Chapter 2

1993

LAURA

The three attractive woman sat around the table picking at salads and enjoying the wine and the company. Friends now for almost a year, the group had solidified into a tight knit circle even though they initially had little in common.

Laura Weston was the oldest at 47. Shoulder length deep auburn hair provided the ideal backdrop to her intense green eyes. She shunned exercising, but watched her diet religiously and although no longer possessed of an hour glass figure, she nevertheless maintained a body curvaceous enough to gain attention wherever she went. She dressed chicly and her attention to small details assured she was always immaculately groomed. Her smile was easy and genuine and belied the stuffiness one expected from the wife of a college professor nearing retirement.

She and husband Donald had met when she was an undergraduate in college twenty-six years ago. She had taken his class in comparative literature and after the class was over and after a couple of abortive attempts, he had asked her out. She had, of course, been flattered and had accepted. Slowly the romance had blossomed and two years later, after her graduation, he asked her to marry. Fresh out of college with a degree in liberal arts and no career plans, her decision came easily despite the sixteen year age difference. They acquired a modest home near campus and settled in. Twenty-four years later, Donald was chairman of the English Department and Laura still maintained the small but comfortable house they had called home for all that time. Her life was sedate. There were faculty teas and an occasional play or concert on campus, but the two lived quietly. Daughter Lindsey and son, Jacob, were both grown, married and living in Seattle and Denver respectively. Although relations were cordial, the great distances that separated them and careers and families of their own prevented frequent homecomings. She had acquaintances on campus, but the other faculty wives seemed too wrapped up in their children and far too concerned with furthering their husbands' careers than with any real relationships. Laura did envy them their youth and she often wondered what her life would have been if she and Donald had not married. That was why it had been such a breath of fresh air when she had met Bonnie and Vivian at that charity auction last year. Bonnie was young and somewhat frivolous, but so full of life and enthusiastic. Then there was Vivian, a lovely, intelligent and in some ways mysterious woman. Her being black only added an additional texture to her persona and the three had instantly bonded. The weekly meetings at Salina's had become a ritual that none of the three would miss.

"Well I think it would look great on you," beamed Bonnie.

"Honey, I saw that outfit in Alberson's window yesterday," laughed Laura. "I might have worn it twenty-five years ago, but..."

"But nothing. You've still got the body for it. Hasn't she, Vivian?"

"Bonnie's right about one thing. You do still have the body, girl!" smiled the attractive black.

"Oh, you must want a favor!" laughed the professor's wife.

"No, it's true. I've got other friends your age and none -- and I mean NONE of them, looks as good as you."

"If you don't believe us, ask Donald," suggested Bonnie.

"Donald? He hasn't noticed that sort of thing in a long time."

"Well, he should."

"I bet there are plenty of guys who would..."

"Whoa there!" laughed Laura. "I'm long past the age of attracting other men."

"Who says," giggled Bonnie.

"Oh sure, with all those college boys fawning at my feet I'm going to have to get a stick to fight them off with." Laura responded playfully.

"You just ended your sentence with a preposition. I bet hubby wouldn't approve," smiled Vivian changing the subject.

"Speaking of which, hubby won't approve if I don't get those cookies baked for the departmental social this evening."

"Still entertaining the campus fuddy-duddies?" laughed Vivian.

"Of course. If it weren't for entertaining the campus fuddy-duddies there would be no entertainment at all."

They all laughed, but Laura thought about the truth of her last statement. What had her life become? And perhaps even more importantly, what could it have been? When she and Donald had been married she had known he was rather sedate, even a bit withdrawn, but over the years his conservative nature had, if anything, strengthened to the degree that their lives now revolved around the college and especially the English Department of which he was chairman. Their plans for travel, entertainment and even vacations had first been put on hold until he acquired tenure, then it was promotions to Associate Professor and then Professor and finally chairman of the department. Now their social life revolved around the department, a highlight being this silly departmental social where all the faculty and their wives and husbands could congregate, gossip about each other and plot their promotional strategies.

Actually she wouldn't mind them so much if only Donald would devote more time to her. As he had become swept up in the college promotional process of meetings, papers, conventions and committees they seemed to have lost touch with each other. Quick conversations over the breakfast table was their only intercourse, their ONLY intercourse. Their love life, never as frequent, active or fulfilling as she would have liked, had almost ceased altogether. A peck on the cheek and perhaps a once-a-month required and unsatisfying roll in the hay was now all she could expect.

It wasn't that Donald didn't love her. She knew he had genuine affection for her, but she had become part of a routine life that he simply didn't question. Wake up, shower, dress, kiss Laura, make small talk, walk to campus, teach classes, perform administrative duties, come home, kiss Laura, eat supper, grade papers or complete other paperwork, go to sleep and repeat. Even the weekends were most often filled with academic related functions and on the few excursions she managed to get him to take, it was as if he couldn't wait to get back to his beloved campus and department.

On the surface the two seemed ideally suited. They seldom fought or even disagreed and Laura had learned to play the role of faculty wife many years ago. Yet she felt trapped in a life which, while rewarding for Donald, offered her little satisfaction except to bask in the glow of his accomplishments.

And so little had changed for Laura in their twenty-four years of marriage, another reason why the weekly luncheons with Bonnie and Vivian had come to mean so much.

The departmental social was held in the reception room in the student/faculty activity center. Each of the faculty spouses had prepared dishes or brought drinks. A student quintet played background music while most of the departmental faculty stood around in groups, told stale jokes, bragged about their latest projects or gossiped.

Donald and Laura arrived and Laura went straight to the refreshments table and added her plate of cookies to the assemblage of goodies. Donald was immediately buttonholed by two young faculty members who were not yet tenured and felt they must smooze a bit to gain his favor.

Laura saw him coming but there was nothing she could do. He headed straight for her and she could only smile and greet him.

"Why hello, Lawrence. How nice to see you."

Lawrence Grimbly taught Neo-Classical literature. His classes had the reputation of being snoozes, but his finals were killers. The students disliked him immensely, and in that they shared opinions with the faculty. Lawrence was not only short, fat and ugly, but a boor as well. In addition there was the issue of body odor, bad breath and the fact that his clothes always looked as if he had slept in them. No wonder he was single and even though he had acquired tenure several years ago, no one could remember him ever being out on a date. Unfortunately, Laura had made the mistake of feeling sorry for him and dancing with him at a social three years ago. Since then, as soon as she arrived, he would insist on dancing with her. She dreaded it, but wasn't about to hurt his feelings. After all, these college socials were probably his only social life and he would be indeed fortunate if he could get another woman, married or single, to socialize with him the rest of the evening.

"Laura, you're looking lovely as always."

Even coming from Lawrence as an obvious ingratiating compliment, it also happened to be true. Laura wore a form fitting gown which, although in impeccable taste, nevertheless gave witness to the fact that she was still not only attractive, but the most attractive faculty wife at Tretson College.