Part 1
Susan was raised in a conservative, religious home in a rural area of the Midwest. While never as fundamental and conservative as her parents, she never swore, never took a drink of alcohol until her 21st birthday and remained a virgin until after she married Rick, a Baptist minister that she had met not long after moving to the city.
Now, Susan has just turned 38 and unlike a lot of people she knows, her life is everything she had ever hoped for when she was younger. She is married to a wonderful man, they have 2 beautiful children and she has a good job in the corporate offices of a major national corporation.
But, for the last few months, Susan has been feeling uneasy about her life, like something was missing, something she couldn't identify but was longing for just the same. She couldn't pinpoint when these feelings of longing started, so she never made the connection between them and her weekly night out with her friend Sara.
A few years ago, Susan's husband Rick had suggested that Susan take a night each week for herself to go out with friends, relax and take some time for herself away from the pressures of work and family. At first she was reluctant, but she quickly grew to depend on those nights as a way to keep her sanity. They were usually nothing special, a couple of friends going out for a glass or two of wine and a light meal. It wasn't until 6 months or so ago after the nights out had started going later and the drinks started getting a little harder, that the group had dwindled down to just Sara and Susan.
****
It was Thursday night and Susan and Sara were at a new place that Sara had heard about from a friend. The place was loud, dark and, in spite of the city ban, smoky. Not being one to pay attention to such things, Susan hadn't noticed that there were very few white people in the club and none of the ones that were there were male.