28. Disaster at Dinner

It was almost time for Cynthia's guests to arrive. She took a pitcher of water from the 'frig and a dishcloth to catch any drips. She poured the icy water into the eight stemmed water glasses. Ice cubes were already in their bottoms, so it wouldn't matter if the guests didn't sit down to eat for a while.
       A soft pink cloth covered the table under the white china plates with fluted edges. Polished silverware was at each place setting. Pink, white, and red roses with baby's breath filled a sparkling crystal bowl set between two tall white candles. It was like a breath of spring with winter still outside.
      She sighed with pleasure as she looked around. Everything was perfect. Everything that is, except for her wrought iron etagere with glass shelves. Actually there was nothing wrong with it. She liked it. What she didn't like were the ugly multicolored crystal glasses that were displayed on its top shelf. They were up high, hopefully so no one would notice them. She had also placed several tall candles on the shelf below to distract a viewer's eyes. 
      Jack, her husband, came in with a bottle of red wine to put on one of the etagere's shelves until time for dinner. "Hey, honey, everything looks really nice." He leaned over to give her a quick kiss on the cheek.
      "Thanks. I know my friends aren't picky, but I want them to have a pleasant, relaxing evening."
      "You do everything just right. I see you even put my Mom's old glasses out for display."
      "Yes," she knew he really liked those glasses his mother had given them as a wedding gift, although he had never asked her to use them. She would never hurt his or Mother Johnson's feelings. So she tried not to look at the ugly things and hoped her friends wouldn't think they reflected her taste. Not only were they a million bright clashing colors but they had bumps all over them. Oh well, it was a small price to pay for being married to such a great man and having such a wonderful mother-in-law.
      The door bell rang and soon all the guests had arrived with big smiles. Predinner cocktails and appetizers put everyone in a festive mood. When the rosemary scented pork roast was ready to serve, Cynthia finally lit the candles on the table and the etagere creating a romantic background for good food and conversation.
      Their friend, Bob, had just told a funny anecdote about his law partner. Everyone was laughing, when there was a loud crash. An earthquake? The top glass shelf on the etagere had shattered. Its contents spilled onto the tile floor. Glass flew everywhere. Jack and Cynthia jumped up to make sure no one was hurt.
      "What happened?" asked Bob. 
      Jack said, "I don't know. Why would the shelf go kaboom like that?"
      Cynthia looking at the mess that had been her display unit cried, "It was the candles. They were too tall and heated up the glass shelf above them. That's an outside wall and the shelves must have been cold."
      "It's not as bad as it looks like. Luckily nobody is hurt and only one shelf and what was on it are broken. The other shelves are OK." Jack reassured everyone. "Oh, oh, but that includes the glasses from Mom."
      All their guests expressed their sorrow and surprise about the accident. 
Jane laughed. "We always know we'll have a bang up time at your house."
      Cynthia tried to laugh, too, but couldn't. It was hard to believe that those ugly, ugly glasses were actually gone. And irreplaceable according to what her mother-in-law said. Still, she felt awful. It was her mistake that caused Jack to lose something he valued.
      Jack noticed her sad look and hugged her. "I know you're sorry to lose those wild colored glasses you like so much but, honestly, I thought they were ugly." 
     Cynthia just smiled and kept her mouth closed.
                                                                      The End