Gossip At The Blue Peacock

Gossip At The Blue Peacock

A Blue Peacock Short Story

By Kathy Hayes

“What do you know about her?  Have you met her?”  Bobbie Ann asks Lydia these questions.

“I haven’t met her, but I know all about her.  She is a gold digging slut.  She was dating my Steven.  Before he was 18.  And her with a child.  I couldn’t pry him out of her clutches.  I threatened to call the police, but Kyle and Ron ganged up on me.  Then, before I knew it, Steven was 18, and I had no leverage.  He was hauling her around in his car, with that child in a car seat in the back. And that is not all.  That child belongs to Ron.  She had been carrying on with Ron since she was 18 and married to someone else.  It is common knowledge that little Cissy is Ron’s love child.  That he has married this whore just supports his mother’s disappointment in him all these years.”

Eileen was standing in the shadows, listening to this exchange. Bobbie Ann was her new mother-in-law’s sister, but Lydia, unrelated to the family, claimed a place within it. Lydia’s mother married Eileen’s mother-in-law’s brother, Bill.  The story described Eleanor, Lydia’s mother, as widowed during the Korean War, raising a small child.  Everyone knew this was a fairytale.  Eleanor was an unmarried woman who got knocked up and then snagged Bill when he came out of the service.  Lydia just loved to talk about her imaginary war hero father.

Ron and Eileen had been married for two months.  Wouldn’t you know it? There was a family reunion scheduled.  Eileen didn’t want to go, but Ron said if they didn’t go, it would seem they were ashamed of their marriage.  Eileen knew he was right, but that didn’t mean she liked it.

The venue was the Oaks On The Lake resort, in beautiful Appalachia.  There was a huge lodge which housed 54 guest rooms, a huge great room with a fireplace and a restaurant.  Both the lodge and the restaurant carried the name The Blue Peacock.  There were also 14 guest cottages.  But, besides those, there was a small circle of six cottages that were reserved for large get-togethers.  This spot had become very popular for reunions and celebrations.  The larger family groups were staying in the cottages.  Ron and Eileen had opted to stay in the lodge, just to put some distance between them and the other family members.  Ron had been married with three children, divorced his wife, scandalized the family, and married Eileen.

Twenty-four-year-old Eileen listened to the conversation as she seethed and burned.

“Pull it together Eileen, you knew it would be like this,” she told herself.

As she was watching, Betty Ann joined the group.  Eileen’s mother-in-law, Barbara Ann, had three sisters and all of their middle names were Ann.  

“Can you believe how that girl dressed?  Could she show any more skin?” Betty Ann said.

Bobbie Ann punched Betty Ann in the arm, “Come on Betty Ann, she is young.”

“Well, that is the point, darling.  She is trying to be a mother to those three children.  I bet Eileen and the oldest girl are sharing clothes.  It is disgusting.”  This was out of the mouth of Lydia.

Lydia had been a thorn in Eileen’s side for two years.  After Eileen’s ugly divorce from her alcoholic, wife-beating husband, she had dated Lydia’s son.  He was seventeen, and she was twenty-two.  His birthday was in two months from their first date.  Eileen did not know it was going to be a problem.  She soon learned that Lydia would go to any lengths to cause trouble.

Eileen thought about her relationship with Steve. A little niggling of guilt crept into her mind.  He was a virgin, and this intrigued her, so yes, she knew she had done something, if not wrong, questionable.

Lydia again, “My Steven was so innocent when this girl came along.  She took away his innocence.”

“Oh give it break Lydia, he was practically a man.”  This was Bobbie Ann again.

“A man? He was seventeen.  And he was vice president of the abstinence club,” Lydia wailed.

Bobbie Ann gave a long sigh and said, “Oh, come on, Lydia.  A big strapping boy like that with those dark good looks.  When did you think it was going to happen?  And not only that, Lydia, we all know that your mother and Bill raised your two boys.  Steve and Mike have lived with Eleanor and Bill since they were toddlers.  Give it a rest.”

“Okay, what about this ridiculous age difference?  There are fifteen years between Eileen and Ron.  I mean, his kids have less of an age difference with her than Ron does.  It is obvious she is in it for the money,” Lydia persisted.

“What money Lydia? Since the divorce, Ron doesn’t have a pot to piss in.  And Barbara Ann went to the wedding at her parents’ house.  She said they had a delightful house with nice things and nice cars.  Her father is in upper management at Balsta and her mom is a stay at home housewife.  Her background seems fine.”

“Well, they did a terrible job raising that girl.  Her sister is probably just as trashy as her,” Lydia said.

Some of the other women’s family members joined the group.  The cabins formed in a circle and in the middle of the circle was a great fire pit with Adirondack chairs surrounding it.  Eileen was standing behind a parked van, just feet away from the group.  The men had gathered on the small lawn of one cottage.  They were grilling burgers and drinking beer.  None of these women were alcohol drinkers and ridiculed women who were.  Only Lydia smoked and she smoked like a freight train.  Everyone suspected Lydia was a closet drinker.  Either that or she used a lot of mouthwash that smelled like vodka.

Brenda Ann, another of Barbara Ann’s sisters, leveled her gaze at Lydia and said, “Face it Lydia, you are jealous because Eileen charmed all the men.  They find her charming and, although not beautiful, she is a very sexy woman with a bubbly personality.  That is what this is about.”

“That is ridiculous.” Lydia looked from one woman to another.

Barbara Ann, Eileen’s mother-in-law, added her two cents.  “Lydia, face it darling, your bloom has faded and you can’t stand the fact that a fresh rose is blooming right under your nose.”

“Oh yeah, well, for your information, my bloom has not faded.  I am as young looking and vibrant as I ever was.  And now, I have these.”  With that, Lydia lifted her shirt and bra and showed her breasts. 

“I just did them and they are as lifted and perky as a twenty-year-olds.”

Bobbie Ann said, “Well, it is a shame to waste those on a fifty-year-old body.  Face it Lydia, you are no longer the belle of the ball.  A much younger woman has replaced you.  Your days of monopolizing the men folk are over. You are just beyond it now, no matter how many boob jobs or face lifts you get.”

Lydia sat back in her chair, her smug expression creepy looking in the fire light.  “I know some other things, but I suppose you all don’t want to hear about it.”

Bobbie Ann said, “Lydia, you know you are dying to tell us, so just go ahead.”

“Well, you know my girlfriend, Augusta, who works downtown for that large law firm?”

Eileen was listening in horror.  This woman was beyond the pale.  Fairlawn was a tiny town, and it was hard to keep any kind of secret.  

“Earlier this year, this little tramp went to work for Booter Hanson, you know, that new attorney in town.  Lovely man.  His wife, also an attorney, works for the district attorney’s office. Real power couple.  They have one child and Rochelle was out to here,” she made a gesture with her hand “with their second child earlier this year.  Eileen went to work for Booter and another attorney in his office.  As you all know, Booter is a good-looking man.  He has been an instant success in Fairlawn.”

Despite themselves, all the women were staring at Lydia and hanging on her every word. 

“Augusta had to go to Booter’s office to drop off some papers.  The office was empty, so she went upstairs.  The only thing there is Booter’s law library.  As she went up the stairs, she saw Eileen, barefooted, on a ladder, organizing law books.  Booter was standing at the bottom of the ladder, handing her books.  Augusta went up, but stopped when she saw Booter look up at Eileen.  Eileen was holding her hand back for a book and when he didn’t place one there, she looked down at Booter.  Augusta said it was like watching the sexiest movie possible.  Of course, Eileen had on a suit and the skirt with a slit up to here.”  Again, the hand gesture.

“I will have to admit, she has excellent taste.  Anyway, they looked into each other’s eyes for what seemed like an eternity before he reached up with both hands and she slid down into his arms and they lip locked.  He picked her up with one arm, turned to the library table and swept everything off the table with his other arm and laid her down on the table.”

There were several gasps from the women and one, Eileen never knew which, said, “That is the most romantic thing I have ever heard.  Except, she was engaged to be married to Ron, and Booter already had a family.”

Lydia looked around the circle and knew she had captured their attention.  “Augusta knew she should leave, so she crept back down the stairs, dropped the papers on a desk and left.”

Barbara Ann spoke, but Lydia interrupted her.

“That is not all.  Have you all had enough or do you want to hear more?”

Bobbie Ann was the one to say, “Okay Lydia, tell us what you know.”

Eileen could not believe this turn of events.  Until this moment, she did not know anyone had witnessed the library episode.   Eileen wanted to shrink away into the dark.

“Well, the way I hear it, there was a lot of drama over the next few weeks.  Ron somehow got wind of what was going on.”

Barbara Ann said, “Oh, my poor boy.  You mean he knew about this?”

“Not only did he know, he did something about it.  The first thing that happened was a lunch rendezvous in Eileen’s apartment.  Between Eileen and Booter.  Obviously, Ron had been monitoring her.  He walked into the apartment, unheard, and into the bedroom.  Can you believe Ron brought one of his salesmen with him?  That is how it got out.  Eileen and Booter scampered out of bed and began trying to dress.  Once Booter had his pants and shirt on, Ron grabbed him, dragged him to the window and threatened to throw Booter out the window.  You know, that dump Eileen was living in was the second story of an old Victorian house.  Booter was fighting him off as best he could and Eileen was screaming at the top of her lungs, telling Ron’s friend to stop them.  Ron got the window open and had Booter’s head out the window when the most unexpected thing happened.  Marcy came barreling down main street.  She had the youngest, I can’t remember his name, in the car with her.  And she was screaming ‘Ron Britton, you SOB, I know you are in there’. Then she drove around and around the block doing this for at least fifteen minutes.  Meanwhile, the distraction was enough for Ron to pull Booter back in the window.  They were all still screaming at each other when there was an enormous boom outside.  They all ran to the side street window.  There, they saw Marcy getting out of a pickup truck.  Yes, you heard right.  A pickup truck.”

Lydia’s delight in telling this story was there for all to see. It was all Eileen could do to stay hidden and listen, but she wanted to hear what else Lydia would say.  

“You know Ron, with the car lot, you never know what he will be driving. Marcy thought it was his truck.  She knocked it out of gear and ran it into the car parked in front of it, thinking it was Eileen’s.  But it was not.  It was the downstairs neighbor’s car.  Can you believe that?  It must have been quite a scene.”

Brenda Ann said, “Poor Marcy.  I never did like the woman and she let herself go after she and Ron were married, but she deserved better.  I mean, it was common knowledge that she never wanted children, and Ron begged and begged until she relented.  Now for this to happen.  She is overweight and alone with those three children.”

Barbara Ann chimed in, “She should not have pulled the bluff.  She told Ron she wanted a divorce.  Said she wanted to go back to school, get a degree and she said Ron could have the children.  But I am afraid that Ron was not discreet enough, and she soon found out about Eileen.  Then, all bets were off.  She wanted everything, including the children.  As soon as she realized there was another woman, she was hell bent on punishing Ron.  Mind you, I still don’t think what my boy did is excusable, but I am afraid Marcy has been a powder keg about to explode for years.”

Eileen shrunk back further into the shadows.  How was it possible that these women knew so much about her?  It was not fair.   She should be able to join this family without all this exposure. They all hated her.  Some more than others, but yes, they all hated her.  The thought of years and years of these annual family reunions was almost unbearable.    

Eileen slapped herself on the cheek.  “Okay Eileen, pull yourself together.  Rise above this.  You love Ron, you married him, and he forgave you for the mistakes you made.  Just be the best wife, mother, and step mother ever.  Don’t let them get to you.  Hold your head high and get over there. Oh, better yet, go get Kyle and show Miss Lydia, who is boss bitch now.”

Kyle was a brother to the Ann ladies, uncle to Ron.  And it was common knowledge that Kyle had been carrying on with Lydia off and on for years, right under her husband Burt’s nose.  Eileen walked over to the men, passing the teenagers playing croquet by tiki torch light in front of one cottage.  When she reached the men, she walked over to Ron and whispered something in his ear, and he nodded.  Then Eileen walked over to Kyle, looped her arm through his, asked for a beer and said, “Let’s take a walk.”   As they sipped their beer, they started walking.

Eileen said, “Play along with me or I will personally cut off your balls.”

Kyle laughed and nodded.  He was a sucker for pretty ladies, and he liked Eileen.  When Kyle offered her a cigarette, she took one.  They walked until they reached the fire pit and the women of the family.

“Good evening ladies. Hope you don’t mind if we join you.  Kyle has just been telling me the most delightful and, uh, informative stories about your family.   I am sure he must be making some of it up.”

“Now Eileen, I would not carry stories.  Or rather, I would not carry untrue stories.”  Eileen and Kyle both laughed, as if they had a personal secret joke between them.  Eileen set her gaze on Lydia.  

“And Lydia, Kyle has so many stories about you.  I did not realize you were so, oh what is the word?  Friendly I guess.”

“Kyle, did you know Lydia had her boobs enlarged a couple of weeks ago?  Go on Lydia, show Kyle.  They are very impressive.  Well, for old boobs, they are impressive.”

Lydia’s face turned blood red.  The other ladies all exchanged sly glances between each other and some of them even giggled.

“Oh well,” Eileen said, “Kyle was just telling me how much he loves my small nose. He was saying how there are so many women who desire a pretty nose they subject themselves to all kinds of plastic surgery.  Can you imagine having such a big honker that you need surgery?”

Eileen shot a hard gaze to Lydia and said, “Oh, no offense, Lydia.  I didn’t mean your nose.  You are so old now that it doesn’t matter, does it?  Kyle, I have drunk all my beer.  Let’s get another. How about it? Let’s see if those burgers and long, long honkers, oh God, I mean hot dogs, are ready.  Don’t worry, Barbara Ann, I will go on up and get the paper plates and condiments out for you.  You just relax with your family.”

And with that, she won over the ladies.  They all shot Lydia a glance and got up and walked over to the men.  Nobody in the family ever heard Lydia talking about Eileen again.  Eileen and Lydia called a silent truce, and although they hated each other forever after, nobody outside the family could tell.  They were cordial at reunions, funerals, and weddings.  But make no mistake, Eileen put Lydia in her place that day and in her place she stayed.