Closed Holland Christmas Party

[James Holland]

Everything was going so well, James thought as he greeted Eva, Colin, and Winnie as they arrived. There was something that felt right about seeing Melanie with his friends, like a missing puzzle piece coming into place. This was how it should have been all along. Melanie should always have been part of James's life, part of his family, and he was more determined than ever to fix the rift that had grown between them over the years since Vincent's arguments.

Those thoughts were still on James's mind as, to his horror, the reason for the rift walked into the garden. What on earth was Vincent doing here? He glanced at Grace, realising too late that he hadn't told his niece why her father wasn't invited to the party, or how important it was that he didn't attend. Oh dear. James shifted, stepping between Vincent and Melanie as he approached. This was where he should have been when this fight had happened the first time and he took his place firmly, trying to keep his tone calm and his voice waver free as he spoke. "You were not invited, Vincent. Melanie is here because she was. Let's talk inside, Vincent, it wouldn't do to cause a scene." He added, hoping to appeal to Vincent's sense of decorum. If anyone wanted to keep this all behind closed doors, it would be Vincent, and right now that was the best hope of keeping the party from being ruined.

 

[Dominik Milne]

He nodded and smiled at Mrs Holland, happy to have been invited over for the party. It beat going home and spending Christmas with his own family at the moment. Dominik smiled again when he noticed that Germaine was already making friends with Grace's cousin, it was nice to see him interacting with others so quickly and could only hope that tonight would be a good distraction from their home situation for the boy. His smile faltered, however, at the sight of Grace's father storming through the garden. He was surprised to see the man here, especially since he was told that Mr Holland wasn't invited for tonight's Christmas party. Dominik turned to Grace. He wasn't sure if there was something he should do or say, this really wasn't and shouldn't be his problem, especially since he himself disliked her father fairly much, so instead just squeezed her hand to indicate that she shouldn't do anything either, for now at least.

 

[Germaine Milne]

Germaine looked at the people Alice was pointing towards and nodded along in the hope that he would remember their names for later in the evening. There were a lot of people here already and even more seemed to be joining them as the two of them talked to each other. ''Is everyone here related to you?'' Germaine asked, surprised at how many people were now standing in their garden. He smiled up at Mrs Holland and thanked her for inviting him over as well. It was nice of them to do so even though they did not know him at all. He then turned back to Alice and nodded once more. ''I am, yes. They were kind enough to invite me over until the semester starts again,'' he told her. They continued to talk to one another until another man joined them and stormed through the garden towards the adults. Not sure what to do now, Germaine stayed quiet.

 

[Vincent Holland]

Looking between James and Melanie, Vincent realised in horror that this was no mere fluke. This had been planned. Everything Melanie was spitting at him was true. For whatever reason, James had decided to abandon him, after everything Vincent had done to keep the Holland family afloat all these years. Had Melanie tricked him into this? She was certainly conniving enough. As furious and hurt as he was, Vincent knew James was right. It wouldn't do for someone representing the French Ministry to cause a scene at a party thrown by the Minister of New Zealand. This could become an international incident if it wasn't contained.

So he let James lead him into the house, blowing up as soon as they were out of sight and earshot of the other guests. "James, what the f*ck are you doing?!" Vincent snapped, rounding on his younger brother. "Do you not remember when she abandoned us? Tried to rob us?! We lost our sister when we lost our parents, James, don't let her trick you into... playing happy families, or whatever this is. Melanie abandoned us. She betrayed us. Don't let her do this to you again."

 

[Claudia Holland]

After welcoming Grace and her guests, Claudia noticed more and more people were arriving. She was glad to see Eva as well as Colin, both here despite their divorce. Claudia was glad they seemed happier now, and glad they were still both her friends. But the moment she spotted James' brother stepping into the garden, Claudia knew this party was not going to end on a positive note. She only had a fleeting hope that Vincent would allow this to be talked out quietly, as the way he stormed through the garden towards his sister betrayed his emotions. Claudia was proud of her husband for standing up to his older brother, something she knew he still struggled with a little. As they headed inside, Claudia quickly followed. She could not stay out of this. "Vincent." She said, her voice calm but commanding. "I would ask you not to use such language when talking to my husband, or generally at a party for our family." She stepped closer, gesturing to him. "You can talk it out maturely with James," She paused. "Or you could leave, as you did not receive an invitation." She added, her tone of voice making it clear those were the only two options..

 

[James Holland]

Although it didn't surprise him, James's heart still skipped a beat out of fear as Vincent rounded on him at once. He had known this would anger his older brother, but certainly hadn't expected to be dealing with the fallout today. He stood steady as Vincent told him off, not flinching away from his brother's tyrade as he had when he was younger. It was a relief to have Claudia backing him up, and James didn't back down, nodding in agreement with his wife. "Vincent, Mel didn't betray us." He said firmly. "She was a kid, she made some stupid decisions. We abandoned her. I'm not going to keep blaming her for what happened when our parents passed, frankly I never should have to begin with, and if you can't do the same you aren't welcome here, Vincent. Mel is our sister, and she needed us. She deserved better."