Meredith, Merri to her friends finished dressing. The pink and white fairy costume barely covered her ass and her breasts almost spilled from the top, luckily she was not overly well endowed. She fixed the bows on the top of the fishnets and looked again. She felt sexy. She hadn't felt this good in years, and she marvelled at the twists and turns her life had taken in the last year alone. Valentines Day 2012 was one she would rather forget. This valentines day was going to be incredible!
...........................
She had married at the age of twenty while still in college, totally overwhelmed by Michael, he took over her life, treated her like a queen begged her to marry him and took a whopping mortgage on their dream house. He hadn't wanted her to work or complete her degree, he wanted an old fashion style wife at home, baking and keeping house and producing heirs. He'd landed a fantastic job, and they didn't need the extra money so she had agreed and they were content.
She quickly became bored and restless, all her friends worked now, and she lived far enough out of the city that even visiting after work wasn't really an option. Meredith had no car of her own and the few good friends who did make the trek often had to put up with caustic comments from Michael or out right rudeness as he complained bitterly about not being able to come home and relax after his long day being the bread winner. Her friends slowly faded away except one, Julie, who hung onto her doggedly, ignoring not only Michael's rudeness but him in general.
Meredith felt herself slipping away from family and friends but knew she couldn't do anything about it. 'Who would want a frumpy stupid housewife like her, she wasn't like those glamourous women on desperate housewives or whatever she watched all day', his voice would sound in her head chipping away constantly at her self confidence. The beginning of the end came when after a year she had failed to get pregnant. Everyone on his side of the family had large families so it must be her fault he had berated her. He started monitoring her diet and feeding her multi vitamins refusing to go to see a doctor with her.
After another six months he finally snapped, "You fucking stupid, lazy bitch, one thing your supposed to be able to do, and you can't even do that, I should fucking throw you out on the street." Meredith was terrified and begged him, "Please, let's see a doctor about it. It can be fixed, and we can have kids by next year."
He had refused and announced he was leaving her for a woman who could give him what he wanted. He wanted her out by the end of the week. No arguing, no yelling, just a statement of unemotional fact, Happy Valentines Day.
Over the following weeks, Merri stayed with her mother, and suffered the daily "I told you so's" that seem to be a mother's right. Her mother badgered her constantly about school, work, getting a lawyer and suing Michael, but Merri had shut down. The constant badgering made her just feel worse, more useless and unloved. Merri wanted to be numb and she began drinking.
Julie and Shaun her closest friends came to her rescue. They had packed her up once again, which wasn't hard as she had barely bothered to unpack since they had helped her pack that awful night she had left Michel, and moved her into their place. They organised a lawyer that would take his fees from the settlement she got from Michael and pushed her to get her life back on track.
Merri began the slow more sober road to getting past her nightmares and dealing with the real world again. Not having a job Merri cleaned and cooked and did everything she could to make the life of her friends easier. With each small glimpse of their gratitude and words of praise Merri began to feel more like her old self.
Getting a job was harder but with the settlement she got from Michael she was able to think about starting a short course at the local college so she could refresh her skills and reapply to university in the new year. She just needed a part time job to get by on and stop the erosion of what little savings she had from her settlement.
.............................
At the age of twenty-three Meredith felt jaded, she looked into the mirror as she began to dress for the party and sighed, "How did I get this old," she asked her reflection. In reality, she looked much younger than her years, but she just felt so old and useless. The legal battles with Michael had been nasty and full of threats. Merri had hidden behind her lawyer through most of it, and it had taken over six months to finally conclude. Now there would just be the simple matter of divorce papers once their year of separation was complete.
She spoke her reflection, "You need to get your own place. To get your own place you need a job, any job, first thing Monday you start looking." Her reflection stared back at her reminding her that she was still unqualified and had no experience in anything except house keeping. All the jobs she had applied for in the last few months required experience but to get experience she needed a job.
"Hurry up, Merri," Julie's voice rang through the house, "It's New Years Eve, and I am not leaving you here and throw yourself a pity party."
Merri emerged from her room, "But it's a swingers cub, I am single now remember?"
"There will be singles there too. It's a friend's party we just know them through the club, gees. Only a few couples from the club have been invited, now come on Shaun is in the car waiting," her best friend had always been bossy and Merri gave up heading out the door.
There were easily a hundred people at the party and Merri found it easy to blend into the background for the most part. She felt extremely self conscious, and she sat quietly in a chair near Julie being fed icy drinks from a daiquiri machine. The alcohol did its work, and before long Merri had loosened up sufficiently to start talking to the people sitting near them and become involved in some of the fun activities going on around her. Taking a dare card from the pack offered, she read, 'Kiss the tallest man in the room' and showed it to Julie, "Everyone looks tall to me," Merri laughed.
"Oh," Julie said," I know who that is, but I am not sure you want to be kissing Shaun," she burst out laughing and Shaun looked over at the sound of his name. Julie held up the card, and he waggled his shaggy brows at Merri. "Let's go for a walk and see if we can find someone taller," Julie urged.
"But Julie..." Merri started to protest as she was dragged along behind the loud and drunkenly obnoxious Julie who promised groups of men the kiss of their lives to anyone who could prove they were over 190cm or 6'3" in the old measurements. Travelling through the back yard to some small groups clustered around tables in the dimness away from the party lights Merri tripped and landed sprawled across the lap of an exceptionally tall woman.
Horrified Merri began to apologise, but the woman just smiled and helped her to stand back up. "How cute is your dress?" The woman said, "They never have anything like that in my size," The woman was still looking her up and down.
Merri blushed and once again apologised, "I really am very sorry, I am such a klutz at times."
The woman held up her drink and winked, "Didn't spill a drop, so it's all good," then whispered, "Not that it would have mattered, its only lemonade but I am thinking one of those daiquiris wouldn't hurt me."
"I should go get a drink too before Julie starts her spiel again, would you like me to get you one? I truly am so sorry," Merri said and the woman reached out and took her hand.
"Oh stop apologising. Stay and talk to me, it's always so boring when you don't know a lot of the people at a party. Bill will get us a drink won't you dear," she kicked a man sitting across from her who was in deep conversation," and grinned when he let out an expletive and looked up.
"Bill be a sweetheart and go get my new friend and me one of those icy drinks," she paused letting him take in the young woman standing beside her before adding, "Please."
"Sure," he had said smiling, "any preferred colour or you want a rainbow effect?"
Merri laughed and shrugged, "I can get it, no need to worry."
He rolled his eyes toward his wife, "The queen commands and I obey." He made an exaggerated bow and walked off toward the makeshift bar.
Merri looked over her shoulder at Julie who was laughing raucously with friends and decided that falling into this woman's lap so to speak might have been a good thing after all. Taking a seat beside the woman Merri smiled, "You're right, you can never have too many friends. I found that out recently, for sure. Hi I'm Merri."
"Kate," the woman responded, "and that was my husband Bill."
The night wore on and more drinks flowed, Julie and Shaun eventually found her still sitting with Kate and Bill and several others laughing at off colour jokes. They dragged over chairs, and Shaun leered at her waggling his eyebrows, "So did you find someone taller than me?"
Julie burst our laughing and uncharacteristically Merri's brain kicked into gear, "We misread the card dummy," she smirked, "It said tallest woman, I found Kate here, we are intimate friends now."
Kate didn't miss a beat wrapping an arm around Merri's shoulder, "Oh yeah," she nodded, "You really missed out, best kiss evah!"
Bill choked on his drink coughing and spluttering, "My wife and another woman!" He looked at them incredulously, "The biggest fantasy a man can have, and I missed it! That's so unfair, do over, I want a do over."
The other men at the table took up the chant, "Do over! Do over! Do over!"
Kate leaned in closer murmuring, "Just remember this was your idea." She took Merri's face between her hands and pressed her lips over Merri's. Merri stiffened slightly, and a silence fell over the group, Kate held her trapped within her hands as her insistent tongue wormed its way between Merri's lips and Merri surrendered to the kiss lifting her arms to wrap around the woman, thinking, 'two can play this game'.
They broke the kiss and looked up to the bemused expressions of the others at the table, "Fuck!" Shaun said turning to Julie, "Why don't you ever kiss Merri like that?"
Julie punched his arm and then grabbed his crotch meaningfully as she laughed, "She's not my type." Shaun yelped as she squeezed his balls, "Don't you be getting any other idea's either." Holding up his hands in surrender as he grimaced she released him and grinned, "Maybe after all those years of kissing that toad and finally realising he wasn't prince charming she is looking for a Princess Charming now." Julie guffawed, "Couldn't blame her for that could we."
Merri blushed, she hadn't thought about Michael all night and now he flooded back into her head, and she wondered where he was celebrating new year's eve and with whom. Shaun saw her face fall and nudged Julie, "Oh Merri I am so sorry, forget I said anything, Fuck, let's go get more drinks," Julie stood up and dragged the girl from her seat hugging her.
