The Plight of Ms. Cullary's Sapphire...

The Plight of Mrs. Cullary’s Sapphire Earrings

         Mrs. Cullary positioned herself in front of the floor length mirror in her dressing room. She admired her rather curvy backside with a self assured smile, then turned on her heel to admire the plunging neckline of her silky black dress. A small crystal broach held the fabric together over her unnaturally perky bosoms. The hem of her dress daintily rested on the tips of her designer heels. She twirled watching her diamonds sparkle in the reflection of the mirror. Her fingers instantly pinched her petite earlobes.

         Earrings. She had forgotten to put in her earrings. Her perfectly sculpted nostrils flared. How embarrassing it would have been to show up at dinner with naked earlobes. Silently, Mrs. Cullary scolded herself, tilted her chin in the air, hiked up the sides of her dress and stalked over to her multi-tiered jewelry case.

         Mrs. Cullary was dumbfounded. She rummaged around in drawer after drawer searching for the newest addition to her collection of pricey jewelry. Earlier in the week, Mrs. Cullary’s diamond encrusted, custom made sapphire earrings were hand delivered to her doorstep by a trusted courier.

         She had the dangling earrings made specially for tonight’s dinner. The who’s who of Beverly Hills were going to be there. The other housewives from her neighborhood, whom she secretly competed with included. There was no way she was going to show up to dinner looking anything less than perfect.

         The women in her circle liked to gossip. They gossiped about each other, close friends, casual acquaintances, and more. They were always trying to out do one another from the clothes and jewels they wore, the cars they drove, the homes they lived in, the vacations they went on, and the families they married into. Tonight would be no different. Now where were those earrings?

         Mrs. Cullary searched and searched. She knew she had put them in the first drawer in her case. She had peaked at them every day since receiving them right up until this morning. She called downstairs to her husband. Being the good husband that he was, he indulged her demand and obediently climbed the wide, curling staircase.

          After receiving an earful about his wife’s earrings he shrugged his shoulders, went back downstairs and poured himself a drink. He tried to prepare himself for another night of fake pleasantries and air kissing.

         Mr. and Mrs. Cullary had married for convenience, not love. He wanted a hot trophy wife to accompany him to dinners such as tonight’s and she wanted someone to take care of her. Someone who could afford to give her the lifestyle she has always dreamt of. Mrs. Cullary emerged from her dressing room ready to go another round with her husband when she stopped dead in her tracks.

         She had come to the conclusion that someone had stolen her precious earrings. There was absolutely no way she could have misplaced them as her boring husband had annoyingly suggested. He was a lame man, a man with no charm or sense of humor. If it wasn’t for her he’d still be living in a boring house with his boring mother wearing the same boring clothes he had when they first met.

         Mr. Cullary may have been boring but poor he was not. When he and Mrs. Cullary first met he lived in a modest shuttered house with his aging mother. Though he had the means, he preferred to save his money rather then spend it lavishly on frivolous items. His wife had quickly fixed that. They now shared a multi million dollar mansion, drove expensive cars, and wore the finest clothes. Much to Mrs. Cullary’s chagrin, her husband refused to part with his mother and send her to live in a comfortable nursing home. Instead, he had dedicated an entire wing of their mansion to her. No expense or luxury was spared.

         For a few minutes, Mrs. Cullary entertained the idea of skipping this evenings dinner. The loss of her earrings had soured her mood and she felt under dressed without them. She pushed the thought aside and decided on a pair of diamond chandelier earrings instead. Mrs. Cullary knew that if  she and her husband were a no show, tongues would be wagging and not in a way that suited her.

         The next morning, Mrs. Cullary awoke still on a high from last night. She had managed to become the center of attention at dinner, something she absolutely loved. All the other women were jealous of her, that she knew for a fact. It made her feel good, so good in fact she had completely forgotten about her stolen earrings.

         That was until she meandered into her dressing room and spotted her towering jewelry case out of the corner of her eye. Mrs. Cullary was incensed. How dare someone steal from her, of all people. She vowed to find the perpetrator beginning this morning.

         Over breakfast, which for her consisted of a glass of iced water, she fumed. She fumed as she watched her husband openly enjoy devouring a plate full of eggs, sausage, bacon, and toast. Mrs. Cullary’s sat glaring at her husband who had not even bothered to look up from his fat filled breakfast to say good morning to her. When his mother rode into the kitchen on her motorized wheel chair and he jumped up to peck her on the cheek and say good morning, she almost spit in his face.

         How dare he love that wretched old woman more than she. She couldn’t stomach it, couldn’t stomach him or his mother. As she watched the paid  help clear away her husbands dirty breakfast dishes and serve her mother in law a bowl of oatmeal, she fumed even more.

         She waited until she and her husband were alone in their bedroom and accosted him with her words. She wanted to know everyone who had been in the house the day before besides the help. When he asked why she snarled. Why? Really? Because she needed to know who had stolen her earrings.

         Not for a minute did she think a member of their staff had done it. They were too loyal and knew they would never work again in this town if they even tried to cross her. It took all of Mrs. Cullary’s will not to raise her hand and strike her husband after he had reluctantly answered her questions.

         He had informed her that their neighbors Mr. and Mrs. Ruthers had popped in for an afternoon cocktail. Mrs. Cullary gripped the door frame to her private bathroom. Her breathing grew fast and blood rushed to her temples. She hated Mrs. Ruthers, something she confided in her husband at least once a week.

         Mrs. Ruthers had a way of making Mrs. Cullary feel insecure and not up to par with the rest of their social circle. Mrs. Ruthers was constantly bragging to Mrs. Cullary about her upbringing, her world travels, and her many successes. Oh, how Mrs. Cullary hated her. She hated the fact that she had been in her home without her there to observe and she hated the fact that Mrs. Ruthers was always finding a new way to humiliate her.

         Mrs. Cullary was convinced that Mrs. Ruthers was the culprit. Suddenly, Mrs. Cullary smiled, her perfect teeth barely showing. She was still angry with Mrs. Ruthers and now she had an opportunity for revenge. It was her turn to do the humiliating. She couldn’t wait.

         Mrs. Cullary sat at her vanity and began plotting. Tonight she’d be attending a cocktail party on the next street over. Mrs. Cullary couldn’t wait to put her plan in motion. She knew the Ruthers would be showing up an hour or so later then everyone else. As she worked the room she’d fill in the other ladies about her missing earrings.

         The night would be perfect if Mrs. Ruthers showed up wearing them. If she didn’t, Mrs. Cullary would find a way to call her out on another occasion. She’d think of how to do that later. Instantly her mood had lightened. She even made small talk with the mother in law she hated over lunch.



         The ladies at the cocktail party were stunned. For the life of themselves they couldn’t imagine being stolen from. Secretly they were happy it was Mrs. Cullary who had been ripped off and not them. To keep up with appearances they responded with oh my’s and you poor thing. Mrs. Cullary went on to say she couldn’t imagine who could have done such a thing. It popped into her mind that she should casually set up Mrs. Ruthers.

         When asked who was in her home on the day in question she sweetly responded with no one, well only the Ruthers. She pretended not to notice the glances the other ladies made to one another and the looks on their faces. When Mrs. Ruthers made her entrance she was greeted with coldness from a group of stand offish ladies. Mrs. Cullary secretly swam in happiness because Mrs. Ruthers didn’t have a clue as to why she was being treated this way.

         Over the next few weeks the invitations the Ruthers received to dinners and parties slowly diminished. Mrs. Cullary kept adding fuel to the fire by saying she didn’t know what to do when Mrs. Ruthers called or showed up on her doorstep uninvited.

         The other ladies expressed their disappointment in Mrs. Ruthers and how they felt bad for Mrs. Cullary for being put in such an awkward position. Then they went on and on about how good of a person she was considering the situation. Mrs. Cullary quickly took over Mrs. Ruthers’ spot in the social pecking order.

         Mrs. Ruthers wasn’t the only one to suffer. Eventually word had spread to the husbands and they slowly pushed Mr. Ruthers from their end of the social circle. Invitations to men only events came to a halt as did business dealings. After a while Mr. Ruthers got wind of what was going on.

         It was at an annual charity fundraiser that Mr. Ruthers overheard two of the wives discussing the plight of Mrs. Cullary’s earrings. He was both outraged and amazed and chose to take his anger and frustration out on his wife very publicly. Not only was Mr. Ruthers embarrassed, he had lost out on several lucrative business deals.

         Most had wondered why the Ruthers were there and how they had scored an invite to such a prestigious occasion. A rumor began circulating amongst the housewives that Mrs. Ruthers had paid a handsome price for the invite.          

         What had begun as a quiet inquisition to his wife in the corner of the room ended with a very red faced Mr. Ruthers practically screaming at his wife. Mrs. Cullary rejoiced as Mrs. Ruthers yelled back her denials for the entire room to hear. Mrs. Cullary’s heart fluttered with pure happiness as Mrs. Ruthers fled the room in humiliation.

         That night was the talk of the town for weeks to come. Mr. Ruthers stopped speaking to his wife and cut up her credit cards. She was all but forced out of town by her so called friends and neighbors. No one spoke to her, they hardly made eye contact with her. She was turned away from dinners and parties with dirty looks and demeaning words. Mrs. Ruthers had all but given up. No one would give her a chance to defend or redeem herself. Mrs. Ruthers began living a life she wasn’t accustomed to and had previously chastised others for living.

         Mrs. Cullary basked in her revenge. She made it known that all she really wanted were her earrings back. She said she knew Mrs. Ruthers had never liked her and exaggerated a few stories about how mean Mrs. Ruthers had been to her, the sort of things she used to say to her. She even let slip things Mrs. Ruthers had said about the other housewives. The other ladies couldn’t get over how much Mrs. Cullary had endured and for so long. Soon they didn’t just look down on Mrs. Ruthers, they hated her too.



         A month later, the elder Mrs. Cullary died. Her Alzheimer's had progressively worsened. On some days she couldn’t remember whether she had eaten and on really bad days she didn’t recognize her own loving son.

         Her funeral was packed with the Cullary’s family, friends, and acquaintances. The Cullary’s received condolences and prayers from hundreds of people. As Mrs. Cullary greeted mourners she couldn’t help but notice a group of ladies standing adjacent to the casket whispering. Mrs. Cullary could spot a group of women gossiping from a mile away.   

         When the line had come to an end, and Mrs. Cullary and her husband were  making their way to the casket, in walked Mrs. Ruthers. She held her head high and walked into the parlor. The other ladies in the room slowly made their way over to her and began talking. They turned to give Mrs. Cullary cold looks.

         Mrs. Cullary fumed inside. She let her husband lead her to the casket. Mrs. Cullary stared down at her mother in law in horror. Attached to her ears were a pair of diamond encrusted, custom made sapphire earrings. Mrs. Cullary’s heart rate slowed and she began to shake.

         Mrs. Cullary asked her husband where her mother in laws earrings had come from. He told her he had found them tucked away in his mothers dresser drawer. He informed his wife that he wanted his mother to be buried in her finest garments.

         Mrs. Cullary spoke to her husband through clenched teeth. She explained to him that those were the earrings that she thought Mrs. Ruthers had stolen from her. To Mrs. Cullary’s dismay her husband laughed. He went on to say that mother was always taking things she thought were hers and hiding them only to forget about them a few minutes later.  He smiled and looked down at his mother lovingly.



         Mrs. Cullary’s earrings were the topic of many discussions over the next few weeks. She tried to make good with Mrs. Ruthers and the rest of the ladies by making light of the situation and explaining to them what had happened. Mrs. Ruthers waited for an apology that never came. The other ladies stopped talking to Mrs. Cullary and soon the number of invitations to dinners and other events diminished.

          The marriage of convenience between the Cullary’s had come to an end. Mr. Cullary divorced his wife leaving her with practically nothing thanks to a prenup, and sold his sprawling mansion. He donated the proceeds to Ahlziemers research and happily left his old life behind. He moved to a small town out west and settled in with his new wife whom he was very in love with.

         Mrs. Cullary was all but run out of town. None of the other housewives would speak to her, nor would their husbands. She was forced to take a job waitressing at a diner outside of town. A few of the housewives, including Mrs. Ruthers walked through the door one late afternoon after a tiring day of shopping. They had too much class to laugh outright in Mrs. Cullary’s face, but couldn’t help grinning from ear to ear.

         Mrs. Cullary wanted to die as she was forced to wait on them. Mrs. Ruthers smiled politely as she placed her order. Before leaving, one of the ladies had kindly circled a few want ads in the paper that had been left in the booth. Apparently, Mrs. Ruthers was hiring extra household help for the holidays.

         Mrs. Cullary couldn’t take it. She slammed down the tray of dirty dishes she was holding on the table and stormed from the diner never to be seen again, leaving her fifty cent tip behind. On her way out of the door she vowed her revenge on all the housewives. Mrs. Ruthers was first on her list.