Sour Grapes Redux

Lydia Foxworth was remarkably beautiful. She had a golden brown complexion and model worthy features. Her physique was eye-catching to men and enviable to women with equal measure. Lydia was clever and ambitious. Her father left when she was very young and she didn’t remember him very well, nor did she struggle to. Her mother never remarried. This being the case, Lydia was taught to never rely on a man. According to Mother, “He could be here today, gone tomorrow.” While Lydia pretended to heed this credo of independence, secretly she balked at the idea.

To her, there was nothing wrong in using her charms to extract whatever her heart desired. She flirted and batted her lengthy lashes sans mascara and sat back while the tokens of affection fell into her lap. Even though this raised questions from her mother, she always explained away the gifts by some fortuitous incident. Perhaps a generous girlfriend bought a designer bag and changed her mind. Sometimes there were raffles and giveaways at the upscale boutique she patronized. To her, the lies came easy. The trouble was, all of these items lost their luster once she could call them her own.

One day, on her way to work Lydia passed the most dazzling conversation piece in a jewelry store window. There, in all of its brilliance sat the necklace. It was her birthstone. A gorgeous Amethyst star set in tiny Swarovski crystals. Lydia had found a new obsession. She cared not about the price tag. She just knew she had to have it.

The first order of business was to find a gentleman pliable enough to willingly give such an expensive present. She had to dig into her bag of tricks. Knowing there were several suitors to choose from, she carefully charted her plan of action. Lydia Foxworth was cunning. Her personality shifted from pearl-clutching prude to insatiable vamp depending on who the unsuspecting victim was. She knew for this endeavor, she would have to be equal parts naïve nymph and untamed temptress. Lydia was an opportunist by nature and her desires only grew with advantageous rewards. Her mark was chosen and she was deadlocked.

She frequently chatted with a married middle-aged executive who worked in her building. He often bought her lunch and had parcels delivered to her desk. Scented candles, Swiss chocolates and delicate trinkets, there seemed to be no limit to how fond of her he was. Lydia struck while the iron was hot. While casually talking, she allowed the conversation to slip into risqué banter. He marveled at her intelligence, her ability to stimulate him without being salacious. He went home thinking about her. She was the sexiest woman he had ever had the privilege to know.

After weeks of flirting, she finally felt the time was right. She suggested having a latte at a quaint place a few city blocks from their workplace. It was perfect. On their way to the café, they would have to pass the jewelry store. They met in the atrium after work and began to stroll. Together they walked, friendly co-workers to the naked eye, but Lydia knew better. Weeks of planning were finally about to pay off. She deliberately slowed steps as they approached the vast window. Lydia skillfully guided his eyes towards the jewel. She stopped and fawned over it, as if laying eyes on it for the first time – just long enough for him to take her elbow and lead her inside. All the while, she falsely protested his idea.

Lydia hung back while he inquired about the necklace. She feigned interest in the more affordable pieces but inside she leapt for joy. This was by far her best swindle yet. Thoughts of her mother’s indignation fleetingly crossed her mind, but she dismissed them. Everything was going according to plan…

That is until her eyes caught sight of an older woman nearing her admirer. ‘Who is she? How does she know him?’ The nape of her neck was on fire. At this time, the counterperson was already handing back a credit card to its rightful owner. She strained to hear their exchange over the Muzak and New York City traffic, but could not make it out. Finally, the lady wished him a great weekend and went on her way.

What followed rocked Lydia to the core. Apparently, the woman was an acquaintance of his wife. He explained to Lydia that she had noticed him just when the necklace was being boxed for purchase. He had no choice but to tell her that it was an impromptu gift for his beloved. Certainly, he could not let on that she caught him in the act of trying to buy the affections of the nubile young woman standing by the handcrafted crystal pins. Lydia agreed coyly but inwardly she seethed. Weeks upon weeks of entertaining this placid man’s folly, only to see it go down the drain on a chance encounter. In her mind’s eye she had already pictured the jewel on herself. The pendant dangling sweetly above her décolletage in a lilac French silk blouse- yet another coveted treasure from some poor sap.

As she made her way home, slowly it came. Her rationalization plowed its way through an amassment of cluttered thoughts. 'That pendant was incredibly gaudy. Tacky even! Diamonds. Now there is a treasure worth digging for.'

Author's Note: Originally written April 2007 in Creative Writing. Assignment : Rewrite a Fairy Tale or Fable. This Bug selected Aesop's The Fox and the Grapes