Sit down by the table and get more fruit punch

Why bother walking a long distance if you can just hog one of the chairs by the camping table? So that's what you do.

Most of the places weren't taken anyway, so you grab one of the chairs and settle down to enjoy your shrimps. You also have some more of the fruit punch, and **** the easy access to refill your cup immediately. A woman with blonde hair sits down by your side, red cheeks and breathing heavily.

"Can you believe that guy?" She pours herself some **** too, and chugs it down instantly. "Guys are pigs." Another cup pours down her throat. "Family gathering, and the first thing he does is flirting. So much for loyalty." Before you even have a chance to try and understand what the heck she's talking about, she takes off her wedding ring and flings it angrily into the fruit punch!

"C-calm down," you attempt talking to her, but she already storms off and leaves the party. The loud screeching of rubber tires is audible across the street just moments later... well. Awkward. Marriage isn't such a holy bond after all, for some people anyway...

You fish the ring out of the bowl and pocket it. Beats letting someone else take it... it might be worth a pretty penny. Unless your morals get the better of you and you return it to the owner instead. It's not like she showed any interest in keeping it...

Reaching for the ladle, you pour yourself another serving of yum-yum-juice and giggle contently.

"What's so funny?" you hear someone say from behind, and the stranger sits down by your side. You quickly eye him up and down. Guy in his thirties, in good shape, and with a heartwarming smile.

"Uh... nothing much. It's nothing." It's not like you could admit you are laughing at the misfortune of others. That would be rude, even by your standards.

"I see. So what's a pretty girl such as yourself doing all alone here? Which side of the family do you belong to?"

Hum... if you tell him that you're unrelated, he would probably continue talking to you or trying to get your number. Better be safe. "From my mother's... I mean, Jane's side of the family." It should be enough to get him off your back.

"Oh! Really! So you're a cousin then! We haven't even met before, how crazy is that? My name's Eric, what's yours?" God, so now you have to converse with someone instead of enjoying your shrimps in peace. How troublesome...

"Sara, it's Sara." Upon seeing that your plastic cup was empty, he politely refills it and raises his own cup to yours. Your cheeks were already blushing and your skin was warm and tingly. You were feeling a good buzz from drinking so much. It doesn't help that you're a lightweight.

"To good health, then!" After emptying yet another cup, he reaches into his pockets and pulls out his wallet. Multiple stacks of bills catch your eyes, the guy was loaded! He pulls out a couple of pictures though and begins showing them to you. They were vacation pictures, taken by a beach. They also confirmed your suspicions, he was married to the woman that stormed off just a few minutes ago. In most pictures she was dressed rather modestly, in a one-piece swimsuit while hugging him or in a regular outfit in front of sunrises.

"Isn't she a cutie? Quite the lucky catch. What about you? I bet the men are just lining up for you. Got any kids yet?"

"Nope!" See. This is why family gatherings are annoying.

"Ah, that's a shame. I bet a cute girl like you can barely fend off the onslaught of boyfriends!"

"Nope," you repeat again as you swallow another chug of ****. "It's manageable," you add to keep things somewhat neutral.

"Ah, all right. I miss that feeling. Back when I was your age, I also had all the girls running after me. Eventually I settled down with one, got married... and well. It all went downhill from there. Sexless marriage, I thought it only happens to idiots. Turns out it can happen to pretty much anyone, and it's been frustrating ever since." He drinks some more before continuing. "For ten years we were together, I get no action for nine years, and now when I talk nicely to an old family friend, my wife suddenly accuses me of talking to other girls. Can you believe it?"

So it was a misunderstanding! Good thing you kept the ring, maybe things can be salvaged. A good deed before getting transformed back! Maybe that was the whole point of changing, to make you a better person and teach you a lesson? "I'm sure you can fix it, and make her fall in love with you again!" you cheer him on, but he looked sad, his eyebrows furrowed.

"Thanks, but... I don't know... I should just drive back home and see what happens." He was already tipsy, or perhaps even as drunk as you are. Driving is a terrible idea in that kind of state, and you sure as heck don't want to feel like you were the cause if he ends up crashing his car! At this rate, you may already have to feel guilty if something happens to his wife.

"Nonsense! You can't drive like that." You wrap an arm around him and stand up together before heading back inside the house. It would be rude towards Gwen to let him sleep through his hangover in her bedroom, and it would raise questions if you let him sleep in your own room. Oh! The guestroom, of course! Nobody ever uses it, and mom never bothered to put more than a mattress and basic pillows inside because of that, but it will be enough to get some undisturbed rest. The amount of karma you'll get out of this will be well worth the effort.