There was something about Ludwig Beilschmidt that all the women loved. He was such a strong, gentle, very shy man, and a wonderful father. A sensitive side? Baking skills that could beat anyone? And a daughter that he took so much pride in? It was impossible not to love him.

But much to the dismay of all the women on the PTA at Caroline Falls Elementry, Ludwig Beilschmidt was happily married.

Nobody knew who she was. They had never seen her face and all that they knew from her daughter, Sofia, was that she was horrifyingly strict, extremely terrible to see when angry, and someone all the men she worked with feared. So it was no surprise they imagined a large, robust woman. Since Sofia had darker hair than her father's, they imagined she did too. She must have been very grumpy, stone-faced. Like Ludwig, but without love or softness. She must also be very temperamental. Oh, the poor child.

Laura, the president of the PTA, always wondered why Ludwig loved such a terrible woman. He sometimes came to meetings late because his wife needed something done. He rarely ever was seen with her and it seemed so toxic to live with a woman who did not show her face to anyone, not even the parents who invited Sofia to playdates. Laura wondered if it were possible to draw him to a much happier life with herself.

Ludwig was a stunning man, a beautiful man, a man who deserved a wife that loved him as much as he did her. So when the date for the next meeting was announced, she made sure to dress herself well. Better than well. She wanted to capture Ludwig's attention. She had her hair curled, her eyelashes batting, and her shirt unbuttoned enough to give Ludwig something to see.

The only issue was that Ludwig did not show up.

He was punctual, always on time. But by the time the meeting was meant to start, he was not there. So Laura buttoned up her silky shirt and she huffed. All this effort and her desired did not show up.

But she did.

Oh, she waltzed in rather late, her sunglasses glinting, face glowing, and she was gorgeous.

"Excuse me, who are you?" Laura asked, lowering her papers. This pampered woman could not possibly be one of them. She was a trophy, not a mother.

The woman turned to Laura, lowering her sunglasses to reveal glittering auburn eyes behind an equally bright smile, "Why, I'm Isabella Beilschmidt. Lud asked me to take his place today. Is there an issue?"

"Not at all," Laura pursed her lips, a thin smile on her face.

She hoped she was as dainty as she looked, as ditzy as she seemed. But no.

Isabella was absolutely marvelous.

"I'm sorry? You want me to not give my kids any food with nuts?"

"It's for the safety of the other children, Isabella."

"As if you care about that," she laughed, "Half of you haven't vaccinated your kids."

"Vaccines cause autism. We don't want that to happen to our kids." Laura defended.

"My daughter has autism."

The room fell silent.

Isabella nodded, staring at them all, especially Laura. She sucked in her cheek and nodded, "My daughter has autism. But I tell you now, I don't care. I prefer to have my children alive."

"And how do you know that she doesn't have autism because of vaccines?"

Isabella laughed, clicking her tongue. Dropping her sunglasses, she shook her head and pulled out her name tag.

Dr. Isabella Beilschmidt

"I'm a neurologist. I'd like to think I know what I'm talking about."

That meeting wasn't the end of it. So many wished it was. Isabella started showing up more, picking up her daughter, holding Ludwig's hand as they waited for Sofia to come out. She was always as stunning as the day Laura first had the misfortune of meeting her.

She showed up in sundresses and Ludwig treated her like the sun. She wore jeans and he spun her into a kiss. She came in a fuzzy sweater that looked hideous and he kissed her nose. No matter what she wore, Isabella shone. Laura hated it.

And slowly, she won the hearts of everyone.

"I think rather than ban nuts and any other allergens so simply, we should start introducing much stricter codes in the cafeterias so cross-contamination doesn't occur and accommodate areas that are clean for the kids who desperately need it. Also, we could educate our kids on these allergies, looking into ingredients, and establish no food trading rules so that nobody accidentally has to go to the hospital because of an allergy. Banning those foods outright seems a bit extreme and should be reserved for school bake sales."

Laura loathed her.

"Anti-bullying videos and assemblies do little to help children. They often show an unrealistic thing and sometimes those standards aren't met by even the teachers. Instead of repeating the same 'don't bully' speech, what if we addressed the issues that cause bullying such as racism, ableism, classism, and sexuality which end up the root for a lot of things. My Sofia, thank God above, has not been a victim to bullying, but I know many other kids who were bullied just as I was when I was a child for being different because they were not taught about those differences."

Laura wanted to strangle her.

"We should hold a day to focus on cultures! We often don't acknowledge the different cultures and backgrounds we all come from and it would be wonderful to hold a day to share them. Lud could make some German pastries and I could make some simple Italian dishes for the children to sample."

She was the worst.

"We should hold some STEM festivals and Humanities festivals to open up opportunities for the kids to explore the various things that they would like to go into since so much of our culture revolves around showing them only a few of the options out there."

Isabella Beilschmidt was the Devil given form.

Laura wished that she never made an appearance. That she had stayed hidden away and never seen by anyone else. That the pampered princess with her prideful attitude and silky smile of death. Oh, her blood boiled at the thought of her.

But not as much as when she saw her with Ludwig and Sofia.

Isabella truly was the image of a perfect wife and Laura hated it. She showed up and she would bring her kids snacks, write them sweet sticky notes that you only ever saw in movies. Isabella dressed Ludwig nice, Laura also found out, and had lunch with him those days where he wasn't around the school helping out.

For a while, she wondered what sparked the sudden appearance of her and lack of Ludwig. She quickly found it was because Ludwig was busy taking care of his brother and had to take more time to do that while Isabella took on his responsibilities.

Laura never found her more repulsive.

She was Asti. And Laura hated Asti. Bubbly, fruity, sparkling wine. Everyone adored her but Laura, she hated her. It was clearer than anything else in her life. How had a fine Nero d'Avola settled for Asti?

He liked sparkling wine, she supposed. The sickly wine that did not please him by taking care of their children or being a wife that kissed him. No, he liked that fruity wine that had the personality of a baked potato.

Asti.

How could Ludwig ever love such a thing?

"I'll see you at the bake sale, Laura?" Isabella put her hand on her hip as she smiled warmly at her.

"Of course. You're quite popular. I'd be a fool not to ask you to come." she replied, a plastic grin on her face.

Isabella giggled and nodded, "See you there then! I'm excited to see how everything comes together. I'll make sure to send a copy of the ingredients in my cannoli so that kids and parents know what is in them. Come, Ludwig, we should get to finishing that donauwelle too! Should I make an ingredients list for that too? Ah, I'll make one just to be safe."

Ludwig nodded and took the hand of Sofia and walked to the car with Isabella. Laura and the other moms watched for a moment more before disappearing into their little white minivans.

"You do know that they hate you and apparently seem to want to flirt with me? Ellie deGraffe's mother told me last week." Ludwig said as he buckled up Sofia.

"Oh of course. I knew from the moment I saw Laura. But why should I care about what they think of me or how they feel towards you? I have a happy life and a family who loves me almost as much as I love them. What's it to me that they can't get laid? You're my one and only." she kissed Ludwig's cheek and leaned on his shoulder, "I trust you and know you. I have nothing to worry about."

"Is that why you're still doing the PTA mom thing when you only had to go for the one day for me?"

"I said I had nothing to worry about, I never said I couldn't have fun pissing off PTA moms."