1. Ivy Jade
Ivy Jade
My life was the greatest story ever told.
While both my parents grew up on banana farms in Costa Rica, I grew up living inside the castle they built just for my older brother, Gustav, and me.
They went from zero to everything in their young adulthood after immigrating to the States.
I never asked how they became so rich, because I didn’t care.
Who would when your own personal bartender brought you afternoon margaritas, poolside, with crystallized sugar cubes broken down into the finest rim decor you could find—from the Bahamas.
Import or bust.
Papi spent most of his time at work. I didn’t know exactly what he did, but my mami told me he was a very important man in his own company and that he sold medicine that turned ugly people pretty again.
She made him sound like a saint or a wizard, and I believed her because she was right about pretty much everything.
Like when she told me not to wear my spring wardrobe during the summer because the colors weren’t very complementary. It was true, they were too soft and light for a bright summer vacation.
Don’t worry, though. My parents always taught me to be very grateful for everything in my life.
That’s why I prayed every morning for my angelitos to bring me another sunshine day, and at night I’d pray for my angelitos to give me the best beauty sleep.
My nighttime angelitos were always on my good side, but my morning angelitos…
let’s just say, they understood the assignment about thirty percent of the time.
But when the sun rose magnificently in Pennsylvania, I couldn’t stay mad at them for long.
Mami handled the entire household: the grounds, the housekeepers, my father, our educational schedules, language learning, piano, and arts…
we learned it all. Between going to pilates, expensive luncheons with her friends, and molding me into the perfect miniature version of herself, she somehow found time to instruct the butlers and maids on their daily tasks.
That was her full-time job, basically. But thanks to her, our home was perfect.
And to make things even better, I loved living outside of the city, specifically in the beautiful county of Whitby.
Only a few select homes ranked as the most exclusive and wealthiest in this entire world, and our castle was part of that list. My parents took over this gigantic place from the original owners who couldn’t afford it anymore.
It was really nice of Papi to offer them another way to live, so he and Mami could build the life we had now.
They were the best groundskeepers anyone could ask for.
“Ivy Jade Castellanos! Your brother’s here! Get down here! !Ven aqui!” Mami yelled into the intercom from the main lobby. Every floor had its own communicator. How else could we have meaningful conversations across this twenty-two-bedroom kingdom?
I sighed, slamming my book shut and hiding it under my pillow. Nelly, my fluffy Pomeranian, jumped and barked. Mami wasn’t a fan of dogs, and I think Nelly knew it, so she avoided Mami and her voice at all costs. “It’s okay, Nelly.” I cooed, picking her up to kiss her cute little wiggling nose.
The main lobby had four flights of stairs. It was exhausting. Our elevator was down, and it was due to be up and running by tomorrow—according to our personal electrician—but I may die by then.
Nelly and her cute little nails against wood followed me all the way down.
“Here, Mami,” I said, sluggishly walking into the room. She stood at the grand entrance, waiting in an emerald silk dress, with diamonds in her ears. She batted her eyes, silently reminding me to smile in front of company.
“Qué onda, what’s up, Ivy?” my brother said, coming in for a hug.
“Ivy Jade. Remember?” I rolled my eyes. Nelly barked. Good girl.
“Oh yeah… the whole middle name thing,” he said, squeezing me before joining his bride beside him.
“Just because you don’t like your middle name doesn’t mean you get to ignore mine. And don’t… make me say it out—”
He groaned. “Okay, enough. No need to get into this.”
“Middle name?” Tallulah–his bride–looked over, eyes hilariously wide and sarcastic.
I loved Gustav—don’t get me wrong—but he and I didn’t really get along.
Neither did he and Mami. Well, we did, but ever since he distanced himself from the family, things had been tense during the holidays.
Mami still loved him, just not as much as she loved me, obviously.
She always told me I was her perfect little angelita.
“Tallulah, hi!” I ran over to hug my best friend, turned my brother’s fiancée.
We didn’t have bad blood between us; that wouldn’t be okay.
Mami always said never to play the victim, to always be the bigger person.
Sometimes that meant taking a step back from people when they changed, and boy, did Tallulah change a lot.
We grew up cheering for most of our school lives. She and I were as queen bees as you could get—more so me than her. She was always by my side, though, so I made sure to be a supportive best friend, even if she was marrying my annoying older brother. Like, ew. So gross.
“Are we all packed and ready to catch the private jet? Ben’s waiting for us on standby. And did you tell Papi? I forgot to talk to him about it,” Gustav said.
Mami gave him a squinted smile. Yikes. “Of course, mijo. He’ll be off his meeting in ten minutes.”
“We have to leave, like now,” he said, all irritated.
“Ugh. Papi hates driving for longer than an hour. You know that, Gustav. Ben will wait as long as he needs to. Okay?” I butt in.
“Yes, but we have a beautiful and full schedule for the wedding week. Apple picking starts in two hours,” he said.
“Whatever. The flight will be like ten minutes max. Mami told you to relax.” I put my hands on my hips.
Gustav sighed loud enough that our entire staff heard, and when one of the cooks looked over and caught Mami’s eye, ooooh, well, Gustav was in trouble.
Mami gave him the look, the same one she gave Lady Gaga after she canceled her performance at my sweet sixteen birthday party.
Her eyes narrowed into thin, fiery lines of scorn.
I’d gotten that look only once in my lifetime, but that was well deserved and a shameful experience.
Mami and Gustav went at it as politely as possible, since we were in front of company. Tallulah may have been family to us for years, but she was still an outsider and not of our blood, and Mami didn’t dare raise her voice when others were around.
“Nothing’s changed, I see,” Tallulah said sarcastically, bumping into me.
“Oh, something’s changed,” I told her. Aside from the matching pretty pink outfits we’d wear in school, her entire wardrobe shifted toward a goth girl aesthetic.
Fishnets underneath her dress or ripped jeans were her go-to now.
Not to mention the dark cat-eye makeup around her very blue eyes, it was a far cry from the Britney Spears bubblegum personalities we used to share.
But I wasn’t going to tell her all that. It was her wedding week after all.
“What has?” she asked.
“You’re getting married this weekend! And you’re going to look so beautiful in your wedding dress. You’re so creative with your choice of color: a black-and-red ombré,” I said, wide-eyed, teeth still on display for a smile.
I always imagined Tallulah getting married at one of those rustic venues downtown.
They were clean and airy, and they brought all the vibes with their warmth—not to mention they were within their budget.
I didn’t exactly expect her to flip a one-eighty and get married at some goth castle a couple of hours away from our hometown in Pennsylvania.
Ever since she started dating my equally goth and emo brother, the universe literally shifted us into different timelines.
And the fact that Mami and Papi were paying for their wedding, even though Gustav had been cut off from the family fortune, only made matters more awkward.
But what else were we supposed to do? Not show up and save face?
What would our family in Costa Rica think?
What would the papers say about Papi and the perfect Castellanos reputation?
No. There was no 'riff' in the family. We were perfect. Happy, loving, and supportive. Just like Papi and Mami said we were… at least for the week.
“You’re such a bad liar, you know,” Tallulah laughed. “It’s funny.”
“It’s not funny. I’m not lying to you. I swear I am soooooooooo happy for you! You can even ask Mami.”
“I’d rather not–” she muttered under her breath, but I continued.
“Mami?!” I shouted for her, eyeing the room for her to save me.
“What?” Mami asked, stopping mid-sentence.
“Tell Tallulah I’ve been telling you how excited I’ve been for this wedding party! Like the pumpkin carving thing. Remember?”
Mami laughed and nodded, placing her hands on her hips. “Tallulah, of course. We are both very excited. It’s your big week, remember?” Mami’s thick accent was always so cute and endearing.
“Pumpkin carvings? You’re joking me, Ivy!” Tallulah said.
“It’s Ivy Jade. Ugh,” I repeated. “My middle name isn’t optional; it’s on my birth certificate.”
“What I’m saying is… I know you aren’t really–”
“Really… what?” I cut her off.
“It’s okay that you’re not into Halloween, creepy things, or horror. You know? But Gustav and I wanted to say thank you. It means a lot that you’re going to be with us all week.”
Her words were really heartfelt. It made me miss our close friendship, kind of.
We were still friends, silly, just not the bestest of friends.
We still waved and smiled at one another during family functions.
That’s just what you did. You’d see your family, maybe gossip about Tia Sylvia’s repeated story about how she almost married Luis Miguel back in the early eighties.
She always swore by it! Except she was the bigger woman and told him she wasn’t going to just follow some musician around Mexico.
She was an independent woman with dreams of her own.
I wondered if she still felt that way, because most of us didn’t buy her bullshit story—curse word, sorry—she was full of it.
I turned in her direction, giving Tallulah all my attention.
“I’ll always be there for you, duh! When have I not been?
” That was true. We were close enough that she asked me to be her maid of honor.
It always said a lot about a woman by whom she chose for such an honor–and for Tallulah, it said she had better taste in friends than she did in wedding venues.
She rolled her eyes at me, but playfully. That was okay with me, as long as it wasn’t a sarcastic one.
As a Latina, I hold grudges.
“Okay, really. We need to go,” Gustav said, sounding distressed. Tallulah cut our conversation short and went to be by his side.
Not surprised. Honestly, one of the other main reasons we weren’t as close was that she chased Gustav around like a lost puppy.
Always had since we met in high school. Sometimes I wondered if she wanted to be my friend, only to get to know my brother.
She would act like a complete dope in front of him when he’d enter my room unannounced.
But like I said, I was the bigger person in my story.
“Vámonos, ándale,” Papi said, still on a business call as he headed down the stairs. He handed Gustav a briefcase before walking out the door to the car. I think he confused him with one of the butlers.
“Ivy Jade,” Mami called out, allowing everyone else to leave and be out of earshot.
“Yeah?” I asked.
“Don’t forget, we have Antonio coming over this weekend for the wedding.”
Oh god. Antonio.
After all these years, we were finally set to meet. I literally wanted to jump into our olympic pool and drown. Sorry. That was dark. Let’s move along…
“Mami, really? Of all times?” I asked.
Nelly gave a soft snort, hitting one sassy paw onto the floor. Mami arched her brow at Nelly before taking a deep breath.
“Don’t start with your attitude,” she huffed. “You knew this day was coming, and you need to make a good first impression. Now go upstairs and pack your nice dresses; you’re expected to make this work for Papi. And Arianna is on her way to take care of Nelly while we’re gone.”
I perked up and smiled, careful not to upset her. “Yes, Mami. Of course,” I said. Quickly, I turned around, heading back up the four flights of stairs with Nelly.
Ugh. I already knew Antonio was coming this week, but being reminded of it was not what I needed, especially during my brother's weird Halloween wedding. And for my pretty dresses? The pink would totally clash with their Gothic theme.
This was not how I expected to start the trip, preparing to meet a man that Mami and Papi had arranged for me to marry.
Back in my room, I slipped my book out from underneath my pillow. Forced marriage may not have been the most romantic idea in the world, but if I couldn't live my own romantic story, then at least I could still read about it.
I pulled out the dust jacket for ‘Little Women,’ slipping it over the cover of something far more salacious than what Mami would ever allow.
The book of all books, the lit in literature, my absolute obsession: ‘Unmasking My Bright Knight.’ It was a New York Times best-selling, mouth-dropping piece of fiction.
I was on book seven of the eight-part series, rereading its entirety while hiding its steamy insides under the guise of Louisa May Alcott.
It was enough to make Mami’s rosary beads burst into flames, but like with all things in life, it was the outer appearance that mattered most.
I digress.
We were finally headed to the dreaded, scary chateau in Pennsylvania, where unknowable horrors awaited. Soon I’d meet Antonio and start a life that would most likely be different than the stories I enjoyed.
Whatever. My parents knew best, and that’s what I had to trust. To live happily ever after, I needed to be with a rich man like Mami and Papi wanted me to.