Storytelling: Old, Not Obsolete

Tall, curvy, busty, blonde, and drop-dead gorgeous.  That was the woman that my husband wanted.  Well, ex-husband.  But that used to be me.  You see, when my husband and I first met I was a young 20-something with luscious golden locks, smooth skin, straight white teeth, and legs for days.  I was beautiful and I knew it.  I always wore short skirts and tight, low-cut tops and dresses that showed off my body to perfection. I'm still beautiful, but not in the same way.

I was the proverbial trophy wife.  Whenever my husband was pursuing a deal or trying to impress some hoot-snooty business man, he would bring me along.  And I loved it.  I loved being admired, feeling men’s eyes on me and knowing that they could look but not touch. I loved getting dressed up in gorgeous designer clothes, slipping on those sky high heels, and attaching a string of diamonds and pearls around my neck to draw attention to my cleavage.  All of it was exactly what I wanted in life and my husband used my looks to his advantage, not that I was complaining at the time.

The men that my husband made deals with would be so distracted by my looks that my husband would get exactly what he wanted, from a lucrative business deal to a new jet for the company at no cost.  He could manipulate those men like none other, with my looks to aid him.  That is, until I became too old for his tastes.

Unfortunately, the men in my husband’s circles only liked the young women that they really had no business being with or laying hands on.  As we aged, the men’s eyes would quickly turn to the next batch of twenty-somethings looking to take our place and we would be essentially put out to pasture.  We were no longer pretty enough to be paraded around at dinner parties, so we were sent away to the summer homes to be out of sight and out of mind.  We were also expected to suddenly start popping out children to further our husband’s lineage as was expected. 

However, unlike most of the women in these circles, I actually learned a thing or two about my husband’s business while I was playing show pony. Little did he know that I was responsible for many of his business deals throughout our marriage and I had no intentions of becoming his broodmare.  He thought that our pre-nup would stop me from filing divorce papers because I could not survive on my own.  Luckily for me, I was smart enough to build up a pretty sizable nest-egg for myself and a files worth of blackmail on not only my husband, but most of his business partners and associates as well.  Sometimes it pays to be looked at as a show pony.  No man expects the trophy wife to actually have anything going on upstairs besides thinking about the next shopping spree they’re going on. 

The second that my husband sent me away to have children, I filed for divorce.  It was time to show my husband that I was no simple-minded trophy wife to be used and discarded once I was no longer of the ‘appropriate’ age.  He was going to learn that I would not go quietly.  I could ruin his life in the blink of an eye.  I didn’t actually want a divorce.  I had a good life and had no problem with finding a lover since our sex life had been dead for a while anyway.  Not that it had ever really been alive.  He would continue to provide me with the life that I was accustomed to and I would not share the dirty little secrets that I had collected over the years.  Win-win, right?

Author's Note:

I decided to revamp the tale of The Elephant That Was Honored in Old Age.  In the original story, the elephant was strong and smart, carrying messages and defeating enemies for her king.  However, when she started to grow weak in her old age, the King discarded her.  He took away all of her honors and ornaments and let her fend for herself in the forest.  That is until one day, when a Potter needed an animal strong enough to pull his carts and the kind offered up the elephant, despite the fact that this was a grave dishonor to the elephant. She went to the Buddha to be and told him what had happened and told the king what had happened and rebuked him for dishonoring the elephant in such a way.  Her honor and place in the palace was restored.

In my version of the story, I put it in modern day and changed the state-elephant into a trophy-wife.  Honestly, the first thought that came to mind was Donald and Melania Trump.  They’re still married, but he’s constantly dishonoring her and looking at other women and possibly sleeping with them.  I just thought that it would be appropriate to have the woman take charge of the situation and not let her husband send her away because she was no longer the young and brainless beauty that he wanted to show off.  

Bibliography: Eastern Stories and Legends by Marie Shedlock (1920), Baldwin Project.

Image Info: Peridot and Diamond Necklace. Source: Wikimedia Commons; Black Dress. Source: Pixabay; Country Estate. Source: Wikimedia Commons