Chapter 52

Revenge Shower by Dotty

It was a sunny Saturday afternoon. Tess and Kristen came to the Stetson house early with the cake and decorations for the baby shower. Joe had picked up the boys earlier to take them out for the day. Lee agreed to hang around to help them decorate and be the guy to reach the tall places.

"I know you themed her room with the Wizard of Oz, but it was really hard to find anything related to that for decoration. So, we're going with a simple pink palette with lots of flowers. Very classy." Kristen said.

"I love it," Amanda said. "This will be beautiful."

"Oh, it's gorgeous," Dotty chimed in. "Look at all these flowers, and they smell wonderful." She had been selective with the guest list, not only inviting friends, but also several women who constantly bragged about their successes to Amanda when she was going through her divorce. Petty? Probably. Satisfying? Hell yes.

A couple hours later, everything was set. Guests were starting to arrive, so Lee kissed his wife goodbye for a couple hours to head to the gym. It was a lovely afternoon tea service. Many of the women who attended were friends and acquaintances of Amanda's over the years, some she knew from her kids' school, charity organizations and many were sorority sisters. A few of them had met Lee, but most had not. The quiet talk around the room was from the women who not had met Lee, pointing out the wedding pictures Dotty had placed strategically throughout the living room.

"Wow, her husband is gorgeous." One woman said. "I'm sorry I missed the housewarming. If I'd known he was this good looking I would have told my daughter to go by herself to the cheerleading competition."

The other scandalous talk was how Amanda's ex-husband was dating a woman who looked just like her. The overall feeling was that Amanda had traded up, but how did she nab a guy like that?

"These women are vicious," Tess whispered to Kristen and Francine.

"Yes they are. I had no idea suburbia was so brutal. I think I have found my people." Francine replied.

"I know," Kristen laughed. "I love it. Dotty is an evil genius. Amanda's outpacing all of them and their dying. They pitied her when she divorced and now they're jealous of her new life."

The one photo everyone stopped to look at was the one Lee had taken of Amanda looking out from the Eiffel Tower. It was black and white and she looked lovely, but a bit pensive. How happy can she be? When they were sitting down one woman asked about the photo.

"My daddy sent me a postcard from the Eiffel Tower while he was on a trip for work in Paris when I was a little girl. He promised to take me there one day but he never had the chance. Lee knew that I'd always wanted to go to Paris, so that's why he took me there for our honeymoon. When I told him about the postcard, he told me to take all the time I needed to myself while we were at the summit. When he saw me there, he took the photo so I could remember that moment" Amanda explained. Not a dry eye in the house.

"Dotty's evil plans working." Tess whispered.

"Lee should be back soon." Kristen replied. "Oh my God, are we this catty?"

"Do you even have to ask?" Tess said as they both quietly laughed, "From what Dotty said, many these women would only come to see Amanda to gloat. She has taken revenge to a whole new level."

Amanda opened her gifts to lots of ooo's and aaah's for cute little dresses and frilly outfits after which the guests enjoyed the cake. Many seemed to be lingering to see her husband come home. When Kristen saw Lee's car pull up, she slipped outside to make certain he didn't leave.

"I was going to leave," Lee said, "if her shower is still going on."

"Nope," Kristen said. "Instructions from Dotty. You are the icing on the cake, come with me." Kristen walked back in with Lee, "look who I found outside. Daddy is here."

"Hello ladies," he said, looking visibly uncomfortable. Dotty looked like the Cheshire Cat.

"Oh, my handsome son-in-law." She said. Jackpot!

- SMK -

After most of the guests left, Kristen, Tess, Debbie Ann and Francine stayed to help clean up. They opened a bottle of wine to celebrate a successful party.

"Okay," Amanda said, "I know what you were doing." She paused looking at a silent room. "Thank you. Brenda Coughlin is such a bitch!" They all burst into laughter while Lee stood back and watched them, shaking his head. "I wondered why you invited her, Mother. Now I know." She walked over to Lee and put her arm around him. "Thank you for coming home early."

"Well," Lee replied. "Kristen and Tess told me 4:00."

"Yes, we did." Tess said looking sideways at Kristen and Dotty. "That was so fun." They all laughed.

"I have a new appreciation for suburban housewi… women." Francine quickly corrected herself. "They are mean! I love it."

"Suburbia is not what you think it is," Amanda told her. "You would think a PTA meeting is all about the kids. It's all about gossip."

"And don't forget the backstabbing." Debbie Ann added.

"Ok Mother, so many of these women I don't see much anymore. You invited them to show off, didn't you?"

"Amanda, they have been shoving their successes in your face for years." Dotty said. "It was just time for a little payback. You are remarried, successful, happy and look beautiful."

"I thought locker room talk was bad," Lee laughed. "But women are merciless." They reminisced over the events of the day while cleaning up.