The blue sky of Two Harbors, Minnesota is marred only by the shadow of an incoming Boeing plane, slowly descending to the tarmac. As the plane lands, Colin Davis lets out a heavy sigh as he re-enters his hometown.
"Welcome home, Colin," he mutters under his breath as he sets down his empty glass, not long ago filled with organic beer.
He winces slightly to himself as the plane taxis toward the gate, knowing what's to come when he steps off.
* * *
Marian Davis gracefully sashays down the grand staircase to the foyer of her expansive home, putting her sparkling earrings on as she does so. She looks toward the living room, checking to see if anyone's there, and if her eldest son, Bradley, is ready for his big night: The night of his grand engagement party.
Marian spots Brad standing in the living room, fixing his tie in the mirror. Marian looks on, a wide smile forming across her face as she watches her son. She saunters into the living room, still beaming. Brad spots her in the mirror and turns around, smiling widely.
"Well, have you ever seen anyone this handsome?", he asks, arms outstretched and posing.
Marian laughs in response, choking out, "Your father, maybe."
"Hey, now!", Brad protests, "You could shatter my ego talking like that."
Marian fixes Brad's tie and looks deeply into his eyes, relaxing from her usual stiff outward appearance, saying earnestly, "You look amazing, and Hailey will be so proud to call you her husband."
She fixes Brad's collar and tightens back upturns away, heading towards the foyer, where she calls the maid over, asking her to let her other children, Jenn and Robbie, know that the car will be ready in a few minutes, and to hurry for the party.
* * *
Upstairs, Robbie Davis sits at his computer desk, curtains drawn and lights dimmed. His suit for the engagement party lies on his impeccibly-made bed, untouched, and still zipped up in its bag. He sits, engrossed in what's on his computer screen. So much so that he misses the sound of someone knocking on his door, then entering his room. It's his twin sister, Jennifer.
She startles him when she speaks. "Hey," she calls out, "you planning on, you know, getting dressed tonight?"
Robbie takes a second to snap back to reality, but still would clearly rather be doing his work. "Oh, I, yeah...just a sec. I've still got some more stuff to finish from work today," he blusters.
Jennifer, or Jenn as only Robbie can call her, rolls her eyes. She walks over to Robbie's desk and closes off the monitor. Robbie immediately protests.
Jenn interjects immediately, "And if I hadn't done that, I'dve come home, and got back up again tomorrow morning and you'd still be staring at that monitor."
Robbie gets up from his chair and fumbles with the garment bag. Jenn sits down on his bed and looks at Robbie with concern. "You know, I know this is probably the last thing you want to be doing tonight," Jenn voices, "It's not exactly high on my own list, but, he wants to marry the girl."
Robbie pulls the suit from the bag, removing the suit jacket as slowly as humanly possible, as though delaying this process will slow down the progress of the evening. He looks up at Jenn and asks, "What about Colin, though?"
"Well, they're not together now, are they?"
"Well, no."
"And Colin isn't even in town anymore, so it's really kind of moot."
Robbie takes the pants off the hanger and motions Jenn to face away while he changes. Jenn clicks in to what Robbie's asking and obliges.
Robbie responds, "What if he does come back?"
"We'd know by now, surely." Jenn insists.
"I just don't think this is going to lead to anything but disaster, Jenn. I think if Brad's not careful, he could tear the whole family apart."
Jenn ponders his words for a moment, then turns back around with a start, "I don't think you have to worry about that," she offers.
"I do though."
"Well don't. It's not your battle to fight."
Jenn turns back around and heads for the door. The maid knocks at this moment, and instructs Robbie to hurry. Jenn follows the maid out. Robbie flops down on the bed, shaking his head.
* * *
Colin sits in the cab, driving into the city on his way from the airport. His home, Two Harbors, looks much the same as when he left two years ago for university. Same buildings, same houses, same hubris. A couple people attempting to start up new businesses in spaces that had laid empty for years after the economic crisis hit, nearly wiping the auto industry out, including his family's business, Atlantic Motor Co.
What hadn't been killed by the recession had already been killed by the big box stores. Colin saw his father's investment in the collection of big box chain stores on the outskirts of town as being a ruse to maintain and stimulate the "culture of the car". He never approved and has never set foot in any of the stores in question. Even looking at them now makes him wince as he drives by them.
As they approach the Atlantic HQ, Colin asks the cab to drive slowly as they pass. Colin studies the compound closely. He quietly lets out, "I'm baaaaaack!" to which the cabbie overhears and immediately asks, "sorry, what was that?"
"Oh...nothing, just thinking out loud."
Colin asks to head on again, and they drive off.
* * *
Jennifer descends the grand staircase to the foyer of the Davis house, impeccably dressed in a somewhat-business-ready red blouse and grey skirt, sitting below the knees, red pumps to match. Her hair done up in a bun, she looks older than her 28 years. Simply by way of her attire, she often gives the impression of being in her late 30s. Tonight she makes little effort to soften her looks, and as she enters the living room, Marian's face is one of slight disappointment at her choice of attire.
Jenn spots Marian's expression immediately, and calls her on it, asking "What wrong with it, Mother? I can tell you don't like it."
Marian, realizing her expression isn't as subtle as she'd like to believe, fakes a smile and approaches Jenn, responding, "No, Jennifer! It's not that. You look lovely. I just...you're going to a party, not a board meeting, darling."
Jenn sighs heavily and unpins the bun hastily, letting her hair flop down messily onto her shoulders. Exasperated, she chokes out, "There. Satisfied?"
Marian rolls her eyes and walks over to her bag, pulling out a brush. She hastily brushes through Jenn's hair while Jenn, resisting reverting to a 12 year old, stands quietly and still, allowing her mother to dote on her.
"There", Marian smiles as she finishes working on Jenn's hair, "Beautiful, you're ready to bring some handsome man to his knees."
"You've lost your mind, Mother."
"You have too if you think dressing for the office is going to get you a date!"
Marian's words sting a bit to Jenn, who fights her urge to tell her mother to back off with every fibre of her being. Instead, she turns, smiles, thanks her mother for her help, and heads directly for the caraffe of bourbon in the corner of the room.
Marian, a bit concerned about time, asks if anyone had seen Robbie anywhere. Jenn tells her that Robbie's upstairs getting ready, noting, "he should be ready by now, though."
Brad also notices that his father isn't home yet. "He'll meet us at the hall", Marian tells him. Brad seems relieved. Marian lights up as Robbie finally descends, dressed in his suit. She notes that almost the whole family's together, and looking great, "all that's missing is Jordan, and Colin."
The siblings all unwittingly flinch at the mention of their brother, Colin. Robbie pipes up immediately, "He isn't going to be there tonight, is he?"
"No, no, honey," Marian assures him, "though I'd love if he were."
The room goes strangely quiet for a moment. The siblings stare awkwardly at each other, unsure what to say to break the tension in the room.
* * *
Outside the house stands Colin, getting out of the cab after paying him. His bags are removed from the trunk, and he thanks the driver for taking him here. He looks out at the imposing estate and sighs heavily. "Well, here goes nothing," he voices aloud, stepping towards the door, luggage in hand(s).
* * *
Marian and her grown children wait awkwardly in the living room before Jenn finally pipes up and suggests everyone head to the car for the party. Brad immediately agrees, pulling himself off the sofa and making a beeline for the foyer. Marian gets up slowly, throwing her hands in the air, and telling everyone, "I'm sorry I even brought your brother up. I just figured it'd be nice if he were here with us for --
"Not tonight, mother," Jenn cuts her off, "It's Brad's night, okay? Let's get ready."
Marian wordlessly nods, admitting defeat. She joins Jenn and heads to the foyer. Brad tries to lighten the mood by reminding everyone: "It's my engagement, and drinks are on her," pointing at Marian.
Marian rolls her eyes and laughs, turning to confirm with the maid that the car's ready for them. Brad then swings open the door, only to find someone on the other side of the door.
The person turns around, turning out to be Colin, with a big smile on his face. "Surprise!" He shouts to his stunned and largely unimpressed family.
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