Status: Comments spur inspiration.
Abnormal
Too Many ***s Will Wreck The Mind.
"Annie, just tell me what happened!"
David pleads behind me as I quickly take out my pearl earrings and place them in the little glass jewelry box on my vanity. There are some nights when you think you'll have a horrible time at a social gathering, but end up having the time of your life.
That did not happen tonight.
Three hours Earlier
A hum of conversation and laughter is in the air as we enter the lavish apartment of Mr. Donavon, senior. David's hand ever present on the small of my back as he guides me into the throng of well dressed people, mostly men.
Marcus Donavon still dances in the circle of business, in fact, after he officially 'retired' and passed on the company to his three sons, little actually changed.
"David! Annlyn!"
The older man quickly spots us and charges through the crowd towards us, his deep, booming voice echoing like a bass drum. He was a hard man to ignore. Enveloping me in a tight hug for a moment, he steps back to look at me fully.
"My dear you look wonderful, just wonderful!"
A faint blush arises in my cheeks and I look at the ground.
"Thank you very much, sir"
"David, there is some people I would like you to meet..."
Marcus takes his son by the shoulder and whisks him away to the crowd of suits in a corner, not giving me a second glance.
"Annlyn! What a surprise!"
The high pitched tone rings to my left as long-nailed fingers curl around my forearm and my sister-in-law appears beside me. Sandy Donavon is a very pretty woman, but it's her attitude, positive, impetuous, and loud, that sets her apart from others. She is the de facto ring leader of all Donavon-related women.
"Nice to see you again, Sandy"
"Same to you, Sweetheart, now come, have a drink with me!"
She grins, pulling me into a separate room. The room, a sort of parlor, is filled with expensive furniture and expensive women.
"Look who I found!" At Sandy's exclamation, the entire room turns their eyes to me in a second, making my throat tighten. A chorus of ''Hello''s ensues before they return to their own conversation.
"What's your poison? Before I hit the jackpot with Wayne and moved up the social ladder, I was a bartender in Ocean City, I can make anything you want"
Sandy says, sliding behind a sleek bar made out of glass and brushed steel. Lighted shelves hold a variety of liquors;
Triple Sec, Vodka, Rum, Whisky, Gin, Kaluha and many others are exhibited like precious gems.
"I'm only 19, I don't drink"
She raised her eyebrows and crossed her arms over her chest.
"I'm 27, Honey, I remember what being 19 is like. I, of all people, would never judge, it's a celebration"
I nod with a little smile and sit down on one of the leather stools.
"An Orgasm, please"
"Coming right up"
She chuckles, reaching under the bar to get the ingredients.
"What exactly is the celebration? I thought this was just a work thing"
I inquire, twisting my wedding ring around my finger. She sets down the shot glass and carefully pours Bailey's Irish Creme, Amaretto Liqueur, and Kaluha inside before sliding it over to me.
"It's a combination of both, they're opening a new store in New York, Manhattan I think, and also there will be a new addition to the Donavon family tree"
I down the shot quickly.
"A marriage or pregnancy?"
"Pregnancy, old Marie is having another one, can you believe it? 49 and still having kids? I didn't even know that was possible, apparently it was a big surprise"
I stare at her for a long moment, not bother to lick the lingering drop of alcohol on my bottom lip. Marie? She had 6 children and 10 grandchildren, now she's having even more without even trying? A twinge of jealousy digs in inside my stomach and I push the shot glass back to her.
"I'd like another, if you don't mind"
She nods and makes one for herself as well. We continue this rhythm until she has to sit down next to me.
"Ya know, children are awesome, but I'm glad I don't have any, besides, it's not like Wayne will be giving me any"
She leans over, pushing her lips to my ear.
"He's sterile" Pulling away, she raises a finger to her lips. "Shh, don't tell anyone though. It would just kill Wayne if David found out, and he's already jealous of David's luck in that department" She whispers, my brows furrow as I lick the inside of the shot glass.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, I don't know all the facts, but apparently, David has had a few indiscretions in the past that lead to offspring, or almost offspring. I know he knocked up some girl in high school, she got an abortion, same thing happened again in college, and he had a kid with Lydia"
I stiffen at the mention of her name. His ex-wife was a terrifying woman on a good day, and when she hates you, it's toss up if you will make it through the night. When she found out I was marrying him, she didn't take it well at all and even came to my house once, screaming and calling me a whore.
I already knew about his child with her, James, but the others were never mentioned. The news of this sobers me up, and I glare at the wall.
I have told him everything about myself, he promised he never kept anything from me, how could he lie about this?
"I think I'm going to need another drink"
I grab the nearest bottle and bring it to my lips, each swallow burning. I don't want to remember this tomorrow. Shuttering with the aftershock, I bring it back down and Sandy grabs my hand.
"Don't take it personal, the past is the past, he can't do anything to change, so decided not to upset you"
An incredibly lucid thing to say indeed.
"Annie?"
I turn around to see my dear husband there, a drink of his own resting in the palm of his hand.
"Can you come here for a minute, I want you to meet someone"
I glance at Sandy who gives me an unreassuring look, then get to my feet easily. If there's one thing I'm good at, my sister says, it's that I can hold my liquor well.
Everything becomes a haze of smiles, handshaking and introductions, the one thing that remains the same is how I look at David, which ironically has changed dramatically within a few sentences.
Present.
"Come on, don't be like this"
He sighs, flopping down on the bed as I unzip my dress and step out of my heels.
"It's nothing David, go to sleep, you have work in the morning"
Pivoting on my heel I flick off the light and crawl into bed, hugging the edge to keep away from him as possible. I couldn't stand him touching me, especially not now.
There's a difference between going to bed angry, and going to bed knowing that you can never look at the person in bed with you the same way again.
Or maybe that's just the Orgasms talking.
David pleads behind me as I quickly take out my pearl earrings and place them in the little glass jewelry box on my vanity. There are some nights when you think you'll have a horrible time at a social gathering, but end up having the time of your life.
That did not happen tonight.
Three hours Earlier
A hum of conversation and laughter is in the air as we enter the lavish apartment of Mr. Donavon, senior. David's hand ever present on the small of my back as he guides me into the throng of well dressed people, mostly men.
Marcus Donavon still dances in the circle of business, in fact, after he officially 'retired' and passed on the company to his three sons, little actually changed.
"David! Annlyn!"
The older man quickly spots us and charges through the crowd towards us, his deep, booming voice echoing like a bass drum. He was a hard man to ignore. Enveloping me in a tight hug for a moment, he steps back to look at me fully.
"My dear you look wonderful, just wonderful!"
A faint blush arises in my cheeks and I look at the ground.
"Thank you very much, sir"
"David, there is some people I would like you to meet..."
Marcus takes his son by the shoulder and whisks him away to the crowd of suits in a corner, not giving me a second glance.
"Annlyn! What a surprise!"
The high pitched tone rings to my left as long-nailed fingers curl around my forearm and my sister-in-law appears beside me. Sandy Donavon is a very pretty woman, but it's her attitude, positive, impetuous, and loud, that sets her apart from others. She is the de facto ring leader of all Donavon-related women.
"Nice to see you again, Sandy"
"Same to you, Sweetheart, now come, have a drink with me!"
She grins, pulling me into a separate room. The room, a sort of parlor, is filled with expensive furniture and expensive women.
"Look who I found!" At Sandy's exclamation, the entire room turns their eyes to me in a second, making my throat tighten. A chorus of ''Hello''s ensues before they return to their own conversation.
"What's your poison? Before I hit the jackpot with Wayne and moved up the social ladder, I was a bartender in Ocean City, I can make anything you want"
Sandy says, sliding behind a sleek bar made out of glass and brushed steel. Lighted shelves hold a variety of liquors;
Triple Sec, Vodka, Rum, Whisky, Gin, Kaluha and many others are exhibited like precious gems.
"I'm only 19, I don't drink"
She raised her eyebrows and crossed her arms over her chest.
"I'm 27, Honey, I remember what being 19 is like. I, of all people, would never judge, it's a celebration"
I nod with a little smile and sit down on one of the leather stools.
"An Orgasm, please"
"Coming right up"
She chuckles, reaching under the bar to get the ingredients.
"What exactly is the celebration? I thought this was just a work thing"
I inquire, twisting my wedding ring around my finger. She sets down the shot glass and carefully pours Bailey's Irish Creme, Amaretto Liqueur, and Kaluha inside before sliding it over to me.
"It's a combination of both, they're opening a new store in New York, Manhattan I think, and also there will be a new addition to the Donavon family tree"
I down the shot quickly.
"A marriage or pregnancy?"
"Pregnancy, old Marie is having another one, can you believe it? 49 and still having kids? I didn't even know that was possible, apparently it was a big surprise"
I stare at her for a long moment, not bother to lick the lingering drop of alcohol on my bottom lip. Marie? She had 6 children and 10 grandchildren, now she's having even more without even trying? A twinge of jealousy digs in inside my stomach and I push the shot glass back to her.
"I'd like another, if you don't mind"
She nods and makes one for herself as well. We continue this rhythm until she has to sit down next to me.
"Ya know, children are awesome, but I'm glad I don't have any, besides, it's not like Wayne will be giving me any"
She leans over, pushing her lips to my ear.
"He's sterile" Pulling away, she raises a finger to her lips. "Shh, don't tell anyone though. It would just kill Wayne if David found out, and he's already jealous of David's luck in that department" She whispers, my brows furrow as I lick the inside of the shot glass.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, I don't know all the facts, but apparently, David has had a few indiscretions in the past that lead to offspring, or almost offspring. I know he knocked up some girl in high school, she got an abortion, same thing happened again in college, and he had a kid with Lydia"
I stiffen at the mention of her name. His ex-wife was a terrifying woman on a good day, and when she hates you, it's toss up if you will make it through the night. When she found out I was marrying him, she didn't take it well at all and even came to my house once, screaming and calling me a whore.
I already knew about his child with her, James, but the others were never mentioned. The news of this sobers me up, and I glare at the wall.
I have told him everything about myself, he promised he never kept anything from me, how could he lie about this?
"I think I'm going to need another drink"
I grab the nearest bottle and bring it to my lips, each swallow burning. I don't want to remember this tomorrow. Shuttering with the aftershock, I bring it back down and Sandy grabs my hand.
"Don't take it personal, the past is the past, he can't do anything to change, so decided not to upset you"
An incredibly lucid thing to say indeed.
"Annie?"
I turn around to see my dear husband there, a drink of his own resting in the palm of his hand.
"Can you come here for a minute, I want you to meet someone"
I glance at Sandy who gives me an unreassuring look, then get to my feet easily. If there's one thing I'm good at, my sister says, it's that I can hold my liquor well.
Everything becomes a haze of smiles, handshaking and introductions, the one thing that remains the same is how I look at David, which ironically has changed dramatically within a few sentences.
Present.
"Come on, don't be like this"
He sighs, flopping down on the bed as I unzip my dress and step out of my heels.
"It's nothing David, go to sleep, you have work in the morning"
Pivoting on my heel I flick off the light and crawl into bed, hugging the edge to keep away from him as possible. I couldn't stand him touching me, especially not now.
There's a difference between going to bed angry, and going to bed knowing that you can never look at the person in bed with you the same way again.
Or maybe that's just the Orgasms talking.