It was after midnight.
The party was winding down at Helen and Don's home. Maybe a dozen or so guests lingered in the living room, most very drunk husbands and wives, waiting for their Ubers. Music was playing. Each time a song ended and before the next started, two female voices from down a hallway and behind closed door could be heard. The tone of both voices made it obvious it was some sort of argument, maybe.
One of those pauses between songs happened and from down the hallway somewhere the guests heard:
"Omigod, Whitney! Are you really asking me that again?!"
"Because you're avoiding the question, Kelli. Again!"
Some of the guests began turning their heads toward the hallway from where the voices had been arguing more and more heatedly for the last fifteen minutes.
DOWN THE HALL & BEHIND A GUEST BEDROOM DOOR
Kelli Kiner and Whitney Dallas - two wives who couldn't be more opposite - were having the heated argument. Actually, Kelli was the one in a heated mood, her emotions very big. To keep from being overwhelmed, Kelli used what she knew best: being more than a bit bitchy.
"Just how jealous can you be of me, Whitney? Seriously? It's beyond boring. I'm not boring and plain..." Kelli paused to give Whitney a look that meant who the room between them was, "Scott finds me interesting to talk to. Talk, Whitney. That's all. How is it MY fault your husband might find me attractive?"
Whitney didn't let Kelli's playground mentality get to the level of emotional outbursts Kelli was reaching. That's because she knew Scott was the most amazing and smart and successful man in the community since she and he moved here late January. He had never given her any reason he'd slept with any of the women who throw themselves at him, so Whitney was never jealous.
Until she met Kelli Kiner.
DOWN THE HALL & BEHIND A GUEST BEDROOM DOOR
"What is with that holier than thou, superior smile?" Kelli's spiteful remark meant to cover the swell of insecurity she felt about how Whitney was smarter than her. "Maybe you should spend less time obsessing over me and more of your husband, the so-called "big" client supposedly here to do whatever he's supposed to do for the company?"
"I can't discuss Scott's role -" Whitney halfway replied before Kelli interrupted the soft spoken prim and proper wife, speaking over her with a slow boiling mix of snark and bitchiness.
"Whitney, I honestly couldn't care less what your hotshot handsome husband does." Kelli kept her composure by sipping more of her Cosmo then hiding her worry over whether Whitney caught the "handsome" part by knowing how to become "more than a bit bitchy" with a perfectly practiced pout. "Whitney, have you ever considered it's Scott who always flirts with me first? Like every other husband at these parties? Do you really think Scott is any different? Are you that clueless? Do you want me to tell you something about men? About married men..."
As Kelli went into a conceited rant, Whitney was calm, acting as if Kelli hadn't just basically admitted she found Scott handsome. Whitney had put a plan in into motion just a short while ago. A plan that included Kelli Kiner. A plan the started with two fresh Cosmo's. One for her, one for Kelli. As a friendly social gesture. It was a party after all and even though Whitney didn't drink, she knew Kelli did. And she loved Cosmo's.
So when she saw Kelli near finished with her second Cosmo, Whitney was right there, offering her a glass and asking to have a moment in private and sip their Cosmo's from the party's bartender.... well and from Whitney as well... and not just Whitney...
A FEW MONTHS AGO...
The last person Whitney imagined herself conspiring with was Brock Banner. He was uncouth and the most obnoxious man she had met. One Saturday afternoon, a few parties back, after Whitney saw Kelli behave like Brock was beneath her. When Brock stepped outside to calm down, Whitney went out on the patio to ask if he was ok. Brock looked pathetic the way he thought her concern was real. It was only a way for Whitney to ask him about Kelli. And Brock was more than happy to say terrible things about Clark's wife. She had to stop him when she heard the words "MILF porn star" as her took out his phone.
When Whitney also began referring to Kelli as Ms. Priss Princess and Brock high fived with her, Whitney had gained Brock's trust.
Whitney and Brock could see across the patio and into the big living room's open sliding glass door door, wide open for the summer breeze. Standing among the dozen or so casually dressed guests were Kelli and Scott. Kelli was getting plenty of attention due to her chocolate brown silk Dior halter top and a short little jean skirt and high wedge heel sandals.
"How does she look so trashy but classy?" Whitney wondered out loud while watching the woman everyone else was.
Brock laughed. "Let me ask you...if you had to bet on whether...."
That's how Whitney learned about the secret betting pools about Kelli Kiner among the men at certain parties and formal events. She found it amusing at how clueless a woman wanting to be the center of attention all of the time could be.
Whitney said she wished there was a way that after Kelli arrived at the parties, Whitney could wave a wand and make her disappear until the party was over so she wouldn't always be flirting with her husband. Brock - being the devious douchebag he was - grinned and said he had a wand, only he couldn't; use it, but maybe Whitney could.
"Maybe I could do what?" Whitney asked.
A FEW MONTHS AGO
(continued)
Brock showed her a small vial filled with powder. "Kelli loves Cosmos. Just dump half a vial. Dissolves fast. Acts fast. Within an hour, Ms Priss Princess will be the Passout Princess."
"It's not dangerous, is it?" Whitney didn't want Kelli to fall and hit her head.
"It's just Valiumn in powder form. When Kelli starts to go sleepy time fast, Clark's going to have to take her home. Bye bye Kelli. Bye bye her flirting with your husband. You win."
