[Author's Note: This is an edited version of the story that corrects several errors in the original version. I thank those who pointed out the mistakes
politely
. -Cyanlot]
Girls' Book Club - Part I: Vivian's Complaint
I swear to God,
I was screaming inside my head,
if I hear one more complaint like this from one of these cackling hens, I'll slash my wrists!
No, I wouldn't slash my wrists.
I
wasn't the problem. It was these privileged, entitled bitches. If I heard more complaints from them about their husbands, I'd do something to
them
. But I wasn't sure what.
I hadn't always thought of these women as bitches and cackling hens. They weren't close friends but they were neighbors and for the last two years, the five of us had been in a book club. Like most such clubs, it was mostly a "drink wine, talk about a book a little, and then talk about just about anything" club.
The books were always romance novels—bodice rippers aimed at frustrated women who, for some reason, hadn't found what they wanted in their personal relationships and, so, sought it in crappy fiction.
I had always found the group a bit tedious. But it was a distraction from other things and a way of connecting with some of my neighbors. So I continued to participate.
My attitude toward the group began to change when my husband, Cliff, passed away. It was quite sudden and unexpected. He was only 42 and seemed to be in perfect health. No one knew that there was a time bomb in his head, an aneurysm that could have burst disastrously at any time and finally did. One minute he appeared to be a picture of health; the next, he had flatlined in an ambulance on the way to the hospital.
It's possible—likely, really—that the complaints shared by the women in our "Girls' Book Club" hadn't changed at all. But my reaction to them changed dramatically after Cliff died.
All they did was bitch about their husbands. Oh, and they had lots of complaints.
Their husbands didn't do enough of the housework. (Right! Audrey and Theresa didn't even have jobs. They could do their own freaking housework if they weren't shopping and watching TV so much.) Their husbands spent too much time watching sports on TV, didn't take them out to dinner often enough, ... blah, blah, blah,
ad infinitum
.
But the complaints that irritated me the most now that I was sleeping alone every night were the complaints about their husbands "unreasonable" expectations about sex. Every time this topic came up, I had to bite my tongue. These ungrateful bitches had no idea what it was like to lose their partner, the man they'd expected to spend the rest of their life with.
So, he wants to try something that's new? That's not completely vanilla? So what? So, it's not something that
you
fantasize about? Big deal! Get over yourself!
After our sessions, I'd go home seething—thinking,
Sheeze, Audrey, Steve wants a blowjob in the car. I don't know why. Maybe it reminds him of when he was a teenager. Who cares? Give him a fucking blowjob in the car if that's what he wants. I'd do anything to be able to give Cliff a blowjob—in bed, in a car, in a fucking crowd of people!
Or, I'd be fuming,
So Ted wants to give you a facial, Melissa? What's the big deal? Oh, you find it disgusting, do you? Who cares? Just let him do it. Big fucking deal! Cum wipes off. Wouldn't it be nice,
I'd be thinking,
if, just one more time, I could wipe Cliff's cum off my face.
Sometimes,
Damnit, Theresa ... so Brad wants to try anal. It's not a big deal. You think it's not safe? Bullshit! Do some research. You think it will hurt? Learn how to do it so it won't. This shouldn't be a point of conflict. Of course it's your body and, so, your choice. But make a better choice. If Cliff were here, he could fuck me in any hole he wanted.
Maybe Brenda had the most legitimate complaint. Her husband, Evan, wanted a three-way with another woman. I'm not entirely sure what I would have said if Cliff had asked for that when he was alive. But now, all I could think was:
For God's sake, Brenda, if Evan wants a three-way, do it! It's not like that's an uncommon fantasy and it doesn't mean he doesn't love you or he isn't attracted to you.
And, now that I was without Cliff, I was sure I would agree to a three-way if I could have him back and that's what he wanted.
And, on one of these nights, after the book club meeting and I'd had more wine than I really should have drunk, it struck me. I couldn't do these things with Cliff, but I could with these women's husbands. That would be doubly good. In the first place, their husbands would get their fantasies fulfilled. And, secondly, I'd feel some satisfaction from giving these selfish women's husbands what they wanted behind the women's backs.
As I thought about it—really imagined doing these things—it almost felt like some sort of revenge. But it wasn't, of course. These women hadn't done anything to me, at least not more than just making me listen to their tedious, selfish, ungrateful complaints about their husbands. And it's not as if I'd be teaching them a lesson. They would never find out what I'd done (I hoped!). Still, I felt the anticipation of some sort of satisfaction that was akin to revenge or having taught someone a well-deserved lesson.
Girls' Book Club - Part II: Audrey's Complaint
Audrey had a number of complaints about Steve's sexual desires. But she kept coming back to him wanting a blowjob in the car. I really didn't get that. It seems like such a little thing.