The Real Housewives of the Apocalypse: Chapter one: Simplicity

Meet the Wives.

Scarlett Blackwell was always an enigma to her fellow housewives, simply, because she was not a housewife.

Scarlett was twenty three and still hadn’t married, which was bizzare in her time of 1952. She spent her days either at the office where she drew storyboards for “Desire Girl”, A hip comic book about a young lady with a magical gaze learning her newfound powers. Or she was at home, sewing  beautiful, red dresses which she enjoyed to wear to parties and casual affairs alike. Weather it was tea with Lucinda, her neighbhor, or gossiping with Rosalina, she always seemed to wear beautiful, long, Rose red dresses.

Scarlett had a small friend group of six; Lucinda Long, Rosalina Dees, Angela Bowdoin, Marie Hilwood, Delilah Prince, and Christina Sonner. Each woman got married around the same time, but most remember Delilah’s wedding in clarity, since that was the day the virus was considered completely obliterated. The little group would gossip, have their weekly book club, and have coffee together quite often, that is, when Angela wasn’t caring for her four children, and if Christina could get her nose out of her Violin music long enough.

Of course, Scarlett did have someone fawning over her, a young man named Aric Taylor, the son of the CEO of “Desire Girl” who often visited the storyboard room to talk to Scarlett. He always requested that she join him for dinner in the evening, but she almost always refused, saying “tonight I have a personal matter to attend to”. Her friends all thought that Aric was a keeper; Handsome, smart, Rich. But she had other plans.

* * *

“My sweet little Andrew said her first word today!” Lucinda exclaimed at the weekly book club. Angela applauded her with a warm smile.

“I remember when My boy Jackson said his first word, It was ‘papa’. He learned 10 other words before he finally said ‘Mama’!” The 6 women giggled, sitting in Lucinda’s home as the doorbell chimed.

“That must be Scarlett, late as usual!” Christina sneered.

“Now now, Tina, she is a busy lady, with a suitor to boot!” Lucinda chimed in as she answered the door.

Scarlett wore a mid-calf length dress the same color as her bright red hair, the dress crept up over her bust, where it transitioned to lace that reached her neck. a white band around her midriff that matched her white shoes. She wore her red hair in loose curls and a matching pillbox hat with white lace. She pushed her horn-rimmed glasses up onto the bridge of her nose and smiled with her red ruby lips.

“Hello, Lucinda. Lovely to see you.”

“Scarlett! Come on in, darling!”

She stepped into Lucinda’s home, her heels clicking against the hardwood floor as she sat between Delila and Rosalina.

“We were just gossiping for the time being.” Rosalina informed her.

“Did you know that Jessica is divorcing Alexander?” Marie chimed in, causing a flurry of shouts of shock and denial

“No way! I knew Alexander was a cheater!” Angela howled.

“No I think she was the cheater! She did have an eye for Bradley!” Christina replied.

Scarlett watched with her signature smile and quietly added.

“They both cheated.”

The arguing stopped at this.

“How do you know that Scarlett?” Rosalina questioned. “and I thought I was a gossip queen!”

“I saw Jessica over on the corner of Main and Fisher with Brad. A few days later I saw Alexander with A woman I do not know on Moon street.”

The women looked at Scarlett in awe.

“Scarlett, you got Rosey beat by a longshot!” Marie finally said.

“Hey!” Rosalina barked. “She was just in all the right places...I need to up my game!”

Scarlett smiled softly and drank a cup of tea Lucinda had placed in front of her earlier.

“Scarlett is a smart one, maybe that’s why she’s got Aric wrapped around her little finger!” Christina added, chuckling softly.

“Yeah Scarlett, why don’t you like him?” Delilah pondered.

Scarlett took this into consideration and spoke after a few moments.

“I am interested in him, do not get me wrong, but...I have personal matters to attend to. Now...we were on chapter 7, correct?”