Black Mud

This story comes with a soundtrack. The exercise required that I listened to a piece of instrumental music over and over again until a narrative formed in my mind. I chose Black Mud by the Black Keys, which I have included, and this is what developed from the music. Please, let me know what you think.




Black Mud

It seemed to take an eternity for my driver to bring the car around. I had spent the past three hours forcing myself to stay composed before the ladies in our country club and now my nerves were almost at their breaking point. These elite events always strained me. Between closely guarding all my actions to avoid making a slip in decorum and my mother-in-law, Barbara, criticizing every little thing I did, I always returned home with a headache. Today brought the extra stress of being stuck in a room with my husband’s lover.

Her name was Georgiana Worthington. She exemplified Barbara’s ideal woman and everything I had spent the past ten years trying to be. She was tall, blond, thin, genteel, and charming. She was bred to be the perfect wife for a power man and her husband was quite powerful and influential. As any perfect wife would, she hosted today’s luncheon to gain support for her husband’s cause. I wondered if that is why she slept with my husband. Had the plan been to woo the ladies with food and woo the gentlemen with sex? No, I could not see her husband agreeing to that idea.

Finally, I was alerted that my car waited for me but I could not make my escape that easily. Since she hosted the event, I had to speak to Georgiana before I left. Barbara spoke to her first. I watched Georgiana closely. Neither she nor my husband knew I had uncovered their dirty little secret. I had not made up my mind how I wanted to confront them. Right now, I only wanted to see if Georgiana would show any sign of feeling guilty. I should have known she was too perfect to give herself away. When she turned to me, all she did was make some comment about how lovely it always was to see me and she thanked me for my support.

I walked out of the room, amazed at Georgiana’s audacity. She truly thought she would never be caught. I was still reeling from her behavior, when Barbara said something that sealed everyone’s fate. “You know I had always hoped that my Thomas would marry Georgiana but then he brought you home . . .”

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I was late but then that was all part of the plan. Thomas waited for me inside his ancestral home, where the elite of the elite had gathered for one of Barbara’s legendary dinner parties. The second I walked through the door, I heard a gasp. I let myself smirk. One perk of doing everything necessary to achieve perfection was that I still fit into the skintight low rise jeans and tiny halter top that I had worn the first time Thomas and I met. I kept walking through the house without bothering to take in all the shocked faces around me. The tapping of my scarlet hooker heels alerted everyone to my presence and anyone I passed got an eyeful of the word “Wicked” stamped across my lower back. I had hid that tattoo for years but now I wanted everyone to see it.

I found my husband in the library with his parents and several other guests. They were all too stunned to speak. I grabbed a drink right out of a guest’s hands, while giving him a flirty grin. Then I winked seductively at Senator Schumer as I passed him.

“What do you think you are doing?” Thomas gritted out as he grabbed my elbow.

“You don’t touch me!” I shouted and then punched him in the jaw.

Thomas and I stared each other down as my father-in-law ushered all the guests out of the room. “I want a divorce,” I demanded.

“Well, thank God,” Barbara chimed in, “You will get you divorce but you are mistaken if you think I am going to let you walk away with anything belonging to the family.”

“Unless Thomas would like me to explain to Mr. Worthington that he has been sleeping with his wife, I will get whatever I want.”

“What do you want?” Thomas surrendered.

“Your balls in a jar.” Barbara hit the floor in a dead faint.