This was it! She was really going to let that no good one of a bitch have it this time. She had put up with too many late nights and tonight was definitely the final straw. Della sat up that night sipping her third glass of brandy, waiting for Peter to come home.
They were supposed to have had dinner with some friends of theirs that night but Peter had called to say that he would be staying late that night to go over some accounts. Della understood that he had to stay late sometimes because her father had been a CPA as well, and he too had had late nights. Actually, it had been her father's company but Peter had taken over when her father had opted for early retirement. Della did understand, or at least she did in the beginning, until the late nights coincided with the hiring of Peter's new assistant Cassidy.
The only thing that came out of Peter's mouth lately was Cassidy this and Cassidy that. It made her want to scream sometimes. Cassidy was of the bottle blonde variety, and her breasts were huge, making Della wonder if she was actually qualified for the job or was she there to provide window dressing to the office. It was a wonder that that woman didn't topple over from the immense weight. Her own small breasts were laughable compared to Cassidy's. Smug bitch! Della grimaced as she remembered the time she surprised Peter at the office, and Cassidy and him had jumped apart at her sudden appearance. Peter then gave her some line about something being in Cassidy's eye. He must have thought that she was a prize idiot but she simply smiled as if it she believed him, and Cassidy sashayed out the office like the cat with the cream. Della had wanted to slap the smirk off that whore's face.
It was humiliating having dinner at the restaurant that night with their friends, and having the maitre'd come deliver the message that Peter couldn't make it. That was when her tolerance was pushed to the limit. The sympathetic looks were just too much, and HE didn't help ease the situation very much either. The Normans, Flo and William, had brought along Flo's brother Scott that night. They had been waiting already seated when she joined them. When Della entered the restaurant, she looked every bit the CEO's wife, in an elegant green off the shoulder slip gown, that accentuated her slender figure to it's best advantage. Her flaming red hair was twisted into a chignon. Her make-up was subtle, bringing out her Sherry colored eyes and her emphasizing her full pouty lips. She strode confidently to the table where her friends sat. They both stood up as she come to the table.
"Flo, William," she drawled, "it's so wonderful to see you." Kisses we exchanged.
"Della, you look exquisite as always my dear." William complimented.
"Yes, I love that dress. You must give me the name of the boutique you shop at," Flo eyed her ensemble enviously.
"Of course Flo. Peter will be joining us later, he had some business that he had to take care of tonight at the office." Della explained as she took her seat.
William, who had been taking a sip from his water glass, spat the water out as if he had heard something funny. "I'm sorry," He said, as he dabbed the water from the table cloth, and his tie. He looked at Della and hurriedly looked away. He knew. Della flushed. How many of their other friends knew of Peter's extra curricular activities? Since she had become so good at pretending, she overlooked that little slip that William had made as if nothing had happened. "Della, I hope that you don't mind, but my brother Scott came into town unexpectedly today for the week, and we didn't want to leave him at home by himself on his first night with us, so we invited him." Flo informed her.
"Oh no, not a problem at all. So, I finally get to meet this hunky brother you are always singing praises about. Where is he?" Della inquired.
"Oh, he's in the restroom, he should be out shortly. Oh, there he is now." Flo pointed. Della had not known what to expect but to see a man rolling out in a wheel chair was a surprise. She was about to mention it, but tactfully opted to keep her comments to herself. Scott wheeled himself to the table. He smiled when his eyes met Della's.
"You didn't tell me that your friend was so beautiful Flo," Scott made the comment to his sister but his eyes were roaming Della, up and down. Della knew that she was an attractive woman, and she had always received numerous compliments on her looks, but she blushed at his directness and looked away. She had to admit to herself that he was very attractive, with his dark brown hair, and clear gray eyes. He wore a sexy twelve o' clock shadow, that on some men looked slimy and unkempt, but on him it looked kind of sexy.
"Pleased to meet you Scott, I'm glad that you could join us tonight," She smiled and then looked away once more. There was something about him that made her slightly uncomfortable. They had their before dinner drinks and had already ordered appetizers, deciding to wait on Peter before ordering the main course. After a half an hour and an uncomfortable silence, William uncomfortably suggested that they could start ordering the meals and maybe Della could order something she knew that Peter would like. Della was so embarrassed that she almost cried, but she held her composure and smiled at the suggestion as if it were the best idea in the world.
"That's an excellent idea. The food will be ready by the time he gets here." She put on a brave face. Just as they had put in their orders, the maiter'd came to their table with the message that Peter had left a message saying that he was still tied up at the office, and wouldn't be meeting them at all. Della sat stiffly in her chair not daring to move because if she moved a muscle, she knew that she would fall apart. While Flo and William didn't say anything, she knew what they were thinking. Scott, picking up the tension, decided to change the topic. The Normans grasped at the topic desperately as if to block out the unpleasantness. All through the meal, she could feel their sympathetic stares, and the obvious attempts to avoid any topic that involved Peter. If she tried really hard, she could pretend that she wasn't hurting. Unfortunately it hurt like hell. What was worse, Scott's constant stare was just too much. He didn't give her sympathetic looks. His were looks of...desire? No, he couldn't be. He was in a wheel chair. Those people were like eunuchs. They were not like normal people. No, it couldn't be desire that she saw in his eyes. After a most uncomfortable dinner, she was finally able to go home and drown her sorrows in the bottle, which was beginning to bring her comfort more and more as the late nights increased.
Now here she was on her forth glass of brandy. Damn him! How could he do this to her after only five years of marriage? Hadn't she been the perfect hostess, homemaker and lover? Sure she knew that one of the things that had attracted Peter to her in the first place was that she was the boss's daughter. His ambition had been a turn on, but foolishly she had believed that he loved her for herself as well. She had ignored the rumors that he was having an affair with one of the company secretaries. He was so handsome with his mane of golden blonde hair and model like looks. He was like Adonis, his masculine beauty overwhelming. When they began to date, her father had promoted Peter at Della's insistence, because she knew that this was the man that she wanted to marry. Being an only child and a daddy's girl, there wasn't a lot that she was denied. After a few months of dating, Peter proposed and had earned yet another promotion. A year later they were married.
The first two years had been bliss. Peter was an attentive husband and an excellent lover. The only thing that would have made the picture complete were some children. At Peter's insistence, they decided to put off having children for a few more years. His excuse was that he wanted to wait until he got where he wanted to be in his career, and that he wanted her to himself a few more years. It was only after year three when things started to change. At first he would come home late for dinner a few times a month, and then few times every other week, until he was coming home late almost every night.
When her father retired, and Peter took over, she hardly saw him. He was no longer the charming man that she had fell in love with. He would make snide comments about her gaining weight or how flat chested she was. He would patronize her in front of their guests and he hardly ever touched her intimately anymore. They hadn't made love in such a long time, and sometimes her body would ache for fulfillment. When she would put her arms around him, when he condescended to come to bed at all that night, he would shrug her off and say that he was too tired. She put up with the humiliation to save face. Her friends had warned her about him in the beginning and now it seemed as if they had been right all along. What a laugh it would be to everyone if her marriage ever ended. Della Carlton-Bell. The prettiest and most popular girl in school. The richest. She always had the nicest clothes, a nice car, and dozens of boyfriends. Look at her now, she thought. From debutante to reject.
After her fifth glass of brandy, she became angrier. How could he? Furiously she hurled the unempty glass against the wall letting it smash to pieces, as it's contents dripped down the side of the wall. She then crumpled to the floor and sobbed violently.
It was daylight. She must have passed out, she thought as the events of the previous night came back to her. Peter hadn't bothered to come home. Asshole. Her head was pounding furiously and someone was knocking on the door. Slowly she got to her feet. The room seemed to be spinning, but she steadied herself. Her hair, was all over her face, and she knew that she looked a mess. Maybe the person at the door would go away, but the persistent knocking continued. It was the maid's day off so there was no one to answer the door, so moved to answer it. Perhaps one look at her would scare whoever was knocking off. She opened the door and was surprised to see Scott. "What are you doing here?" she asked.
"I came to see if you were ok. You didn't look so hot last night. Flo, gave me your address, I hope you didn't mind." His eyes took in her disheveled appearance but made no comment.
"Oh, well that was kind of you, but you needn't have gone to such trouble. I don't know why you would care anyway. You don't know me."
"No, I don't know you that well, but that doesn't stop me from being concerned of the well being of another fellow human. Are you going to invite me in or not?" He asked.
"Well, I'm not really dressed for guests, and I'm sure that my husband will be home any time now," she looked down on him with her best grand dame look. It had cut many a people to the quick but it didn't affect Scott at all. In fact, it seemed to amuse him. He smiled a devilish grin and she sighed heavily, and opened the door just enough for his chair to get through. "You can't stay long. I need to get this place straightened up and I have several things to do. Would you like something to drink?" She asked ungraciously.
