Mrs. Mower heard Principal Simmon’s baritone voice. “Mrs. Mower,” he said demurely, “a message for you.”
She stopped in the middle of the text with her husband.
He set down a chic square envelope on top of her stack of math textbooks. “No pressure. We just wanted to offer a nice evening out.”
“We?”
“Yes, Mrs. Simmon and me.” His eye darted away from hers.
“You and Mrs. Simmon?”
“Yes.” He smiled at her confusion.
Mrs. Mower eyed her boss suspiciously from across the desk. After all they had done together and all he knew about her, why? she thought. He had seen the video of her and Mr. Rungard. They had had their several rendezvouses in his office after school. He had her repeat the events of the evening in detail. They had acted out the scenario first in his office and another time in her classroom and the girls restroom. Now he wanted his wife to meet his lover?
“I’ll look at it later,” she said.
“Let me know.” He nodded and left.
All day, the small white envelope laid on her desk. And all day, she was dying to open it. And all day, she wondered if she actually should. It could lead to a lot of trouble. Mrs. Mower imagined Mrs. Simmon with long fingernails that were ready to scratch her face. But what if she had long, red fingernails, dipped in something sweet? She shook the thought from her mind, understanding that some things are left unopened.
After the final bell’s ring, she began tidying up her classroom that had become a disaster zone with so many students rushing in and out. She went to her desk and picked up the embossed envelope. A fragrance wafted from it and stuck to her fingertips. The smell was a unique blend of wood, bergamot and rose. Mysterious but intriguing. Her fingers wouldn’t stop. Her nails slid under the flap.
Inside was a black lace insert bound by a sparkling gold band. She couldn’t stop now. She slid down the band. Opening the lovely lace arms was like opening the door to a king’s castle. On the invitation was written in lovely calligraphy:
The best present one can hope for this year is to spend time together.
Mr. Matthew Simmon and Mrs. Laura Beth Simmon
would be honoured by the Presence of You and Your Husband
at the Overture Christmas Dinner Party
On December 17
The Town School
Black Tie
________ Accepts with Pleasure
________ Declines with Regret
Mrs. Mower snickered. Lovely card, well done, over-the-top, but an invitation to an evening event in New York City? “I can’t afford a trip to New York! Simmon would have to up my salary a lot.” She dropped the invitation into her purse.
Leaving the building, she scooted by Mr. Simmon’s office quickly but ran into him in the hallway.
“Mrs. Mower, you’ve read the invitation?”
“Yes, and thank you so much, Mr. Simmon. But my husband and I will have to decline the invitation though.”
“Really? That is too bad. I guess I will have to use Laura Beth’s strategy. We have airline tickets available for you and your husband, or whoever you’d like to bring.”
“Her strategy is buying us tickets?”
“And all accommodations are already arranged,” he added.
Mrs. Mower covered her mouth, astonished. “All that, paid for?”
“Yes, it’s an event that Laura Beth and I do not like to miss, or attend as a lone couple.”
“I’m, I’m so,” she stuttered, “surprised. I will talk to my husband about it. I’m not guaranteeing anything though.”
He smiled. “Talk to him please. Laura Beth and I would love to have you.”
****
“Did I hear you right? They want to pay for us go to New York City for one night? And it won’t cost us a single cent.”
“Yes.”
He flipped over the invitation, rubbed his fingertips against the lace. “What have you done to deserve this?”
Mrs. Mower shrugged. “I’m not teacher of the year, as far as I know. I’ve not heard of any other achievements of mine. Not a clue as to why. I assume he has seen my work with the students and maybe I’m next to lead the Math Department.”
Saying that, flashbacks crossed her mind. Her, on her knees in front of him. Her, sitting on his face and pressing her pussy over his nose and mouth until he could hardly breath. Him, fucking her hard while pulling her hair. His jizz sliding down her bare chest while in the girls restroom at school. That might be the reason for his offer, she imagined. She then thought of Mrs. Simmon’s long fierce nails scraping down her cheeks. Mrs. Simmon angry at what Mrs. Mower had done with the man she loved.
“I am shy about going,” she admitted. “What do we talk about with the Simmons, right? I dread the idea of working to chit-chat with them, my boss and his wife.”
“For a free trip to New York, though?” He snickered wickedly and offered, “We could go and then ‘get lost’ in the Big City and never find them. That’d be fun.”
She huffed. “For you, maybe. You’ll never see him again. I’m the one who’ll have to see him every day and answer for it.”
He patted her shoulders and looked in her eyes. “You decide what we gaziantep escort do. I’m good to go, or not to go.”
“I am so uncertain, I can’t decide.”
“Then I will decide for us. We’re going.” He walked away without another word.
“Oh no, we’re not!” She rushed to him and grabbed his shoulder to spin him toward her. “We are not going. It’s too weird, too awkward for me, too scary.”
“The talking is too scary or New York City is too scary?”
“I have no problem going to New York. It’s them.”
“You make it sound like they’re deranged.” He took her hand and patted it gently. “Listen, I can shoot the shit with anyone. And there are ways of escaping from people. I assume there’ll be a lot of other couples attending. It’s not a foursome for dinner. Karen, we’ll be fine, I want to go.”
Apprehension, painted black, remained in a corner of her mind, knowing this could all blow up in her face.
***
Before the first Bell on Friday, Mrs. Mower heard Mr. Simmon call to her from down the hallway. When he came to her, he smiled.
“Laura Beth and I received your reply. This is going to be an exciting evening. I wasn’t sure how you’d respond. You and Lieutenant Mower have made us very happy.”
Mrs. Mower didn’t know that her husband had replied to the invitation. But it was likely why she hadn’t seen the invitation around the house.
“Yes, we are excited too,” she fumbled out the lie.
“In your teacher inbox is an envelope. There are the two airline tickets in it and other important information for the evening.”
Mrs. Mower forced a smile. “I’ll get them later today. Thank you again.”
“You are welcome. I’m excited for you to meet Laura Beth and she’s excited to meet you.” He then left, grinning.
Meet me? she thought. Mrs. Mower tried to keep her face light-hearted and her lips spread wide in a fake smile. When he was gone, she let her face fall and her shoulders droop.
She texted her husband. “U shit. We’re going to NYC bc U replied. U shouldve asked me!”
He replied, “Had to do it, babe.”
***
The airplane circled Manhattan once at sunset and then touched down gently. The Mowers deplaned the jet quickly. Their bags were waiting for them. To their surprise, they saw a man in dark suit holding a sign: Lt. and Mrs. Mower.
Karen grabbed her husband’s arm. “They have a chauffeur for us!”
The stoic driver kindly took her bag and led the couple to a black sedan. On the ride, the Mowers relaxed and watched the bright lights of New York reflecting off the car’s windows. She put her head on his shoulder. “Thank you for making me come.”
He kissed her forehead. “I’m not sure it could get any better.”
The sedan dropped them off at a sky-high building of condominiums on East 76th Street. Retrieving their bags from the rear, the driver directed them to the front desk for further details on the evening.
An hour later, Mrs. Mower was touching up the last unruly strands of brown hair, and Mr. Mower was shinning the last gold button on the cuff of his dark-blue uniform.
He turned to her. “You look good enough to eat.” She noticed his eyes linger around her heavy breasts that were pressed tight and raised high in the under-wiring of the evening gown.
She swatted him playfully. “You’re not so bad yourself, Lieutenant Mower.”
“Shall we?” He hooked his right arm and she ran her hands through it. “We shall.” And he led them to the lobby. They exited the building and next door were greeted by a young woman in a blue floor-length gown that was sheer to her mid-thigh.
“May I take your shawl, Mrs. Mower?” she offered.
Mr. Mower removed it and handed it to her.
“You look ready for the night. You are lovely,” the hostess complimented.
Mrs. Mower blushed in her mixed emotions.
“If you’ll follow me, I’ll show you to your table.” The lady led the Mowers into an candle-lit room with a soft buzz of people chatting and laughing. The room was filled with round tables covered in white table clothes. Their seats were labeled. Mrs. Karen Mower. On her right was Lt. Derek Mower. On her left was Mrs. Laura Beth Simmon. Fingernails came to mind again. She hoped something would get confused so she could avoid being so close to Mrs. Simmon. “I need a hard drink, I’m getting nervous,” she said.
“I’ll get the drink, take a seat,” Mr. Mower said.
Mrs. Mower watched her husband disappear into the dark. She was alone, ill-at-ease, still fearing a potential cat-fight with Mrs. Simmon or a brawl between her husband and Mr. Simmon. The scenarios had played out in her mind many times and she had let them grow wilder by dwelling on them. All scenarios ended with an explosion of fists and anger.
The dress felt tighter around her chest and it continued to rub uncomfortably against the skin under her arms. She feared the dress made her butt look huge, even though she and Brad, who had become her trainer, had been working hard on her body.
“I should not have worn this dress,” she cursed. She was sure this whole thing had been a big mistake. She got angry at Derek for accepting the invitation and angry at herself for even telling him about it. She took a sip of water from the stemmed glass on the table, hoping to calm her body that was heating up in worry.
“Mrs. Mower.”
Her back stiffened hearing her name. This is the moment I feared, she thought. She stood slowly yet gracefully. More than all, she was defensive. Ready to protect her face.
“Mrs. Simmon,” she said coolly.
“Karen, I am so glad to finally meet you!”
Mrs. Mower’s head cocked sideways at the comment.
The blonde woman was lovely. An hourglass shape, toned arms, her blue eyes highlighted by the light pink gown. As she walked toward Mrs. Mower, the gown flowed, making her long and graceful. Mrs. Simmon put her warm hands on Mrs. Mower’s shoulders and brought her closer. She then kissed both of her reddened cheeks.
Pulling back to look at her, Mrs. Simmon said, “Matthew has talked about you a lot. He is proud of your work.”
Mrs. Mower was dumbfounded. Proud of what work? she thought. The bigger surprise was that he talked to his wife about her work. Did he talk to her as a teacher or his partner? The “Principal” Simmon never complimented her teaching skills. He’d never mentioned her work in the classroom, except for what she did with Mr. Rungard. He never let on that she would be anything more than an average math teacher. And, more importantly, she thought he would not tell his wife about what he and she had done and been doing in his office and around the school. No married man would do that and have a wife who was happy to meet her husband’s unknown lover.
Finally Mrs. Mower replied. “Principal Simmon is a good boss too.”
“Please, call me him Matthew. He’s no principal outside of school. And I am Laura Beth. No Misses.”
Mr. Mower broken Karen’s awkwardness. “Karen, here’s your drink.” She took the small glass and look a deep swig.
He introduced himself to the lovely blonde.
“Sorry, honey, this is Mrs. … I mean Laura Beth, Matthew’s wife. And, Laura Beth, meet my husband, Derek.”
“Derek,” she put out her hand, “I like a man in uniform.”
Derek took her hand and kissed it. He held it too long for Mrs. Mower’s liking, so she grabbed his other hand at his side and squeezed it.
“Let’s have a seat, Karen, and talk,” Laura Beth suggested.
The sanguine blonde talked about her life with Matthew and she offered some fun tidbits of background on the principal. Soon, the pair were giggling together, although Karen’s was a forced giggle. When Mr. Simmon appeared though, Laura Beth quieted.
“Are you telling Mrs. Mower all my secrets, Laura Beth?” he asked lightly.
“You have secrets?” she responded aghast.
Mrs. Mower grew nervous again, forgetting the fun giggling. She knew Matthew Simmon has many secrets.
“And her name is Karen. There’s no Mrs. Mower here tonight. There may be a lieutenant though.”
Matthew smiled, taking a seat on the left side of the Laura Beth. Derek sat next to Karen. Soon, another couple took their assigned seats.
“Good to see you again this year, sir,” a man in a black tuxedo and cummerbund told Mr. Simmon. His wife extended her hand to Laura Beth, like they were acquaintances.
“I never miss this evening,” Matthew replied.
“And you’ve brought friends this time, I see.”
“Yes, this is Karen Mower and her husband, Lieutenant Derek Mower.” They greeted each other.
A few minutes later, a rush of waiters and waitresses dressed in black brought plates of food into the large room. At this table, they set down plates in unison for each of the six people. The plates had a small bit of white fish, three thin slices of steak cooked medium-rare, mashed potatoes and two stalks of asparagus. Other servers poured red or white wine at request.
“Not much food is there. We’ll have to go out afterwards, because I’ll still be hungry,” Derek whispered to Karen. She only elbowed him, as she was still feeling awkward and hoping the night would be over soon.
A small ensemble of strings played softly during the dinner. The silverware clinked against plates as people ate and drank. Most conversations were quiet but table-wide.
Laura Beth leaned over. “Just so you know …”
The lead-in caused Karen to worry again. Know what? she wondered.
“We’ve been coming to this event for several years, and the Baileys have been here longer than us. We sit at the same table as them. But this is the first time that we’ve brought guests.”
Karen nodded.
“But over the last few months, Matthew has said he wanted you and your husband to come with us. I was wondering about you at first, but when he told me more, I was like, yes! we have to take them.”
“He told you more?” A shiver passed from the shoulder down her back.
“Yes, he …”
“What did he tell you?” she asked shakily.
“Karen, you seem really tense.” She placed her right hand on her upper back and massaged lightly to the base of her neck. “It’s all right. He only says good things about you. Nothing bad whatsoever. He really, really likes you.”
Mrs. Mower glanced from Laura Beth to Mr. Simmon and then to her husband, both of whom were chatting with the other couple.
“Relax, Karen, this is supposed to be an enjoyable night. This is New York, this is The Town School. Tonight is so exclusive so no one will ever know what happened. No one’s supposed to regret anything.” Karen met her searching blue eyes. Laura Beth pursed her lips for a moment. “Listen, forget he’s your boss. I won’t let anything happen to you. In fact, I can help in any way you want, both tonight and at school. He does what I say, like Derek, right? You have the power at home.”
Karen didn’t respond. Silence.
Laura Beth put her left hand on her husband’s shoulder. “Matthew, I’ll be back in a moment, I’m taking Karen with me too.”
“Don’t do anything too soon without me there,” Mr. Simmon answered.
“We’ll do what we please,” she retorted playfully. She left the cloth napkin on the seat of her chair. A waitress came by and folded the napkin neatly at Mrs. Simmon’s place setting.
Karen glanced briefly at Mr. Mower, fear in her eyes, begging to be saved. He only nodded and offered a wave.
Laura Beth led Mrs. Mower from the table by hand, like they were long-time girlfriends. Mrs. Mower reluctantly followed through the lobby to a back hallway where a restroom was set inconspicuously. They weren’t friends though. If they were, Mrs. Mower knew she could have grasped undertones of the comments between this woman and her husband. Instead Karen recalled seeing Mrs. Laura Beth Simmon for the first time. It was the night Principal Simmon had made her answer for her actions with Mr. Rungard. He had pushed over her picture on his desk as he prepared to fuck her for the first time. The frame had fallen face down. She was not seen again that night and was never heard from or seen again despite the loud groans and slapping and demands to continue on. Now though, the woman in picture who was hugging a fury dog was alive before her.
Laura Beth briefly touched up her hair in the mirror and then turned to Karen. “Am I the problem tonight? I don’t want to be. I want us to get to know each other tonight, to be friends. We can be friends.”
“But you don’t know anything about who I am. Why would you want to be my friend so badly?” Karen asked.
“I told you that I have heard great things about you, Karen. You’re great at, at more than just teaching.” She studied Karen closely, then asked honestly, “Can we be friends?”
Mrs. Mower gave in.
Laura Beth gave her a quick kiss on her lips. Before Karen had a chance to process it, the blonde led them back to the table. Arriving, the three men stood as gentlemen. Mr. Simmon and Derek pulled out their wive’s seats and pushed them in.
“Everything okay now?” Derek whispered.
Karen was too bowled over to say anything except nod.
“Good. I knew you two would get along.”
Mrs. Mower sipped her wine quietly to gather herself. Kissed by Laura Beth. Her husband knowing they would be friends. It was safer to sip silently. A server refilled her glass with more white wine and soon replenished it again.
The attendees applauded when a man in a white-coat tuxedo and a lovely woman in a black gown stood at the front of the banquet hall. They each gave a toast. His was to the women in the room and hers was to the men. Mrs. Mower didn’t hear what they said. She only raised her glass when the others did. She heard the clank of glasses and toasts. When the woman finished her toast, the glasses clanked again. Moments later, the Baileys, the Simmons and Derek stood. Derek took her hand to help her up.
“This is where it gets good,” he said.
“Karen and Derek,” Laura Beth said, “we have a room for four, alone.”
She took Matthew’s arm and he led them through from the banquet hall, down a hallway and to a locked indistinct door.
Laura Beth lifted her gown, slowly revealing her leg. Mid-thigh was a white garter belt with the key tied to it. Matthew slid it down her leg.
Inside, a bar was set with bottles of wine and other harder drinks. Ambient music played. Karen recognized the same scent that was on the invitation card: the blend of wood, bergamot and rose.
Matthew took Laura Beth to a plush, velvet-colored seat and kissed her lovingly. Karen felt Derek’s hand take hers. It was quixotic to be in such a vulnerable state and then be held by a strong man, especially a man in uniform. He laid her down on a Victorian chaise lounge. Then he climbed over her. He began to kiss her. First, the base of her neck. Each clavicle. Her earlobes. Her cheeks and then to her lips that were anticipating his lips and tongue.
The evening that changed. No longer worried about an explosion of moods. The Simmons were essentially far, far away as Derek worked her over in the way he knew, the way she loved. He helped to unzip the gown. She was free. Breasts free to move, no hard underwire to rub against her skin. Relief. And Mr. Mower took advantage of her relaxed body. She leaned back, taking in all the sensations, the buzz of erotica, the passion flowing between her and him.