The bar was quiet as it always was in the early afternoon because the after-work crowd hadn't yet come in for a little relaxation before heading home. Mandy met Janet there once or twice a month for a drink and to catch up on what was happening in their lives. They'd been friends since junior college even though their lives had taken different paths. They'd been meeting there for the past twenty-five years, since Janet had needed Mandy's advice that day.
Mandy had always been the adventurous one of the pair, the girl who wore the tightest blouses with no bra and shortest skirts, and the girl who always sat in the front row of the classroom and teased the male teachers with peeks up those short skirts. Mandy was the girl who boys flocked around because of her reputation for trying anything once, and the girl who'd taught Janet most of what she knew about sex.
Mandy had been married once, but it lasted only three years. After that, she didn't seem to be able to find the right man, but it wasn't because she had trouble attracting them. Mandy worked in a bank, and met lots of men there. They just never seemed to stick around long enough to propose. Janet thought that was probably because Mandy was a strong woman who wanted things her way and wasn't bashful about telling anybody what that way was. Mandy just said most men were assholes. Janet always wondered if Mandy really thought that, why she kept trying so hard to attract them.
Janet was a quiet girl who spent her time in junior college studying accounting. She was slender with small breasts, and was a little embarrassed by her figure. Her clothing reflected that embarrassment, and Janet did her best to blend in rather than show off. It surprised her when Bill, the son of a local contractor asked her out, and even more surprised six months later when her proposed.
Their lives had gone smoothly until Janet learned she was pregnant with Cindy. She hadn't thought much about Bill's waning interest in her over the months when she carried her daughter. The book her mother gave her said that was normal because husbands sometimes thought sex would hurt the baby.
After Cindy was born, Janet spent almost six months being exhausted. Between nursing Cindy at ungodly hours in the morning and trying to take care of the house, she hadn't really felt like doing anything but sleeping every chance she got. Bill didn't seem to mind, and Janet thought he was just trying to be understanding and let her rest. They started having sex again after that, but other than Sunday mornings, Bill always said it was too late or he was too tired.
Just after Cindy's first birthday, Janet learned about Jolene, the woman who did the accounting at Bill's construction company. Janet had stopped off at Bill's office one afternoon after she'd finished shopping to tell him her car was acting up. It wasn't unusual for the office to be empty. The engineers and supervisors were usually out on a job site somewhere on most afternoons. It also wasn't unusual for Bill's office door to be closed. He liked quiet when he worked and usually had the door shut. Always before, she'd just walked in when she wanted to see him.
Janet opened the door to Bill's office and stopped in her tracks. Jolene was laying on Bill's couch, naked with one leg hooked over the back. They didn't notice her for a few seconds because Jolene had her eyes closed and Bill had his face buried between her thighs. A little moan slipped from Jolene's open mouth when Bill pinched the long, rigid nipple on her small, soft right breast.
Janet heard the quiet, wet, slurping sounds as Bill licked away at Jolene, and gasped as Jolene cried out, lifted her hips off the couch and began to shudder. Jolene heard the sound, opened her eyes and saw Janet standing there, then shrieked and tried to cover herself. Bill looked up and turned pale. Janet just turned on her heel and ran out of the office.
The next morning she called Mandy and told her what had happened. Mandy suggested they meet at Phil's Tap that afternoon. Mandy was sitting at a table when Janet got there, and exhaled a cloud of cigarette smoke when she waved at Janet. Janet sat down and ordered a club soda, then told Mandy the details.
"Mandy, he was...he was licking her...down there...and she liked it. Bill never tried that with me, but maybe I should have asked him to."
Mandy stubbed out her cigarette and patted Janet's arm.
"Honey, you've always been so naïve. Here's how it works. If he didn't want to do that with you on his own, is isn't your fault. Most men like it. I never had much use for the ones who don't. They all want the old flute played, but if they don't want to lick the kitty to say thank you, this girl isn't giving any repeat performances."
"I...I never... played his flute."
"No? Well, that's not your fault either. You're mother probably never did it or she'd have told you about it. Besides Janet, those aren't the reasons he decided to bed Jolene."
"Then what was?"
"Some men like the trip more than getting to where they're going. I've had men like that. Oh, they'll promise you the world to get in your panties, but once they're there, well, they've won the game and it's time to start a new one. I figure that's what happened to you."
"I don't know what to do."
"Well, if it was me, I'd kick his ass out and go find a lawyer, but you have Cindy to think about too. I think you ought to talk to Bill. Maybe I'm wrong and he'll come back to you. If he does, I think you should let him. Believe me, going through a divorce isn't much fun."
Their conversation that night had started as a fight that left Janet in tears, but ended with a relatively calm discussion. Bill had said he didn't love Jolene, but wouldn't stop seeing her. Janet asked where that left her. Bill said she could leave if she wanted, but it was fine with him if she stayed and things went on like always. His only condition was she would have to agree that each could do as they wished with other people. Because of Cindy, Janet agreed.
Bill continued his relationship with Jolene, and when Jolene quit, with Marilyn. After Marilyn, it was Judy, then a few others whose names Janet didn't know and really didn't want to know. She had Cindy, and that was enough...almost. She'd tried to find a man who would settle for being with her only for sex, but men always ran when they learned she was married with a daughter.
Cindy had figured out the relationship between Janet and Bill when she was sixteen. Just before she went away to college, Cindy had encouraged Janet to file for divorce. She said she loved them both, but hated seeing her mother so sad all the time. Bill didn't really object, and let her keep the house along with a substantial bank account instead of half of his contracting business like her lawyer asked for.
She'd gone back to school to become a real estate agent, and after a couple of years was doing quite well. There had been several men in her life once Cindy left home, and she'd slept with a couple, but after a few weeks, they'd stop calling. Nothing serious ever happened until she met Howard, an account manager at one of the banks she used to obtain loans for her clients.
They'd started dating, and after six months, Howard moved in with her. Janet was a little concerned that he renewed the lease on his apartment when the old one ran out, but Howard said he was just storing some things there that wouldn't fit in Janet's house.
It lasted a little over a year, and then their relationship began to cool. One Thursday, Mandy listened intently to Janet as she poured out her problem.
"I thought we were happy together. I like being with him and was hoping that one of these days he'd want to make it official. Then, last night, after we...well, before we went to sleep, he said he thought we should see other people."
Mandy shook her head, took a drag on her cigarette and then stubbed it out. After taking a long sip of her vodka collins, Mandy looked at Janet and smiled.
"Janet, If he's telling you that, you might as well find yourself another man."
"You really think so? Maybe he just wants us to be sure about each other before we go any further."
"How much further can you go than fucking him every night? Look, Honey, here's how it works. When a wimpy guy like Howard tells you that, it's as close as he's ever gonna get to saying he doesn't want to see you anymore."
Mandy sipped her drink again, wrinkled her nose, then took another sip.
"Damned bartender shorted me on the vodka. Don't suppose he'd fix it though. Anyway, guys like that think we'll cry or something if they say what they're really thinking. Lord knows I've heard it often enough."
"But I don't know anybody else. For the last year it's been just Howard and me. I'm forty-six with a grown daughter. It's not like guys are beating down my door."
Mandy looked down the cigarette she'd placed between her bright red lips and flicked the wheel on the lighter.
"You just need to change your life Honey."
She touched the flame to the end of the cigarette and inhaled, then blew a stream of smoke over Jane's head. She tossed the lighter on the table.
"Do something that's new for you. You'll feel like a new girl, and new girls find new guys. That's what I do when I get dumped."
"What do you do?"
"See my earrings? A new one for every asshole."
