“Cassandra, don’t do this. I think it’s time to go.”
She whipped around to glare at him.
“No, not until I’ve had my say,” she turned back to the room and scanned everyone until she zeroed in on me.
“You.” She pointed and pushed through the people to reach me, her heels clicking on the tile.
She pointed her finger at my chest.
“You. From the moment you returned everyone has been fawning over the prodigal daughter. You were the one that got away. I’ve had to hear it from all of his friends. Every time we went out or I tried to help, the conversation returned back to you. Everyone here thinks you are God’s gift to this play but you’re not. You just loved the idea of making out with Thomas. I bet you couldn’t wait to take his clothes off. You get your kicks kissing him in front of your husband, don’t you?” She screamed at me. I took a step back, not sure of how to handle this. Where was all of this coming from?
“He won’t admit it, but I know he still loves you. I can see it whenever he talks about you or when you’re in the same room.” She took a step closer to me. Backing another step away I bumped into the cake table. Thomas came up behind her and began furiously apologizing. I held my hands up but that must have made her angrier.
She turned to Thomas, her eyes blazing fury.
“What are you apologizing to her for? You should be apologizing to me for wasting my time-” Her voice was cut off by the sudden small push my dear husband gave her, straight into her own cake.
The silent room let out a collective gasp as her entire face crashed into the center of the beautifully crafted dessert. The pillbox top fell to the floor and pearls from the middle went everywhere. Mark moved away quickly, but everyone saw him do it. He reached for me and I embraced him. Unsure of how to feel. I wanted desperately to laugh, but at the same time, I felt bad for Thomas.
Silence reigned down on the room again as she finally stood back up. Her face was covered in pink buttercream and chocolate cake crumbles. Her head swung around the room, looking at us all in shock and confusion. Finally, her face settled on Thomas’. He was looking at her with such pity I began to feel sorry for her. Her lips trembled, and then choked on a sob.
“You pushed me,” she accused. Thomas smirked and shook his head, but before he could deny it Mark spoke up.
“No, I did.”
She turned quickly, cake and frosting flying off her face. People grimaced as it hit them.
“This was my wife's and everyone else’s special night in the spotlight. They worked hard to get here, and you tried ruining it with your tantrum. So, I stopped it. You should probably go now so everyone who deserves the attention can enjoy the rest of the night.”
There was a slight pause and then slowly people began clapping and agreeing with him.
With one last scream of frustration she spun around and stormed out of the building. Thomas took a few steps and then decided not to follow her. People patted him on the back and told him to relax and get some food. Nodding he went over and poured himself some coffee.
I turned back to my husband. He was trying so hard not to smile. I rolled my eyes.
“Well, we were waiting for cake, now what do you want to do?” He cracked a grin.
“I’ve got an idea. Go ahead and make your rounds with your friends. When you’re ready I’ve got another place to take you.” I raised an eyebrow and he winked. A tap on the shoulder made me turn. It was Thomas.
“I really am sorry about all that. The woman is clearly insane.”
I lifted my hand to fist bump his.
“It’s all good. She really should have auditioned. She’d make one hell of a crazy Jackie-O,” I joked. He nodded and then turned and apologized to Mark. Mark accepted it and they moved into light conversation after that. I excused myself and began saying my goodbyes. When I returned back to the two men, I was ready to leave.
Once we were out in the parking lot Mark insisted on blindfolding me. I protested but he pleaded. We drove for about twenty minutes and then when he was buzzed into the Andrew’s house I burst into laughter.
“Really?” He chuckled and reached over to push the blindfold back down.
“Hush, it’s a surprise. You don’t know for sure that’s where we’re at.”
I smirked but let him take me up their stairs, into the house and to Ethan’s man cave. When he untied the blindfold, everyone screamed.
“Surprise!”
I turned to my husband who was beaming. I embraced him and rested my head on his warm chest.
“I am so proud of you baby,” he murmured into my hair.
“I love you,” I raised my head to look up at him. “Now do I get to tell them what happened or are you going to?” I asked. He pulled away from me and shot me dirty look. Rubbing his hands together he moved towards his friends.
“You guys won’t believe what just happened.” He glanced back at me and winked.
“You had your moment in the spotlight, now its my time to shine.”
