replica of a train and he beamed. “You like trains?” Brooklyn asked with a calm tense. Whether he was sincere or not, Edward didn’t particularly mind. He knew or at least had a hunch that Brooklyn just wanted small talk.

Everyone believed Brooklyn could be a perfect bachelor, perfect gentleman, and one of the most ideal students to have ever graced Burdette but most of that were lies. Brooklyn hardly did any work on his own. If anyone should get the credit, his dad would be the sole benefactor. His daddy provided him with everything he could ever need, want, and more. Yes, Brooklyn was spoiled and yes, he had it all.

“I do like them. Trains.” Edward said, ignoring his thoughts. He went and picked up the replica. It was made of the finest wood and hand carved to perfection, painted with amazingly stunning colors, and finished off with a glossy gloss. “Trains are amazing.”

“I think so.” Edward’s eyes perked. He never thought Brooklyn, of all people, had appreciation for the things Edward liked. “I imagine trains to be the ticket to freedom. They can take you almost anywhere you want and back. It’s incredible.”

“Is that right?” A lopsided grin began to form.

“Excuse me.” Katherine peeked her head docilely from the large opening door of Edward’s room. “Brook, your family’s leaving.”

The Ferrys saw to it that the Baileys left safely. In exasperation, Mrs. Ferry nearly cried, “I ruined the whole night…”

“It’s all right, mom,” Katherine consoled, “I’m sure it didn’t cause as much harm as you think.” Mrs. Ferry looked at Katherine, slightly comforted.

“Well, I suppose it didn’t end so badly.” Mrs. Ferry added. “I’ll make it up the next
time they come over. Especially on the big day.”

“What do you mean?” Edward asked as he entered their conversation. Mrs. Ferry looked quite devious and Mr. Ferry seemed to mirror that face.

“Your father and I arranged a marriage for Kathy and Philip.” Both Katherine and Edward almost died of shock.

“What?” Katherine asked in disbelief.

“They gave their blessing.” Mr. Ferry smiled. “Philip is yours to keep.”

“I’m going to marry Philip Bailey?” Katherine asked, this time in amazement.

“Well you were bound to anyway. We just secured your spot.”

“This’ll bring us closer together.” Mr. Ferry said jubilantly. “Katherine Ferry Bailey. Katherine Ferry Bailey. It has zing to it, huh?”

“What?” Katherine asked with more emphasis.

“Us and the Baileys.” Mrs. Ferry informed more sympathetically. “Dear, you must know that the Baileys are one of the wealthiest family in all of New York, right?” Katherine looked distraught. “What’s that? You look sad!”

“We already knew that you Philip like each other.” Mr. Ferry grinned. “We just got a bit tired of him never asking you so we thought we’d put the icing on the cake. They didn’t mind at all.”

“The Baileys feel you’d make Philip a perfect wife. We agreed with them that he’d make you a perfect husband too.” Mrs. Ferry added. “It’s an engagement as of now. We’ll see how it works.”

“I can’t imagine getting married now.” Katherine sulked. Edward’s was in disbelief.

“What, what, what?” Mr. Ferry strongly demanded. “It’s for the family. You still have time.” He paused. “The Baileys are probably telling Philip right now too.” Katherine’s eyes opened.

“About that,” Mrs. Ferry said. “Philip’s probably just as shocked as you are right now. Don’t’ worry, honey. It’s a match made in heaven! Who’s more capable of being your husband? Tell me.”

“My God…” Edward muttered under his breath.

Edward’s family was extremely wealthy. The family was wealthy enough to not work for the rest of their lives and then some. By marrying into the Baileys, it would solve any financial burdens that should ever, could ever, and would ever come about. They would be set forever.

There was one problem however.

Did that mean Brooklyn would be his brother-in-law?