She Who Laughs Last

By B.J. Cummings

Jessica, a beautiful woman separated from her husband, separated from her friends, separated from everything that she once loved. What sacrifices is she willing to make to get what she wants?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Jan 31, 2016
• ISBN: 9781329719545

Book preview

She Who Laughs Last

She Who Laughs Last

By

Barbara Joan Cummings

©2016 All Rights Reserved

Part 1: Before

A stream of hot water cascaded like crystalline droplets down long locks of blonde hair and over perfectly sculpted breasts. Waves of hot steam surrounded an attractive woman as she gently lathered her body. Her hand guided perfumed soap around her large breasts and over erect nipples, down the slim small of her back and across her perfectly sculpted rear.

Steam began to fog up the large mirror over the sink and clouded its detached vision. Was she attempting to wash away the discontentment that clouded her disappointing life? A soft river of soapy water fell to the marble floor and circled the welcoming drain.

Her longing eyes were closed and she stood like a beautiful porcelain statue in the shower, daydreaming about another time in the past when her house was once a home. A time when she felt loved and valued. A time when the world seemed open and inviting.

A pair of masculine hands appeared behind her and caressed both sides of her naked body from behind as the water rained down over her. A tall, muscular man kissed her neck passionately as his hands rubbed both of her voluptuous breasts. She moved in ecstasy as he rubbed his erect penis on her perfectly formed ass. Her hand reached behind her and sought out his moistened member. She clenched it tightly and stroked it while his hand descended down her flat stomach and explored between her willing legs.

A loud ring from the cordless phone broke the silence and echoed through the lonely house. She opened her eyes and was alone in the shower. The water continued to rain down upon her in a warm torrent. Her mind returned to focus from the fantasy that helped her escape the pressure of her present loneliness. She turned off the water as the telephone continued its annoying ring. It summoning her to her bedroom, where it sat on an elegant end table next to her king-sized bed.

She opened the solid glass shower doors and reached for the thick, white, Egyptian cotton towel that was suspended on the polished brass towel rack outside of the stall. She dried her body quickly as the phone stopped its incessant ringing and reverted back to its silent normality.

In her spacious bedroom the plush carpet softened her steps, she passed an empty antique armoire and sat on the soft pillow-top mattress. The answering machine on the mahogany end table flashed brightly next to a wedding picture of a happy couple celebrating the beginning of their life together. The recorded message began to play.

Hello we are not home right now, but if you leave a message we’ll get right back to you. She hated the sound of her own voice as she listened to the old greeting.

Jessica, pick up its Kathy. Are you there? We are going out with the girls tonight. No more of your sitting around the house and moping. I’ll pick you up at seven.

The sound of the phone hanging up echoed inside of Jessica’s head as she sat on her bed and stared at the picture of her former happiness. She remembered the night well. The sexy red dress that barely covered her body. Next to her stood the man from her fantasy in a Hawaiian style shirt. He looked so at ease as he sipped a large adult beverage with an ornamental umbrella in it.

A tear ran down her cheek and her eyes welled up as she stared at her honeymoon photograph. Her hand reached out, grabbed the picture and held it tightly in her hands. Tears splashed down onto the picture frame as she hung her head low and wept over it. She returned the photograph to the end table, only face down to avoid the rush of memories that that the picture produced.

Back in the well-lit bathroom she stared into the mirror and wiped away the tears from her down struck eyes. There was no getting out of a night with her friends so she dried her hair and prepared for the evening.

Jessica walked into her spacious bedroom and the clock stared at her from the top of her mahogany dresser. It reminded her that Kathy would be picking her up shortly. She slipped on a pair of her most conservative jeans and a loosely fitting blouse and searched through her large, antique jewelry box for her favorite pair of earrings. They were small, teardrop shaped opals that she picked up on her honeymoon.

She slipped on the colorful earrings and the phone rang again. She picked it up quickly to avoid hearing that message for the second time. It reminded her that there had been another person sharing her life in the now empty house. We are not home right now, like there is someone else living there, someone else sharing her space with her.

Hello.

Are you almost ready? It was Kathy again. I’ll be there in ten minutes.

Jessica did not say a word before Kathy continued. You better be ready to have a few drinks tonight. We need to loosen you up a little. She laughed and hung up the

phone before Jessica could even respond.

Kathy was outside honking her obnoxious sounding horn before Jessica had time to put the finishing touches on her makeup. She headed out of her bedroom and down the wide staircase toward her front door. Through the delicate stained glass she saw Kathy’s car as it honked impatiently for her.

Relax, Jessica said under her breath as she grabbed her purse and locked up the house. She walked down the flagstone path toward the red convertible, opened the passenger door and sat down in the tan, leather interior. Kathy quickly hung up her cell phone and slipped it into her Louis Vuitton purse.

Nice car Kathy, Jessica commented. How many houses did you have to sell for this?

Enough, she joked. And I’ll being paying it off for a while.

She backed the car out of the driveway and headed down the tree-lined street towards their destination. The muffled sound of circus music echoed out of Kathy’s pocketbook.

It’ Debbie. And she fished the phone out from among the wallet, credit cards and cosmetics that she had stuffed into the designer bag.

Hey, we’re on our way, she answered and quickly slipped the phone back into her pocketbook. There was an awkward silence between the two friends for a moment as they drove through the upscale neighborhood. Dark trees lined the street and the headlights revealed the road before them.

So Jess, Kathy said, breaking the silence in the car. I haven’t seen you for a while, have you been avoiding us?

No, I have just been busy with work and the divorce and everything else, she confided in her friend.

Well we miss you. You haven’t come out with us for months.

Jessica checked her makeup in the small mirror on the visor. I know, she said and touched up her face from a small compact.

Were you just crying? Kathy asked softly, noticing her slightly puffy eyes and moistened mascara.

Uh huh, Jessica sighed, I can’t help it for some reason. I guess I miss him. Maybe I am just not used to living alone. A small tear lingered down her soft cheek.

Sweetie don’t cry. It’s been months now since Ken left. He was never around anyway, remember.

I know, I just need some time. And she touched up her makeup again in the small mirror. The red sports car pulled into the parking lot of the busy night club. Circus music echoed once more from the inside of Kathy’s pocketbook.

This girl has no patience, I swear. It was Debbie again. She put the phone to her ear.

We just got here. Order us some drinks, Kathy told her friend as they waited inside for their two friends to arrive. Jessica cleared her eyes and finished her makeup before they left the car and walked through the crowded parking lot.

The crowd was thick with people, even for a Saturday night. Follow me, Kathy told Jessica and she grabbed her hand and led her through the tightly packed dance floor. Loud music filled every inch of the club and lights flashed to the beat of the thumping dance music. The fog from a smoke machine glowed with the light of laser beams and obscured the girls’ vision as they passed through the pulsing throng of dancers.

The dance floor was filled with mostly middle aged men who were well past their prime. The two pretty women were like fresh meat to the inebriated group. From out of the crowd popped a short and stocky guy with too much chest hair and not enough hair on his head. The first four buttons on his shirt were wide open and his overwhelming chest hair protruded over his shirt like an overgrown ivy garden that needed a good pruning. He stood in front of the girls and gyrated his hips slowly, in what he thought was some kind of seductive move. He was like a pathetic peacock fanning an emaciated tail. A cheesy smile streaked across his pudgy face and he mouthed something like Hey Ladies to the girls. They ignored the failed pick-up line and merely brushed right past the drunken idiot.

The DJ spoke into the microphone and announced the next song from a long table in front of the bopping crowd.

Hey ya, and how are we all doing tonight? He crooned cheesily into the microphone, his forehead damp and oily with perspiration.

Were gonna be spinning the best of the 80’s tonight all night long. And instead of actually playing Lionel Richie’s All Night Long, he played Come on Eileen. Kathy and Jessica walked past the dance floor as the song began and people started moving around again. Kathy led the way as they moved passed the dancing crowd and through the group of people congregated near the long and busy bar. Glass shelves lined with colorful bottles reflected the strobing lights of the dance floor.

A pungent wall of cheap cologne assaulted them, penetrating and irritating. The scent grew stronger as they approached the source of the offensive odor, a group of wannabe Romeos. They seemed to have all shopped at the same store and wore the same uniform, jeans a size too small and half-buttoned. Button down shirts in various loud colors.

The sea of gawking men parted as Kathy pulled Jessica towards the rear of the club.  Kathy weaved past a tall and attractive man who bumped into Jessica and spilled some of his cocktail on his crisp, salmon pink shirt. He looked back at her as they moved among the crowd their eyes caught each other for a brief second before he was lost in the eager congregation.  

They met their friends outside, on the back patio that was decorated to look like a mock beach bar. Round tables with colorful umbrellas surrounded the Hawaiian themed bar. The late summer crowd had been thinning out over the past several weeks and the girls were easily able to spot their friends at one of the tables near the rear of the patio.

They sat around a half-filled ashtray with cindering cigarettes between their fingers and drinks in their hands, and watched as Kathy and Jessica approached. Two drinks sat next to empty chairs at the table.

Hey girls, Kathy said slightly dramatically as the as the other two women stood up and gave fake hugs all around, cigarettes still clenched between their fingers.

Hi Peggy, Hi Debbie, Jessica said almost timidly. She knew that she had been distant towards them lately, her oldest friends.

It took you guys long enough. We’re on our second drink, Debbie said and slurred slightly like she was drunk already. She had a habit of wearing outfits that did not necessarily flatter her peculiarly shaped body, with its girthy midsection and short, stubby legs. Her oversized, button-down denim dress may or may not have come from the clearance rack, and was accessorized by a chunky, beaded necklace and a pair of dark loafers that looked slightly orthopedic.

Sorry we’re late. Jessica needed a moment, Kathy remarked quickly and sat down in front of her waiting drink.

How have you been Jess? We all miss you, Peggy said with concern and smiled warmly at her. She was tall and slender, her long dress clung to her shapely body and fell somewhere near her open-toed sandals. Her chestnut hair was pulled back neatly and her stylish eyeglasses gave her a look of wisdom that contrasted with the inebriated crowd.

How’s Jeff? Jessica asked and took a long sip from her drink.

He is fine. He is probably asleep by now, Peggy answered, checking her petite wristwatch.

The wings are on their way guys, Debbie blurted out as she crunched loudly on an ice cube from her drink. The other three women glanced at her and chuckled into their beverages.

I see you haven’t changed, Jessica joked, I have missed you guys,

And we missed you, Kathy said and drained the remnants of her pomegranate martini. The music from the packed dance floor barely reached them and it seemed like two different worlds that were separated by only a few feet, the pounding noise of the dimly-lit dance floor and the relaxing atmosphere of the patio. The door to the bar opened and loud music poured out, followed by perky, young waitress holding a large tray. She approached the table and placed the double order of Buffalo wings on the table.

Can we get some more blue cheese please? And some extra napkins, Debbie asked politely.

And another round of drinks, Kathy interrupted, and held an empty glass in her hand.

And what are we all drinking tonight?

Pomegranate martinis.

Those are really popular, the waitress replied with a sarcasm that the girls did not pick up.

I’m not even done with this one, Jessica objected as the waitress walked away to complete their order.

You have to catch up to us, Peggy added.

Debbie eagerly plucked a wing from the steaming pile and dunked it into the small cup of dressing, smearing some on her knuckles. She efficiently stripped the defenseless wing and double-dipped the macerated bone back into the blue cheese. Kathy's well made-up face hid the disgust she felt watching her friend mount a frontal assault on the vulnerable fried chicken.

Are those all for you Debbie? Peggy teased, and nursed the remains of her drink.

Of course not. That is why I got two orders, Debbie answered and pushed one plate of wings toward the middle of the table. The loud pounding of dance music announced the waitress as she came through the large, double doors with their drink order. She placed a garnet martini in front of each woman and laid a small basket with the dressing and napkins on the table. Thank you, Debbie said with her mouth full of chicken before the waitress turned around disappeared.

Ok girls, let’s lift our glasses and have a toast, Kathy declared slightly overzealously. She spied Jessica’s two full glasses and added, Lift one of those drinks up Jess, followed by a warm smile. The women all lifted their glasses in unison.

Here’s to Jessica. We all missed you, Peggy said as the sound of their glasses chimed over the noisy crowd for a brief second. A late summer breeze wisped