"Mom, hurry up . . . it's almost time for my solo," pleaded ten year old Maria Parnell who, dressed as an angel, was making her first appearance in the annual St. Mary's Christmas Pageant.
"Just stand
still
, Maria," chided her mother, Danielle Marie Parnell, as she wiped Maria's face down with a moistened tissue, "that ridiculous Silver woman has put so much makeup on you that you look like a cross between a harlot and a clown."
Seeing her daughter's eyes well-up, the ordinarily unfeeling alpha-lawyer realized she had gone too far.
"Now you look perfect sweetie," she said softly, "like mommy's little angel should."
As the little girl's frown turned quickly upside down, warmed by her mother's affection, she hugged Danielle saying, "thanks mom . . . love you," and headed for the stage.
Walking down from the stage and out to her seat in the front row of St. Mary's Basilica in Annapolis, Danielle basked in the lustful stares from the town's gathered men and boys none of whom could pull his eyes away from the stylish and sexy uber-MILF. Bedecked in holiday finery, the stunning 44 year-old, with a face and body that rivaled women half her age, looked truly spectacular.
Stemming from a towering 5" pair of Christian Louboutin off-white patent leather pumps, the diminutive beauty's perfectly sculpted ankles and exquisitely muscled calves disappeared above the knee beneath the flared skirt of an ivory, satin Balenciaga dress, the top of which, cinched tightly at her athletic waist, was effectively a sleeveless bodice that left no doubt as to the ample nature of the sexy suburbanite's ample bosom. Danielle's spectacular toned shoulders, tanned as was the rest of her from a recent Caribbean sojourn, were covered by a white and silver fur lynx shrug that opened in the front to profile her mouthwatering cleavage and draped downward from her supple neck to the feminine turn of each elbow masking from view the upper portion of Mrs. Parnell's leanly muscled arms.
Befitting the classic elegance of her winter ensemble, Danielle's shoulder length brown mane, kissed by blonde highlights from her time in the equatorial sun, shimmered regally. Her emerald eyed visage, made up in subtle, natural hues, was rendered more alluring by the Christmas red lipstick that framed her perfect, white smile.
None of this was lost on Mrs. Parnell's admirers, whose adoration on the one hand fed her limitless ego while on the other filled her with disdain both for the pathetic voyeurs themselves -- perverted losers -- as well as for their wives and girlfriends -- the cows. In fact, one of Danielle's biggest thrills came from the one-two punch of not only calling out some suburban father whose gaze lingered a bit too longingly at her stellar beauty but doing it loudly, and publicly, in front of his wife or daughter so as to cause them to share in his humiliation. What peasants they are -- all of them.
Despite her disdain for the general population, the manipulative minx also new exactly how to use her wiles to further her ends -- or in this case those of one of her children. As a rule, the annual St. Mary's Christmas Pageant was a seasonal celebration for the entire Davidsonville community. It typically featured performances by the local adult choirs, the Davidsonville chamber orchestra, the St. Mary's Bell Ringers and other similar fare.
Of course, the pageant not surprisingly also profiled soloists and small groups, be they instrumental or vocal. As a very talented young singer, Maria Parnell had been selected by the Davidsonville's award winning adult choir to perform a duet with young Jackson Wray, the cute-as-a-button son of Mrs. Katherine Wray who, like Danielle, was one of Davidsonville's most attractive women. For Maria this was a dream come true. The little girl not only loved to sing but believed that sharing the stage with young Jackson Wray would be a boatload of fun. Her mother on the other hand perceived the idea of a duet as an affront to young Maria's talent and made it her mission to ensure that her daughter's "star turn" came in the form of a solo.
The execution of that mission required merely that Danielle Marie Parnell play to her greatest strength -- the manipulation of men. In this case that man was Adam Hess who, in addition to periodically serving as a bailiff when Danielle sat on a
pro bono
basis as a judge in Davidsonville Municipal Court, was one of a very few men with whom Mrs. Parnell was willing to waste even a moment of her time. In fact, despite her contempt for his having married that ridiculous Rebecca Ross, Danielle found the athletic, six foot four Mr. Hess, although clearly a barbarian, to be quite attractive.
What's more, she knew he was unable to resist her charms as she had often caught him staring at her in the court room and, on more than one occasion, loudly chided him for doing so. She had already used that fact to her advantage in helping her son Will gain admission to the prestigious Gonzaga High School where Mr. Hess was both an alumnus and a trustee. That he was also the "chief bottle washer" for the Christmas Pageant would make Danielle's mission a cakewalk. Thus, completely cognizant of both her beauty and guile, the sexy solicitor, with a smile on her face, had earlier in the day been easily able to again bend the hapless Hess to her will in turning the Parnell-Wray duet into Maria Parnell's solo.
Katherine Wray was also capable of turning men's and boys' heads, particularly attired as she was for the Christmas Pageant in a very form-fitting red wrap-dress and high black heels. Unlike Mrs. Parnell, however, Mrs. Wray was almost completely unaware of her pulchritude or its impact on the opposite sex. That fact, together with her easy going Southern style and genuinely friendly demeanor, generally made her equally attractive, inside and out, to men and women alike.
That said, upon discovering when she arrived with her son Jackson at St. Mary's that the young boy would not be singing a duet but would rather be just another face in the audience, Mrs. Wray's ordinarily laid back approach to life turned on a dime. When she further learned that the reason for the change was the meddling of one Danielle Parnell, Katherine determined, then and there, to finally stand up to the diminutive little show-off and make sure that for once she didn't get her way.
And so, as holiday revelers continued to take their seats in the cavernous house of worship, Katherine Wray left hers to head up onto the large makeshift stage set up in the buildings great choir to make certain that Jackson was restored to his "rightful" role. As the towering southern belle stormed past Mrs. Parnell's front row seat, the latter woman smiled like the Cheshire Cat delighted that her machinations had once again undercut one of Davidsonville's "lesser" women.
As Mrs. Wray reached the top of the stage, she recalled that Maria and Jackson were originally scheduled to open the show by descending, dressed as angels and singing sweetly, on a platform that was to be lowered from a catwalk high above the stage -- and out of the site line of the audience.
Looking up, and with mere minutes before the pageant was to begin, the lithe beauty spied Amanda Silver and Miranda Ross, two Davidsonville teens now nearly twenty, helping Maria Parnell get situated on the platform for the grand opening. Knowing she needed to intervene quickly, Katherine grabbed her own son from the chorus and made her way with him to the ladder -- on the stage's wing -- that led up to the catwalk high above.
As the leggy runner began her ascent in a pair 5" heels, the neck of any man within eye-shot snapped to attention to take in the glory of her intensely exercised legs. That each step she precipitously climbed gave them a better view of her spectacular build was merely icing on the cake to her nearly drooling admirers. What's more, in her determination to reinsert young Jackson into the spotlight, Katherine neglected to realize that as the terrified child climbed up behind her, his ten year old hand was clutching for dear life the festive red tie that held her fashionable wrap dress in place.
