Chapter 23 -- Jack of All Trades
The next morning I woke up early with a great deal of energy. My eyes seemed to spring open and they were not going to close again, that was very evident after laying in bed for about 15 minutes trying to go back to sleep. Vivian was still very much asleep next to me, so I gingerly climbed out of bed and headed downstairs.
I had a large cup of coffee and then used my abundance of energy to be productive around the house. I washed all of the dishes in the sink, put on a load of laundry that was near the machine and cleaned out some old items from the refrigerator. I sat down at the table with my second cup of coffee that morning when Penny made her way downstairs. She sat at the table, directly across from me. She helped herself to a sip of my coffee, which I promptly surrendered to her in its entirety.
"Good morning, sunshine," I leaned across the table and whispered to her.
She smiled wide and stared at me adoringly.
"How was the shower," I asked politely.
"Oh boy, did you miss a show and a half," Penny informed me.
"Really," I said, rather surprised. "What did I miss?"
"Let's see, where do I start," she pondered aloud.
"There was that much going on," I questioned, now quite confused but intrigued.
"Oh yeah," Penny laughed. "Nikki's mom and Monica's mom got into a pissing contest about who spent more money on gifts. It was classic and Nikki was really angry."
"Families make things tough," I remarked. "How did that end up?"
"Nikki's dad showed up at the end and fixed everything," she explained. "He always does whatever he has to for Nikki. It's a fantastic bond they share. When he changed all his business plans to make sure he was there for the wedding, after being so hard on her when she said she wanted to marry Monica, things changed between them. They are really in sync these days. I'm jealous."
"Don't be jealous," I commented. "Be happy for Nikki and proud of yourself. Trust me; it's less painful that way. So, it sounds like everything worked out alright."
"Yeah, but that was just the first thing," she continued. "Monica's sister broke her ankle."
"How in the hell did that happen," I inquired with full interest and attention.
"Well, she kept talking about Mindy's shoes all day," Penny began. "Mindy was wearing a pair of six-inch patent leather pumps with small platforms in the front. Dianne was commenting how sexy there were and how she had to get a pair. She mentioned that they were the same shoe size, so Mindy let her try them on later in the day and after a few steps, she went down, hard. Needless to say, off to the hospital she went, during the gifts. Charming."
"I'm glad she's not hurt too bad, but I have to admit, that's actually pretty funny," I stated. "Still not too bad."
"Well, you might change your mind after you hear this one," Penny corrected me. "Jack showed up. He came in looking for Emma and when he couldn't find her, he flipped his lid. He said she was off fucking you and that she was a whore. He accused each of us of covering for her and called us all home wreckers. He was making an awful scene until Emma came out of the ladies room. She grabbed him by the collar and dragged him out the door. I am sure it was ugly after that. Things there are very bad."
"Shit," I exclaimed. "That is one messy situation."
"No kidding," Penny agreed. "He is such a jackass. I don't know why she stays with him."
"That is her choice," I told her. "Bill said something to me once about Jack making Emma happy. He didn't go into detail but I have a feeling it has something to do with their game. Besides, I think there is more to it than meets the eyes. Something is telling me that Jack did not put this puzzle together all by himself."
"You think someone is in Jack's ear," she asked.
"Either consistently or someone simply planted a seed in his head that something wasn't right and he is running with it," I expounded. "It feels very contrived for me to accept everything we are seeing at face value."
"I don't like him to begin with and he isn't all that bright," Penny admitted. "Who would tell him such a thing? It's really none of anyone else's business anyway."
"True, but when has that ever stopped people from talking," I rationalized. "It could be anyone who senses something is out of place with all of us. I think we both have the same thought as to who could ultimately be behind such a thing."
"She wouldn't dare," Penny exclaimed. "We have an agreement."
"Do you think that would stop her if she smelled blood in the water," I asked her rhetorically. "Anyway, why don't we help Emma out and put Jack's mind at ease?"
"How do you suggest we do that," she inquired as she sipped her coffee.
"Set him up," I answered clearly.
"Set him up," she repeated inquisitively.
"Set him up," I said again. "Have him come to the office and find me and you screwing. Visual evidence that I am not doing his wife."
"I like how you are thinking," Penny complimented me. "But I think we can do better than that."
"How so," I asked, now very fascinated with her new train of thought.
