Free Society Wives by Renee Flagler

maid to finish setting the table before her guests arrived.
    She pushed the back onto the post of her cultured pearl earring and snapped at the maid. “Just give me the damn napkins!” she yelled, snatching them from her grasp. “I don’t understand what’s so hard. Just fold them like this and stuff it inside the ring.” Nadalia demonstrated, and then tossed the napkin on the table.
    â€œHow’s it going in here, babe?” Sage stepped in looking rather dapper as he fastened his cuff links. His red button down shirt was fitting for the holiday festivities.
    â€œLook at you, handsome.” Nadalia wiped the shoulders of his shirt and ran her hand down his chest. “All is well. I just need to light a damn fire under these girl’s behinds. They’re moving slower and slower these days. The last crew we hired was so much better.” Nadalia cast her eyes upward as if she just remembered something that irritated her. “Give me a minute, babe,” she said to Sage and turned back toward the kitchen. “Ladies! Where are the favors I told you to place on the console in the foyer?”
    â€œI’ll get them right away, ma’am,” one of the hired hands said and scurried past Nadalia with her head down.
    â€œAnd make sure the girls are all dressed and ready to work. My guests will begin arriving any minute.” Nadalia looked around. “I need someone at the door now to greet people!”
    â€œYes. Ma’am,” one of them said.
    â€œHey! Where are you going?” Nadalia yelled at a women passing by. “I said put the favors out.”
    â€œBut, ma’am. You asked me to check on the girls to make sure they were ready.”
    Nadalia parked her hands on her hips and glared. “Do what I ask in the order that I ask.”
    â€œTake it easy on those ladies,” Sage said.
    â€œI pay them very good money. The least I could ask for is efficient work.”
    Nadalia locked eyes with Sage and smiled. He seemed relaxed for the first time in weeks and she applauded herself for deciding to have this party, even though she thought of it at the last minute. She called it their Holiday Pot Luck dinner and determined that if things went well tonight, she was going to make it a permanent part of her holidays. She knew that getting together with his friends and their wives would lift his spirits. Maybe she could even get him to make love to her after their guests were gone. She’d been longing for his touch for far too long and with their sexual appetites, they had never gone weeks without having sex. She looked forward to the end of football season so she could have her husband back.
    â€œCome with me.” Nadalia grabbed Sage’s hand and led him through the foyer. They passed the sitting room and headed into the kitchen where rows of chafing dishes lined the counters, all complements of a renowned local chef.
    Nadalia paused, closed her eyes and inhaled, taking in the symphony of delectable aromas. “Smells divine, doesn’t it?” She led Sage to the counter like a little boy being dragged by his mother. “There’s lobster bisque, blackened prawns over arugula, shrimp scampi, made the Italian way, not the bootleg Red Lobster way, steamed mussels...mmm.” Nadalia leaned over the dish she held open and relished the fragrant delicacies.
    â€œNice spread!”
    â€œYou mean mine or the food?” she said, poking her protruding bottom at him. Before he could respond, Nadalia burst out laughing. Sage joined her.
    â€œActually both. Let me get a good look at you.” Sage spun her around admiring the red and ivory knit dress traveling around her hourglass figure. “Mmmm. You look as delicious as the feast you’ve laid out.”
    Nadalia giggled, loving the girly way she felt after his compliment.
    â€œI have a question. I thought pot luck meant that you actually cooked the food