Gabby lifted her head at the sound of the doorbell ringing. "Ria, could you be a dear and please get the door?" she asked, sweetly. Ria stopped serving the tea and walked over to the door.
Gabby smiled. "Wow. I wish my kids would act like her. She's not even my kid and she listens to me…" Gabby commented. Lynette looked over at Bree. "Wow, you got lucky to score a nice chef like her…" she said, with a smile.
Bree smiled gratefully. "Thank You," she replied. Susan smiled. "I think that is translation for 'let me borrow her for my restaurant'…" she stated.
Lynette shook her head. "No, not necessarily. I was just stating a… okay maybe I was," she said, trying to hide her embarrassment.
Edie scoffed. "You need to learn how to bluff, Scavo. I've been doing it since I was twelve," she snapped.
"Twelve?!" Susan exclaimed. Lynette ignored Susan, and shot Edie a dirty look. "And where has that gotten you? Because I distinctly remember kicking you out five years ago. Do I need to remind you why?" Lynette retorted.
Edie rolled her eyes, and muttered a few words under her breath.
"Oh, hello. You must be Astera…I'm Ria. Bree's chef…"
The group looked up to see Ria bringing Astera into the room. Susan stood up and greeted Astera with a hug. "Astera, its been so long!" she said. Astera smiled slightly. "Yea, it has…"
Edie turned her gaze to the newcomer, Astera. She was pretty, Edie would give her that. She had a strong, in-shape built that challenged Edie's own. Edie narrowed her eyes slightly. She didn't care whether she was married or not. She hated having an equal. She hated a challenge, unless she was sure she was going to win it.
She had seen a picture of Astera once when she was over Mike's, when Astera was twelve. From what she looked like at that age, Edie never expected Astera to turn out to be a threat. In fact, she never planned on actually meeting the girl anyway. Edie smiled to herself. Astera was merely a twenty one year old girl. Edie could handle this. Sometimes you had to be friends with the enemy, to make sure you wouldn't be overruled.
Edie stood up, and extended her hand to Astera. "Hi. I'm Edie Williams, so nice to meet you…" she said. Astera returned the gesture with a small smile.
"Wow, do you have an amazing figure…" Edie added. Susan raised her eyebrows in surprise. It was so un-Edie like.
Astera smiled slightly, before taking a seat in-between Gabby and Ria. "Oh, thank you. I have lifeguarding to thank…mostly…" she said, with a small shrug.
When Edie didn't receive the compliment on her own body that she was seeking in return, she felt her blood begin to boil.
"What do you think of my breasts?" Edie questioned. Lynette spat some of her tea back in her cup, and began coughing.
Astera had a feeling like she knew where Edie wanted this conversation to blow, and Astera hated girls like Edie. She kept her gaze on Edie's face. "Excuse me?" Astera questioned, with an uncomfortable smile.
"Too small…too big? I've been thinking about implants…" Edie said, with a somewhat cocky smile.
That's it. There was no way Astera was going to be friends with this woman now.
"I…think you should talk to your friends or your husband about that. I don't know you that well…" Astera said, looking down at her cup.
Bree cleared her throat to break the awkward silence. "So, Astera…how are you adjusting to the neighborhood?" she questioned. "I haven't really talked to anyone other than your husbands and my cousin…" Astera replied.
"Why didn't you swing by and…ask for sugar or something? I would come over if I wasn't so busy looking after my blind husband all the time…" Gabby said, rolling her eyes.
"Carlos is blind?" Ria piped up. Gabby responded with a stiff nod. "How long?" Ria questioned. Gabby wondered why Ria was so suddenly interested in Carlos. She better not be trying to steal him away.
"Six years, give or take…" Gabby replied. Ria nodded, thoughtfully.
"Asteram any man of interest on the street?" Lynette asked. Astera may have been older than her kids, but alittle bonding between them wouldn't hurt.
"What men? They are all either married or….gay…" Susan stated. "She could date Mike," Edie suggested. "Um…incest…" Astera stated. Edie looked away. "Oh…right…." She said, sheepishly.
"Yea, and we don't need another homewrecker on the street…" Bree muttered. Edie folded her arms across her chest. "I get the vibe that was directed at me…" she snapped.
Gabby leaned over so she could whisper to Ria and Astera. "Welcome to Wisteria Lane…" she said, with a sigh.
………
Later on that night, Astera sat in her kitchen watching the news. Damn Economy. It looked like she was going to be living with Mike longer than she expected. Not that she minded, Mike was an awesome cousin.
He apparently was out at some plumbing job and was going to be out until ten o'clock tonight. She looked at her watch and sighed. 8:10
She sighed. The woman on the street seemed pretty cool and friendly. The only one she had previously known was Susan, when she and Mike were married and came to a family reunion. Edie seemed kind of annoying. She thought Edie was pretty, but she would never let Edie know that. Then Edie would just want to hang around her more, and fish for more compliments.
Astera was startled by the phone ringing. She looked down at the number and sighed, before picking it up. "Hello, Dave…" she said, trying not to sound too peeved.
"Ah, mind reader…" Dave said, with a small chuckle. "No, Caller I.D…" Astera said, bluntly. "Oh…right. Um, is Mike home yet?" Dave asked.
Astera rolled her eyes. Why did he keep asking about Mike so much. "Dave, do you have a crush on Mike or something? Because I remember you asking me after I came home from tea and I told you he wouldn't be home until ten," Astera said, smiling slightly.
"Sorry. I'm just….kind of nervous about playing Friday. Wanted to talk to Mike about practice…" Dave said. Astera shrugged. "Okay…I'll tell him you called," Astera said.
"Wait," Dave said, quickly. Astera rolled her eyes again, wishing he could see how annoyed she was. "I just want to…talk to you…" Dave said. Astera raised an eyebrow. "Don't you have a wife?" she questioned.
She heard Dave laugh. "What?" she asked, peeved. "I never said it was going to be anything like that. I meant small talk…" Dave stated. Astera couldn't help but blush slightly. "Right," she said.
"So, how's it feel to have a good cousin like Mike? Bet he's never done anything dumb or anything has he?" Dave questioned. Astera made an amused face. There he goes again! She smiled. She could have fun with this.
…..
"Ria! You coming down for dinner?" Bree called up the steps. "Yes, Mrs. Hodge. I will be right down…" Ria replied. She heard Bree laugh. "Please, call me Bree…" she said, before her footsteps faded away.
Ria turned to look in her mirror. She couldn't wait to handle it. She needed to get rid of this person now.
Then it hit her. The Battle of The Bands.
She smiled. It was the perfect opportunity to take out the person. There would be too many people to figure out who exactly had committed the crime.
She gripped the sink tightly.
"Don't worry baby….I'm going to make sure they have a long painful death…" she whispered, before walking away.
