Charthur: Part II

Susan passed the bag around and, aside from Chardonnay, everyone seemed to find the game fun. There were several guesses and laughs, and a few outlandish comments about what might be within the bag. Susan laughed and passed the bag to Erin (as she put it together, Susan could not guess). After that she glanced over at Chardonnay and Olivia, noticing Chardonnay’s cold expression. She bit her lip and found Olivia’s eyes, beginning to grow worried. Was something wrong?

She thought back to when she’d had her over for thanksgiving and the coldness she’d exhibited. Susan didn’t know if Chardonnay was happy anymore. She didn’t like not knowing; she wanted her to be happy. If she wasn’t happy, then what would that mean for her? For Arthur? Or for the baby?

”Okay! Has everyone played?” Susan looked around, hoping Chardonnay would change her mind. She didn’t, and so Susan looked away. ”Now, let’s see… some interesting guesses here! Oh my,” she laughed at one of the things, before she put the notebook down.

She went through the bag, revealing many items. Insider was a package of diapers, baby food, baby wipes, power, towels, girls’ newborn clothes, and a gift certificate to Target. ”No, this one isn’t an unlimited credit card,” Susan joked, shooting Allyson a smirk while Erin and the other friend laughed at her outlandish suggestion. ”All of these are supplies that will be useful to the two of them with the kid! And believe me, the gift card is going to be so helpful especially when you run out of diapers last minute!’ She laughed.

Susan looked through the lists she’d been given by participants for the most accurate. ”So it looks like the winner… is Margaret! She must be an expert with baby things! You get the first slice of cake today!”

As the waiters came around and the party organized itself for lunch, Susan hummed, glad to be sat at one of the head tables with Chardonnay and her immediate line. She, Erin, and the other two girls were all allowed to sit together. Erin was giggling about something with Allyson that Susan didn’t know about. She was more focused on Margaret and Olivia, the three of them having a nice conversation.

Chardonnay was being silent, and Susan glanced at the young woman when Margaret brought it up. She blinked, wondering if Chardonnay was unhappy. She cast a worried glance at Olivia, though moved her gaze quickly to not attract the attention of Margaret. Instead, Susan tried to focus on her words.

”Oh! Arthur owns the theater in Salem! I don’t know if you’ve ever been, but he’s been passionate about movies since he was in the single digits! It’s always been his dream to own a theater, which was the reason they met in school! They were both business students!” She said to Margaret, unable to stop herself from speaking up even though the question was directed towards Chardonnay. ”But I couldn’t see Chardonnay not working at her restaurant! Oh! I remember once, I saw her and Thomas on TV talking about it! It was such a good special! I believe you talked about how your two restaurants were like sisters or something!”

Susan took a sip of her water, though she was curious if Chardonnay and Arthur had discussed… anything. She had heard no plans from Arthur of moving out of his apartment, and she’d not mentioned anything about him moving in. She wanted to ask, but the look on Chardonnay’s face convinced Susan not to inquire quiet yet.

Susan listened to Margaret and Chardonnay with interest, her eyes wide as she felt the bubbling tension grow. She didn’t necessarily agree with Margaret, but could see some of her points. She did think a mother should be close to her child and spend as much time with her as possible, but she knew that sometimes circumstances were different. She blinked and hummed when Chardonnay said she could be the breadwinner.

That was true, too, though she doubted Arthur would give up his business even to raise a baby! She’d always be a babysitter for them, of course! Susan was going to voice this but the argument grew in size, and Chardonnay snapped. Susan glanced at Olivia, worried, and then looked back at Chardonnay.

After Chardonnay went silent, Susan cleared her throat. It was awkward now; most of the invitees were staring. Susan glanced at Erin and her friends, who wore expressions that varied between concerned and amused. Erin was the latter, her hand hiding the smirk on her lips. The twinkle in her eyes was unmaskable, however.

”Oh, yes! Those spontaneous bathroom breaks were the worst!” Susan said, rubbing her neck. Susan turned towards Margaret at her huff and comments. She frowned slightly at the prospect of Chardonnay being abusive.

”Oh, I don’t think so! Arthur’s not the type of man who’d put up with that!” Susan said. Though as of late, she’d be lying if she said she didn’t have some concern.

”Yeah, he’d dish it right back.” Erin interjected, and Susan turned towards her. ”I think it’s good she’s so independent. But really? Their daughter is going to be the toughest kid alive. I’m really looking forward to meeting her!” Erin said, smiling.

Susan glanced at Olivia and pulled her aside to whisper.

”Should one of us go after Chardonnay?” she asked, somewhat surprised Olivia hadn’t already done that.

Erin frowned at Margaret. ”I never said they’d hit each other. They’re both just super sassy as hell.” She said, her nails lightly drumming against her cheek. At the inquiry to why they were together, Erin glanced over at Susan. The two made eye contact, but neither really knew how to respond to that. Arthur was surprisingly closed off about discussing Chardonnay with his friends, even though Erin knew the origin of how they got together.

That may have been the reason why he was reluctant to share anything. She looked at the door, humming. Maybe the reason wasn’t that deep, but that really got her mind thinking.

The time ticked on but eventually Chardonnay returned; Susan sat up straight and beamed at her. Erin glanced over at her, but was quickly captivated by the coming food.

As the wait staff filed in with plates, Erin grew excited. She and Susan each ordered the same thing and when their plates were placed in front of them, they commended how the dish was presented. This really was such a pristine little establishment! Once everyone received their food, chatter subsided to chewing and muted words.

After enjoying her meal for a bit, Susan turned towards Chardonnay. ”Is this a restaurant you've visited before?” she decided to ask, figuring Chardonnay may be more willing to discuss the venue in question than the contents of the shower itself! Though, she hoped her mood changed later, because Susan wanted to play more games! ”The food here is exquisite!”

Susan’s face lit up at Chardonnay’s affirmation. Of course Olivia wouldn’t have chosen a place Chardonnay didn’t like! She smiled as she put a piece of meat into her mouth, noting then how little Chardonnay was eating. The motherly side of Susan wanted to comment on it and tell her to eat more (she was eating for two, after all), but since the atmosphere was so tight, she didn’t chance risking it.

When Chardonnay further went on to say she should have prepared herself for this, and mentioned Olivia’s tricks, Susan waved her hand dismissively. ”Oh, but that would ruin the surprise! We wanted to keep the shower a surprise for you. So of course that wouldn’t have been ideal! I’ve always loved surprises!”

Susan clapped her hands together with a smile. ”It’s always so flattering to know someone’s gone through all the trouble to prepare something nice for you, like Olivia’s done here! She really wants to help you out, through this,” Susan gently tapped Chardonnay’s shoulder as she spoke, voice lower so only she and the young woman could hear. ”Your mother really is a wonderful woman; you’re quite lucky to have her!”

Susan felt a twinge of sadness as she spoke those words, thinking of her own mother. She was kind, albiet quiet, and would have done something like this for her had she been alive. Susan knew it. She knew Chardonnay loved Olivia immensenly and that the feelings were returned -- it gave her a nostalgic sort of happiness to witness. She smiled, and took a sip of her drink.

Susan was oblivious to Chardonnay’s thoughts, though she could see the frustration beginning to ebb on her face. She pulled out her phone quickly, spotting a few texts from Arthur. The conversation was normal, he was completely oblivious to the shower. She only wanted to tell him that they needed him to come down to pick up all of the gifts in his Jeep. She wondered if he’d have told them not to do this sort of thing.

She wondered if Chardonnay let anyone in at all – including her brother.

She turned towards Olivia when she cheerfully announced they should go to the gifts. ”Yes, let’s! Susan said, bouncing to her feet. She waved her hand to Adelaide. ”Go get the gifts, Addy!”

Adelaide huffed, but got up, grabbing ther and Susan’s bags. She pulled them closer and with a huff, placed the bag in front of Chardonnay. She narrowed her eyes at the other woman, before she looked away.

”This one’s from Addy and I! Oh, there’s a few parts to it! I bought you all sorts of things I found useful when I had my daughter!” She clapped her hands together. ”I hope you get as much use out of them as I did!”

Susan watched, hoping that Chardonnay’s attitude would change the more gifts she got. Instead, it only seemed to worsen. She noticed some of the guests whispering to one another – no doubt pissed off at how rude and ungrateful Chardonnay was being towards their gifts. Susan didn’t understand. If she was going to be having a baby, it was every woman’s dream to have a baby shower to help celebrate! She had always wanted hers, until she got it.

Adelaide was more interested in her phone by the time presents were being rolled around – she wanted to focus on texting her girlfriend. Susan would have chastised her, but honestly, she felt as though it was better that Adelaide wasn’t focused, and wasn’t making snide comments towards Chardonnay.

The mood of the event was souring. Fast.

When Susan was pulled over to the side by Olivia, she worriedly looked in Chardonnay’s direction before she glanced at the gossiping women in the corner. A few seemed to be getting along well with Erin and her friends, which normally Susan would love, if they weren’t speaking in hushed tones.

”No, no! It was a fair suggestion. I wanted to do something like this, too.” She said. She looked away. ”I didn’t know how… unhappy she’d be. I thought the gifts would perk her up, but…” she glanced away, towards the door, ”Maybe we should skip the last few games and wrap it up? This much stress can’t be good for the baby, either.”

Adelaide, after the presents were distributed, pocketed her phone and began to wander around. She saw the pile of presents and glanced them over. Her eyes found the breast pumps and she made a face.

”That does not look like it’s PG-13,” she mumbled, though, glancing around revealed she was the only girl her age. Ew, boring. She wished she had someone more interesting to talk to. One glance at Chardonnay revealed the woman surrounded by people, looking pissed off. She was always pissed off, wasn’t she? Adelaide rolled her eyes and pulled her phone out to snap a picture of the ridiculous breast pumps to Annabelle for shits.