The Dinner Party



Janet took the lid off the pot. It’s delicious contents had been on the hob long enough to be done. She grabbed the wooden spoon, dipped it in the pot and tasted it. Yes perfect! She had put in the right amount of stock to get the desired taste she needed for her stew.

She glanced at the clock, better get a move on! They will be here soon, as she realised the time.

Dashing into the dining room, Janet set up the table with cutlery and plates for her special guests.

Tonight was the night her ex husband John, his new wife Sue and her daughter Amelia were coming round for dinner.

How did Janet feel about entertaining her ex husband and the woman he had left her for nearly four years ago?

“He did me a favour!” Janet had finally admitted to her best friend Georgie, several weeks after her initial shock in finding out her husband had been having an affair for nearly two years with a woman he had met at the gym.

Sue was her name, thirty nine she had been back then, five years younger than Janet and with a sixteen year old daughter Amelia.

“She’s welcome to him!” Janet spat when she had finally accepted their marriage was over.

There was no way they could patch things up. Besides, John and Sue were in love; he no longer loved Janet in the way he used to. Those feelings he had once felt for Janet, he now had for Sue.

John had apologised.

Apologised!

He will be sorry, Janet thought to herself as she had conjured up images in how to get her own back for what they had done to her...

Water under the bridge now, as she reluctantly accepted John’s idea in holding a dinner party to celebrate the engagement of his new step daughter, Amelia, now twenty-one, to their twenty-three year old son, Alex.

“The cheek of it!” Georgie scoffed, horrified at the thought of Janet having to endure an evening with the woman who broke her marriage up.

Alex didn’t help that, Janet thought, remembering the day three years ago when her then twenty year old son had brought Amelia home and quietly tried to sneak her upstairs to his room.

“What do you think your doing going upstairs? Come down now please!” Janet called, no way were Alex and Amelia creeping upstairs...

Ok they were both young adults who had been ‘dating’ six months. Janet had also been young once, but she still found it hard to accept that John had left her, so had felt uneasy at the prospect of Alex becoming close to Amelia.

How could he? Janet unconsciously thought. How could her own son be romantically interested in the daughter of the woman who split his parents up?

However, much to Janet’s annoyance, Alex couldn’t see anything wrong in becoming involved with Amelia.

“You can’t help who you have feelings for mum. Just because you’re still bitter about dad leaving you for Amelia’s mum, doesn’t mean we all have a grudge against her family. Dad left years ago, you need to move on! ” stated Alex.

Janet knew he was right, just because she had found it hard to accept that she was now a divorcee, she couldn’t allow her own feelings to dictate her son’s life.

Janet didn’t dislike Amelia, in fact, after slowly getting to know Amelia, Janet found her to be a really pleasant girl, who obviously wasn’t to blame for her mother’s actions, as she still continued to put the blame on ‘that woman’ for flaunting herself at her husband.

“It takes two to tango” Georgie had informed her matter of factly, that afternoon when Janet was having another little moan about how Sue had stolen her husband.

Yes, Janet was very aware of that fact, however John could have resisted, if he had loved Janet enough, he would have...

***

The shrill of the doorbell brought Janet back to the present as she made her way to open it.

Sue, Amelia and Alex stood at the door, Sue dressed to the nines in a flattering green dress held out a bouquet of flowers neatly tied with ribbon and packaged in paper.

“Thank you for offering to have us come to you. It would have been no problem for you to have come to us. I can cook you know...”

Was she being sarcastic, or was it meant to be light hearted?

Janet wasn’t sure. She hardly knew the woman and preferred it kept that way - if it wasn’t for Alex and Amelia, this evening would not be taking place!

“John missed his flight back from the America. He sends his apologies.” Sue spoke in an over confident manner.

“Oh!” Janet replied.

“Dad broke down on the interstate on his way to the airport yesterday,” Alex chopped in, “he can’t get another flight until later tonight.”

Janet looked at Sue, did she look awkward? Was this going to be more awkward without the backup of her husband John?

Janet had more pressing things to think about. She had wine to serve and a meal to dish up...

***

“This wine is delicious!” Sue gushed. “it has an unusual, almost unique taste to it. What is it?”

“Oh, its nothing special, just a cheap one I bought a while ago in the discount store. Glad you like it” she smiled.

“Aren’t you having any mum?” Alex stood up and grabbed the lager from the fridge. Alex never drank wine.

“No, I may have some later, I have a bit of a headache, wine makes it worse”

“Oh dear!” I’m sorry to hear that Janet” Sue simpered.

“Not as sorry as you will be” Janet muttered under her breath.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t catch that. What did you say?” Sue asked looking up from her plate.

Amelia silently glanced at Alex; Janet reading her thoughts could tell Amelia did not want to be there.

“Oh I just said it will go soon - my headache!”

Sue smiled then picked out some meat from the stew and placed it in her mouth.

Janet studied her.

“Mmmm this is delicious! My stews certainly never taste like this! Do they Amelia?”

“Er - no, Janet’s a great cook!” she replied before turning her head and smiled at Janet.

Janet smiled back. Everything was so far going to plan...

***

Picking up the unfamiliar phone the evening before, Janet scrolled down the contacts.

SUE: Sorry darling..

Janet continued typing..

‘I’ve broken down on my way to the airport. Waiting for breakdown which may take several hours, so I might miss my flight. Trying to get a taxi, but none seem to be available to come pick me up in time. Please apologise to Janet if I can’t make it. I’ll update you once I know if I can manage to get the flight back in time. Message again later xx’

She pressed send, put John’s phone back in her drawer and made her way downstairs.

As she did so, she recalled that fateful day, two weeks ago, when her doorbell had rung.

It was John.

What did he want?

Shocked at seeing him at the door, Janet could only assume he had come round to cause a scene.

“You going to let me in?” he spoke as he barged his way past Janet into the hall.

“John! What on earth do you think you’re doing! This is my house...” she began, as John raised his hands up to silence her.

He had been drinking, Janet could smell it on his breath. Drinking this early? It wasn’t even midday!

Although he didn’t seem to be drunk, she had an inkling he was going to cause trouble.

Her hand reached round behind and touched her back pocket, she felt her phone as relief swept over her; she could raise help quickly if she needed to.

He had come to inform her about the dinner party he had decided on, for Janet to get to know Sue.

“Why would I want to meet Sue?” Janet declared.

“Because she will be Alex’s mother in law when Alex and Amelia marry next year.”

Aware their son’s big day was looming, Janet knew she would see Sue at their forthcoming wedding. Having refused any invitation to meet Sue in the years since they confessed to their affair, John was determined they should be introduced before the big day.

“But Sue is technically already his step mother!” Janet, “I have no interest in meeting her, I shall see her at the wedding, be civil on the day, but will have nothing more to do with her.”

“Janet, come on...” John stepped towards her and put his arm on her shoulder.

Janet froze briefly, before pushing past him to make her way up the stairs.

“If you’ll excuse me,” she began. “I have things to do,”

She proceeded to climb the stairs.

“you can see yourself out John!”

“Janet!” John shouted, “Janet, don’t be like that, please! Just, hear me out”

He began to follow her up the stairs, until they both reached the landing.

Janet stopped and turned around. She did not want her ex husband follow her into the bedroom.

Shaking, she knew she had to be calm.

“No John” she spoke slowly in a low voice, “I am not interested in a get together to meet the woman you left me for.

“I’m not interested in being friends with her just because our son is marrying her daughter.

“We may share grandchildren in the future, but that’s the only connection we will have!”

“Why are you being unreasonable?” John spat as he stepped towards her again.

“Unreasonable?” You’re the one who is being unreasonable!” feeling threatened by his stance, she held out her arms to stop him moving forward.

Touching his shoulder, he

briefly took his hand off the bannister rail. As he did so, he suddenly lost his balance and stepped back towards the top stair.

His foot caught the edge of the stair, when suddenly, he toppled backwards headfirst towards the bottom.

“John!” Janet screamed, “John! Oh my god! As she leapt down the stairs. He lay in a pool of blood which came from his head where he had hit the cupboard beneath the stairs.

“John!” Janet shook, as panic washed over her. Tears welled in her eyes as she cradled him in her arms.

There was nothing she could do, it was too late to save him.

She knew he was gone...

#

He tripped and fell down the stairs. She didn’t push him did she? Certain she didn’t, as her brain tried to remember those brief moments before he fell.

She recalled holding out her arms, she felt threatened in that sudden moment.

But no, it wasn’t intentional, she didn’t intend to push him, in fact, she didn’t push him at all - he lost his balance and fell. It was a tragic accident!

#

It looked like a murder scene, no one would ever believe it was an accident.

What should she do?

He was drunk, he didn’t actually show it, but the alcohol in his blood would prove that, but that only. It wouldn’t prove they hadn’t argued and she deliberately pushed him down the stairs.

Why was he upstairs in the first place?

Why was he even here?

He attacked her and she pushed him, that’s the first thing people would think if she used that excuse.

Alex and Amelia would hate her forever, blaming her for their father’s death.

He was drunk, he fell, yes that is the truth, but would anyone truly believe it was just an accident?

Janet had to hatch up a plan. Quickly!

Fingers trembling, she pulled out her phone from her pocket; Georgie, the only person she could truly trust...

***

Blood still pouring from John’s head, the crisp white towel took on a shade of bright red.

Leaving him on the floor at the bottom of the stairs, Georgie gestured Janet up the stairs and into the bathroom.

Placing the bath plug into the plughole, Georgie hatched up a plan.

“Can’t have blood filling up the pipes, it may get traced back to here” she spoke matter of factly.

“Would it?” Janet panicked.

“Empty bottles – fetch me those wine bottles from your recycling box and a bucket” Georgie spoke briskly. “we will drain the blood into the bucket best we can, before pouring into wine bottles”

“What?” shocked at Georgie’s suggestion, Janet’s mind span into wild confusion as she envisioned them both trying to pour John’s blood into a bucket before transferring it into wine bottles.

Why wine bottles? What were they supposed to do with human blood filled wine bottles?

Janet ran down to the kitchen, she had several bottles from the weekend get together she had hosted for a few of their friends.

Georgie had it all sussed. But what were they going to do with his body?

“Remember years ago when we first met? I worked in the butchers shop in town” Georgie announced “I’ve still got my knives...”

Horror enveloped Janet as she took in Georgie’s words, was she serious? No! She wasn’t - was she?

***

What seemed like hours, was only moments as Georgie rushed home to get them.

Holding his heavy but limp body, they dragged John up the stairs and into the bathroom.

Janet couldn’t look, she felt sick as she ran down the stairs into the cloakroom.

#

The smell of fresh blood lurked everywhere, the house began to smell; Janet could only assume the aroma resembled a slaughterhouse. Her house, her fresh tidy house was becoming a house of horrors!

Panic overcame her as the odour of fresh human blood on her body became more apparent.

Throwing up into the toilet bowl, her eyes filled with tears as she heard the noise upstairs of the cutting flesh and chopping of bones as Georgie’s knives ripped into John’s lifeless body.

Shocked at the thought of what Georgie was doing, it seemed like a murder was being committed!

Janet’s imagination took a turn for the worse as she was sure she could hear the sound of screams from the bathroom after every cut Georgie made, as the shrill of John’s blood chilling screams echoed in Janet’s head...

#

He's already dead! Janet told herself, he couldn’t be saved. He was dead!

This is so wrong she thought, this is Alex’s dad!

Janet began to sob as she thought of Alex, her son, their son, their little boy, who loved his dad, as in her head she played out scenes, memories of John and Alex together, playing, hanging out, holidays, weekends, Birthdays, Christmas...

It was too much for Janet to bear, as she collapsed on the floor, her hands and clothes covered in blood, John’s blood, the man she used to love, still did.

Her heart broken, not just because of Sue, his now wife, but because of the horror of events which had taken place that day.

Over and over the scene of him falling, his limp lifeless body laying at the foot of the stairs played out in her mind.

Was it her fault? Did she help play a part in his death?

It wasn’t murder; was it manslaughter? She could go down for manslaughter!

Her body shook, she felt cold and frightened, frightened in what she had witnessed, frightened with what was happening now and absolutely terrified of what was going to happen next and in the future.

How was she going to tell Alex?

How could she tell Alex his dad was dead?

The thought broke her into a million pieces, as she let out a loud cry and sobbed and sobbed and sobbed...

***

Rummaging in the pockets of John’s clothes, Georgie pulled out a mobile phone and keys; car keys, John’s car was outside, he was on his way to the airport.

Janet remembered John telling her, he was about to leave for a business trip to America for two whole weeks.

He won’t be missed for two weeks, Janet realised, Sue would be expecting to hear from him whilst he was away.

The phone still in Georgie’s hand, she switched it on.

‘security pin code’

------

flashed up on the screen. What could that be?

Janet glanced at Georgie.

“Ok, this may take a few days, a few lock outs and a lot of cursed words to figure out what that could be” Georgie whispered, as if someone was listening...

“It would take more than a few days to crack the pin code!” Janet spoke, her voice raised as her anxiety increased.

“Well, dates, try dates, birthdays, anniversaries, wedding anniversary...” sore subject, as it certainly would not have been their wedding anniversary. As Janet typed in six numbers.

“Alex’s date of birth. Fingers crossed its that.”

“You had better hope it’s not Sue’s…” Georgie piped up.

Janet gave her a look, she could be right though, it pained her to think it could have been.

“Try Alex’s first!”

060599

‘incorrect code’ the display flashed. OK, she thought. A different way in typing Alex’s date of birth, she typed again;

050699

‘incorrect code’.

“Whole year ” Georgie suggested. “try using the month, day and whole year.”

“Get locked out if this is wrong.” As Janet typed in 651999.

“Yes!” Georgie yelled, “we are in!

“Messages, did he message anyone telling them he was here?”

Janet’s heart thudded as her nerves kicked in. Scrolling through his chat messages they couldn’t see anything to suggest John had informed anyone he been at Janet’s that day.

“Now we just need to ensure that John communicates with Sue, make everything look normal. She has to think he’s still alive and well and on his way to America...”

“However,” Georgie continued, “we need access to his bank cards.” as Georgie rummaged in John’s jacket pocket, pulling out his wallet, “he has to be seen to be alive, and the car, we need to get the car moved. Janet, we have an airport to drive to - tonight!

“In the meantime, we have clothes and the rest of his remains to burn. Nothing like a good bonfire to discard all your rubbish. We will do that on the way to the airport.”

Janet felt out of her depth, what had they got themselves into?

This was never going to work, as fear engulfed Janet. How could she possibly continue this charade without having a major breakdown?

Janet’s head began to spin as she felt a major headache kicking in.

***

The most eventful two weeks of Janet’s life had so far gone to plan.

The car was found at the airport car park. His bank cards has been used at the terminal to buy refreshments before his flight.

The police has been informed by the airline company that John hadn’t actually got on the plane.

They were wrong, Sue had insisted to the police. John had been messaging her whilst he was away.

***

“Maybe your dad left her for another woman?” Janet had suggested to Alex several weeks after they had reported him ‘missing’.

“He could have pretended to be going to America, when he was planning on leaving Sue instead for all we know; he did it once, he can do it again.”

“Why has he not contacted me? I’m his son.”

Janet shrugged, “Who knows?”

Placing her hand on her sons shoulder, “I’m sure he’ll be in touch.”

She opened the freezer and pulled out the large chunk of frozen mince.

“Thought I’d cook us a cottage pie tonight.” Plenty of frozen meat to use up, as Janet’s culinary skills and imagination were definitely improving.

“Unless you and Amelia have plans? ” as Janet’s thoughts went to the bottles of red which Amelia enjoyed drinking and taking home to Sue.

Maybe the dinner party was a success after all? Sue certainly loved the unusual homemade red wine which Janet and Georgie had conjured up.

And as for Janet’s delicious homemade steak pies which Sue also loved, there was nothing more delightful than making batches of them using her ‘special recipe’ for Amelia to take home to her mum.

“Those cottage pies you make are the best mum! Don’t know why, but your cooking has really improved since I left home!”

It's the ingredients, thought Janet, as she looked across at the photograph on the kitchen unit of a family holiday they all had when Alex was small. John was holding six year old Alex in his arms.

Never far away was John, as Janet looked back at the large chest freezer tucked away in the corner of her tidy kitchen.

Never far away...

THE END