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Ford Delongpre
The Annual Donahue Christmas Charity Ball. If you were a Donahue or a Delongpre and you WERE NOT Elizabeth, then this evening was one of the many pitfalls of having been lucky enough to be born to such wealth and prestige. But all families came with its sacrifices. Dinner was Ford’s task for this evening. In addition to be on his way to a very successful career in law, Ford is pretty handy in the kitchen. A trait that Elizabeth fostered ever since he was a young boy. The appetizers were nothing fancy, but everyone knew no one cared about the appetizers. It was about the drinks, the schmoozing, and the connections between families that were to secure their place at the top of the heap. The dinner, on the other hand was extremely important.
Ford walked passed the head chef and a look of confusion came across his face. “Ephram?” A man in his mid-thirties came over at the sound of Ford calling him. If Ford was into men, he might find him quite attractive. “What is this?” He motions to the pots. ‘It’s Coq au Vin alla Ephram.’ A heavy sigh flowed through Ford’s mouth as the aspiring up-and-coming chef explained that his version was made with white wine instead of the traditional red wine and motioned for Ford to try it. Ford rolled his eyes and took a bite. It was delicious and biting his inner lip was all he could do to keep a satisfied sigh to exit his mouth.
“It’s very good, but tonight is about tradition…” Ford began in a calm and pleasant tone. “…and while I can appreciate you trying to be culinarily innovative, my grandmother prefers tradition. I recommend you keep the prowess to a minimum.” Ford was relieved that Ephram took it relatively well, but was taken off guard when he placed a hand on his shoulder and suggested he wrap up his concoction and the two of them could share it later. Ford’s demeanor immediately tensed and he quickly shrugged off Ephram’s hand and backed away. “Dinner is to be served in one hour. I suggest you quickly rectify your mistakes. Elizabeth won’t be as forgiving as I was.” He said as he made his way around the corner and into the restroom.
Ford made his way to the mirror and splashed cold water on his face. It looked as if someone had knocked the wind out of him and in some ways they had. It had been quite some time since a man had made a pass at him and even longer since he allowed himself to entertain the idea…even for just a moment. As said before, all families come with sacrifices, and this was Ford’s. He was a junior in high school when his father caught him in bed with his history professor. After threat of prison and a nondisclosure agreement, Mr. Holloway skipped town. Ford was placed on a plane the next day and sent to boarding school equipped with conversion therapy and all the works. Ford graduated from high school two years later and his attraction to men had disappeared…at least that what he told his father. Thankfully none of his family knew of his minor indiscretion, which made it easy to act like business as usual. His father had distinct plans…for his campaign and Ford’s future and his attraction to men did not fit. Ford had to respect that. Grabbing a glass of Champaign, he headed outside for some fresh air.
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