Mom’s fiftieth birthday was on Thursday, but they had arranged a birthday party to begin late Saturday afternoon at Mom and Dad’s place. A lot of family and friends were attending, some sixty plus guests in all. This was going to be one of the occasions where it would be impossible to not see John and Susie without it hurting my Mom if I chose not to show up. I decided I wasn’t going to let them dictate my relationship with my parents.
As we got dressed for the party, I looked over at Maddie and she took my breath away. The dress she wore was not too sexy, a little understated if anything, but it accentuated the magnificent curves of her body. She also had her hair up with intricate plats like I had not seen before. She looked demure but absolutely stunning at the same time. I walked up behind her and wrapped my arms around her waist as I stared into her eyes via the mirror.
“My god you look great, I want you all to myself when you’re looking this good. Maybe we should show up late, I can think of a few ways we could spend the afternoon.”
“Stop it Joe, we’ll have plenty of time to be alone after the party. Besides, I’m doing all this for you.”
“Doing what? Being the most beautiful girl at the party?”
“Yep, I want to make sure Susie knows how much you don’t miss her, and for John to want what he can never have.”
“All this just to what, make them jealous?”
“I want to make sure they know that we’re the main course, and they’re the left-overs.”
“My god, can you be that naughty and nice at the same time?”
“For you I can, I’d be whatever you need me to be.”
I bent down and kissed Maddie’s exposed neck. My god I was a lucky man to have her on my arm.
“Besides you look great too, I’m happy you let me pick out some new clothes for you, you can’t wear a t-shirt and jeans all the time.”
“I thought I looked good in a t-shirt and jeans?”
“You do but look at you now with the sport jacket and slacks. You could be a male model or a famous actor. I do need to fix your hair up before we go though, I want you looking perfect.”
We arrived at Mom and Dad’s place at about 4pm and there were already a good number of people here. The party was being held in the back yard where a large gazebo had been erected. As we made our way through the house, greeting my cousins and uncle and aunts a long the way, we ran into Mom coming out of the kitchen. She stopped in her tracks when she saw us, giving us both a big smile, then greeting us with hugs.
“Oh my, you two look straight out of a daytime tv romance show, you both look absolutely gorgeous.”
“You look great too Mom, beautiful for a woman that’s not a day over forty.”
“Oh, stop it Joe, is that how you get such a beautiful woman like Maddie here?”
“That’s not the half of it Betty, your son can be incorrigible sometimes when it comes to being smooth. But he always means it.”
“That’s another thing he gets from his father, Bill was always quite the sweet talker as well.”
“Well, happy birthday Betty.”
“Yes Mom, happy birthday and I hope this party is one to remember.” As I handed Mom her birthday present and a kiss on the cheek.
“Thanks, the both of you. Joe, both Susie and John are outside, is that going to be a problem?”
“Not from us, this is your night, so enjoy.”
While I had no intention of causing any issues at Mom’s birthday party, I had no intention of speaking with John or Susie either. We made our way out to the back yard, with Dad spotting us, making his way towards us both.
“Hey Joe, Hey Maddie. Wooh, you look fantastic Maddie, how my son ever convinced you to fall in love with him again is a mystery to me.” As Dad shook my hand and gave Maddie a kiss on the cheek.
“I don’t know Bill, your son is a very attractive man, maybe he gets that from his father.”
“Beautiful and smart, you’ve done well Joe.”
“Yeah I have. Mom looks great for her birthday, she looks really happy.”
“You know your Mom, most of it’s a front. She’s been preparing and stressing over this party for the last few weeks. But I do hope she can actually relax soon and start having a good time.”
“I hope so too Dad.”
“Joe, your brother and Susie are over there, are you okay with that?”
“Yeah, as long as they don’t come over and start talking to us, it should be all good.”
“Alright, I’ll let them know to leave you guys be, okay?”
“Fine.”
We mingled with the other guests, most were relatives or friends of my parent’s. Some I knew, some not so well. Everyone seemed to know who I was though, perhaps with my height and build I was hard to miss. Most of the guests swooned over Maddie, they all commented on how beautiful she is.
At one point Maddie went into the kitchen to help Mom bring out more food, and I noticed Susie follow her. I shook my head, Susie has no idea who’s she’s dealing with if she has words with Maddie. A few minutes later Susie came out of the house, looking a little upset. She went over to John, and I could see them trying to hide what was clearly some sort of argument. Then Susie walked away from him, taking a seat on her own away from where John was standing.
Mom, Maddie and one of my Aunt’s then carried some trays with food from the house to the gazebo. I was watching Maddie as she looked over at John, then back at me with a slight devilish smile on her face. God, I love this woman.
After Maddie had helped with the food, she sauntered over to me with a look of confidence and dare I say smugness across her face.
“You have been naughty, haven’t you?” I whispered quietly as Maddie stood by my side.
“You have no idea.”
“I’m dying to know what happened though.”
“I’ll tell you when we get home, just enjoy how uncomfortable Susie and John will be for the rest of the night.”
I looked at Maddie, unable to hide my smile as I kissed her softly on the lips.
“As soon as my divorce is finalized, I’m going to marry you. I don’t want an engagement, I just want to marry you as soon as I can.”
“Are you going to at least ask me if I’d like to marry you first?”
“I will, I’ll get down on my knee and do the works, I’ll even serenade you if that helps.”
“I’m looking forward to it Joe. Not sure about your singing though, it’s probably the one thing you’re not great at.”
“Alright, I’ll hire someone then.” As I chuckled with Maddie.
Maddie was right, Susie and John barely talked for the rest of the evening, and when they did there was clear hostility in Susie’s expressions towards him. I don’t think of myself as a spiteful person at all, but I have to admit It was wonderful.
I later ventured into the house to go to the restroom, as I was leaving John was standing outside the door waiting for his turn. His face had apprehension written across it as I stepped towards him, he moved to the side to make way. I gave him a disdainful glare as I walked past shaking my head slightly. That was the only interaction I had with John for the entire evening.
After the party I drove Maddie back to her apartment, which was really now our apartment. As we got undressed, I was dying to hear the details of the conversation between Maddie and Susie. But Maddie made me wait, instead insisting that we go take a shower together.