Week 3 Storytelling: Blessing in Disguise

"That is a mighty fine woman there, Pete."

Pete was too busy gawking at the beautiful woman walking by the pool below to answer his co-worker.
"Pete!" John tried again to gain his attention. This time Pete turned his head to John, a confused expression on his face.
"What?"
"Are you staring hard enough as Mrs. Rhodes?"
"My staring at her is making me hard enough, if you know what I mean," Pete answered with a perverted wink.
"Come on, man. That's our boss's wife! Plus, that's just plain distasteful," John responded as he shook his head.
"I'd like to taste her," Pete stated, completely disregarding his co-worker.
"Yeah well, you can't. So you better just get over it. Come on, let's finish trimming these bushes so we can go home."

"John, we are going to have her tomorrow," Pete said to John from the passenger seat of the truck on their way home.
"What are you talking about, man?"
"We are going to have her. Plain and simple."
"First of all," John started, "there is no 'we' here. She is a married woman, and she is not just a piece of meat to take as you please."
"Oh, shut up Johnny! Please!" Pete said with an exasperated sigh. "You'll see."
"Don't do anything stupid, Peter. Number one, she is married. Number two, she doesn't like you. Just grow up," John said sternly. He had had enough of Pete's disrespect and insensitivity.
As John pulled up to Pete's house, Pete simply said, "you'll see," before hopping out of the car and walking to his door. John worried the whole way home. He knew his co-worker was bad news, but surely he wouldn't hurt anybody.

The next day John arrived at Pete's house at 8am sharp. Pete got in the truck, grinning. "You're awfully perky today," John said.
"That's because today is the day, Johnny boy." John shook his head and turned up the radio, oblivious to the ideas brewing in Pete's head. They arrived to the Rhodes residence right on time, as Mr. Rhodes was walking out the door, giving Susanna a goodbye kiss before he left.
"The pool needs a good cleaning, boys. And I need you to replace the lightbulbs in the master bathroom. Ah yes, and tend to anything my sweet Susanna should request!" Mr. Rhodes exclaimed as he entered his vehicle.
"Yes sir," the men said in unison, Pete looking a bit too happy. The two men began fulfilling their daily duties. They started with the pool since that was Mr. Rhodes' first request. Susanna was sitting poolside as she did every morning. They begin clearing the pool of leaves, one man on each side. Pete grinned at Susanna from across the pool; she smiled back innocently. John walked by Susanna, and she asked him if he could get her a glass of orange juice. Of course he agreed since Mr. Rhodes instructions were to tend to Susanna, but he did not want to leave her alone with Pete. The kitchen was all the way on the opposite side of the mansion, but what could he do? It will be fine, he told himself.

Rhodes Mansion, link to online source

Pete watched as John walked to the house. Once he saw the door closed he approached Mrs. Rhodes. She smiled at Pete as he got closer. "How is your day today, Peter?"
"It's about to get way better Mrs. Rhodes," he said as he rushed toward her. He threw himself on top of her, going in for a kiss. Susanna started to scream, but Peter covered her mouth before she could do so. While keeping his hand over her mouth, Peter told Susanna to remain quiet or he would tell Mr. Rhodes that this was her idea. He began undressing Susanna, which did not take long enough, as she was in a swimsuit. Suddenly they heard a car engine. Pete looked up to see Mr. Rhodes pulling in the driveway. He bolted as Mr. Rhodes got out of his car and headed towards the pool. Susanna was in shock and did not know what to do. Simultaneously John returned with the orange juice as Mr. Rhodes walked on the scene. John was just as shocked as Mr. Rhodes, but before anyone could speak Pete suddenly reappeared.
"John how could you!" Pete cried, pretending to be shocked. Mr. Rhodes was furious.
"Somebody tell me what is going on right now!" Pete began explaining to Mr. Rhodes the situation, completely twisting it. He led Mr. Rhodes to believe that John and Susanna were having an affair. Because Mr. Rhodes is away a lot and arrogant, he believed this story. "Get off my property-the both of you! You'll be hearing from my lawyer, Susanna!" Susanna walked away in tears, not knowing where to go, as John followed her in disbelief. John hurried to his car, but before he got in, he turned back to look at Susanna. She looked hopeless, and she had no clothes to wear. John quickly grabbed his sweatshirt from the back seat and ran to Susanna. She was crying when he approached her, but she gladly took the sweatshirt. John nervously asked, "Mrs. Rhodes, would you like a ride somewhere?"
"Just call me Susannah," she said, wiping away the tears. "I'm not Mrs. Rhodes anymore. But yes, that would be lovely." The two got in the car as Mr. Rhodes and Pete watched from the pool. Mr. Rhodes was already on the phone with his lawyer.

two years later:
Mr. and Mrs. Rhodes got a divorce.
Mr. Rhodes remarried... But she left him and took almost everything in the divorce.
Pete ended up incarcerated for rape-serving 20 years.
John and Susanna are dating, and John plans on popping the question soon!

Author's Note: I changed this story a whole bunch, but I had a lot of fun with it. The story was developing even as I wrote it. I used the story in the Bible as my inspiration. Susanna is falsely accused of being unfaithful by her attackers who attempted to rape her. She is almost sentenced to death, but Daniel finds a way to prove her innocence. There was a lot of betrayal in that story, so I used that as a recurring theme in my story as well. In addition to using the same idea from the story to have Susanna have a happy ending while her attacker have a just one.

Bibliography: The story of Susanna from the Book of Daniel in the Bible, link to online source