Wisdom From the Bookclub

This is a work of fiction based on actual events, and the characters were created using conglomerations of several people. There is sexual content that some may object to.

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Vonnie met new women by joining the book club in her new town.

Mary – ah, memorable Mary who turned thirty-eight when Vonnie was twenty-six. The book club was at Mary’s house on that birthday. Mary opened the door, welcoming everyone, with “Come in! Let’s hurry with the discussion because today I am thirty-eight. I’m told this is my sexual peak, and I want to take advantage of it.

Dorothy – age seventy-six, was non-plussed by Mary’s comments and delicious spread; she had seen it all and done much in her many years. Dorothy could drink us all under the table on an empty stomach and still walk a straight line. When she was twenty, she was bartending in New York City at Bemelmans Bar. She knew how to mix and drink them and was versed in the art of conversation.

Mary had outdone herself with a table that would have made Good Housekeeping proud.

Beautifully arranged were:

Smoked Gouda

Grilled Green Olives

Grilled Artichoke Hearts

Asparagus Wrapped in Bacon and Roasted

Scattered around was:

Tidbits of Crusty Bread

Smoked Salmon Spread

Ritz Crackers

Pumpernickel Bread Slices

Deviled Eggs

Petits Fours - white and chocolate cake with various buttercream frostings

We couldn’t stop stuffing our faces, so there was only a little book discussion. She explained the book, and a few of us commented between bits and huge gulps of Merlot and Chardonnay (Cara had Soda).

Cara – although four years older than Vonnie, seemed much younger due to her innocence. She blushed when the book club members, finished with the discussion of the monthly selection, delved into their personal lives. A mousy dishwater blond, she had two children and didn’t offer much to that part of the discussion. As a matter of fact, if the book was a bit steamy or had violence, she sat quietly listening to others’ opinions.

Joan – a beautiful sandy blond in her late forties, was a fountain of information for Vonnie about breastfeeding her three-month-old baby. Her smile lit up the room and had a sly sense of humor. When Vonnie first came to the book club, she had to bring the newborn with her. Joan said, “Breastfeeding is the best; no jugs to lug around; they are on your chest, ready to go.

Janet –married to the high school football coach and in her early thirties. Muscular and lanky, she preferred mystery books, and when it was her turn to select, we knew it would be the next one on the list she always brought to the first meeting of each year. In case she got to choose more than her two books for the years, she had a list of four.

1) Postmortem by Kay Scarpetta

2) Death at La Fenice by Donna Leon

3) Naked in Death by J.D.Robb

4) 10 lb Penalty by Dick Francis

Alice – Age twenty-four, a waitress at Denny’s, with five kids under the age of six and a husband who worked the night shift from eleven p.m. to seven a.m. Poor Alice was perpetually exhausted from arising before dawn to clean up the house, wait for the sitter to arrive, and explain the chores she needed to be done. Her husband, Terry, always got home at seven-thirty in the morning and praised his wife for her fabulous breakfast while gobbling it up. He kissed all his kids running around the kitchen, then kissed Alice goodbye as she headed to Denny’s. Terry put the five kids,

Maeve – named after her maternal grandma

Michael – for the maternal grandpa

Ryan – for the maternal great-grandpa

Shelby – for Terry’s mother

Tory – named (sort of) after Terry

Timmy – a name Terry really liked

Terry said hello to Josephine, their housekeeper. Then he lowered the dark-out shades in the bedroom, put his headphones on, and promptly slept until the food odors of dinner cooking wafted upward and awoke him. (Alice regaled us with stories of her kids and Terry).

Libby – slightly overweight Libby had a boy and a girl, a devoted husband who worked long hours so the Libby could stay home and care for their kindergarten-age kids. A young couple still, they had met in high school, dated, married, and immediately had children. Jerry, her husband, was a highly-paid tool and die maker in a local factory, making union wages, getting paid benefits, and retirement. Sometimes, Jerry had to attend a conference, and Libby would cry throughout book club because she missed him so much. Vonnie didn’t understand that. He was only gone for three or four days, tops! Why not enjoy quiet time? Libby just hated it if Jerry wasn’t there. Maybe it was because, she claimed, they had sex every other night, sometimes two times per night on those nights. She also divulged they would make the kids play outside or take them to Bible Study so they could have sex in different places in their house.

Sue – Sue was another mousey housewife but had insightful comments on every book they discussed. She became known as Sex Kitten Sue because of a confession she made one night to the club. Sex Kitten Sue had a clientele. Her husband was gone a lot and while he was out of town, she took calls. Not on a sex phone line. Line-haul truck drivers passing through would phone and if she was available (i.e. husband out of town), she accepted the appointment and met them for sex. Paid sex:

1) Regular - $200

2) Fantasy - $500

3) Oral - $800

4) A Night - $1200

5) Phone - $100 (two-hour max)

She did not do any kinky or masochistic sex.

We were all shocked; Mary, of course, had asked the most questions while Cara had turned the color of a radish.

Seven years passed and the last book discussion Vonnie attended was a memorial to Dorothy who had passed away. Her parting words were a list for the ladies:

Read

Write

Travel

Eat and Drink Merrily

Walk Everyday

Don’t Mourn

Be Happy

Live

Learn

LOVE

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Originally posted at ReedsyPrompts for Write a story in the form of a list. I put my lists within the story. https://blog.reedsy.com/creative-writing-prompts/

Thanks for reading and supporting me by giving it a like (heart) and subscribing to my stories. Below is an older fiction-horror story you may like, based on a place I used to walk alone.