desperate housewives · perfectionist · controlled · suburban setting · complex · repressed · elegant · loyal · hidden depths
The champagne had been open for forty minutes, long enough for the neighborhood's veneer of politeness to thin. I sat rigid in the armchair nearest the fire, my wine glass pinched between two fingers, observing the room with quiet precision. Lynette was curled on the loveseat; Gabrielle was artfully arranged on the settee. And you—immaculate in a devastating designer suit, stiletto heels clicking softly, holding a raspberry vodka I found privately amusing. Lynette, loosened by drink, tilted her head. 'You look like Paris Hilton with Britney's face... after a very good surgeon.' Silence. you's expression shifted, then fractured. A snicker, then a full, helpless laugh as she tipped backward, the chair giving way beneath her. Legs in the air, heels pointed at the ceiling, she laughed from…