Welcome to day nineteen of Just Jot It January for 2023. Today’s word is complaint.
Today a rough little pantser piece.
If Mary had one complaint in this life it was simply that she was just too beautiful. Gorgeous in fact. It made her quite unapproachable and men were simply so intimidated by her beauty they rarely found the courage to ask her out. Those who did were soon relegated to the sideline as she received all the attention everywhere they went.
There was nothing else to complain about. She came from a wealthy family who provided her with an Ivy League education, a substantial trust fund, and a six-figure job she had no interest in accepting. Why should she? She was already wealthy and extremely beautiful so why risk developing wrinkles she would just need to Botox away? Her father saw things differently, however. He had issued her an ultimatum.
Mary glanced into the mirror and smiled. As she gazed at her perfect figure, her long thick ebony hair, and her impeccable bone structure, a knock on the door broke her concentration.
“Come in.” she knew it would be her assistant, Emily. She was actually her maid, but in 2023, having a maid sounded so gauche.
“Miss Brashard?” Emily was a mousy girl who always talked with her hands clinched into tight little fists. “You have a guest waitin’ in the solarium.”
“WAITING, Emily. There is a very distinct ‘g” at the end of that word.” Mary found her coloquialisms so tiring. “I will be down in a moment.”
As Emily backed out of the room she wanted to pull that long black hair out by the roots. Mary insisted it was impolite to turn her back on her so she was required to back out of the room.
Emily tried not to roll her eyes as she entered the solarium. “Dr. Sherbourne, Miss Brashard will be with you shortly.”
“Doctor my ass” Emily thought to herself. The doctor was a spiritualist astronomer who could read the stars according to her business card. Emily prepared a pitcher of lemon water and the same organic platter of crudités she assembled every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon. “I could read the damn stars, too, if someone was shoving hundreds of dollars in my pocket twice a week.”
Dr. Sherbourne rose to her feet as Mary walked into the room.
“Oh, my dearest Mary, whatever is wrong? Your aura is clouded with negative energy.”
“Oh, Sadie! I knew you would see it. The stress is unbearable. It’s my father. He is insisting I find a husband or he is threatening to modify my trust fund! I don’t know how to be poor! You must help me!”
Emily delivered the tray just as astrological charts were unfurled on the ornate Bocate table. She backed out of the room without a word, but not before hearing the good doctor tell Mary she had brought a tincture for her to try.
Friday morning, Mary awoke with a sense of relief. Maybe it was Sadie’s tincture or just a perfect night of blissful sleep, but regardless she felt refreshed and renewed. Her charts revealed good news on the horizon. Her moon was in Capricorn and Sagittarius was in the 7th house. What a relief. She stared out the window and waited for Emily to arrive with her breakfast. “Always promptly at 7:55 am.”
*****
Saturday she took her baby-blue convertible into the city. It was a perfectly sunny day and everyone was so friendly. She had never known people to be so nice and she wondered what had changed. Earlier that morning Emily said there was something different about her and perhaps there was.
Mary was blissfully unaware but something had changed. In a few days her face had been transformed. She was no longer a stunningly beautiful woman. Her ebony hair had lost its sheen. Her nose had a slight bend at the tip and her lips were no longer plump and full. The world was seeing something different than Mary could see. She was average. Sadie’s tincture had worked.
She had lunch at Marcell’s but instead of their normal curt but obligatory service the wait staff were polite, even accommodating. She felt welcomed and respected. She responded in kind. Even Jeremy Norris, the most eligible bachelor in town, smiled and said hello to her.
On her drive home even the clouds forming on the horizon could not discourage her. It was a perfect Saturday. The stars were finally aligning in her favor just as Sadie had predicted.
Mary glanced at her reflection in the rearview mirror and smiled. “Just as beautiful as always”.
Written as part of Linda Hill’s JusJoJan.
Prompt word today (complaint) submitted by John from The Sound of One Hand Typing.
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