Wellington 4: Dinner Party

I was getting a little stir-crazy being in the house all the time dealing with Thomas' lack of parenting skills, having to spend all of my free time playing with the boys. I hadn't worked out in a while since the boys were born, so I headed into their room that morning to check on them, hoping to take one of them with me to the gym. Hermes and Adonis were both sound asleep, but Perseus was awake, talking to himself in his crib. I knew I could count on Thomas to feed the boys and change them, so I dressed Perseus in a tee shirt and shorts so I could take him to the gym with me. I needed to find Thomas to let him know I was going to be leaving for a few hours, and found him in one of our many bathrooms, staring at himself in the mirror, being vain as ever.

"What's the matter, Thomas? Your face all wrinkly from being an asshole all the time?"

Thomas turned around quick as lightning, and glared at me.

"If you must know, Sierra, these children are stressing me out."

I laughed at Thomas because he didn't know the meaning of stress. Apparently, keeping his children alive was too much for him. What a dick.

"Excuse me? You do absolutely nothing remotely stressful with these children. Your children, I might add."

"They cry all the time, and I have a headache from it. Doesn't that count?!"

"Whatever, Thomas, you are no longer amusing. I came to talk to your sorry ass because I am taking Perseus to the gym with me. Can I count on you to feed your children while I'm gone?"

Thomas waved his hand dismissively at me and squinted at me with his stupid pink eyes. God, how I hated his eyes.

"Yeah, yeah, I don't want to be harassed by any social workers, I'll take care of them, but don't expect me to play with them."

The sight I saw when Perseus and I got home from the gym was revolting. I pulled the car in the driveway, took Perseus out of his car seat, and turned around to see Adonis sleeping on the sidewalk in front of our house. My blood boiled at the situation Adonis was in, and I guess I should have been grateful that Thomas always wanted the boys in their cribs. I don't know what changed his mind today because I knew for sure he hadn't spent time with Adonis. I turned on the porch light, and woke Adonis up, scooping him up in my arms. He grabbed onto my shoulder and the side of my face as I carried him and Perseus back inside the house.

"Adonis, are you okay, baby?"

"Yeah, Ma."

After putting the boys back in their room, Adonis in his crib and Perseus on the floor so he could play, I went to find Thomas to give him a piece of my mind. He was in his pajamas, which made me even angrier. How dare he go to sleep and leave our son on the front sidewalk like a piece of trash!

"Thomas, are you fucking insane?! I found Adonis by the front gate, sleeping! What the fuck is wrong with you?!"

Thomas looked at me blankly, and I didn't know how to react to his lack of emotion about what he had done to his own son.

"Oh, I guess I forgot. I took him out there because he told me he wanted to go outside."

"You forgot?! You fucking forgot?! Are you kidding me? You can't just leave a fucking baby outside, and forget about him!"

"Why are you so damn hormonal, Sierra? I thought that shit was supposed to calm down, you're not pregnant anymore!"

"Don't blame this on hormones. I am trying to be a good parent, which is more than I can say for you, you dumbass!"

Thomas' look turned from blank to cold in a manner of a few seconds. He took a step towards me, and pointed at me.

"You've changed, Sierra. You used to be somewhat fun, now all you can talk about is the stupid babies."

"Stupid babies?! They're our babies, and they're not stupid! Do you not even love them a little bit?"

"Whatever. At least you're still hot. For the sake of our societal status, I am glad those babies didn't completely wreck your body. Now shut up because I will not sit here and be lectured like a child."

Thomas walked out of the room, slamming the door behind him. I sat back against my bed, fuming because of his arrogance and cruelty towards me. What a manipulative, egotistical excuse for a man. If my damn trust fund hadn't been tied to Thomas, I would have left him a long time ago. I felt stuck with him now even more than ever, knowing there was no way in hell I was going to be able to take care of three children if I started from scratch with no money. I didn't have any discernible workforce skills, and I was convinced no one would hire me because of that. I knew I hated work anyway, that's what the help was for.

Later that week, Thomas hosted a dinner party at our house, and among others, he invited Madison van Watson, an insufferable blonde bimbo whom I had always despised. She was just another cheap floozy who thought she was god's gift to men. I knew for a fact I was hotter than she was by a long shot. I also knew that she used to struggle with her weight, being at least twenty pounds heavier than she is now, and that she had lots of trouble keeping it off. The little tramp had to work twice as hard as I did at the gym to keep herself in shape. I had seen her at the gym the other day when I was with Perseus, and I felt her giving me death glares behind my back while I was running on the treadmill.

I found her standing next to one of the appetizer platters, with her disgusting unnaturally dyed hair tied up so tight on her head I was surprised she didn't pass out from how wound up it was. Surely it was cutting off blood flow to her brain. Oh wait, what brain? She was wearing an unflattering navy blue dress that made her look fat with the way she was standing.

"Madison. Welcome to my house. Would you like a pastry?"

"Oh, thank you, Sierra. This is a lovely party. Oh my, these pastries are divine."

I giggled to myself, knowing Madison was an idiot, and she wouldn't be able to refuse a sweet morsel, so when I found out Thomas had invited Madison,  I ordered my chefs to create plates of sugar-filled h'ordeurves instead of the typical appetizers.

I was hoping Madison would stuff her face with the pastry, which she did, enjoying every last crumb. She might have caught on to what I was doing, from what she said after she was done eating.

"Sierra? I couldn't help but notice the other day, you getting into your car at the gym with your lovely little boy, Peter, is that his name? Anyway, I saw that your car is entirely inappropriate for a baby. Shouldn't you have a station wagon or something now that you have three little ones?"

I raised my hand up and touched the side of my neck, picturing myself backhanding Madison across the face for her snide comment. Station wagon?! I wouldn't be caught dead in a station wagon. That was the kind of car for middle class families, a class of course, which I didn't fall into.

"His name is Perseus, and no, I have a car seat for him that I know how to use. Enjoy the rest of the party, Maddy."

Madison glared at me because I addressed her as Maddy, which I knew she hated. After dinner, Thomas played a short piano number, which I admit was quite beautiful. Thomas was a nasty person, and as much as I hated him most days, even I could not deny his musical prowess. He was gifted, and if the boys were going to inherit anything about Thomas' personality, I hoped it was his musical talent.



After most of the guests had left, I was going upstairs to tend to the boys and get ready for bed when I heard some giggling and rustling on the second floor.

"Oh Thomas, not here, at least not while Sierra's home. It wouldn't be proper."

"Forget proper. You are delicious, Madison."

I peeked around the corner and saw Thomas pressed up against Madison back behind the staircase, with their tongues down each other's throats, probably where they thought I couldn't see. I knew Thomas wasn't a faithful man, and I wasn't surprised in the slightest. I laughed to myself at Madison's stupidity and how she talked of propriety when she was doing nothing of the sort. I couldn't help but wonder if that is what Thomas had been doing that day he left Adonis out on the front sidewalk, and if that's why he was in his pajamas when I confronted him.

Something I knew that I wanted, was to have a little fun on the side too. I thought about the day Thomas whined about the garden being atrocious, and made a mental note to hire a gardener, a hot muscular gardener...if Thomas could do it, so could I.