Chapter 3

The book club met at the local library as usual, and the women all arrived and took their places, ready for the announcement of what book they would be reading and discussing. Joyce Smith and Mary Pollock were sitting together and waiting patiently, much like the other club members, when Patty Miller changed seats and sat beside Joyce and Mary. She smiled at them both and looked at them both with a knowing look on her face.

‘Well, look at the pair of you.’ Patty said.

Both Joyce and Mary turned and wondered what exactly Patty was referring to.

‘What do you mean.’ Mary asked.

‘The pair of you look like you are on cloud nine.’ Said Patty.

It was a fair comment to make about both Mary and Joyce. They both had a smug look about themselves and a little ‘Mona Lisa’ smile most of the time upon their lips. Most people noticed it but were too polite to ask why. Instead, they wondered what might have made both women happy and almost ‘Zen-like’.

‘You both look like you’re floating on air. What’s your secret?’ Patty asked them both.

Mary and Joyce shared a glance between them and smiled at each other.

‘It’s a little secret of ours.’ That was all that Joyce said in reply to Patty’s question.

Patty was a little miffed at the reply and asked them again what was their ‘secret’ and what they were both up to instead of answering Patty’s question. Joyce shushed her as the book they would read was announced.

‘Ladies, today our new book is ... A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens.’ Said Dorothy Moore, the leader of the book club.

The choice of A Christmas Carol was confusing to everybody. So it was explained why they would be reading a Christmas book in the middle of June, in the middle of summer.

‘The idea is to read the book out of context with the seasons and to re-examine what the book represents, particularly to us in this modern age, compared to the Victorian era it was written in.’ Explained Dorothy.

An hour later, walking back to the car, Joyce and Mary were again approached by Patty Miller. She stepped in alongside them and smiled at them both.

‘Come on, tell me, what is your secret? I want to know?’ She asked them.

‘People are gossiping about you both. Do you want to know what they are saying?’ Patty said, trying to get a rise from either Mary or Joyce.

‘What are they saying, Patty?’ Asked Mary. She took the bait dangled by Patty.

‘They say that you two are having ‘A Thing’ together... ‘ Said Patty, hoping this would hook Mary at the very least.

‘We are not having ‘A Thing’ as you call it, and we... ‘ Replied Joyce with an indignant tone.

‘Well, yes. We are. Sort of... ‘ Said Mary, cutting off Joyce halfway through her words.

Joyce then glared at Mary and Patty for asking them her questions and repeating the gossip that other people were saying.

‘I knew it. Your lesbians...!’ Patty said like it was a TV drama.

Patty listened and exchanged gossip all the time. She watched the gossip channels on TV and read gossip magazines about celebrities. It filled the empty hours of her days as a housewife. Joining the book club allowed her to leave the house and meet other people. When Patty challenged Joyce and Mary about being ‘Lesbians,’ She was using her imagination about the two women. She had no idea what both women were doing in their private lives. She just wanted to be part of anything that would relieve the near-constant boredom of her life. She had read about lesbians in magazines and thought that Joyce and Mary were interesting people Patty was almost desperate to know and make friends with.

‘Can...? Can I join in?’ Said Patty.

‘Join in? Join in with the both of us?’ Joyce asked her, a little confused and bewildered by Patty’s questions.

Mary suggested they get into the car, return to Joyce’s house, and talk privately. Instead of out in the open standing in the public car park of the local library.

Back at the house, Joyce poured all three of them a glass of white wine. They then settled down on the sofa and chairs in the living room.

‘You’re partly right in your assumption Patty.’ Joyce began to explain.

‘We are both having a ... Sort of ‘Thing’ together. But we are not full-blown lesbians. It is something a bit more ... A bit more erotic than that.’ Joyce tried to explain.