The Height Of Happiness

“I heard you were here,” Daphne greeted Serena with her cutting tone and cold words. “I had to come see for myself.”

Serena replied with a backhanded quip, “I didn’t know you were on the list today.”

When brunch finally commenced, it all seemed to be relatively painless. People drank mimosas and laughed. Lydia told a story about her son saving some baby bunnies from their family dog as a young boy. Edward was humble, and brushed off the tale with a slightly self-deprecating joke. When strangers spoke to the crowd, Teddy would lean close and whisper in Serena’s ear to explain who they were.

Only Serena could see how it made Daphne Kim’s blood boil like an active volcano, and when she took advantage of the lull Serena knew that it would be bad.

“Oh no,” Patrick muttered across from Serena. “This can’t be good.”

Daphne’s eyes were red. Serena could tell she’d consumed too much booze, and knew whatever she was about to say would be a dumpster fire that Edward would have to attempt to manage. Serena squeezed his hand under the table as she sipped her water. She held her breath and waited for the ball to drop.

“I want to propose a toast,” Daphne began from a seated position, her words almost slurring together. “When Edward and I met at school and fooled around in that bathroom, who knew it would lead us here? When we were friends, he convinced me to come to Italy with him on some school trip. He got me to love wine, and when we were drunk he took my virginity! Then, when I wanted more he was no better than a freaking ghost! So without him being a cold jerk, I would never have pined enough for him to take this job. I would not be here without him sticking it in me and leaving me for dead. I might be married to that Parisian lawyer who asked me to marry him last year, but I said no because it seemed like you were jealous of him. I might have that job in New York when that poacher came knocking from an art house two years ago, but I stayed because you asked me. I’m rich, but I have to watch the love of my life fool around with such insignificant women. Thanks, Eddie. You suck.”

“Um, maybe you want to save this for later, Daph?” Patrick asked.

“No! I came all the way from Los Angeles to say this! I am supposed to be on my way to fashion week right now in Europe, but NO. I had to come check on you and make sure you weren’t messing everything up by having this little bimbo from the hills here with you. How wrong I was! So there’s only one question to ask.”

“What?” someone mumbled.

Serena saw it was a very confused old man at the far end of the table, not sure of what was going on. Looking anywhere else but at Daphne, Serena raised her eyebrows as she tried to be less bewildered, and she let her hand drop Edward’s. This was news she wasn’t ready for, and every board member looked just as flustered as Serena felt.

“Do you want me or her, Edward?”

“Daphne—”

“Are you going to answer me?!”

Edward looked at her and said quietly, “This isn’t the place, Daphne.”

Daphne shot up from the table and her eyes were piercing. Serena had to grab the pitcher of mimosas so that it didn’t tip onto the table. The suits around them all stiffened as the usually prim and precise woman dove headfirst into a wild tirade.

“Oh my god, you screwed her. You screwed this bi*ch, didn’t you?! I can see it all over your dumb face, Edward! You don’t know how to love, but you sure know how to lust after someone!”

Serena’s mind spun as eyes glanced towards her. The message in their eyes was loud and clear. Messages of judgment sunk into her skin alongside shame and chagrin. Looking down at her empty plate, Serena suddenly felt all alone. Edward said nothing as the woman across from her kept screaming about their s*x life.

Serena suddenly felt like a common whore.

Everyone fell silent. All that could be heard was Daphne’s fuming like a bull blowing smoke from its nostrils when she finally stopped screaming. Her inhales and exhales were sharp and defined as she glared down at Edward and Serena who still sat together. Edward couldn’t seem to find the words to make the moment right. He began to open his mouth, but then shut it several times. His green eyes were wide with bewilderment, and his shoulders were hunched in the shame his actions had just cast over the proceedings of the party.

When she ran out of breath, Daphne flopped back in her chair and chugged the last of her wine before storming out.

“Somebody call me a car!” she called out from the hall. Patrick ran off to wrangle her.

It was safe to the say the party was over, and Serena wanted out.

She felt humiliated by sitting silently through the display, but she knew nothing good would come of her attempt to fire back. At the same time, the narrative Daphne’s words painted echoed in her mind. It was too much like her own story with Edward. They fooled around. They became friends. They had s*x. Then, things fell apart.

Serena didn’t want to see if the last chapter of Edward’s affair with Daphne would mirror the ending of their own relationship. Chagrin sunk her stomach as Serena let all these realizations sink in. Finally, she realized that she had to go. She wanted to go home. Snow or not, Serena needed to be away from this disaster and in a place she was familiar with.

“Excuse me,” Serena mumbled as she threw her cloth napkin on the table and turned to leave the room.

Lydia stood and met her at the dining room’s entrance, saying in a very apologetic tone, “Serena my dear, I’m so sorry.”