The openly gay Astrid has moved in with Susan and Shobi. It has changed the dynamic a little for Susan, who has been struggling with boys but unable to understand why she struggles to form any kind of relationship that goes beyond friendship. She's drawn to Astrid as well but hasn't come out yet as it seems too big a step but Astrid's lifestyle fascinates her but is it because of her ethnicity or is it something else?
Author's note: In this particular piece Robyn from Women Who Talk, mentions three women whom she got on with before getting together with Penny. That comes from the extended version of Women Who Talk, which is not available on Literotica. I've resisted uploading that version because it's thirty eight chapters long, but if people want to see it gradually uploaded over the next few months then let me know in the comments below and I'll do it. This section also mentions Sandy from Sandy's Destroyers, you'll find her story in Sandy's Story and briefly in The Sandman (also on Literotica).
I've gone back over the last piece I wrote and almost deleted it with the intention of rewriting it but then I let my oldest sister read it and she said it was quite potent but that I should fill in some more details about Shobi's and my current situation. Of course! It hit me as I reread it tonight, there are so many changes and let me start with Mary.
Mary's marriage ended three months ago when she finally realised that the only thing keeping them together was the children and their youngest has just turned sixteen. It'd been going south for years but she's a real fighter and just held on and gritted her teeth. In that way we're quite alike because we put up with things that would drive others into therapy. I have plenty of other words to describe my feelings about my own failed marriage such as anger and resentment that I let it linger on for so long but more of that later.
Shobi, oh my dear old friend Shobi! She turned out to be a surprise when she married Adam, you'll meet him in a few pages. Their marriage lasted three years of what she refers to as walking through quicksand. They never had children and after their marriage broke up she met Fiona, who was also recently divorced. She'd been a victim of domestic violence and was in a women's shelter with her two daughters, Mara and Rhonda, Shobi was a loans officer at Westpac and Fiona was a customer. One day she assessed Fiona for a bank loan that was rejected due to banking regulations but then she mentioned she had three spare rooms at her place.
That act of kindness led to romance within three months, which wasn't what Shobi intended at the time! They had a civil union ceremony six months after that and I got to be the bridesmaid, Mara and Rhonda were the flower girls.
As for me, well despite my Degree in Creative Writing I stayed with Coles right the way through the first three years of my marriage as a full time supervisor but one night Shobi suggested that I try out for the Citizens Advice Bureau in Ringwood. To my surprise I actually got the job and it was a relief to be actually helping clients rather than helping to relieve customers of their money and not long afterwards I came back into contact with Melanie, Louise and Sigrid who you'll also meet later on in this part. They run a consultancy part owned by Penny who help clients with debt problems. I'd met them years ago at the Women Who Talk meeting and I was soon back there. Those women loved me back to life and gave me the courage to not only survive my marriage but end it and get back in touch with Astrid and now I'll get on with the rest of this story.
Women Who Talk, is a group that's been in existence since 1998 and has spread all over Melbourne. My first meeting at Penny's place on top of Mt Dandenong was an eye opener. Her back verandah has a bird's eye view of Melbourne. Mt Dandenong is six hundred and thirty metres high, making it a couple of degrees cooler than sea level. Located forty seven kilometres east of the CBD it has a bluish tinge that gave rise to its name, the Blue Dandenongs although locals always call it Mount Dandy, Aussies shorten words whenever possible.
The area is known for Devonshire Tea houses, craft shops and a relaxed rural feel even though the suburb falls within the bounds of the Greater Metropolitan region. Some people at my dad's church called it holy hill because there were a lot of Christians up there along with pagans and I was raised on horror stories of animal and human sacrifices on the mountain. Now that I'm older I know that those are just urban myths but as a teenager I believed them.
All that being said though, the trip up the mountain was magical. It was late autumn and the weather was milder, it'd rained that day and the roads were slippery, the Mt Dandenong Tourist road winds its way up the mountain and sometimes comes so close to the edge you feel as if you could tumble down the mountain. The fog was rolling in and long strips of bark hung from the power lines, the Stringybark gumtree is prolific in this part of the country. It makes you feel as if you've driven into a rip in the space time continuum and wound up in Jurassic Park.
That atmosphere only increased as we got out of the car at Penny and Robyn's house. The house sits on the edge of the mountain and is constructed of huge mud bricks sandwiched between dark brown telephone poles. An octagonal tower sits closest to the steep driveway. I parked on the road because I didn't want to park in the drive. As we made our way down the drive I admired the rustic-looking verandah with its runes, which went all the way around the house I found out later. The interior was even more impressive than the exterior with walls made of pine, a vast living room with a U-shaped walkway on the first floor overlooking it and the magnificent views out the windows. It had a huge open fireplace and I noted ducting for the central heating hanging from the vaulted ceiling. I fell in love with the place immediately.
The other thing I recall from that night were the women I met there. I'd met Robyn of course and I knew Lindsay from the church but I'd never met Robyn's partner, Penny. She had a full head of thick blonde hair, an attractive face and she looked as if she worked out because despite her age she hadn't gained that spare tyre that many women have, I'm starting to get one myself but let's not go there please!
"Hey," Penny greeted us, "you certainly chose the right night to come here," she glanced at Astrid, "two of my girlfriends have just come back from Denmark."
"Denmark?" Astrid raised her eyebrows as we stepped into the large porch area.
"Yeah, I wasn't expecting them here tonight, they only flew in on Thursday. I thought they'd have jet lag," she closed the door behind us, "but maybe it's delayed jet lag."
She led us through the massive living room and I was able to confirm the verandah went all the way around the house. I still had one eye on the view of Melbourne as we stepped into the kitchen, it had a rustic look to it, similar to the living room but with modern appliances. There was an island bench in the middle and I noted the double fridge/freezer beside the chest freezer. The kitchen also had a double oven under a huge hob. An L-shaped bench started at the window and extended all the way to a pantry door near the chest freezer. Cupboards above and below were all made from recycled wood from the looks of things and then I was introduced to Louise and Sigrid.
They were both in their late thirties to early forties back then but I was struck by their demeanour, it seemed as if they were an island of calmness amidst a small crowd of chattering women. Louise had a full head of auburn hair and Sigrid was blonde, she stood next to Robyn tossing salad while an older woman cut more lettuce. We were swiftly introduced to women in turn. I recall Cindy and her partner, Mary, Alana, Susan and Melanie, along with Elke and an older woman, Agnetha who was about the same age as Cindy.
"Astrid is from Denmark," Penny inclined her head as she finished the introductions.
Sigrid, Elke and Agnetha all looked up and then Agnetha spoke.
"Hvordan går det?" Agnetha grinned.
Which means how's it going of course and when she expressed surprise that Agnetha spoke Danish the older woman merely shrugged and said, "selvfølgelig, gør ikke alle det?"
Penny smirked and Robyn burst out laughing, and in answer to my upraised eyebrows Agnetha gave us the translation.
"Of course, doesn't everybody?"
"I think we'll let the Danes party," Robyn inclined her head, "come on, I'll show you the rest of the house."
I left Astrid with Agnetha and followed Robyn on her impromptu tour, feeling a bit guilty about leaving Astrid behind but as Robyn explained.
"Sigrid and Louise moved to Denmark about ten years ago but have just come back with their two daughters, Agnetha and Elke are Sigrid's sisters and so is Caroline," she pointed to a woman sitting next to Lindsay on a couch in the living room.
The dark-haired woman raised her glass in salute and Lindsay waved.
"Caroline teaches dressmaking at a Tafe college but she also helps us out too."
