The Sting of Jealousy
"Hey, Kate, did you get some water?"
Mr. Jones, Kate's therapist, thought she needed a break after the last
thirty minutes.
"Yes, I am ready to continue our session," Kate said slowly.
"Alright, tell me, is anything else bothering you about your wedding?"
"Yes, did I ever mention to you that my husband has been married
before?"
"No, Kate, you haven't. Does that bother you?"
"Well, it used to not bother me. It happened when he was eighteen. He
had just graduated high school and he had a crazy girlfriend that
wanted to marry him. She got him drunk one night and took him to the
court house to marry him. He did not even love her. My husband, John,
got the marriage annulled when he sobered up."
"So it bothers you now?"
"Well, yes, it does bother me now because his family is still close
with the family of Mindy, John's ex. His family wants to invite her
family to OUR wedding!
How awkward is that? I do not want her to come! I know she was not
happy when John ended their relationship. I also have heard rumors that
she hates my guts."
"It is a little unheard of to invite your ex to your wedding," Mr.
Jones replied sympathetically.
Kate continued, "My aunt called me the other day when she heard John's
family wanted to invite Mindy's family to our wedding. She
told me a story of what happened to her when she invited her husband's
ex to her wedding..."
"Why don't you tell me the story your aunt told you on the phone? Don't
leave anything out."
Kate took a deep breath and began to re-tell the conversation she had
yesterday morning with her aunt Margaret.
"We started off with just small talk about the wedding. Then my aunt
told me she had heard about Mindy's family possibly being invited to my
wedding. Her voice had turned very serious. She
told me it would be the worst mistake of my life to invite Mindy. I
asked
her why and she told me what happened to her.
Margaret had been dating a lot of trashy
guys, so when she announced she was marrying Robert everyone was
thrilled! Robert was the perfect guy. There was nothing bad about him.
In high school, he ran track, made good grades and was the best looking
guy in town. When he was seventeen he had dated a girl named Judy. She
was
the most awful person in the whole
town! No one knew why he dated her. They did not last long because when
Robert went to college he met Margaret and fell in love. He dumped
Judy and never talked to her again. You can imagine, Judy was very
angry.
So, anyways, my aunt Margaret felt obligated to invite Judy. She did
not know
her
personally but Robert's parents thought it would be nice if everyone in
town was invited. They lived in a small town so if someone was not
invited they would hear about it. Margaret ended up inviting Judy and
to her
surprise, Judy, showed up early wanting to help.
Margaret had been needing extra help all morning so she agreed to let
Judy help do her hair. When Judy finished she asked Margaret if she
could put a special pin in her hair that she made. When Judy showed
it to Maragart she gasped. She thought the pin was hideous! But since
Judy had been so kind she said she would wear it.
Hours later, when Margaret and Robert were saying their wedding vows,
Margaret felt something pinch her head. She tried not to scream but
could not stop the tears that came down her face. Everyone thought they
were tears of happiness, not pain. By the end of the ceremony she was
feeling queasy and light-headed. Her husband looked at her and asked
her if she was feeling okay. She collapsed right there in his
arms. He quickly called ambulance.
The doctors said a scorpion had somehow gotten on her head and stung
her. She was lucky they did not wait a minute later to call an
ambulance. A sting
from a scorpion on the head is very dangerous. It could have killed
her. But my strong aunt survived. My aunt figured out that Judy must
have planted the scorpion in her hair by hiding it with that ugly pin!
"So, do you see, Mr. Jones? If I invite Mindy I am afraid she might try
and kill me! Some people will do anything to make others unhappy!"
"Your aunt was very lucky to have survived. I do not think Mindy would
try to kill you. If you have to invite her you
should reserve her seat for the back of the room. If she wants to help
you get ready tell her you already have all the help you need. Your
bridesmaids should be helping you anyways."
"Yes, but what if she poisoned the food or something like that?"
"If you are that worried, I would not invite her. It is not worth
getting stressed out. Besides, it is YOUR wedding. It is supposed
to be the happiest day of your life. I do not think you will be happy
if Mindy is there."
"No, I will not be happy. You are right. I am the bride and I should be
happy. I will not be inviting Mindy. I am sure John's family will
understand my reasoning."
Author's Note: The original story was very short. It is called Tressed to
Kill. It was about a girl that put a ton of product in her hair so
it would stay in bouffant style. She did not take her hair down, comb
it, or wash it for weeks. One day a black widow fell into
her hair and reproduced. The babies hatched and bit her scalp.
The venom spread quickly and killed
her instantly. In my story, I used a scorpion instead of spiders. I had
Margaret survive because she still has to tell story four!
I changed the setting to a wedding to go along with my theme. I also
added the jealousy factor into my story to make it more interesting. I
thought
this would be a great story for Kate to share because her husband had
been previously married. I can't think of any bride who would want her
husband's ex at her wedding (unless there were special circumstances).
It was normal for Kate to feel worried, especially after she heard
Margaret's
story. The story amplified her fears. Her therapist helped her work
through her fear of John's ex ruining the wedding. Kate was able to
make a choice based on rational reasons rather than her fears. No bride
should feel stressed
on her wedding day!
Bibliography:
Tressed to
Kill. Websource: Snopes.com
Image Information:
The Scorpion. Websource: Deadly
Beauties.
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