Pamela's Girlie Fun
Pamela was called into the main office most unexpectedly at the end of the school day. Curious as to what it was about, she was a little nervous when she was ushered straight into the Principals office. Mrs McArthur, smiled at her and indicated a chair in front of her desk.
'Nothing to worry about Pamela, quite the opposite in fact. I've called you in to ask you a favour.' Pamela felt relieved, but at the same time anxious, what the hell could it be about she thought, how could she grant a favour to the principal?
'You know that Miss Davis, was due to represent the school at the, 'Feminism In Victorian Literature,' conference next week?' she started. Pamela nodded, but she had already heard that Miss Davis had been in a road traffic accident just that morning. She began to get an inkling of what this was about, and sure enough, she was right on the money. Mrs McArthur needed a replacement, and she wanted Pamela to be that replacement.
'I don't know a thing about the subject Mrs McArthur, how would that be any good for the school, or the conference for that matter,
'Don't worry about it Pamela, all you'll have to do is read out the paper that Miss Davis has already submitted, apologise for her nonappearance, and represent the school. You're a good fluent reader, and have a nice clear speaking voice, and a keen sense of responsibility. Treat it like a small vacation, all expenses paid, you may even enjoy it. Your schedule isn't too onerous, you'll most likely have loads of time to see the sights and take in some shopping. The hotel and conference complex is very modern, and very classy with plenty of high end exclusive shops within the complex itself. Sleep on it and let me know your decision in the morning.' Pamela thanked her, and anxious to get home before the traffic built up, she hurried on her way, out of the school and home.
When Pamela went home she discussed it with her husband, and John advised her to go for it. He was on duty all weekend anyway he reminded her, so it wasn't like they were going to lose a lot of time together, and so it was that Pamela accepted Mrs McArthur's proposal, and found herself in the boarding queue at the airport on Thursday afternoon. The flight was uneventful, and within an hour of touchdown she was in her hotel room hanging her clothes up to ensure they weren't creased for tomorrow. She was scheduled to attend a few small seminars as well as reading out the paper in the main conference hall on Saturday morning. It looked like she was going to have a fair bit of free time.
Before going down to dinner, she thought she'd better head for the conference reception and pick up here accreditation papers, and programme. Locking her door, remembering to take the key card, she caught the elevator down, and stepped out into the hustle and bustle of the main hotel lobby.
The main conference centre reception desk gave her directions to the hall being used by their particular conference and she made her way through. It was quieter here, and she opened the large hall doors and stepped inside. The reception desk was off to her right, so she made for that, gave her name and details to a very efficient older looking woman who located her reception pack, handed it over, and gave Pamela, an accreditation pass, about the size of a credit card on a lanyard which Pamela immediately hung round her neck. No way was she going to lose it.
There were people up on the stage at the far end of the hall, so Pamela wandered in that direction to see what was going on, but it turned out to just be the sound crew who were checking the microphones and the sound system for tomorrow. Sitting down, she opened her package to see what it contained. Various flyers for local restaurants and bars, local shops and the conference programme. She looked at the programme, initially to see when she would be 'on,' and once she had located that, she had a look to see if there was anything else of interest.
Straight away she noticed that a prominent, and famous speaker would be in attendance, a woman she had admired for quite a few years. She was known to be very forthright and robust in her opinions, defending the women's rights movement, and always advocating for equal opportunities for women. Her name was Vanessa Albright, and Pamela had always thought the name suited her so well, she was bright alright, no doubt about that.
She was a bit older than Pamela, well, almost ten years older, almost sixty, but Pamela had always thought of her as a fine, handsome woman. Not stunningly beautiful, but tall, even taller than Pamela's five foot seven inches, very slim. Her greying hair beautifully styled in a shorter cut, and very modern. She was unmarried, and there had always been questions about her sexuality, but always fiercely protective of her privacy, nobody knew for sure. Pamela made a mental note to keep an eye out for her. She'd love to meet her and tell her how much she has been inspired by her over the years.
After reading all the relevant information Pamela decided to go through to the dining area, and try to get a table. She was led to a small table already set up for two people although she was on her own. She had a look at the menu, chose what she wanted and a glass of house white wine. Taking her time, Pamela looked around her to observe the other diners. Her heart skipped a beat when she thought she saw Vanessa Albright a few tables away, but she couldn't get a clear look, not without standing up or really bending back to see around the folks at the intervening tables. Still, it was exciting to her, and then, there she was!!. She had stood up to leave, her meal obviously finished, and oh my god she was coming this way thought Pamela. She was passing right by her table. This was too good an opportunity to miss, she thought.
'Good evening Miss Albright.' Pamela said, standing up, amazed at her own forwardness, and the great woman looked at her and smiled.
'Do I know you?' she asked, still smiling. Pamela shook her head.
'No, but I've been a great admirer of yours for many, many years,' she said sincerely. 'You've been such a great source of inspiration to me for a long time, and I just wanted to thank you for all that you've done for women's rights.'
'Well, thank you my dear, it's so very kind of you to say that. I appreciate it, I really do. Are you here for the conference?' Pamela confirmed that she was, adding that she was hoping to hear Miss Albright speak tomorrow.
'You must come and see me after my talk then. Please sit close to the front row so I can see you, it's always nice to see a friendly face. I have this little "thing," when I'm talking to a large audience like we'll have tomorrow. I like to see a familiar face and then I just talk to that person and pretty much ignore everybody else.' She laughed, and Pamela laughed with her.
'I'd be honoured to be your sounding post Miss Albright,' Pamela said, never dreaming the way events were shaping up. 'I shall pay special attention to every word you say.'
'You must call me Vanessa,' Miss Albright said, 'I feel we are to become great friends, and you must tell me your name too.' Pamela told her, and Vanessa repeated it to herself a few times. 'I have a terrible memory sometimes, so I find it helps if I repeat things over and over in my head.'
'Would you care to join me for a glass of wine, Miss... sorry, Vanessa?' she corrected herself. Vanessa smiled and very reluctantly refused.
'Better not Pamela,' she excused herself. 'Tomorrow is a big day for me... best to have a clear head, but I note that we are both having dinner alone, which is rather sad, perhaps we could have dinner together tomorrow evening and we'll share a glass or two of wine then?' Pamela was thrilled at the prospect and thanked Vanessa, who smiled and said, 'Until tomorrow then, and remember, front row if you can. I want to see your lovely face smiling up at me when I'm giving my talk,' and then she continued on her way and out of the dining room.
All Pamela could think of was that Vanessa Albright had complimented her, and said she had a lovely face. Who'd have thought that Vanessa Albright could be such a lovely, friendly woman, and so much better looking in real life too. No doubt about it, Pamela was excited.
Pamela was up bright and early next morning, despite the fact that she hadn't slept very well. Thoughts of Vanessa had swirled round and round in her head most of the night. She'd even managed to get herself wet thinking about her, but had ignored it and finally managed to get off to sleep.
She checked the conference programme once again to check when she was scheduled to be giving 'her,' paper, written of course by Miss Davis. It was her misfortune not to be here, but it was good luck for Pamela. Every cloud has a silver lining she thought, most definitely in this case as far as she was concerned.
Later that morning, Pamela stood at the lectern on the main stage and delivered her paper, which got a very good reception from the audience. Walking offstage she saw Vanessa, standing in the 'wings,' smiling at her.
'Well done Pamela, you read that beautifully. You didn't tell me you were delivering a paper to the conference,' she said.
'Well, it's really nothing to boast about. I was only reading it in place of the author who was involved in a traffic accident. She's a colleague of mine, and the school Principal volunteered me to deliver it, and so here I am.'
'How unfortunate for her, but most fortuitous for us, we wouldn't have met otherwise,' Vanessa said, smiling. Pamela felt herself get excited again. Vanessa seemed to have taken a real shine to her, and she was loving it. What if the rumours were true and Vanessa was a lesbian, or at the very least bi? How would she handle it, she speculated, she'd never had an encounter with another woman. Would she be able to resist any advance if one came. Would she
